Saturday, December 25, 2010

[Peckers_Pics] Hair Wars; Dec 26, 2010 - Happy Holidays!



 
Hair Wars; Dec 26, 2010
Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated  G
 
Diet & Fitness:
  • Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today?  Get it done!
  • Did you do any physical activity?  If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! Own a bike?  Ride it to lunch, work, park, lake!
  • It is our hope that our male fitness photos shall inspire you!
Today's Health - Wellness / Exercise / Reflections:
Chicago gay health center gets cash to stay open
 
Dec 25, 2010 / Sun-Times Media Wire
 

The financially troubled Howard Brown Health Center will remain open after receiving more than $650,000 in donations during a rigorous 50-day campaign, officials said.

The 36-year-old agency is one of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender health centers and services more than 36,000 people a year from its Chicago-based multi-site operation.

The center accrued roughly $3 million in debt because of past mismanagement, and had to re-pay more than $500,000 "very quickly" as a result of transfers of grant funds between Howard Brown and Northwestern University Medical Center, said Jamal M. Edwards, Howard Brown's president and CEO.

"We are looking to the future now," Edwards said Friday. "It's not all completely behind us, but we made a very good step."

The center announced Thursday that 1,400 donors contributed $650,000 during the nearly two-month "Lifeline Appeal" campaign.

On Nov. 4, an anonymous donor gave $200,000 and Walgreens added $25,000 on the last day, officials said. A plaque with the names of each "Lifeline Appeal" donor will be on display in the lobby of the Howard Brown Health Center, 4025 N. Sheridan Road.

Howard Brown board chairman Mark Andrews credited a grassroots effort that included small fundraising parties and Facebook outreach pages.

"There was a lot of support from the community and staff," Edwards said. "I can't tell you how much effort our staff put into this. I've been around a lot of non-profits, but I've never seen one where the staff takes charge and executes as part of their daily life for 50 days."

Howard Brown has its main health and research center at the TRIAD Health practice at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center on the North Side. The organization also operates the Broadway Youth Center and three Brown Elephant resale shops in Chicago and Oak Park.

"We‚ve been around 36 years -- since 1974. Yesterday, I got the pleasure of announcing we will see 37," Edwards said.

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And Now, Our War of the Fittest!
This group is called "Peckers PICS."  The English -  slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health, Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues.  In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!"  Whereas, you should select the guy that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit!"   Warning: This may stoke you!
Remember your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.
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What a gay Marine taught me

The tough, utterly selfless NCO embodied what every service needs in its ranks. But he left to be able to live openly. In losing many of its gays, the U.S. military lost preparedness, a retired lieutenant colonel says.

 

LA TIMES / Dec 25, 2010 / By Tom Brannon - OpEd

I am a retired U.S. Marine, having been drafted at the end of the Vietnam War. At one time, I commanded a squadron of 1,200 Marines and sailors. And, like many of my fellow veterans, I believed that the Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell" policy worked well, enabling some fine Americans to serve this great nation.

But although I embraced the policy then, I now know that it denied us the service of some highly talented men and women. It continues to cost us even after its repeal. Why the change in my viewpoint? It involves a fabulous Marine, a senior noncommissioned officer who retired early to pursue a long-term relationship openly. Hear my story.

In the Marines, as in the other services, it is an unwritten rule that senior enlisted men and women mentor newly minted officers in the ways of the service, and particularly in the ways of combat.

Soon after I retired, a member of my immediate family joined the Marines, eventually becoming a junior officer, and he was mentored by the NCO who is the focus of my story. One of the most important things he learned from his mentor was how to stay alive "down range." Soon after training, their unit deployed to Iraq, where they faced significant danger. Firefights. House-to-house combat. Everyone came home from that tour.

The NCO then went on to another unit and was promoted to sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank. He served additional combat tours with distinction, having dispatched many of the most despicable of our enemies, some at very close range. Tough, utterly unforgiving of any lack of discipline or preparedness, and utterly selfless, the NCO embodied what every service needs in its ranks.

We communicated frequently during his many combat tours and agreed to a visit in the future. Ultimately, his e-mails became more distant, then they stopped altogether. Why? Because "don't ask, don't tell" would not permit him to talk about what was really happening in his life.

I understand that now and am saddened. America lost a magnificent combat leader, one who possessed a precious talent that we need at this moment. I learned of his sexual orientation after his last e-mail, in which he referred me to his website. My follow-up notes to him have gone unanswered.

This Christmas, our family will be able to celebrate together, there won't be a visit to a national cemetery, and that is in part, I firmly believe, because of what the NCO taught my family member.

So, how should we view the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell"? I no longer believe it's something we should fear.

One view I've heard from my fellow veterans is that openly serving gays and lesbians will disrupt the order and discipline of the armed forces. It's true that unrestrained sexual conduct can be disruptive. I know this because in the course of my service, I saw many heterosexuals whose lifestyles were extremely disruptive to good order and conduct. But this is a matter of character, not of sexuality. In the military, disciplined self-control is essential to mission success. All who serve -- gay or straight -- should be judged by the same high standards.

The idea that gays will pose new health risks is equally absurd. At the end of the Vietnam War, I was a young first lieutenant flying the venerable F-4 Phantom jet. Our squadron was based in the Philippines. One of my collateral duties was to serve as venereal disease control officer. As far as I know, we had no gays in our squadron then, but the venereal disease rate was horrendous, at one time reaching 50% in a 300-man squadron. The rate of infection was devastating, as troops who were being treated were not fixing jets. Our readiness sagged as a direct result. Since then, all of the services have worked hard to provide leadership, education and medical resources, which has greatly reduced the rate of infection. Preventing illness -- including sexually transmitted ones -- is a leadership issue first.

Integrating openly serving gay service members will not be easy, but integration is hardly new to the armed forces. Just consider the racial desegregation ordered on the eve of the Korean War, and more recently the integration of women into combat roles. A member of my family who is an active-duty Marine officer spent his Thanksgiving at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Among the wounded troops in that hospital there was no color or gender barrier: There were white, black, Latino, Asian American men and women recovering from horrific wounds. Probably some were gay. They served, and many of them will voluntarily return to finish their tour. Duty is duty.

In the simplest of terms, service in the U.S. armed forces is about drawing a weapon and standing a post. The work isn't often glorious, but it is essential to the survival of our nation.

Two years ago I was in Afghanistan as a defense contractor providing special resources to a forward base near the Hindu Kush mountain range. My bunker was next to a U.S. Air Force Air Police detachment. A young black Air Force enlisted woman, probably 19 years old and 110 pounds, walked by me on her way to a position on the line. She flashed me a dazzling all-American smile and said, "Good morning, sir." On her shoulder was a 50-caliber machine-gun, a very heavy and effective weapon. When I joined, young women would not have been allowed to operate a machine. Now our lives depended on her presence in the sector. And I have every confidence she performed her duty well.

So back to my friend, the now-retired Marine sergeant major and distinguished combat veteran. Do I like the idea of openly serving gays? No. Do I recognize that my military needs to look like my country? Yes. So to my fellow vets, if there is no room in the military for him, is there room for any of us?

Thank you for serving, Sergeant Major, and thank you for this Christmas. The nation will miss your service.

"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

....Jake

URGENT:  Boycott Gold's Gym, Target and Best Buy for donating money towards anti-gay political candidates/organizations and to Proposition 8 (California) to prevent gay marriage. I would not purchase "Blood Diamonds," nor should a person / organization be contributing funds to both Hitler / Nazi's and the Jews at the same time!   Obviously giving money to the Jews and not Hitler/Nazi's was the right thing to do.   Hence, these companies violated my trust and well-being.   They gave money to my enemy who would terminate me from my job, deny me housing and send me to a Internment camp.  Therefore, goodbye Gold's Gym, Target and Best Buy!  The CEO's of these companies have been insensitive to our reaction and do not even comprehend their actions!  What takes so long to "fire" these Neanderthals?



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All members of "Peckers PICS" are requested to join our "Obama Biden 2008" group as it runs in conjunction to this group.  Both groups shall not repeat articles from one group to another.  However, to gain full knowledge of Gay rights, members must belong to the Obama group as well as this group.  Therefore, please accept your invitation to join. 

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Thank you!
 

"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

...Jake (Moderator)



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