Prom King in California, NY Mayor Bloomberg, AIDS Funding Lost, Emailing List, MEME Monday (on tuesday)

Hey blogger buddies. The holiday weekend is over and time to get back to some serious Guru'ing. Next website update is just a couple days away, so I will be very busy updating all of the pages the next 48 hours or so. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, and for those that got the extra day off, took some time to think about the meaning of the extra day, but still got in some good BBQ time and spent it with family and friends. I used yesterday to talk about my feelings on Memorial Day, and let slide our newest feature, MEME Mondays, so will put a fun little meme on the end to make up for it.


I wanna start out with a big shout out to SoCalGal, a huge friend and supporter to this blog, who has recently started her own blog, as an homage to all the Ross-a-holic fans of Ross The Intern, from the Tonight Show. I hope you check it out. Any who-who, SoCal was kind enough to forward me along, a fabulous article out of Southern California, that brought a tear to my eye, and a spring in my step. It seems that Murrieta Valley High School, for the last 5 years, have attended "unity forums," in which students gather in groups to learn more about each other through coordinated activities and exercises meant to break down stereotypes and foster acceptance. Well, the forums seem to be working, because I am happy to announce, a homosexual prom king, and a special needs prom queen have shattered the norms at Murrieta Valley. Murrieta Valley High School seniors Chad King and Taylor Osland are popular, well-liked students at the campus. Chad, 18, has been openly homosexual since his sophomore year. Taylor, 19, has Down syndrome and alopecia, which has caused her to be bald. But instead of ostracism, the two teens have been embraced by their peers, who don't see them in derogatory ways. In fact, it's just the opposite, as the two students were recently voted prom king and queen. "I'm proud of our students to act and make every person feel they are absolutely the best," said Principal Renate Jefferson. "It was a truly magical moment." The article is one of the most positive things I have read in ages, and I am truly thankful for SoCalGal to forward it along to me. The writer of the article left her email addy on the bottom of the story, so I am going to try to see if I can get in touch with Chad, the prom king, thru her for his story, and the school, to find out more about these "diversity forums". I think they should be mandatory in every school in the nation. It's the high school kids of today, that are going to break the barriers of tomorrow.

In the news, there are lots of stories from all over the country about the upcoming "gay marriage" ammendment coming up, and how it is playing out in different states everywhere. The most confusing comes from NYC, where on Wednesday, attorneys for New York mayor Michael Bloomberg will ask the state's highest court to uphold an appeals court ruling that overturned a Manhattan judge's decision that said denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry is unconstitutional. But on Sunday Bloomberg said he supports same-sex marriage. For many the juxtaposition of the two positions seems odd - seldom does someone in a lawsuit suggest they want to lose. But it is indicative of the tightrope the mayor is walking on the issue. Bloomberg has consistently told the LGBT community that he supports same-sex marriage and that he is only fighting the Manhattan ruling because he fears that with judges in other parts of the state ruling for continuing the ban on gay marriage there could be confusion over where marriages would be legal and where they would remain banned. In his weekly radio address on Sunday Bloomberg marked this week's beginning of LGBT Pride month in New York. He said that if the court rules that the city can issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples gay and lesbian partners could immediately head to City Hall. If the court rules the other way, Bloomberg said he will work with the state Legislature to make gay marriage legal.

California could lose millions of dollars for HIV and AIDS treatment under a federal proposal to shift more funding to rural and Southern states, local health officials say. This is especially troubling for me, since California is where The Gay Guru's friend, and HIV Awareness editor for the website, Mikey resides. "We will not even be able to cover our basic medical care needs. That's how devastating it is," said Donna Fleming, a disease control manager for Orange County. The county's $4.8 million annual allotment could drop below $1 million within five years, she said. The funding proposal, which a Senate health committee approved by a 19-1 vote earlier this month, acknowledges complaints by lawmakers from rural and Southern states that urban areas have received a disproportionate amount of the $2 billion in annual federal HIV funds. Believe me, I am not for the South to get less money to fight and prevent this disease, but for MORE money for everyone, not money taken away from anyone. Mikey will address some of this in our next website update.

All righty, time to get to the website updating. It will be up sometime Thursday, June 1st. If you have not yet signed up to be on the Gay Guru's Email List, go over to the website and sign up, so you will be the first to find out about website updates, events and contests, and other special Gay Guru announcements. Your email address will not be given out to anybody and you will not be spammed. Also take the time to put yourself on the map, the Frappr map that is, on the left hand side of this blog. Let me know where all you are from and the diversity we are truly reaching world wide. Okay, on to the fun MEME and I hope you all have a terrific week...............GG

Okay, so this is kinda sending goosepimples up my arms. I hope I can live up to it, I care about you all very much and hope we are all getting something out of this blog and website together!!

Your Hidden Talent

You have the power to persuade and influence others. You're the type of person who can turn a whole room around. The potential for great leadership is there, as long as you don't abuse it. Always remember, you have a lot more power over people than you might think!

What's Your Hidden Talent?

And in Honor of Prom Nights.....