SGL Café

As Valentine's Day approaches: Rashawn Brazell ~ We Refuse to Forget!

From the first annual memorial march in '06 We marched. We chanted. We cried. Still, years went by -- four now -- and despite being featured on America's Most Wanted several times, the monster who dismembered 19-year-old Rashawn Brazell on or around Valentine's Day is still free. This man is still celebrating his birthday, Christmas, sitting down to dinner with his family on Thanksgiving, and possibly even bouncing babies on his knee. Desire Brazell used to bounce baby Rashawn too, but now she just needs to know who murdered her son. As Valentine's Day approaches, again, with still no justice, its up to us to light a fire under this case. Lots of things have happened this year we never thought we'd see -- like the election of Obama. Let's focus on re-igniting this cold case now with the knowledge we can accomplish the seemingly impossible -- for Rashawn, to give his mother, Desire Brazell some peace and closure, and for all those who need to know that Black Gay Lives do matter. Let's get Justice for Rashawn, at last. ~~

José Sucuzhañay: Fear & Defiance in The Streets of Bushwick

Two middle-aged men were ogling something in a Next Magazine with lascivious glee when I entered the empty L train. I sat down across from them. They quickly put it away. I guess the half-naked Chelsea boy on the cover had something to do with their sudden shyness. After all, people have been beaten to death for less overt signs of gayness. José Sucuzhañay (pronounced suh-KOO-shen-y’eye) is one of those people. The Ecuadorian real estate broker was viciously beaten with a bottle and a baseball bat by men who yelled anti-Hispanic and anti-gay slurs at him and his brother outside their Brooklyn home Dec. 7. He was declared brain-dead on Dec. 9. As his mother was on her way to his bedside from Ecuador, on Dec. 12th his heart stopped. On Dec. 14th, a unified bilingual voice decried the senseless attack and demanded justice. José wasn’t even gay. But since one brother had his arm around the other, it was assumed. Hate doesn’t stop to ask questions. I wondered if the men who’d stashed their Next Magazine were also headed to the tribute press conference, march and rally for José Sucuzhañay. I wondered how many of us would have put the magazine away? And would we do the same if, say, the half-naked beauty donning the cover was Miley Cyrus? They got off a few stops before my Myrtle Avenue destination, Next Magazine discretely crumpled in a back pocket. Brown people, gay people, people with hard to pronounce last names, overtly affectionate people, people from cultures where to kiss another man is never a crime -- why should we all have to live in fear? The question echoed without answer as I exited the train into the streets of Bushwick, and prepared to join the rally. ~~ see all 82 photos on Flickr

Update- 12/20/08 Body of Ecuadorean killed in New York returns home: Still no suspects in custody.

TO CONTACT JOSE O. SUCUZHANAY FAMILY PLEASE SEND AN E-MAIL AT Sucuzhanay@Gmail.com PLEASE HELP US FIND OUR BROTHER'S KILLERS. Sincerely, Diego Sucuzhanay and all The sucuzhanay family Help resolve Hate crimes in New York before there's another victim.

Vigil this Sunday for Brooklyn Hate Crime Murder

Jose Sucuzhanay, the Brooklyn real estate agent who was beaten to a pulp while walking tipsily with his brother - by bat-wielding thugs who apparently mistook them for gay - was declared brain-dead. Early reports from activist/author Nathan James were that a candlelight vigil was planned and supporters were to ... Meet in front of The Archive café at 49 Bogart Street (at Seigel and Bogart) at 7pm. And, spread the word! However arrangements were still fluid at that point. Now, according to Joe.My.God -- The memorial vigil for Jose Sucuzhanay, the victim of Saturday's brutal anti-gay, anti-Latino attack in Brooklyn, will take place Sunday at 2pm at the scene of the hate crime. Facebook link here. Let's hope the "gays don't get beaten up enough" crowd has taken notice. ~~ I wonder what Huckabee has to say about this.

Bush dodging his War Crimes? ~~ WTF!!

Photo du jour -- The real John McCain

From The Smoking Gun ... OCTOBER 8-- Angered by a delay in the receipt of his voter registration card, a Louisiana man today threatened election officials, claiming that he urgently needed to cast a ballot to "keep the nigger out of office," according to police. Wade Williams, 75, was arrested this morning on a felony terrorizing charge after allegedly calling the Registrar of Voters and warning that he would come to the state office and empty his shotgun unless he got his registration card.... Williams was booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center, where the below mug shot was snapped. En route to the jail, he "continued his 'tirade' about niggers and also stated that he had a shotgun, but had it hidden at his residence," reported Lt. Michael Judd.

This is the result of all the subtle race-baiting and hate-mongering that the McCain/Palin campaign has become. If there is a silver lining, the UGLY among us are beginning to reveal themselves. Wade Williams is the real John McCain without all the campaign rhetoric, the rich bobble-head wife, the empty bobble-head running mate, and the mostly hyped war hero status he can't stop telling us about. By allowing this campaign to get down in the slime, he's admitting that he is no better than this domestic terrorist bigot who threatened to shoot up the registrar office. Way to go Maverick.

Vote Intimidation targets Black Philly Neighborhood

The GOP will do anything to hold onto their jobs. This will be the ugliest October ever. From Philly.com ~~ An anonymous flier circulating in African-American neighborhoods in North and West Philadelphia states that voters who are facing outstanding arrest warrants or who have unpaid traffic tickets may be arrested at the polls on Election Day. ~~

McDonald's worker calls customers FAGGOTS

The ACLU is representing two gay men in an official complaint to the Louisville Human Relations Commission after an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Louisville called them and three friends a series of anti-gay slurs. Page One a Kentucky media and political blog points out this McDonald's as the culprit and exclaims: "Come on, people! We have a city-wide Fairness Ordinance for a reason! Discrimination on the basis of perceived sexual orientation is about the stupidest thing one can do. " In a nutshell, Ryan Marlatt, Teddy Eggers and three of their friends went there and a worker referred to them as faggots. Offended, they asked for the manager. While they waited, the 'woman' continued to call them "faggots" in front of other patrons, apparently throwing in "cocksucker" and "bitch" for variety. So far, the offending McDonalds has stonewalled all efforts to have the employee dealt with. It seems all they want is an apology and a $28 refund they were denied at the time. My opinion -- Fuck apology, the 'woman' should never flip a burger again.

DC man on Life Support: The latest in series of gay bar bashings?

Scene from Grand Opening Party ~ Be Bar, 09/06 Police have confirmed the gay hate crime aspect, but the evidence is circumstantial. From the Metro Weekly: The Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU) of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department is reporting that two men from Maryland were attacked during a robbery on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 7, at Eighth and N Streets NW. According to the GLLU report, the incident was classified as a hate crime ''based upon the victims' actual or perceived sexual orientation,'' and due to the proximity of the attack to Be Bar, a lounge that caters to the gay community, located at 1318 Ninth St. NW, about a block from the attack in D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood. It's obvious the victims were headed there for Be Bar's popular Sunday in the Park ~ Favorite Hip-Hop and R&B of yesterday and today ~ Happy Hour 5-9. Yeah. Sounds like my kinda place. I would've been there, too. And a friend confirmed they were headed there but never made it. It seems like yesterday we heard first about the battle to open Be Bar and Rev. Anthony Evans of Scripture Cathedral Baptist Church who opposed it, saying it would "undermine the moral character of the community." That was almost exactly two years ago. Not to sound paranoid, but it seems attacks near gay bars are on the rise as not one but two recent Cleveland attacks attest to. Two gay men going out for drinks with friends on a beautiful Sunday in September doesn't qualify as undermining the moral character in that DC neighborhood. However, roving bands of thugs who would likely take a life over small change certainly do. Yeah, in the above incident, the 4 young culprits got $15 and car keys. And, maybe Pastor Evans of Scripture Cathedral Baptist (which sits across the street from Be Bar), should ponder the ramifications of the message they send when they paint a group as morally corrupt and, however indirectly, put a target on its back. So to all my family out there, as you enjoy these last throes of summer and early fall, always watch your back.

Another High school wrestling sex offender

[random pic from web] It's not my favorite sex offender this time. Mr "Is that a finger in my ass" Jerome Hunt has given up butt-dragging and taken up other, less titilating sports. It's a new horny wrestling sex offender, apparently in hot water for sticking his dick in the mouth of someone who didn't want it there. Yeah, I know, some guys don't like that shit. Crazy right. When I was in high-school, I used to dream about athletes sticking their ... Well anyway, just check out this clip below. ALL wrestlers are horny. And in high-school, PUH-leeeze. I pop a woody if I just SEE a hot guy in a slippery singlet, I don't need to writhe around on his butt. But that's just me.

The White House / Anthrax Connection

My first reaction when I heard that an alleged Mad Scientist working for the government was behind the the post 9/11 anthrax attacks and had offed himself because the authorities were closing in was, "Bullshit!" So when I read this AlterNet piece putting veep Cheney squarely in the crosshairs, I felt vindicated. I'm not the only one who's been smelling rotting meat emanating from this administration since the beginning. What amazes me most are the ones who refuse to believe it. As one commentor put it: Hindsight and Logic are a few of the Of Our species unique abilities- it's time we use them. so there is irrefutable proof they lied about Iraq, Corp record breaking profits,numerous Constitutional rights & freedoms revoked, economic drain circling,too many to count politicians indicted or implicated in corruption, another (Oil) drum beat towards two more military interventions (Iran & Russia)...Need I go on? and of course this convenient Suicide of the 'mad Scientist'- who apparently the military could not idenitfy and had no protocals in place to avoid such a possiblity. Isn't it time we take the yellow brick road back a few more miles ...to 9/11. I couldn't agree more. The sad thing is, conspiracy theories are always squashed with the club of un-Americanism. As if it is so unbelievable that America could produce men so diabolical, and so mad. As another commentor responded to the above comment: Not only that ... but if "we" don't stop them who will? Madness has the insidious quality of being difficult to believe. So true. Once upon a time people heard their was a horrible man in Germany exterminating Europe's Jews by the trainload. "No, couldn't be," they said. Well, here's another knee slapper of a theory, posited by another commentor, which explains exactly why the democrats have been so impotent to stop these crooks. I have always contended that the anthrax attacks were designed to do one thing: Bug the Congressional Offices of all the members of Congress. If I had any doubt of that, you only need to see how people from both parties caved in to BushCo over the years, against their otherwise sane judgments. It would only take one breakfast or working lunch in private with Bush and Cheney and the next thing you know, impeachment is off the table; torture bills and surveillance bills are passed; war funding bills are passed. And, lest we forget, John McCain sells out on every bill that BushCo wants! Gee, think there is a pattern here!?! BushCo has bugged DC and is blackmailing half of Congress, and they used the lives of those who died from anthrax exposure not only to test a WMD, but to cover up their Congressional surveillance. Maybe that is why the Congress has no problem passing surveillance bills - they want everyone to feel like they do now! It is time to arrest these madmen, and let the Congressional skeletons fall where they may. If not, count on the November election either being stolen or nullified with a declaration of martial law when this Administration causes another man-made disaster that kills thousands! Now if that doesn't ring true to you, then I don't know what else to say. The November election and the possibilities make my blood run cold. These people are capable of anything!! If I were a betting man, I'd wager that Cheney was behind the Anthrax attacks