Did You Ever Wish the Party Never Had to End?

By: Ann-Marie Giglio
Co-Publisher, On the Gay Horizon 

Well, it looks like your wish has been granted.  Olivia has gone into the real estate business.  Their first gay community launches this month in Tucson, Arizona, and we're thrilled to help announce the good news.

"Coming home and living out" is how they describe it.  They've converted a condominium property into "resort style living at its best".  The condos are 1, 2, and 3 bedroom with an opportunity to customize the finishes.

And the grounds are everything you expect from Olivia and more.  A full-time events coordinator, a gym and resort pool with spa, outdoor picnic and BBQ areas and Jacuzzis, plus a fabulous clubhouse for those indoor concerts and comedy events Olivia is famous for.  The only thing missing is the buffet.

But they're working on it.  In the next year, food service facilities will be added to the clubhouse --- and more Jacuzzis will be installed, an outdoor performance area will be built, a jogging trail and a doggie park.  Did they miss anything?  No.  They never do.

Weren't We Talking About Location? 

Those Jacuzzis will come in handy after a hard day of play.  Tucson offers hiking, biking, camping, tennis, sporting events --- and if you'd like to venture away from town, you can ski in nearby Flagstaff, spend a pampered day in Sedona, the resort-town of the West, or hit the night-life in Phoenix.
 
But you could stay home. Olivia Community is in Central Tucson, near restaurants, hotels, shopping malls and movie theaters. Several cafes and parks are within walking distance. A public golf course is nearby. A University of Arizona extension school sits right across the street, and within 15 minutes you can be strolling the Fourth Street district, home of the GLBT community Center, "Wingspan" or be dining downtown near the Civic Center.

Tucson's large and politically active LGBT community welcomes us with open arms. The city has domestic partnership rights and several anti-discrimination laws.

See For Yourself at Olivia's Open House 

OTGH has waited several months to hear this news.  So we're very excited to tell you that the first open house is scheduled for Sunday, October 19th, the day after Tucson's Pride in the Desert.

For more information, visit Olivia's website and dont' forget to tell them On the Gay Horizon sent you.

Olivia Communities

....And keep your eye on OTGH for the latest news about our developing communities.

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Some Questions Deserve Answers 

By: Karen J. Allen
Co-Publisher, On the Gay Horizon

I just finished watching the Vice Presidential debate and I'm trying to remember if I ever watched one before. If I did, it certainly wasn't memorable. Tonight's, however, was everything an important debate of its kind should be. The differences between the two camps were laid out, clearly, passionately and with supporting facts and figures.

The only problem is that all of that came from Joe Biden.

Did Sarah Palin ever answer a question? I know she made the statement that her maverick status meant that she didn't have to, but I can't remember if she maybe slipped up and actually responded to the question put to her.

You have to give her credit, though. Considering how far out of her league she is, she showed a lot of courage just showing up. She appeared confident and had obviously been doing her homework. Showing her skills as a politician, she managed to sidestep answering the tough questions --- like how unsupportive this Republican platform is to gay rights. But, if I didn't already know that, I wouldn't have learned it by listening to her tonight. In fact, she came across as appreciating diversity.

And therein lies my main issue with not just Palin, but all Republican politicians (and a fair amount of Democrats). Pandering to their base. None of them --- McCain, Palin, Bush, Cheney --- are really all that opposed to our having equal rights. Palin claims that one of her best friends is a lesbian. Dick Cheney is very supportive of his gay daughter. Its just a tactic for them. Something to stir up the conservative base. An issue that mobilizes the religious right and gets them to the polls in droves.

It's a tactic. All's fair in love, war and politics, right?

Well, no, it's not right. Because, for us, it doesn't end when the election is over. It lives on through the energizing of movements to pass legislation to deny our basic civil rights. It lives on through the empowering of lunatics like Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist followers as they picket military funerals, chanting that God has taken these lives because the United States condones homosexuality.  It lives on in the implied license to follow God's will and society's bidding by killing innocents like Matthew Shephard and 15-year-old Lawrence King. By removing threats like Harvey Milk. To vilifying and threatening until even those like Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson are forced to wear a bulletproof vest at public events.

No, all is not fair. And I, for one, am pretty tired of it. Sarah Palin is totally unqualified to be in this election. She was chosen simply to ignite the conservative base. 

I started this by talking about questions. Let me sign off with one for you. How do we put an end to being used as pawns and scapegoats?

We vote.