HOMOPHOBIA ALERT

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The Republican representative to the fundamental christian movement in America, President George Bush has nominated Judge Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Judge Southwick's record plainly shows that he cannot be given the responsibility to protect the basic rights of all Americans.

As a Mississippi judge, Southwick put his personal bias before widely regarded scientific and legal evidence - as in one case where he separated a biological mother from her 8-year-old child in part because of the mother's sexual orientation.

Even more troubling, Judge Southwick used this case to further his own agenda by joining a concurrence citing highly charged and irrelevant Mississippi rules against "the practice of homosexuality" - including policies regarding sodomy.

This type of bigoted decision-making is unacceptable for any judge, let alone a lifetime member of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

THURSDAY EYE CANDY

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Juan Alfonso Baptista, born September 9, 1976 in Caracas, is a Venezuelan actor best known for his roles in "Pasión de Gavilanes" and "La Mujer En El Espejo".

The Faces of Homophobia

These are the faces of hate, homophobia and murder ..... how ironic that they will hopefully spend the rest of their lives surrounded only by other men.

A grand jury indicted Joseph Eli Bearden, 21 (left), and William David Brown Jr., 20, on charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon in the death of Wahneta resident Ryan Skipper.

The pair could face the death penalty if convicted of the brutal stabbing and robbery of Skipper, whose body was found by a passing motorist at 1:20 a.m. March 14 near Morgan Road and Logan Lane.

Skipper had been stabbed at least 20 times, and his car and laptop computer were stolen.

Skipper's 2007 Chevrolet Aveo was located shortly before 6 p.m. March 14 in Winter Haven at a boat ramp on Lake Pansy, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers.

The Sheriff's Office has described Skipper's killing as a hate crime because Skipper was a homosexual.

This murder has been filled with inconsistencies, indirectly blaming Ryan for his own murder.

It is extremely unusual for the arrest record of a murder victim to be released, but when Bearden and Brown were arrested, Sheriff Judd announced that Ryan Skipper had been arrested twice as a juvenile on minor marijuana charges. Conversely, he glossed over the alleged killers’ records, describing them as nonviolent.

If he had been more forthcoming, it would have been clear that these two young men have been up to no good for a while.

Joe Bearden, 21, has seven prior arrests in Polk County, including one for grand theft auto.

William Brown, 20, had been arrested just six days before the murder on cyberstalking charges. He has at least four prior arrests in Polk County.

Finally, Sheriff Judd suggested that while no one deserved to be murdered, Ryan Skipper had it coming. He told the Lakeland Ledger, "What we do know is that Ryan was looking for someone to pick up that evening. And unfortunately for Ryan, he picked up the wrong person."

Earth Day 2007

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"Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose or so much to gain. Together we shall save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames. Save it we can -- and save it we must -- and then shall we earn the eternal thanks of mankind"

President John F. Kennedy's speech at the United Nations, September 25, 1961

Tennessee Hate Crime

Three teens - two of them 15 and one 16 - have been charged with hate crimes, vandalism and delinquency following a series of incidents involving an Irving College gay man. Police say that in one incident the historic home belonging to Neal Anthony hadr "Fags deserve to die", and "gays go to hell" painted on it. A rock was thrown through the window of the house, which has been in Anthony's family for three generations.

Security locks were smashed and his mailbox was destroyed.

Several weeks ago a group of people all terrain vehicles drove by the house, yelling gay slurs and shooting about 80 paintballs at the house.

Police say that under questioning the teens confessed, and they said they targeted Anthony's home because he is gay.

The juveniles, who cannot be named because of their ages, will appear in court on Thursday for arraignment.

The home was built by Anthony's family in the mid 1800s.

He says that the fact he is gay has never been a secret around town. He lives with his partner, Michael Duncan, and the two are well known in the community.

But he says some people in town are trying to drive him out of the community - something he vows is not going to be achieved.

Tennessee law covers hate crimes based on sexual orientation but not gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

But federal hate laws do not cover gays.

On Tuesday the Matthew Shepard hate crime bill received its first committee hearing in Congress. (story)

The bill, also known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was named for the gay college student who was killed in a homophobic attack in Wyoming in 1998. It was introduced in the Senate last week. (story) A similar bill was reintroduced in the House last month. (story)

The bill would allow the Department of Justice to assist local authorities in investigating and prosecuting cases in which violence occurs and add gays and lesbians to the categories protected under the legislation.