Monday, April 4, 2011

[Peckers_Pics] Model Wars; PICS + Articles; Apr 5, 2011/Boycott TARGET



Model Wars; PICS + Articles; Apr 5, 2011
Safe PICS For All Ages/Boycott TARGET/Support Keith Olbermann-coming to CURRENT TV

Updates on Keith Olbermann  @ ObamaBiden2008 (Update: Keith joined "CURRENT TV").  Check with your cable provider to see if you have "Current TV".  Current TV's website has option for you to request service from your cable provider.   Current TV's founder is Al Gore.  Charter Cable does not carry "Current TV".  Please Contact Charter now!  Keith is a man who stuck his neck out for progressives, as well as the LGBT community. Update:  Keith began his FOK NEWS blog. 

Alert: Target + Minnesota Forward + Tom Emmer = Support for a rather dangerous and radical political philosophy that diminishes LGBT people to pests that should be murdered. And "Target" is cool with this?   ...Now Target is suing the LGBT community for their peaceful demonstrations in front of their stores.    ....Our answer:  BOYCOTT "TARGET"

Consider joining:

Diet & Fitness:

  • Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today?
  • Did you do any physical activity?  If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! 
  • Perhaps our male fitness photos shall inspire you to get Fit!
Health - Wellness - Exercise - Reflections:
Highlands mental health group 'could help 50,000'

BBC NEWS; Apr 4, 2011

A Highland mental health support group could potentially be helping 50,000 people, according to one of its staff.

The Highland Users Group, part of Healthtalkonline. org, has 400 members.
 
But one of its workers, Graham Morgan, who has experienced mental health problems himself, believes it could be reaching tens of thousands of people.

Mr Morgan has told his story as part of a new section of Healthtalkonline website, which is built around research by the University of Oxford.

The new section - Experiences of Psychosis - is in addition to existing areas covering illnesses such as cancer and features an introduction by comedian Jo Brand.

The project is supported by the UK government's Department of Health.

It also has interviews with people diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis at points in their lives.

Mr Morgan, from Nairn, is one of the interviewees and he has provided details of experiences with mental health and the medical profession.

On the Highland users group, he said: "In Scottish terms we're seen as quite big, we've got 400 members, most of whom have had quite serious problems."

He estimated that in a Highland population of about 200,000, at least 50,000 people will encounter health problems at some time in their lives.

Mr Morgan added: "So we're a tiny, tiny group compared to the constituency we should be seeking out."

Other efforts have been made to support people with mental health problems in the Highlands and Islands.

Last year, events were held across the region as part of the Scottish Mental Health Festival.

'Too macho'

In 2008, a new website - believed to be the first of its kind in the world - was launched in an effort to prevent suicides in the Highlands.

Chooselife Highland hoped it would provide support to people who felt uncomfortable asking for help in a face-to-face situation.
 
In the same year, a conference looked at the health issues affecting groups of men who were reluctant to seek medical help.

Charity Men's Health Highland (MHH) organised the event, which heard some men felt they were "too macho" and did not need to see a doctor.

MHH held discussions on ways to help people who feel that they are sidelined because they are in prison, are gay, have a mental health problem, are homeless or are a member of an ethnic minority.

Highest spenders

Information gathered by a spending watchdog highlighted in 2009 a mixed picture on the provision of mental health services within NHS Highland.

Audit Scotland found waiting of between 58 and 77 weeks for psychological therapies to be among the longest in Scotland.

However, NHS Highland's spending on mental health services ranked with the highest in the country.

Expenditure of more than £150 per head was higher than in Grampian, Lothian, Fife, Forth Valley and Lanarkshire.

It was also among the highest spenders on adults with mental health needs in Scotland per head of population.
Take Action:
  • Boycott advertisers of Glenn Beck - Fox News.  Glenn Beck is anti-gay rights.
  • Update: DADT has been repealed. President Obama has kept his promise!
  • Boycott Bill O'Reilly and FOX News and their advertisers.  Bill discussed a French commercial by McDonalds that was meant to show that McDonalds is Gay Friendly. Bill said what is next? Is McDonalds going to be Al-Qaida friendly as well?  Imagine - Bill O'Reilly compares Gays to Al-Qaida!
  • Boycott Arizona the home of  "hater" - U.S. Senator John McCain. Arizona's Hateful anti-Immigration Law - encourages racial profiling and increases hatred towards minorities.  A remedy: Demand Republicans to  support Immigration Reform (The Dream Act). Further, Senator McCain voted against ending DADT and Blocked Immigration reform! 
  • Boycott Target, Best Buy, Gold's Gym - for donating money towards anti-gay political candidates/organizations. Update: (12/26/2010): Target is continuing to donate to anti-gay groups/causes/politicians. Update 03/08/11 - Lady Gaga Ends Target Partnership, Reportedly Over Target's Poor LGBT Stance. Update 3/25/2010 - Target displays their hypocrisy and Sues California Gay Rights Group for Lobbying Outside Stores.  Target is attempting to block the LGBT right of free speech!  STOP SHOPPING AT TARGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • End DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act).  Prevents Federal employees and Gays in the Military from gaining equal benefits. Prevents Gay Partners from gaining equal benefits.    
  • Pass ENDA (Employee Non-Discrimination Act).  ENDA would prevent employment discrimination of  LGBT workforce.
  • Boycott Salvation Army as they will not hire Gays! "DO NOT DONATE TO THEM."
  • BOYCOTT "Chick-fil-a" for donating to anti-gay marriage groups.
  • BOYCOTT KOCH INDUSTRIES PRODUCTS- to include their products: Angel Soft toilet paper / Brawny paper towels / Dixie plates, bowls, napkins & cups / Mardi Gras napkins and towels / Quilted Northern toilet paper / Soft 'n Gentle toilet paper / Sparkle napkins / Vanity fair napkins / Zee napkins / Georgia-Pacific paper products & envelopes / All Georgia-Pacific lumber & building products (INVISTA Products) / Lycra / Stainmaster Carpet.   The billionaire - Koch brothers are ultra republican - tea bag founders/supporters that do not support causes of the LGBT community.
  • Boycott WALMART - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, force criticized Wal-Mart for denying employee benefits to same-s-x partners and for failing to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. By comparison, the group said two other chain stores with a strong presence in New York, Costco and Walgreens, did much better.
  • NEW: Boycott Donald Trump, The Apprentice and NBC Network! Trump stated he is considering a run for president as a Republican. In a interview with the Des Moines Register, Trump added that he opposes all forms of legal recognition for gay couples, not just marriage. "They should not be able to marry," he said. So why does NBC keep the Apprentice running - when Donald Trump has stated he may run for president? Boycott NBC! Boycott advertisers of The Apprentice and Trump's other business's. Don't shop at any building with Donald Trump's name!  The Donald has expressed extreme Hatred.  Remember how poorly he treated Rosie O'Donnel?  Now we know why he did that!  It was hate against a lesbian as we now know he is hater.  Unforgiveable!  Ready to dump NBC because they air Donald Trump's "The Apprentice"?  Start Watching CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
  • NEW: Boycott "APPLE." For the current owners and the aspiring owners of the I-phone,  Apple allows an application, "The Gay App", which is supposed to help gay individuals turn straight.  This is a step in the wrong direction.
    Apple needs to know that the decision to allow this App on their products is a fallacious idea! Update: March 23, 2011:  Apple removed this app from USA stores; but, possibly not from foreign stores.  This is offensive not just towards the LGBT community in the USA; but, offensive to  the entire LGBT community around the world.  How does anyone approve such a hateful, despicable app towards the LGBT community? Especially when Gay Teens are killing themselves after being harrassed by their church, parents, as well as  by bully's and teachers at school. The idea that this app was used, solicited is disgusting.  
  • Remember David Kato, Gay activist - Uganda, who was slain because he is gay!

And Now, Model Wars!

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, who is the model that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit?"  Warning: This may stoke you!
 
Your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.
 
Michele Rotters
 
VS
Justin Deelay
 
You Decide!
Nasty Bar Party; Powerhouse; San Francisco; Apr 1, 2011
Stoked?
Nasty Bar Party; Powerhouse; San Francisco; Apr 1, 2011
Married Gay Couples 'Refuse to Lie' on Tax Forms
By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD / New York Times; April 5, 2011

Courtesy of Equality Florida The "Refuse to Lie" campaign was created gay activists who believe that the federal government should acknowledge same-sex marriage.

Some same-sex married couples are refusing to file their federal tax returns separately this tax season, as part of a movement demonstrating that they're no longer content to quietly comply with the federal law that does not recognize same-sex marriage. And in some cases, these taxpayers will pay Uncle Sam more when they do so.

Same-sex couples who have married, or who have a legal status equivalent to marriage in certain states, must still file separate federal returns because the government - and therefore the Internal Revenue Service - defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.

Using that definition, federal tax returns ask taxpayers to check one of five options under their filing status: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widow(er) with dependent child. Married same-sex partners typically file their own federal returns either as single or, if they qualify, as head of household, which has more favorable rates than the single filing status.

But many same-sex couples contend that filing as single amounts to lying about their marriage status, and that's the message behind the "Refuse to Lie" campaign created by gay activists, which is timed to coincide with tax season.

"More people are refusing to lie on those forms, even though the government is telling them to," said Nadine Smith, executive director of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy group Equality Florida, who plans on filing a joint return with her wife, Andrea. "It would be both dishonest and deeply humiliating to now disavow each other or our marriage and declare ourselves single on our tax form."

Nina E. Olson, the national taxpayer advocate who acts as an ombudsman for the I.R.S., acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding federal taxation of same-gender spouses in an annual report to Congress. In the report, she said that taxpayers may take a filing position without penalty if there is "substantial authority" to do so, such as a court case that hasn't been overruled by the United States Court of Appeals. And there happen to be two such cases, which are currently on appeal.

In July 2010, the Federal District Court in Massachusetts declared the Defense of Marriage Act - the federal law known as DOMA that defines marriage as between a man and a woman - as unconstitutional in two cases. They are now being appealed in the First Circuit. "Thus, there may be substantial authority for same-gender spouses to take certain tax positions as married as long as the Massachusetts district court's opinions stands," Ms. Olson said in the report.

The "Refuse to Lie" Web site warns same-sex couples of the risks of filing jointly, and explains different options to both adhere to the law while expressing that they disagree with it. One way to do that would be to put an asterisk by the "single" box, and then indicate at the bottom of the tax form that you are "only single under DOMA." Another option, the site says, is to attach a note with a similar message.

The campaign also explains on its Web site how to file a joint return while avoiding penalties. In the first method, each partner would file their own single return and include an attachment stating that they're married, and then file an amended return jointly. "Once the I.R.S. rejects the amended return, or if six months passes and they do nothing, the taxpayers who file an amended return have the right to file suit in Federal District Court claiming the refund," the activists' site said, adding that this option would avoid penalties because your original return would be filed according to the law.

Another method suggests filing two returns: one filed jointly (and showing the tax due on the joint return) and one filed as a single taxpayer (showing the tax due on that return). Pay whatever is due on the single return - which means you will not have underpaid - and then ask the I.R.S. which return to accept. But if the I.R.S. accepts the joint return and issues you a refund, "there is no way to know what will happen if you are later audited," the site said.

"People who follow this example need to do so with a clear head about the decision they are making and that what could happen is unclear," Ms. Smith, of Equality Florida, said. "It's not without risk."

But there's another way to preserve your right to collect any refunds due to you if the law is eventually struck down. Patricia Cain, a professor at Santa Clara Law and an expert on sexuality and federal tax law, said that couples who would benefit from a joint filing - that is, couples who would pay less in taxes or receive refunds - can file a protective claim using I.R.S. Form 843. (File separate returns in accordance with the law, then attach the form to an amended joint return).

"If you state on Form 843 that your claim is based on the unconstitutionality of DOMA, which is an issue pending in current litigation, it is more likely that the I.R.S. will do nothing until the issue is finally determined," she added. "And if DOMA is struck down as unconstitutional, you should be entitled to the refund on the amended return."

Although she generally recommends that same-sex married couples file their own returns in accordance with the law, she said that couples living in Massachusetts might be able to better justify filing their returns jointly because of the two court cases there.

"The question is whether that is sufficient as substantial authority to avoid being assessed penalties if you were audited by the I.R.S. and found to have filed incorrectly," Professor Cain said.

She also said that she knew some same-sex couples in several different states who had filed joint returns and received refunds. "It's because the returns are handled by machines," she said, adding that the 1040 forms don't have any gender markers on them. "That doesn't mean they won't be audited sometime. But honestly, I think the I.R.S. has bigger fish to fry than figuring out where same-sex couples filed jointly."

Taxpayers who don't pay the proper amount of tax will be levied a 20 percent penalty on top of the amount of tax owed. An I.R.S. spokeswoman said the agency followed the federal Marriage Act and declined further comment.

But for Kate Kendell it's about more than the money. Ms. Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said she and her wife, Sandy, who have been together for 18 years and have two children, are going to file as married this year (they married in California during the brief window in 2008 when same-sex marriage was permitted there).

"As a lawyer and a legal advocate for the L.G.B.T. community, I am often in a position to advise people to exercise great caution and to comply in most cases with the letter of the law, even when that means denying who we are," she said. "This is my small way of saying, where we can, we are not going to play the game anymore."

In their case, the move is going to cost the couple more than $5,000.

If you're part of a same-sex couple and would like to file jointly, how far would you go to show that you disagree with the current law? And what does everyone else think about this effort?
"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
 
 
 
Important Notice: Our ObamaBiden2008 Group works hand - in - hand with Peckers PICS (Both groups were co-created to work with each-other).  To prevent duplication of articles and questions, all members of this group are expected  to join ObamaBiden2008. It is unfair for members that belong to both groups to hear members of just Peckers PICS (only) to make statements when the ObamaBiden2008 has covered such topics in detail.  Therefore, members need to join ObamaBiden2008  immediately.  This shall clear up communications and confusion.  The LGBT cause is too important and beyond 1 person's need to just look at pictures.   Therefore, please join ObamaBiden2008 now.  No you don't have to read every article! But, it covers the LGBT community and includes updates on Health insurance; LGBT boycott list; Westboro Church; and the end of DADT, etc...Also, updates with the multi - state gov't's war against unions and people with disabilities. The group is created for you!  There are gay teen suicides going on. There are Hate crimes against gay people. There are gays who are fired over their sexual identity.  There are gay people who died for our cause! You always reserve the right to remove yourself from all my groups if you do not appreciate this request.  I have done everything I can and now it is time for you to step up!  My Groups are for Yahoo members who sincerely care about LGBT rights and Gay Mens Health!   Please Join Now!

 

 

 



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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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