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Quotes & Quips

Compiled By Jack Nichols

United Nations Sees
Waning Heterosexual Lifestyles

The idea that women's rights are human rights has finally solidified… Honor killings and bride burnings and female genital mutilation are no longer regarded as “cultural” matters but human rights abuses. The sexual trafficking in women, which Secretary of State Madeleine Albright condemned here, isn't another sninoff of the global economy, but an international scandal.

Ellen Goodman— Syndicated columnist— “Five Years of Women's Rights: Half Full or Hal Empty?”—Florida Today, June 16


A Decline in Brain-Washing Personnel

According to the first-of-its-kind study, the number of priests has not kept pace with the growth of Catholicism, with at least 82% of dioceses reporting fewer priests compared with a decade ago. At least 60 million people in the United States are Catholic, and there are 46,000 priests. About 27,000 priests are active in parish ministry, the report states…The ratio of priest-to-parishioner at the start of the 20th century stood at 1-to-900. In 1950, the ratio was 1-to-650; today, the ratio is 1-to-1,257, according to the report.

Felicia Thomas-Lynn—“Priest Shortages Leaving Clergy Stressed and Exhausted”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 15


Boxing for Jesus?

A preacher man will climb into a boxing ring tonight and do his best to beat the hell out of somebody…The blood is real. So is the bone-crunching pain this middle-aged amateur will face boxing men half his age in the National Toughman Contest at the Ocean Center. It's a bunch of local bad boys and bar brawlers punching it out in a contest dreamed up by a Michigan bartender.

Rich McKay—“Punching Preacher Fights for His Church”—The Orlando Sentinel, June 16


Protesting a Pride Parade?

An elderly Albuquerque man is facing felony charges after he allegedly drove a van toward people at a gay pride parade over the weekend, called them "(expletive) faggots" and struck one of them with the vehicle.

Jeff Jones—“ Driver Faces Felony Charges”—Albuquerque Journal, June 14


Don't Pursue?
Same Old Story

Navy investigators are routinely sending informants and undercover agents into Washington area gay bars to identify military personnel among the clients, and then using sting operations to catch some of them in drug trafficking, according to Navy officials and testimony in a recent military court proceeding…Local and national gay advocates contend that the probe circumvents the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and might be a way of drumming gays out of the military, albeit for drug involvement. The Navy denies that accusation.

Roberto Suro—“ Navy Sends Agents Into Gay Bars”--Washington Post, June 17


Can Infertility Clinics
Cause Cancer?

If the cause of the father's infertility lies in faulty DNA-repair genes, however, The resulting child could also be infertile—and might be at increased risk of cancer. Couples who resort to modern technology to overcome infertility could thus be Passing an unwelcome legacy on to their offspring.

The Economist—“Infertility and Inheritance”—June 10


Why are Liberals Silent
about Kenneth Starr's Queeries?

kstarr.gif - 16.29 K Plus, they might fear appearing homophobic by furthering a story about a secretive gay cabal on the right, even though it's true that the adverse effects of the closet and self-loathing have created this very real scenario time and again--from Sen. Joseph McCarthy's side-kick Roy Cohn, to David Brock, who wrote the infamous "Troopergate" articles on Clinton for the far-right American Spectator, to right-wing puppet politicians like California millionaire and former House member Michael Huffington.

Michelangelo Signorile—“ The Silence of the Liberals”-- June 15-- content.gay.com/channels/news/signorile/drudge_000615.html


Chicago's Victory Foundation Days

I, Richard M. Daley, Mayor of the City of Chicago, do hereby proclaim July 13 to 16, 2000, to be Gay and Lesbian Victory Foundation Days in Chicago, and encourage all Chicagoans to recognize their accomplishments and their efforts to train gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals to become leaders in public office.

Richard M. Daley--Mayor of the City of Chicago--in his May 31 pronouncement.


Responding to Vilification

The extent of society's vilification of those men who are sexually different is a story that warrants further telling, not the least because the daily and degrading injustices are still with us. The ways in which gay men have failed to respond to those attacks demand further attention, as does an appreciation of gay resistance and resilience.

John Loughery—The Other Side of Silence: Men's Lives and Gay Identities: A Twentieth Century History, Henry Holt, publisher


Responding to Vilification II

Attorneys Geoffrey Kors and Bryan Miller, of San Francisco's Wotman Kors & Cloutier, LLP, today announced the filing of a class action federal lawsuit against the Bakersfield Police Department and others alleging that the Constitutional Rights of gay and bisexual men were violated during sting operations in public parks. The suit was filed on behalf of Roger Hartley, a Bakersfield resident, and all men who have been or will be targeted for arrest and/or arrested because they are perceived to be interested in intimate association with other men.

PRNewswire—June 15



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