Last night I was on KPFA (about 72 minutes into the show) with Josie Lehrer discussing the Men’s Story Project. I hope to see you there. I will be readiing a letter to my father and performing with 16 other men discussing masculinity.

Local hero
Queer Youth Organizing Project

photos by Terrrie Frye at the Left Out Party

The queer-labor alliance Pride at Work, a constituent group of the AFL-CIO, added a youth brigade last year, and it’s been doing some of the most inspired organizing and advocacy in San Francisco. The Queer Youth Organizing Project can marshal dozens of teen and twentysomething activists with a strong sense of both style and social justice for its events and causes.

PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD

SOCIAL JUSTICE, ANTI-WAR AND PRO-QUEER RIGHTS MOVEMENTS IT IS TIME TO STAND WITH SF AND BAY AREA IMMIGRANTS!

After staging a powerful pro-immigrant rights rally in city hall today where more than 400 turned out with 2 days notice, the Minutemen want to counter and pressure our city to end Sanctuary City protections for local families. WE NEED OUR ANTI-RACISTS – SOCIAL JUSTICE ALLIES TO STAND WITH US TOMORROW and have a strong turn out to stand against the Minutemen. WE CAN NOT ALLOW OUR CITY TO BE BULLIED BY THE MINUTEMEN’S AGGRESSIVE TACTICS.

SIGN THE PETITION: SUPPORT THE HRC SF GALA DINNER BOYCOTT

On Saturday, July 26th, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is hosting its annual San Francisco gala dinner and fund raiser at the Westin St. Francis hotel. They’ll raise money, cheer and applaud their apparent successes in Washington DC, announce a sudden, renewed interest in marriage, and claim that they are advancing the nation’s LGBT agenda.

But we in San Francisco’s LGBT community are preparing our OWN July 26th party in the streets, outside of the Westin St. Francis. We also encourage others in the LGBT community and our allies to boycott HRC’s gala event, due to HRC’s ongoing refusal to advocate for federal legislation that protects all Americans from discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

Great news! Public Defender Jeff Adachi just came in as another endorser of the Left Out Party/HRC Boycott.

State Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee has signed on to the boycott of HRC. She joins a long list of politicians, including State Senator Carole Migden, Assembly Member Mark Leno, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, SF Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Tom Ammiano, Board President Aaron Peskin, Supervisor Chris Daly, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi,Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, President of the School Board Mark Sanchez and School Board Members Jane Kim and Eric Mar. One of my personal favorites endorsers is Stuart Milk, a gay nephew of Harvey Milk. Some of the organizations include the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, And Castro for All, The Trans March, The Lou Sullivan Society, FTM International, FTM San Buenaventura Chapter, and the SF Labor Council. The SF Pride at Work chapter and And Castro for All are doing the lead organizing. You can still sign the petition by clicking here.

1) It’s all so funny — how can you not be laughing?
2) When you shout “halaluya,” never spell it right
3) Live the freakiest truth

One of the projects I have been involved in over the last couple years is the effort to improve Cesar Chavez Street. While the street is broadly seen as a good way to blast through the Mission on the way to or from Highway 101, the reality is closer to what neighbors and some planners call a “traffic sewer.” Although it feels like a fast way to go, the experience is often something more akin to “hurry up and wait” than a smooth flow. And that’s only for cars. For everyone else, it’s worse. Biking along Cesar Chavez can be terrifying, and walking along the street only occasionally rises to unpleasant. Even crossing the street (which hundreds of elementary schoolkids do every day) is worrying.

Great news! City Attorney Dennis Herrera just contacted Pride at Work to say that he will not be attending the HRC Dinner. This is particularly good news since HRC promised to award him for his work on Marriage Equality. Dennis deserves great praise for getting it.
Namaste Dennis.

Local painter Richard L. Perri is having a reception today at my place of work.

The reception is in theory for his “Java Hut series” documenting local old-school coffeeshops, like Wolfe’s Lunch, below:

but perhaps more interesting to Left in SF readers are his portraits of Gavin Newsom:

and Matt Gonzalez: