Losangelesblade.com, Volume 05, Issue 35, August 27, 2021

WeHo Mayor Horvath passes baton to Meister

The city changed its top leadership Monday evening as the Council unanimously voted for Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Meister to become the new mayor and Council member Sepi Shyne to take over as Mayor Pro Tem. Both women are set to assume their roles on Sept. 20.

Both had been nominated by Mayor Lindsey Horvath, who has served since 2019, and is a declared candidate in the race for the seat for the 3rd Los Angeles County Supervisorial District of Los Angeles County, which includes West Hollywood. The current Supervisor Sheila Kuehl is retiring at the end of this term.

“It’s the first time in history a woman has nominated two women” for the positions, Horvath remarked. “I’m very excited to be handing off this baton.”

This will be the second term Meister has served as the city’s mayor.

The terms of both mayor and Mayor Pro Tem will last until January 2023 — a year and four months — in an action taken by council in order to re-align their terms of office with the beginning of a calendar year.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

NATIONAL

FTC again sues Facebook over anti-trust violations

The Federal Trade Commission announced last week that it is suing the Menlo Park, Calif.-based social media giant Facebook alleging that after repeated failed attempts to develop innovative mobile features for its network, Facebook instead resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance.

In June, Judge James Emanuel Boasberg seated on the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia, tossed the FTC’s first filing ruling that Federal prosecutors failed to show that Facebook with its acquisitions of the mobile messaging platform WhatsApp and social media App Instagram currently controls more than 60 percent of the U.S. marketplace for social networking.

“Facebook lacked the business acumen and technical talent to survive the transition to mobile. After failing to compete with new innovators, Facebook illegally bought or buried them when their popularity became an existential threat,” said Holly Vedova, FTC Bureau of Competition Acting Director.

“This conduct is no less anticompetitive than if Facebook had bribed emerging app competitors not to compete. The antitrust laws were enacted to prevent precisely this type of illegal activity by monopolists. Facebook’s actions have suppressed innovation and product quality improvements. And they have degraded the social network experience, subjecting users to lower levels of privacy and data protections and more intrusive ads. The FTC’s action today seeks to put an end to this illegal activity and restore competition for the benefit of Americans and

honest businesses alike.”

In June Judge Boasberg also threw out a parallel suit by 48 attorneys general representing states and U.S. territories. He found that they had waited too long to challenge the 2012 Instagram and 2014 WhatsApp deals. The states are appealing that decision, Politico reported.

In answer to the lawsuit charging that the company was engaged in monopolistic practices, Facebook spokesperson Christopher Sgro argued: “There was no valid claim that Facebook was a monopolist — and that has not changed. Our acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were reviewed and cleared many years ago, and our platform policies were lawful. The FTC’s claims are an effort to rewrite antitrust laws and upend settled expectations of merger review, declaring to the business community that no sale is ever final.”

The FTC’s allegations of monopoly power detailed statistics showing that Facebook had dominant market shares in the U.S. personal social networking market. The suit also provides new direct evidence that Facebook has the power to control prices or exclude competition; significantly reduce the quality of its offering to users without losing a significant number of users or a meaningful amount of user engagement; and exclude competition by driving actual or potential competitors out of business.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Anti-maskers gather in Santa Monica to protest COVID mandates

Hundreds of Angelenos angered by what they are saying is government overreach gathered for the S.O.S. California No Vaccine Passport rally Saturday. The protest comes as Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles are moving to require proof of vaccination or stringent COVID-19 testing for government workers and inside businesses.

The rally occurred as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was poised to fully approve fi er Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine, which it did on Tuesday.

fi er’s vaccine has been in use in the . . based on an emergency authori ation.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed new deaths and , new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as the Delta Variant cases continue to impact the region. One of those COVID-19 deaths was a teen between the ages of 12 and 17.

There are , people with C VID- currently hospitali ed and of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly , , individuals with of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is . . “Everyone who is not yet vaccinated needs to know they do not have the same protection as vaccinated people. While the highest hospitali ation rate is among older unvaccinated adults over , hospitali ations in younger unvaccinated adults between the ages of and have increased since uly ,” said arbara Ferrer, Director of ublic Health. “ elative to unvaccinated adults, hospitali ation rates among vaccinated adults of all ages remain very low. The data continues to show how well protected vaccinated people are from bad outcomes. Our top priority is vaccinating those not yet vaccinated.”

Fed’l lawsuit seeks to stop recall or add Newsom to ballot

In a federal lawsuit filed in . . District Court for the Central District of California last Friday, two registered voters residing in the state of California are asking the court to either stop the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom or add his name to the ballot.

In the court filing and as reported by olitico, attorneys for the plaintiffs, ex ulian eaber and A. . Clark, are challenging the constitutionality of the recall law process writing: “This process is violative of the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, because it ies in the face of the federal legal principle of one person, one vote,” and gives to voters who vote to recall the overnor two votes one to remove him and one to select a successor, but limits to only one vote the franchise of those who vote to retain him and that he not be recalled, so that a person who votes for recall has twice as many votes as a person who votes against recall. This is unconstitutional both on its face and as applied.”

The plaintiffs are asking that the court issue an in unction prohibiting the recall election or add ewsom’s name to the replacement candidate list on part two of the ballot. nder California law, the recall elections specify in the first part a yes or no question to recall the governor. If a ma ority of voters e ect ewsom, then the second part with its list of replacement choices comes into play with the candidate who receives the most votes would then become governor.

onday was the state’s deadline to mail out the approximately million ballots by elections officials. According to the California ecretary of tate’s office Tuesday that has been accomplished.

olitico reported that rwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the niversity of California, erkeley chool of aw, in an op-ed published in the ew ork Times pointed out that the structure of the ballot “allows a replacement candidate to be elected with a small plurality and potentially with far fewer votes than the number of votes cast to keep

the current governor.”

“The court could declare the recall election procedure unconstitutional and leave it to California to devise a constitutional alternative,” Chemerinsky wrote. r it could simply add r. ewsom’s name on the ballot to the list of those running to replace him. That simple change would treat his supporters equally to others and ensure that if he gets more votes than any other candidate, he will stay in office.”

In an interview onday with olitico’s eremy hite and colleague Debra ahn, California’s Attorney eneral ob onta acknowledged the lawsuit and ongoing underlying legal debate.

e’re aware of that argument and some of the other concerns and we’ll be making sure we stay abreast of this issue and monitoring it,” onta said, adding of the lawsuit, e’ll be coordinating with the secretary of state’s office to determine next steps.

ewsom has been traveling the state battling efforts to replace him in the ept. recall election. During several campaign stops he warned of dire consequences should one of the top six epublicans or other candidates on the second part of ballot be selected.

peaking to campaign workers, at tables full of phone-banking volunteers at Hecho en exico restaurant during a stop in the an abriel neighborhood of ast os Angeles this past weekend, ewsom told them, Though we defeated Trump, we didn’t defeat Trumpism. Trumpism is still alive and well, even here in the state of California. If you don’t believe me, ust consider the likely person to enter an oath of office, to enter in the governor’s office in ust a matter of weeks if we don’t re ect this recall.”

Democrats across the state are making a full court press to thwart any Republican candidate from obtaining the governor’s chair.

Equality California and the California Democratic Party will host an LGBTQ+ Californians Against the epublican ecall Day of Action on Thursday, featuring a virtual rally with LGBTQ+ leaders and a volunteer phone bank to help get out the vote.

peakers will include California Insurance Commissioner icardo ara, quality California xecutive Director ick Chave bur, an Francisco Democratic arty Chair Honey ahogany and os Angeles County Democratic arty Chair ark on ale .

A new statewide poll of , registered voters taken one week ago shows an increase from a similar poll taken at the end of last month which showed that the percentage of voters to recall was versus those who would vote to keep ewsom at . The poll had also recorded that undecided voters comprised of the total with the poll having a margin of error of of - .

BRODY LEVESQUE

Elder investigated for failure to declare income

Larry Elder, the anti-LGBTQ right wing radio host who is running as a conservative Republican in the recall election to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, is under investigation for failure to properly disclose all of his income sources a spokesman with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, CF C confirmed to media outlets Sunday.

The California Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Commission alleging that Elder failed to properly disclose one of his businesses and its sources of income after a story regarding those facts was first published by the Los Angeles Times on August 13.

California’s campaign fi nance law states that candidates for public office are required to file a public statement of economic interests that discloses some aspects of their personal finances, including stocks, gifts, real estate and sources of income.

According to the A Times, lder’s initial fi ling was only two pages long and only showed income from Laurence A. Elder and Associates Inc. but did not fully disclose the fi rm’s total fi nancial data, which as sole owner he was required to disclose.

After the complaint by the California Democratic arty, lder fi led an amended statement showing he owned 100% of the company and that it is worth between , and million. The Times noted that it is diffi cult to ascertain an exact number as the CFPPC requires only broad dollar amounts to be disclosed.

The latest merson College exstar edia poll shows voters are split on whether Governor Gavin Newsom should be recalled in September: 43% say they would vote to recall ewsom at this time, and say they would vote to keep him in office. ine percent of voters are undecided. These results were similar to the arch CA merson exstar poll, where wanted to keep the overnor and favored the recall.

On the question of who they would vote for if Newsom was recalled, a majority (53%) of voters are undecided on a candidate. Within the fi eld of candidates that currently have support, Elder leads at 16%, followed by businessman ohn Cox, at 6%, and former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, at 6%. California State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, and former Olympian and reality television personality Caitlyn Jenner are at 4% each. ocial media in uencer evin aff rath is at , with the remaining 8% of voters opting to vote for someone else.

Earlier this week, adding to the controversies surrounding Elder, in an interview published by Politico with lder’s former fi ancee Alexandra Datig and producer of his radio broadcasts, Datig alleged she broke off an -month engagement with him in after he waved a gun at her while high on marijuana.

Politico reported that the alleged gun incident occurred in the midst of a heated conversation as their relationship was unraveling, according to Datig. “He was in the bedroom, and I was standing by the door,” she said. “We talked to each other.’’ He became silent, she said, and then slowly “walked over to the nightstand, opened the door, took out the gun,’’ a .45 pistol.

“And he checked if it was loaded — while I was talking,’’ she said. “He wanted to make sure I saw that he had it.”

“It was an act of silent scorn — and anger,’’ she said.

Elder took to Twitter and denounced the allegations.

arlier this month the acramento ee profi led lder reporting that the radio host is well known for opposing an increase in the minimum wage, lack ives atter and for frequently making anti-LGBTQ remarks.

BRODY LEVESQUE

Politico falsely labels Rep. Young Kim LGBTQ ‘ally’

California Congresswoman Young Kim (R-Fullerton) has a long record of opposing LGBTQ+ civil rights, spreading homophobic and transphobic misinformation and voting against legislation to protect LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and harassment in schools. Yet, despite this well-documented anti-LGBTQ+ record, Politico referred to the Congresswoman and two of her Republican colleagues — all of whom voted against the Equality Act earlier this year — as “allies” of “the gay rights movement” in an article published onday.

Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, responded with a thread of tweets detailing the Congresswoman’s anti-LGBTQ+ record and imploring the reporter to correct the story. The organization released the following statement Tuesday from xecutive Director-designate Tony Hoang

“Opposition to LGBTQ+ civil rights is perhaps the most consistent position that Young Kim has held throughout her career. From opposing marriage equality to calling protections for LGBTQ+ students a ‘stupid, crazy bill’ to voting against the Equality Act earlier this year, Young Kim has seemingly made it her mission to block full, lived equality for T people. It’s ba ing that anyone would suggest otherwise, and we’re confident that range County voters know better.” im, who has been running for office for nearly a decade, has established a long history of opposing the LGBTQ+ community. She voted against the Equality Act, opposes marriage equality, and doesn’t believe people are born with their sexual orientation or gender identity, according to reports.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

‘Ring for the Vaccine’ — HUMC announces free clinic

The Hollywood United Methodist Church has found a unique way to encourage free vaccinations at the iconic Hollywood Church with its famous bell tower at the corner of Franklin and Highland in Hollywood by hosting a free vaccine clinic on Sunday, Aug. 29. For every vaccine administered, the historic tower’s church bell will chime.

The clinic will be held between 12-5 p.m. in the church’s parking lot at 6817 Franklin Ave., at the corner of Highland and Franklin in Hollywood. The goal is to vaccinate at least Angelinos free of charge. The event will kick off with a dedication at noon with L.A. Council member Nithya Raman and HUMC Associate Pastor Birdie Roberts. Actress Pauley Perrette provided a video message to encourage participation after losing her father on Jan. 20 to COVID-19.

Rev. Kathy Cooper Ledesma, senior pastor of Hollywood United Methodist Church, says, “Being of service to our community is key to our values. Because of the COVID-19 Delta Variant surge, we want to help our community by vaccinating as many people in Los Angeles County as possible. Everyone is welcome. We are happy to partner with Los Angeles County and we’ll ring out the good news as we do.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl adds, “Every shot counts when you are battling a deadly and evolving virus. The absolute best step we can take to protect our own health and the health of everyone around us is to vaccinate as many people as we can. I’m very pleased that Hollywood United Methodist Church is hosting a vaccine clinic to make sure everyone in their community has the opportunity to receive a vaccine. Thank you to everyone for doing their part to get vaccinated and make this event happen!”

In a briefing on Aug. , .A. County ublic Health Director arbara Ferrer reported there are 3,672 new cases of COVID-19 in L.A. County per day, an increase of about 550% over last month’s infection rate. The thresholds set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still place L.A. County at a high rate of transmission.

n aturday, the os Angeles County Department of ublic Health confirmed new deaths and 3,891 new cases of COVID-19.

“While the vaccines are not perfect, and many of us may know someone who is fully vaccinated and ended up getting COVID, all three vaccines continue to do what we most need them to do: they protect from the worst outcomes of COVID-19 and allow our hospitals and clinics to continue providing the full range of services to everyone who needs health care,” said said Ferrer.

“Because the vaccines by themselves are not completely preventing transmission of the virus, masking and distancing provide layers of additional protection that is needed. To avoid requiring even more safety measures to blunt the spread of the virus, many more people must get vaccinated. This is how we can keep our schools, workplaces, and retail establishments open at full capacity. With almost 3 million L.A. County residents 12 and older still not vaccinated, our recovery journey can become compromised,” she added.

BRODY LEVESQUE

Take a class at LA County Parks this fall

Have you ever wanted to learn a new language or play a new instrument? Pick up a hobby like crocheting or cooking? Interested in learning how to code on your computer, work on your fitness goals or brush up on your painting techniques There’s no time like the present to learn a new skill or practice your existing ones at a park near you (or virtually).

A County arks offers hundreds of classes each season for a wide range of interests, age groups and budgets. Classes start Sept. 7. Virtual and in-person class options available.

Check out the fall offerings and sign up for a class to take with your loved ones, on your own to meet new friends. Meet online or at a park near you.

Choose from a wide variety of topics, ranging from arts and language classes to sports and special interest topics for all ages.

Follow LA County Parks on social media: Facebook @parks.lacounty.gov and Twitter/Instagram/ TikTok @lacountyparks. Share your experience using #LearnSomethingNew at #LACountyParks. FROM STAFF REPORTS

From surviving ‘Don’t Ask’ to Space Force: An epic journey for Gen. Lauderback esbian ag officer manages intel for newly minted service

By CHRIS JOHNSON | cjohnson@washblade.com

You might not know it, but there’s a role for the U.S. Space Force in Afghanistan. It could well be one of the many topics Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for Space Force, is briefed on each morning when she comes into her office at the entagon.

Lauderback, speaking last week with the Blade, said that speaks to the role of the newly minted service as primarily a “space-enabling capability.”

ou can’t do anything with your i hone as an example, with your computer, with the in your car without those space-enabling capabilities,” Lauderback said. “And so that truly is our role in Afghanistan, to support the United States contingent that is there today, and that’s through our capabilities or communications capabilities.”

auderback assumed the role as head of the office overseeing intelligence for pace Force last year shortly after the previous administration created it. With a record of intelligencegathering roles in her three decades of serving in the Air Force, the sister service to Space Force, auderback is a natural fit for the crucial position in the new service.

till technically serving in the Air Force, auderback said she intends to leave the role next summer for a Guardian (the term bestowed to service members in the Space Force), and was chosen for the current role because she was a senior intelligence officer at the . . pace Command. Lauderback, nonetheless, said she was eager to take on those duties for a new service because she found the work “fascinating.”

“There is a lot of activity that is happening on orbit, and it’s not all good activity, right?” she said. “There are threats that present themselves almost on a daily basis. And so we were very busy, one, standing up to command at that time but then doing operational missions on a daily basis to compete with other near-peer competitors out there as well as to mitigate areas where we were in trouble from a threat perspective.”

ne example auderback identified as a recent achievement came last year when a ussian satellite got very close to a . . satellite, and en. ohn aymond, now commanding officer of U.S. Space Force, was able to push out into the media that the United States was concerned it was a ussian weapons system. The incident, auderback said, demonstrated . . capability to call out the bad behavior and unprofessional behavior we thought of ussia.”

For an openly gay woman like Lauderback, the role as head of intelligence for a U.S. service holds special significance. uch a position would have been out of reach for an openly gay person in years past, when more LGBTQ people were closeted and the pervasive view was employing them in intelligence roles would be a national security threat if they were blackmailed.

Lauderback, who served when the military asked applicants whether or not they were homosexual and barred those who responded yes,” recogni es the importance of an openly gay woman now heading up an entire office of intelligence for a . . military service.

It’s really very significant that the fact that I can be out means that nobody can hold this over my head and I can serve openly and be the best intelligence officer that I could possibly be,” she said.

But it took a while to get there. Lauderback graduated from college in 1993, when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” became the law of the land, and has had assignments in the military since that time as she continued to pursue advanced degrees. Under that law, Lauderback had to keep quiet about being a lesbian or risk being discharged.

Certainly, when I first came out and I was really en oying my ob, and I wanted to make the Air Force a career but every day it was a concern, and absolutely made me untruthful at times, which is so embarrassing to say and humiliating at this point,” Lauderback said. “I had to lie at times. I was still hidden as a gay member in the service, but I trudged through that.” Lauderback said during the years under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” she became “less and less paranoid” and was able to find a friend at every base where she was stationed that she could trust with the truth about her sexual orientation. Those friends, she said, supported her on base and when she went on deployment.

Things changed in eptember . After former resident bama signed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, the . . military certified it was ready to allow openly gay people in its ranks. The long ban was over and Lauderback was no longer forced to keep being gay a secret.

Maj. Gen. LEAH LAUDERBACK is director of intelligence for the Space Force.

“I, like many others I’m sure, wept a little bit,” she said. “We had the conversations with friends about how different this was going to be, and it was very different. Immediately I felt the weight off my shoulders, immediately I knew that I had recourse if I felt that I was going to be discriminated against at any point in time, I felt that I knew I could go and make a complaint about things.”

Since that time, Lauderback married her spouse, Brenda Hall. The two have been happily married for years, Lauderback said.

But nearly 10 years since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was lifted, and shortly after transgender service members were allowed to begin service after resident iden reversed the previous administration’s ban, Lauderback said issues for LGBTQ service members remain and many gay service members are still afraid to come out.

For that reason, Lauderback in March helped set up the LGBTQ Initiatives Team for the Air Force and Space Force, one of the barrier-analysis working groups ordered by senior leadership. Five months later, Lauderback said the task force continues to have conversations with leadership about policies, such as wording and terminology, that make people feel unwelcome in service.

“This barrier-analysis working group is really kind of grassroots,” Lauderback said. “While there are a few of us that are of higher rank on the team, it is mostly made up of folks that are much younger, have very different experiences than we do. And so, they are uncovering what are those barriers, those unconscious biases that folks have … and identifying those areas that we can start knocking out.”

ne example of a change auderback said the team would love to see” is the use of pronouns in some of the signature blocks in communications from service members.

“It is well known and well practiced outside of the military in the public sphere, but within the government, I don’t think anybody’s actually brought it up to the senior leadership,” Lauderback

said. “If you could use a pronoun, and especially if it’s for transgender members, it could be for women, it could be for somebody who doesn’t have a Westernized name, it was really nice to be able to say, you know, in my signature block ‘she, her, hers.’”

Lauderback said her team is working through that change and thinks “we’ll be successful at some point.”

Meanwhile, Lauderback continues to wear her main hat as head of intelligence for Space Force, for which she manages the delivery of intelligence to the secretary of the Air Force and the chief of space operations and ensures analysts are adhering to the framework for rules in gathering intelligence.

“There’s just a lot of two steps forward, one step back type of potential, where you need to have facility space or you need to have — if it’s IT equipment and things like that,” she said. “And you have to hire people. So, we’re still making all of that happen in our directorate and across the entire enterprise, but I think we’re in a really good position, and certainly for the Space Force as it continues to mature, continues to grow.”

Space is made up of, well, mostly empty space, as any scientist will tell you. However, that adage is becoming incrementally less true as entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk, continue to launch private satellites into orbit in numbers that could surpass the nearly 2,000 belonging to the United States. Starlink, the SpaceX program that manages its satellites, has 300 satellites in orbit — and has signaled plans for an eventual goal to deploy a total of 30,000 or more.

Lauderback, asked if that was a threat or should be welcomed, downplayed any concern of private companies surpassing U.S. government presence in space, saying the entrepreneurial endeavors would lower overall costs for launching satellites.

“It’s very much something to be welcomed, and we see it as a positive,” Lauderback said. “And I know Gen. Raymond as the CSO has remarked on this a number of times. What happens when you have commercial entities like this one, they’re able to operate sometimes at a much

faster pace than we can in the government, so we want to be able to take advantage of that and then secondly, they truly drive the price point down for us.”

Launching astronauts into space remains an exciting event, including the prospect of sending the next human space ight to the oon, and the first-ever landing on ars. Lauderback, however, said she couldn’t comment directly because those projects are part of NASA’s domain.

I would say, from my perspective as an intelligence officer,” auderback said, when there is more exploration in space, as there has been on every other domain — the air domain or land domain or the maritime domain — the Department of Defense needs to be prepared to protect and defend our capabilities so as an intelligence officer that’s really part of my job is to watch what it is that other countries might be doing or what their desires and their intentions are.”

While transporting human beings to other worlds continues to be an aspiration, questions have arisen recently about whether other worlds are sending living beings to Earth amid new interest in government reports on UFOs. U.S. intelligence over the summer revealed 140 sightings by American military pilots between 2004 and 2021 — and the Pentagon has no idea what they’re seeing.

auderback, asked what she makes of the findings given her position as head of space intelligence, declined to comment directly on what she makes of the phenomena, citing an ongoing study in other military services, although she quibbled with the use of the term “UFOs” to describe them.

I would say it’s not F s, but it’s unidentified aerial phenomena,” auderback said. o I key in on the term aerial in that case. I’ll leave it to the folks that are operating in the air domain and we’re working in the space domain, so I think that’s about all that I would be able to tell you.”

uke chleusener, president of ut of ational ecurity, an affinity group for T staffers in national security, said the absence of any backlash to an out lesbian in Lauderback’s position “tells us how far much of the country has come in the decade since the repeal of DADT.” “She’ll bring her whole self to work,” Schleusener said. “At a time of ‘resurgent great power competition,’ having diverse teams and diverse leaders will make the Space Force more effective. It’s also a matter of our government and our military best serving the nation when our public servants and service members re ect those they’re sworn to serve, at all levels.”

64 members of Congress urge U.S. to evacuate LGBTQ Afghans

More than 60 members of Congress on Tuesday urged the U.S. to evacuate LGBTQ Afghans from their country after the Taliban regained control of it.

The letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) spearheaded notes LGBTQ+ Afghans face an “existential threat” under Taliban rule. Pappas and the 63 other members of Congress who signed the letter asked the State Department to allow LGBTQ+ Afghans to access the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

The letter notes the State Department on Aug. 2 announced a “Priority 2 (P-2 designation” that grants “eligible Afghan nationals and their family members access to the A for Afghans looking to ee Taliban rule but who aren’t eligible for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV).”

“The P-2 designation is made at the discretion of the Department of State and is typically used for groups of special concern’ the department determines as having access to the program by virtue of their circumstances’,” it reads.

U.S. Rep. CHRIS PAPPAS (D-N.H.) is among lawmakers urging the government to evacuate LGBTQ Afghans. (Photo

“We have a moral obligation to uphold our values and utilize every tool at our disposal to protect the T Afghan community,” adds the letter. “In the spirit of upholding our values and leading by example, we urge you to expand the Department of tate’s - designation granting USRAP access for Afghan nationals to explicitly include LGBTQ+ Afghans.”

“ e further implore you to work with the Department of Defense to ensure that charter ights receive uninterrupted access to the abul airport, as charter ights will likely provide the best opportunity for priority refugees to escape,” stressed the members of Congress.

The Taliban on Aug. entered abul, the Afghan capital, and toppled the country’s government. The . . has subsequently evacuated more than , people from abul’s airport.

President Biden on Tuesday reiterated the Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan to end. The Trump administration in 2020 brokered a deal with the Taliban that set the stage for the withdrawal.

A Taliban judge last month said the group would execute gay people if it were to once again return to power in Afghanistan. Canada thus far is the only country that has specifically said it would offer refuge to T Afghans.

Gately)

“ ith the Taliban’s takeover of the country, T Afghans face the prospect of violent death. haria law, cemented in Afghanistan’s constitution, prohibits all forms of same-sex activity, and makes same-sex activity punishable by death,” reads the letter to linken. “ ust as it was for I I in Iraq, haria law is the Taliban’s guiding compass as it establishes its rule over Afghanistan’s government and society. During its campaign in Iraq and yria, I I frequently executed T individuals by stoning them to death, castrating and hanging them in public squares, and throwing them off buildings.”

“ nder Taliban rule, T Afghans will suffer a similar fate,” it adds.

The letter notes President Biden in February signed a memorandum that committed the U.S. to promote LGBTQ rights abroad.

The lawmakers acknowledge “the situation in Afghanistan is uid,” but stress Blinken has “the power to protect the lives of countless LGBTQ+ Afghans from the horrors they face living under a regime that threatens their very existence.”

The Human ights Campaign, the Council for lobal quality, the ational Center for Transgender quality, the Trevor ro ect, ambda egal, F A , Athlete Ally and the ational quality Action Team support the lawmakers’ call for the . . to offer refuge to T Afghans.

“The Human ights Campaign recogni es that those T individuals eeing Taliban rule deserve unique attention as they are particularly vulnerable and fear imminent violence and death following the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, and this particular vulnerability requires expedited redress by the Department of tate,” said H C enior Vice resident for olicy and olitical Affairs oDee interhof in a press release that appas’ office sent exclusively to the Washington Blade.

Council for lobal quality Chair ark romley stressed “time is running out and the lives of LGBTQI Afghans are at extreme risk.”

“As a country, we can do more to evacuate the T I community and to provide T Iaffirming support for their successful resettlement here in the nited tates,” he said in the press release.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Nicaragua seeks to close country’s oldest LGBTQ group

The government of Nicaragua has sought to shut down the country’s oldest LGBTQ rights group.

Confidencial, an online newspaper that is critical of the government, reported the Interior inistry has asked the ational Assembly to annul the legal non-profit status” of Fundación Xochiquetzal and 14 other non-governmental organizations. Assemblyman Filiberto Rodriguez on Aug. 18 introduced a bill that would dissolve the 15 NGOs for “holding activities outside the law and acting expressly against the law.” aul Canning, a ondon-based writer and activist, in a tweet notes Fundación Xochiquetzal formed in 1990 and has worked to fight HIV AID in icaragua. Canning also said the group has been offering C VID- tests to T people who live in anagua, the country’s capital.

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is among the groups that have funded Fundación Xochiquetzal.

The government of resident Daniel rtega and his wife, Vice resident osario urillo, in recent months have targeted opposition leaders and other groups — journalists and human rights activists — and NGOs ahead of national elections that are scheduled to take place on ov. .

members who the tate Department says are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy, including those with responsibility for, or complicity in, human rights abuses such as suppression of peaceful protests.”

For the past three months, resident Daniel rtega and his wife, Vice resident osario urillo, have intimidated anyone opposed to their efforts to entrench their power in icaragua, including through the arrest of do ens of political candidates, ournalists, student and business leaders, workers, and human rights advocates, and through the disqualification of any candidate seeking to run against them in the ov. elections,” said the tate Department in an Aug. press release that announced sanctions against election officials and members of the ruling andinista ational iberation Front party.

A Nicaraguan LGBTQ activist who now lives in Costa Rica told the Washington Blade on Tuesday described the government’s decision to shut down Fundación Xochiquetzal and other s as shameful.”

It doesn’t want organi ed groups and above all feminist and TI groups that have been in long-term struggles,” said the activist.

Confidencial reported the government this month has sought to close s.

The . . since uly has sanctioned more than officials and their immediate family

Israel last week announced it will allow men who have sex with men to donate blood without restrictions.

The Associated ress reported Health inister it an Horowit , who is gay, made the announcement.

The Blade has decided not to publish the activist’s name in order to protect their identity.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Report: Brothers returned to Chechnya have been tortured Israel lifts ban on MSM blood donors

The lawyer who represents two brothers from Chechnya who Russia returned to their homeland from which they had ed says they have been tortured.

The ussian T etwork in a press release it sent to the lade said Alexander emov on Thursday met with alekh agamadov and Ismail Isaev in the ail in ro ny, the Chechen capital, where they are currently incarcerated.

“Previously the lawyer was being denied access to the facility under the pretense that the brothers had fallen ill with C VID- despite the fact that they were being held in solitary cells,” said the ussian T etwork. The employees of the detention facility did not provide r. emov with any ustification or legal basis for such non-admission.”

The ussian T etwork in its press release said emov managed to talk to the detainees and they shared what had been happening to them, in other words how they had been subjected to violence — and gave insight into possible reasons for the nonadmission.”

agamadov and Isaev said they were scheduled to appear in court on uly . They were being brought there in the enclosed back compartment of a truck-like vehicle with no ventilation,” said the ussian T etwork. Due to the heat agamadov and Isaev felt sick, however, in response to their pleas to open the windows the employees of the detention facility escorting them started laughing and insulting the brothers because of their sexual orientation. Ismail then asked one of them to stop and that resulted in violent actions on the part of the escorting personnel.”

The ussian T etwork notes the brothers’ court appearance was postponed with no

The . . Food and Drug Administration currently allows to donate blood if they have not had sex with another man for three months. The FDA deferral period for before April was a year.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

“Today we removed the degrading and irrelevant questions in the blood donation questionnaire,” wrote Horowit in his Facebook post. very blood donor who comes with the goal of saving a life will receive equal treatment, no matter what his gender or sexual orientation is , whether he is T or straight.”

explanation, although the defendants were brought to the court building and the lawyers were awaiting inside in the courtroom.”

agamadov and Isaev were never let out of the car and simply driven back to the detention facility,” says the ussian T etwork.

The ussian T etwork says Isaev was put into a room with no cameras and rudely told how wrong he was, that he had no right to talk back to people who had authority over him” once he and his brother returned to the ail.

“After an hour of ‘conversations’ one of those who had been escorting us came into the room and started beating me fists bumping into my face and body, and then, later, he tried to strangle me,” said Isaev in the ussian T etwork press release. The deputy head of the detention facility who had been present during the entire ordeal only stopped him from strangling me he dragged him away from me and I was brought back to my cell.”

The ussian T etwork says ail personnel earlier this month beat both brothers after they refused to shave their heads.

agamadov claims ail personnel beat him on Aug. after he refused to say he cut himself because of a nervous breakdown, not because of violence he had experienced” when he refused to shave his head.

“They made me spread my legs as wide as possible and then were beating me for a long time,” agamadov told the ussian T etwork. I could not take it and told them that I would sign anything they wanted. After that they put me back in my cell.”

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

This open letter was signed by: THOMAS BLOMQVIST, minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality, Finland; ANNIKA HAMBRUDD, minister of Education and Culture, Åland; ABID RAJA, minister of Culture and Equality, Norway; KATRÍN JAKOBSDÓTTIR, prime minister, Iceland; MÄRTA STENEVI, minister for Gender Equality and Housing, Sweden; NAAJA H. NATHANIELSEN, minister for Housing, Infrastructure, Minerals and Gender Equality, Greenland; and PETER HUMMELGAARD, minister for Equal Opportunities, Denmark.

We call on governments to stand up for LGBTI human rights ordic equality ministers speak out during orld ride

orld ride has kicked off and we the ministers for equality from the ordic countries are there to show our support for equal rights. e will continue working to improve our legislation and counteract hate, ignorance, and pre udice so that TI persons can live free, open, and good lives in the ordic egion.

e want it to be completely clear For as long as there is resistance to TI equality in our region and around the world, we will unapologetically stand up for the full and equal en oyment of TI persons’ human rights.

e represent seven small nations among the most progressive in the world when it comes to equality. ur countries stand out in international comparisons thanks to measures for TI people to start a family and for our nondiscrimination efforts.

ut whoever ies the ag high must also be open to scrutiny. e are committed to collaborating with ordic TI organi ations to work on and speak openly about our shortcomings. To this end

Finland will be training social and health care professionals to give full consideration to TI children and teenagers and improve knowledge on their specific needs.

In reenland, the government is working on interactive tools for young people in school to improve equality and raise awareness of TI rights.

The government of land has, together with the organi ation egnb gsfyren, developed an TI certification system for workplaces and institutions, with the aim of making them more inclusive and free from bias and discrimination.

Denmark is improving its legislation to explicitly outlaw discrimination, hate speech and hate crime based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.

In Iceland, individuals older than and children with parental consent now have the right to change their gender registration and register as gender neutral. nnecessary medical interventions on minors born with atypical sex characteristics are prohibited until the child themselves can give informed consent.

weden is working to further moderni e its family law to better re ect different family constellations and to make the law more inclusive and gender neutral.

In orway, the government is taking legislative steps to protect against conversion therapy, a discredited practice often referred to as actions to make a person change or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Despite this progress, the ordic countries still have work to do.

e know that young TI people face harassment and discrimination at school, online and within their own families. A ordic study shows that TI pupils, to a greater degree than their peers, lack a supportive school environment, which can then lead to bullying and higher absence, school fatigue, and insecurity.

e share a common obligation to make sure that health, education and care professionals are trained on TI issues. Authorities need to help ensure that young TI people feel free being out at school and that elderly TI people are not forced back into the closet in old age.

e still do not know enough about the extent of multiple discrimination in the ordic egion. Consequently, we want to uncover how inequality and discrimination of TI people vary and are compounded by age, disability, ethnicity, indigenous status, religion or belief, urban rural location or socioeconomic status.

The ordic countries have recently made TI policy part of the official regional governmental co-operation. For us, leaving no one behind is one of the keys to a prosperous and cohesive society. In the new strategy of the ordic Council of inisters, we have endorsed three goals e will work to promote greater freedom and openness for TI people; promote a better quality of life and living conditions and ensure healthcare is accessible equally; and strengthen networks and civil society in the TI area.

Against the backdrop of orld ride , we reaffirm our commitment to further action on these goals. e call upon other governments to speak up for equality, for the full and equal en oyment of human rights and to denounce all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.

ur support for civil society and our shared political commitment to give everyone the means to fully en oy all their human rights come at a critical time and will change the world for the better.

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All material in the Los Angeles Blade is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Los Angeles Blade. e sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. e appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. Although the Los Angeles Blade is supported by many ne advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Los Angeles Blade, but the paper cannot take responsibility for its return. e editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. A single copy of the Los Angeles Blade is available from authorized distribution points, to any individual within a 50-mile radius of Los Angeles, CA. Multiple copies are available from the Los Angeles Blade o ce only. Call for rates. If you are unable to get to a convenient free distribution point,

Kathi Wolfe

a writer and a poet, is a regular contributor to the Blade.

HRC must conduct fair investigation of its president

David accused of playing role in Cuomo cover up

I’ve been digesting news reports of Andrew Cuomo, sexual harassment, and the reverberations in the LGBTQ community. Sexual harassment is despicable. No matter what form it takes.

Charlotte Bennett, a Cuomo accuser, told investigators that Cuomo had asked her if she was monogamous. Cuomo has denied all allegations of sexual harassment.

If you’re queer, either you or one of your friends, have likely been sexually harassed.

Maybe you’ve been sexually assaulted.

Perhaps, you have a friend who’s afraid to come out because their boss makes anti-queer “jokes.”

In the s, I was ridiculed and reprimanded at a work staff meeting for talking about the “gay sex life” of my (then) partner and myself. (The only thing I’d mentioned about my girlfriend and myself was that we both liked pizza with no anchovies.)

Unfortunately, despite #MeToo and marriage equality, things haven’t changed that much regarding sexual harassment.

In 2017, NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a poll of LGBTQ people.

More than half of those surveyed, NPR reported, said that “they or an LGBTQ friend or family member have been sexually harassed.”

Given the queer community’s experience with, and struggle against, sexual harassment, the allegations that, as the Blade reported, Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David potentially played a role in the coverup of Cuomo’s behavior, are profoundly disturbing.

David, who before taking the helm at HRC in 2019, was counselor to Cuomo, denies that he’s done anything wrong.

David is H C’s first lack president in the organi ation’syear history. He’s worked to make HRC more diverse – more welcoming and inclusive for people of color and transgender people. He was instrumental in writing and getting marriage equality legislation passed in New York state.

David may be innocent of any wrongdoing.

But, the allegations of David’s potential complicity in Cuomo’s effort to discredit his accusers are serious. He is named, as the Blade reports, nearly a dozen times in New York

Attorney General Letitia James’s report. The report found that Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women employees.

I’m not a lawyer. But James’s report doesn’t appear to be a hatchet job.

The report seems to be well documented. In its aftermath, Cuomo would likely have been impeached if he hadn’t resigned. You’d think that HRC would have acted immediately — that it would have taken steps to investigate whether the allegations against David are true.

After all, some H C staff members have called for David’s resignation. Some of its donors, including Michigan’s attorney general, have called for David to step down.

Instead, HRC issued a statement supporting David. Though the timing was coincidental, the group renewed David’s contract for five more years.

After intense pressure, HRC, as the Blade reported, hired the law firm idley Austin to conduct a -day investigation of the allegations against David.

This would be welcome, but the law firm has worked extensively with HRC. It says that it has had “a long standing relationship” with HRC.

egally, this may not be a con ict of interest, but that doesn’t make it seem any less fishy.

ou can’t help but wonder how can a law firm that has a relationship with HRC conduct a fair, independent investigation of the allegations against David?

uch an investigation’s findings would carry little weight in our perception of David and HRC.

If the allegations against David were found to be untrue, what meaning would this finding have

If HRC sincerely wants to conduct an independent investigation, the investigation shouldn’t be time-limited to days.

For due diligence to be done, no time limit should be set on the inquiry.

Lastly, David should be placed on unpaid, administrative leave while the investigation is taking place.

I hope David will be found to be innocent of wrongdoing.

But, to maintain its credibility, HRC must conduct a fair, transparent, independent investigation.

‘Firebird’ is an instantly

classic LGBTQ love story

A moving film set in repressive oviet-occupied stonia

By ROB WATSON

A common denominator for many LGBTQ people throughout the world in diff ering cultures and under divergent political systems has been the oppression of hiding our secret love. To quote eauty and the east,” “ it is a tale as old as time.” It is a tale we have seen on screen before. It is a tale some of us have lived, and for others, it is a life they are currently living beneath. ne such true story made its debut on the screens of utfest A last weekend. And while its theme may be familiar, the raw passion, the glorious romance and its layered nuances are unique. The fi lm is called Firebird.”

Directed and co-scripted by eeter ebane it is based on the memoir by ergey Fetisov. In my conversation on ated T adio with eeter and his co-writer, and star of the fi lm, Tom rior, ebane said the fi lm has been described as a “Call Me By Your ame” set not against a sweet pastoral Tuscany backdrop, but against a repressive oviet-occupied stonia Cold ar one.”

In the fi lm, ergey Tom rior , is a young private about to exit his time in the oviet Air Force. His closest friend is the secretary to the base commander uisa Diana o harskaya . ergey and uisa’s quasi romantic friendship is redirected when an incredibly dynamic maverick fi ghter pilot arrives on the base, and both ergey and uisa are overwhelmed by his magnetism. That fi ghter pilot is oman, played by leg agorodnii.

agorodnii is a revelation. His performance is intense, sensitive and deep. He literally beat out , other actors for the role. And as impeccable as his nglish is in the fi lm, he only speaks ussian in real life.

The performances by all three of the lead actors are nuanced, beautiful, and completely authentic. They produce a magnificent chemistry that not only gives the audience full understanding of the love they exude for each other, but also a cathartic desire to be one of them.

The true lovers of the piece are oman and ergey. Through a brilliant weaving of discussions about photography and theater, the passion between the two builds until they share an impromptu and spontaneous kiss. As the unspoken feelings between them become evident, the most important relationship in the fi lm emerges.

The oppressions of the and the society they live in creates a “ virtual character” that stands up as a nemesis against the love the men have discovered and want to nurture. hile that oppression is brilliantly portrayed in a three-dimensional way by argus rangel as the intrusive a or verev, the true villain is Fear’ itself. rior described that element of the fi lm, “ Fear was its own character in the film. ou see it in small moments the characters walk past a corridor at one point and see people secretly recording their neighbors. ou ust see the image of a recording equipment and people listening. The oviet nion wasn’t free, you’re kind of being policed and literally its in the walls, they have ears and you’ve got to be very mindful about how you speak. The level of fear becomes not something you can necessarily see but more something you can feel.”

hen the relationship is almost exposed, oman fi nds himself driven to marry uisa and denies ergey. ver the next years, the relationships overlap, collide and ultimately lead to an ill-fated end.

The magic of Firebird” is not in its passionate and sadly beautiful plot, however. It is in the intense performance of its three principal actors. ach character pro ects their story, their con ict and their love in subtle but profound ways the looks in their eyes, the touch of their hands and the intensity of their kisses.

Firebird” has the makings of a screen classic. Its stars have presence and their characters walk with you after the fi lm is done. They are easily comparable to starcrossed lovers of Casablanca, ” rokeback ountain,” A tar is orn.”

The fact that this is a true story, and that ergey Fetisov lived it, was what impacted

ebane from the beginning. As they were working on the script, ebane and rior actually got to spend time with ergey to esh out their screenplay ideas. ebane said, “ It was very humbling, he was such a loving person, considering what he has gone through in life, to remain so positive and so compassionate and really so full of life and love towards other people. His main message to us was please make this film about love, not politics, even though it has a highly important socia l impact mission.”

rior, who played ergey in the fi lm, was also deeply moved. “ I saw that his love for oman opened the world for him. He proceeded to live in hope, and stay true to himself, and that’s really what I took from meeting the real man and it was the honor to get to know him.”

In the fi lm, “ Firebird” is a glorious ballet that oman takes ergey to before the passions erupt between them. It is a colorful, exciting, and fabulous display of a red enchanted bird with a magical feather. The bird represents rebirth and defeats a horrible nightmarish demon.

adly, the real ergey did not get to see his life brought to the screen by ebane and rior. He died before they had even finished the final script. They felt compelled to travel to ussia to mourn him They went to his wake, his funeral and fully absorbed his essence.

hat has emerged is a fi lm that transcends all of its elements. It is a fi lm with a gorgeous and talented cast. It is a film with tension and intrigue of the deepest of love stories. It is a film of poetic subtexts and literary allusions. It is a film with an important glimpse into a unique window of history.

et it is more than all of that. It is a film of rebirth, finding hope and truth as we emerge from life’s cruel ironies.

ergey Fetisov did not live to see his love story delivered to the hearts of a soon to be adoring public. ut like the Firebird, eeter ebane and Tom rior have brought his soul and his love back to life. It is aming forth on the screens of T film festivals and on its way to move the whole world.

athe in it. oak it up. ergey would have wanted it that way.

a Bo le a d o e h to le o ot to e ed Two outstanding LGBTQ documentaries arrive

It’s a great time to be alive for queer documentary fans. It seems as if every month brings a whole new crop of titles, covering a broad array of sub ects and offering new insights about the LGBTQ history you thought you knew –as well as introducing you to pieces of it that you’ve never even heard of.

That’s a good thing. It reassures us that our queer cultural history, once in danger of being buried in the homophobic haze of a past that wanted to pretend we didn’t exist, is finally being recorded for posterity, and that the stories of our unsung heroes will be preserved.

One such hero is the subject of “AIDS Diva: The Legend of Connie Norman,” which screened at Los Angeles’ venerable Outfest LGBTQ Film Festival last week. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Dante Alencastre aising Zoey,” “Transvisible: The Bamby Salcedo Story”) it spotlights a remarkable figure who rose to prominence during the AIDS crisis, but who would seem right at home in today’s era of “woke” activism. Indeed, she’d be front and center, teaching all of us a few things about how to keep the movement advancing ever forward.

For those who don’t know – and unless you were in Los Angeles during the early ‘90s, chances are good that you don’t – Connie Norman was a masterful spokesperson for ACT UP/LA in the late ‘80s and early ’90s Los Angeles, a self-appointed “AIDS Diva” who described herself as “an ex-drag queen, ex-hooker, ex-IV drug user, ex-high-risk youth and current post-operative transsexual woman who is HIV positive.” Above all, however, she called herself simply “a human being seeking my humanity.”

By JOHN PAUL KING

a powerful journalistic call to action, a reminder that the struggles of our past are connected in an unbroken line to those of the present. ust as importantly, as a filmic portrait of a one-of-a-kind icon, it introduces Norman, in all her defiantly eccentric charm and glory, to a world that will likely always need to hear what she had to say.

Tackling what might at first seem a lighter topic is “Boulevard! A Hollywood Story,” which also screened at Outfest for its world premiere presentation. The latest documentary from mmy winner effrey chwar I Am Divine,” Tab Hunter Confidential,” The Fabulous Alan Carr”) takes viewers on a forensic deep-dive into the archives and filing cabinets of Hollywood history to unearth the little-known story of a musical that never was – an ambitious adaptation of “Sunset Boulevard” commissioned by none other than that classic film’s star Gloria Swanson herself.

tanding proudly in her multiple, uid, and evolving T identities, she became a fixture in the campaign to raise awareness about the terrifying epidemic that was decimating the queer community – and the inadequate, often inhumane care afforded to its stigmati ed victims. In addition to her work with ACT UP, she shared her soulful and salty rantings and intersectional politics through her local LGBTQ newspaper column and her pioneering LGBTQ cable television show – the first daily talk show about gay issues hosted by a gay rights activist on a commercial os Angeles-area station. She charmed even the opposition with her piercing and compassionate voice, building bridges in gender issues and politics and evoking a humanitarian, neighborly, transcendent vision of life and love not just for her own queer tribe but for all. Herself diagnosed with AIDS, she continued to work tirelessly until her death from complications of the disease in 1996. A few months later, her ashes were scattered on the White House lawn as part of ACT UP’s “ashes action” in protest of government inaction against AIDS.

In Alencastre’s brisk but engrossing documentary, Norman emerges through extensive archival footage as a larger-than-life personality that nevertheless exudes authenticity and the kind of “real talk” attitude that somehow acknowledges the value in everyone, whether on her side or against it. The footage, much of it little seen if at all in the quarter century since her death, is largely rough by today’s standards – after all, most of it is culled from local news and cable broadcasts of the time – but that technology gap does nothing to mute her passionate voice nor dim the brightness of her light. Indeed, there’s an immediacy about her in every appearance that transcends time and seems directed entirely at our contemporary world, urging modern viewers to once more wake up, take action, and fully engage with our collective lives and our world. From an activist standpoint, it makes Alencastre’s film

Swanson, of course, was a one-time silent cinema goddess whose electrifying performance as faded-andpsychotic movie star Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder’s dark, noir-ish satire of the Hollywood dream machine had given her a brief return to the limelight 20 years after her own silver screen heyday had ended. When further roles failed to materialize despite the movie’s success and the rave reviews it had earned her, she hit upon the notion of turning the film into a roadway musical as a sure-fire vehicle for herself. In pursuit of this goal, she hired Dickson Hughes and ichard tapley, two young songwriters and romantic partners, and the three of them began a three-way collaboration that soon began to have unsettling parallels with the story of “Sunset Boulevard” itself. The aging star developed an infatuation with the handsome Stapley, creating a tense dynamic into the creative threesome. It drove a wedge between the couple, and ultimately ensured that the project – a tentative proposition to begin with – would never reach fruition.

If that were all there was to the story, “Boulevard!” would still be an entertaining nugget of show biz ephemera and worth watching every one of its 85 minutes. But there’s much more to be revealed in Schwarz’s detailed excavation of this footnote in Hollywood history; within the remarkable tale he unearths is woven a moving, bittersweet love story between two young men at a time when such things were hard enough already without a movie diva inserting herself into the mix. In the process, the seasoned documentarian delivers a powerful, observational document of gay love in midth century America, bringing a cumulative emotional power to his film that is sure to bring tears to many viewers’ eyes before the final credits role.

hat’s particularly striking in chwar film is the kindness it bestows upon its sub ects. Swanson, despite her role as a would-be femme fatale coming between two committed lovers, is never treated with anything but dignity and respect, and her two erstwhile collaborators whose post- wanson stories each took unexpected turns come off as a pair of imperfect “everymen” who achieve a kind of grace even as success eludes their grasp. The result is a film that far transcends the trivial pursuit at its center to provide an empathetic contemplation of life, love, growing old, and rising above our failures.

It’s Schwarz’s best movie to date, and that’s saying a lot.

No release date has yet been announced for “AIDS Diva” or “Boulevard!” – but keep your eyes open, because each of them is a history lesson you won’t want to miss.

A worthy sequel to ‘Maurice’ revisits classic love story After going to war, couple reunite in intriguing Alec’

By KATHI WOLFE

A sequel that’s nearly as good as the original! An intriguing queer love story! What more could you ask for as summer ends?

Today, on and off the page, queers fall in love, have sex, couple up, marry embrace polyamory as frequently and openly as politicos trade insults

ut, until recently, you rarely found T characters in books. ith few exceptions, when you encountered queer people in fiction, they were sick, dying, or in ail.

It’s hard to overstate how revolutionary it was for queers when aurice” by the queer, ritish writer . . Forster was posthumously published in .

For many of us, it was the first time we read a love story in which queer lovers ended up alive unrepentant and unpunished.

Forster, who died at in , began writing aurice” in and finished it in . et, he felt it couldn’t be published during his lifetime.

Forster’s novels especially, A assage to India” and Howards nd” were critically acclaimed.

Forster lectured in ngland and the nited tates. isteners heard him on the radio as he read his acclaimed essay hat I elieve.”

In this essay, Forster spoke of his belief in personal relations, endorsed the humanistic values of tolerance, good temper and sympathy” and decried authoritarianism.

His assertion in hat I elieve, that if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend I hope I should have the guts to betray my country,” has been a credo for many.

et, because being queer was illegal in the nited ingdom for most of his lifetime, Forster didn’t want to publish aurice” while he was alive.

Homosexuality wasn’t decriminali ed in the nited ingdom until .

Though he was out to some of his friends, Forster couldn’t be openly gay because of the homophobia of his time.

aurice,” which Forster dedicated To a Happier ear,” doesn’t ust have T characters. Its two gay male lovers, Cambridge-educated, upper-class aurice, and Alec, a gamekeeper, end up happily.

e may worry about what obstacles they’ll run into while living in such a repressive time. ut we know that they’ve gone off together.

A happy ending was imperative,” Forster writes in a Terminal ote” on aurice,” I shouldn’t have bothered to write otherwise.”

I was determined that in fiction anyway,” he adds, two men should fall in love and remain in it for the ever and ever that fiction allows, and in this sense aurice and Alec still roam the greenwood.”

Forster’s legacy has had a reemergence in this century. n eauty,” the novel by adie mith is an homage to Howards nd.”

atthew ope ’s play The Inheritance,” which ran on roadway, is, also, in part, an homage to Howards nd.”

any sequels, no matter how well-intended, aren’t good. This is even more true when classic novels like aurice” are involved.

et, in Alec,” distinguished, gay playwright di Can io has pulled off an engrossing, lively, moving feat of the imagination.

In aurice,” we see things from aurice’s perspective.

n a visit to his friend Clive, a country squire, he meets Alec, Clive’s game keeper.

e know that Alec and aurice, after both trying to blackmail each other, fall in love. ut we learn little about Alec except that he loves aurice.

In Alec,” we view things from Alec’s eyes. Alec, in di Can io’s reimagining, is a three-dimensional character with feelings, ambitions and a back story.

orn in Dorset, ngland in to working class parents, Alec loves to read. He knows, because of his class, that he won’t be able to go to college.

ut he soaks up as much literature as he can at the library.

Maddow reaches multi-year deal with MSBNC

One of the most visible LGBTQ journalists and MSNBC’s most popular primetime anchor, Rachel Maddow, has negotiated a new multi-year contract with parent company NBCUniversal according to Business Insider magazine.

Maddow’s decision to stay with the network also included developing new projects.

The 48-year-old lesbian anchor had been mulling leaving the coveted primetime nightly broadcast for several months when her contract expires in 2022, according to reports. The Daily Beast reported on Aug. 12, while the star host has occasionally entertained other offers in the past, she has in recent months increasingly

expressed openness to exiting when her deal ends, citing a desire to spend more time with her family and the toll of hosting a nightly program since 2008.

It was widely reported that Maddow was considering starting her own media ventures but had instead hired super-agent Ari Emanuel to negotiate a new deal after months of considering options from would-be suitors Business Insider reported.

She will continue to host “The Rachel Maddow Show” weeknights at least in the short term. The five-day-aweek show will end next year as Maddow shifts gears to a weekly format, according to a CNN report. FROM STAFF REPORTS

Star of popular YouTube show ‘The Horizon’ dies at 33

The family of Francis ‘Frankie’ Mossman, the native New Zealand star of the hit viral web series ‘The Horizon’ on YouTube acknowledged the actor’s death at age 33 on Aug. 14, but did not specify a cause.

Mossman was best known for his recurring role as Stevie Hughes in the acclaimed LGBTQthemed web series filmed in suburban ydney, Australia, which was made in partnership with the AIDS Council of New South Wales. The show is now in its eighth season.

The Horizon is the most successful online series made in Australia and the most watched LGBTQ web series in the world.

ossman, in what was his final Instagram post, shared a photo of himself as a child, alongside the caption: “Who would have known this boy would endure so much pain.”

The actor’s hometown paper in Auckland, The New Zealand Herald and in his adopted hometown in Australia, Sydney’s Morning Herald have reported that Mossman took his own life but that has yet to be confirmed.

Australia’s largest LGBTQ publication, the Star-Observer reported Mossman studied at the University of Auckland where he earned his bachelor’s in Drama and Film and his master’s in Film, Television and Media Studies.

The Star-Observer went on to note that the actor was a “complex soul, yearning for success with every fibre of his being.”

“Wanting to be loved and accepted with every breath. His love of animals said a lot about Francis as did his big heart when speaking to those in need.”

Mossman moved from Auckland to Sydney in 2012 with dreams of making it as an actor. Back in New Zealand, he appeared in kids’ series “Amazing Extraordinary Friends” and the soap “Shortland Street.”

FROM STAFF REPORTS