Righteous is as righteous does; Lexington Pride

The fanatic blogger at Righteous in Kentucky returned earlier this month after a 6 month absence; just when we thought we had one less conservative blogger, he returns. This blogger isn't just conservative however, he is a fanatic.

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Winston Churchill

If his readers believe his posts and follow him, why trash pro-gay organizations and draw attention to them since they obviously know about us and don't like us anyway?

In his latest pro-Family Foundation of Kentucky post, he actually says he will remain inside this weekend because of Lexington Pride. He goes on to say he will have any homosexual who steps on his property arrested! Littered with religious rhetoric that makes no sense, this blogger jumps from subject to subject that makes understanding him near impossible.

Fred Phelps and his clan have stated they will protest Lexington Pride. I wouldn't could on it however; it's a long drive from Kansas to protest for only an hour, and they haven't shown up at any of the Kentucky events they claimed they would attend in years (story).

Graphic in the Kentucky Kernal brings protests and racial slurs to UK

In a 9-0 vote on Thursday, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights called on the commonwealth’s educational institutions Thursday to stop hate-related incidents and intensify programs to increase diversity on their campuses.

For the past two weeks the University of Kentucky has been consumed with controversy. A cartoon published in the UK paper, the Kentucky Kernel depicted a black student standing bare-chested on a slave auction block as a white auctioneer takes bids from fictitious fraternities with names suggesting that they are all-white and racist: Aryan Omega, Kappa Kappa Kappa (KKK) and Alpha Caucasian.

Almost immediately after being published, protests erupted on campus, and a racial slur was written on a student’s door.

Commission Chairman Henry Curtis noted that in addition to the recent events at UK, the commission has received reports of Ku Klux Klan fliers being distributed at the University of Louisville and hate literature being spread in Bowling Green, Owensboro, Morgantown and Winchester (Brian Stephens, an Advisory Council Member with Kentucky Equality Federation held a counter protest at Morehead State University; click here to read the story from The Independent).

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. appeared briefly before the commission and said the recent incidents at UK were “ugly and should not have happened.”

Are we slipping backwards, or moving forward in Kentucky? Isn’t adding domestic partner benefits part of that diversity? Republicans in the Kentucky Senate wouldn’t agree (story).

Dr. James Holsinger for anti-gay U.S. Surgeon General.

President Bush's choice for surgeon general likely will face questions about his stands on AIDS, sex education and abortion during the confirmation process.

Dr. James Holsinger clearly has some pretty definite views on right and wrong; he's got it straight all right. Dr. Holsinger has made his negative views on homosexuality known for nearly two decades.

• In the early 1990s, Holsinger resigned from the denomination's Committee to Study Homosexuality because he believed the committee "would follow liberal lines," according to Time magazine. At the time, he warned that acceptance of homosexuality would drive away millions of churchgoers.
• As a member of the Judicial Council, he voted with the majority in 2005 that a Virginia pastor could deny church membership to an openly gay man.

Aside from him clearly being "anti-gay," Holsinger’s record is mired with incompetence, zealous conservatism, and, of course, sizable campaign contributions to Republicans.

As Chief Medical Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs under Bush’s father, Dr. Holsinger was neglecting our vets long before Walter Reed made it fashionable.

• A government investigation found “several cases in which incompetence and neglect led to the deaths of patients.” Dr. Holsinger was forced to admit blame for the deaths of six patients in less than a year at a single Chicago hospital alone.
• But the problems weren’t limited to Chicago. In Wyoming, a patient scheduled for surgery for a treatable cancer died after he was ignored for 45 days following the resignation of the staff urologist over a contract dispute. Thirty VA hospitals were found to have “high numbers of patient complications and other indicators of substandard care.”
• A decade later, Dr. Holsinger was appointed Kentucky’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Family Services. By the end of his tenure, a Kentucky newspaper found that the state was at the bottom of the nation for almost every health measure. Kentuckians die at a rate of 18 percent above the national average, the newspaper reported.

Placing people in positions who are fair, honest, and have a compassion for their work and bettering our culture doesn't seem to be a priority for either the Bush or Fletcher Administrations.

KY's largest Methodist Church bars gays from membership.

Click here for the complete story from Bible Belt Blogger.

Sign-up! Rally for Equality/Fairness in Frankfort on February 22, 2006.

With an important session of the General Assembly just ahead and several critical issues on the agenda, Kentucky Equality Federation has partnered with the Kentucky Fairness Alliance to gather all our supporters in Frankfort on the same day.

Kentuckians Value Equality and Kentuckians Value Fairness is an opportunity for us to raise the voice and visibility of fair-minded Kentuckians with our legislators and our neighbors. On the morning of the 22nd, citizen lobbyists from around the commonwealth will meet with their legislators.

While e-mails, phone calls, and letters are good, talking face to face with your elected officials is the most effective way to persuade them to support fairness. The Kentucky Fairness Alliance and/or the Kentucky Equality Federation will supply you with all the training and tools you'll need to have a successful visit with your lawmaker.

• Click here to sign-up now!
• Click here if you would like to attend the Rally ONLY!

Have you signed up for training on how to lobby your elected officials? Sign-up for free training at one of these locations:

• January 10th - Lexington
• January 18th - Richmond
• January 21st - Elizabethtown
• January 22nd - Louisville
• January 23rd - Morehead
• January 25th - Northern Kentucky

On the morning of February 22nd, citizen lobbyists from around the commonwealth will meet with their legislators.

Click here to sign-up now!

Click here if you would like to attend the Rally ONLY!

We are very excited and want to have the largest number of people attend as possibile; we have strength in number that cannot be ignored!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Federation Vice President Brian Endicott or Federation Alliance Manager Clarence Wallace toll-free at 877-4KEF-HELP.

We look forward to seeing YOU there!

Regards,

Jordan Palmer, Brian Endicott, Clarence Wallace, Nick Herweck, Paige D. Marks, and Brandi Walker.

Organizations involved: (United We Stand):

• Kentucky Equality Federation
• Kentucky Fairness Alliance
• The Fairness Campaign (Louisville)

World AIDS Day 2006 - December 1st.

The Red Ribbon, started by the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS ("UNAIDS") is the global symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS.

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year and started by the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS in 1998 is dedicated to raising awareness of the global AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million (between 2.8 and 3.6 million) lives in 2005 of which, more than half a million (570,000) were children.

The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 United Nations World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up by governments, international organizations and charities around the world.

AIDS IN KENTUCKY

On November 21, 2006 at the UN Headquarters in Geneva, the United Nations World Health Organization issued a frightening report that the global AIDS epidemic continues to grow and there is concerning evidence that some countries are seeing a resurgence in new HIV infection rates which were previously stable or declining.

According to the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Human Services, Department for Public Health, HIV/AIDS Branch:

AIDS in Kentucky increased through 1995, but then dropped 40% from 1996 to 2000. This decline was partially due to advances in treatments for HIV and opportunistic infections. The treatments prolonged the lives of many patients as well as extended the time from HIV infection to AIDS progression.

In 2001, for the first time since 1995, an increase was observed in the Kentucky AIDS cases and has continued to increase steadily. 2005's numbers showed AIDS once again spiraling out of control with white homosexual males living in Lexington and Louisville being the primary cases in the commonwealth.

14% of homosexual males in Kentucky who have AIDS are aware of their status and continue to have sex with unknowing partners.
47% of HIV positive people are not aware of their status and continue to have multiple sexual partners.
Nearly 85% of all AIDS cases in the commonwealth are within the Bluegrass Region including Covington, Frankfort, Florence, Georgetown, Lexington, Louisville, Richmond, and Winchester.
76% of all Kentucky AIDS cases are between the ages of 24 - 43.

According to the Kentucky HIV/AIDS Branch, HIV is primarily spread through sexual contact with an infected person and by sharing contaminated syringes, needles, cotton, cookers, and other injecting drug use equipment with someone who is infected.

Information provided by the Kentucky Department for Public Health, HIV/AIDS Branch:

- Free anonymous and confidential testing and counseling is available at every health department in Kentucky. After being infected with HIV, it takes between two weeks and six months before the test can detect the antibodies to the virus.

The Kentucky HIV/AIDS Branch urges everyone to get test if you:
- Have had sex with someone who has HIV.
- Have had sex with someone who has or has had any sexually transmitted disease (STD).
- Have shared needles or syringes with someone who has HIV.
- Have had multiple sex partners or you have had sex with someone who has had multiple partners.
- Have had sex through prostitution (male or female).
- Have had sex with injecting drug users.
- Had a blood transfusion between 1978 and 1985.
- Are a woman who is pregnant or desires to be pregnant and who wishes to reduce the chance of your baby getting HIV from you, should you be infected.

A person with AIDS is susceptible to certain infections and cancers. When a person with AIDS cannot fight off infections, this person becomes ill. Most people with AIDS will die as a result of their infection. AIDS is caused by a virus called Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV.

Early diagnosis of HIV infection is important! If you have been told you have HIV, you should get prompt medical treatment. In many cases, early treatment can enhance a person's ability to remain healthy as long as possible. Your doctor will help you determine the best treatment for you.