Comedian Dana Goldberg

Comedian Dana Goldberg is set to headline at Seattle Women’s Pride this June. Goldberg is a highly acclaimed comedian, who has shared the a stage with President Barack Obama, Portia DeGeneres, Lady Gaga, Jane Lynch, Kathy Griffin and many more. She has also been named one of CURVE Magazine’s top five funniest lesbian comedians in America. In addition to being incredibly funny, Goldberg also gives back to the community- frequently performing at fundraisers for HIV/AIDS and LGBT awareness.

Goldberg is a natural fit to headline at Seattle Women’s Pride. “Dana is a hoot! We absolutely love her, and she is a good friend,” said Seattle Women’s Pride founder and producer Sarah Toce. “We’re so glad she accepted our offer to come out and play this Pride.”

We sat down with Goldberg to discuss her upcoming performance at Seattle Women’s Pride, what to do when you run into an ex at Pride and her best Pride memory.

How do comedians celebrate pride?

Well, I can’t speak for all of us, but I day drink and make poor life choices.  Kidding…sorta. Usually we’re on stage entertaining the masses with a lot of drunk screaming sunburned proud gays in the audience. I actually really enjoy going to the parades and having an adult beverage or two with some friends. I don’t work a lot of the pride festivals so I’m excited to headline Seattle Women’s Pride this year.

How did you get involved with Seattle Women’s Pride?

Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to build a relationship with Sarah Toce, the creator and producer of the event. I’ve been performing once a year in Seattle at Theater Off Jackson to an awesome sold out crowd, so I’m excited to bring my long show to the pride stage for the ladies. It’s going to be a fantastic weekend.

If you’re at Seattle Women’s Pride and you see your ex-girlfriend. What should you do?

Assuming you aren’t actually there with her? You know we’re all friends six months later. If it was a good break up, say hi, visit, you might even make out after a couple of dances and some vodka. If it was a bad breakup, just turn around and walk the other direction. No one needs that kinda drama at pride. Be smart ladies *cue shooting star* The more you know.

What advice would you give to people looking to hook up at Pride?

Make sure the girl is single! Other than that, just be careful of still photography. That shit will end up on Facebook before the night is over.

Tell me your favorite Pride memory.

I had the pleasure of marching in San Francisco’s Pride parade a couple of years ago and there was a sweet male couple in front of me holding hands with a sign that read “47 years together…and finally legally married.” It really puts things into perspective what the LGBT community has accomplished over the years, and now Pride is more of a reason to celebrate those accomplishments…while day drinking! Unfortunately, that couple is never the one who is featured on the front page of the newspaper the next day. It’s always someone in ass chaps with no pants wearing a rainbow boa in 6 inch heels and I’m like, “Is that my English professor?!”

Want to see Dana perform at Seattle Women’s Pride? Tickets are available via Stranger Tickets at $30 General Admission and $45 VIP. The VIP Experience gets guests closer to the action with Priority Entrance, a Meet-and-Greet with Dana after the show, Swag Bags, and more. Visit seattlewomenspride or strangertickets.com/events/31940901/comedian-dana-goldberg-at-seattle-womens-pride for more information.

The post Seattle Pride headliner Dana Goldberg on how to survive pride in the social media age and more first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Then presidential candidate Barack Obama dancing with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in 2007

BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com

On the heels of his controversial appearance on the Funny or Die web series “Between Two Ferns,” President Barack Obama will be making an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” today. The visit will be the first since he was elected President in 2008.

As was the case with the President’s “Between Two Ferns” guest spot, Obama’s primary focus will be t0 encourage people to sign up for health care via the government’s healthcare.org site prior to the March 31 deadline.

A publicist from “Ellen” indicated that the President will be featured in a live shot from the White House, rather than on set with the host.

Watch Barack Obama dance with Ellen during his appearance on her show in 2007.

The post Obama brings health care pitch to ‘Ellen’ first appeared on Lesbian.com.

President Barack Obama drew criticism from Republicans this week after his appearance on “Between Two Ferns” with Zack Galifianakis.

While it appears that the President’s visit to the Funny or Die web series was a success — Obama managed to both demonstrate his flare for comedy while sending droves of viewers to the Healthcare.org website — those on the right seized the opportunity to pounce on the President, asserting that his appearance was undignified.

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, however, debunked those critics in a segment on her show earlier this week.

The post Maddow takes on critics of Obama’s ‘Between Two Ferns’ appearance first appeared on Lesbian.com.

This quote from President Obama’s second inauguration is an example of his acknowledgement of LGBT Americans.

BY MORGAN WELCH
dot429

A study by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on contemporary US presidents’ use of the word “gay” in public speeches or statements found that current president Barack Obama has said it the most, with 272 instances in the five years since his inauguration in 2009 and has used the widest LGBT vocabulary; the report found that he said “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual,” and “transgender” 421 times in total.  Second place went to Bill Clinton, who said “gay” 216 times while in office. He said it 46 times in reference to gays in the military and 80 times when discussing hate crime legislation. In 1998, during Clinton’s second term, University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was beaten to death for being gay; his murder put anti-gay violence on the national radar and furthered efforts to enact laws against hate crimes.

In contrast, between 2001 and 2009, George W. Bush said “gay” only twice, and one use was to express disapproval of same-sex marriage.

Read more at dot429.com

The post Words matter: How much ‘gay’ does the President say? first appeared on Lesbian.com.

President Barack Obama speaks at former South African president Nelson Mandela’s memorial service near Johannesburg. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

BY CHRIS JOHNSON
Washington Blade

President Obama made a veiled reference to the struggle for gay rights across the world in his speech at the memorial service in South Africa honoring the life of the Nelson Mandela. Under the leadership of Mandela, South Africa became the first country in the world to add a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation into its constitution. Obama made the reference to gay rights — saying people around the world are still persecuted for “who they love.”

“The struggles that follow the victory of formal equality or universal franchise may not be as filled with drama and moral clarity as those that came before, but they are no less important,” Obama said. “For around the world today, we still see children suffering from hunger and disease. We still see run-down schools. We still see young people without prospects for the future. Around the world today, men and women are still imprisoned for their political beliefs, and are still persecuted for what they look like, and how they worship, and who they love. That is happening today.”

Read more at Washington Blade

Washington Blade is America’s leading gay news source

The post President Obama mentions gay rights in Mandela memorial speech first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Some artful editing of President Obama‘s speeches by ORHS Art Media Productions provided this tribute to Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way,” the gay anthem of 2011.

The post President Obama: ‘Born This Way’ first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Americans again this year name Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama as the Most Admired Woman and Most Admired Man living in any part of the world.

Clinton has been the Most Admired Woman each of the last 11 years, and Obama has been the Most Admired Man five years in a row.

Read more at TheSeattleLesbian.com

The Seattle Lesbian online magazine reaches more than 188,000 readers per week globally.

The post Clinton, Obama voted ‘most admired’ first appeared on Lesbian.com.

With the 2012 election looming, we have been bombarded by campaign ads, donation solicitations, and phone calls asking us to pledge our support for some candidate or other.  While our perspectives on economics, religious institutions, military action, and social welfare programs certainly vary, the LGBTQ+ community shares some unique struggles.  Collectively, we are still working toward social equality and facing major civil rights issues. Legislation directly and specifically impacting our community is at play in this year’s presidential election.

Lesbian.com has created a list of some dominant issues affecting women and LGBTQ+ persons. We’ve narrowed it down to a critical few: abortion and contraception, same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption rights, anti-discrimination legislation (including bullying and hate crime protection), pay equity for women, trans* rights, and women’s health care.

ABORTION

Romney:

• Romney does not support abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life.
• Has pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
• Would eliminate federal funding for any groups that “advocate” abortions, including Planned Parenthood.

Obama:

• Obama supports women’s abortion rights.
• Wants to uphold Roe v. Wade, but has limited federal funding of abortions.
• “We shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, the majority of whom are men, making heath care decisions on behalf of women.”

 CONTRACEPTION

Romney:

• Does not oppose contraception overall, but his anti-abortion stance is in a slippery position; IUDs and Emergency Contraception/Plan B can prevent fertilized eggs from being implanted.
• Vetoed a bill to improve access to emergency contraception while governor of Mass.
• Backed Senator Roy Blunt’s, R-Mo., proposal in congress that would allow contraception coverage to be denied if provider found it morally objectionable. This proposition failed.
• Does not support federal funding for family planning services or Planned Parenthood.

Obama:

• Supports full access to contraceptives.
• Supports insurance companies providing access to contraception free of charge.
• Supports federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other family planning services.

 ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION

Romney:

• Vetoed a bill funding hate crime prevention in Massachusetts.
• Flip-flopped on ENDA, the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, stating “I don’t see the need for new or special legislation.”

Obama:

• Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act* to include sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity as protected statuses by the federal government.
• Launched StopBullying.Gov which expressly addresses the issues of bullied LGBT youth.
• Supports ENDA, an act that would protect LGBT persons from discrimination in the work place.

 SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Romney:

• Opposes same-sex marriage and supports a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
• Does not support civil unions as an alternative.
• Supports DOMA, the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act that prohibits same-sex unions and allows the non-recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states (ex: a couple legally wed in Massachusetts will not necessarily receive any marital benefits if they relocate to, say, Alabama). Romney has vowed to appoint an Attorney General who will uphold DOMA.
• Promises to “champion” the Federal Marriage Amendment to disallow same-sex marriage and prohibit states from choosing to permit same-sex marriage. (This act is widely considered a violation of states’ rights).

Obama:

• First sitting US president to voice support for same-sex marriage.
  
• Believes individual states should make decisions regarding marriage equality.
• Opposes DOMA, calling it unconstitutional. Has advised the Justice Department to cease defense of DOMA.

 SAME-SEX ADOPTION

Romney:

• Before launching his campaign for the presidency, Romney was vocal about adoption only by a man-woman couple. The campaign’s official stance now is that it should be left up to individual states.

Obama:

• All “qualified caregivers” should be given the opportunity to adopt “regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or marital status.”

 PAY EQUITY FOR WOMEN

Romney:

•  Supports pay equity for women.

Obama:

• Supports pay equity for women. 
• Signed the 2009 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to give women a longer time to file wage discrimination suits.
• Supports the Paycheck Fairness Act, which makes providing evidence of wage discrimination easier for women.

 WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE

Romney:

• Intends to immediately provide state waivers to temporarily invalidate “Obamacare.”
• Believes healthcare should be at the state level. This would eliminate guarantees of coverage for women and void Obama’s promise of contraceptive coverage.

Obama:

• Obama’s healthcare plan, which will not be fully in effect until 2014, requires mammograms, prenatal care, and certain cancer screening to be available for no co-pay. Insurance must also cover domestic violence screening, breast feeding supplies, and birth control (religious organizations are exempt).

 TRANS* RIGHTS

Romney

• Trans rights issues are not expressly in his campaign platform.
• As governor of Massachusetts, Romney’s administration objected to the publication of an anti-bullying guide by the Department of Public Health because of the use of the words “bisexual” and “transgender.” (The guide was published under his democratic successor, Deval Patrick).

Obama:

• Obama appointed Amanda Simpson as senior technical adviser in the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. Simpson is the first known transgender presidential appointment.
• Held the first presidential press conference on transgender issues.
• The Huffington Post blog published a list of positive actions for the trans* community made by president Obama that you can view here.

The federal election will take place November 6, 2012. To see if your state has specific voter identification requirements, please check the National Conference of State Legislature‘s web page.

The post A lesbian guide to the 2012 election first appeared on Lesbian.com.

In an extreme interpretation reminiscent of Ellen DeGeneres’ comedy bit about marrying a goat, a blog post at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) asserts that Sarah Jessica Parker’s Obama for America campaign ad implies that Obama “is now in favor of redefining marriage so that it can be any union at all—which is to say, he is in favor of abolishing any publicly normative definition of marriage.”

“If you should be able to marry ‘anyone you want,’ then you should be able to marry someone who is already married, you should be able to marry your father, your mother, your sister, your brother, whoever,” writes Carson Holloway in making his case that the president intends to redefine marriage to include both incest and polygamy.

Apparently realizing the absurdity of his statement, Holloway later acknowledges that, undoubtedly, “the president does not really intend to say this,” then asks, “But why not, at least on the logic of the left wing marriage nihilists whose rhetoric he is parroting?”

As Parker’s ad implies, she and Vogue editor Anna Wintour will be co-hosting a June 14 fundraiser for the president’s reelection campaign. The “Sex in the City” star is opening up her New York home to the event and offering seats at her table to sweepstakes winners, a tradition initiated by George Clooney.

Transgender witness set to make U.S. history
For the first time in history, an openly transgender person is scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate. Kylar Broadus is set to address the lack of federal employment LGBT non-discrimination protections and the need to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Broadus, founder of the Columbia, Mo., based Trans People of Color Coalition, is one of five witnesses who will speak during the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing titled, “Equality at Work: The Employment Non-Discrimination Act.” Previous Senate hearings on the topic in 2009 had no transgender witnesses. A House hearing held around that time featured testimony from Vandy Beth Glenn, who was fired from her job at the Georgia General Assembly for being transgender.

Denmark approves gay church weddings
Lawmakers in Copenhagen voted 85-24 to change Denmark’s marriage laws. Same-sex couples will now be able to get married in formal church weddings instead of the short blessing ceremonies that the state’s Lutheran Church currently offers.

Denmark has been ahead of the curve in regard to gay marriage rights, having been the first country to allow the registration of gay partnerships (in 1989) and permitting gay couples to wed in special blessing ceremonies at the end of regular church service (since 1997).

The post News: NOM says Obama advocates incest and polygamy first appeared on Lesbian.com.

By Charlene Strong
dot429

I had the great pleasure of participating in a global discussion presented by the World Affairs Council called Gay Rights as Human Rights. The event focused on LGBT equality and the atrocities that many people face simply because of their sexual orientation. The purpose of the symposium was to get people to think about gay rights on a much broader scale. The discussion seemed more than appropriate with the endorsement of same-sex marriage by President Obama less than two weeks prior…

Read more at dot429.com

dot429 is an online and event-driven professional social network and online magazine for the LGBTA community. Connect, engage, discover, inspire at dot429.com

The post Advocate Charlene Strong discusses the equality movement first appeared on Lesbian.com.