How The Sequester Hits Montana

Feb26 by D Gregory Smith

Here’s the link to the effects of the sequester for Montana.
One of the great “benefits” being the inability to pay for 117,000 HIV tests- now free for any Montana resident. And there’s more besides.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/sequester-factsheets/Montana.pdf

The Sequester is Coming! (blogs.barrons.com)
Sequester Could Lead To Massive Cuts In HIV Testing, Treatment (pinkbananaworld.com)
Montana passes law allowing motorists to eat animals they kill with cars (metro.co.uk)
Wyoming officials: White House report does little to alleviate ‘sequester’ confusion (trib.com)

See The 10 Montana Senators Who Want Gays To Be Criminals

Feb20 by D Gregory Smith

From Cowgirl:

On Tuesday, the Montana Senate voted, finally, to erase our “anti-sodomy law” which makes it an imprisonable crime to be gay. Although invalidated by our state supreme court in 1997, the law has remained on our books because Republicans have always refused to go along with efforts to scrap it.

But yesterday, SB 107, a measure to strike the offensive language from our statutes finally passed the senate. That said, the vote was far from unanimous. Ten Republicans voted no.

To see them, click here.

MT Legislature: Actively Working To Shame Gay People (dgsmith.org)
Montana Senate backs bill to repeal unconstitutional anti-gay law (missoulian.com)
Montana Legislature: Taking Its Sweet Time Removing Archaic Hate Language (dgsmith.org)

Help Expand Medicaid in Montana!

Jan30 by D Gregory Smith

This session the Montana Legislature has an incredible opportunity to expand access to healthcare for 60,000 Montanans! Doing so would involve a minimal cost to the state, and have a major impact across our communities. Our legislators can do this by choosing to expand eligibility in the Medicaid program for individuals who live at or below 133% of the federal poverty level. It will take a lot of effort on the ground across the state to pass this policy and we need your help!

We’re asking you to contact your Representative and Senator today and urge them to support Medicaid expansion! If we’re able to pass this expansion, it would be a huge victory for human rights in this state!

You can call and leave a message for your legislators at 406-444-4800 or you can fill out an online form by clicking here. We’ve included some key facts and talking points at the end of this message. Click here to find out who your legislators are.

We’re asking for your help because this is a once in a generation chance to expand an effective public healthcare program and get Montanans the care they need! But this policy won’t just help our neighbors who can’t afford health insurance. It will also have an incredible effect in our local and state economies. By expanding eligibility to our state Medicaid program, Montana will be investing in our workforce, creating new jobs, and giving a much needed boost to our economy. For more details on the economic impact of Medicaid expansion click here.

Expanding our Medicaid program is the right choice for Montana. If we make that choice, 100% of the costs of expansion will be paid for through federal funding for the first 3 years. Beginning in 2017, Montana will pick up a small portion of the costs, paying no more than 10% from 2020 forward. This means that by investing a small amount of state dollars in our administrative capacity to expand the program, we can open access to healthcare for up to 60,000 Montanans.

We are so excited about this opportunity, and we’ll keep you updated as this policy discussion progresses. For now, we hope you’ll write your legislators and let them know how important it is to support Medicaid expansion!

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Kim Abbott

Bullock includes Medicaid expansion in budget (billingsgazette.com)
Medicaid, health care issues likely to be contentious at 2013 Legislature (missoulian.com)
Groups push for Medicaid expansion (thegazette.com)
Republican Governors Opt-In to Medicaid Expansion (my.firedoglake.com)
UM economist touts Medicaid expansion; legislator says Montana solution needed (missoulian.com)

Today’s Must-Read: Richard Blanco

Jan22 by D Gregory Smith

If you’re haunted sometimes by memories of “gay terror” from your childhood- especially when it involved family- this essay is for you. In reading it, I recognized so much of the familiar and long-past memories of shame and fear that molded me, that sent me- much later- into the world with clearer purpose. I also recognized the stories of clients and friends- and not just gay friends- many of us eventually disappointed or confused the people who raised us….

Excerpt:

At thirty-one, I sit at a candlelit table across from the man who will be my husband. I tell him about my grandmother and the coping mechanisms I developed; how they naturally led me to writing; mechanisms that became part of my very creative process. Becoming withdrawn and introverted, I grew to become an observer of the world, instead of a participant. In order to survive emotionally I learned to read my environment very carefully and then craft appropriate responses that would (hopefully) prevent abuse and ridicule from my grandmother. I explain to my husband-to-be that I am still that quiet, repressed boy whenever I am in a room full of people, trying to be as invisible as possible, but taking in every detail, sensory as well as emotional, that will eventually surface in a poem.

My work is often described as vivid and lush; relatives often marvel at my recollection in my poems of family events and details. Qualities I attribute directly to the skills spawned from my coping with my abuse. But beyond that, I’ve come to understand why writing and me became such a great fit. It allowed me to participate in the world, to feel alive, while remaining an invulnerable observer, safe in my room, at my desk, in my imagination where no one, especially my grandmother, could hurt me.

It’s beautiful and humble and brilliant. Please read the full essay here. And then, in case you missed it, watch Richard Blanco read his lovely poem at the president’s inauguration yesterday.

Richard Blanco named inauguration poet (rep-am.com)
Read Miami poet Richard Blanco’s inauguration poem, One Today (miamiherald.com)
Richard Blanco, Hispanic and Openly Gay, Delivers Inaugural Poem (politic365.com)

Montana Jobless Rate Low

Jan18 by D Gregory Smith

Montana’s unemployment rate continues to fall- to 5.7%.

unemployment (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

“Montana starts 2013 with a strong economy that has been adding jobs and gaining wages for over two years,” said Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy. “Although the national economy faces risks and uncertainty arising from federal tax and spending levels, I am confident that Montana’s economy will have the momentum and resilience to continue growth in the next year. Montana will continue to outperform the nation, with lower unemployment than the national average.”

Excellent news- and with Pam in charge, it’s probably not seen bottom yet.

Montana HS graduation rates increase (edweek.org)
Montana unemployment drops to 6 percent (missoulian.com)
Montana Celebrates MLK Day with Pride Foundation Support (dgsmith.org)

National Day Of Service Opportunities

Jan17 by D Gregory Smith

Looking for somewhere to plug in for Monday’s National Day of Service?

Go here.

MLK: Day of Service Taking Place All Over the Nation (newstalkcleveland.com)
Join us in a National Day of Service (ed.gov)

Truth In The Face Of Ignorance

Dec28 by D Gregory Smith

peace love joy (Photo credit: Leonard John Matthews)

Back in March, I wrote a piece about the Pope speaking to American bishops about the need for a culture war about marriage equality- and we got one. The Catholic Church was the largest single contributor (through the Bishop’s Conference, the Knights of Columbus and the National Organization For Marriage) against marriage equality initiatives in four states.

They lost.

Kind of makes you wonder what kind of help those millions of dollars would have given the poor if they hadn’t been so horribly directed against love.

Anyway, I ended that essay with with an open letter to LGBTIQ persons who live every day in the face of moral attack, physical violence and angry, ignorant, powerful people. We may have come a long way this year, but we’re not there yet.

So- if I may be so bold- I’d like to reprint the letter as a reminder that we need to find inspiration in ourselves. We need to remember that in the face of ignorance, we must continually speak the quiet, powerful truth of purpose and experience.

And I need to be reminded just as much as anybody else.

To my LGBTIQ family,

Love toward yourself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is important and necessary to insist on respect for your own right to life. I believe you were created to fill a very important place in this world- a place often dramatically misunderstood and opposed by people out of ignorance and fear.

It is crucial that you understand that you are not alone- there are millions of people who want to understand you and accept you and who will love you. You have the right to be understood- and you have the right to love and be loved in the ways you feel are most faithful to your created nature.

You have the right to live free from fear of attack and violence. You have the right to defend yourself against ignorant attacks on your dignity, happiness and self-respect. You have the right to fulfill your potential and to follow your heart and mind and soul and dreams to the best of your ability. Despite ignorance, despite persecution, despite fear and power and hate.

I believe that we are all beloved by the God of our understanding. I believe that we are valuable in being beloved. And that value is not diminished, even in the face of anger, fear and ignorance. Even in the face of religious belief which would deny us that value.

We are a courageous, wonderful people, with visions of love and acceptance and equality and happiness that I believe are deeply important to the future of the world.

I beg you, don’t let go of these visions- no matter how strongly others try to pull them away from you. They are your birthright.

They are the key hope to a world filled with peace.

Amen.

Where are we going with marriage equality? (jaypinho.com)
Update on Catholic Financing of Marriage Equality Opposition (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
Roman Catholic Church Gave $2 Million To Stop Marriage Equality (towleroad.com)
Sorry, Orphans, The Catholic Church Spent That $2 Million To Fight Marriage Equality (queerty.com)
Catholic Mom Takes on U.S. Bishops (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
Pope Benedict denounces gay marriage during his annual Christmas message (nydailynews.com)

CDC: HIV Cases Decline for Black Women, Increase for Gay Men

Dec21 by D Gregory Smith

Some disturbing news. From Reuters:

The CDC reported that the number of new cases of HIV among black women declined 21 percent between 2008 and 2010, while the incidence of HIV among young gay and bisexual men rose by 22 percent in the same time frame. The rate of HIV infections among black women remains 20 times higher than the number of new cases in white women, and HIV-infected black women account for 70 percent of HIV incidence among all women. Men who have sex with men comprised almost two-thirds of all new HIV infections in 2010.

Joseph Prejean, chief of the Behavioral and Clinical Surveillance Branch in CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, attributed the decline in new HIV cases among black women to HIV testing and the success of HIV

Drugs (Photo credit: Images_of_Money)

awareness campaigns. “Treatment advances” for AIDS may have caused young men to underestimate their risk and the health threat posed by HIV”, said Prejean. Although anti-retroviral treatment prolongs life, HIV-infected individuals can expect to take medicine for the rest of their lives, at an estimated lifetime cost of $400,000. (emphasis mine)

Young black men who have sex with men have the highest HIV incidence of any population group within the United States. An earlier CDC report stated that 26 percent of new HIV cases occurred among young people age 13 to 24. Half of HIV-infected young people do not know their HIV status, reported CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD.

Read the full article here.

HIV Patients Lose More Years To Smoking Than HIV (dgsmith.org)
CDC: Half of young people with HIV don’t know it (thechart.blogs.cnn.com)
Breaking News: Young Gay, Bisexual Black Males Hit Hardest By HIV Infection (thebuzzcincy.com)
CDC Reports Troubling Rise in HIV Infections Among Young People (pbs.org)

One Of The Best Kept Secrets In The LGBT Community

Dec20 by D Gregory Smith

Secret (Photo credit: val.pearl)

Want to know what it is?

Click here.

Donors For Marriage Equality Dwarfed Those Who Opposed It

Dec13 by D Gregory Smith

Human Rights Campaign 2791 (Photo credit: tedeytan)

From HRC Blog:
The number of contributors who gave in support of marriage for gay and lesbian couples was thirteen times greater – about 133,000 compared to an estimated 10,500 – than those giving financial resources to oppose marriage equality. That’s according to a new analysis HRC released today.

Polls consistently show – USA Today/Gallup and ABC News/Washington Post being the latest examples – that a majority of Americans support committed gay and lesbian couples getting a marriage license.

HRC obtained financial contribution data in each of the four states through the Maine Ethics Commission, Maryland Board of Elections, Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board and Washington Public Disclosure Commission. Supplemental data was obtained from each of the pro-marriage equality ballot committees to account for small donors not required to be itemized by law. Anti-marriage equality donor information was aggregated from currently available public reports and estimates of non-itemized contributions.

Pro-equality groups raised more than $34 million in the four states, mostly from small donors. Anti-marriage equality campaigns raised $12 million, of which nearly two-thirds ($8 million) came from just three sources: the National Organization for Marriage, the Catholic Church and its affiliate the Knights of Columbus.

NOM, the largest funder in all four states to defeat marriage equality, saw a one-third decline in contributions for 2011, with two donors providing 75 percent of its funding, according to tax returns obtained last month by HRC.