Episode 90 – Lesléa Newman – Author and Poet

Posted on Saturday, August 31, 2013 by johnselig

Lesléa Newman famed author and poet best known for writing the famous children’s book, “Heather Has Two Mommies,” which religious fundamentalists tried desperately for years to get removed from librairies. Lesléa has published over 60 books and speaks regularly at colleges and universities all over the country. Lesléa discusses her book of 68 pose, “October Morning: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard,” which was published in 2012. Lesléa Newman was the keynote speaker at the University of Wyoming less than a week after Matthew Shepard died. This highly moving book of poems vividly bring back the brutal murder Matthew Shepard 25 years ago. After my conversation with Lesléa I share a commentary on America’s gun violence.

 

Lesléa Newman, author and poet

 

Lesléa Newman at the fence in Laramie, Wyoming where Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten and left to die

 

October Morning: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard

 

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Websites and Organizations Mentioned in This Episode:
Lesléa Newman’s Website
Matthew Shepard Foundation
Matthew’s Place – for LGBTQ Youth
COLAGE – People with a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender or Queer Parent
Family Equality Council

 

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

Heather Has Two Mommies (Amazon Books | IndieBound)

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound)

A Letter to Harvey Milk (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound)

 

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Episode 89 – Shari Johnson – Evangelical Christian Mom with a Lesbian Daughter (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on Monday, July 23, 2012 by johnselig

Shari Johnson in part two of a two-part is an Evangelical Christian mother whose life turned upside down when her 37 year old daughter, Cholene, called her and told her she was gay in July 2002. Shari has just published a book called, “Above All Things: The Journey of an Evangelical Christian Mother and Her Gay Daughter.” In part two of our conversation Shari continues her discussion of reconciling her daughter being a lesbian with her deeply held religious beliefs, attending her daughter’s wedding and starting the PFLAG chapter in Odessa, TX. This podcast should be shared widely with LGBT people who come from Evangelical Christian families and with Evangelical Christian parents who LGBT children.

 

Shari Johnson, author, mom and founder and first president of PFLAG chapter in Odessa, TX

 

Above All Things: The Journey of an Evangelical Christian Mother and Her Gay Daughter by Shari Johnson (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 2012

 

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Websites and Organizations Mentioned in This Episode:
PFLAG’s National Site – Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
PFLAG Odessa, TX – Shari Johnson’s PFLAG Chapter
Family Acceptance Project
Goats For The Old Goat

 

Books and Movies Mentioned in This Episode:

Prayers for Bobby: A Mother’s Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son, by Leroy Aarons (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 1996

Prayers for Bobby – The Movie (Amazon Movies), released in 2010

What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality, by Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D. (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 2000

Stranger at the Gate: to Be Gay and Christian in America, by Mel White (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 1995

 

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Episode 88 – Shari Johnson – Evangelical Christian Mom with a Lesbian Daughter (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 by johnselig

Shari Johnson in part one of a two-part is an Evangelical Christian mother whose life turned upside down when her 37 year old daughter, Cholene, called her and told her she was gay in July 2002. Shari has just published a book called, “Above All Things: The Journey of an Evangelical Christian Mother and Her Gay Daughter.” Shari chronicles her journey in coming to terms with her daughter being a lesbian and reconciling that with her deeply held religious beliefs. In December 2010 Shari founded and became president of a chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and gays) in Odessa, Texas. In this episode Shari share receiving the shocking news from Cholene and how she dealt with it, coming to terms with what it meant, learning how to deal with family members, friends and members of her faith, writing her book which took six years and meeting Cholene’s partner. This podcast should be shared widely with LGBT people who come from Evangelical Christian families and with Evangelical Christian parents who LGBT children.

 

Shari Johnson (left) and her husband James, with Cholene in Granada for Cholene’s White Coat ceremony at the start of med school, January 2011

 

Above All Things: The Journey of an Evangelical Christian Mother and Her Gay Daughter by Shari Johnson (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 2012

 

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Websites and Organizations Mentioned in This Episode:
PFLAG’s National Site – Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
PFLAG Odessa, TX – Shari Johnson’s PFLAG Chapter
Family Acceptance Project

 

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Episode 87 – Dawn Meifert – Marketing Expert, Photographer and LGBT and Women’s Rights Activist (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 by johnselig

Dawn Meifert in part two of a two-part conversation continues her discussion on the Republican War on Women.

 

Dawn Meifert, Marketing Professional, Photographer and LGBT and Women’s Rights Activist

 

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Websites and Documentary Mentioned in This Episode:
Dawn Meifert Marketing Group – Dawn Meifert’s marketing firm’s website
Southern Poverty Law Center
Miss Representation – Documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsome
Joan Rivers – A Piece Of Work – Movie exposes the private dramas of irreverent, legendary comedian and pop icon Joan Rivers

 

Books

The New World Marketplace: How Women, Youth And Multiculturalism Are Shaping Our Future by Farnaz Wallace (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 2012

The Little Blue Book: The Essential Guide to Thinking and Talking Democratic by George Lakoff and Elizabeth Wehling (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 2012

Just How Stupid Are We?: Facing the Truth About the American Voter by Richard Shenkman (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 2008

My West: Personal Writings on the American West – Past, Present and Future by Patricia Nell Warren (Amazon Books), published in 2011

 

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Episode 86 – Dawn Meifert – Marketing Expert, Photographer and LGBT and Women’s Rights Activist (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 by johnselig

Dawn Meifert in part one of a two-part conversation discusses her marketing firm, Dawn Meifert Marketing Group, the protest she organized against Sarah Palin who visited Dallas during the 2008 campaign and begins a discussion on the Republican War on Women.
 

Dawn Meifert, Marketing Professional, Photographer and LGBT and Women’s Rights Activist

 

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Websites and Documentary Mentioned in This Episode:
Dawn Meifert Marketing Group – Dawn Meifert’s marketing firm’s website
Southern Poverty Law Center
Miss Representation – Documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsome

 

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Episode 85 – John Selig Outspoken: The Book – JFK and The Age of Camelot & President Obama Supports Same Sex Marriage

Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2012 by johnselig

Two essays that will go into The Book are featured. The first deals with my recollection of President John Kennedy.. He was the hero of many in my parent’s generation and the first president I remember. I saw JFK when he campaigned for office and his assassination still is vividly in my memory. The second shares the impact on me of President Barack Obama’s recent announced support for same-sex marriage.

 

President Kennedy was shot just past the signs at 12:30 p.m. CST on November 22, 1963. The Grassy Knoll is past the signs on the right, Dealy Plaza is on the left and the Texas Schoolbook Depository is to the right but not in the photo

 

The Texas School Book Depository Building from North Houston Street. President Kennedy’s limousine turned left onto Elm street at the left edge of the photo right in front of the Texas School Book Depository. As the limo drove down Elm Street Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK from the corner window on the 6th floor. It is the only square window to the right of the arched windows above the Elm Street entrance

 

President Kennedy’s limo was off the right edge of this photo and behind were I was standing when he was shot. The Grassy Knoll is to the left off the left edge of the photo. Oswald was in the window just below the top right window of the Texas School Book Depository which is to the left of the people in the photo. The tree is blocking almost all of the window from where I took the photo

 

The First Family – Comedy Album by Vaughn Meader (CD on Amazon | MP3 on Amazon)

 

Rodolfo and me at Dallas Celebration in Oak Lawn on Wednesday evening May 9, 2012 hours after President Barack Obama announces his support of same-sex marriage, Photo by David Taffet

 

The Reverend Dr. Jo Hudson of the Cathedral of Hope and rally organizer Daniel Gates Dallas Celebration on May 9th

 

Media covering the Dallas celebration rally on May 9th

 

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Episode 84 – Farnaz Wallace: The New World Market Place (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2012 by johnselig

Farnaz Wallace, part two of a two-part conversation. Farnaz Wallace is a consultant and speaker who draws on her years as former Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Church’s Chicken to discuss the New World Market place and three major macro trends: the shifting role of women at home and at work, the new values and ideological power of youth culture and the growth and influence of multicultural consumers and societies. This has implications not only for corporations in understanding their customers but also for organizations in both the LGBT and mainstream in attracting volunteers and serving the community. This episode focuses on her new book “The New World Market Place” and the macro trends on youth and multiculturalism. Farnaz also talks about returning to Iran for a visit in 2000 for the first time in over twenty years and also what the Iranian people are really like.

 

Farnaz Wallace, Consultant and Speaker

 

Farnaz Wallace, my husband Rodolfo Arredondo and I together with friends at a Persian restaurant in Dallas in March 2012

 

The New World Marketplace: How Women, Youth And Multiculturalism Are Shaping Our Future – Farnaz Wallace’s new book (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 2012

 

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Websites Featured in This Episode
http://www.farnazglobal.com
We Love You – Iran & Israel
Episode 43 – Arsham Parsi, Iranian Refugee Activist and Founder of Iranian Queer Organization

 

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Episode 83 – Farnaz Wallace: The New World Market Place (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on Thursday, May 3, 2012 by johnselig

Farnaz Wallace, part one of a two-part conversation. Farnaz Wallace is a consultant and speaker who draws on her years as former Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Church’s Chicken to discuss the New World Market place and three major macro trends: the shifting role of women at home and at work, the new values and ideological power of youth culture and the growth and influence of multicultural consumers and societies. This has implications not only for corporations in understanding their customers but also for organizations in both the LGBT and mainstream in attracting volunteers and serving the community. This episode focuses on her new book “The New World Market Place” and the macro trend on women. She discusses the importance of focusing on customers and also her immigrating to The United States from Iran when she was fifteen.
 

Farnaz Wallace, Consultant and Speaker

 

The New World Marketplace: How Women, Youth And Multiculturalism Are Shaping Our Future – Farnaz Wallace’s new book (Amazon Books | Powell’s Books | IndieBound), published in 2012

 

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Farnaz Wallace’s website:
http://www.farnazglobal.com

 

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Episode 82 – John Selig Outspoken: The Book – Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura – Negligence by The Advertising Industry

Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 by johnselig

The recent furor over Rush Limbaugh’s calling Sandra Fluke a slut and a prostitute brings back memories of my days with StopDrLaura.com in 2000 and 2001 when we combined Internet activism with protests in 34 cities. We got over 170 advertiser to drop her show in the U.S. and Canada having flooded companies phones, faxes and emails that advertised on her TV show. I discuss the controversies and responses around Rush Limbaugh and Laura Schlessinger and how advertising agencies failed to protect their clients by warning them against running ads on controversial programs. I also explain the science behind purchasing radio and TV Advertising.

 

U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.

 

Valerie B. Jarret, Senior Advisor to President Obama

 

Judy Shepard, Matthey Shepard’s mom & Founder & President of the Matthew Shepard Foundation’s Board of Directors

 

Media covering the White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools and Communities

 

Me at candlelight vigil for Trayvon Martin on the Grassy Knoll in Dallas on Sunday March 25, 2012

 

StopDrLaura.com Archive website can be visited by going to StopDrLaura.com.

 

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Website featured in this episode:
StopDrLaura.com – Archived Site

 

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Episode 81 – John Selig Outspoken: The Book – One Person at a Time – A Coming Out Chronicle

Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2012 by johnselig

I share the breakup of my thirteen-year marriage to Linda, the coming to terms with my depression and my coming out of the closet. This was an emotionally difficult period of my life but one where I grew stronger by facing my demons. I became a better parent to my son Nathaniel who remained with me after the divorce. Besides those interested in my life this will prove useful for others who are in or have been in mixed-orientatiion (or as I call them, heterosexless marriages) as well as any person dealing with their own coming out issues. Resources for both gay and straight spouses, their children and people coming out of the closet are also mentioned at the end of the podcast.

 

John Selig – A recent photo Rodolfo took of me on our balcony

 

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Websites and previous episodes featured in this episode:
Straight Spouse Support Network
The Other Side of the Closet: The Coming-Out Crisis for Straight Spouses and Families Amity Pierce Buxton, Ph.D.’s Book
Episode 17: Amity Pierce Buxton, Ph.D., Founder of the Straight Spouse Support Network
Family Equality Council
Episode 31: Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council
Colage People with a Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer parent
Episode 34: Beth Teper, Executive Director of Colage
Coming Out: An Act of Love, Rob Eichberg’s Book
The Experience Workshop
Episode 7: Honey Ward, Experience Workshop Facilitator

Article mentioned in this episode:
Left Behind – A Special Report; When One Spouse Is Gay And a Marriage Unravels, New York Times, April 4, 1995

 

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