Two pieces of good news for the Monday blaahs

Everyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows that I hate Mondays.

And this Monday was no different.

But on the positive side, I thought I would spotlight two pieces of good news that should bring a smile to everyone's face;

Good news item #1

S.C. ‘queen’ reigns over ‘America’s Got Talent’

Dorae Saunders, a former Miss Pride Charlotte and star in the movie “Trantasia,” has been chosen among the top 40 contenders in NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”

The third season of the show will return with live episodes to whittle down the crowd of contestants after NBC’s broadcasts of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Saunders, a Columbia native, was recognized for accomplishments this past winter by the Carolinas Black Pride Movement and is most widely known for her performance of Tina Turner. The gig has managed to land her a slot on the upcoming “AGT” finals.

Dorae Saunders is a friend of mine. As the video clip shows (click on the link), she is daring, outspoken, and highly talented.

I know I am showing bias by saying this, but I hope she wins.

Good news item #2

Anything that infuriates the anti-gay industry is always a good news item in my book. This particular situation goes farther than that, however. The California Supreme Court stood up for the rights of lgbt parents and averted a potential crisis that could arise via physicians hiding behind their religious beliefs as an excuse not to give lgbts proper medical care:

Doctors Can't Deny Lesbians Care on Religious Grounds

Ruling Was Unamimous, Unlike Legalization of Gay Marriage Case

The California Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that doctors cannot cite their religious beliefs as grounds to deny gay and lesbian patients medical care.

Justice Joyce Kennard ruled that two Christian fertility doctors who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian couple cannot claim a free speech or religious exemption from California's anti-discrimination law.

The ruling extends a state law barring sexual orientation-based discrimination to the medical profession.

The case, which drew 40 "friends of the court" briefs, pitted gay advocacy groups against religious and medical organizations.

Guadalupe Benitez, now 36, had maintained that the California medical clinic that was treating her polycystic ovary syndrome had "dumped" her when she asked for artificial insemination.

In 1999, after a year of surgeries and hormone treatments  all covered by insurance  Benitez was finally ready to get pregnant. But at the crucial moment, her doctor refused to do the procedure for "religious" reasons.

Benitez is a lesbian and sued her doctors under California's civil rights laws, charging that they discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation.

"For me this is a case about doing the right thing and being fair," Benitez told ABCNEWS.com. "Not discriminating against people and doctors not playing the role of God, saying because you are gay, you are not worthy of having a child or a family.

"I did it not only for me, my partner and my children but for other people coming after me, so they don't have to go through the humiliation and frustration and abandonment as a patient," she said.

More here

Ms. Benitez's victory is one for us all. How sweet it is.