Welcome 2010

Happy New Year 2010 to everyone. We expect this year to be a wonderful one. We have a lot of new, great, opportunities presenting themselves to us in this first month.

Ryan has received a promotion at work in which he'll be doing what he first intended when he started his job. The best part is the increase in pay, of course! As for myself, I'm greatly enjoying my new job.

In addition with work I have been presented with some wonderful opportunities with HRC. My co-chair, Renaldo has asked me to join one of his companies, Vertu Entertainment, as Director of Service for the non-profit Vertu Catalyst. My first project will be to work with Project Cure where I intend to create a service project in which we bring members of many organizations together to meet Project Cure's goal of providing medical equipment to nations in need throughout the world. I'm extremely honored to be asked to join such a great company, and excited for the work I'll be doing.

Ryan's 21st birthday is quickly approaching on Friday, the 22nd of January. Anyone that knows me, is aware of how terrible I am at keeping secrets and gifts. This past weekend I caved and gave Ryan all his gifts, including a Louis Vuitton messenger bag that he hasn't been able to part with. He doesn't know I bought another gift for him this afternoon while he was at work. I'm determined to hold on to it until Friday.

Saturday night Ryan had the opportunity to meet Renaldo and others within our community. We watched "The Book of Eli" at the Pavilions on 16th Street Mall. We met up with and were introduced to Morris, whom I expect I'll be working with at the Gill Foundation, and a young cutie named Josh. The group was split 50/50 on whether we liked "The Book of Eli".

We have a very busy year ahead of us and I look forward to working in Colorado to help re-elect our Democrat majority, both locally and nationally. I also look forward to progressing equality for the LGBT community. There are several educational seminars and forums we're planning to hold during 2010, for a number of issues. We're hoping to partner with businesses and places of worship throughout the state.

I look forward to taking Ryan to the exhibition Genghis Khan at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I had the opportunity to go two weeks ago with Ali and Matt. It ends soon, so if you haven't experienced it yet I suggest you go immediately. The next exhibit will be Body Worlds. We'll be sure to invite you all along for an afternoon of fun and education. In addition to local trips I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my mom will fly out for a vacation and trip to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. Hint, hint....

To all our friends and family, Happy 2010! We hope to spend time with each and every one of you throughout the year. Keep up the fight for equality and health care for every American!

Baby Bottom Cakes

We've finally begun to finalize our business making baby diaper cakes. We've agreed to name our company "Baby Bottom Cakes". Thank you to Grandmother for coming up with the name. Please feel free to print some of the flyers out and place them around your work and neighborhood. We can deliver them by hand in and around Denver, and the diaper cakes can be safely shipped throughout the country in a timely manner. If you have friends or loved ones that have a baby on the way, get with friends and order a cake from us. You won't regret it I promise. One of these will also make the PERFECT gift for a baby's first Christmas

Baby Bottom Cakes Flyer

An Evening at the Circus

Friday evening we had a great date night. We try to make time just for us at least once a month. Last year we went to Cirque du Soleil, Corteo. It's about a clown that is having a vision of his own funeral. We enjoyed the stunning acrobatics and acting.

Some how, this year we had an even greater time when we went to watch Cirque du Soleil, KOOZA. We couldn't have had better seats. We managed to get front row, FRONT ROW, seats. The trapeze performer was swinging and flipping above our heads. Throughout the performance the artists were closer than arms length to us.

KOOZA tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.

The Innocent's journey brings him into contact with a panoply of comic characters such as the King, the Trickster, the Pickpocket, and the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog.

Between strength and fragility, laughter and smiles, turmoil and harmony, KOOZA explores themes of fear, identity, recognition and power. The show is set in an electrifying and exotic visual world full of surprises, thrills, chills, audacity and total involvement.

The most electrifying point of the show was when two of the actors were running on the Wheel of Death. If you've never seen it in action before, you must. Before they began, plastic was draped on either side of the Wheel. It wasn't netting for a fall, but plastic, I assume for the splattering of blood, should one of the men fall. There was a heart-stopping second when one of the actors tripped while jumping rope on the outside top of the spinning Wheel of Death.

We look forward to next months date at the Buell Theatre. We are planning on seeing the Broadway musical Wicked. It is our hope to join a few friends this time. Of course, we'll still keep most of the night to ourselves, have dinner together and enjoy a slow walk to the Theatre in the brisk October evening.

We haven't bought tickets yet, so if anyone would like to contribute to our evening, or join us, please feel free to. We never object to early Hanukka/Christmas/birthday gifts.

Living Liberally Honors HRC

Each Monday evening, a group of progressives gather to drink wine, eat food, and share their thoughts on politics with like-minded friends. This weeks focus was on the Human Rights Campaign, and the legislation, both locally and nationally, that is being worked on in the 111th Congress. Nancy Cronk, the administrator of the group, made White Knots and handed them out to all present. I was then asked to speak.

I shared what HRC is working on, with the 15-20 people that gathered. We discussed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill, Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, and Don't Ask Don't Tell, amongst several others.

Having met with most of my senators and representatives I had some insight to share of what they would like from the community and where they stand on repealing anti-LGBT laws, and enacting civil rights equality for all Americans. I am happy to say that I live in a district where my elected officials stand on the side of equality, not hate.

Overall, the evening was very informative for the group and for me. I have great input to return to the state steering committee with and share amongst the LGBT community. It was very heartfelt to have so many "straight" supporters want more information on what they can do to progress pro-LGBT legislation. As in all cases, call your Senators and Representatives and tell them you support equality for all Americans.

After speaking, and eating dinner, I had a moment to speak with Nancy. I thanked her for allowing me to speak to her group and share a message that was so personal for me. Something she said to me has stuck in my mind and rolled over and over again over the past 24 hours. She said, "It's all about love." So simple, yet so telling of her heart and love for all people. If we disregard all of the negatives we've been taught, and instead live based on this one statement, "It's all about love," we could accomplish so much more in our world.

No Excuses

Last night members of the GLBT community in Denver and surrounding cities had the opportunity to meet with Senator Michael Bennet's State Director Rosemary Rodriguez.

Rosemary started off asking that the meeting be personal, open and informative both for us and for her.

Prior to the meeting, before she arrived, a few of us were sitting around talking, discussing what we hoped to hear, what we wanted to portray, and offering up questions to ask if the meeting hit a point where there was silence. One of the questions I was hoping to hear was what Senator Bennet did for GLBT employees as superintendent of Denver Public Schools. It was encouraging to hear that he extended benefits to same-sex couples that were previously enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

Senator Bennet is in favor of expanding the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity. To show his support he became a co-sponsor of the Matthew Shepard Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Currently the senator sits on the Homeland Security Committee. Up for discussion is extending medical benefits to same-sex couples(I don't remember which bill this is so if anyone wants to expand on this please do).

There was a great question asked of what we can can do as a community to give the Senator coverage/protection when he votes in favor of pro-equality legislation. Rosemary made it very clear that once the senator makes up his mind whether he supports legislation or not his decision is final. Recently he was in a very unfriendly atmosphere, right outside Colorado Springs(city starts with a "F"?), and someone asked him what he thought about Marriage Equality. He stated that he believed it was a state right, and that if it were up for a vote in Colorado he absolutely would vote in favor of Marriage Equality. I find it very encouraging that in an atmosphere where he felt he had to be on guard he remained resolute in his support of equality and his own convictions.

I'm very thankful Rosemary spoke in depth about DOMA and how she is working with him in the coming days to bring him up to speed on GLBT legislation. Rosemary seemed very interested in having us all be in contact with her and Senator Bennet in the future and sharing our personal stories with him. Preferably, she would like as many stories as possible of how DOMA has adversely affected the GLBT community in Colorado. It is her hope to have these stories to share with Senator Bennet when the meet in the coming days. It is his belief that it is very important to share the stories of Coloradans when he is speaking on the Senate floor and touring the state. If DOMA has had a negative impact on your life please email your story to Rosemary Rodriguez.

There were many other questions asked and topics covered, but these are what I found most compelling. Hopefully, in the coming weeks we will have the opportunity to again sit down with Rosemary and discuss these issues in more depth, after she has had a meeting with Senator Bennet. It is our hope too that he will be present.

Thank you to Senator Bennet for sharing Rosemary with our community, and thank you to those in the Human Rights Campaign that made this meeting possible.

You can read more about this forum on HRC Backstory.

Debunking Canadian Health Care Myths

I just read one of the most enlightening articles comparing our health system to Canada. In addition to reading this article I recently watch a program online from PBS about how inferior our health care is in relation to Canada and nearly all of Europe. I had no idea that we spend nearly 17% of our GDP on health care while others are spending 10%. With their 10% they're covering 100% of their citizens while our 17% leaves out more than 15% of our citizens. That's nearly 47 million Americans!

The fear tactics of "wait times" and "government control" are unfounded. They're simply fear tactics spread by the large insurance and pharmacy corporations to scare us in to not taking the appropriate action of single payer health care, or at the least a public option.

Everyone needs to call their congressmen (DC switchboard: 202-224-3121) and demand either single payer or a public option to bring health care to ALL American citizens and bring the prices of private health insurance down. What would you do with the extra 6% of your yearly income? I know of a few ways I could stimulate my local economy...

I've left my thoughts and comments on the two following articles.

Debunking Canadian health care myths:
http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_12523427

Colorado Senator Polis: Obama will help individuals, economy:
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_12940518

PBS Special:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html

After watching the following PBS special tell me what you think of the the underlying truth about our "best health care system in the world". Feel a little blindsided yet?I've made my phone calls. Now it's your turn.