Medical marijuana dispensaries were debated Monday by the San Diego City Council, which voted 6-1 to direct the City Attorney to draft an ordinance regulating dispensaries and making them legal with a list of qualifications and conditions.
But this isn’t a quick fix. City staff estimated that City Attorney Jan Goldsmith will return to the Council with an ordinance in mid-January, 2011.
It will be a different Council then, as Councilmember Donna Frye is termed out of office and Council President Ben Hueso is running for State Assembly.
Third District Councilmember Todd Gloria authored the motion which was seconded by Hueso. Carl DeMaio voted no and Marti Emerald was absent. Voting in favor were Sherri Lightner, Tony Young, Kevin Faulconer, Frye, Glor…
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Friday, October 1, 2010
Fit Savvy
Banish Belly Fat
Are you doing crunches until you turn red in the face and still have belly fat? Take a deep centered breath and keep in mind the culprit may be your diet or high stress lifestyle. The truth is you need to align your nutrition to go with your crunches to rid that belly jiggle. In order to go from FLAB abs to FAB abs, pay attention to what’s going into your mouth and kick up the cardio. Your belly will thank you later!
Bye bye belly bloat!! Feeling sluggish and bloated can make you feel like a blimp versus a babe. Some ways to eliminate that belly bloat is to eat more fiber, fruits and veggies and avoid sugar and foods with gluten. Fruits and veggies like bell pepper, cucumber, watermelon and celery are high in water content and make great snacks. Spea…
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Are you doing crunches until you turn red in the face and still have belly fat? Take a deep centered breath and keep in mind the culprit may be your diet or high stress lifestyle. The truth is you need to align your nutrition to go with your crunches to rid that belly jiggle. In order to go from FLAB abs to FAB abs, pay attention to what’s going into your mouth and kick up the cardio. Your belly will thank you later!
Bye bye belly bloat!! Feeling sluggish and bloated can make you feel like a blimp versus a babe. Some ways to eliminate that belly bloat is to eat more fiber, fruits and veggies and avoid sugar and foods with gluten. Fruits and veggies like bell pepper, cucumber, watermelon and celery are high in water content and make great snacks. Spea…
Read More | View Comments (1 comment)
Love is Love
I've seen a lot of ads for marriage equality, but for some reason this one got to me. It's from Basic Rights Oregon, our state-wide gay rights organization. They're raising money to put gay marriage up for a vote in Oregon, probably in 2012, to overturn anti-gay amendment. But first they're running campaigns like this one on cable TV stations. If all works out as we plan, Oregon could be the first state to legalize gay marriage by a popular vote.
Montana Same-Sex Couples Sue State For Legal Protections For Their Families
Seven Couples Seek Equal Protection Mandated Under Montana's Constitution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
HELENA, MT — Seven committed same-sex couples today filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana for failing to provide legal protections to same-sex couples and their families in violation of the Montana Constitution's rights of privacy, dignity and the pursuit of life's basic necessities and its guarantees of equal protection and due process. The goal of this lawsuit is ensure that same-sex couples are able to protect their families with the same kind of legal protections that opposite-sex couples are offered through marriage.
Because there is a constitutional amendment in Montana barring marriage for same-sex couples, the couples in the lawsuit are seeking the protection of state-recognized domestic partnerships, similar to those in place in several other states.
"Mary Anne and I are part of a family unit, bonded by love and mutual respect and a desire to share in a close relationship that benefits not only us, as partners, but our wider family and the entire community," said Jan Donaldson, a Helena nurse, of her 27-year relationship with her partner, pediatric neurologist Mary Anne Guggenheim. "We depend on one another, in all aspects of our life together. We want to be able to do that with grace and dignity and to feel secure that our relationship will be respected. We want our relationship to be recognized for what it clearly is – a loving commitment of responsibility worthy of security and protection by the state."
Montana law automatically grants married opposite-sex couples safeguards upon which they can depend in times of need. But, under Montana law, it is possible for same-sex couples to be barred from visiting their partners in the hospital and to be left out of conversations about emergency medical care. Montana inheritance laws refuse to recognize same-sex couples, and can leave surviving partners with nothing if their partners die without valid wills. Today's lawsuit seeks a mechanism such as the domestic partnership laws adopted by several other states to provide similar protections for committed same-sex couples.
"It's unfair for same-sex couples who have made commitments and formed families to be treated by the state like legal strangers," said Betsy Griffing, Legal Director for the ACLU of Montana. "Lesbian, gay and bisexual Montanans are valuable and productive members of society who should be treated fairly if their partner is in the hospital or dies without a will."
"Denise has stood with me through 56 brain surgeries and over 300 spinal taps, yet to Montana we're nothing more than strangers. Knowing we have legal protections for our family sure would make it easier on both of us the next time I have a medical crisis," said Kellie Gibson of Laurel, who is raising two children with her partner Denise Boettcher.
Plaintiffs in the case Donaldson and Guggenheim v. State of Montana are Mary Anne Guggenheim and Jan Donaldson of Helena, Stacey Haugland and Mary Leslie of Bozeman, Mike Long and Rich Parker of Bozeman, MJ Williams and Nancy Owens of Basin, Rick Wagner and Gary Stallings of Butte, Denise Boettcher and Kellie Gibson of Laurel, and Casey Charles and David Wilson of Missoula.
In addition to Griffing, the couples are represented by Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project; James Goetz and Ben Alke of the Bozeman, MT, law firm Goetz, Gallik & Baldwin P.C.; and Ruth Borenstein, Philip Besirof and Neil Perry of the California law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP.
Additional information about the case, biographies of the plaintiffs and links to videos of the plaintiffs can be found at www.aclumontana.org and www.aclu.org/mtpartnerships.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
HELENA, MT — Seven committed same-sex couples today filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana for failing to provide legal protections to same-sex couples and their families in violation of the Montana Constitution's rights of privacy, dignity and the pursuit of life's basic necessities and its guarantees of equal protection and due process. The goal of this lawsuit is ensure that same-sex couples are able to protect their families with the same kind of legal protections that opposite-sex couples are offered through marriage.
Because there is a constitutional amendment in Montana barring marriage for same-sex couples, the couples in the lawsuit are seeking the protection of state-recognized domestic partnerships, similar to those in place in several other states.
"Mary Anne and I are part of a family unit, bonded by love and mutual respect and a desire to share in a close relationship that benefits not only us, as partners, but our wider family and the entire community," said Jan Donaldson, a Helena nurse, of her 27-year relationship with her partner, pediatric neurologist Mary Anne Guggenheim. "We depend on one another, in all aspects of our life together. We want to be able to do that with grace and dignity and to feel secure that our relationship will be respected. We want our relationship to be recognized for what it clearly is – a loving commitment of responsibility worthy of security and protection by the state."
Montana law automatically grants married opposite-sex couples safeguards upon which they can depend in times of need. But, under Montana law, it is possible for same-sex couples to be barred from visiting their partners in the hospital and to be left out of conversations about emergency medical care. Montana inheritance laws refuse to recognize same-sex couples, and can leave surviving partners with nothing if their partners die without valid wills. Today's lawsuit seeks a mechanism such as the domestic partnership laws adopted by several other states to provide similar protections for committed same-sex couples.
"It's unfair for same-sex couples who have made commitments and formed families to be treated by the state like legal strangers," said Betsy Griffing, Legal Director for the ACLU of Montana. "Lesbian, gay and bisexual Montanans are valuable and productive members of society who should be treated fairly if their partner is in the hospital or dies without a will."
"Denise has stood with me through 56 brain surgeries and over 300 spinal taps, yet to Montana we're nothing more than strangers. Knowing we have legal protections for our family sure would make it easier on both of us the next time I have a medical crisis," said Kellie Gibson of Laurel, who is raising two children with her partner Denise Boettcher.
Plaintiffs in the case Donaldson and Guggenheim v. State of Montana are Mary Anne Guggenheim and Jan Donaldson of Helena, Stacey Haugland and Mary Leslie of Bozeman, Mike Long and Rich Parker of Bozeman, MJ Williams and Nancy Owens of Basin, Rick Wagner and Gary Stallings of Butte, Denise Boettcher and Kellie Gibson of Laurel, and Casey Charles and David Wilson of Missoula.
In addition to Griffing, the couples are represented by Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project; James Goetz and Ben Alke of the Bozeman, MT, law firm Goetz, Gallik & Baldwin P.C.; and Ruth Borenstein, Philip Besirof and Neil Perry of the California law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP.
Additional information about the case, biographies of the plaintiffs and links to videos of the plaintiffs can be found at www.aclumontana.org and www.aclu.org/mtpartnerships.
Withers: Assistant AG takes personal leave
[1]
Michigan's Attorney General Mike Cox [2] finally decided to suspend Andrew Shirvell [3], the state employee with an obsession on a college student (see the update below). Shrivell, an assistant attorney general, had a blog� focused on the supposed ills of University of Michigan's student body president Chris Armstrong (seems like the blog is now down).
Shirvell tried to defend himself on Anderson Copper's show this week. The interview went viral, �and people rightfully wondered what Shirvell's boss was doing. Cox's initial comments were all about the First Amendment and his employee's immaturity. The AG went on Copper's [4]�show and spouted information about� civil service laws, Shirvell being a good employee, etc., etc. He insisted the fellow's gig was safe. Well,�that lasted for about 24 hours.
"I'm at fault here," Cox said. "I've been saying for weeks that (Shirvell's) been acting like a bully, that his behavior is immature, but it's after-hours and protected by the First Amendment."
Cox never� explained why he suspended the obsessive fellow, outside of admitting that possibly he had not read the whole blog. Would have been nice if he admitted he was showing loyalty to a guy who worked in his 2006 re-election campaign [5].
As for the fixated employee, he's been banned from the campus (he's appealing). Armstrong is seeking a personal protection order.
UPDATE: Andrew Shirvell [6] has not been suspended. He is on a leave of absence, and will face a disciplinary hearing when he returns. As of right now, no one is saying when that is. Any bets that he won't?
[1] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/Mike-Cox-top.jpg
[2] http://www.detnews.com/article/20101001/METRO/10010401/Assistant-AG-suspended-over-gay-bashing-blog
[3] http://www.365gay.com/news/watch-anderson-cooper-takes-on-anti-gay-bigot/
[4] http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/30/cox-shivrell/
[5] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iQ1pcNLxUefukhPx260lgdZgYXhQD9IISOO00?docId=D9IISOO00
[6] http://www.detnews.com/article/20101001/METRO/10010422/Assistant-AG-takes-leave-amid-gay-bashing-controversy
Michigan's Attorney General Mike Cox [2] finally decided to suspend Andrew Shirvell [3], the state employee with an obsession on a college student (see the update below). Shrivell, an assistant attorney general, had a blog� focused on the supposed ills of University of Michigan's student body president Chris Armstrong (seems like the blog is now down).
Shirvell tried to defend himself on Anderson Copper's show this week. The interview went viral, �and people rightfully wondered what Shirvell's boss was doing. Cox's initial comments were all about the First Amendment and his employee's immaturity. The AG went on Copper's [4]�show and spouted information about� civil service laws, Shirvell being a good employee, etc., etc. He insisted the fellow's gig was safe. Well,�that lasted for about 24 hours.
"I'm at fault here," Cox said. "I've been saying for weeks that (Shirvell's) been acting like a bully, that his behavior is immature, but it's after-hours and protected by the First Amendment."
Cox never� explained why he suspended the obsessive fellow, outside of admitting that possibly he had not read the whole blog. Would have been nice if he admitted he was showing loyalty to a guy who worked in his 2006 re-election campaign [5].
As for the fixated employee, he's been banned from the campus (he's appealing). Armstrong is seeking a personal protection order.
UPDATE: Andrew Shirvell [6] has not been suspended. He is on a leave of absence, and will face a disciplinary hearing when he returns. As of right now, no one is saying when that is. Any bets that he won't?
[1] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/Mike-Cox-top.jpg
[2] http://www.detnews.com/article/20101001/METRO/10010401/Assistant-AG-suspended-over-gay-bashing-blog
[3] http://www.365gay.com/news/watch-anderson-cooper-takes-on-anti-gay-bigot/
[4] http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/30/cox-shivrell/
[5] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iQ1pcNLxUefukhPx260lgdZgYXhQD9IISOO00?docId=D9IISOO00
[6] http://www.detnews.com/article/20101001/METRO/10010422/Assistant-AG-takes-leave-amid-gay-bashing-controversy
My DADT story as a closeted transgender woman
Back in the summer of 1980, I joined the US Navy. The country was in the midst of a nationwide recession and I lied about my personal history of teen cross-dressing.
I signed up for the Advanced Electronics Program, and once in the Navy, I was assigned to the Fire Control Technician (Missiles) rating. The rating title later reverted back to the historic name “Fire Controlman,” so my rating title changed to Fire Controlman in 1984. I first trained to work on the Mark 92 Gun and Missile Fire Control System, which were only on Guided Missile Fast Frigates (FFGs) and hydrofoils. In my career, I was assigned to two FFGs as a Mark 92 technician. Later in my career, I retrained as a Mark 15 Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) technician and then served on o…
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I signed up for the Advanced Electronics Program, and once in the Navy, I was assigned to the Fire Control Technician (Missiles) rating. The rating title later reverted back to the historic name “Fire Controlman,” so my rating title changed to Fire Controlman in 1984. I first trained to work on the Mark 92 Gun and Missile Fire Control System, which were only on Guided Missile Fast Frigates (FFGs) and hydrofoils. In my career, I was assigned to two FFGs as a Mark 92 technician. Later in my career, I retrained as a Mark 15 Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) technician and then served on o…
Read More
Montana GOP policy: Make homosexuality illegal
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – At a time when gays have been gaining victories across the country, the Republican Party in Montana still wants to make homosexuality illegal.
The party adopted an official platform in June that keeps a long-held position in support of making homosexual acts illegal, a policy adopted after the Montana Supreme Court struck down such laws in 1997.
The fact that it’s still the official party policy more than 12 years later, despite a tidal shift in public attitudes since then and the party’s own pledge of support for individual freedoms, has exasperated some GOP members.
“I looked at that and said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” state Sen. John Brueggeman, R-Polson, said last week. “…
Read More | View Comments (1 comment)
The party adopted an official platform in June that keeps a long-held position in support of making homosexual acts illegal, a policy adopted after the Montana Supreme Court struck down such laws in 1997.
The fact that it’s still the official party policy more than 12 years later, despite a tidal shift in public attitudes since then and the party’s own pledge of support for individual freedoms, has exasperated some GOP members.
“I looked at that and said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” state Sen. John Brueggeman, R-Polson, said last week. “…
Read More | View Comments (1 comment)
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