Ryan Field's Blog, page 530
September 28, 2011
AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania
While we're still waiting to see what Lady Gaga is going to do about bullying and talking to the President, I figured I'd post about the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania again. I've posted about them before, here. And I've worked closely with them first hand while helping a good friend with HIV/AIDS fight to have his long term disability reinstated.
I've learned that in order to get something done you have to be aggressive and proactive. And organizations like this are very helpful when it comes to getting things done. I honestly can't praise them enough.
Below is what I've taken from their homepage. Here's the link for more information.
About the AIDS Law Project
of Pennsylvania
People with HIV and AIDS may need a lawyer as much as a doctor. In fact, they sometimes need a lawyer just to get a doctor. More than three decades after the onset of the HIV epidemic, stigma, bureaucracy and ignorance still cause serious legal problems for people with HIV/AIDS. But most people with HIV/AIDS can't afford a lawyer.
Founded in 1988, the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit, public-interest law firm providing free legal assistance to people with HIV/AIDS and those affected by the epidemic. We also educate the public about AIDS-related legal issues, train case management professionals to become better advocates for their HIV-positive clients, and work at local, state and national levels to achieve fair laws & policies.
We serve the entire Commonwealth from our home base in Philadelphia and are committed to breaking the physical and linguistic barriers that often impede access to legal services. We make home and hospital visits to clients too ill to travel to our offices. Our bilingual staff serves our clients in the language they feel most comfortable speaking.
For almost 23 years, the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania has been fighting for the rights of Pennsylvanians living with HIV/AIDS. Please contact us if you would like more information or are in need of our services.
I've learned that in order to get something done you have to be aggressive and proactive. And organizations like this are very helpful when it comes to getting things done. I honestly can't praise them enough.
Below is what I've taken from their homepage. Here's the link for more information.
About the AIDS Law Project
of Pennsylvania
People with HIV and AIDS may need a lawyer as much as a doctor. In fact, they sometimes need a lawyer just to get a doctor. More than three decades after the onset of the HIV epidemic, stigma, bureaucracy and ignorance still cause serious legal problems for people with HIV/AIDS. But most people with HIV/AIDS can't afford a lawyer.
Founded in 1988, the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit, public-interest law firm providing free legal assistance to people with HIV/AIDS and those affected by the epidemic. We also educate the public about AIDS-related legal issues, train case management professionals to become better advocates for their HIV-positive clients, and work at local, state and national levels to achieve fair laws & policies.
We serve the entire Commonwealth from our home base in Philadelphia and are committed to breaking the physical and linguistic barriers that often impede access to legal services. We make home and hospital visits to clients too ill to travel to our offices. Our bilingual staff serves our clients in the language they feel most comfortable speaking.
For almost 23 years, the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania has been fighting for the rights of Pennsylvanians living with HIV/AIDS. Please contact us if you would like more information or are in need of our services.
September 27, 2011
What About Gay Divorce in New York?
I'm finishing up a new m/m romance where there are several gay weddings and they all take place in New York.
There's also a gay divorce in the book and I wanted to read up about how that's being handled in New York. And being that straight divorce is handled differently from state to state...I know this because my younger brother went through a nasty divorce a year ago from his evil ex where he had to fight for 50% custody of his kids...I figured it can't be any different for gay couples.
I found out gay couples have been getting "divorced" in NY since 2008, which is long before they were allowed to legally marry.
I also found out it gets complicated when kids are involved. And, as far as I can tell, unless there's something I've missed, the courts are handling this case by case because there's no actual law in place at this time.
So far, this is one thing I found:
(Reuters) - As New York's same-sex couples head to the altar to celebrate their newly won right to marry, they can take comfort in the fact that, if it doesn't work out, their right to get divorced in the state just got a lot easier as well.
State senators on Friday voted 33-29 to approve marriage equality legislation introduced by Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat in his first year of office. New York will become the sixth and most populous U.S. state to allow gay marriage.
"One of the so-called benefits to marriage is actually divorce," said Ruthann Robson, professor of law at the City University of New York. "If same-sex marriage is recognized, same-sex divorce would be recognized too."
In fact, same-sex divorce was first recognized in New York in 2008, when an appeals court found that a same-sex marriage performed in Canada could be legally recognized in New York for the purposes of dissolving the union.
But without a formal law on the books, same-sex divorce in the state has proceeded on a case-by-case basis, creating some degree of uncertainty for same-sex couples looking to undo their unions, said Bettina Hindin, an attorney at Raoul Felder and Partners, who has represented same-sex couples in New York divorce proceedings.
Since same-sex marriages are now legally equivalent to heterosexual unions, same-sex couples' right to divorce will be rooted in New York's Domestic Relations Law, rather than cobbled together out of court rulings and individual judges' decisions, according to Hindin.
"A lot of things are going to be easier" with legalized same-sex marriage, Hindin said. "It's still somewhat out of the ordinary; this will make things far more ordinary."
KIDS STILL AN ISSUE
If same-sex couples married in New York leave the state, however, they may run into trouble getting a divorce, especially if they end up in one of the 30 states that do not recognize same-sex marriage, said Susan Sommer, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, which advocates for gay rights.
In some states, such as Wyoming, courts have found a right to divorce even absent the right to marry. In other jurisdictions that don't recognize same-sex marriages, such as Texas, attempts at same-sex divorce have yielded mixed results.
In 2010, two trial courts in Austin and Dallas granted two separate gay couples' petitions for divorce. The Austin appeals court upheld the ruling on appeal, while the Dallas appeals court did not, ruling that the courts lacked authority to issue divorces for same-sex couples. Both cases are currently pending before the Texas Supreme Court.
"It can be a real bind for people, trapped in this legal limbo," Sommer said.
Still, same-sex relationships are no more susceptible to divorce than their heterosexual counterparts, Sommer added. According to a 2008 report from the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles, annual same-sex marriage divorce rates were about 2 percent, nearly identical to the rate for opposite-sex marriage.
"People go into their marriages expecting everything to work out, and for the majority of people that's the case," Sommer said. "But stuff happens."
One issue that remains unresolved by the same-sex marriage vote is child custody, where one partner is a biological parent but the other has failed to adopt the child.
"Money is easy," Hindin said. "It's the children, the truly emotional piece of the relationship, that will be coming to the forefront and have to be dealt with by statute."
There's also a gay divorce in the book and I wanted to read up about how that's being handled in New York. And being that straight divorce is handled differently from state to state...I know this because my younger brother went through a nasty divorce a year ago from his evil ex where he had to fight for 50% custody of his kids...I figured it can't be any different for gay couples.
I found out gay couples have been getting "divorced" in NY since 2008, which is long before they were allowed to legally marry.
I also found out it gets complicated when kids are involved. And, as far as I can tell, unless there's something I've missed, the courts are handling this case by case because there's no actual law in place at this time.
So far, this is one thing I found:
(Reuters) - As New York's same-sex couples head to the altar to celebrate their newly won right to marry, they can take comfort in the fact that, if it doesn't work out, their right to get divorced in the state just got a lot easier as well.
State senators on Friday voted 33-29 to approve marriage equality legislation introduced by Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat in his first year of office. New York will become the sixth and most populous U.S. state to allow gay marriage.
"One of the so-called benefits to marriage is actually divorce," said Ruthann Robson, professor of law at the City University of New York. "If same-sex marriage is recognized, same-sex divorce would be recognized too."
In fact, same-sex divorce was first recognized in New York in 2008, when an appeals court found that a same-sex marriage performed in Canada could be legally recognized in New York for the purposes of dissolving the union.
But without a formal law on the books, same-sex divorce in the state has proceeded on a case-by-case basis, creating some degree of uncertainty for same-sex couples looking to undo their unions, said Bettina Hindin, an attorney at Raoul Felder and Partners, who has represented same-sex couples in New York divorce proceedings.
Since same-sex marriages are now legally equivalent to heterosexual unions, same-sex couples' right to divorce will be rooted in New York's Domestic Relations Law, rather than cobbled together out of court rulings and individual judges' decisions, according to Hindin.
"A lot of things are going to be easier" with legalized same-sex marriage, Hindin said. "It's still somewhat out of the ordinary; this will make things far more ordinary."
KIDS STILL AN ISSUE
If same-sex couples married in New York leave the state, however, they may run into trouble getting a divorce, especially if they end up in one of the 30 states that do not recognize same-sex marriage, said Susan Sommer, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, which advocates for gay rights.
In some states, such as Wyoming, courts have found a right to divorce even absent the right to marry. In other jurisdictions that don't recognize same-sex marriages, such as Texas, attempts at same-sex divorce have yielded mixed results.
In 2010, two trial courts in Austin and Dallas granted two separate gay couples' petitions for divorce. The Austin appeals court upheld the ruling on appeal, while the Dallas appeals court did not, ruling that the courts lacked authority to issue divorces for same-sex couples. Both cases are currently pending before the Texas Supreme Court.
"It can be a real bind for people, trapped in this legal limbo," Sommer said.
Still, same-sex relationships are no more susceptible to divorce than their heterosexual counterparts, Sommer added. According to a 2008 report from the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles, annual same-sex marriage divorce rates were about 2 percent, nearly identical to the rate for opposite-sex marriage.
"People go into their marriages expecting everything to work out, and for the majority of people that's the case," Sommer said. "But stuff happens."
One issue that remains unresolved by the same-sex marriage vote is child custody, where one partner is a biological parent but the other has failed to adopt the child.
"Money is easy," Hindin said. "It's the children, the truly emotional piece of the relationship, that will be coming to the forefront and have to be dealt with by statute."
Follow Up: Lady Gaga and Jamey Rodemeyer
This is one of those things where I can be a pit bull. When I see something that needs changing, it's hard for me not to sink my teeth into it. It's even harder to let go.
So I'm following up on Lady Gaga's recent attempts to speak with the President about bullying. One of the few things I could find on the interwebs was this article below.
Pop star Lady Gaga attended a political fundraiser for President Barack Obama in Silicon Valley Sunday evening.
The $35,800-a-person event for about 70 people was hosted under a tent in the yard of Cheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook.
Gaga tweeted to her millions of followers last week that she planned to meet with the president to discuss "how to stop bullying" after a teen took his life. It wasn't clear if they they talked at the fundraiser.
You can read more here.
I'm curious to see where all this goes. Did she meet with the President? If not, will she meet with him? What's next?
So I'm following up on Lady Gaga's recent attempts to speak with the President about bullying. One of the few things I could find on the interwebs was this article below.
Pop star Lady Gaga attended a political fundraiser for President Barack Obama in Silicon Valley Sunday evening.
The $35,800-a-person event for about 70 people was hosted under a tent in the yard of Cheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook.
Gaga tweeted to her millions of followers last week that she planned to meet with the president to discuss "how to stop bullying" after a teen took his life. It wasn't clear if they they talked at the fundraiser.
You can read more here.
I'm curious to see where all this goes. Did she meet with the President? If not, will she meet with him? What's next?
September 26, 2011
What is a CSR Book Review?
I've talked about DNF book reviews. Although I don't like them, I actually did write one a couple of months ago. And I hope it's the last one I ever have to write. I'll post about that one day.
But not today. I'd like to write about CSR reviews. Yesterday I started a new book, A Redbird Christmas: A Novel, by Fannie Flagg, and I couldn't stop reading.
This doesn't happen to me often, especially when I start a new book. I need to get past the first thirty pages before I really get into it. But this time it was like magic, and I couldn't stop reading.
Book reviews can be tricky little things at best. I'm sure there are people who've read this same book and would have considered it a DNF...there are always one or two wing nuts. But those people obviously weren't moved by the way one character saved the little bird. They weren't moved by the way this character watched this bird fight so hard to live.
And I'm not even a huge bird fan. I couldn't tell you one bird from another. But I know this feeling well. I once watched a human being fight just as hard to live. I've never seen anything like it before and I doubt there's much to come in the future that will top the experience.
But not today. I'd like to write about CSR reviews. Yesterday I started a new book, A Redbird Christmas: A Novel, by Fannie Flagg, and I couldn't stop reading.
This doesn't happen to me often, especially when I start a new book. I need to get past the first thirty pages before I really get into it. But this time it was like magic, and I couldn't stop reading.
Book reviews can be tricky little things at best. I'm sure there are people who've read this same book and would have considered it a DNF...there are always one or two wing nuts. But those people obviously weren't moved by the way one character saved the little bird. They weren't moved by the way this character watched this bird fight so hard to live.
And I'm not even a huge bird fan. I couldn't tell you one bird from another. But I know this feeling well. I once watched a human being fight just as hard to live. I've never seen anything like it before and I doubt there's much to come in the future that will top the experience.
September 25, 2011
Catching Up: Goodreads
I just noticed I have over 200 messages on Goodreads.
I wish I could say that I go to goodreads all the time. But I just don't have time I wish I had to do this. I went over there tonight to leave a rating for a book I just finished and when I signed in I saw the notifications.
So if I don't get back for a while, and you sent something important, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. My e-mail is listed here on the blog, and checking e-mail is an ongoing process for me.
I wish I could say that I go to goodreads all the time. But I just don't have time I wish I had to do this. I went over there tonight to leave a rating for a book I just finished and when I signed in I saw the notifications.
So if I don't get back for a while, and you sent something important, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. My e-mail is listed here on the blog, and checking e-mail is an ongoing process for me.
Speaking Of Labels...
I saw this on facebook and wanted to post it here for a reason.
Now that DADT has been repealed I'd like to think that we're going to see a completely new section of interesting people emerging, without fear.
Google +, I'm Here
I just started google+ and I'm liking it a lot. We'll see how it goes. I'm already part of too much social media as it is. But I couldn't resist giving it a shot.
If you're there, too, here's a link to where I am:
https://plus.google.com/?tab=XX
If you're there, too, here's a link to where I am:
https://plus.google.com/?tab=XX
Pen America: A Global Literary Community
This is one of those interweb communities I think is important for all fiction writers to check out.
Not only does it take you a step beyond amateur publishing bloggers who often hand out misguided advice (personal opinion that means very little)...or advice that never quite manages to go beyond their limited knowledge...there's also a sense of professionalism associated with this community that will change the way you think about fiction.
You can look over the web site here.
Even if you don't write mainstream/literary fiction, it will help in a broad sense.
September 24, 2011
Interesting: Pope Comments on Gay Marriage
I don't usually comment on these things. I just post them.
But considering that I know for a fact that there are more than one, two, or even three gay priests, I do find this interesting.
I would like to think that The Pope would be more focused on straightening out the problems within his own church instead of bashing the world. Especially with all the Catholic churches closing down in the US and so many good people leaving the church to practice their faith elsewhere. If you read the article, you'll see there are more people leaving the church in Germany, too. I didn't know this.
Things like this just fall under the category of "I don't get this and I'm tired of trying."
Catholics cannot accept gay marriage, pope says
24 Sep 2011 19:05
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Pope visits mostly Catholic Freiburg on last leg of tour
* Says dictatorships were "acid rain" for faith
* Incident as man shoots air gun to protest tight security (Updates with youth rally, meeting with Orthodox)
By Philip Pullella and Sarah Marsh
FREIBURG, Germany, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Saturday the Catholic Church could not accept gay marriage and urged young people to root out evil in society and shun a "lukewarm" faith that damages their Church.
The 84-year-old pope ended the third day in his homeland with a rally for more about 30,000 young people at a fairground outside the southern city of Freiburg, a Catholic area where he received the warmest welcome of his trip so far.
"The world in which we live, in spite of its technical progress, does not seem to be getting any better," he told the young people. "There is still war and terror, hunger and disease, bitter poverty and merciless oppression."
He urged them to root out all forms of evil in society and not to be "lukewarm Christians," saying that lack of commitment to faith did more damage to their Church than its sworn enemies.
Young people in the crowd cheered as he spoke.
"The Church is shown very negatively in the media these days so it is important for us young people to see we can also be proud of the Church, and the Church itself is not bad even if some people have let it down," said Kathrin Doerr, 26, who attended the youth rally.
Earlier, at a meeting with Orthodox Christian leaders, Benedict spoke out against abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage.
"We as Christians attach great importance to defending the integrity and the uniqueness of marriage between one man and one woman from any kind of misinterpretation," he said.
COMMUNISM'S ACID RAIN HURT FAITH
On the penultimate day of his trip, the pope straddled his homeland's religious and geographical divisions, praising the faithful for enduring communism's "acid rain" effect in former East Germany and then addressing cheering Catholic crowds in the west.
At a mass in the medieval main square during a subdued visit to the city of Erfurt, where only about seven percent of the people are Catholic, he praised eastern Germans who stayed loyal to the Church during oppressive years under Nazism and communism.
"You have had to endure first a brown and then a red dictatorship, which acted on the Christian faith like acid rain," he told the crowd from the altar, set against a hill dominated by Erfurt's cathedral and another Catholic church.
About two hours before the morning mass in Erfurt, a man fired an air gun at security staff at an Erfurt checkpoint in an apparent protest against the strict crowd-control measures, police said. The Vatican said the pope was never in any danger.
Benedict held a surprise meeting on Friday evening in Erfurt with victims of sexual abuse by priests. Church officials said on Saturday there were three men and two women present, chosen from many victims around Germany who had asked to meet the pope.
"The atmosphere of the meeting was rather relaxed," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told a news conference. "It was very important that the Pope expressed he shares in the pain the victims suffered and that the Church will do everything to prevent that happening again in the future."
About 700 Germans have filed for compensation for abuse by priests and other Church personnel. A record 181,000 Germans left the Church last year, many in protest at the abuse scandal. (Writing by Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan; Editing by Tim Pearce)
But considering that I know for a fact that there are more than one, two, or even three gay priests, I do find this interesting.
I would like to think that The Pope would be more focused on straightening out the problems within his own church instead of bashing the world. Especially with all the Catholic churches closing down in the US and so many good people leaving the church to practice their faith elsewhere. If you read the article, you'll see there are more people leaving the church in Germany, too. I didn't know this.
Things like this just fall under the category of "I don't get this and I'm tired of trying."
Catholics cannot accept gay marriage, pope says
24 Sep 2011 19:05
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Pope visits mostly Catholic Freiburg on last leg of tour
* Says dictatorships were "acid rain" for faith
* Incident as man shoots air gun to protest tight security (Updates with youth rally, meeting with Orthodox)
By Philip Pullella and Sarah Marsh
FREIBURG, Germany, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Saturday the Catholic Church could not accept gay marriage and urged young people to root out evil in society and shun a "lukewarm" faith that damages their Church.
The 84-year-old pope ended the third day in his homeland with a rally for more about 30,000 young people at a fairground outside the southern city of Freiburg, a Catholic area where he received the warmest welcome of his trip so far.
"The world in which we live, in spite of its technical progress, does not seem to be getting any better," he told the young people. "There is still war and terror, hunger and disease, bitter poverty and merciless oppression."
He urged them to root out all forms of evil in society and not to be "lukewarm Christians," saying that lack of commitment to faith did more damage to their Church than its sworn enemies.
Young people in the crowd cheered as he spoke.
"The Church is shown very negatively in the media these days so it is important for us young people to see we can also be proud of the Church, and the Church itself is not bad even if some people have let it down," said Kathrin Doerr, 26, who attended the youth rally.
Earlier, at a meeting with Orthodox Christian leaders, Benedict spoke out against abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage.
"We as Christians attach great importance to defending the integrity and the uniqueness of marriage between one man and one woman from any kind of misinterpretation," he said.
COMMUNISM'S ACID RAIN HURT FAITH
On the penultimate day of his trip, the pope straddled his homeland's religious and geographical divisions, praising the faithful for enduring communism's "acid rain" effect in former East Germany and then addressing cheering Catholic crowds in the west.
At a mass in the medieval main square during a subdued visit to the city of Erfurt, where only about seven percent of the people are Catholic, he praised eastern Germans who stayed loyal to the Church during oppressive years under Nazism and communism.
"You have had to endure first a brown and then a red dictatorship, which acted on the Christian faith like acid rain," he told the crowd from the altar, set against a hill dominated by Erfurt's cathedral and another Catholic church.
About two hours before the morning mass in Erfurt, a man fired an air gun at security staff at an Erfurt checkpoint in an apparent protest against the strict crowd-control measures, police said. The Vatican said the pope was never in any danger.
Benedict held a surprise meeting on Friday evening in Erfurt with victims of sexual abuse by priests. Church officials said on Saturday there were three men and two women present, chosen from many victims around Germany who had asked to meet the pope.
"The atmosphere of the meeting was rather relaxed," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told a news conference. "It was very important that the Pope expressed he shares in the pain the victims suffered and that the Church will do everything to prevent that happening again in the future."
About 700 Germans have filed for compensation for abuse by priests and other Church personnel. A record 181,000 Germans left the Church last year, many in protest at the abuse scandal. (Writing by Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan; Editing by Tim Pearce)
September 23, 2011
Facebook...WTF?
I've been on facebook since it first began. I think that's like six or seven years now. I heard about this thing called facebook from a friend in CA, and figured I'd try it out.
I thought it was simple. I liked it. I started connecting with old friends and started making knew ones. I was always careful to manage the privacy settings. And I'm not much of a photographer so I rarely posted anything other than book covers.
But this new change in facebook is astounding. I'm getting e-mail notifications from status updates I never commented on or clicked "like." And I'm not getting notifications from those on which I did comment and click "like."
I'm not getting notifications about private messages, and I depend on these notifications because I connect with a lot of readers through private messages. I actually always preferred this to e-mails. For some reason it's easier.
So until I figure out what's going on over at facebook, don't take it personally if it takes me a little longer to get back with private messages. I'm now just checking the messages twice daily, where I used to just see the e-mail, click on the thread, and answer right away.
I'm also over at google+ now, too. But, frankly, it's just as complicated as facebook and I don't really have the time to sit and figure it out. I don't even know how to connect with people over there yet. I did figure out a way to "drag" names and add them to friend circles. But that's about it.
I thought it was simple. I liked it. I started connecting with old friends and started making knew ones. I was always careful to manage the privacy settings. And I'm not much of a photographer so I rarely posted anything other than book covers.
But this new change in facebook is astounding. I'm getting e-mail notifications from status updates I never commented on or clicked "like." And I'm not getting notifications from those on which I did comment and click "like."
I'm not getting notifications about private messages, and I depend on these notifications because I connect with a lot of readers through private messages. I actually always preferred this to e-mails. For some reason it's easier.
So until I figure out what's going on over at facebook, don't take it personally if it takes me a little longer to get back with private messages. I'm now just checking the messages twice daily, where I used to just see the e-mail, click on the thread, and answer right away.
I'm also over at google+ now, too. But, frankly, it's just as complicated as facebook and I don't really have the time to sit and figure it out. I don't even know how to connect with people over there yet. I did figure out a way to "drag" names and add them to friend circles. But that's about it.
