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silverfoxesclub-digest In this issue:
-Barney Frank & Rich Tafel Debate
Subject: Barney Frank & Rich Tafel Debate
Rep. Barney Frank (Democrat):
Based on their records and their
campaigns, Gore will lobby for and
sign ENDA and a GLBT inclusive
hate crimes bill. Bush will try to
prevent them from passing, and veto
them if they do. Gore will appoint
members of sexual minorities who
are honest about their identities;
only the deeply closeted need apply
to Bush.
Gore will enforce the Clinton orders
making foreign victims of
homophobia eligible for refugee
status; banning sexual orientation
discrimination in the civil service;
and declaring that sexual orientation
will no longer be a bar to getting
security clearance. Governor Bush
flatly refuses to support them.
Gore will work for an end to the ban
on gays in the military; Bush stands
behind "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Gore will appoint to the Supreme
Court Justices like Breyer and
Ginsburg, who have consistently
voted in support of our rights. Bush
promises more Scalias and
Thomases, who have voted
unfailingly to deny our rights.
Responding to this great disparity,
Log Cabin resorts to blatant
dishonesty in an ad, flatly
misrepresenting Gore -- while
omitting Cheney's 100% anti-gay
and lesbian voting record.
In 1990, Republicans opposed a DC
law banning discrimination in the Big
Brother program. In defense, gay
and lesbian groups worked with
Senator Kennedy on a substitute
which was far less damaging, and the
pro-gay vote was for this amendment
over the homophobic Republican
proposal. The Log Cabin ad lists
Gore as having voted against us
because he voted with Kennedy to
block the far more damaging
Republican proposal. This is what
comes of trying to defend the
proposition that supporting Bush is
better for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered rights.
(Openly gay Barney Frank has
represented the Fourth
Congressional District of
Massachusetts since he was elected
to the U.S. House of Representatives
in 1980. The Almanac of American
Politics dubbed Frank "a political
theorist and pit bull at the same
time." Politics in America noted
Frank's ability to "match liberalism
with hard-nosed pragmatism in order
to move the legislative ball." In The
House Representative Frank is a
member of the committee on the
Judiciary and the committee on
Banking and Financial Services.)
Rich Tafel (Republican):
Gore promised he'd lift the military's
gay ban, pass ENDA, and lead on
AIDS. 8 years and 20 million gay
dollars later, we still have nothing
but excuses. Gore has perfected the
promise and excuse strategy.
He oversaw the greatest number of
gay firings from federal jobs and was
silent. On ENDA, Gore refused to
even allow a hearing when
Democrats controlled the Congress.
On AIDS, the Republican Congress
has put more money toward AIDS
than Gore these past six years. On
the Supreme Court, when pressed
for an opinion, Gore admitted he'd
never even read the Boy Scouts
ruling. If we elect Gore, we can
expect more promises and more
excuses.
Electing Bush-Cheney would destroy
the illusion that our fate lies in the
hands of government. On
employment, Bush-Cheney have
announced they would put qualified
gay individuals in key positions in
their administration--which they
demonstrated when giving Rep. Jim
Kolbe a prime-time speaking slot at
the convention. Nixon went to China;
Clinton reformed welfare; and only
credible Republicans can help us end
the anti-gay military policy.
On AIDS, expect the same
leadership from Bush that
Congressional Republicans have
already shown Democrats. On the
Supreme Court, The New York
Times noted, "[Bush]'s pulled the
court to the center"--much to the
religious right's chagrin. And a with a
lesbian daughter in the VP's family,
the public would have a new image
for traditional family values.
Noting GOP gay outreach, one
columnist stated, "Nixon went to
China, and now Bush is going to Fire
Island." This kind of shake-up would
allow us to really accomplish our
goals, ending four more years of
promises and excuses.
(Rich Tafel, executive director of the
Log Cabin Republicans, was named
one of the nation's 30 most
influential gay leaders by Newsweek
and has twice made Out magazine's
top 100 list. Tafel founded the Log
Cabin Republicans in 1990 and today
it is the nation's largest gay
Republican organization and the
single largest gay source of campaign
contributions to gay-supportive
Republican candidates.)
Subject: New Ben Boxer story in Centaur Magazine
There is a new story of mine which has
just been published in Centaur Magazine.
It's called "The Four Gospels."
Don't get the idea it's a religious tract.
It ain't, unless fucking guys is your religion.
Hmmmm! Maybe it IS religious after all.
The "four gospels" are actually four hot
guys from Eastern Europe. One of them
in particular....well, I don't want you to blow
your load before you get to the good part,
so I'll shut up now.
There's a link to Centaur at my site on,
oddly, the Links Page.
http://www.benboxer.com/links/index.html
Ben Boxer
P.S. Don't forget to check out the hot FREE
virtual greeting cards for Halloween in
case you want to send one or more to your
loved ones and friends.
http://www.pisgahweb.net/maturemen/cards/
Subject: Joke: Office Party
After the annual office party blow-out, John woke up with a
pounding headache, cotton-mouthed,
and utterly unable to recall the
events of the preceding evening.
After a trip to the bathroom he was
able to make his way downstairs,
where his lover put some coffee in
front of him.
"Andy," he moaned, "tell me what
went on last night. Was it as bad as I
think?"
"Even worse," Andy assured him in
his most scornful tone. "You made a
complete ass of yourself, succeeded
in antagonizing the entire board of
directors, and insulted the chairman
of the company to his face."
"He's an arrogant, self-important
prick, piss on him!"
"You did. All over his suit," Andy
informed him. "And he fired you."
"Well, fuck him," said John.
"I did. You're back at work on
Monday."
Subject: Who is Stephen Sondheim?
Ben Boxer comments: Everybody who
loves Broadway shows has a favorite
Sondheim song.
Headline:
by David Bianco, author of Gay
Essentials (Alyson Publications), a
collection of his history columns.
Text:
Foxy used her divorce settlement to
buy a farm in Bucks County,
Pennsylvania, where she moved with
her son. Famed songwriter Oscar
Hammerstein II and his family lived
nearby, and Stephen quickly became a
fixture in their household.
Hammerstein was at the peak of his
Broadway career, and the young
Sondheim began consciously
emulating his famous neighbor. He
even wrote a musical play, but
Hammerstein dashed his Broadway
dreams when he read the teenager's
work. "If you want to know why it's
terrible, I'll tell you," Hammerstein
said, launching a relationship of
master and apprentice that lasted
until the older man's death in 1960.
At Williams College, Sondheim wrote
another musical, All that Glitters. His
drama professor knew Cole Porter,
who agreed to listen to the score.
Sondheim recalled that the composer
"would come to the piano ... and say,
'Wouldn't that sound a little better
that way?'"
During college, Sondheim took a
summer job as the office boy for
Hammerstein's Allegro, a highly
innovative play that flopped. "It was
the seminal influence on my life,"
Sondheim claimed, and the reason he
was drawn to adventurous,
experimental work throughout his
career.
In the mid-'50s, Sondheim became
friendly with Arthur Laurents, who
was working on the book of a new
play, a modern retelling of the Romeo
and Juliet story, with music by
Leonard Bernstein and choreography
by Jerome Robbins. Bernstein needed
a lyricist and offered Sondheim the
job.
West Side Story (1957) was a critical
hit, and opportunities flew Sondheim's
way. Laurents wanted him as both
composer and lyricist for a new
musical about stripper Gypsy Rose
Lee, but the star, Ethel Merman,
didn't want an unproven composer.
Jule Styne was enlisted for the music,
and Sondheim was offered the job of
lyricist.
Gypsy (1959) was the last play for
which Sondheim wrote lyrics without
also composing the music. A string of
critical and popular successes
followed, each with increasingly
complex and innovative music and
lyrics: < i>A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum (1962),
Company (1970), Follies (1971), A
Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney
Todd (1979), Sunday in the Park with
George (1984), Into the Woods
(1987), and Passion (1994).
Throughout most of his astonishing
career, Sondheim's private life
remained an enigma. In fact,
Sondheim began questioning his
sexuality in college, when he realized
that there was "something different"
about him. Men made passes at him
when he first came to New York after
graduation, but it took a while before
he actually had sex with another man.
"I was sexually very late blooming,"
he said.
His first long-term relationship began
late in life, with a younger man named
Peter Jones, whom he met in 1991.
The two eventually lived together and
exchanged wedding rings, but Jones
has since moved out. In an authorized
biography published in 1998,
Sondheim finally came out publicly.
Now in his 70s, Sondheim is still a
force in musical theater. His next play
(with the working title Wise Guys) is
about two enterprising brothers.
Though the lead character in
Company was a 30-something
bachelor, Wise Guys is Sondheim's
first play with a bona-fide gay
character.
Subject: Like this joke........
Did you hear that next week Tipper Gore is going on the
Presidential Campaign with her husband.
To prepare herself she shaved off all the hair from her privates
parts. She will now sit on the stage with him and have her
legs apart without any panties on.
Her message?
"Read my lips. No more Bush".
End of silverfoxesclub-digest V1 #16
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Each week since September 27 until
the November 7 election gay
Democratic Congressman Barney
Frank and Log Cabin Republican
Executive Director Rich Tafel are
debating issues key to GLTB voters. 
Mine is "Send in the
Clowns" from "A Little Night Music"
which ran for 601 performances on
Broadway and was based on one of
my favorite Swedish films, Ingmar
Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night."
Now a gay silverfox past 70, Sondheim
would be a great catch for some
worthy foxhunter. I have attached
a picture of him and also a nice midi
of "Send in the Clowns." Depending
on your e-mail program, you should
be able to open the midi by clicking
on it, and it will play in your e-mail.
Otherwise, save it to your hard drive
and click on it there. Be sure to turn
on your sound. Hee hee! If it doesn't
work, you can hear it later after I
embed it in the Digest Archives on-line
in Digest 016.