Jonathan will be on this week's Gay USA hosted by Andy Humm and Ann Northrop. You can watch Gay USA in Manhattan on MNN on Thursdays at 11 PM on Time-Warner 34 and RCN 110 and simulcast at MNN.org channel 34. It is distributed nationally on the Dish Network through Free Speech TV. Go to www.FreeSpeech.org for the schedule.You can also get the GayUSAPodCast by clicking here.

Jonathan with Gay USA co-hosts - photo by Bill Bahlman

Letter from co-host Andy Humm:

This week, we hoped to have a debate between Hillary Clinton and her Democratic challenger for US Senate, Jonathan Tasini on LGBT, AIDS, and the Iraq War among other issues, but Sen. Clinton declined.

But in the second half of our show, we welcome to the show Mr. Tasini, a veteran labor leader, who got into this race to counter Sen. Clinton's support for the Iraq War. He will tell us about his hopes for his longshot campaign and his record of support for gay and transgender rights, including the right of same-sex couples to marry which Clinton opposes. You can learn more about the Tasini campaign at www.tasinifornewyork.com

During our interview with Mr. Tasini, we will show you an extremely disturbing report from Iraq on how Iraqi militias--put in power by US forces to patrol the country--have embarked on a campaign of murdering LGBT people in the streets. You will hear from gay Iraqi asylum seekers who are being threatened with deportation to Iraq, despite the fact that it will mean almost certain death for them. And there is footage of a Shia ayatollah calling for murder and incineration of anyone entering into a same-sex marriage. It is all chilling and outrageous--part of the hell that has been unleashed in Iraq by this misguided and immoral American war.