It’s here.
And it’s pretty cool- just in time for “Bully”
Enhanced site has new resources for children, parents, educators, and communities to take action to prevent and respond to bullying.
Author Archives: D Gregory Smith
Stutz: Daines Fundraising Is Politics-As Usual
Rob Stutz, Democratic candidate for United States Congress, announced today that Steve Daines, whose fundraising tactics were highlighted this week on the national radio program This American Life, represents politics-as-usual, not the best interests of the people of Montana. Daines, the presumptive Republican nominee in Montana’s US House race, has held numerous fundraising events in Washington DC requesting donations of $500, $1,000, and even $2,500 from PACs (political action committees) for special interest groups. Two of these events, one of which was featured in the radio program, were held in March 2012.
“Montanans want a new approach in Congress,” Stutz said. “We are looking for a Representative who will stand up to special interest groups, not a Representative who wants $2,500 to wine, dine, and rub elbows with special interest groups on Capitol Hill.”
Stutz does not accept any campaign money from special interest PACs and does not sign any pledges for special interest groups. The Stutz for Congress campaign posted a graph on www.RobStutz.com showing that Stutz has accepted $0 of special interest money and that Daines has accepted over $100,000 of special interest money through 2011. Fundraising reports for the first quarter of 2012 must be filed by April 15.
“I put people first in my campaign.” Stutz said that “Montanans want a Representative who walks the walk when it comes to working for people rather than for special interest groups. Abraham Lincoln said it best — government should be ‘of the people, by the people, for the people.'”
“While disappointing that Mr. Daines wants DC lobbyists to support his race, it is not surprising. Since announcing, Daines’ strategy has been to try and buy the US House seat.” Montana Democrats are pushing back against special interests — Stutz does not take special interest money or sign special interest pledges, Senator Tester has proposed a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision, and Attorney General Bullock has fought in court to uphold Montana’s law limiting special interest spending.
Stutz said, “If you are tired of the influence of special interests on Congress, support my campaign and send a message that enough is enough. Working together, we the people of Montana can get Congress back on track and working for us.” Stutz emphasizes that people of any financial means can and should have a voice in politics. Stutz for Congress provides a page on www.RobStutz.com that suggests free and low-cost grassroots ideas for anyone who wants to get involved in the race.
This American Life radio program (Daines discussed at 5:00) — http://podcast.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/461.mp3
Stutz for Congress graph comparing PAC money receipts by Stutz and Daines through December 31, 2011 — http://robstutz.com/images/uploaded/PAC%20Money%20%28small%29.png
Stutz for Congress page providing free and low-cost ways to participate in the race — http://robstutz.com/pages/137/free_and_low_cost_ideas
Daines’ invitation for a March 22, 2012, fundraiser at the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America Townhouse in Washington DC requesting $2,500 PAC money from hosts — http://politicalpartytime.org/party/30175/#invite
Daines’ invitation for a March 21, 2012, fundraiser at R.B. Murphy and Associates in Washington DC requesting $2,500 PAC money from hosts — http://politicalpartytime.org/party/30188/#invite
Daines’ invitation for a December 8, 2011, fundraiser at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington DC requesting $1,000 PAC money from attendees — http://politicalpartytime.org/party/29809/#invite
Daines’ invitation for a June 21, 2011, fundraiser with Denny Rehberg at Eastgate in Washington DC requesting $1,000 per PAC — http://politicalpartytime.org/party/26972/#invite
Daines’ invitation for a March 2, 2011, fundraiser at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington DC requesting $1,000 per PAC — http://politicalpartytime.org/party/25352/#invite
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Gallatin County Democrats Fundraiser Raises Some Great Questions
Sunday night I attended the Gallatin County Democrats Grand Opening Fundraiser at their new headquarters on Mendenhall in Bozeman. It was a great potluck- and crowded- which bodes well for the future of Democratic candidates in Bozeman this year.
Each candidate was allowed some time to speak. Pam Bucy and Monica Lindeen– both of whom I strongly support- shared energy, enthusiasm and common sense. They both need to be elected, in my very humble opinion.
I came to hear the Congressional candidates. I needed to see them and hear them in person. Their speeches were limited to 3 minutes, but all 4 had something important to say- mostly in contraposition to the Republican policy. Kim Gillan spoke about the need to control our own destinies. Franke Wilmer showcased her brilliant career as an academic and as an effective (as a Democrat could be last term) Montana Legislator. Dave Strohmaier shared a vision of the future which relied on non-discrimination (including LGBT persons!), progressive principles and conviction. And then there was Rob Stutz.
Stutz started by talking about taking back the Constitution- both federal and state- from the “hijack tactics of the Tea Party”. Excellent. And enthusiastic applause followed. Then he said something that made me stop.
“We have to have a plan to win in November. Do Democrats have a plan? We can’t wait until after the primary- we need a plan now!”
Like I said, I stopped. All of the ideas that were shared by the candidates were excellent ideas. The rhetoric was high. The enthusiasm inspiring. But Stutz is right. Where’s the plan? Because all the good ideas in the world don’t mean anything without a plan.
And without a plan, November could be disastrous for Democrats.
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U.S. Episcopal Presiding Bishop On Gay Clergy and Contraception
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In the Catholic Church, US bishops have been in a froth over health care funding for contraception – even though the overwhelming majority of ordinary Catholics have been practising birth control for decades. In the UK and Australia as well as the US, Catholic bishops are mobilizing against marriage equality – even though most Catholics support it. Just a handful of Catholic bishops are grudgingly acknowledging that there could be value in alternative legal recognition for same – sex partnerships, while most Catholics just do not see these relationships as even a matter of morality at all. In the Anglican / Episcopal church, where governance is more democratic and leadership is more in touch with their members, things are different. The English church has a formal working group engaged in studying the issues around human sexuality, which has just announced the appointment of expert advisers to assist its work, and the US Episcopal Church is even further ahead. There, says the presiding bishop, “it’s a done deal”
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Related articles
- US Episcopal Presiding Bishop, on Gay Clergy And Birth Control (queeringthechurch.com)
- Vatican establishes district for Episcopals (mysanantonio.com)
Facebook: The Next Tool In Fighting STD’s?
Makes sense to me.
Salon.com:
Imagine being able to download a Facebook app that would alert you to your sexually transmitted infection risk based on your friend’s status updates. This may sound far-fetched, and it still is, but as some researchers shift their focus to risk among friend groups, as opposed to just sexual partners, social networks are rapidly becoming a tool to prevent the spread of (Sexually Transmitted Infection) STIs.
Peter Leone, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina’s Center for Infectious Diseases, is one of those experts. Earlier this month, he spoke at an international health conference and underscored the importance of exploring such possibilities. Real-world social networks — in other words, a person’s circle of friends and sexual partners — have already proved to be strong predictors of STI risk, he says. It follows that sites like Facebook, which convene all of those real-world connections in one virtual setting, have huge potential in this arena.
Leone found that when sexual partners of patients newly diagnosed with HIV came in for testing, 20 percent turned up HIV-positive. It might seem counter-intuitive to extend the targeted test circle to those a newly diagnosed patient is merely friends with, but people in the same social circle often sleep with the same people, and might engage in similar risk-related behavior. Instead of looking at people within a particular at-risk demographic, this approach allows them to target known clusters of infection.
Makes you think of the people on your “Close Friends” list a bit differently, doesn’t it?
Related articles
- Health Risks of STDs for Women (everydayhealth.com)
- How to Talk to Your Partner About STDs (everydayhealth.com)
- How to Use a Condom (stacyknows.com)
- Alberta’s STD infection rate fell in 2010: report (ctv.ca)
Montana Family Foundation Candidate Survey
…is completely polarizing and just as completely predictable. As a public service, I wanted to put the whole shebang out on the internets. Now I’ll probably get letters protesting the word “shebang”.
Sigh.
Here’s the cover letter:
On behalf of all of us at Montana Family Foundation, let me congratulate you on your decision to run for public office. As a former state representative, I understand the sacrifices you are making during the campaign, and those that you will make throughout your term if you are fortunate enough to be elected (re-elected).
Montana Family Foundation is a non-profit, research, education, and advocacy organization, working to support, protect and strengthen Montana families.
In an effort to better educate your constituents on your positions related to family issues, we have enclosed our 2012 candidate survey. The results of this survey will be published in whole or in part on our web site (www.montanavoterguide.com), and in our printed voter guide, which will be distributed to roughly 150,000 Montana households.
*Please note: If you choose not to fill out the enclosed survey, we may determine your position on a given question using voting records, public statements you’ve made, your responses on other voter guides, or your party’s platform. If your position differs from that of your party on a given issue, we hope you will use this questionnaire to make that clear.
Please fill out the survey and return it in the enclosed envelope. The survey must be postmarked no later than Friday, March 23 to be included in our 2012 primary election voter guide. remember it must be signed to be valid.
Once again thank you for your time, and your commitment to the people of Montana.
Respectfully,
Jeff Laszloffy President/CEO
And the survey (reprinted in its entirety except for some basic identifying candidate stuff):
Please circle the response that most accurately reflects your position on the following issues. (SS=Strongly Support; S=Support; U=Undecided; O=Oppose; SO=Strongly Oppose)
- Public schools in Montana are: Over Funded Adequately Funded Under Funded
- Students should be allowed to recite the phrase “One Nation Under God” when saying the Pledge of Allegiance. SS S U O SO
- Parental choice should be expanded through tax credits to allow children to attend any school of their choice. SS S U O SO
- Montana should allow public charter schools. SS S U O SO
- Parents should be allowed to home school their children without additional state regulation. SS S U O SO
- Education – Sex education in public schools, should be based on “abstinence until marriage”. SS S U O SO
- Health – “Domestic partners” (i.e., cohabiting homosexual and heterosexual couples) should receive the same health care and employment benefits as married couples. SS S U O SO
- Health – Pharmacists should be forced to dispense birth control that works after fertilization (“Emergency Contraception”) even if it violates their conscience or religious beliefs. SS S U O SO
- Health – Anyone causing the injury or death of an unborn child (other than a doctor performing an abortion) should be subject to the same criminal penalties as they would be if the child were already born. SS S U O S
- Abortion – Abortion should be prohibited in all circumstances SS S U O SO
- Abortion – Abortion should be prohibited, except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. SS S U O SO
- In your opinion, are environmental regulations in Montana: Too Stringent About Right Not Stringent Enough
- Homosexuals should be allowed to adopt children. SS S U O SO
- Anti-discrimination laws should be expanded to protect sexual orientation in the same way that race, creed, nationality, religion, and color are protected.
- Income Taxes in Montana are: Too High About Right Too Low
- Property Taxes in Montana are: Too High About Right Too Low
- Corporate Taxes in Montana are: Too High About right Too Low18. Your view on the statement: The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows all citizens to own firearms for self protection. SS S U O SO
- Physician-assisted suicide should be legal in Montana. SS S U O SO
- Global warming is a problem requiring increased regulation. SS S U O SO
Date
Candidate Signature
Surveys are invalid if not signed
Please mail original to:
Montana Family Foundation P.O. Box 485 Laurel, MT. 59044
406-628-1141 http://www.montanafamily.org http://www.montanavoterguide.com
SURVEY DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2012
HRC: Romney Gave 10k To Prop 8
Mitt Romney - Caricature (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)
A number of politicos jumped on GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney for the casual way he offered to make a $10,000 bet with rival Rick Perry during a debate, saying it clearly illustrated out “out of touch” Romney was with regular folks for whom $10,000 is a lot of money. And certainly, $10,000 was a lot of money during the Prop 8 fight in California – which the Human Rights Campaign and its project NOM Exposed revealed was the amount Romney gave to the National Organization for Marriage when the antigay group emerged as a leading proponent for the Prop 8 ballot initiative that successfully stripped marriage rights from same sex couples in California. NOM has been working hard to keep the names of its donors private.
Scott Wooledge at the Huffington Post has more, finding the contribution cited “in the Oct. 28, 2008 edition of Deseret News reporting on Mitt Romney’s $10,000 donation to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). We since have come to learn that NOM circulated some nefarious memos to convince donors that their cause was strategically planned.”
HRC’s Fred Sainz says:
The aide quoted in The Deseret News that gets Romney into campaign disclosure problems is none other than Eric Fehrnstrom, the same trusted aide who infamously compared the general election to an “Etch A Sketch.” The NYT has a great profile of Fehrnstrom here.
It also bears mentioning, that Robert George, the chairman emeritus of NOM and the author of two federal marriage amendments, sits on the editorial board of the Deseret News. You will remember that Mr. George was appointed this week by Speaker Boehner to the U.S. Commission for International Freedom.
It’s not that surprising, but in the era where “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” ended with barely a whimper, State Legislatures enacted marriage equality, and Republicans have backed off the gay marriage issue, Romney’s anti-equality contributions should be noted.
Did anyone notice a Log Cabin Republican response to Romney’s contribution?
I didn’t either.
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HIV+ and Partners Retreat
Montana does something that, to my knowledge, is not done anywhere else in the U.S.- we invite HIV+ persons and their partners/support persons to learn about coping and living with HIV. It’s a fantastic weekend filled with information, activity, relaxation, community and support, and I’ve been part of it for five years now.
I highly recommend it. Out-of-staters welcome. To check it out and/or register, click the pic below.
Related articles
- Missoula County Sees Spike In HIV Infection (dgsmith.org)
- Analysis: Why some people do not receive continuous HIV medical care (dgsmith.org)
- Study finds HIV-infected men at risk for spreading HIV despite taking HAART (eurekalert.org)
Montana Pride 2012 Preview Video
If you’re getting excited about Montana Pride in Bozeman this June 15th-17th, then here’s something to whet your appetite:
Missoula County Sees Spike In HIV Infection
HIV infection has increased unexpectedly in Missoula County- 12 new cases in five months- almost half the number of all reported cases in Montana last year.
“We tend to see small numbers of new cases every year, but to have this many new cases – at this count 12 – documented in a five-month period is an unusually high number,” Missoula City-County Health Department Director Ellen Leahy said on Wednesday. “Twelve cases in one county in five months is an outbreak.”
HIV causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS, a debilitating and sometimes fatal disease. It is spread by unprotected sexual contact or infected blood transfer, such as sharing infected hypodermic needles. Leahy said all the Missoula cases appeared to stem from sexual activity.
The announcement was made after consulting with many community groups, including Partnership Health Center, the Montana Gay Men’s Task Force and the Open Aid Alliance. Open Aid director Christa Weathers said the decision to publicize the outbreak was a hard one, because health officials depend on people self-reporting their condition to track the disease’s spread.
“It’s hard to issue a public health risk without creating alarm, or without pointing fingers at any group of people,” Weathers said. “It’s a great opportunity to remind people this is a risk and why testing is so important. But we don’t want to discourage anyone who may know they may need to get tested, but they’re afraid to come in and then this hits the media and they’re gone.”
So far, all the confirmed cases are adult males. But Leahy warned that women who don’t consider themselves members of a high-risk group for HIV infection have also been exposed.
“It’s sexually spread, but it’s time to remind ourselves – you really cannot know if you’re infected unless you’ve been tested,” Leahy said. “We recommend health clinics regularly offer HIV testing to sexually active patients. Rather than presume someone is in a risk group, it’s risk behavior, not membership in any group, that they need to think about.”
Several of my sources say the newly-infected persons are young men who simply didn’t practice safe sex, thinking “It’s Montana- I’m not at risk”. These men, mostly in their twenties, I’m told, will now have a lifetime of medication, stigma and health issues to deal with. It saddens me.
Today is a good day to be tested. For a list of Montana free Rapid HIV Testing sites, click here.
If you’re in Bozeman, call AIDS Outreach 406-451-5718 (the number in the link above is incorrect) or go to AIDSOutreachMT.org
Related articles
- AIDS Activists Arrested At Rehberg’s Office (dgsmith.org)
- Study finds HIV-infected men at risk for spreading HIV despite taking HAART (eurekalert.org)
- HIV Diminishes Lung Function (dgsmith.org)
- Analysis: Why some people do not receive continuous HIV medical care (dgsmith.org)
- Traumatized Women Have Higher HIV Infection Rates, USA (testcas.wordpress.com)
- Results of tests for recent HIV infection can be safely given to patients (testcas.wordpress.com)
From Eternity To Here 
