JANUARY

29

2016

VOLUME 47

ISSUE 05

AMERICAS GAY NEWS SOURCE

Polls show tight contests

as caucuses near
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
EDITORS NOTE: The Blades Chris Johnson
will be in Iowa next week to report on the
caucuses. Visit washingtonblade.com for
updated coverage.

The Iowa caucuses are Monday with polls showing Democrats HILLARY CLINTON and
BERNIE SANDERS in a close race, while DONALD TRUMP and TED CRUZ are also close.

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTOS BY DAMIEN SALAS (CLINTON), MICHAEL KEY (SANDERS & CRUZ) & LEE WHITMAN (TRUMP)

With the rst contest in the 2016

presidential election just days away
in Iowa, Democratic and Republican
candidates continue to rack up
endorsements, but the outcome will
likely remain a nail-biter to the end.
The Iowa caucuses, the rst contest
in the presidential primary, will take
place on Monday at 7 p.m. Instead of a
primary in whichvoters cast their ballot
in private, theyll gather at caucus sites

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

to make their voices heard.

Sam Lau, a spokesperson for the
Iowa Democratic Party, said caucus
attendance is dicult to predict, but
we have seen passionate, red up
Democrats in all corners of the state.
Iowans know that being rst-in-thenation is an honor, and they take their
responsibility as the rst voices in the
primary process seriously, Lau said.
For the past year, Democrats have
been meeting our candidates up close,
asking them thoughtful questions, and
learning more about their visions for our
state and our country. We are condent
that the enthusiasm and energy we see
from Democrats on caucus night will
help lead us to victories up and down
the ballot in November.
The Iowa Republican Party didnt
CONTINUES ON PAGE 10

A mystery in
Philadelphia
Unsolved murder of gay man
raises questions about police response
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Hundreds took part in a Dupont Circle snowball ght

after last weeks record-breaking snowstorm.
More photos at washingtonblade.com

An ongoing mystery surrounding the May 2014 murder of a gay man in a

town just outside Philadelphia has raised questions about whether the FBI and
the U.S. Justice Department should intervene in a case that friends of the victim
believe could be a hate crime.
Dino Dizdarevic, 25, a chemical engineer who lived with his boyfriend in
Philadelphia, was found on the morning of May 1, 2014 strangled and beaten to
death in an alley behind a row of houses in Chester, Pa., according to Chester police.
His body was found one day after he told his roommate and boyfriend Nick
McBee that he met a man on the gay dating and hookup site Adam4Adam and
planned to visit him in Chester for a few hours before returning home that night.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

0 2 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

CoMing soon!

Enjoy Luxury and TranquiLiTy in This quiET nEighborhood

The perfect blend of luxury, space, light, and peace! This 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home built in 2006 and located
on a cul-de-sac road offers beautiful features throughout, including a fully finished basement with theater room,
full bathroom, and wet bar that were all added in 2014! Gourmet kitchen with 42 cherry cabinets, granite
counter tops, large island, and stainless steel appliances opens to family room and bright sun room that makes
a wonderful breakfast area. Easy to maintain composite deck off the sun room opens to private yard that is fully
fenced in. $445,000.

If you are looking for luxury within a budget, look no further!

This home has everything you need!
Irene Xenos
Licensed Realtor in VA & MD

RE/MAX By Invitation
4784 Lee Highway
Arlington, VA 22207

Cell: (703) 956-0418

Office: (703) 677-8730
Fax: (703) 940-0708

Email: irene.xenos@remax.net
Website: irenexenos.com
Company Website: www.byinvitationrealty.com

W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 0 3

e xc e e d i n g

e x p e c tat i o n s i t s w h at w e d o !

contact us today for a free and confidential marketing analysis of your home or business
BR I A N S HO N G
703.929.5764
Br ian.Hong@LNF.c om

JERY D B E A M ER
703.929.5763
Jer y.Be a mer@LNF.c om

hong & beamer

www. b rianandJery.com

6400 lUreta ann lane

springfield, va 22150
$2,300/MOntH

Gorgeous end unit townhouse super close

to Springfield Metro. Upgraded kitchen
with granite, new fridge! Freshly cleaned.
Hardwoods. Spacious finished basement.
FREE SHUTTLE TO METRO. Tenants have
access to community pool. Close to shopping,
and restaurants and public transportation. EZ
commuting. Meticulous owners are excellent
landlords.

5101e BaCKliCK rOad #29

alexandria, va 22310
$530,000

5589 la vista drive

alexandria, va 22310
Under COntraCt
$855,000

5673 ClOUds Mill drive

alexandria, va 22310
$870,000

3830 9tH street, n, Unit 703e

arlingtOn, va 22203
$2,600/MOntH

Bright 2BR/2BA in luxury building. Three sided gas

fireplace in living/dining areas. Master bedroom
has large closets. Master bath features whirlpool
tub. Washer and dryer in unit. Open kitchen. Great
parking space. Extra storage. Great building amenities, gym, outdoor pool, grilling area. Your choice of
Ballston or Virginia Square Metros. Shopping, dining
and lots of entertainment nearby.

2 story all brick townhouse condo for 1

large business or set up as 2 separate business spaces. Lower lvll with reception area
and 3 offices/conference rooms. Upper lvl
with reception area and 3 office/conference
rooms. Storage and BA on each level. Plenty free unassigned parking. Convenient
location, on Backlick and near Braddock
intersection. EZ access restaurants, shopping, 395/495/FFX Parkway.

803 HOWard street, Unit 235

alexandria, va
$300,000

To paraphrase Goldilocks, this Center Hall

Colonial is just right! Beautifully maintained
4BR/3.5BA home is not too large and not too
small. On the main level, formal living areas
flow in to the lovely appointed kitchen breakfast
area and family room. A sumptuous deck off the
kitchen provides you with a relaxing outdoor
entertainment space. The upper level features
4 bedrooms and two baths, including a luxury
master suite with two huge walk in closets.
Walk down the stairs to the lower level Playland! At the bottom of the steps is a large bar
with sink, dishwasher and fridge. On the other
side of the steps is a storage room and full bath.
There is also a large storage room which can
be finished as a 5th bedroom. The lower level
is completed by a large recreation space with
game table area and room for media area.

Wonderful Ryan Home in Gunnell Estates.

6BR/4.5 BA Colonial. Updated kitchen with
newer appliances, granite counter top, new
light fixtures throughout. Upgraded carpet and
padding, deck off of breakfast area.Master
bedroom is large with additional sitting area.
Two large walk in closets. Master bath has
two separate vanities, sunken tub, separate
shower and water closet. One other bedroom
has en-suite bath. Lower level has bedroom
and full bath and huge recreation area large
enough for a pool table and exercise space as
well. Walk out basement. Formal living room.
formal dining room, office huge kitchen and
breakfast area leading to deck and spacious
family room with lots of natural lighting and gas
fireplace. Lovely east west exposures for great
morning and afternoon sun. Backs to trees.
Wonderful home for a large or growing family.

Spacious 1334 sf 2BR/2BA condo at the Plaza.

Unit is in close proximity to pool, tennis courts, its
own huge parking space and large storage bin.
Master bedroom features a large walk-in closet,
en-suite bath, and has its own balcony. The second
good sized bedroom has a large closet as well with
the bath just across the hall. Public transportation,
hospital, shopping and restaurants nearby.

now accept i n g n e w l i s t i n g s ! l i c e n s e d i n d c , m d, va , & d e .

OLD TOWN HI STORI C
400 K ING STREET
ALEXANDRI A VA 22314
703.683.0400

GEORGETOWN SALES
1680 WI SC ONS IN AVENUE NW
WASHINGTON DC 20007
202.944.8400

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

0 4 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

Raymond Kent Fordyce dies at 72

Worked eight years at Lambda Rising
Raymond Kent Fordyce died Dec. 24
at Hospice House in South Carolina from
emphysema, according to his niece,
Kathryn Burke. He was 72 and was a
former Washington resident known in
the local gay community for his work at
Lambda Rising.
Raymond Kent was born on Aug.
28, 1943, in Cheswick, Pa., son of the
late Kent and Leila Swann Fordyce.
Also deceased are his partner of 26
years, Francis Kenney; sister, Joan
Kay Fordyce; and brother, Edward C.
Fordyce. Surviving are several nieces
and nephews, great-nieces and greatnephews, a great-great niece, and
cousins in the U.S. and Germany.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BURKE
Fordyce was a 1962 graduate of
Waynesburg High School in Waynesburg,
RAYMOND KENT FORDYCE
Pa., and received his bachelor of arts in
1968 at Waynesburg College, where he studied English literature and European
and American history. He then moved to New Haven, Conn., and worked as
assistant trade book manager for the Yale Co-Op and later became manager of
the Atticus Bookstore and Caf at the Yale British Art Center.
In 1983, he moved to Washington and worked as a book buyer for Lambda
Rising, an LGBT bookstore. During his eight years at Lambda Rising, he became
known for his ability to anticipate popular books.
He later worked for the Parks and History Association where he was a buyer
for all 26 Parks and History Association shops in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. He
also worked as a bookseller at Reiters Scientic Books for several years before
retiring. After retiring, he enjoyed daily social gatherings and cookie time at
the Promenade with fellow residents. He valued the cultural diversity of Adams
Morgan, where he lived for more than 30 years.
In May 2015, due to a decline in his health, he moved to Anderson, S.C., to
live closer to his niece and her husband. He became a resident of Brookdale
Anderson Retirement Community where he continued his love of reading. He
found new interests and camaraderie with other residents.
He was an avid reader, and had a great appreciation for science ction and history
and movies of the same genre. He had a dry sense of humor, was quick witted and
loved telling colorful stories. He created eccentric art sculptures and sent whimsical
letters and cards. He was a beloved uncle and great friend to many and will be
deeply missed by his family and friends, both old and new, his niece said.
A spring service is planned in Pennsylvania. E-mail to raymondkentfordyce@
gmail.com for details.
JOEY DiGUGLIELMO

obituary
Robert D. Goddard, 54
Robert D. Goddard died Jan. 13 in Martinsburg, W.Va., of chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease according to Wayne Beudro, his partner of 33 years.
Goddard was born July 8, 1961 aboard his fathers Navy ship in Portsmouth,
N.H. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and a long-time resident of Washington.
He was co-owner of PREP Escorts, his partner said.
Bob loved computers, cooking, food, cats, dogs, Harry Potter, books by Terry
Pratchett and Spike Milligan poems, Beudro said.
He is survived by Beudro and friends David, Brneda, Kellie, Denzell, Larry and
Paul and foster parents Bill and Linda and their children, Billy and Tommy.
His ashes will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial donations
may be made in his name to Food & Friends.
JOEY DiGUGLIELMO

LO CA L N E W S

Jacobson re-elected as D.C. school board president

Gay education advocate and former Dupont Circle ANC commissioner Jack Jacobson
was re-elected unanimously by his colleagues on Jan. 20 as president of the D.C. State
Board of Education for a second one-year term.
Jacobson won election as a member of the board in 2012 as its Ward 2 representative.
One year ago, when elected for the rst time as board president, he became the citys
highest-ranking openly gay elected ocial.
Also re-elected to the position of vice president of the State Board of Education was
Karen Williams of Ward 7.
Together with our talented colleagues, we look forward to serving as your voice in
the District on education-related matters, Jacobson said in a statement.
He noted in his statement that the board this year expects to nalize an update to
the D.C. public school systems health education standards, which, among other things,
include requirements that students as early as the third grade be taught about sexual
orientation and gender identity.
Since joining the board, my number one goal has been providing the Districts
students with more rigorous skills-based health education to help them make healthy
choices on issues ranging from nutrition to sexual consent, drug use to suicide and
more, Jacobson said in his statement. As board president, I look forward to seeing this
through to its conclusion.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Ex-employee sues Whitman-Walker

A former employee has accused Whitman-Walker Health in a lawsuit led on Jan. 15 of
illegally ring him in retaliation for his complaint that he was subjected to a hazardous
workplace contaminated with paint fumes and other toxic materials.
Omar Mendez Rivas, who was hired by Whitman-Walker in April 2015 as a sta
accountant/grant biller, charges in his lawsuit that the organization terminated his
employment on the same day he informed supervisors he had led a complaint against
Whitman-Walker with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The lawsuit, which seeks $200,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, also
charges Whitman-Walker with violating the D.C. Human Rights Act by discriminating
against him in the ring based on his race, national origin and gender.
One week prior to termination, Plainti led a complaint with OSHA in regards to
building violations and uses of toxic paint in a conned space during working hours,
without warning or without protection against harmful fumes and materials used this
resulted in Plainti getting severely ill with headaches, dizziness, nausea and respiratory
diculties, the lawsuit charges.
In a Jan. 22 motion calling for the U.S. District Court for D.C. to dismiss the case,
Whitman-Walker argues that each of Rivass allegations fail as a matter of law because
they fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
The motion also says that Rivas was terminated at the conclusion of his three-month
introductory period, and under D.C. rules related to employment an at-will employee
may be discharged at any time and for any reason, or for no reason at all.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Shawn Jain told the Blade Rivas had been working
at the organizations Elizabeth Taylor Building at 14th and R Streets, N.W. He said
Whitman-Walker has a policy of not commenting on the reason why employees leave
the organization.
We continue to dispute the claims made by Omar Mendez-Rivas, said Jain, who
added that OSHA conducted its own investigation and has not issued any safety
violations based on Rivass claims regarding paint fumes.
Apage on the OSHA website for a case listed as Whitman-Walker Elizabeth Taylor
Medical Center Inspection Information says the case was opened on July 31, 2015
and closed on Sept. 10, 2015. No ndings of a violation in OSHA regulations are listed
on the page.
OSHA spokespersonLeni Fortson said the fact that no violations are listed indicates none
were found by OSHA inspectors who visited the building in response to the complaint.
Jonathan Dailey, the attorney representing Rivas, said he was told by OSHA while
preparing the lawsuit that the case was ongoing. But he said he wont dispute what OSHA
is now saying and will correct the lawsuits assertion that the probewas continuing.
He said the lawsuit was never dependent on an OSHA nding of a violation. This is a
wrongful termination case, he said. This is based on common law a wrongful discharge
public policy exception, which is recognized under D.C. law as a cause of action.
The lawsuit says Whitman-Walker has responded by saying the termination was not
due to Rivass OSHA complaint but it has refused to give a reason for the termination.
At no point after his hire and prior to his termination did defendant complain about
his work performance, other than praise, the lawsuit says.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 0 5

Brian had his HIV under control with

medication. But smoking with HIV
caused him to have serious health
problems, including a stroke, a blood
clot in his lungs and surgery on an
artery in his neck. Smoking makes
living with HIV much worse.
You can quit.

CALL 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

#CDCTips

HIV alone
didnt cause the
clogged artery
in my neck.
Smoking with
HIV did.
Brian, age 45, California

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

0 6 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

LO CA L N E W S

GAVIN GRIMM is challenging a Virginia

school districts controversial restroom
policy.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GRIMM

4th Circuit hears

transgender student lawsuit
A federal appeals court on Wednesday was slated to hear the case of a
transgender student who is challenging a Virginia school districts controversial
restroom policy.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond is hearing oral arguments
in a lawsuit that Gavin Grimm led against the Gloucester County School Board
over its policy that prevents him from using the boys restroom or locker rooms.
Grimm, who is a student at Gloucester County High School, alleges the policy
is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendments Equal Protection Clause. He also
claims it violates Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits
schools that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of sex.
Joshua Block of the American Civil Liberties Unions Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Project, who represents Grimm, on Monday told reporters during
a conference call that his client has legally changed his name and gender marker
on his identication. Block said Grimm has eectively been banished to an
alternative bathroom that continues to stigmatize him everyday.
Right now I feel humiliated and dysphoric every time Im forced to use a
separate restroom facility just so I can carry out a basic function of human life,
said Grimm.
The Gloucester County School Board in 2014 approved the controversial policy
that requires students to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to
their biological gender.
U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar last July said the policy does not violate Title
IX. He also dismissed Grimms request for an injunction that would have allowed
him to use the boys restroom as his case works its way through the courts.
The Justice Department has argued in the Grimm case that Title IX requires
school districts to allow trans students to use the restroom that corresponds
with their gender identity.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a landmark 2012 ruling
said employment discrimination based on gender identity amounts to sex
discrimination under federal law. Then-Attorney General Eric Holder two years
later said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans workplace discrimination
based on gender identity.
Wednesdays hearing marked the rst time a federal appeals court has
considered whether Title IX requires schools to allow trans students to use
facilities that are consistent with their gender identity. Visit washingtonblade.
com for updated news.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Gay D.C. teacher acquitted of sexual assault

A D.C. Superior Court judge on Thursday found a former D.C. special education
teacher whos gay not guilty of charges that he sexually assaulted on two occasions a
9-year-old male student at Minor Elementary School on Capitol Hill.
Following a two-week non-jury trial, Judge Robert Morin found Leroy Damien Ware,
34, not guilty on two counts each of misdemeanor sexual assault of a child or minor and
misdemeanor sex abuse.
In delivering the verdict from the bench in oral remarks, Morin said police and
prosecutors failed to show that Ware had intentionally interacted with the boy in a way

that constituted sexual assault, according to gay activist Martin Moulton, who attended
the trial.
Moulton, who did not know Ware prior to the trial, said the not-guilty verdict came
about a week after a 10-year-old boy and classmate of the alleged victim took the
witness stand and gave dramatic testimony saying the alleged victim had made anti-gay
remarks about Ware and said he planned to do something against Ware.
Most notably, during the trial, a 10-year-old male peer of the supposed victim
gave extensive testimony on behalf of his teacher, Mr. Ware, about what was in fact
a blatantly homophobic attack from a notoriously unruly and troubled child who had
impudently pulled his pants down during class, Moulton told the Blade.
On the witness stand, this childs testimony demonstrated convincing and remarkable
wisdom, compassion, and sensitivity to all of the adult issues involved, said Moulton,
who noted that the 10-year-old told others that he has a gay uncle and doesnt think its
right to treat gay people in an unfair way.
William Miller, a spokesperson for the Oce of the U.S. Attorney, which prosecuted
the case against Ware, said the oce would have no comment on the case or the
acquittal.
A D.C. police arrest adavit led in court Feb. 5, 2015 says police learned of the
sexual assault allegation from the alleged victims mother, who helped arrange for the
boy to talk to police investigators. The adavit says the alleged victim, who is referred
to as the complainant in the case, told police Ware touched my private parts once in a
classroom and another time in a computer lab.
Charging documents say the alleged touching took place sometime between October
and December of 2014.
According to the adavit, Ware told investigators in a non-custodial interview on
Feb. 2, 2015, that he inadvertently touched the complainants penis while attempting
to remove the complainants hands from inside his pants during a session at the
computer lab. It says the second incident occurred in a classroom when Ware allegedly
touched the boy on his buttocks.
Moulton said that Ware testied at the trial that the touching incidents occurred when
the student was acting inappropriately in class and in the computer lab. In the interaction
at the computer lab, Ware testied it appeared that the boy was masturbating with his
hand inside his own pants, and Ware approached him and removed the boys hand
from his pants, Moulton recounted.
During a trial session on Jan. 14, in which a Blade reporter was present, Wares defense
attorney, Chantaye Redmon-Reid, played an audio recording of the police interview of
Ware and argued that one or more detectives repeatedly badgered Ware into saying
things that were not true.
Redmon-Reid said police investigators lied to Ware during the interview by claiming
they had obtained DNA evidence showing Ware sexually assaulted the 9-year-old.
Moulton said police subsequently acknowledged fabricating the DNA claim but have
said doing so is a legally permissible technique for interrogating suspects in a criminal
case.
Judge Morin was very critical of MPD detectives tactics in deceiving the teacher and
essentially badgering him until they obtained the story they wanted to hear, Moulton
said.
Morin called the claim about DNA evidence a legal but concerning tactic in view of
the court, which was not productive, Moulton recounted.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Va. Senate panel approves anti-bias bills

Members of a Virginia Senate committee on Monday approved two anti-discrimination
bills.
Senate Bill 12, which would ban anti-LGBT discrimination against state employees,
passed in the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee by a 9-4 margin.
State Sens. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico County)
introduced the bill that would codify into law Gov. Terry McAulies 2014 executive
order banning discrimination against state employees based on their sexual orientation
and gender identity.
Ebbin voted for SB 12 alongside state Sens. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton), J. Chapman
Petersen (D-Fairfax City), George Barker (D-Fairfax County), Jill Holtzman Vogel
(R-Winchester), Jennifer Wexton (D-Loudoun County), Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax County),
Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William County) and David Suetterlein (R-Roanoke).
State Sens. Frank Ru, (R-Mecklenburg County) Richard Stuart (R-Staord County),
Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsvylvania County) and Thomas Garrett (R-Buckingham County)
voted against SB 12. State Sen. William DeSteph (R-Virginia Beach) abstained.
The committee on Monday also approved Senate Bill 67, which would add sexual
orientation and gender identity to the Virginia Fair Housing Act.
The measure, which Wexton introduced, passed by a 10-4 vote margin.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

NATIONAL NEWS

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 0 7

Protesters on Jan. 23 shut down a reception featuring two LGBT activists from Israel.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY THAYER/GAY LIBERATION NETWORK

Anti-Semitic protest
mars Creating Change
LGBT activists from
Jerusalem forced to
ee reception
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
A melee broke out at last weeks
Creating Change conference in Chicago
after a group of protesters disrupted
and shut down a presentation featuring
Jerusalem-based activists from an LGBT
community center.
Sarah Kala-Meir and Tom Canning of
the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and
Tolerance were scheduled to speak at a
reception sponsored by A Wider Bridge.
They left the room through a back door
as protesters began shouting, fearing for
their safety.
Those who protested the reception
held signs with slogans that expressed
their opposition to pinkwashing, which
they describe as the promotion of Israels
LGBT rights record in an attempt to deect
attention away from its controversial
policies toward the Palestinians. A video
that the Windy City Times shot shows
protesters chanting Palestine will be free,
from the river to the sea as they marched
toward the reception. That slogan has
been used by those who support the
destruction of the Jewish state.
A second video of the Creating Change
Conference protest the Windy City Times
captured shows someone placing a
Palestinian ag over the head of a man
who was trying to enter the reception.
The protesters began chanting shame on
you! after he ripped it down and began
yelling into the crowd.
National LGBTQ Task Force Executive
Director Rea Carey in a statement
noted her organization, which produces
Creating Change, acted to defuse the
situation to the best of our ability. She

said security personnel at the Chicago

Hilton where the conference took place
called the police without consulting us.
We are deeply concerned about how the
events of the evening unfolded, said Carey.
Tony Varona, a professor at American
University in D.C. who is a former member
of the HRC board of directors, attended
the reception.
He told the Blade on Monday that he
heard verbal attacks from some of the
protesters about how the organizers
and the attendees had blood on our
hands, how we were celebrating over
dead bodies, didnt care about people
of color, etc., etc., and that Israel had to
be destroyed. Varona said he did not
personally hear any protesters use antiSemitic slurs, but heard that others did.
I was sickened by the anti-Semitic
under- and overtones throughout the
protest, he said.
Varona, who has attended a number of
Creating Change Conferences since the
rst one took place 28 years ago, over the
weekend posted to his Facebook page an
open letter to Carey.
Until and unless the Task Force
addresses the harm(s) done, coursecorrects and distances itself from the
anti-Semitism, bullying, and censorship
soaking this conference, I am afraid I
can no longer support the Task Force in
any manner nor attend another Creating
Change, wrote Varona.
Nancy K. Kaufman, CEO of the National
Council of Jewish Women, in a statement
said her organization is outraged by the
harassment and censorship inicted on
the Israelis who were invited to speak at
the Creating Change Conference.
I want to make this crystal clear:
The National LGBTQ Task Force
wholeheartedly condemns anti-Semitism
and anti-Semitic statements made at any
Task Force event, including our Creating
Change Conference, Carey said in a
statement Monday.

Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO MARTIN SHKRELI has been subpoenaed to

appear before a congressional committee.
PHOTO BY RICH HOWELLS; COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

House committee subpoenas Martin Shkreli

WASHINGTON Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli has been
subpoenaed to appear before a congressional committee that is investigating
drug price increases.
The Associated Press reported the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform subpoenaed Shkreli on Jan. 11. The hearing was to have
taken place earlier this week, but the blizzard that paralyzed the East Coast
forced its postponement.
Shkreli last fall sparked outrage when he announced Turing Pharmaceuticals
had raised the cost of Daraprim a drug used to treat an infection that can
cause brain damage in people with AIDS and babies more than 5,000 percent.
Federal authorities in December charged Shkreli with securities fraud in
connection with a hedge fund and separate pharmaceuticals company he
founded. Shkreli subsequently resigned from Turing Pharmaceuticals.

Va. lawmaker compares homosexuality to cancer

RICHMOND, Va. A member of the Virginia Senate on Jan. 26 compared
homosexuality to cancer.
If I have a child who has cancer, theres a chance we can cure that cancer
with chemo therapy rather than watch that child suer, said state Sen. Charles
Carrico (R-Galax) during a subcommittee hearing on a bill that would ban socalled conversion therapy in Virginia. It is a form of therapy, the chemo therapy,
and to know it goes in remission and nd out the child has cancer again, that is
a parents decision to try and help the child.
GayRVA reported Carrico made the comments before the subcommittee
voted to pass by indenitely the bill.
State Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) has introduced a similar measure in the
Republican-controlled Virginia House of Delegates.

Chicago man charged with killing boyfriend

CHICAGO Prosecutors say a man stabbed his boyfriend to death after an
argument about their relationship.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Clifton Hooker has been charged with
rst-degree murder in connection with Alphonzo Guinyards death.
Prosecutors contend Guinyard arrived at Hookers home in Chicagos East
Gareld Park neighborhood around 8:45 a.m. on Jan. 24.
The two men, who had been dating since 2014, began to argue after Hooker
demanded to see Guinyards phone because he thought he was cheating on
him. Prosecutors say the two men began to ght, and Hooker stabbed Guinyard
in the back with a knife.
A judge on Jan. 26 ordered Hooker held on a $1 million bond.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

0 8 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

NATIONAL NEWS

Establishment criticism of HRC strikes a chord

Some say leading LGBT
rights group represents
the 1 percent
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Sen. Bernard Sanders retracted his
comments about the Human Rights
Campaign days after he made them,
but labeling the nations leading
LGBT advocacy group as part of
the establishment last week struck a
chord with someLGBT critics.
Some said Sanders was correct in
labeling as establishment the Human
Rights Campaign, an LGBT group
known for black-tie fundraising dinners,
lauding corporations with pro-LGBT
records in its Corporate Equality Index,
close ties to Democratic Party leaders
and support for Republicans who back
LGBT rights (even when their Democratic
opponents are stronger on LGBT issues).
The day after Sanders made the
comments, Chad Grin, president of
the Human Rights Campaign, was in
Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World
Economic Forum where Vice President
Joseph Biden spoke in support of
international LGBT rights.
Andrew Miller, a member of the New
York-based grassroots group Queer Nation,
said Sanders comments were accurate.
Im surprised Chad Grin wasnt
attered that Bernie Sanders labeled HRC
part of the political establishment, Miller
said. Grin, who has just returned from
the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, certainly runs the organization
as if thats what they aspire to. Its gratifying
that at least one American politician
understood at least for a moment
that HRC represents the 1 percent, not the
majority of the LGBT community nor the
values of LGBT Americans.
On Monday during an interview on
MSNBCs Rachel Maddow Show, Sanders
called the Human Rights Campaign as
well as the womens health group Planned
Parenthood part of the establishment
in response to a question about those
groups endorsing Hillary Clinton during the
increasingly competitive Democratic primary.
What we are doing in this campaign,
and it just blows my mind every day,
because I see it clearly, were taking on,
not only Wall Street, and the economic
establishment, were taking on the
political establishment, Sanders said.
So, I have friends and supporters in
the Human Rights Fund, in Planned
Parenthood. But, you know what, Hillary
Clinton has been around there for a very,
very long time, and some of these groups
are, in fact, part of the establishment.

Democratic presidentialhopeful Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) described HRC as establishment

but later walked back the remark.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Sanders comments echoed remarks his

campaign spokesperson Michael Briggs
made to the Washington Blade immediately
after the Human Rights Campaign
announced it had endorsed Clinton.
Dismissing the endorsement as consistent
with establishment organizations, Briggs
said the decision cannot possibly be based
on the facts and the record of Sanders
support for LGBT rights.
One of the chief criticisms of the
Human Rights Campaign is the view
that it has been historically reluctant to
insist on the inclusion of transgender
people in the LGBT movement. In 2007,
HRC ignited a restorm by declining to
oppose a version of the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act that prohibited
discrimination only on the basis of sexual
orientation and omitted gender identity.
In 2014, Grin apologized to the
transgender community at the Southern
Comfort Conference, which serves as
an annual gathering for transgender
advocates. The Human Rights Campaign
has since emerged as a stronger voice for
transgender people and has promoted
transgender advocates likes Blossom
Brown and Jazz Jennings.
Rebecca Juro, a New Jersey-based
transgender advocate and Sanders
supporter, said she thinks Sanders
calling the Human Rights Campaign
establishment is a net-gain for the
progressive
movement
and
the
transgender community.
Especially those who are a little older,
my age, believe the HRC is exactly that,
they are the establishment, Juro said.
Theyve constantly resisted change,
theyve consistently resisted going
beyond the rich, white gay level of
support. They had to basically be forced
into it, embarrassed into it by journalists,

columnists and protests. So, I think

especially within the trans community, I
think calling HRC establishment will help
[Sanders]a lot because thats exactly the
way transgender people see HRC.
But Sanders characterization of
HRC and Planned Parenthood as
establishment was short-lived. At an
event in Burlington, Iowa, Clinton said she
was somewhat confused by Sanders
calling those groups establishment,
adding I wish it were. Both the Human
Rights Campaign and Planned Parenthood
said on Twitter they were disappointed
in Sanders for his remarks.
On Thursday, Sanders walked back
his comments, denying he ever said the
Human Rights Campaign and Planned
Parenthood were establishment groups.
According to Sanders, he intended to
convey the confusion of grassroots
supporters who were wondering why
those groups were backing Clinton when
Sanders has a 100 percent supportive
voting record on LGBT and abortion
rights issues.
They are standing up and ghting the
important ghts that have to be fought,
Sanders said of both groups.
Michael Petrelis, a gay San Franciscobased blogger who has been critical of
HRC, said much truth was spoken by
Sanders in his initial comments.
As a longtime observer and critic of the
HRC for its too-close ties and reluctance
to criticize Democratic politicians, I
wish the senator had not rescinded his
remarks, Petrelis said. With HRC boss
Chad Grin again in Davos, Switzerland,
for the World Economic Forum, and the
groups sucking up to Goldman Sachs and
hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer among
too many examples of HRC maintaining
good establishment ties, its clear they like

hobnobbing with the 1 percent. Despite

the controversy of Bernies comments, Id
still vote for him in a primary election.
JoDee Winterhof, the Human Rights
Campaigns senior vice president for
policy and political aairs, responded
to assertions that Sanders was right in
calling her organization establishment
by defending its endorsement of Clinton.
While weve heard from passionate
supporters of other pro-equality candidates
in this race, HRCs board of directors voted
unanimously to endorse Hillary Clinton
because of her strong record on LGBT
equality as a senator and Secretary of State,
her robust LGBT policy platform, and her
ability to win in November, Winterhof said.
The leading candidates on the Republican
side have threatened to not only block
progress but to revoke, repeal, and
overturn the gains made during President
Obamas two terms in oce. The stakes
couldnt be higher in this election, we cant
aord to sit on the sidelines, and we believe
that Hillary Clinton is the champion we
need to ght for us as president.
Theres evidence Sanders initial
establishment remarks may have hurt
him politically in the Democratic primary
as the race tightens.
Gabriel
Debenedetti,
a
reporter
for Politico, on Twitter said the day after
Sanders called the Human Rights Campaign
and Planned Parenthood establishment
was one of the Clinton campaigns top
10 online fundraising days, which was
conrmed to the Washington Blade by a
Clinton campaign source.
But Briggs said donations went up for
the Sanders campaign immediately after
the establishment remarks and criticism
of the candidate. Its hard to pinpoint a
particular cause because theres so much
enthusiasm and energy out there for lots
of reasons, but generally speaking our
supporters dont like it when they think
Bernies being unfairly attacked, Briggs
said. Richard Socarides, a gay New Yorkbased Democratic activist who supports
Clinton, was critical of Sanders initial
establishment remarks as well as the
candidates clarication. I think his view
is anyone who doesnt support him is
the establishment, Socarides said. Im
not sure he really took it back as much
as amended it to apply to the leaders of
those groups.
Despite the controversy over Sanders
comments, polls this week showed
hehas the lead in the early primary states
of Iowa and New Hampshire. In New
Hampshore, a CNN/WMUR poll found
Sanders leading Clinton by 27 points, 60
percent to 33 percent. In Iowa, A CNN/
ORC poll found Sanders has an eightpoint lead over Clinton among likely
Democratic presidential caucus-goers, 51
percent to 43 percent.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

NEWS

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 0 9

POPE FRANCIS has reiterated his opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples
ahead of an expected vote on an Italian civil unions bill.
PHOTO BY JEFFREY BRUNO; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Former Maryland Gov. MARTIN OMALLEY renewed his commitment to support LGBT rights at
a town hall.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

OMalley renews pledge

to advance LGBT rights
Omits mention of Equality
Act at Town Hall event
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Martin
OMalley
renewed
his
commitment to ght for LGBT rights at the
federal level on Monday night, although
he omitted any mention of federal nondiscrimination legislation known as the
Equality Act.
The Democratic presidential candidate
made the remarks during a town hall at
Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa,
in response to a question from Brian
Carlson, who asked OMalley what hed
do to advance LGBT rights at the federal
level in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme
Court ruling for same-sex marriage.
I believe that the genius of this
American experiment of ours is that in
every generation you take actions to
include more people more fully in the
economic, the social and the political life of
our country, OMalley responded. Thats
the broader arc of American history. We
have yet to arrive at a perfect union, but
every generation we had the opportunity
to make it a more perfect union.
OMalley touted his accomplishments
on LGBT rights as governor of Maryland,
which included signing marriage equality
and transgender civil rights into law. The
audience at the town hall gave OMalley
signicant applause after he mentioned
those achievements.
Its interesting, you know, the common
ground we found to get things these
done was this: Its really about our kids,
OMalley continued. Its about all our
kids. There was some people in Maryland
who said we might not be able to pass
marriage equality and we made the
argument all about the truth that there

is dignity in every childs home, and every

childs home needs to be protected with
dignity under the law.
OMalley said one of the most powerful
shared beliefs is the dignity of every of
person, which he said has motivated him in
addition to the common good that we share.
I will do everything in my power to move
us forward as a nation and make us more
inclusive in every possible way I can across
the board because thats what makes us
stronger as a country, OMalley concluded.
OMalley never explicitly mentioned his
support for the comprehensive federal
non-discrimination legislation known as
the Equality Act even though he was the
rst presidential candidate to publicly
support the legislation,
Hillary Clinton interlaced her remarks
at the town hall with words in support
of LGBT rights, even though she wasnt
directly asked a question about the
issue. Clinton said she has fought against
homophobic inequality and pledged
an administration that would work on
advancing gay rights.
Chad Grin, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, was present at the
town hall and praised Clinton on Twitter
in the aftermath for her performance. His
organization endorsed Clinton last week.
@HillaryClinton proved again tonight
that shes the leader wholl win in
November & be the champion for equality
we need in the White House
Chad Grin (@ChadHGrin) January
26, 2016
Bernard Sanders didnt mention LGBT
rights during thetown hall, but he was asked
about earlier comment in which he called
the Human Rights Campaign and Planned
Parenthood. Without explicitly mentioning
the Human Rights Campaign, Sanders
repeated his retraction, saying he supports
Planned Parenthood and would seek to
expand federal funds for the organization.

Pope reiterates opposition to same-sex marriage

Pope Francis last week reiterated his opposition to marriage rights for samesex couples.
ANSA, an Italian news agency, on Jan. 22 reported that Francis spoke to the
Roman Rota, a Vatican court that primarily handles marriage annulments. The
ponti reportedly said in his speech that a report on the family that Catholic
bishops released last October told the world that there can be no confusion
between the family as willed by God, and every other type of union.
The church continues to propose marriage in its essentials ospring,
good of the couple, unity, indissolubility, sacramentality not as ideal only for
a few notwithstanding modern models centered on the ephemeral and the
transient but as a reality that can be experienced by all the baptized faithful,
said Francis, according to ANSA.
Francis made his comments ahead of Thursdays expected vote in the Italian
Senate on a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions and
extend second-parent adoption rights to same-sex couples.
Arcigay, an Italian LGBT advocacy group, on Saturday organized dozens of
protests across the country in support of the bill.
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the Maryland-based New Ways
Ministry, wrote on his blog that Francis clear statement against marriage
equality in the midst of a political debate about civil unions in Italy...is very
disappointing. Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a
group for LGBT Catholics, expressed a similar sentiment.
This statement from the pope is sure to dishearten many who believed
he was open to new thinking about committed, loving relationships between
lesbian and gay people, she said in a statement.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, who came out in 2014, on Jan. 22 met with Francis. The
ponti last September met with Yayo Grassi, a gay man he taught in his native in
Argentina in the 1960s, during his visit to D.C.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Mexican court strikes down state marriage ban

The Mexican Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the state of Jaliscos
same-sex marriage ban.
The justices in their 11-0 ruling said the portion of the Jalisco Civil Code that
denes marriage as between a man and a woman amounts to discrimination
based on sexual orientation under the Mexican constitution.
Milenio, a Mexican newspaper, quoted Chief Justice Luis Mara Aguilar
Morales as saying the Jalisco Congress has the freedom to legislate the issue of
marriage rights for same-sex couples. He stressed, however, it cannot do it in
a way that aects peoples human rights.
Guadalajara, which is the second largest city in Mexico, is located in Jalisco.
The resort city of Puerto Vallarta, which is a popular destination for gays and
lesbians from the U.S., is also in the state.
Media reports indicate the Mexican Supreme Court for practical purposes
has legalized same-sex marriage in Jalisco.
The ruling will formally take eect once it is published.
For us it is a very good step forward, Leonardo Espinosa, president of
Cohesin de Diversidades para la Sustentabilidad, a Guadalajara-based LGBT
advocacy group known by the acronym CODISE, told the Washington Blade on
Tuesday during a telephone interview.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 0 J A N UA RY 2 9 , 2016

NATIONAL NEWS

Races tighten as Iowa prepares for caucuses

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

respond to the Washington Blades

request forcomment on expectations for
turnout in the GOP caucuses.
Polls show a tight race between Hillary
Clinton and Bernard Sanders on the
Democratic side and Donald Trump and
Ted Cruz on the Republican side.
One poll published by Quinnipiac University
on Tuesday found among likely Republican
caucus participants Trump has a narrow lead
over Cruz, 31 percent to 29 percent, followed
by Marco Rubio at 15 percent.
The Republican candidates will have their
last chance on national TV to make their
case to Iowa caucus-goers during a debate
set for Thursday. On Wednesday, Trump
ignited a restorm when he announced
he was boycotting the debate because he
doesnt think hell be treated fairly by Fox
News anchor Megyn Kelly, with whom he
tangled after the rst debate.
Another poll from Quinnipiac on
Wednesday found on the Democratic
side Sanders holds a slight lead of 49
percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers, followed by Hillary Clinton at 45
percent and Martin OMalley at 4 percent.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the
Quinnipiac University Poll, noted the
similarities in the challenge Clinton faces
in Iowa to what she faced eight years ago
in the primary against Barack Obama,
who would go on to win the state.
Is this deja vu all over again? Brown
said. Who would have thunk it when
the campaign began? Secretary Hillary
Clinton struggling to keep up with Sen.
Bernie Sanders in the nal week before
the Iowa caucus. It must make her think
of eight years ago when her failure in
Iowa cost her the presidency.
The poll found Sanders has strong
support among men, who support him
over Clinton 63 to 32 percent; and likely
caucus participants ages 18 to 44, who
back him over Clinton 78 to 21 percent.
In an attempt to nudge voters one way
or the other, endorsements continued to
roll in for the candidates.
Cruz, whos the darling of social
conservatives
and
has
received
endorsements from the anti-LGBT
National Organization for Marriage and
Bob Vander Plaats of the Family Leader,
scored additional support on Wednesday
from Tony Perkins, president of the antiLGBT Family Research Council.
On Twitter, Perkins declared hes
personally endorsing Cruz because the
Texas Republican is the leader to pull
America out of the political and cultural
tailspin that President Obamas policies
have put us in.
I believe @tedcruz is the leader to pull
America out of the political and cultural
tailspin that President Obamas policies

The Des Moines Register endorsed

Sen. MARCO RUBIO for the Republican
nomination, despite his anti-gay views.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY LEE WHITMAN

have put us in, Perkins Tweeted on Jan.

27.
Also endorsing Cruz this week was
former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who ran
against against him for the Republican
nomination, but dropped out of the
race. Youll have with Ted Cruz that
same result of, senators and others in
the Washington establishment that are
mad at him, nd him to be hard to work
with, they will nd a way to work with him
because they know he means what he
says he means, Perry told Politico. But
Trump bolstered his social conservative
bonades by receiving the endorsement
of Jerry Falwell, Jr., president of Liberty
University, an evangelical school with an
anti-LGBT reputation. On Twitter, Trump
bragged about the endorsement, calling
him one of the most respected religious
leaders in our nation. As ThinkProgress
points out, the real estate magnate also
refers to Falwell as a reverend, but Falwell
doesnt hold that title, unlike his late
father who founded Liberty University.
Great honor- Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr.
of Liberty University, one of the most
respected religious leaders in our nation,
has just endorsed me! Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2016
Trump also chided Cruz for being
endorsed by the Vander Plaats, accusing
the social conservative of asking for
$100,000 for himself at a joint event
with both him and Trump. Vander Plaats
tweeted back that was not true and Trump
was responsible for charging $100,000.
This plays to Trumps judgment and
temperament, Vander Plaats told The
Des Moines Register in response. He will
burn anybody.
Over the weekend, the Des Moines
Register issued two endorsements in the

presidential race. One on the Republican

side and one on the Democratic side. For
the Republican caucuses, the newspaper
endorsed Rubio, but nonetheless took a
dig at him for holding anti-LGBT views.
He wants to ght the battles of the
past, such as the Supreme Court samesex marriage ruling, the Register writes.
We hope Marco Rubio and his party
take a dierent path, one that can lead
to the opportunity and optimism he so
eloquently articulates.
On the Democratic side, the Des Moines
Register endorsed Clinton, saying no other
candidate can match the depth or breadth
of her knowledge and experience. The
candidate also received the endorsement
from the Boston Globe over the weekend.
One high-prole Democrat who
hasnt yet made an endorsement in
the presidential race is Sen. Elizabeth
Warren (D-Mass.). Although every other
Democratic woman in the U.S. Senate
publicly backs Clinton, Warren gave a
speech on money and politics on the
Senate oor last week hinting she may
support Sanders.
A new presidential election is upon us,
Warren said. The rst votes will be cast in
Iowa in just 11 days. Anyone who shrugs
and claims it is too hard has crawled into
bed with the billionaires who want to run
this country like some private club.
On Tuesday, 10 gay and lesbian
members of the New York State
Legislature and the New York City
Council endorsed Clinton: State Sen.
Brad Hoylman; Assembly members
Harry Bronson, Deborah Glick, Daniel
ODonnell, Matthew Titone; and Council
members Daniel Dromm, Corey Johnson,
Rosie Mendez, James Vacca and Jimmy
Van Bramer. (Vacca came out as gay just

lastweek on Twitter.)
Secretary Clinton is going to be an
amazing president and Im extremely
honored to be a delegate to the
convention that will nominate her for the
position, Vacca said. As a proud gay man,
Im especially enamored with Secretary
Clintons long record of support for the
LGBTQ community. She has been ghting
for civil rights for all communities her
entire life. I look forward to her continued
advocacy from the Oval Oce.
On Monday, Clinton ocially received
the endorsement from the Human Rights
Campaign, the nations largest LGBT
group, at an event in Des Moines, with the
organizations president, Chad Grin, as
well as sta and supporters.
JoDee Winterhof, the Human Rights
Campaigns senior vice president for
policy and political aairs, said in a
statement to the Washington Blade the
organization has sta and volunteers in
Iowa organizing members and educating
the state about whats at stake in 2016.
In the last few days weve seen
incredible enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton
among the HRC community in Iowa, and
its clear that a vast majority of people
who support LGBT equality understand
whats at stake this year, Winterhof
said. The LGBT community and those
who support LGBT equality have have
a chance to play a decisive role in this
election and we have to do everything in
our power to seize that opportunity and
continue moving equality forward.
After Iowa, the next contest in
the presidential election is the New
Hampshire primary on Feb. 9. Both
Trump and Sanders have signicant leads
in the polls in their respective parties in
that state.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

NATIONAL NEWS

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 1 1

Gay murder raises questions about federal hate crimes law

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

McBee, who currently lives in Arlington,

Va., told the Washington Blade that many
news media outlets that published stories
about the murder shortly after it occurred
incorrectly reported that Dizdarevic met
the man he traveled to Chester to see on
Grindr, another social media hookup app.
It was Adam4Adam, not Grindr,
McBee said.
McBee and two mutual friends of
the couple told the Blade that they
and Dizdarevics family in Kentucky are
concerned that more than a year and a half
after the murder Chester police dont appear
to be adequately investigating the case.
The friends have joined McBee in
questioning a decision by Chester police
and the local District Attorney not to
investigate the murder as a hate crime.
McBee and the friends say the brutality
of the beating that disgured Dizdarevics
face beyond recognition is a sign of a
possible hate crime.
The Matthew Shepard and James
Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of
2009, among other things, gives the U.S.
Justice Department and the FBI authority
to step in and investigate hate crimes
under certain circumstances when local
law enforcement agencies dont have the
resources to adequately investigate or
who decline to investigate such crimes.
Legal experts contacted by the Blade
have said the Dizdarevic case raises a
question that federal ocials have yet
to denitively answer: Can the ShepardByrd hate crimes law be invoked in a case
where its unclear whether the oense is
a hate crime and a local law enforcement
agency
may
not
be
adequately
investigating to nd out if it is or isnt?
Jon Davidson, national legal director for
the Lambda Legal Defense and Education
Fund, an LGBT litigation group, said one
key requirement for invoking the ShepardByrd Act is that a crime must be linked
in some way to interstate commerce or
a channel, facility or instrumentality of
interstate commerce in connection with
criminal conduct.
Meeting on the Internet, talking via
cell phone, and texting might meet this
requirement, but I believe only if it could
be shown that the perpetrator was setting
up the meeting via these devices in order
to commit the crime, Davison said.
Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for
the Oce of the U.S. Attorney for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which
would become involved in the case if the
Shepard-Byrd law were to be invoked, said
she could neither conrm nor deny that
the oce is involved in the investigation.
Our policy is we cannot comment on a
case until a charge is brought, she said.
Two of Dizdarevics friends, Kentucky
resident Thomas Carrier and Philadelphia

DINO DIZDAREVIC, 25, was found strangled

and beaten to death near Philadelphia in
2014.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

resident Mike Hollinshead, worked

with McBee to tap into Dizdarevics
Adam4Adam account. They quickly
identied and tracked down the name,
address and phone number of the man
Dizdarevic met on the hookup site and
turned over the information to police the
day after Dizdarevic traveled to Chester.
I called and left two messages to ask if
they got the information I found and was
given to them, said Carrier. They never
returned my calls.
Louisville, Ky., resident Drew Owen,
another friend of McBee and Dizdarevic,
said Dizdarevics mother and sister told
him police have not returned their calls
seeking to nd out where things stand in
the investigation.
Among other things, McBee and
the friends and family are concerned
that the Delaware County, Pa., District
Attorney with jurisdiction over Chester
law enforcement matters disclosed this
past November that his oce and Chester
police have been unable to tap into
Dizdarevics Android smartphone, which
McBee and Hollinshead helped track down
near the site of the murder. Police point
out that the phone is password protected
and McBee doesnt know the password.
McBee and the friends believe
Dizdarevic exchanged text messages and
spoke to the man he traveled to Chester
to meet on his phone, and the phone
likely has information that could reveal
whether the man should be considered a
suspect in the case.
The District Attorney, John Whelan,
told the television program Crime Watch
Daily, which reported on the Dizdarevic
case on Nov. 19, 2015, that his oce has
access to sophisticated technology to try
to resolve issues with phones, to try to
work with pass codes. He said his oce
also had access to an FBI-run facility in
Virginia that provides help to local law
enforcement agencies in cell phone
related matters.

But he didnt say whether he or Chester

police actually sought out that help. Whelan
didnt respond to a call from the Blade
seeking more details about his oces
eorts to tap into Dizdarevics phone.
I can imagine they dont have the
capability of doing something of that
nature, Owen said. But I guarantee they
know somebody who can. Why havent
they done that?
At the time Dizdarevics body was
found police could nd no identication
documents such as a wallet or drivers
license and listed him as a John Doe,
McBee said he was told.
The unidentied body was found one
day after Dizdarevic told McBee that he
met a man on Adam4Adam and planned
to visit him in Chester for a few hours
before returning home that night.
McBee, who told the Washington Blade
the two had an open relationship, said
Dizdarevic had a ight scheduled the
next morning to Louisville, Ky., where
he planned to visit his parents. Friends
have said Dizdarevic grew up in central
Kentucky when his family settled there
in the 1990s as refugees from war-torn
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
When Dizdarevic didnt return home
on the night of his visit to Chester and
his mother told McBee he was not
on his scheduled ight that arrived in
Louisville the next morning, McBee knew
something was terribly wrong. He said he
immediately attempted to le a missing
persons report with Philadelphia police,
but was told he would have to wait 72
hours to do so because he wasnt ocially
related to Dizdarevic.

Friends investigated
before police

Not wanting to wait that long before

doing something to nd his boyfriend,
McBee said he contacted Hollinshead,
who used information McBee gave him
about Dizdarevics Adam4Adam account
and began tracking online the person
Dizdarevic arranged to visit.
Meanwhile, almost at the same time,
Carrier, the friend from Louisville, began
his own online search into the Adam4Adam
interaction between Dizdarevic and the
man in Chester, also using information
provided by McBee. Carrier said he
obtained through McBee Dizdarevics
Adam4Adam password to enable him to
gain access to Dizdarevics account.
He quickly discovered that Dizdarevic and
the man exchanged phone numbers. Each
of their photos had been posted on the
Adam4Adam site enabling Carrier to retrieve
the mans photo, Carrier told the Blade. He
said he then did a search on Facebook using
the name the man used on his Adam4Adam

account and found someone with the same

name on Facebook.
According to Carrier, the mans
Facebook page showed him with a
woman and children, leading Carrier to
believe that the woman was his wife or
girlfriend and the children were their kids.
On Facebook he looked like a straight
person, said Carrier.
When asked about the information
that Dizdarevics friends provided police,
Chester police Det. Joseph McFate, the
lead investigator in the case, told the
Blade he could not comment on specic
details of the investigation.
Its still open and active, he said. I can
tell you that were tracking down every
lead that we can possibly come across.
Hopefully, were going to get some
closure soon, he said.
The Blade could not nd the Facebook
page in question and could not verify the
mans identity. The police also did not
verify the mans name, so the Blade is not
reporting it here.
Owen, the friend from Louisville,
said members of Dizdarevics family in
Kentucky told him police at one point
told them they interviewed the man in
Chester and said he was cooperative
but claimed he never hooked up with
Dizdarevic at the time Dizdarevic traveled
to Chester.
All theyre saying is hes cooperative,
Owen said. Thats all theyve ever said.
And then the issue just kind of went silent.
I didnt hear much after that, he said.
I was under the assumption that they
think they did their due diligence and hes
ne, he wasnt a suspect, Owen said.
McBee and Hollinshead told Crime
Watch Daily they used a GPS app
associated with Dizdarevics Adam4Adam
account to retrace Dizdarevics trip they
believe he took by taxicab to Chester in
his eort to meet the man. The two drove
twice to Chester and came upon a location
within 100 feet or so where Dizdarevic
appears to have traveled to meet him.
On their second trip to Chester a local
resident informed them that police found
a body a few days earlier in a nearby
location. That prompted them to go
directly to the Chester police department,
where police arranged for McBee to
identify Dizdarevics body through the
clothing police found that he apparently
was wearing at the time of the murder.
I had to they showed me his clothes,
McBee said in the Crime Watch Daily
interview while crying.
Dino gave me a new life, he said later
in the TV interview. He gave me hope
and I move forward because I know thats
what he would want me to do, he said.
And his life matters. And were never
going to give up. Were never going to
stop looking for who did this to him.

Keep your promise to protect each other.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

12 J A N U A R Y 29, 2016

BA LT I MO RE N E W S

Life terms for killer of two Baltimore gay men

Wills & Trusts

Powers of Attorney Living Wills
Partnership & Prenuptial Agreements

(240) 778-2330 (703) 536-0220

www.PartnerPlanning.com

Serving the LGBT Community

in DC/MD/VA since 1983
Lawrence S. Jacobs/McMillan Metro, PC

Quinton Decarlo Bass, who was

convicted in the 2012 killings of
two Mount Vernon gay men, was
sentenced to two life sentences plus
45 years by Circuit Judge Timothy
Doory on Jan. 21, according to the
Baltimore Sun. Alex Ulrich and Larry
Peterson were gunned down outside
the latters bed and breakfast, which
is next to the Belvedere Hotel.
Ulrich, 40, died from gunshot
wounds he received on Aug. 10, 2012.
Peterson, who was a well-known and
ALEX ULRICH and Larry Peterson were
highly regarded gure throughout
shot to death in Baltimores Mount
the Mount Vernon neighborhood,
Vernon neighborhood.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BALTIMORE POLICE
died in May 2014 at the age of 56
following multiple surgeries and
rehabilitation as a result of shots to
his torso. Though both men were gay, police ruled out the murders as a hate
crime and determined it to be a botched robbery.
Three weeks after the shooting, police told the Blade that Bass, a 28-yearold drifter from Raleigh, N.C., was arrested on gun charges on Aug. 31, 2012.
Ocers took Bass, who had a criminal record, into custody after they found him
and four others drinking alcohol in East Mount Vernon Park.Bass was carrying
a handgun.
I hope this sentence gives the family some measure of peace for their loss
and the citizens of the city condence that justice will be sought for those who
choose to prey on innocent men and women in this city, Assistant States
Attorney Tonya LaPolla said in a statement.

Frederick Center celebrates Mardi Gras

Steve Weinberg

The Frederick Center will celebrate Mardi Gras with its second annual
fundraising carnival on Feb. 6. This years carnival will have, according to
organizers, a Brazilian air with Brazilian hors doeuvres on the menu along
with an open bar. There will be Brazilian dancing as well as drag as part of the
entertainment. DJ Urban Cowboy will provide the music.
The event takes place from 7 p.m.-12 a.m. at the Hampton Inn, 5311
Buckeystown Pike, in Frederick. Attendees are urged to wear elegant attire with
colorful costumes and masks.
Those aged 21 and over are invited and hotel discounts are available. For a
room, contact the Hampton Inn at 301-698-2500. Mention carnival for the rate
of $89 + tax.
The Frederick Center is a four-year-old nonprot corporation dedicated to
support, educate, link, organize, and provide outreach to LGBTQ community of
central Maryland.
Tickets are $65 each with tables of eight discounted at $455.

ATTORNEY AT LAW

SERVING OUR COMMUNITY

FOR 33 YEARS
PERSONAL INJURY PROBATE
WILLS/ POAs CIVIL LITIGATION
CONSERVATORSHIPS GUARDIANSHIPS

202-861-0077

2141 P STREET NW SUITE 103

WASHINGTON DC 20037
E-MAIL steveweinbergdc@aol.com
LICENSED IN DC, MD AND VA

LGBTQ
Latino group launches meetings
PROOF

ADVERTISING

Serving Our COmmunity fOr 35 yearS

ISSUE DATE: 10.26.12

SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)

Fresh o a successful initial community meeting earlier in the month where

approximately
30 attended, the new LGBTQ Latino group will begin a series
NS
omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is
of monthly support meetings. The group has been named IRIS Baltimore.
responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users
GN
can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or
EVISIONS
any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any
According to one of the group founders, Lillian Amaya, the Spanish translation
copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair
/LOGO REVISIONS
competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation,
of rainbow is arcoiris. They applied the second half of the word, IRIS, which is
or
any
other
right
of
any
person
or
entity.
Advertiser
agrees
to
idemnify
brown
naff
pitts
omnimedia
llc
(dba
the
ADVERTISER
SIGNATURE
SIONS
washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all
By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the
also
for Individuality, Respect, Integrity, and Sexuality.
liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred
washington blade newspaper. This includes but
is not an
limitedacronym
to placement,
by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertisers breach of any of the foregoing representations
payment and insertion schedule.
and warranties.
IRIS Baltimore was formed to address the needs of the LGBTQ Latino
community, which is primarily located in the Highlandtown area. Community
members face intersectional barriers, such as not being able to speak English,
FamilY | eState PlaNNiNG | emPloYmeNt | immiGratioN
immigration status, acceptance in culture and isolation.
ComPleX litiGatioN | Civil riGHtS | lGBt | adoPtioN | BuSiNeSS
The rst support group meeting for Baltimores LGBT Latino community will
take place on Feb. 19 from 6-8 p.m. at 3734 Eastern Ave. in Baltimore. They will
occur on the third Friday of each month.
For more information about IRIS Baltimore, call 410-241-9824 or email
at to r N e YS at l aW d C | m d | va
lamaya@hruthmd.org.
STEVE CHARING
3 0 1 . 8 9 1 . 2 2 0 0 S P - L aw. C o m
REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of

will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of
a d v i C eproof.
Proof
m
e d Revisions
i a t iwillonotNbe accepted
l i tafteri G
a pm
t iwednesday,
o N theaweek
P Pof publication.Brown
e a l S naff
Co
the date
of proof.
12:01
pittsl l a B o r a t i o N

Silber, Perlman, Sigman &tilev, P.a.

6 9 3 0 C a r r o l l av e , S u i t e 6 1 0 ta k o m a Pa r k m d

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

H E A L TH NEW S

J A N U A R Y 29, 2016 13

Bullying a factor in youth development: study

PITTSBURGH When compared with their heterosexual peers, sexual-minority
youth score lower on key indicators of positive youth development and those
disparities may be due in part to more bullying of these adolescents, University of
Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers have found.
The ndings, funded partly by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), are
published online and scheduled for an upcoming issue of the American Journal
of Public Health.
This research quanties how bullying hinders sexual-minority youths access
to the essential building blocks of health and well-being, said lead author Robert
W.S. Coulter, M.P.H., a doctoral student in Pitt Public Healths Department of
Behavioral and Community Health Sciences. Anti-bullying policies at schools
are necessary but insucient. Multifaceted interventions in all arenas, including
schools, families and communities, should focus on building more accepting
and supportive environments for sexual-minority youth.
Coulter and his colleagues used data from a survey of 1,870 adolescents at U.S.
schools and after-school programs in 45 states that measured positive youth
development using the Five Cs model, which assesses competence, condence,
connection, character and caring/compassion. Higher levels of the Five Cs are
associated with positive contributions to society, and lower levels are linked to myriad
risky behaviors, including cigarette smoking, alcohol use and younger sexual initiation.
The survey also asked participants whether they had been bullied several
times in the past several months. Of the participants, 127 (6.8 percent) were
identied as sexual-minority youth, meaning they reported having both-gender
attractions or same-gender attractions only. Nearly 24 percent of them reported
being a victim of bullying, compared with 12 percent of the heterosexual youths.

Ex-gay therapy ban introduced in Hawaii

HONOLULU Hawaii lawmakers have introduced a bill banning ex-gay
therapy, the Associated Press reports.
The proposed law, which was introduced in both the Senate and the House,
says being gay is not a disorder. Supporters of the ban on conversion therapy
say it would protect LGBT teens from serious harm caused when parents force
them into therapy to become straight, the AP reports.
The bill would make it illegal for teachers or professional counselors to try
to change someones sexual orientation. It would also ban advertising that
promotes changing sexual orientation.
California, Oregon, New Jersey and Illinois have passed similar laws.

Lesbians still need pap smears: researchers

SYDNEY, Australia An assumption that lesbians do not need pap smears is
putting their health at risk, researchers at the University of Sydney report.
Researchers said lesbians are generally tested less often for sexually transmitted
infections than bisexual or queer women. They said the ndings highlighted the
importance of targeting health campaigns to specic groups within the LGBT
community, rather than to that community as a whole, the Guardian reports.
Researchers analyzed data from a survey of 379 women aged between 17 and 30
taken during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 2010 and 2012. The survey,
which asks lesbian, bisexual and queer women about their health, sexual identity, sexual
relationships and sexual practices, has been conducted every two years since 1996.
While queer women those who did not identify as lesbian or bisexual in the
survey had the highest rates of illicit drug use, experiences of sexual coercion
and anti-LGBTQ discrimination, they were the group most proactive about their
health, the researchers found.
While 58.3 percent of bisexual women reported being tested for sexually
transmitted infections at least once, only 52.9 percent of lesbian women
reported the same, the lowest of the three groups, the Guardian reports.
Only 65.2 percent of lesbian women had ever received a pap smear, compared
with 70.8 percent of bisexual women and 79.4 percent of queer women, the
study, led by Rada Germanos from the University of Sydneys school of medicine
and published in the journal LGBT health also found.
Pap smears are used to detect cervical cancer, spread by the human papillomavirus
(HPV). There are more than 100 dierent types of HPV and some types, if left untreated,
can cause cervical cancer. Most people with HPV dont have symptoms and while the
virus can go away on its own, it can persist and cause harm.
While women most commonly acquire HPV through sex with a man, it can can
also be transmitted through genital skin-to-skin contact, or sex toys, making pap
smears important for LGBTQ women as well, researchers advise.

An extraordinary evening
of a cappella singing

February 12 8pm
February 13 5pm (ASL) & 8pm
Atlas Performing Arts Center
1333 H Street NE

Tickets:
202-399-7993
or visit GMCW.org
ASL tickets call 202-293-1548

Fairlington United Methodist ChUrCh

3900 King Street, Alexandria, VA fairlingtonumc.org

Invites You to Join Us for

Reconciling Ministry Sunday
SUndaY, FebRUaRY 7, 2016

9:30am & 11:00am

Celebrating Three Years as a Reconciling Congregation
Welcoming Everyone No Exceptions!

~
202.319.8541 www.lgbtc.com Se habla espanol

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 4 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

VIEWPOINT

VOLUME

47

ISSUE

05

ADDRESS

PO Box 53352
Washington DC 20009
PHONE

Seed of the glittering Republic

Challenging exclusion in the
movie industry

RICHARD J. ROSENDALL is a writer and activist.

Reach him at rrosendall@starpower.net.

If most of the people you interact with

look and talk and believe the same as
you, you risk being blind to the talents of
those who do not. If you are a gay white
man, for example, and have not suered
professionally because of your color or
gender, you might still deny being privileged.
Take the controversy over this years
Oscar nominations in the acting and
directing categories being all white, despite several acclaimed lms and performances by African Americans. Leaders
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences were mortied. Last years
hashtag #OscarsSoWhite was revived,
and some called for an Oscars boycott.
Oscars host Chris Rock has resisted
calls to quit. Meanwhile, acting nominee
Charlotte Rampling and two-time win-

ner Michael Caine spoke as if their own

success were based purely on merit and
the protesters were simply not good
enough. Objections were raised to racial
quotas, despite no one having demanded quotas.
Last years most successful lms by
black directors are Straight Outta Compton and Creed, which grossed $161 million and $108 million respectively in the
American market, and received critical acclaim for their compelling storytelling and
performances. It is easy to dismiss criticism of award nominations as subjective,
but that begs the question of why the voting membership in the Academy skews so
heavily to older white males, and why so
few jobs in the industry go to people of
color.
Compton was nominated only for its
white screenwriters, and Creed only for
supporting actor Sylvester Stallone. It is
hard to miss the quality of the directors
and stars of these lms unless you view
them through a prism of disdain. Director
Ryan Coogler and Actor Michael B. Jordan
of Creed have delivered consummate,
compelling work in this as in their rst feature lm, 2013s Fruitvale Station. I lack
the space to convey their excellence and
the promise they hold for future movies.
Others overlooked include Compton director F. Gary Gray and actors Idris Elba
(Beasts of No Nation), Will Smith (ConE DIT OR IA L C A R T OON

cussion), Samuel L. Jackson (The Hateful

Eight) and Tessa Thompson (Creed).
Getting greenlighted may be more
important than winning awards, but the
old Twice as Good rule burdens black
lmmakers too. Awards help artists gain
attention and support for their future
projects. Without mainstream funding,
the vital voice of a Ryan Coogler would be
limited to independent, low-budget lms.
Considering the millions that pour into
the industry from lmgoers of color, the
professional barriers make no sense.
Another of my favorite 2015 movies is
Todd Hayness Carol, based on a novel
by Patricia Highsmith, which portrays a
forbidden 1950s lesbian love aair without relegating the protagonists to the
ranks of the damaged and doomed. It
glows despite Haynes being denied a directing nomination. Lily Tomlins performance in Grandma was also snubbed,
as were Mya Taylors in Tangerine and
Ian McKellens in Mr. Holmes.
James Baldwin, in a 1965 Cambridge
University debate with William F. Buckley,
spoke of the disillusionment suered by
children of color born in Americas glittering republic:
It comes as a great shock around
the age of 5, or 6, or 7, to discover that
the ag to which you have pledged allegiance, along with everybody else, has
not pledged allegiance to you. It comes as
a great shock to discover that Gary Cooper killing o the Indians, when you were
rooting for Gary Cooper, that the Indians
were you.
Baldwins incisive, impassioned testimony, which long ago stirred the writer
in me, brings to mind struggles that are
passed down generations. My greatest satisfaction as an activist lies in the
changed expectations of todays children,
made possible by countless thousands of
us who came before them. The expectation that you can grow up to marry and
have your family valued, regardless of
whom you love, is powerful beyond measure.
To a child of color stirred by the art
and the craft of moviemaking: surprise
yourself with storytelling that is not circumscribed by others. Dare to bend the
arc of the moral universe by the light of
your own spirit. Enrich our vocabulary.
Demand to be seen. Your communities,
born and chosen, are your stakeholders.
We need you more than we know.
Copyright 2016 by Richard J. Rosendall.
All rights reserved.

202-747-2077
E-MAIL
news@washblade.com
INTERNET
www.washingtonblade.com
PUBLISHED BY
Brown Na Pitts Omnimedia, Inc.
PUBLISHER
LYNNE J. BROWN
lbrown@washblade.com ext. 8075
EDITORIAL
EDITOR
KEVIN NAFF
kna@washblade.com ext. 8088
FEATURES EDITOR
JOEY DIGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com ext. 8081
SR. NEWS REPORTER
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com ext. 8079
NEWS REPORTER
CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com ext. 8083
REPORTER & INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
POP CULTURE REPORTER
MARIAH COOPER
PHOTO EDITOR
MICHAEL KEY
mkey@washblade.com
PHOTO INTERN
ANTWAN J. THOMPSON
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
PETER ROSENSTEIN, MARK LEE,
LATEEFAH WILLIAMS, KATE CLINTON,
KATHI WOLFE, RICHARD J. ROSENDALL
CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION
AZERCREATIVE.COM
SALES & ADMINISTRATION
DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING
STEPHEN RUTGERS
srutgers@washblade.com ext. 8077
SR. ACCT. EXECUTIVE
BRIAN PITTS
bpitts@washblade.com ext. 8089
ACCT. EXECUTIVE
SIRIWAT PATHARAPANUPATH
spath@washblade.com ext. 8078
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
BROOKE JORDAN
bjordan@washblade.com ext. 8094
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION
PHILLIP G. ROCKSTROH
prockstroh@washblade.com ext. 8092
NATIONAL ADVERTISING
RIVENDELL MEDIA
212-242-6863; sales@rivendellmedia.com
For distribution, contact Lynne Brown at 202-747-2077,
ext. 8075. Distributed by MediaPoint, LLC
All material in the Washington Blade is protected by federal copyright law
and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Washington Blade. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers
and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The
appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily
indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. Although the
Washington Blade is supported by many ne advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Unsolicited editorial
material is accepted by the Washington Blade, but the paper cannot take
responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject
or edit any submission. A single copy of the Washington Blade is available
from authorized distribution points, to any individual within a 50-mile radius of Washington, D.C. Multiple copies are available from the Washington
Blade oce only. Call for rates. If you are unable to get to a convenient
free distribution point, you may receive a 52-week mailed subscription for
$195 per year or $5.00 per single issue. Checks or credit card orders can be
sent to Phil Rockstroh at prockstroh@washblade.com. Postmaster: Send
address changes to the Washington Blade, PO BOX 53352 Washington,
DC 20009. The Washington Blade is published weekly, on Friday, by
Brown Na Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. Individual Subscriptions are $195
per year for 52 issues (only $3.75 per issue mailed to you USPS). Rates
for businesses/institutions are $450 per year. Periodical postage paid
at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing oces. Editorial positions
of the Washington Blade are expressed in editorials and in editors
notes as determined by the papers editors. Other opinions are those
of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
Washington Blade or its sta. To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words; commentaries should be fewer
than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length,
and must include a name, address and phone number for verication.
Send submissions by e-mail to kna@washblade.com.

2016 BROWN NAFF PITTS OMNIMEDIA, INC.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

V I E W PO I N T

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 1 5

Creating Shame: Anti-Israel protest misguided, offensive

Task Force should revamp its
conference, apologize to attendees

KEVIN NAFF is editor of the Washington Blade

and can be reached at kna@washblade.com.

While the East Coast was coping with

this weekends blizzard, another storm
was raging in Chicago at the site of the
National LGBTQ Task Forces annual Creating Change conference.
About 200 protesters forced the cancellation of a presentation by A Wider
Bridge, an organization seeking to bolster LGBTQ connections with Israel.
It was to have featured remarks from
Sarah Kala-Meir and Tom Canning, leaders of Jerusalem Open House for Pride
and Tolerance, an LGBT community center. Protesters held signs that read, No
pride in apartheid, to draw attention to
the Israeli governments treatment of the
Palestinians. They also spoke out against
eorts to promote Israels LGBT rights record, which they regard as pinkwashing,
or distracting attention from the plight of
the Palestinians.
Kala-Meir, executive director of Jerusalem Open House, told the Blade that
the protesters began shouting at her
and Canning. She said they left the room
through a back door. We did not feel safe
in that environment, she added.
Tony Varona, associate dean for faculty
and academic aairs at American University Washington College of Law, attended
the event.
The protestors stormed the doors,
shut down the event, and basically
blocked those of us who wanted to leave
from exiting, Varona wrote on Facebook.
I was able to squeeze past the crowd
blocking the hallway and exit through a
back doorway and stairwell but after only
considerable eort and, frankly, what can
only be described as harassment. He
also claims that Task Force sta watched
helplessly from the sidelines as this sorry
scene unfolded.
The ugly incident began last week when
the Task Force initially cancelled the panel featuring A Wider Bridge after some
LGBT critics accused Israel of engaging
in apartheid and pinkwashing. Task
Force Executive Director Rea Carey later
reversed that decision and reinstated
the presentation, after pro-Israeli critics pounced. That set the stage for what
transpired Friday.

Sta from the Windy City Times posted

videos to YouTube of the protest. Protesters can be heard chanting, Palestine will
be free from the river to the sea.
Its not clear whether they understood
the context of what they were chanting
or if they were merely caught up in the
moment. That genocidal chant is an overt
call for the destruction of Israel, from the
Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Arthur Slepian, executive director of A
Wider Bridge, told the Windy City Times
he felt there was a strong undercurrent
of anti-Semitism at the protest.
There is so much wrong with what
transpired that its dicult to know where
to start.

Tom and others. They were kind and hospitable and even took us out to dinner and
to a small gay bar after our meeting. There
we saw the important work that JOH is doing, from providing HIV testing services to
creating a safe space for Jews and Arabs
alike to meet and socialize. Their work is
changing lives, but they face grave obstacles. Just ve months ago, an Orthodox
Jewish man stabbed a 16-year-old girl to
death and injured ve others during an attack on a Jerusalem Pride march organized
by JOH. Sarah, Tom and their colleagues
bravely carry out their work amid threats
of violence from extremists on both sides
of the conict. They are good people who
deserved better from their U.S. hosts.

Theres clearly much work to be done in

educating younger advocates on the history
of Israel, the Holocaust and the plight of
LGBT people in the Middle East.

The irony of one underrepresented

group shouting down and harassing another is sickening to watch. If you want
to promote understanding and intersectionality of causes, then you must listen
to others and respect their views. Silencing those you dislike isnt the answer. This
sort of group-think creates a mob mentality in which dialogue is impossible.
The organizers of Creating Change had
to know something like this was brewing.
Yet they had no control over the protest,
which easily could have devolved into a
dangerous situation.
The Task Force did very little to ensure that the program could go on as
planned, safely and without disruption,
Varona reported. Instead, the protestors
were allowed to bully the speakers o the
stage, and then to bully and harass the attendees out of the room.
When your invited speakers are forced
to ee out a back door, you have failed in
your responsibility to ensure the safety of
attendees. Task Force sta must do a better job of providing security and of maintaining control over their own events.
Ceding the stage to protesters sets an irresponsible precedent.
Perhaps the most regrettable outcome:
Kala-Meir and Canning from JOH were silenced and mistreated. Two years ago, I
traveled to Israel with a delegation of LGBT
leaders from the United States (the trip
was not sponsored by A Wider Bridge) and
several of us spent an evening at JOH with

So why all the fuss targeting these fellow LGBT activists? The misguided protesters dont like that A Wider Bridge
partners with the Israeli government, including its most violent, right-wing, racist
elements to promote media favorable
to Israel, according to Andy Thayer of
the Gay Liberation Network. But this assessment ignores the good work of both
groups.
Even a cursory look into the organizations respective missions, alliances,
donors, and activities will show that they
are far from puppets of the Israeli government, are expressly pro-Palestinian
in their positions, and both serve and include LGBTQ Palestinians in their work,
Varona rightly observed.
And would it be better if Israel treated its LGBT citizens like its neighbors in
Egypt or Saudi Arabia or Syria? Theres a
lot to criticize in the Israeli government
these days, but its treatment of LGBT
people isnt among the problems. Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus
provocative policy of building new Jewish
settlements has helped derail peace efforts. He has openly opposed a two-state
solution. Progress will only come after he
leaves oce.
I have been to Ramallah and to the edge
of the Gaza Strip and even met with a Palestinian negotiator. Life for hard-working
Palestinians is undeniably dicult. Many
cant get to work without navigating long
lines at dehumanizing checkpoints. This

situation should not be allowed to persist

and we are right to protest Netanyahus
tactics that undermine peace.
But things arent much better on the
other side. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was elected president in
2005, but his term expired seven years
ago. How can Israel negotiate a peace
agreement with a partner who isnt
empowered to implement terms of a
deal? The leadership vacuum has emboldened Hamas, which has further destabilized the region. The Israeli towns
that border the Gaza Strip endure
regular sometimes daily rocket
attacks. There are bomb shelters on
every street corner and residents all
suffer some form of PTSD.
These problems are entrenched and
complicated and have bedeviled every
American president for decades. Its
unfortunate they were reduced to such
simplistic terms by LGBT protesters in
Chicago who seemed to call for the destruction of Israel. If that wasnt their
intent, then they should educate themselves and clarify their demands. Regardless, the good people of JOH didnt
deserve to be demonized in this way.
Protest organizers and the Task Force
owe them an apology.
And its time for a thorough rethinking
of Creating Change itself. Its a long-running, important conference for grassroots
LGBT activists, many of whom feel disconnected from the marriage-dominated
movement of the Human Rights Campaign. I have attended Creating Change
many times and served on panel discussions for several years. Its refreshing to
meet with younger LGBT advocates and
Creating Change provides a safe space
for them to share ideas and tactics.
But safe spaces should refer to protecting the physical safety of attendees.
They should not be shielded from opinions and ideas they nd oensive. The
LGBT movement has much work ahead,
from protecting hard-fought victories of
recent years to combating stubbornly
high rates of HIV infection to ending youth
homelessness. Censoring speech and
shouting down those we disagree with
should not be on our agenda. Creating
Change organizers must behave like the
parent in the room and establish some
basic rules of engagement and enforce
them. And theres clearly much work to
be done in educating younger advocates
on the history of Israel, the Holocaust and
the plight of LGBT people in the Middle
East.
Heres hoping the Task Force can turn
the ugly, unfortunate events of last weekend into a teachable moment that fosters
understanding.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 6 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

VIEWPOINT

Living as your gender is a basic human right

Why are doctors weighing in
on a childs choice of gender?
By SUZI CHASE
In a recent Wall Street Journal article,
Debra Soh challenges the contemporary
wisdom that transition should be recommended for children who express unhappiness with their gender roles.
Sohs opinion is only one in a series of
high-prole pieces in national publications
questioning the scientic basis for allowing children to transition. Eric Vilain and
J. Michael Bailey made a similar point in
the Los Angeles Times last May, followed
quickly by a June Wall Street Journal opinion from Paul McHugh, where he advocates striving to restore natural gender
feelings to a transgender minor. The common claim in all these articles is that scientic ndings fail to validate the conclusion
that gender transition is benecial.
Soh argues that clinical practice has
been shaped not by scientic outcomes
but by pressure from social movements.
She cites the closure of Toronto psycholo-

gist Kenneth Zuckers Gender Identity

Clinic by its parent organization based on
ndings of a review conducted there. She
laments that science is being ignored because it is, at odds with the current political view concerning gender development.
Shes right. But thats a good thing.
Im not here to argue evidence for or
against the benets of early-age transition. That has been done more than adequately elsewhere. Im here to ask why
medicine and science even weigh in on
whether children (or anyone else) be permitted to live as the gender they choose.
Yes, doctors and scientists have a place
in helping those with gender issues. Understanding the obstacles, feelings and remedies associated with a gender transition
would be impossible for the average parent
without the help of a knowledgeable therapist. And a physicians care is indispensable
when choosing pharmaceutical and surgical
treatments and administering them safely.
But living as your gender is a basic human right.
Although that may sound controversial,
apply it only to cisgender individuals and
it quickly becomes a no-brainer. What

would we say about a culture that routinely forced those with male body and gender
to live as female, or vice versa? Clearly that
consideration has no lower age limit. Who
would disagree that forcing a boy of 12, or
7, or 3 to live as a girl against his will constitutes egregious emotional child abuse?
No reputable publication would give voice
to such a suggestion.
Controversy erupts only when discussing
transgender children. Then the Wall Street
Journal and the L.A. Times would have us
ask our doctors whether to allow the child
to be who they are. The gender of a trans
child becomes subject to scientic veto.
Behind that paradoxical thinking lies a
toxic assumption that cisgender people are capable of identifying and articulating their gender, whereas transgender
people are not. When a trans person declares the need to change gender expression or gender role, we feel compelled to
consult the scientic tealeaves to stave
o possible regrets and second thoughts
from their assumed ignorance.
That judgmental cisnormativity must
go. Transgender people deserve the same
presumption of knowing our gender and

how to present it to the world. Such a presumption must not be based on the presence or absence of scientic evidence. At
any age, forcing someone to live a gendered life with which they do not identify is cruel. We have seen what comes of
valuing scientic assurances more highly
than human rights. Eugenics was used as
a justication for racial discrimination,
children with Downs Syndrome were
said to be uneducable, and homosexuality was a sign of mental illness. Though
normally benecial, science becomes an
instrument of oppression when scientic
thought trumps humanity.
Once we accept the premise that children should be discouraged from receiving medical support for gender transition
unless science proves it benets them,
we have already started a march down
that dangerous road. The rights of children become a subject of endless argument over the reliability and interpretation of results, rather than an inviolable
principle not open to debate.
SUZI CHASE is a Maryland-based writer who
focuses on transgender issues.

CO MMU N I KA T E

Theres a lot to scream about these days

From Trump to Sanders to
pollsters, get primal

KATE CLINTON is a humorist who has

entertained LGBT audiences for 30 years. Her
monthly column appears exclusively in the
Blade. Reach her via kateclinton.com.

I missed screaming. When I taught in

upstate New York, I used to pick up my
little nieces on Saturday mornings and
take them with me to the car wash. We
pretended we were in a horror lm. By
the time those big steamy, sudsy strips
started slapping the car, we were in
full-throated screams. Their little eyes
bugged out, veins popped in their dear
necks, bodies arched against their car
seat straps. Sometimes wed go through
again. I would return them to their Mom,
and rasp, See you next Saturday.
They are now in their 30s and have told

My New Years resolution is to scream more.

Mine is not primal scream therapy.
It is primary scream therapy.
me that in my honor, they continued the
tradition with their brothers little girls. I
feel I have done my job.
My New Years resolution is to scream
more. I told a friend about it on a walk
in the woods in Provincetown a few days
into January. She asked, How about
now? Though swaddled in a full-snowmobile onesie, with face mued in a double helix innity scarf, she demonstrated
impressive pipes. We had just nished
blistering a gnarly live oak, when an Irish
setter bounded up to us, with his worried
owner a few steps behind.
We quickly assured him we were OK. I
explained my New Years resolution. He
said, Mind if I join in?
Mine is not primal scream therapy. It
is primary scream therapy. Why do the
lovely white people of Iowa and New
Hampshire always get to start the presidential vetting process? I know I should

be grateful that we dont have to watch

political ads in New York State. Toe fungus ads and that mute, animated, pink
pile of intestines in the Irritable Bowel
Syndrome ad are our versions of Ted
Cruz and Donald Trump.
At dinners with friends, by about the
129th theory in the How Did Trump
Happen? parlor game, I am curled in
the corner, frozen in an Edvard Munch
Scream. Theory #34: Trump wanted to
get booted out of the GOP, so he said
those despicable things about Mexicans,
about John McCains patriotism, and
women who menstruate. Theory #67:
Trump is the anger translator for the
middle class. Theory #121: Its a yearlong Joaquin-Phoenix-type hoax for a
documentary Trump has commissioned
about his yugeness.
Polls make we want to scream. Their
predictive reliability is equal to the recent

winter storm forecasting. At one time,

several accumulation predictions for my
area ranged from one-to-three inches of
snow to Snowzilla. The crawl below the
storm information seemed to suggest
that if neither of those things happened,
Michael Bloomberg would step in to save
the day. Pollsters should be made to
stand in raging blizzards for hours to give
their ndings.
My dear partners antidote for anger
is action. She has suggested I go doorknocking for my sister-in-spirit, Hillary
Clinton. Her suggestion is half-hearted.
We both know it could end with my assigned door-knocking buddy dragging
me away from the slammed door of an
Iowa farmhouse. Me banging my clipboard shrieking, Youre delusional. Why
do you hate women so much? Oh yeah?
Enjoy your government farm subsidies.
Hey pal, two words: Supreme Court. I
have fantasized many uses for that arrow in Hillarys logo.
It is hard to nd a place in New York
City to scream. But I do it. If anyone notices, I invite them to join me. If they look
like they are about to report me, I tell
them Im Jamie Lee Curtis from the show,
Scream Queens.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

I N S I DE LGB T W A S HING TON

Dont forget that gays were

Holocaust targets, too

PETER ROSENSTEIN is a D.C.-based LGBT rights

and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly
for the Blade.

There were some protesters at the

National LGBTQ Task Forces Creating
Change conference last week who think
a disgusting display of anti-Semitism (dened as prejudice against, hatred of, or
discrimination against Jews as an ethnic,
religious, or racial group) is acceptable. It
never was and isnt today.
The protest at the Creating Changing
conference against the reception and
presentation organized by A Wider Bridge
will forever be a black eye on the Task
Force. The mission of the Task Force is
clearly stated on its website: Were building a future where everyone is free to be
themselves in every aspect of their lives.

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 1 7

Today, despite all the progress weve

made to end discrimination, millions of
LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic
human rights. These barriers must go.
Thats why the Task Force is training and
mobilizing millions of activists across our
nation to deliver a world where you can
be you.
While I have spoken out against the
unjust actions of the Netanyahu government there is also no excuse for the actions of those who vow the destruction of
Israel. If the Task Force becomes a place
where there can no longer be more than
one point of view presented peacefully
and we pit our own community against
each other for racial, ethnic or religious
reasons, it will go out of business as a viable organization because it will not be
able to accomplish its mission.
Gay and lesbian people may be on all
sides of the dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians. We have been on all
sides of every political issue because we
are thinking people with widely diering
views. But the role of the Task Force has
to be to work toward the goal, through
the open and peaceful exchange of ideas,
here in the United States and around the

world, that will result in all members of

the LGBTQ community no matter where
they reside to have the freedom to exist
and live their lives to their fullest potential. When that happens it will help all
people have freer lives.
The individuals who came from Israel
to attend the Creating Change conference were there to discuss what is happening in the LGBT community in Israel. If
some wanted to debate their view of that
the best way to do it was to peacefully
attend the reception and discuss the issues in a rational way. Or they could have
worked with the Task Force to set up another panel. What the protesters did was
shut down all debate and reasonable exchange with some calling for the destruction of Israel, which in the context of the
meeting made no sense at all.
The concept of what some call pinkwashing is absurd. I have never excused
the excesses of the Israeli governments
actions against some of its Palestinian
residents because they happen to be the
only nation in the region to give rights to
their LGBT citizens. One has nothing to
do with the other. In fact those who have
their full rights can work harder for those
who dont. How does not talking about
the rights given to the LGBT community in

Israel help those living in states that discriminate against the community? That is
totally irrational.
I write as a rst-generation American
whose mother escaped the Nazis in Austria and father escaped them in Germany. They came to America for freedom
and met in New York. My fathers parents
werent so lucky and were gassed in Auschwitz. My father joined the U.S. Army
and went back to Europe to ght and was
awarded a Bronze Star. They spent their
lives ghting for equality and brought up
my sister and me to do the same. That
is why it is so unacceptable to see those
who would display anti-Semitism in their
ght for others rights. Let us never forget
gays were rounded up and marched with
Jews to the gas chambers.
It is only if we continue to have an
open dialogue and stand together that
we will succeed in ensuring that in
America and around the world, Black
Lives Matter. And that women have full
equality. And that we recognize that
Muslims are not all responsible for jihadist terrorists. And LGBT people have
their full rights and those who believe
Israelis and Palestinians must have a
chance to live in peace will be able to
accomplish those goals.

series nale airs in the United States on

March 6.
Why are so many of us wholl never
hunt hounds, lunch with lords, serve as
butlers or trade bon mots with dowagers, so besotted by Downton? Watching it is so much better than talking about
Trump! a pal said to me recently over
the phone. You get so involved with Lady
Mary, Edith, the Dowager, Mrs. Hughes,
Carson you forget about the inequities
of class in England.
I love the hats, he added.
My Downton jonze is a guilt-free pleasure. The story of Downton Abbey,
which began in 1912 after the Titanic sank
and is now taking place in 1925, is a soap
opera of the highest caliber. With actors
such as the fabulous Maggie Smith (as the
Dowager), the witty and engaging writing
of show creator Julian Fellows, Thomas
Barrow, the gay villain we love to hate and
sumptuous dining scenes, its no wonder
that everyone from the high-minded to
the shallow are hooked on Downton.
Who wouldnt want to toss o clever
witticisms like the Dowager? Some of her
best lines this season: A peer in favor of

reform: like a turkey in favor of Christmas and I know several couples who
are perfectly happy who havent spoken
in years. My fave Dowager moment was
when she asked at dinner, What is a
weekend?
As in past seasons, Downton has never
been mere period u. Over the years,
the show has dealt (in an engaging way)
with some serious issues. Anna, the kind,
strong ladies maid whos married to Mr.
Bates, has had to cope with the trauma
of being raped by Lord Gillinghams valet Mr. Green. Sybil, one of the Crawleys
daughters, works as a nurse when Downton is converted into a convalescent facility for wounded soldiers during World
War I. She falls in love and marries the
chaueur Tom Branson, and then dies in
childbirth. Lady Marys husband Matthew,
after recovering from being injured in the
war, dies in a car accident after their baby
is born.
This season, Edith, whos editing a
magazine, is coping with being a boss in a
male-dominated workplace. As was true
for other estates at the time, Downton
is falling on hard times. Robert Crawley

(Lord Grantham) and Mary, who is managing the estate, must nd ways to keep
Downton intact by reducing sta and expenses. Assistant cook Daisy nearly loses
her job ghting for her father-in-law, a
tenant farmer, whos being displaced at
another estate. Violet (the Dowager) and
her frenemy Isobel are in a catght about
whether the local hospital should merge
with a larger health care facility.
Downtons style, from its campy wit
to its costumes, gives the show a queer
sensibility. Whether blackmailing a duke,
falsely accusing a valet of stealing or
wounding himself to be discharged from
serving in the war, Thomas has often
been vile. Yet, I couldnt help but feel bad
for him when he sought a cure for being
gay, or this season when its clear that he
may have to leave Downton because of
the impending sta layos.
You look like a delicate fellow, an
older gentleman observes of Thomas in
a homophobic reference to his sexuality
when interviewing him for a job at a rundown estate.
Thank you, Downton Abbey, for all
the fun! Heres to you!

V I E W PO I NT

Beloved show steaming

toward March 6 nale

KATHI WOLFE is a writer, poet and regular

contributor to the Blade. She can be reached
through this publication.

My establishment Republican cousin worries about tenant farmers while

an old leftie friend commiserates with
troubled aristocrats. Fellow and sister
Downtonites, rejoice! The Crawleys from
the inimitable Dowager to Ladys Ediths
love child Marigold and their servants
from Carson, the redoubtable butler to
his sweetheart Mrs. Hughes are back. Yet,
our joy is bittersweet. Downton Abbey,
the beloved PBS Masterpiece show,
watched by more than 10 million of its
fans, is in its sixth and nal season. Already shown in the United Kingdom, the

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 8 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

Appeals court ruling on

LeGaBiBo case expected
in March
By KATLEGO K KOL-KES
While many people were defeated by a
heat wave that swept through Gaborone
in the rst two weeks of the year, supporters of LeGaBiBo (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals of Botswana) were amped for the
face o against the state at the Botswana
High Court of Appeal. The drama, which
started in 2012, came to what is hoped
will be the closing scenes on Jan. 15 as
a ve-judge bench heard the arguments
of Otsile Rammidi, state representative
from the attorney generals chambers,
and Dick Bayford, rst counsel for LeGaBiBo.
Those following the case will know
that Dow and Associates is the managing firm on the case, however, since
Unity Dow was elected to parliament in
2014, Bayford an equally seasoned
human rights lawyer has been called

VIEWPOINT

on to take the baton to finish the race.

Dow and Associates partner, Lesego
Nchunga, flanked him as the embodiment of empowered Batswana women
and the countrys progressive youth.
The LGBTI+ world celebrated in November 2014 as High Court Judge Terrence Rannowane proclaimed refusal
to register LeGaBiBo was not reasonably justifiable under the constitution. In handing down his ruling, Rannowane played a pivotal part in the
two-year long battle between the government of Botswana and the wouldbe organisation. Rannowanes interpretation of the case facts shifted not
only the way the applicants saw their
future possibilities but it also dealt a
huge blow to the governments secure
albeit false stance that LeGaBiBo
aims to promote homosexuality in
Botswana.
The government didnt miss a beat to
le its appeal of this judgment and did so
in February 2015. This move prevented
LeGaBiBo from ling application forms
with the Registrar of Societies yet the
wait may be over soon following the Jan.

Valentines Day!

ALAN
CUMMING
Steve Vaccariello

SINGS
SAPPY SONGS
Iconic performer Alan
Cumming transforms
Valentines Day into a
cabaret, with the sappy
silly love songs everyone
secretly adores.

Easy
Me
t

ST

AT

NOW
HM

STRATHMORE.ORG | 301.581.5100
5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852

O R E .O

y parking
tar
en

Sun, Feb 14

ess Compli
m
acc
ro

RG

The hope is that in Botswana celebrating

50 years of independence this year,
the words of the unifying national anthem
may be played out in the High Court of Appeal
judgment in favor of a relentless
LGBT community.

15 proceedings. LeGaBiBo Gender and

Youth Ocer Botho Maruatona said in
an interview, We dont want to ght the
government; we want to get registered so
that we can start working with them on
matters concerning LGBT Botswana.
This help is, according to Rammidis
argument, exactly what the government
fears.
Following embarrassing himself by
seeking an extension on the hearing
date due to having been on holiday
and so needed more time to beef up
our heads of argument, Rammidi was
starting out further disadvantaged in
the supporters eyes. The case presented against LeGaBiBo helping the
government disseminate information
on sexual health, HIV/AIDS and human rights, is that the state fears this
will result in indirect promotion of
rampageous homosexual sexual activity across the country. After questions
from the bench on whether there was
any proof of this, Rammidis scapegoat
was the analogy that though there may
not be proof, would the state be requested to register an organization of
cannibals who may well say they wont
promote cannibalism but whose existence would mean digression from
national laws. This became the running
joke during recess.
This was seconded with the case that
Botswanans are not ready and by
registering the organization this would
cause unrest by defying public morality. Though there is no clear indication
or quantitative evidence that either
one of these statements is true, recent remarks by the former president
of Botswana, Festus Mogae, that we
are limited in our knowledge and must
be open to new discoveries might be
cause for the government rethinking
its opposition.

After the roll-call proceedings, which

took place on Jan. 8, Nchunga, had expressed her condence that the appeals
court will follow suit with the standing
ruling since the constitution provides for
everything they are standing for.
Nchunga further added that should
they win again, the case is going to
matter a lot to the history of Botswana
when we speak to human rights, and
when we speak of interpretations of
the constitution, when we speak to the
rights of the LGBT community and the
rights of minorities at large. She has,
however, warned against wild international media frenzy detracting from the
local relevance asking that we want
this case to be seen as ours but she
conrms that, there are other ways of
helping in terms of advocacy, forming
groups and supporting the intended organization itself.
No date has been set yet for the
handing down of the judgment on
this case, but Judge Kirby advised
that it will be within this first session
of hearings which ends in March.
The parched court grounds erupted
in color as rainbow flags and umbrellas which had been reserved for the
days end came out for a community
photo shoot. For the first time a long
time in Gaborone, we saw the faces of
activists, friends, allies, and relatives
gathered to view the saga of a government against its people. The hope is
that in Botswana celebrating 50 years
of independence this year, the words
of the unifying national anthem may
be played out in the High Court of Appeal judgment in favor of a relentless
LGBT community.
KATLEGO K KOL-KES is an award-winning
writer, educator, performer and Botswanas
rst openly transgender public gure.

W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 1 9

exceeding expectations,
one patient at a time.
Whether the changes you desire are dramatic or subtle, the plastic
surgery practice of Dr. Joseph Michaels is dedicated to all of your
cosmetic and reconstructive needs. From your initial contact with
the practice through the completion of your procedure, you will
be met with unparalleled warmth and care by Dr. Michaels and
his dedicated staff. During your consultation, Dr. Michaels will
carefully listen to your needs and expectations and you will be
provided with a detailed assessment and honest recommendations
to help you achieve your desires.

Botox and facial fillers

facial rejuvenation
liposuction - including smartlipo
laser liposuction
male chest contouring
Breast augmentation
Body contouring
after weight loss surgery

15%
off
Botox and fillers
for new patients
with this ad.

Joseph Michaels, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

11404 Old Georgetown Rd. #206
Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: (301) 468-5991
3620 Joseph Siewick Dr #301
Fairfax , VA 22033
Phone: (703) 957-8610

www.JosephMichaelsMD.com

AWARDS

2 0 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

ARTS

AND

ENTERTAINMENT

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

VOLUME

47

ISSUE

05

JANUARY

29

2016

PAGE

21

JILLIAN MICHAELS says her

new show Just Jillian, an eightepisode reality series that
debuted on E! in mid-January,
shows shes more than a shrill
tness tyrant.
PHOTO BY DON FLOOD;
COURTESY OF TRUE PR

BIGGEST LOSER TASKMASTER OPENS UP ON NEW REALITY SHOW

By MARIAH COOPER
mcooper@washblade.com

Jillian Michaels is infamous for

screaming at people on the treadmill,
but even a tness tyrant has days o.
Her new reality show Just Jillian shows
shes also a mom, partner and everyday
human being.
The show, which airs Tuesday at 10 p.m.
on E!, follows Michaels as she attempts
to juggle her personal and professional
life with her partner Heidi Rhoades and
their two children, Lukensia and Phoenix.
Michaels takes care of her children and
runs her career all while dealing with
pressure from her partner to get married.
We spoke with Michaels about her
softer side, why aggression is her training
technique and how photography safaris
could be her secret calling.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Just Jillian
denitely puts you in a dierent light
than were used to seeing on The Biggest
Loser. Were you worried about losing
your tough image?
JILLIAN MICHAELS: The interesting thing
about this show is its just me. Its not a
cartoon character. Sometimes Im an idiot,
sometimes Im an asshole and sometimes
Im a good friend and a good partner and

good mom, just like everybody else. We all

have our better moments and our worse
moments. I think thats whats going to be
really interesting for people is that I am
human just like everybody else. And were
all kind of on this journey trying to build a
better life and trying to be the best partner,
boss, co-worker, parent. Its lled with
comedies of errors and thats what I think is
interesting. So as much as I appreciate the
platform Biggest Loser gave me, it was
also very limiting because it doesnt show
me as who I am as a whole person. Thats
kind of why I think this will reshue the
deck so to speak.
BLADE: Did you approach it with that
goal?
MICHAELS: The reason I wanted to
do it was simply because, for me, it was
never about building a better body. I
always saw health as the platform you
build a better life on top of and tness
is just one tool you utilize to help you do
that, to empower you, to redene self
image. But the bigger picture has always
been: how do we get empowered, how
to do we get inspired, how do we get
motivated, how do we get educated to

build a better life overall? Thats why I

wanted to do the show because I thought,
you know, what I want to just open it up
and be transparent and be honest and
let people go on these journeys with me.
And along the way hopefully youll laugh,
hopefully youll cry. Its pretty much
guaranteed youll be entertained because
were a cast of lunatics. I dont think the
intention was ever, Gosh, I want people
to like me more. There are two kinds of
people when it comes to me. There are
the people that think Im an idiot and just
hate me and Im this monster. And then
there are the people that kind of idealize
me and think Im this great person who
has my shit together and is this great
inspiration. Neither one of those things
are true. So I think Ill lose some fans
for sure, but I think I may gain some. At
the end of the day, all I can do is be true
to who I am and be proud of what we
produced and see what happens.
BLADE: On the show youre a mom,
a romantic partner, a business partner,
a celebrity. How do you juggle all these
dierent people you have to be at once?
MICHAELS: I dont. I try, but a lot of

balls drop. Theres denitely an element

of that in the show because I think so
many of us are struggling with all those
dierent things. And I know the answer,
the answer obviously is to progress and
to let go of the concept that anything
could be perfect. And while I know that
answer and I preach it often, I havent
fully come to accept it in my own life. It
denitely creates some turmoil along the
way for me, for my loved ones. I dont
know the answer and thats one of the
things the show seeks to do. It seeks to
nd that answer. How do we nd that
balance and what does that balance look
like in each of our lives? Its a challenge
and thats what Im hoping to gure out
on the show. If we get an extra season
maybe itll happen in season two.
BLADE: Youve been candid about your
parents divorce and your own weight loss
journey and show the same vulnerability
in the show. Do you ever get scared being
so naked emotionally in the public eye?
MICHAELS: I really dont. At the end of
the day, I think transparency is critical.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 33

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 2 J A N UA RY 2 9 , 2016

Q U E E RY : 2 0 Q U E ST I O N S F O R CH RI S G RI F F I N

How long have you been out and who

was the hardest person to tell?
I dont think I was ever in so it was never
really hard to tell anyone. I remember
telling my sister and she was like, Yeah,
no shit, which has pretty much been the
general response.
Whos your LGBT hero?
John Waters or Oscar Wilde. I love those
dapper smut peddlers.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GRIFFIN

CHRIS GRIFFIN
By JOEY DiGULIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Itll be a gay old time at Avenue Burly Q, an evening of burlesque and
puppets slated for Sunday, Jan. 31.
The Round World, the producing company for the event, is run by Chris
Grin, its gay founder. Drag performer Lucrezia Blozia will perform with
several of the D.C. areas nest and weirdest burlesque/boylesque and variety
performers (who) are putting together puppet-themed acts to entertain
everyones inner bad boy or girl. Grin promises a world of singing hot
dogs, lusty re-breathing dragons and muppets with no morals.
The show is at the Bier Baron (1523 22nd St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. (doors at 7)
Sunday night. Tickets are $12 in advance through brownpapertickets.com or
$15 at the door. Show is ages 21 and up. Ten percent of the proceeds benet
Defenders of Playtime/Homeless Childrens Playtime Project, an organization
that provides structured playtime to children in temporary housing in
Washington.
Grin is a D.C. native and says hes happily single, though he admits he
could also be perhaps desperate and delusional. He lives in Mt. Pleasant and
enjoys learning retro skills like eating re and playing cigar box guitar.

Whats Washingtons best

nightspot, past or present?
Metro Caf. That was Cherry Reds, my
old theater companys, residence for a
while and that place was magic. So many
great memories.
Describe your dream wedding.
Id prefer to live in sin rather than
embrace heteronormative ideals, but if
I had to, it would be a summer shotgun
wedding at Coney Island.
What non-LGBT issue are
you most passionate about?
Compassion toward animals. Im a vegan
for reasons of compassion and Im just
stunned how disconnected from and
accepting of we are of animal suering
and abuse.
What historical outcome
would you change?
No AIDS or HIV! Let the sexual freedom
of the 70s and early 80s keep going
without consequence.
Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime?
I bought a rush ticket to Pippin on
Broadway a couple years ago and
ended up sitting in the front row. The
combination of theater and music and
circus and burlesque ipped a switch
inside.
On what do you insist?

A creative spark.

What was your last

Facebook post or Tweet?
Spank me and call me Ishmael
Im diving in! #readingMobyDick
#subwayreadingforthenextsixmonths
If your life was a book
what would the title be?
The Adventures of a Gold-Hearted Smut
Peddler

202.747.2077

If science discovered a way

to change sexual orientation
what would you do?
Well duh Id make everyone gay!
There are some guys I know whod go
rst, but eventually Id get to everyone.

What do you believe in

beyond the physical world?
I believe in the concept of Namaste
what is divine, shiny and magical
in me celebrates whats divine, shiny
and magical in you. I also believe the
universe sends you signs when youre on
the right track. Oh and as E.E. Cummings
said, Damn everything but the circus!
Whats your advice for
LGBT movement leaders?
Dont play the victim card and dont
accept less than whats deserved.
What would you walk
across hot coals for?
My pooch Ramon, my logical family
(some of which is biological), my creative
collaborators and a really cool idea for
an act.
What LGBT stereotype
annoys you most.
The idea that in some way were not as
strong or deserving as straight folks.
Dont take my kindness, gayness or
whimsy for weakness.
Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
Its a three-way tie I love Tangerine
for blowing up what you need to do
to make a movie, which is simply tell a
compelling story. I love Plata Quemada
for showing the world that we could be
sexy badass outlaws. But, I have Dont
Dream It, Be It tattooed on my left bicep
so Rocky Horror will always have a
special place if not in my heart, at least
on my arm.
Whats the most
overrated social custom?
Hierarchy/status/the A list.
What trophy or prize
do you most covet?
Well Id like them all, minus the sports
ones, but really just knowing that the
folks I respect think Im on the right
track. If that happens to be spelled O-BI-E, so be it.
What do you wish youd known at 18?
Its OK to wholeheartedly go after what
you want and to sometimes place your
needs rst as long as youre being kind
while youre doing it. Carpe diem, just
dont be an asshole about it.
Why Washington?
I ask myself that everyday. I moved to
New York and moved to Los Angeles but
always end up back here. Its the people
and the fact that I get to do the creative
work I want to do and there seems to be
an audience for it.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

T HE ATER

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 2 3

Satisfying ride
Controversial Equus
lovingly revived at Source
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
When British playwright Sir Peter Shaers
Equus premiered in 1973, some considered
it scandalous because the story centers
on a young mans sexual and religious
preoccupation with a horse. There was also
the violence and nudity. Even today, the
title alone can still wrinkle noses. But seeing
Constellation Theatres thoughtful and
compelling take on the play changes all that.
Smartly staged by Amber McGinnis
Jackson, Constellations oering puts the
focus on desires and human connection.
More than a kinky story about a boy and
his horse, its a crime mystery propelled
by
an
introspective,
middle-aged
psychiatrist Dr. Martin Dysart practicing
at a provincial hospital. Here, powerfully
and poignantly played by veteran D.C.
actor Michael Kramer.
Equus is loosely based on the true
story of 17-year-old Alan Strang, who

blinded six horses in a small country

town in the UK. The playwright imagines
just how such a heinous crime might have
come about. Shaer paints Alan (Ross
Destiche in a nuanced performance) as
a glowering teen who annoyingly parrots
TV jingles but doesnt speak. His parents
are at odds mom Dora (Lauren E.
Smith) is a devout Christian while his
father is an inveterate atheist. A rocky
home life prompts Alan to replace his
mothers god with the godhead Equus
(Latin for horse) initially inspired by a
thrilling experience from childhood in
which a stranger hoisted him up and
together a tingly Alan and this unknown
commanding horseman (Ryan Tumulty)
canter down the beach. Later as a teen
working in a stable, Alan focuses his ardor
and worship on a horse called Nugget
with whom he spends hours nuzzling and
takes for midnight rides in the nude.
At the urging of court magistrate
Hesther Salomon (Kathleen Akerly),
a wary Dysart takes on the boy as his
patient. Salomon is convinced Dysart, for
whom she appears to have more than

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOURCE THEATRE

ROSS DESTICHE in Equus. The Source Theatre production eectively revives the troubled tale.

professional feelings, is the man who can

ease the boys misery.
Alans mad passion prompts Dysart
to examine himself. His is a safe anemic
life of which hes slightly embarrassed.
His passion for Classical Greece entails
looking at books and annual trips with
a bottle of Kaopectate tucked into his
suitcase. He struggles whether he should
extinguish his young patients passion
despite its brutal aspects.
Set and lighting designer A.J. Guban
transforms an intimate black box space
into a large stable with weathered gray

rafters and barn doors. Convincingly and

rather amazingly, locations change from
stable to hospital to seedy cinema with
little more than a small bench and an
amber glass ashtray as props.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
EQUUS
Through Feb. 14
Constellation Theatre Company
at Source Theatre
1835 14th St., N.W.
$20-45
202-204-7741
constellationtheatre.org

GREAT
PERFORMANCES AT
MASON
GREAT
GREAT PERFORMANCES
PERFORMANCES AT
AT MASON
MASON
VISIT
US AT
CFA.GMU.EDU
VISIT
VISIT US
US AT
AT CFA.GMU.EDU
CFA.GMU.EDU

Polish
The
Band
Baltic
of
the
The
Polish
Band
Baltic
of
the
The
Polish
Band
Baltic
of
the
Royal
Philharmonic
Marines
Orchestra
Royal
Philharmonic
Marines
Royal MarinesOrchestra
Philharmonic
Orchestra

Mummenschanz
Polish
Baltic
Polish
Mummenschanz
Baltic
Polish
Mummenschanz
Baltic
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY
5 AT 8 P.M.
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY
5 AT 8 P.M.
Philharmonic
Orchestra
If
youve not
yet seen Mummenschanz,
catch them now
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY
5 AT 8 P.M.
Philharmonic
Orchestra
If
youve
not
yet
seen
Mummenschanz,
catch them now
Philharmonic
Orchestra

SATURDAY,
JANUARY
30
AT
8
P.M.
SATURDAY,
JANUARY
23
AT
2
P.M.
& 8 P.M.
Wagner:
Overture,
The Flying
Dutchman
SATURDAY,
JANUARY
30
AT
8
P.M.
All
the pomp
and grandeur
centuries of
SATURDAY,
JANUARY
23 that
AT
2characterize
P.M. & 8 P.M.
Wagner:
Overture,
The
Flying
Dutchman
All
the
pomp
and
grandeur
that
characterize
centuries of
Wagner:
Overture,
The Flying
Dutchman
Rimsky-Korsakov:
Symphonic
Suite
from
Scheherazade
British
tradition
arethat
on
display
when
these military
All
the military
pomp
and
grandeur
characterize
centuries
of
Rimsky-Korsakov:
Symphonic
from
Scheherazade
British
military tradition
are onSuite
display
when
these military
Rimsky-Korsakov:
Symphonic
from
Scheherazade
Chopin:
Piano
Concerto,
No.full
2Suite
in
F minor
bands take
the stage
in their
regalia.
Bring
the family
to
British
military
tradition
are
on
display
when
these
military
Chopin:
Piano
Concerto,
No.full
2 in
F minor
bands take
the stage
in their
regalia.
Bring the family to
enjoy
the
bagpipes,
the
brass,
and
the
regimental
Chopin:
Piano
Concerto,
No.
2 in
Fsplendid
minor
bands
take
the stage
in their
full
regalia.
Bringevening
themarches
family
to
This
exceptional
ensemble
brings
a
of
enjoyexceptional
the bagpipes,
the brass,
and athe
regimental
marches
This
ensemble
brings
splendid
evening
ofof the
and Scottish
Highland
that
are
a are
special
part
enjoy
theworks
bagpipes,
the dancing
brass,
and
the
regimental
marches
favorite
from
19th
century
that
full
of
Romantic
This
exceptional
ensemble
brings
a
splendid
evening
of
and Scottish
dancing
that are
a are
special
of the
favorite
worksHighland
from
19th
century
that
fullff part
of Romantic
British
military
past the
anddancing
present.
$52,
$44,
$31
and
Scottish
Highland
that
are
a are
special
of the
passion
and
drama!
$50,
$43,century
$30
favorite
works
from
that
full part
of Romantic
British military
past the
and19th
present.
passion
and drama!
$50,
$43, $30$52, $44, $31 ffff
British
past $50,
and present.
passionmilitary
and drama!
$43, $30$52, $44, $31

silence.
What
Mummenschanz
SATURDAY,
JANUARY
30 ATall8does
P.M.so extraordinarily
illusions
and funny
narratives,
performed
in completewell is
silence. What
Mummenschanz
does
extraordinarily well is
Wagner:
Overture,
The
Flying
Dutchman
SATURDAY,
30 AT
8place
P.M.so
create
itsWhat
ownJANUARY
comic
universea
of extraordinarily
constant wonder
and
silence.
Mummenschanz
does so
well
is
Wagner:
Overture,
The
Flying
Dutchman
create
its own comicSymphonic
universea
placefrom
of constant
wonder and
Wagner:
The
Flying Dutchman
Rimsky-Korsakov:
Suite
Scheherazade
ingenuity.
(Boston
Herald)
create its Overture,
own
comic
universea
placefrom
of constant
wonder and
Rimsky-Korsakov:
Symphonic
Suite
Scheherazade
ingenuity.
(Boston
Herald)
Rimsky-Korsakov:
Symphonic
from Scheherazade
Chopin:
No. 2Suite
in F minor
ffConcerto,
$48,
$41,Piano
$29
ingenuity.
(Boston
Herald)
Chopin:
$48,
$41,Piano
$29 ffConcerto, No. 2 in F minor
Chopin:
Piano
Concerto,
2 inaFsplendid
minor evening of
This $41,
exceptional
brings
$48,
$29 ff ensembleNo.
This exceptional ensemble brings a splendid evening of
favorite
works from
the 19thbrings
century
that areevening
full of Romantic
This
exceptional
ensemble
a splendid
of
favorite works from the 19th century that are full of Romantic
passion and
drama!
$50,19th
$43,century
$30 that are full of Romantic
favorite
works
from the
passion and drama! $50, $43, $30
passion and drama! $50, $43, $30

Boguslaw
conductor
Featuring
the
Pipes,
Drums,
and
Boguslaw Dawidow,
Dawidow,
conductor
Featuring
the
Pipes,
Drums,
and
Boguslaw
Dawidow,
conductor
Featuring
the
Pipes,
Drums,
and
Marcin
Koziak,
piano
Highland
Dancers
of
the
Scots
Guards
Marcin
Koziak,
piano
Highland
Dancers
of
the
Scots
Guards
Marcin
Koziak,
piano
SATURDAY,
JANUARY
30
AT
8
P.M.
Highland
Dancers
of
the
Scots
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23 AT 2 P.M. & 8 P.M. Guards

Boguslaw
with
us! The
andMummenschanz,
whimsicalconductor
Swiss troupe
will get
your
If
youve
not witty
yetDawidow,
seen
catch them
now
Boguslaw
Dawidow,
with
us! The witty
and whimsicalconductor
Swiss troupe will get your
imagination
going
with
a delightful,
playful
show
clever
Boguslaw
Dawidow,
conductor
with
us!
The
witty
and
whimsical
Swiss
troupe
willofget
your
Marcin
Koziak,
piano
imagination
going
with
a
delightful,
playful
show
of
clever
Marcin
piano
illusions andKoziak,
funnywith
narratives,
all performed
in complete
imagination
going
a
delightful,
playful
show
of
clever
Marcin
piano
illusions
andKoziak,
funny
narratives,
in complete
SATURDAY,
JANUARY
30 ATall8 performed
P.M.

ff = Family Friendly performances that are most suitable for families with younger children
ff = Family Friendly performances that are most suitable for families with younger children
ff = Family Friendly performances that are most suitable for families with younger children

TICKETS
TICKETS
TICKETS

888-945-2468
OR CFA.GMU.EDU
888-945-2468
CFA.GMU.EDU
888-945-2468 OR
OR CFA.GMU.EDU

Virginia
Opera
Virginia
Virginia Opera
Opera

Romeo
and
Juliet
Romeo
and
Juliet
Romeo
and
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY
13Juliet
AT 8 P.M.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 AT 8 P.M.

SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY
1413
ATAT
2 P.M.
SATURDAY,
FEBRUARY
8 P.M.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 AT 2 P.M.
Treat your FEBRUARY
Valentine to 14
a romantic
date with Gounods
SUNDAY,
AT 2 P.M.
Treat your Valentine to a romantic date with Gounods
luminous
of the
love
story.
A sensational
Treat
yoursetting
Valentine
to quintessential
a romantic date
with
Gounods
luminous setting of the quintessential love story. A sensational
success
from
its premiere,
its a gorgeous
with
luminous
setting
of the quintessential
loveopera,
story.filled
A sensational
success from its premiere, its a gorgeous opera, filled with
beautifulfrom
French
Romanticits
period
music.opera,
Sung in
French
success
its premiere,
a gorgeous
filled
withwith
beautiful French Romantic period music. Sung in French with
English supertitles.
$98, $80,period
$48 music. Sung in French with
beautiful
French Romantic
English supertitles. $98, $80, $48
English
supertitles. Day
$98, Ticket
$80, $48
Special Valentines
Package: two tickets,
Special Valentines Day Ticket Package: two tickets,
champagne
and chocolates,
special
phototwo
booth,
and two
Special
Valentines
Day Ticket
Package:
tickets,
champagne and chocolates, special photo booth, and two
commemorative
champagnespecial
glasses.$225,
$190, $125
champagne
and chocolates,
photo booth,
and two
commemorative champagne glasses.$225, $190, $125
commemorative champagne glasses.$225, $190, $125
Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway
Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway
exit 54 at
of Braddock
Road
Rt. 123.
Located
onthe
theintersection
Fairfax campus,
six miles
westand
of Beltway
exit 54 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123.
exit 54 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 4 J A N UA RY 2 9 , 2016

T RA V E L

Well have a gay ole time

LGBT-specic travel options
abound throughout 2016
By ADRIENNE JORDAN
As winter starts packing on the snow,
trade the shovel for skis at some of the
best gay ski weeks.
Had enough of the powder? Then
head to Louisiana for a gay Mardi Gras
experience, try wine tasting in Napa or
even a multi-island cruise for lesbians.
Pride comes early this year in Philly,
and Miamis Winter Party is a short ight
away from the Washington area. Winter
blues shouldnt keep you in the house
get out and explore some of these
upcoming LGBT-centric events.
NAPA VALLEY, CALIF.
What warms the body more than a little
wine? The Napa Valley Wine Train hosts
its inauguralPrideRideon March 19. This
LGBT event oers guests a chance to enjoy
a special dinner featuring some of the Bay
Areas most prominent LGBT wine experts,
each on hand to lend their expertise and
assist guests in selecting wines to specially
pair with their four-course gourmet
meal created by Napa Valley Wine Train
Executive Chef Kelly Macdonald. Details at
winetrain.com/pride-ride.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WINTER PARTY MIAMI

TELLURIDE, COLO.
Hit the powder at Telluride Gay
Ski Week, in its rst year as a locally
produced event, taking place Feb. 2027. This year presents an impressive list
of special guests, including Olympian
Gus Kenworthy, musician Shawn Colvin,
comedian Sandra Bernhard and the
infamous DJ Ruckus, among others. The
week will be packed with events like a
dance party at Gorrono Beach on the
Telluride Ski Resort, opening cocktail
party at Arroyo Gallery and wine bar/popup night club at La Marmotte, White Party
and the Aprs Ski Pool Party at Madeline
Sky Terrace, where DJ Soul Atomic will
spin. Details at telluridegayski.com.
NEW ORLEANS
Famous for their huge Carnival
celebrations, rowdy Bourbon Street
crowds, and French, Spanish, and Native
American inuences, Mardi Gras is one of
the most anticipated annual celebrations
in America. The 67th annual Gay Mardi
Gras kicks o on Saturday, Jan. 30th with
the Krewe of Amon-Ra 51st annual Mardi
Gras Ball. The celebrations continue on into
early February with the Friday Night Before
Mardi Gras Extravaganza XVII on Friday,
Feb. 5. There are back-to-back masked
balls on Saturday, Feb. 6 (8 p.m., Krewe of
Armeinius Bal Masque XLVIII, Frederick J.

Winter Party Miami, in early March, promises endless gay parties in a balmy Florida setting.

Sigur Civic Center, Chalmette, La.) and on

Sunday, Feb. 7th (8 p.m., Lords of Leather
Bal Masque XXXIII, John A. Alario, Sr.
Event Center, Westwego, La.). Everyone is
welcome, gay and straight during the Mardi
Gras (Fat Tuesday) event on Tuesday, Feb.
9. Details at gaymardigras.com.

and social environments of LGBT people

of color. Over ve days, Philadelphia
Black Gay Pride entertains and inspires
with open-mic spoken word, awards,
parties and much more happening at
venues all over the city. More details to
come. Details at phillyblackpride.org.

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF.

For the fur-loving community, head
to the desert for the International Bear
Convergence Feb. 4-8 at the Hard Rock
Hotel Palm Springs for the premier winter
event for bears and admirers. This desert
oasis opens its arms and welcomes you
to the hip Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs
to thousands of frisky, furry bears, their
friends and fans. The four-day event will
come to life with DJs, live entertainment
and thousands of bears from around the
globe. The last two years were hugely
successful and more of the same is
expected in 2016. Details at inc.ps.com.

WINTER PARTY MIAMI

Surround yourself with miles of white
sandy beaches, thousands of men in
speedos and weekend estas at Winter
Party in Miami March 2-7. The event starts
with mega party Ignite, and on Friday, the
Pulse party goes all night and all morning
to nally end at 7 a.m. Saturday brings
the Under One Sun pool party, followed
by the Beach Party on Sunday. There will
be a dance oor, pavilions, DJ booth, tents
for relaxing, drinking and chatting sprawl
along South Beachs Lummus Park.
Details at winterparty.com.

PHILADELPHIA
To get a head start on your yearly
Pride rotations, head to Philly for the
Philadelphia Black Gay Pride festvities. The
spring event will take place April 28-May
1. The mission is to transform the living

CARIBBEAN ESCAPE
Olivias Caribbean Escape Cruise starts
this weekend and runs Jan. 30-Feb. 6. The
cruise will give women the opportunity to
join 1,900 lesbians on the Holland Americas
MS Westerdam. The itinerary is jam packed
with snorkeling, deep-sea shing and

kayaking excursions. Soak up the sunshine

on four dierent islands, including Turks
& Caicos, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and the
Bahamas. From relaxing and lounging on
beautiful Caribbean beaches, to a visit to
a Bacardi Distillery, there is something for
everyone. Olivia has several cruises planned
throughout the year including Lisbon to
Dublin (June 26-July 4), Dublin to Edinburgh
(July 4-12), Tahiti (Aug. 20-27), Pacic Coast
(Sept. 25-Oct. 2), Windward Islands (Dec. 2-9)
and more into 2017. Details at olivia.com.
MANCHESTER, UK
Looking to travel to Europe this winter?
Check out Manchester, UK, home to a
thriving arts and culture scene and the
renowned Manchester International
Festival. During LGBT History Month in
February, Manchester hosts the eighth
annual Queer Contact Festival, an art
explosion that runs from Feb. 4-14
and features a 10-day lineup of theater,
music, dance, cabaret, comedy, spoken
word and visual art performances. Expect
international artists like Erasures Andy
Bell, U.S. transgender performers and
activists Kate Bornstein, Our Lady J, poet
Jackie Kay and visual artists AL and AL. The
event has a Facebook page for details.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

M US I C

J A N U A R Y 29, 2016 25

A sharply moving synthesis of man and

nature, east and west, death and rebirth
The Guardian

Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Lin Hwai-min, Artistic Director
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEVIOUS PLANET

CAIT BRENNAN shows promise on her debut album out last week.

By CHRIS GERARD
Singer/songwriter/multiinstrumentalist Cait Brennan has an
interesting story. Although raised as a
boy, Brennan, as it states in her biography,
rebelled against her assigned gender in
her teens, causing a minor uproar in her
conservative 80s school.
She had been a compulsive songwriter
since youth and had a knack for picking
up any instrument and learning it in short
order. She started performing live gigs
and picked up a solid fan base, along with
some high prole supporters, including
fellow transgender artist Laura Jane
Grace of Against Me!
Eventually she met Indie-rocker
Fernando Perdomo and he became
enamored with her and her music.
Together they collaborated on the
13 tracks for Brennans debut album,
Debutant, out last week from Black
Market Glamour Records.
Debutante is a collection of easy-going,
highly melodic power pop with strong
harmonies sung with conviction. The album
as a whole is an entertaining listen. It opens
with Good Morning, Good Morning, a
summery rocker that sounds like it should
have been played on 70s radio alongside
Fleetwood Mac, ELO or Supertramp. It has a
decidedly retro feel, especially in the chorus.
Underworld is another catchy acoustic
rocker, this time with a bit of a Matthew
Sweet vibe. Dear Arthur is a switch to a
mellow acoustic guitar accompaniment for
Brennans rich and emotional vocal.
Lines is a fuzz-toned, mid-tempo
rocker that adds a bit of a dierent color
to the album, although it doesnt stray
from the 70s classic-rock feel. Once
Upon a Nevermind is a folk singalong
with a lively, whimsical charm. Next

comes the rollicking I Want You Back,

built on a frenetic drum pattern and
a richly whirring order. Brennan pulls
o urgency needed to make the track
work and ultimately its one of the most
successful pieces on the album.
Showman is an obviously personal
piece of romantic turmoil that vaguely
echoes George Michaels classic One
More Try. Brennan wears sincerity on
her sleeve and delivers a passionate
vocal performance. A stronger melodic
hook may have amped up the songs
power and appeal, but no one can doubt
Brennans conviction.
Father McKenzie is one of the
characters in the Beatles chilly expression
of loneliness, Eleanor Rigby. We couldnt
get further from that territory here, with
a song that owes a lot to buoyant 60s
pop, complete with the soaring backing
vocals. Brennan veers into bluesy rock on
Meet Your Makers introduction before
lurching into a briskly marching pop
section, then retreating back to the heavy
blues. Its nicely executed but doesnt
seem to serve a purpose. The songs most
powerful moments by far are the soulful
guitar blues. Had Meet Your Maker been
recorded wholly in that vibe, it might be
the albums standout.
The album closes with the strongest
track, Black Diamond, a stark acoustic
and piano ballad with a gorgeous
vocal by Brennan. Its stirring and
exquisitely beautiful.
Debutante is a solid eort and worth
picking up, for sure. Cait Brennan is a
talent to watch. The instincts are there,
and she certainly knows how to write a
catchy song, but the arrangements are a
little clunky and simplistic, the mixing is
o at times (particularly with the backing
vocals, which are way too high in the
mix) and sometimes there is a certain
sameness in Brennans vocals. Many of
the songs occupy the same sonic territory
and 10 tracks instead of 13 would have
arguably resulted in a more focused and
cohesive collection.

Huang Pei-hua and Tsai Ming-yuan in Rice, photo by Liu Chen-hsiang.

Cait Brennan debut

shimmery, nostalgic
and promising

Rice

D.C. PREMIERE

February 12 & 13 | Opera House

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG (202) 467-4600
Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.
International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible
through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

LIVE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

26 JAN U A R Y 29, 2016

O U T & A BO U T

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

RAYLAND

BAXTER

W/ MARGARET GLASPY
FRIDAY JAN

29

HOWIE

DAY
W/ ANNA ROSE

SATURDAY JAN

30

WED, FEB 3

LIANNE LA HAVAS:

SOLD OUT

AN EXCLUSIVE BLOOD SOLO PERFORMANCE

THURS, FEB 4

DR. JOHN & THE NITE TRIPPERS

SAT, FEB 6

DOCTOR DREAD PRESENTS:

A CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTHDAY OF
BOB MARLEY FEATURING ISRAEL
VIBRATION WITH ZEDICUS AND DAI WATSON
TUES, FEB 9

CELEBRATE FAT TUESDAY WITH

NATHAN AND THE

ZYDECO CHA-CHAS

PHOTO BY ANDREW ECCLES

Alvin Ailey troupe returns

THEHAMILTONDC.COM

DentalBug.com
Cosmetic, Implants, Sleep Apnea, Sedation

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater brings seven performances to the

Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) on Feb. 2-8.
The company will showcase D.C. premiere performances including Open
Door, No Longer Silent and Awakening. A company premiere performance
of Piazzolla Caldera will be on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. Artistic Director Robert
Battle will lead the company.
Tickets range from $49-199. For details, visit kennedy-center.org.

Call Today Weekend Hours MulTilingual

We believe we can make the

dental experience better.

WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY DAMIEN SALAS

John Tsaknis
DDS
Maria Hodas
DDS

Indra Mustapha
DDS, MS

1221 Mass. ave, nW 202.628.7979 (Free Parking)

703 d street, nW 202.628.1288
lenfant Plaza,sW Promenade #325 202.628.2177

LGBT dating workshop

this weekend
D8able LLC hosts a free mixer and dating
relationship workshop: the Elements of
Dating Reasonable Expectations at Atlas
Theatre (1333 H St., N.W.) on Saturday,
Jan. 30 from 6:30-9 p.m.
The workshop will cover racial proling
in dating, the dating check list, what
you want versus what you get and other
dating topics. D8able LLC is an LGBTfocused dating service that oers free
workshops. Based in New York City,
D8able LLC provides services nationwide
and co-founder Tosin Adesanya is a
Howard University graduate.
For more information, visit d8ablellc.com.

Meet our amazing Front desk Team:

Justin, Cristy, and Melissa

Jeanette Suh
DMD

By MARIAH COOPER

Wig Night Out is Saturday at JR.s

Wig Night Out, the annual Point Foundation fundraiser, returns to JR.s Bar
(1519 17th St., N.W.) on Saturday, Jan. 30 from 9-11 p.m.
Wear a crazy wig, have a drink, listen to music and contribute to the Point
Foundation. This is the seventh year Wig Night Out has brought the glamour in
honor of the Point Foundation, which provides scholarships to disadvantaged
LGBT youth. There is a $10 suggested donation at the door.
For more details, visit facebook.com/wignightout.

Chorus ensembles
to sing at Wolf Trap
Potomac Fever and Rock Creek Singers,
part of the Gay Mens Chorus, perform
at the Barns at Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Rd.,
Vienna, Va.) on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Potomac Fever is an a cappella
harmony pop 14-person ensemble. Rock
Creek Singers consists of 35 members
and perform both choral music and
Broadway tunes. Tickets are $45.
For more information and to purchase
tickets, visit gmcw.org.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

FI L M

Out lmmaker explores

fracturing marriage
in latest eort
By BRIAN T. CARNEY
By Hollywood standards, openly gay
writer and director Andrew Haighs career
has been both highly conventional and
highly unconventional.
Its been highly conventional because
he has worked hard and risen through
the ranks. One of his rst assignments
was working as an apprentice editor on
Ridley Scotts Academy Award-winning
lm Gladiator. (Ironically, both Scott and
Haigh are prominent on this years list of
directors who were snubbed by Oscar
this year: Scott for The Martian and
Haigh for 45 Years.) Hes also worked as
an assistant editor for such lms as Black
Hawk Down and Hannibal Rising.
But, despite his successful career as an
editor, Haigh wanted to tackle his own
creative projects. He worked on a series of
shorts, but then made the leap to working
full-time on his own feature-length lms.
Its dicult to make that move because
you go from making a little bit of money
to earning absolutely nothing. he says.
But it was the right choice.
His choice has led to a highly
unconventional career as writer and
director in the astonishing diversity of the
stories he has brought to cinematic life.
Haigh made that leap with the full backing
of his husband, novelist Andy Morwood.
He doesnt work in lm, but hes very
supportive of what I do every step of the
way. Its good to have him there. Weve
been together a long time.
Haighs rst feature was Greek Pete
(2009) which chronicled a year in the
life of a London rent boy. He worked as
writer, director, cinematographer, editor

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 2 7

and producer. His next lm, Weekend

(2011) was about a one-night stand
that unexpectedly turns into something
potentially more serious. It received
a limited theatrical release and won
thunderous reviews on the indie lm
circuit and at several LGBT lm festivals.
While he was editing Weekend, Haigh
discovered a 12-page short story called In
Another Country by David Constantine.
Its about a straight English couple who
are about to celebrate their 45th wedding
anniversary. But as the celebration
nears, their relationship is rocked when
a long-buried secret from the husbands
past emerges. While the ailing husband
Geo retreats into himself, his wife Kate
is forced to rethink their entire marriage
while still planning for the festivities.
I loved that short story, Haigh says. It
got stuck in my brain and I became pretty
much obsessed with trying to nd a way
to adapt it.
Haighs obsession turned into the script
for 45 Years which is now being shown
in area theaters.
Once the script was nished, it was
time to nd a cast and scout locations.
Haigh and his casting director Kahleen
Crawford quickly zeroed in on Charlotte
Rampling, the controversial actress known
for her performances in Georgy Girl,
The Damned and The Swimming Pool,
as well as for her role as Dr. Evelyn Vogel
in the last season of Showtimes Dexter.
We sent Charlotte a copy of the script
and a copy of my last lm and a begging
letter, Haigh says. Then we had a very
nice conversation on the phone and she
luckily decided to come on board.
They decided to shoot the lm on
location in Norfolk, England.
It was a lovely shoot. We had veand-a-half weeks, so we didnt do any
rehearsing. We just kind of went straight
into it. We shot the lm in order which
gave us an idea of the subtle ow of the

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUNDANE SELECTS

Filmmaker ANDREW HAIGH says it was time to exert more control in his career.

lm and what was changing scene by

scene. That helped me and the actors
understand what we needed to do in any
particular moment.
Haigh did spend time before the shoot
discussing the lm with Rampling, who has
been nominated for an Academy Award.
I spent like three days with Charlotte.
We talked about the character and our
understanding of what the lm was
about. And then you just turn on the
camera and let her do her thing. Shes an
amazing actress.
Once shooting on 45 Years was
complete, Haigh returned to work on
his most famous project to date, the
provocative HBO series Looking. His
work on the series bookended the lming
of the movie.
I had just nished season one of
Looking and then went to shoot 45
Years. The day after the wrap, I went right
back to work on season two of Looking.
I spent mornings in the writers room
for Looking and afternoons editing 45
Years. It was a very hectic period.
The increasingly in-demand Haigh will
head to Portland this summer to direct his
next movie project, Lean On Pete. Haigh
adapted the script from the acclaimed

Willy Vlautin novel and describes the lm

as, a coming-of-age story more than
anything else. Its about a kid that works
in a racehorse track. Its moving away
from the relationship-oriented material
Ive been working on, but there are still
thematic similarities.
After that, it was just announced, he will
direct a biopic of the late fashion designer
Alexander McQueen. The script will be
written by London playwright Chris Urch;
this will mark the rst time Haigh has
directed a movie written by someone else.
In the meantime, after enjoying 45
Years, American audiences can look
for HBOs Looking Special, slated to
premiere in April. Haigh was grateful to
write (with series creator Michael Lannan)
and direct the movie that will wrap up the
storylines that have played out over the
series two season.
Its nice that we got to end it the way we
wanted to, Haigh says. Theres denitely
some conclusions to all the stories that
have been started. It was nice to have one
last visit to that world.
Unfortunately, Haigh oers no hints about
what will happen in the Looking movie.
Youll have to wait and see, he says.
Im giving nothing away.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 8 J A N UA RY 2 9 , 2016

A RT S & CU LT U RE

HOT HITS & HIDDEN JEWELS

From CultureCapital.com
YOUR LINK TO THE ARTS IN METRO DC

A Midsummer Nights Dream

Thru Mar 6. Folger Theatre.
202-544-7077. folger.edu.

This magical comedy of tangled lovers, mischievous fairiesand a band

of players to bootis given a fresh, new staging by Aaron Posner, with DC
favorites Holly Twyford as Bottom and Erin Weaver as Puck.

Comedy at the Kennedy Center: Cameron Esposito

Jan 29. Kennedy Center.
800-444-1324. kennedy-center.org.

Cameron Esposito is a fast-rising Los Angeles-based standup comic, actor, and

writer who appears regularly on late night TV and in comedy festivals across
the country. Her sophomore album, SAME SEX SYMBOL, was released in fall
2014, debuting at #1 on the iTunes comedy charts.

Kristin Chenoweth
Jan 29. Strathmore.
301-581-5100. strathmore.org.

The Broadway legend, TV star, and movie queen graces the Strathmore stage
with her inimitable beauty, humor, and talent. Dont miss the star of everything
wonderful from Wicked to West Wing to Glee to On the Twentieth Century.

Gay Mens Chorus of DC: Rock Creek Singers / Potomac Fever.

Jan 30. The Barns at Wolf Trap.
877-965-3872. wolftrap.org.
Two vocal ensembles from one of the worlds best male choruses delight
in this fabulously fun (Broadway World) performance. Hear the WAMMIEwinning groups during their 35th anniversary season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FOLGER THEATRE

THEATRE
A Gentlemans Guide to Love &
Murder. Thru Jan 30. Shear Madness.
Ongoing. The Kennedy Center.
202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
West Side Story. Thru Jan 31. SigWorks:
Masterpieces of the Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Feb 1. Georgie: My Adventures with
George Rose. Thru Feb 7. Signature
Theatre. 703-820-9771.
signature-theatre.org.
Guards At The Taj. Feb 1-Feb 28.
Woolly Mammoth. 202-393-3939.
woollymammoth.net.
Bad Jews. Thru Jan 31. Between
Riverside and Crazy. Thru Feb
28. Studio Theatre. 202-332-3300.
studiotheatre.org.
The Sisters Rosensweig. Thru Feb 21.
Theater J. 202-518-9400. theaterj.org.
Seorita y Madame: The Secret
War of Elizabeth Arden and
Helena Rubinstein (En Espaol con
sobrettulos en Ingls). Feb 4-Feb 28.
GALA Hispanic Theatre. 202-234-7174.
galatheatre.org.
Picasso at the Lapine Agile. Thru Feb
13. Keegan Theatre. 202-265-3767.
keegantheatre.com.
The Glass Menagerie. Thru Feb 21.
Fords Theatre. 202-347-4833. fords.org.
Ted Alexandro. Jan 29. The Barns.
877-965-3872. wolftrap.org.
Master Class. Thru Jan 30. Reston
Community Players at RCC.
703-476-4500. restonplayers.org.

DANCE
Spectrum Dance Theater. Jan 30. WPA
at Sidney Harman Hall. 202-785-9727.
washingtonperformingarts.org.
American Ballet Theatre: Ratmanskys
The Sleeping Beauty. Thru Jan 31. Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater. Feb
2-Feb 7. The Kennedy Center.
202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
Dance Place / Reunion. Jan 30-Jan 31.
Dance Place. 202-269-1600.
danceplace.org.

MUSIC

Buy
Discount Tickets
ticketPLAce.org

Arlo Guthries Alices Restaurant 50th

Anniversary Tour. Feb 3. Strathmore.
301-581-5100. strathmore.org.
National Gallery of Art Vocal
Ensemble. Jan 31. National Gallery of
Art. 202-737-4215. nga.gov.
Marcus Johnson. Jan 29. The
Crawdaddies. Jan 30. AMP.
301-581-5100. ampbystrathmore.com.
NSO: Christoph Eschenbach,
conductor: Symphonies by Beethoven,
Brahms & Schubert. Thru Jan 30. KC
Jazz Club: Rene Marie: I Wanna Be Evil,
A Tribute to Eartha Kitt. Jan 29. Frank
Wess Tribute. Jan 30. The Kennedy
Center. 202-467-4600.
kennedy-center.org.

Behzod Abduraimov, piano. Jan 30.

Orchestre National de France. Jan 31.
WPA at The Kennedy Center.
202-785-9727.
washingtonperformingarts.org.
Atlas Presents: Neil Rolnick. Jan 29.
Atlas. 202-399-7993. atlasarts.org.
Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jan 30. GMU Center for the Arts.
888-945-2468. cfa.gmu.edu.
Stratosphere All-Stars. Jan 29. Elle
Varner. Jan 30. Arrested Development.
Feb 4. The All-Star Birthday Bash feat.
Team Familiar, Sugar Bear & DJ Amp C.
Jan 30. Howard Theatre. 202-803-2899.
thehowardtheatre.com.
The United States Marine Band:
Childhood Dream. Jan 31. Schlesinger
Concert Hall. 703-845-6156.
schlesingercenter.com.
Richard Thompson - All Request Show.
Feb 2-Feb 4. The Barns. 877-965-3872.
wolftrap.org.
FMMC Concert. Feb 4. FMMC.
Strathmore. 202-333-2075. fmmc.org.

MUSEUMS
National Gallery of Art. The Serial
Impulse at Gemini G.E.L. Thru Feb 7.
Power and Pathos. Thru Mar 20. Louise
Bourgeois: No Exit. Thru May 15.
202-737-4215. nga.gov.
Museum of Women in the Arts.
Pathmakers. Thru Feb 28. Salon Style:
French Portraits from the Collection. Jan
29-May 1. 202-783-5000. nmwa.org.
National Geographic. Pristine Seas.
Thru Mar 27. Photo Ark. Thru Apr 11.
202-857-7000. nglive.org.
Smithsonian Anacostia Museum.
Twelve Years That Shook And Shaped
Washington: 1963-1975. Thru Oct 23.
202-633-4820. anacostia.si.edu.
Prince Georges African American
Museum. Now: A Photographic Survey
of Prince Georges County, Maryland.
Thru Jan 31. 301-809-0440. pgaamcc.org.

GALLERIES
Arlington Mill Community Center.
Living Diversity: Columbia Pike
Documentary Project. Thru Jan 31.
arlingtonarts.org.
Strathmore. Line by Line. Thru Feb 21.
Art in Motion. Thru Feb 21.
301-581-5100. strathmore.org.
The Art League Gallery. Muted. Thru
Jan 31. SOHO Photography Exhibit. Thru
Jan 31. 703-683-1780. theartleague.org.
BlackRock. Catherine Day. Feb 4-Feb 27.
Handmade: Explorations in Fiber Art. Feb
4-Feb 27. 301-528-2260.
blackrockcenter.org.
JCCNV. Sands of Time. Thru Feb 8.
703-323-0880. jccnv.org.
District Architecture Center.
#iseeDC2015 Exhibition. Thru Feb 20.
202-347-9403. aiadac.com.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

S P O RTI N I N D. C.

J A N U A R Y 29, 2016 29

KURT WEILL / MAXWELL ANDERSON

LOST IN
THE STARS
Starring Eric Owens

WHEN FAITH IS SHAKEN,

THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE.
PHOTO BY DAMON VOWE

ROSE BOWE, front right, with her sta.

Therapists specially trained

in athlete-specic techniques
By KEVIN MAJOROS
With many joining the LGBT sports
community in D.C., the need to address
the prevention of injuries and rehabbing
injuries is more important than ever.
As an athlete, nding a facility that has
experience with sports injuries is crucial
to staying or getting back to training and
competing. One such facility in D.C. is
Rose Physical Therapy Group, located just
o the Farragut North Metro stop.
Founded in 2013 by Claire Bowe and
her husband Damon, the facility has
grown to eight therapists with a second
location coming soon. Originally from
Oregon, Bowe had been working at other
facilities and had a vision for what she
wanted to accomplish when she set out
on her own.
I wanted to work with a higher skill set
of clients, Bowe says. I tied that down
right at the beginning that Rose PT would
be a clinic for athletes.
Focusing on that, the therapists at Rose
PT are using techniques that can reduce
the possibility of an athlete having to
have surgery. Those techniques include
Active Release Technique, Trigger Point
Dry Needling and the McKenzie Method.
We use diagnostic protocols that help
delineate which tissue is involved, which
helps point to the best treatment, Bowe
says. I really wanted our focus to be on
dierentiating so we can get to the heart
of the matter faster.
Several of the LGBT-based sports teams
have received support from Rose PT
including TriOut, District Multisport and

the District of Columbia Aquatics Club.

Just last week, District Multisport
needed a place to try on its members new
racing kits as a group and was welcomed
at the Rose PT facility. It was exactly what
Bowe was hoping to accomplish when
creating the atmosphere for the clinic.
We wanted to create something that
was very nurturing and very familial,
Bowe says. It is important for us to have
a place for athletes to get well and a place
where they can be comfortable.
Another focus for the clinic is to keep
athletes in their sport while they are
rehabbing or training with pain. Bryan
Frank receives race sponsorship from
Rose PT and has taken advantage of
its services while recovering from a
dislocated shoulder after a bike crash.
The therapists at Rose PT respect what
you are trying to accomplish as an athlete
and dont expect you to stop training
when you are injured, Frank says. They
help us get back out there after solving
the issue, not putting a Band-Aid on it.
Frank also visits the clinic when he is
healthy and has found its techniques
useful with his racing.
They have educated me on functional
movement and other techniques they
are trained in, Frank says. I usually go in
before a big race for Active Release as it is
thought to serve a greater purpose than
just getting a massage.
What the therapists oer at Rose PT
are things that cant be accomplished at
home, though they give athlete exercises
to complete on their own.
There is a lot of hustle and bustle at
the clinic and we want the athletes to feel
taken care of, Bowe says. Our clients
come in for their one-hour appointment
and all of the focus is just on themselves.

February 1220
Eisenhower Theater
Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.
David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of WNO.
WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity
of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.
General Dynamics is the Presenting Sponsor of WNOs 2015-2016 Season.

WNOs season is presented with the support of Daniel and Gayle DAniello.
Support for Lost in the Stars is provided by
Anne Kline Pohanka and Geoffrey Pohanka.
Eric Owenss performances as Stephen Kumalo on February 12 and 13
are underwritten by Mrs. Alexander J. Tachmindji.
This production is also funded in part by Joe and Judy Antonucci and
The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, Inc. New York, NY.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG (202) 467-4600
Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 0 J A N UA RY 2 9 , 2016

CA LE N D A R

E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.

com two weeks prior to your event. Space is limited so priority is given to LGBT-specic events
or those with LGBT participants. Recurring
events must be re-submitted each time.

community. Older LGBT adults can

come and enjoy complimentary coee
and conversation with other community
members. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave.,
N.W.) holds a support group for gay black
men to discuss topics that aect them,
share perspectives and have meaningful
conversations. For details, visit uhupil.org.
New Now Next Honors airs on LOGO
tonight at 10 p.m. Margaret Cho will host.
Lance Bass, Carson Kressley, Troye Sivan,
Miss Fame, Murray Hill, Michelle Buteau
and Stephen Lee will all appear on a
celebrity panel to judge the new TV shows,
lms and music artists to watch for in 2016.
For more information, visit logotv.com.

TODAY
Dark and Stormy, a dance party, is at
Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) tonight from
10 p.m.-2:30 a.m. DJ Shea Van Horn will
play nu-disco, new wave, goth, industrial,
electro-clash and more. The party is open
to all ages. There is a $5 cover. For more
details, visit blackcatdc.com.
Bear Nonsense hosts Bear Happy
Hour at Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H St.,
N.E) tonight from 6-10 p.m. Drink specials
will include $9 Yuengling draft pitcher, $4
Yuengling draft pint, $8 PBR draft pitcher,
$3 PBR draft pint, $4 Ketel One drinks, $4
rail drinks and more. There is no cover.
For more details, visit bearnonsense.com.
A LGB support group meets today
from 10-11:30 a.m. at 16220 S. Frederick
Rd., Gaithersburg, Md., for individuals
in Montgomery County. The group
will discuss coming out of marriage,
homophobia, parenting issues, nding
intimate relationships, LGB resources
in the suburbs and more. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
There will be a free social anxiety
workshop for LGBT people near
Tenleytown Metro from 7-9 p.m. tonight.
The workshop will focus on what social
anxiety is, what causes it and the specic
eects it has on LGBT people. No one will
be required to speak or interact in the
workshop. Registration is required. After
registration, location will be given. For
more details, visit socialanxietyhelp.com.
Gay District meets at the D.C. Center
(1318 U St., N.W.) tonight from 8:30-9:30
p.m. The facilitated group discussion
covers building understanding of gay
culture and personal identity and
awareness of community events for
LGBT men between the ages of 18 and
35 in the D.C. area. For more details, visit
thedccenter.org or gaydistrict.org.
The Arlington Players present
Deathtrap, a comedy-thriller, at the
Thomas Jeerson Community Theatre
(125 S.Old Glebe Rd., Arlington, Va.)
tonight at 8 p.m. through Jan. 31, Feb. 5-7
and Feb. 12-12. Adult tickets are $21.50;
juniors 18 and younger and seniors 60
years old and older are $15.50. For more
information and to purchase tickets, visit
thearlingtonplayers.org.

SATURDAY, JAN. 30
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts CTRL,
a gay dance party, tonight at 10 p.m. The
theme will be Totes Tokyo, a Japanese
culture party. Drag show starts at 10:30
p.m. CTRL DJs start playing upstairs at 11
p.m. Cover is $12. For more information,
visit towndc.com.
Team D.C. hosts its Winter Casino
Night at Bualo Billiards (1330 19th St.,

TUESDAY, FEB. 2
Team D.C. hosts Night Out at the
Capitals versus Florida Panthers at
Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) tonight
at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 and include
a free Caps T-Shirt. For more information,
visit teamdc.org.
Bachelors Mill has half-price drinks all
night tonight from 5 p.m.-2 a.m.tonight.
They also have pool, video gaming
systems and cards. Admission is free. For
more details, visit bachelorsmill.com.
Number Nine (1435 P St., N.W.) hosts
a two-for-one happy hour today from
5-9 p.m. Admission is free. For more
information, visit numberninedc.com.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 3

PHOTO BY ORLANDO FERNANDEZ; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Bookmen D.C. meets Wednesday, Feb. 3 to discuss a TENNESSEE WILLIAMS biography at the
Cleveland Park Library. The legendary gay playwright is seen here in a 1965 World Telegram le
photo at an anniversary event for his play The Glass Menagerie.

N.W.) from 8 p.m.-midnight. Play poker,

blackjack and craps with members from
local LGBT sports teams as dealers. There
is a $10 minimum buy-in. There will be
food and drink specials all night long. For
more details, visit teamdc.org.

SUNDAY, JAN. 31
Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance
(AGLA) hosts a brunch at Freddies Beach
Bar (555 23rd St., Arlington, Va.) today on
the patio at 6 p.m. No RSVP is necessary.
Anyone is welcome and guests do not
have to be members of AGLA to attend.
For more details, visit agla.org.
Shaws Tavern (520 Florida Ave., N.W.)
hosts a watch party of Grease: Live
at 7 p.m. There will be a Grease-themed

karaoeke pre-party from 3-7 p.m. Spin a

wheel to nd out what Grease song you
have to sing. Guests are encouraged to
wear their best Grease-inspired outt.
There will be a prize for best costume. FOX
will provide swag parties for the party.
For more information, visit facebook.
com/shawstavern.com.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Flip
Out, a ip cup league, at 4 p.m. There
will be practice games and drink specials.
Doors open at 3:30 p.m. For more details,
visit towndc.com.

MONDAY, FEB. 1
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.)
hosts coee drop-in hours this morning
from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT

The Tom Davoren Social Bridge

Club meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the
Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for social
bridge. No partner needed. For more
information, call 301-345-1571.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts an open
mic night today from 5-7 p.m. LGBT youth
are encouraged to come share their
experiences of sexual orientation and
gender identity as well as specic issues
facing adolescents in the D.C. metro
region. For details, visit smyal.org.
Bookmen D.C., an informal mens gay
literature group, discusses Tennessee
Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh by John
Lahr, a biography of Williams, at the Cleveland
Park Library (3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.)
tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. For
details, visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.

THURSDAY, FEB. 4
Constellation
Theatre
presents
Equus at Source (1835 14th St., N.W.)
tonight at 8 p.m. through Feb. 14. The
play tells the story of a teenage who has
a violent obsession with horses. Tickets
range from $20-45. For more information,
visit constellationtheatre.org.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts Fight
4 Yr Rights activist night today from 5-7
p.m. LGBT youth can come to learn about
historical activist movements. For details,
visit smyal.org.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

A D V I CE

J A N U A R Y 29, 2016 31

SAT, JAN 30

GAY MENS CHORUS OF WASHINGTON, DC:

ROCK CREEK SINGERS / POTOMAC FEVER

PLUS
TONIGHT AT 8PM!

Eager young gay ready for

Valentines Day plans

MICHAEL RADKOWSKY, Psy.D. is a licensed

psychologist who works with gay individuals
and couples in D.C. He can be found online
at personalgrowthzone.com. All identifying
information has been changed for reasons
of condentiality. Have a question? Send it to
Michael@personalgrowthzone.com.

DEAR MICHAEL,
Ive been dating Justin for a month and
I really like him.
Valentines Day is coming up and I want
to plan a romantic evening with him. But
Im afraid if I ask him out for Valentines
Day he will think I am presumptuous or
way out ahead of where we are; or else
hell think I am desperate to be a couple.
Justin is my rst boyfriend (Im 22) and
Im so nervous about doing the right
thing. I dont have any real experience.
How long do you have to wait to make
a move like this?
MICHAEL REPLIES:
Theres no rule for when to make a
move that may take your relationship to
the next level. If you like Justin and want to
make a Valentines plan with him, go for it.
Yes, its risky, but thats not a good enough
reason to hold back. Theres no way to
predict how Justin will respond, so things
may not turn out as you hope. You can only
be honest, respectful and do your best.
The good news is, this situation is a great
opportunity to learn how to do one of the
hardest parts of couplehood: advocating
for what you would like, knowing that the
other person may not respond as you
hope. If youre interested in continuing to
date Justin, or simply want to get better
at dating and being in a relationship, you
must practice doing this.
Because when youre in a relationship,

its not as if you settle all your diculties

at the beginning and then live happily
ever after. Being in a relationship presents
all of us with a never-ending series of
disagreements, challenges and dilemmas.
To get through these with your relationship
and your self-esteem intact, it is vital that
you be able to speak with your partner
about whats important to you, without
any guarantee on the outcome.
So when you get ready to ask Justin
out for Valentines Day, remember that
you are about to practice two great skills
speaking about a scary topic with the
guy youre dating and learning to keep
yourself calm enough to act even though
youre scared. Keeping this in mind may
give you the inspiration and energy to
propose a Valentines date.
I wonder why you are so worried about
not being in synch with Justin. Does he
keep you at a distance or make it clear
that he wants to keep things casual? Or
are you just insecure as you start your rst
dating relationship? I want to reassure
you that liking someone and wanting to
spend Valentines Day with him does not
make you presumptuous or desperate.
Theres a popular point of view in our
culture that when dating, its a good idea
to not seem too interested and to wait for
the other person to make the next move.
Im intuiting that youve been inuenced
by this philosophy and I suggest you
disregard it, for two reasons.
First, if you want to have an honest
relationship, you dont want to hide how
you really feel. If youre excited about
being with someone, why play games?
Pretending not to feel what you feel
just makes it hard for the other person
to know what is really going on, which
creates confusion and distance.
Second, if you wait for the other person
to make the next move, you may have a
long wait.
Good luck. And remember that if you
want the possibility of a straightforward
and sincere relationship, youre going to
have to accept the risk of putting yourself
and your heart out there. Tolerating that
risk is one more great relationship skill
you now have the opportunity to learn.

TED ALEXANDRO
ANDY PITZ

THU, FEB 18

FRI, JAN 29

RICHARD THOMPSON
ALL REQUEST SHOW
TUES, FEB 2 THU, FEB 4

VOCES8

CHAMBER MUSIC AT THE BARNS

FRI, FEB 12

THE JONES FAMILY

SINGERS
HAPA

SAT, FEB 20 + SUN, FEB 21

BLACK VIOLIN

WED, MAR 30 + THU, MAR 31

AND MANY MORE!

1635 TRAP RD
VIENNA, VA 22182

SUMMER IN REHOBOTH?
GET YOUR SHARE LINED UP!
SHARE ADS ARE FREE.
Place your HOUSING TO SHARE
ad online at washingtonblade.com
and the ad prints free in the paper and online.*
*25 words or less prints free - anything more is $1/word.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 2 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

P H O T O S BY MI CH A E L KE Y

The Capital Pride Alliance held

its Pride Reveal party at SAX on
Jan. 21. The theme for this years
Capital Pride was announced:
Make Magic Happen.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

A R T S & EN TE RTA I NMENT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 3 3

Im not the devil, Im not a saint

One of the reasons I have been so

successful professionally is because the
audience that I have managed to attract
appreciates candor. And even if you
dont like me, you know, Well I hate her
but at least I know whatever shes saying
she really believes to be true. You can
take me at face value and I think thats
important in the world right now. There
are very few people that are going to tell it
to you straight, that are going to say it like
they see it and are going to present an
honest representation for the most part
of who they are. So it is what it is. Ive been
under re at so many dierent points in
my life that I think at this point Im forged
in that re. Im pretty comfortable there.
BLADE: Were you nervous about
putting your family in the public eye
especially with a female partner?
MICHAELS: The only one I did have some
reservations with was Heidi. Im an executive
producer on the show. I can control exactly
how my kids are portrayed. I would never
put them in a position where I couldnt. As
much as theyre on the show, they werent
actually shooting the show very often. They

might be on the show for ve minutes, but

theyre not actually shooting or working
very often. Its nice in my opinion when you
see them because they really do bring that
kind of levity and joie de vivre and thats
what they are in my life. Theyre that magic
spice in the soup. Heidi on the other hand,
shes very calm, very laid back, doesnt like
the spotlight. Its been very funny to me to
watch her adjust to all of this. But shes doing
a great job. Its cute.
BLADE: Youre notorious for being hard
on people to transform their bodies and
lives. Are you just as hard on yourself?
MICHAELS: I would say Im harder on
myself because Ive been given so many
opportunities in life. Theres this great
quote, To whom much is given much
is required. In order to reconcile how
unfair life is to so many people, I feel that
those of us who have been given more
opportunity and have been born into it
like being born into America, granted to
be born into a situation where education
was accessible. When youve been given
so much, you have to nd a way to do
something with that and have to give back
and have to try to set a better example.

NOW
SELLING

I denitely do hold myself and those

around me to a pretty high standard.
BLADE:
Whats
the
biggest
misconception about you?
MICHAELS: Its so cliche, I hate to say
this, but I do think that the people who
say, Shes this monster, she so awful, of
course thats not true. When you look at
Biggest Loser, its quite simple. Its a life or
death intervention that exists on a ticking
clock. Its a very specic kind of job that
requires aggressive techniques to move
people through a series of benchmarks
they have to hit. Its everything from a rock
bottom moment where they feel that the
way theyve been living is more painful
than the work and the fear associated with
where they need to go. They need to be
able to take responsibility for where they
are at. And they need an achievement,
they have to be successful in that gym
because its the small achievements that
gradually will allow you to redene the
way they see themselves and what theyre
capable of doing. If they dont hit those
benchmarks before they leave, there is
no shot in hell of them ever losing weight
and being successful. So this person is

400 pounds and they may have ve years

to live, its a very dire situation. For those
people who took it at face value and
believe the cartoon character aspect, its
absurd. Its not true. Im also not a saint
either so Im not the devil, Im not a saint,
Im just a regular person.
BLADE: If you werent building your
tness empire what would you have liked
to do?
MICHAELS: Thats a great question.
I used to say I wish I could have been a
doctor but I cant stand the sight of blood,
no way. Then I wish I could have been a
rock star because I love music but I cant
sing, cant play an instrument, cant dance.
But then recently, Ive started to learn a
little bit about the hospitality business,
which would seem like why would anyone
want to do that? But now that I know a
little bit about it, it just seems like an
amazing job. You can travel the world and
meet all kinds of amazing people. I met
this guy who was buying hunting lodges in
Africa and turning them into photography
safaris. I would love to do something like
that. Id love to be a citizen of the world.
Maybe down the road.

STUDIO
ONE BEDS
TWO BEDS

IN ADAMS MORGAN

STARTING FROM
THE MID $200s
STORAGE UNITS &
BIKE LOCKERS INCLUDED.

LIVEMODA17.COM

Located in the heart of Adams Morgan, MODA17

features a mix of brand new contemporary
European designed studio, one-bedroom and
two-bedroom condominiums.
Each home offers fine appointments, sleek
finishes, European kitchens, wood flooring,
upgraded technology packages, and outdoor
living space.

3 4 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

MODEL
GRAND
OPENING

AT PARKSIDE

FEBRUARY

SATURDAY
NOON - 5 PM

Tour our exquisite, newly-decorated

Parker and Logan townhome models.

THIS COULD BE YOUR CHANCE TO OWN

A NEW HOME IN WASHINGTON, D.C.!
Is your household at least 2-6 people? Does your
combined income meet Parkside ADU Program
Requirements? Then you might qualify to purchase a
townhome priced below market rate* in cooperation
with the D.C. Department of Housing and Community
Development!Plus, there are no resale restrictions
after the first year of homeownership!

PARKSIDE ADU PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Household
2
3
4
5
6

Income Range
$69,900 - $104,830
$78,700 - $117,930
$87,400 - $131,040
$96,100 - $144,140
$104,900 - $157,250

Parkside Washington, D.C.

3-STORY GARAGE TOWNHOMES FROM THE MID $300s

Up to 1,602 sq. ft. 3 BR 2.5 BA Deluxe kitchens 9' ceilings
Home offices available Spacious owners suites with walk-in closets
High performance energy savings 1-2 car rear garages

Walk to the
Minnesota Ave
Metro Station!
Transit Score:

74!

Many Desired Options are Included!

Ask about Personalizing Your New Home.

Community Features
Just 4 Metro stops from the Capitol building & close to varied cultural districts
Close to both the Orange and Silver Metro lines, I-295, I-395 & I-495
Open: Monday, 2 pm - 6 pm, Tuesday - Sunday, 10 am - 6 pm.
Brokers Warmly Welcomed. Visit khov4rewards.com to learn more about our REALTOR Rewards Program.

3615 GRANT PLACE, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20019

Call for More Information

(301) 683-6455

See Home Designs & More

khov.com/ParksideTownhomes
/khov.MD

/khov_MD

*Homes sold to households with two or more people who meet income requirements listed in Parkside ADU Program Requirementsset forth by the DHCD -dhcd.dc.gov. No resale restrictions after the first year of homeownership.
Purchasers must see Sales Consultant for additional program details. Permission has been granted to use the Department of Housing and Community Development Agency name and/or logo. Contact Agency for more information
at (202) 442-7221. Prices, terms, features, incentives and savings subject to change without notice. James Williams, Broker. Senate Realty, 909 U St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. (202) 742-7290. Licensed by the District of Columbia
#SP98359144.Permission has been granted to use the Senate Realty name and logo on marketing materials by James Williams, President, 909 U St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. (202) 742-7290. We are pledged to the letter and spirit of
U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

WA SH I N GTO NB LADE.C OM

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 3 5

REALESTATE

Where to go if you dont like snow

Plan now for next winters
second-home getaway
By VALERIE M. BLAKE
After an unseasonably warm fall and early winter in the D.C. metropolitan area, the
other shoe nally dropped last weekend.
With the onslaught of Snowzilla we
found ourselves gassing up our cars, running around town looking for shovels
and salt, and chatting about what was to
come while standing in the bread, milk
and toilet paper lines at the grocery store.
We spent the early part of the weekend
posting heres what it looks like now photos on Facebook every few hours, as well as
videos of our pets refusing to venture outside, our children braving the elements to
play in the yard, and ourselves sitting with
food and drink in front of a roaring re.
On Sunday we awaited the promised
snow plows on the side streets but by
evening, when we learned that the federal government would be closed for yet
another day, many of us were beginning
to get a little bored with the whole thing,
our thoughts drifting to warmer climates
and sunny vacations.
Now that the airports are open again, we
can make some getaway plans for the short
term, but wouldnt it have been nice to get
out of town before the snow hit to our very
own 75-degree hideaway in the sun?
We may have missed this opportunity
but its not too late to plan for next year,
so here are some areas to think about
when considering where to go if you dont

like snow.
Florida, once referred to as The Home
of the Newlywed and Nearly Dead, continues to be an attractive haven for those
seeking warmth and a lower than average
cost of living, with the added excitement
of an occasional hurricane and steam
room-like humidity.
On the Gulf Coast, there is Fort Myers,
where the median sales price for a home
hovers around $190,000. A little bit north
you can settle in the Saint Petersburg/
Clearwater area where the median price
is only $160,000 or push farther up the
coast into the Panhandle to choose from
nearly 350 houses available in Pensacola
for under $100,000.
On the southernmost tip of Florida you
will nd Key West, noted residence of Ernest Hemingway and known for its liberal,
fun-in-the-sun lifestyle, but you must pay
for the privilege of having a winter home
there. Only 18 properties are available for
less than $1,000,000, one of them an adorable two-bedroom, one-bath home consisting of 570 square feet for a mere $995,000.
Along the Atlantic Ocean north of the
tony areas of Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale
and Boca Raton is New Smyrna Beach, offering homes in the $200,000 to $400,000
range. Near the Florida/Georgia border,
a Jacksonville Beach condo with a marsh
view can be yours for as little as $90,000.
Arizona is another popular destination
with a warm climate and a dry heat. In
Scottsdale, located just outside of Phoenix, sales prices average $650,000, but just
head down the road southeast to Gilbert
and a similar home with a screened patio

Sid Binks, PhD, ABPP-CN

Board Certified in Clinical Neuropsychology
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Individual & Couples Therapy

for the LGBTQ Community
20 years experience!
3000 Connecticut Ave. NW 202.255.5187 SidBinks@aol.com

LGBTC.com/html/sid_binks.html

PHOTO BY SARA HASSAN OF AL JAZEERA ENGLISH; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

Last weeks blizzard just might inspire some D.C. residents to buy a second home in a warmer
climate.

and pool commands less than $250,000.

If you eschew Palm Beach and La Jolla,
there are many parts of Southern California that will t the bill, including the
San Diego-adjacent cities of Chula Vista,
where prices can be as low as $115,000
and Imperial Beach, where you can still
nd a two-bedroom, two-bath property
a skipping stones throw from the Pacic
Ocean in the high $400s.
If you have more travel and vacation
time at your disposal, Hawaii may be
your favorite destination. While Honolulu
may be cost-prohibitive, consider moving your search from Oahu to the island
of Keeau where you can reduce the price
of your average 4-bedroom home from
$1,100,000 to $283,000.
While its tempting in the middle of win-

ter to run right out and nd a warm haven

for long-term enjoyment, the grass may
not be greener in the other locale (although
there may be grass there instead of snow).
Try out a few areas by booking an
Airbnb, renting a friends timeshare, or
arranging for a whole house lease at HomeAway.com before making a large nancial commitment. And do let me know
where you opted to purchase your slice of
warmth so I can schedule my visit in time
for next years Snowtastrophe. (You
heard it here rst.)

VALERIE M. BLAKE can be reached at 202-2468602 or Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com. Each

Keller Williams Realty oce is independently
owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.

SIMPLE
AFFORDABLE
PROVEN RESULTS
CALL TODAY TOPLACE YOUR AD

202.747.2077

DAVE LLOYD & ASSOCIATES

Top 1% Nationwide
NVAR Life Member Top Producder

703-593-3204

WWW.DAVELLOYD.NET
ENTHUSIASTICALLY
SERVING DC & VIRGINIA

3 6 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

John A. Maroulis
Painting Co.
LICENSED BONDED INSURED

Interior Exterior Custom Painting

Plastering Drywall

Quality isnt our goal,

its our standard!

SALES & SERVICE

(202) 246-9380

SERVING MD, DC NORTHERN VA

202-808-3300
301-649-1097
Email: jampco@yahoo.com

No jobs too big,

no jobs too small!

730 24th St. NW, Ste. 13 WDC 20037

Free ParkiNg Foggy Bottom metro

202-333-3304

Tell em I saw you in the Blade!

Liza Minnelli on Roommates:

What good is sitting
alone in your room?

VALERIE M. BLAKE, Associate Broker, GRI

Dupont Circle Office 202.243.7700 (o) 202.246.8602 (c)

Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com www.DCHomeQuest.com

DEADLINES

SUMMER IN REHOBOTH?
GET YOUR SHARE LINED UP!
SHARE ADS ARE FREE.
Place your housing to share
ad online at washingtonblade.com
and the ad prints free in the paper and online.*

All Classified Ads

- Including Regular & Adult Must Be Received
By Mondays at 5PM
So They Can Be Included
in That Weeks Edition of
Washington Blade and
washingtonblade.com

*25 words or less prints free - anything more is $1/word.

WA SH I NGTO N B LA DE.C OM

LEGAL NOTICE
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PROBATE DIVISION
2015 ADM 1154
Leonard P. Hirsch, Name of Decedent
Silber, Perlman, Sigman & Tilev, P.A.
7000 Carroll Ave, #200
Takoma Park MD 20912
Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs
Nancy E. Gray, whose address is 1990 S. Bundy Dr., Suite 390, Los Angeles,
CA 90025 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Leonard
P. Hirsch who died on June 12, 2015 with a Will and will serve without Court
supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall
enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or
to the probate of decedents Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.,
Building A, 515 5th Street, NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20001, on or before
07/29/2016. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned
with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy
to the undersigned, on or before 07/29/2016, or be forever barred. Persons
believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of
this notice by mail within 25 days of its publication shall so inform the Register of
Wills, including name, address and relationship.
Date of first publication: 1/29/2016, Nancy E. Gray.
Anne Meister, Register of Wills, Clerk of the Probate Division.

MASSAGE / CERTIFIED
ROSSLYN. Certified
massage therapist
available 12-8 Sun-Tues
& Thurs. Call or text
Garyat 301-704-1158
or visit http://www.
mymassagebygary.
com/.DC appointments
available Wed, Fri, Sat.
Please call/text for
details.
BEST MASSAGE by male
certified therapist.
Soothing Swedish; deeptissue; stress & pain
release. Safe Atmosphere
in Annandale, VA, almost
right off I-395. Days/Eve/
Wkend. In/Out calls.
Hotels welcome. Call
Marval (703) 568-6348.

BODY & SOUL

GET YOUR MIND IN SHAPE
& your body will follow. Stop smoking?
Weight loss? Addictions? Fears &
phobias. Changing your behavior can
be difficult. Hypnosis changes your
behavior at a subconscious level. Call
American Wellness Institute for a free
consultation 202-544-5688.
PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

COUNSELING FOR GAY MEN.
Individual/couple counseling w/
volunteer peer counselor. Gay Mens
Counseling Community since 1973.
202-580-8861. gaymenscounseling.
org. No fees, donation requested.

EMPLOYMENT
NMAC (formerly known
as the National Minority
AIDS Council) is a 501(c)3
organization. NMAC
leads with race to
urgently fight for health
equity and racial justice
to end the HIV epidemic
in America.
Since 1987, NMAC has
advanced its mission
through a variety of
public policy education
programs; national
conferences; treatment,
research programs and
trainings; electronic
and printed resource
materials. NMAC
represents a coalition of
3,000 community-based
organizations & AIDS
service organizations
delivering HIV/AIDS
services in communities
of color nationwide.
NMACs advocacy efforts
are funded through
private funders and
donors only.
MULTIPLE POSITIONS:
Policy Manager Program Coordinator
- Program Associate Conference and Meeting
Services Associate.

DEADLINES

All Classified Ads

- Including Regular & Adult Must Be Received
By Mondays at 5PM
washingtonblade.com

COUNSELING
LGBTQ AFFIRMING THERAPY
at Dupont Circle Individuals, couples,
families, adolescents. Over 15
years serving the community. Mike
Giordano, LICSW. 202/460-6384
mike.giordano.msw@gmail.com.
www.WhatIHearYouSaying.com.

Please see our website

for each Positions
Requirements,
Experience,
Supervision, Interface,
Accountability. Visit:
NMAC.org/about/workat-nmac.
LOCKER ROOM ATTENDANTS
NEEDED! The Crew Club, a gay mens
naturist gym & sauna, is now hiring
Locker Room Attendants. We all
scrub toilets & do heavy cleaning. You
must be physically able to handle the
work & have a great attitude doing
it. No drunks/druggies need apply.
Please call Richard at (202) 319-1333.
from 9-5pm, to schedule an interview.

LEGAL SERVICES
ADOPTION & ASSISTED
REPRODUCTIVE Law Attorney Jennifer
Fairfax represents clients in DC, MD
& VA. interested in adoption or ART
matters.301-221-9651,JFairfax@
jenniferfairfax.com.

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 3 7
FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM
Representing the GLBT community
for over 30 years. Family adoptions,
estate planning, immigration,
employment. (301) 891-2200.Silber,
Perlman, Sigman & Tilev, P.A. www.
SP-Law. com.

LIMOUSINES / DRIVERS
KASPERS LIVERY SERVICE
BMW 740LI Luxury Sedan Service;
Hourly, Point to Point & Special
Airport Transfer Rates! Gay & Veteran
Owned! http://www.KasperLivery.
com Phone 202-554-2471 or 800455-2471.

PHOTOGRAPHY
STEVE OTOOLE
PHOTOGRAPHY Fine
Art Photographer for
portraits, weddings
& dating photos for
the internet. Call
(703) 532-3031. www.
steveotoolephotography.
com.

TRAVEL
#BURGUNDY & #PROVENCE
NORTHBOUND June 17-27 / 2016. 11
Day river cruise from Cote d Azur to
Paris. Email:Jess@FriendsTravel.com.
Visit: www.bit.ly/1T2lad1.

CLEANING
TOO NEAT GUYS INC.
Residential & Commercial cleaning
in DC & Northern VA. Over 20 years
experience, gay owned, licensed,
bonded & insured. Email: tooneat@
comcast.net, (703) 622-5983.
FERNANDOS CLEANING:
Residential & Commercial Cleaning,
Reasonable Rates, Free Estimates,
Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/Move-Out.
(202) 234-7050, 202-486-6183.
MAID TO CLEAN
Gay owned, awesome, trustworthy
& reliable! Serving the DC/VA
area. Mention this ad for $50 off.
Maidtoclean.com. (703) 299-0101.

MOVERS
OUR GUYS AROUND TOWN
MOVERS. Professional Moving &
Storage. Let Our Guys Do The
Heavy Lifting. Mention the Blade
for 10% off of our regular rates.
Call today 202.734.3080. www.
ourguysatmovers.com.
CONTINENTAL MOVERS
Local and Long distance Moving
Services. $80 x hour x two men
plus driving time. Big & small jobs
also. 202 438 1489 / 301 340 0602.
cmora53607@msn.com. www.
continentalmovers.net.

PAINTERS
INTERIOR / EXTERIOR
HISTORIC home specialist,
www.APCpaintingDC.
com 2yr warranty on all
work completed we use
Benjamin Moore Paints.
301-357-8275 DC/MD/VA.

TREE SERVICE
BRANCHES - FULL SERVICE
Tree Expert Company. Certified
Arborists, pruning, insect &
disease diagnosis, treatment &
removal. 301-589-6181. www.
BranchesTreeExperts.com. Angies
List Award Winner 09, 10, 11, 12.

REHOBOTH SHARE
SUMMER HALF SHARE
Wanted-Rehoboth. Single GWM,
50, seeks house/condo with other
friendly, active men. Please respond
to my ad online - washingtonblade.
com/classifieds.

SHARE / DC
Gorgeous bedroom w/private
Bath in 2 floor luxury apt in row
house, plus rooftop deck, $1295 next
to NoMa Metro Jordan 202-656-1506
or jgbilling@gmail.com
CAPITOL HILL semi-furnished
rooms for rent in well appointed
townhome. 2 1/2 blocks from Eastern
Market Metro. Finished single BR for
$945+utilities. Available immediately.
Call 202-544-5688.
SW DC WATERFRONT GWM
ISO same to share home. Cable, WiFi
included. Garden & outdoor areas.
Utilities, maid, parking included. Call
Bruce (202) 488-4888.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS

DC Realtor
Long & Foster

Buying or selling a home

is stressful enough.
Why not work with a
Realtor committed to a
professional, enjoyable
& attitude-free process?
For our initial meeting,
we could begin with a
phone call, a face to face
meeting, or you could
meet me during one of
my open houses. Should
you elect to go with
another agent, I wish
you the best of luck! N.
Bryan Lipps | Long &
Foster nbryanlipps@
longandfoster.com 202716-5848 (c) DC Lic. #
SP98376616

DEADLINES

SUMMER IN REHOBOTH?
GET YOUR SHARE LINED UP!
SHARE ADS ARE FREE.
Place your housing to share
ad online at washingtonblade.com
and the ad prints free in the paper and online.*

All Classified Ads

- Including Regular & Adult Must Be Received
By Mondays at 5PM
So They Can Be Included
in That Weeks Edition of
Washington Blade and
washingtonblade.com

*25 words or less prints free - anything more is $1/word.

3 8 J A NUA RY 2 9 , 2016

ENHANCE YOUR AD WITH

OUR UPGRADES
PICTURES BOLD TEXT
LARGE TEXT COLOR
AND MORE
CONTACT US AT
202-747-2077

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

SALE / DE

PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

FREE TO LISTEN

ARTHOUSE - A Slice of Paradise

in Rehoboth Beach. http://www.
zillow.com/homedetails/67-KingsCreek-Circle-Rehoboth-BeachDE-19971/2099941264_zpid/

AND REPLY TO ADS

Free Code: W Blade

WASHNGTON D.C. TOP GAY

REALTORS! Instant Free Access to
D.C. & NationsTop LGBT Realtors.
FREE Buyers Representation FREE
Sellers Competitive Market Analysis
+ FREE Relocation Kit any City, USA.
Be Represented! Choose your
Perfect Agent On-line at;WWW.
GAYREALESTATE.COM

RENT / DC
BIG ENGLISH BSMT 1 BR.
Just east of Lincoln Park/
Capitol Hill. Rent inc.
utilities is $1,669. No
pets. Call Joel Martin 202274-1882 or jn1martin@
aol.com.
LUXURY CONDO $1450.00.
2201 Hunter Pl SE, 2BR/1BA condo,
hdwd flrs, stainless appl, microwave,
D/W, W/D, video entry, pre-wired,
balcony, gated parking. Dele 202-4898666 or UniquePropMgmt@yahoo.
com.

FIND REAL GAY MEN NEAR YOU

Washington:

(202) 822-1666
Baltimore:

Arlington:

WOMENS PERSONALS
GWF, SOFT BUTCH, attractive,
blue eyes, brown hair. I walk three
miles every day. I like movies, music,
playing cards, tv & pizza. ISO GWF
attractive, feminine, for friendship &
a long term relationship. If you are
interested, call Debbie 703-368-3618.

BODYWORK

(703) 373-1000 (410) 468-4000

DUNGEON MASSAGE?
or Rent our dungeon. Explore
your fantasies! Surprise a BF or
FB. Awesome, clean, discrete. Fully
equipped private DC playroom.
(Tutorial/instruction available). 202544-5688.

www.megamates.com 18+

MASSAGE SILVER SPRING

est 2004. Where some of the nicest
guys in town come for one of the
best massages in around...sensuous
erotic. Days/Evenings $70/one hour..
parking/metro pick-up. Joe 301-580
-2716.

SALE / DC

Capitol Hill
301 G St NE
$659,000

Most unique one

bedroom master suite
condo with many
surprises. Two loft areas,
high ceilings, turreted
dining room, gourmet
kitchen. Three blocks
to Union Station Call for
an apptmt or call your
Realtor. DC 9531047. Joel
N. Martin 202-274-1882
RE/MAX Allegiance 202338-8900.

New Hot White Guy In Town

Hot guy in town visiting. Great
massage and great time. In/Out,
parking available. 58, Black, Blue,
145 and Hung. For more info visit,
http://rentmen.com/VisitingNick or
call 202-476-0766. Good sane normal
educated guy here. Text preferred.
EROTIC SWEDISH MASSAGE
- healthy clean cut guy, 61, 160 lbs,
Dupont Circle, massage table, noon
to 1:00 a.m., indulge your body. $70
for 1 hour. Bill 202-728-0238. No text
messages.
THE MAGIC TOUCH:
Swedish, Massage or Deep Tissue.
Appts 202-486-6183, Low Rates, 24/7,
In-Calls.

60 MINUTES FREE TRIAL

THE HOTTEST GAY CHATLINE

EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOM BODYWORK!

Deep tissue & sensual bodywork for
total stress relief in private studio on
the Hill or in my new Dupont location.
Call Erik 202-544-5688. No texts. In
calls only. Intro Special $99.00.

1-202-448-0106
More Local Numbers: 800-777-8000

www.guyspyvoice.com

ESCORTS
9.5c BBC 4U to Enjoy.
Elite BI Escort/CamModel CAMERON
HILARIO is avail for immediate
appt. for masseur & escort
services. (240)270-2762. Visit: www.
cameronhilario.wix.com/site.

Ahora en Espaol/18+

PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE

PLACE YOUR FREE AD ONLINE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM/CLASSIFIEDS

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 1 6 3 9

A D V E RT I S I N G
PROOF #1

ISSUE DATE: SPEC

REVISIONS
REDESIGN
TEXT REVISIONS
IMAGE/LOGO REVISIONS
NO REVISIONS

P R O O F

SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)

REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof.
Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of the date
of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts omnimedia
llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is responsible
for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users can link through
the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or any rgihts of third
parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any copyright, patent,
trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair competition,
defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, or any other right
of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) and
to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all liability, loss, damages,
claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred by brown naff pitts
omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertisers breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties.

ADVERTISER SIGNATURE

By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the
washington blade newspaper. This includes but is not limited to placement,
payment and insertion schedule.

4 to 8pm every Saturday @ the houSe Beer $5 / door $10 35350 GeorGia ave NW