Clay Greene and his partner of more than 20 years, Harold Scull, lived together in Sebastopol, California in the idyllic wine country of Sonoma Valley. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place--wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health for his age.

One evening in April 2008, Harold fell down the front steps of their home.  Clay called an ambulance, and Harold was taken to the hospital.

Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold's care. Tragically, Sonoma County and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital.

There, then, the men's nightmare began.

While Harold was hospitalized, Sonoma County Deputy Public Guardians went to the men's home, took photographs, and commented on the desirability and quality of the furnishings, artwork, and collectibles that the men had collected over their lifetimes.

Ignoring Clay entirely, the County petitioned the Court for conservatorship of Harold's estate. Outrageously referring to Clay only as a "roommate" in court filings, and failing to disclose their true relationship of close to 25 years, the County continued to treat Harold as if he had no family.  Sonoma County sought immediate temporary authority to revoke Clay's powers of attorney, to act without further notice, and to liquidate an investment account to pay for Harold's care.  Then, despite being granted only limited powers, the County hastily arranged for the sale of the men's personal property, cleaned out their home, terminated their lease, confiscated their truck, and eventually disposed of all of the men's worldly possessions, including family heirlooms, at a fraction of their value and without any proper inventory or determination of whose property was being sold.

Harold had worked at MGM Studios in the '50s and '60s and had an extensive collection of movie memorabilia.  Clay was an artist and businessman with an extensive collection of paintings, and owned a collection of one-of-a-kind Mexican religious art. The men's two cats were taken from their home, have never been found, and are feared dead.

Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from their home and confined him to a nursing home against his will--a different placement from his partner.  Clay was kept from seeing Harold during this time, and his telephone calls to Harold were limited. Three months after Harold fell, he died, without being able to see Clay again.

"Because of the county's actions, Clay missed the final months he should have had with his partner of 20 years," said Clay's attorney Anne Dennis. "Compounding this horrific tragedy, Clay has literally nothing left of the home he had shared with Harold or the life he was living up until the day that Harold fell. The only memento Clay has is a photo album that Harold painstakingly put together for Clay during the last three months of his life."

Clay is now suing Sonoma County with the assistance of a court-appointed attorney and the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights. The case goes to trial on July 16, 2010 in Sonoma County Superior Court.

We can only hope.

DALLAS -- A Texas state appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday in the case of a gay couple in Dallas that was granted a divorce even though the state doesn't recognize same-sex marriage.

Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Kent Conrad (D-ND) evidently won his battle and is hoping to begin budget markup on Wednesday or Thursday.  But there are no plans to include reconciliation instructions -- which means every bill in the Senate for the next year will require 60 votes to pass.

Democratic leaders and the White House haven't asked Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) to include reconciliation instructions in his budget resolution draft, Conrad told reporters Monday.link

Also an interesting article from cnn on cape wind.  I support the project, but it is astonishingly large.

"The 130 turbines, spaced a third- to a half-mile apart, would cover about 25 of the 500 square miles of Nantucket Sound. They would stand more than 40 stories tall, bigger than the Statue of Liberty and well over 10 times taller than nearly every other structure around the Cape."

The incident began about 4:30 a.m. when a California Highway Patrol officer contacted Steven Ferrini, 60, in a "No Parking" zone on Highway 89 near Luther Pass, according to a CHP report.

The officer arrested the man after allegedly finding what was believed to be methamphetamine.
During a subsequent search, officers found "a suspicious wire, with an on/off switch" in the man's front left pocket leading to his anal cavity, according to the report.