Marc Breedlove seeks donations for gay science documentary

PHOTO: Gay men are more likely than straight men to have a counterclockwise whorl. Photographs by Mark Mahaney from David France, "The Science of Gaydar," New York Magazine, Photograph by Mark Mahaney accessed 6/20/07. See Marc Breedlove, a neuroscience professor at Michigan State University and see previous post Gender and sexual orientation science (7/21/07)

PHOTO: OSU student Tess Jarmain escorts four male-oriented (homosexual) rams in Oregon State University's flock back to pasture. Photo by Tiffany Brown from 'The science of rams and sexuality: Not all seek ewes,' By Mary Ann Albright, Corvallis (Oregon) Gazette-Times, August 12, 2005 (See previous post OSU Gay Sheep NY Times (2/7/07))

Cover of the journal Cell June 3, 2005 showing gay fruit flies having sex. (See previous post OSU gay fruit fly sex research (9/16/06))

Researcher S. Marc Breedlove, a neuroscience professor at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI started a request for donations for "Reviewing scientific evidence that processes at work before birth influence sexual orientation. Nature has a say in whom you love." See "Whom you love," accessed Aug. 4, 2012 by S. Marc Breedlove, East Lansing, MI, "Whom You Love: the biology of sexual orientation," kickstarter.com Jul. 23, 2012 accessed Aug. 4, 2012 says that $6,453 has been pledged of $50,000 goal. Donations for a gay science documentary and lecture series are being sought by Marc Breedlove of the Breedlove Jordan Lab Michigan State University, Lansing, Michigan. (517) 355-1749 breedsm [at] msu [dot] edu. This would be the type of project perfect for funding by my OSU Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund Agreement (1/4/12). The gay sheep research at OHSU and OSU is mentioned in my history of OSU. (See by Thomas Kraemer, "Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1969-2004," posted April 30, 2010 or via the shortened URL goo.gl/BQhv2 is hosted by outhistory.org).

This was brought to my attention thanks to a post by A post by Wayne Besen, "Help Fund Important Documentary On The Development of Sexual Orientation," truthwinsout.org posted Aug. 1, 2012, which pitches the request for funding by researcher Dr. Marc Breedlove for a lecture series to be made into a documentary on gay science.

Some related links and list of scientists invited to speak:

• See previous post Simon LeVay's new gay science book (10/14/10) and Older brothers make you gay (6/27/06). My low vision blindness due to a stroke has slowed me down in reading Simon LeVay's book -- I read his first book years ago and I've only managed to get through the first few chapters of his new book (that is now two years old!)
• Daniel Schorn, "The Science of Sexual Orientation," CBS 60 Minutes, This story originally aired on March 12, 2006
• Breedlove Jordan Lab 108 Giltner Hall Michigan State University -- The Breedlove lab studies the effect of steroid hormones on the developing and adult nervous system, including sexual differentiation of the developing brain and spinal cord, as well as the activation of plasticity in the adult nervous system.
• Marc Breedlove page Breedlove Jordan Lab Michigan State University
• Eric Vilain, MD. Chief, Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA: Born This Way: Biological Tales of Sexual Orientation.
• Sari van Anders Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan: Beyond Sexual Orientation: Testosterone and sexual diversity in humans.
• Dennis McFadden Ph.D., Ashbel Smith Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin: Physiological Evidence about the Origins of Sexual Orientation.
• Paul L. Vasey Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Lethbridge: No Dodos: What Cross-Cultural Research Tells us About Why Homosexual Males Do Not Become Extinct.
• Charles Roselli Ph.D., Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, Oregon Health & Science University: Gay Rams: Barnyard Insights into Sexuality.
• Meredith Chivers Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Queen's National Scholar, Queen's University: The Puzzle of Women's Sexual Orientation - Why Straight Sexuality Isn't so Straightforward in Women.
• Simon LeVay Ph.D., West Hollywood: My Brain Made Me Gay: Sexual Orientation, Science, and Society.
• J. Michael Bailey Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University: Is Sexual Orientation Chosen, Learned, Inborn, Genetic, or What?
• Ray Blanchard Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto: How and Why Do Older Brothers Influence Sexual Orientation in Men?
• Alice Dreger Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Medical Humanities and Bioethics, Northwestern University: Fetishes I Don't Get: A Travelogue of Sexology

Arthur Leonard CA Prop 8 appeal still citing Jack Baker gay marriage case

PHOTO: An original printed bound copy of first U.S. Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage that was initiated by University of Minnesota law student Jack Baker in and his lover McConnell in 1970 after they noticed that Minnesota State law did not specify the gender of married couples and they got married: Baker et al. v. Nelson, Oct. 10, 1972, "United States Reports, Volume 409, Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court, October Term, 1972," U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974, p. 810. At the time, and unlike today, state court cases that had a Constitutional rights question were automatically entitled to be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which often refuses to hear cases. However, the court frequently dodged this obligation by using the same one-sentence ruling that they used in this case, "Dismissed for want of a substantial federal question." Given how frequently the Court used this one-sentence ruling, it may or may not have been because the Court had actually given it enough thought to decide that marriage was a matter of State law and not Federal law. However, it is true that marriage was strictly a matter of state law until plural and interracial marriage cases were challenged and after anti-gay marriage groups had forced the passage of Federal laws, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, which by definition make marriage an issue of Federal law. Pending state gay marriage cases, which are about to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, have made this point to the Court. (See previous posts Baker v. Nelson 1972 Supreme Court order on gay marriage (7/22/09) and (NY Constitutional law Professor) Arthur S. Leonard on Baker v Nelson gay marriage case (7/28/09))

A new post by New York Law School Professor Arthur S. Leonard, "Prop 8 Supporters File Supreme Court Appeal," newyorklawschool.typepad.com posted July 31, 2012 notes "They also argued that the 9th Circuit ruling is inconsistent with the Supreme Court's action in 1972 in Baker v. Nelson, in which it dismissed a same-sex marriage appeal from Minnesota on the ground that the right of same-sex couples to marry does not present "a substantial federal constitutional question.""

See previous posts Frank Kameny letter to gay marriage pioneer Jack Baker in 1973 (7/16/12) and Jack Baker deserves mainstream press coverage after gay marriage ruling (7/7/12).

OSU gay football player Esera Tuaolo boyfriend troubles

PHOTO: Former Oregon State University and NFL player Esera Tuaolo came out on the cover of The Advocate. ("Tackling football's closet," By Bruce C. Steele, The Advocate, Nov. 26, 2002, cover story, pp. 3, 30-39) (See previous posts OSU gay sports panel (10/17/08), OSU Esera Tuaolo gay football star (8/12/06) and OSU gay football player 1908 (6/19/08))

This is old news, but I just got around to writing about the boyfriend troubles that the former OSU and NFL football player Esera Tuaolo has faced. I couldn't find any bad news updates. He was arrested on a domestic violence charge with his boyfriend, but those charges were dropped with his boyfriend saying it was all a misunderstanding. See C.J. Columnist, The Dish, "Former NFLer Tuaolo took charges to heart," Minneapolis Star-Tribune, posted June 28, 2011. I was reminded about this by Jim Burroway, "The Daily Agenda for Wednesday, July 11," boxturtlebulletin.com posted July 11th, 2012 who celebrated Esera Tuaolo's 1968 birthday.

OSU Linus Pauling using HP calculator in PBS documentary

PHOTO: former Oregon State University student and the Nobel Laureate for peace and chemistry, Linus Pauling (1901-1994), is shown using a Hewlett-Packard calculator, given to him as a gift by company cofounders Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett, in a PBS documentary (at approx. 3 min.), which mentions (approx. 11 min.) that tuition was free for Oregon residents when Pauling started OSU in 1917, just shy of getting his high school diploma (OSU was named Oregon Agricultural College at that time). (See "Linus Pauling," Premiered May 30, 2011, 9:00 PM on OPB TV, watched on Corvallis, Oregon, KOAC-TV July 30, 2012 10-11PM.) The show's description says, "Linus Pauling is considered one of the greatest chemists of the 20th century. A brilliant scientist and humanitarian he made revolutionary discoveries in chemistry, physics, molecular biology and medicine; then used his international fame and popularity to promote world peace. Targeted by the FBI and labeled a Communist during the height of the Cold War, Linus Pauling is the only person in history to win two unshared" Just like gay activists, Pauling had to testify that he was "not a communist" and was "never a Communist." (See Linus PaulingFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)

PHOTO: Hewlett-Packard HP-12c financial calculator similar to the one scientific version being used by Pauling. (See previous posts HP 12c financial calculator history (6/21/06), HP-12C calculator 30th anniversary in BusinessWeek (9/16/11), First HP Corvallis division manager dies at 76 (4/23/11) and HP 12c 25th Anniversary (2/13/07))

Listening to Linus Pauling's biography, it occurred to me that when he went Germany, the mecca of chemistry at that time, he probably rubbed elbows with my grandfather. (See Elmer Kraemer, chemist, nylon, synthetic rubber pioneer (10/18/09))

Frank Kameny letter to gay marriage pioneer Jack Baker in 1973

PHOTO: Envelope of Frank Kameny's letter mailed to Jack Baker March 4, 1973 with the famous "LOVE" U.S. postage stamp based on a famous painting. (See Jack Baker, "Letter from Frank E. Kameny Washington, D.C. (U.S.A.)," box8661.blogspot.com as last posted July 16, 2012)

PHOTO: A letter Frank Kameny mailed to Jack Baker on March 4, 1973 after Frank saw Jack's appearance on the David Susskind TV show concerning the gay liberation movement. Frank tells jack about the successful efforts to repeal the sodomy law in Washington, D.C. and his plans to attend an American Psychiatric Association meeting that would later prove to be important in the decision to remove homosexuality from the official list of mental disorders. (See Jack Baker, "Letter from Frank E. Kameny Washington, D.C. (U.S.A.)," box8661.blogspot.com as posted July 16, 2012)

Jack Baker continues to post the very interesting letters that were sent him in response to the international news coverage of his gay marriage activism in Minnesota. He plans to donate these to The Tretter Collection at the University of Minnesota. (See Jack Baker, "Some letters from inside the U.S.A. (A-F) Dreams come alive," box8661.blogspot.com posted July 12, 2012 and my previous post Jack Baker deserves mainstream press coverage after gay marriage ruling (7/7/12))

Frank Kameny was one of the original gay activists who was involved in getting homosexuality removed from the official list of mental disorders now known today as the American Psychiatric Association, "Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR," American Psychiatric Association, 2000 (Google Books search). (Also see (Wikipedia)) This book is commonly abbreviated as the DSM. The history of a larger agenda that followed is described in the paper by Charles Silverstein, "The Implications of Removing Homosexuality from the DSM as a Mental Disorder," Archives of Sexual Behavior, April, 2009, p. 161-163. (See my previous post DSM V pedophilia, hebephilia, ephebophilia, teliophilia, gerontophilia (8/22/09))

OSU President in alumni magazine on cultural center upgrade and anti-gay backlash

PHOTO: (click photo to enlarge) Oregon State University President writes in the alumni magazine about raising the money to renovate or rebuild four of the main cultural centers. See article by Ed Ray, "Ed Said, Consider what it's like to be the 'other,'" Oregon Stater alumni magazine, Fall 2011, p. 8-9 (left) and an anti-gay letter in response in the next issue where the editor said Ed's article had an unprecedented response (right). Christine Armer, 0'03, "Prefers Melting Pot," Oregon Stater alumni association magazine Winter 2012, p. 5. Ed ray responds that he meant to also emphasize in the original piece that the cultural centers are important places for everyone to visit and learn.

OSU President Ed Ray was instrumental in raising money to have OSU's four main ethnic cultural centers rebuilt or renovated, a process which has begun with work on a new Native American Cultural Center. (Also Asian & Pacific Cultural Center, Black Cultural Center, Centro Cultural César Chávez, Native American Longhouse)

I am not privy to the internal OSU administration discussions, but I am sure that there has been much discussion on how do you treat cultural centers associated with a legally protected minority racial class, such as the black student center, versus the Women's Center, which represents an oppresed majority of students instead of a minority, and the OSU Pride center, for LGBT students, without offending either liberals or conservatives that sponsor OSU. I've witnessed the arguments over the years and the "politically correct" approach has been not to compare racial minorities with other groups and to acknowledge that even though women are a minority they have been historically oppressed and disadvantaged due to sex discrimination. Likewise, gay students have always had to deal with the accusation that they are not a true minority because sexual orientation is a choice unlike race according to some people and furthermore, various campus religious organizations consider gay behavior to be immoral and are resentful of gays receiving "special rights." Ironically, religion is a choice and the campus diversity goals strive to ensure the inclusiveness of all minority religious points of view, even the bigoted ones.

Other links of interest:

• Oregon Stater alumni assoication magazine Spring 2011, p. 36 -- Women's Center building, called the Station Building, was originally built for the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1892
• Oregon Stater alumni association magazine online Archive
• Oregon Stater alumni association magazine Fall 2011
• Oregon Stater alumni assoication magazine Winter 2012
• Katja Kozber, "Cultural Centers look forward to newer homes, After efforts were postponed, spring anticipates reconstruction," Barometer, Jan. 12, 2012, p. 1,3 --
• "Cultural Centers Building Project," Oregon State University Diversity Development, accessed Jul. 12, 2012 -- Asian & Pacific Cultural Center, Black Cultural Center, Centro Cultural César Chávez, Native American Longhouse
• Ed Ray's article included a link to the Web page "Equity and Inclusion," oregonstate.edu accessed Jul. 12, 2012 -- The Office of Equity and Inclusion represents efforts to integrate three previously separate areas of focus: Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity; Community and Diversity; Women's Advancement and Gender Equity
• "Cultural Centers," Submitted by simsk on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 10:23am - "OSU's seven cultural and resource centers are for students and community members who are looking for safe environments where they can learn about issues of identity, culture, heritage, history and self expression. "
• Women's Center -- often not included with the list of cultural centers at OSU
• LGBT Services -- often not included with the list of cultural centers at OSU

OSU archives library collection on gay history had added some things since I last checked. Here are some key links:

• "Collections Pertaining to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People in Oregon," Oregon State University Archives
• "Thomas Kraemer Speech and Blog - History of OSU Gay Student Groups 1976-2006, as documented through a speech and blog by Thomas Kraemer," Oregon State University Archives Finding prepared 2007
• "Guide to Pride Center Records, 1993-2008" Oregon State University Archives (RG 236) Date received: Sep. 21 2010
• "OSU Pride Center (RG 236) 2010 Accessions, Accession 2010:048" Oregon State University Archives Date Received Jul. 22, 2010 (PDH of Other materials in this collection) -- This accession consists of a documentary film on DVD produced by alumni Philip Mason and directed by Sam Lienen about the creation of the Queer Resource Center (QRC) at OSU (now the Pride Center). Running 34 minutes, the film contains recollections from various OSU alumni and faculty involved in the founding of the QRC, including Christian Matheis, Ellen Wygant (Dishman), Robin Ryan, Linda Paschke, Melanie Spraggins, and Larry Roper. The DVD also includes footage of the 2001 ASOSU Student Fees Committee hearing on funding for the Queer Resource Center. Other materials in this collection "Records documenting the establishment of the center and its programs and activities." (PDF)
• Kelly Ward, "Library establishes Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Combination of programs, outgoing surveys improve services for researchers," Barometer, posted Nov. 8, 2011

Google Maps Street View Car seen near OSU as tuition rises

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PHOTO: I was driving around Corvallis, Oregon and I recently saw the maps.google.com -- Google Maps "Street View Car" driving near Oregon State University at NW Honeysuckle Dr & NW Boxwood Dr Corvallis, OR 97330 . The car was driving east on Boxwood Drive, paused at a stop sign and then turned left north on Honeysuckle Drive on Monday, June 11, 2012 at about 12:02 PM Pacific Time. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to process the data and for it to show up online. I am assuming that a Google street car view tour of Oregon State University will soon be available.

NOTE UPDATE Dec. 14, 2012: street view was seen for the first time online Nov. 29, 2012 on Google Maps Street View after the photo was taken June 11, 2012 at about 12:02.

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PHOTO: Google Maps Street View Honeysuckle and Boxwood Drive near OSU photo taken Monday, June 11, 2012 at about 12:02 PM Pacific Time, first accessed Nov. 29, 2012 1:30 PM PT". Also see Close up of Tom in picture

Speaking of OSU:

"OSU tuition to rise 6.9 percent

Oregon State University undergraduate students will pay a tuition increased by 6.9 percent, from $6,228 to $6,660.

"However, a decrease in student fees means the overall increase will be 5.1 percent tuition from this academic year, with those taking the standard 15 credits paying $8,138 in tuition and fees.

"Students will pay $447.57 in fees per term this coming year, compared to $460.47 per term this year."

(Quoted from Steven DuBois (The Gazette-Times contributed to this story), "State board raises tuition at universities," Gazette-Times posted Jun. 2, 2012)

When the Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling attended OSU, tuition was free. Even less than a half Century ago a student could earn enough money to pay for tuition and a dorm room by working only a summer job setting chokers for a local logging crew. The shift toward making students take out loans to pay for college is an intentional move by Republicans to cut taxes and destroy colleges, but Democrats have gone along with it for different reasons. This shift will only reduce class mobility even further in America.