A word to our seniors and fellow people who are not in the best of health: These are hot, humid days, so drink lots of water, take your potassium gluconate and stay out of the sun!

First, let me say that the 2006 Pride souvenir program is outstanding, except for page 49.

Former Governor Gray Davis made history by being the first governor to send out official state greetings to all Pride events in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made history by being the first Republican governor in the history of our nation to send out official greetings to all Pride events.

As many of you know, I was a strong supporter and met with Governor Davis a few times when I was state chair of Equality California. Governor Davis did not support same-sex marriage and also supported the Boy Scouts, yet our San Diego Pride never called him on these issues.

Now this year’s Pride headlines Governor Schwarzenegger’s letter with “Friend or Foe?” Our current governor has signed eight out of 10 pieces of GLBT- or HIV-related legislation (including a bill from our state Senator Christine Kehoe). Why didn’t San Diego Pride attack Governor Davis for being opposed to same-sex marriage like they have attacked Governor Schwarzenegger this year?

Arnold has a lesbian Democrat as his chief of staff, and, yes, we have disagreements with him like we did with Davis, but Prides’ stance itself is playing politics. (A vast majority of the Pride board are active Democrats.)

Governor Schwarzenegger is also one of the first Republican leaders to come out against attempts to change the Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

The Pride board has never gotten into partisan politics, but this year they have, by not treating Governor Gray Davis and Arnold the same. I find Pride’s response to Governor Schwarzenegger’s letter to be crossing the line, and it is disrespectful to the office of the governor.

I believe a better headline, if Pride needed to have one at all, would have been “Write the governor.”

A new treatment that prevents most cervical cancer has been recommended to all females who are between the ages of 11 and 26.

This is an official recommendation from the National Vaccine Advisory Committee.

The government has committed to spend as much as $2 billion on a program to buy the vaccine for our country’s poorest 11 to 26-year-old females. The vaccine is called Gardasil.

I urge all females 11 to 26 to contact their doctors.

If you are lesbian or bisexual and cannot afford this new vaccine, contact the Toni Atkins Lesbian Health Fund (which is sponsored by the Imperial Court and The Center) to get some assistance. Contact The Center at (619) 692-2077 for more information.

While our government is willing to spend only $2 billion for poor females ages 11 to 26 to get this new cancer vaccine, the Bush administration announced it will spend $59.8 billion to send astronauts to Mars! (And Congress approved this spending.)

This sum does not include the billions of dollars being spent on general space programs. If they took just half of the $59.8 billion for Mars, we could vaccinate all poor females ages 11 to 26!

I continue to be disgusted by the billions being spent on space, and especially on Mars because scientists say it’s too damn hot to live on that planet!

Four days in very humid San Antonio, Texas, was enough for me, but I did have a great time as it was the city’s Pride kick-off.

As many of you know, San Antonio is now the seventh largest city in the nation, and San Diego drops to eighth.

San Antonio has a growing GLBT community and even a Latina lesbian City Council member (though there is no gay neighborhood or district). Interestingly, the gay bar owners seem to have great influence over the GLBT community.

This is a very beautiful city that has three major military installations: Randolph Air Force Base, Lackland Air Force Base and Fort Sam Houston.

It’s just too hot. Thank goodness my speeches were given in air-conditioned hotels!

As I do every time I visit San Antonio, I stopped by the Alamo. My good friend Rick Ford was also in San Antonio (he has family living there), so he took me to the very best Italian restaurant in the world and also the best barbecued-ribs joint (great creamed corn).

Rick Ford is also opening up a gourmet store in San Antonio this year. It’s not only a beautiful building but a historic one as well.

San Antonio is a great city, and the median price for a house in their metropolitan area is only $133, 400, while in San Diego it’s $607, 300!

I attended some charity events and also a birthday party for a good friend of mine who is a junior high school principal. I also talked to some Latino leaders and some GLBT leaders.

San Antonio is home to the huge Institute of Texan Cultures at the University of Texas, and I urge you to visit this complex if you ever visit this great city.

I always love visiting Texas because people are so friendly and welcoming.

I’ll be going to Houston in January.

Recently, I was at a GLBT event and a baby started crying. Her lesbian mother then took her out of the room to quiet her down.

I must say that it was a beautiful reminder of how our GLBT families are growing with more babies and children.

Studies show that GLBT parents make the very best parents and that there is next to no child abuse or neglect in our GLBT families. The truth is that GLBT families equal true family values.

I am proud of all our GLBT parents, and I take my hat off to them.

I always loved watching “The View” TV talk show with Barbara Walters and her pals since it first started.

Immediately, everyone noticed that any time a GLBT topic came up, Star Jones either got negative or very uncomfortable.

Then, years later, she got engaged and then married a well-known queer (like Liza’s last marriage), who admitted he was once bisexual but who everyone knows is as gay as pink feathers.

While I admire that Star Jones, who was once built like a rhino, lost weight, most of us “Viewers” could not stand the bitch! Star Jones acted like her shit didn’t stink, and a lot of us never forgot her early anti-gay attitude.

The mistake ABC made was not firing her in November, like they’d planned to after polling showed that everyone could not stand her.

Now she attacks Barbara Walters and the show, but she should look in the mirror and finally discover that her personality stinks.

So now Star Jones says she is getting a new TV show? Yeah, sure – selling muu muus on the Home Shopping Network!

It was a great election victory when openly gay candidate for Congress John Rinaldi beat out two opponents to become the Democratic nominee for the 52nd Congressional District.

All communities and citizens who want to stop the war should get behind Rinaldi’s campaign by volunteering, giving money, putting up yard signs, etc.

Yes, incumbent Duncan Hunter will be a strong opponent, but I believe Americans want to send a message and want change.

Contact the Rinaldi campaign at (619) 270-1249 or www.rinaldiforcongress.org.

Yes, it’s true. The centerfold from the July issue of the ever-popular Playgirl will be at Bourbon Street next Thursday night (July 13) at 10:00 p.m. His name is Julian Fantechi, and he is hot, built and – well, you know the rest.

The Playgirl centerfold will be making an appearance at Bourbon Street’s weekly wet underwear contest, which takes place every Thursday at 10:00 p.m. A big crowd is expected for this hot guy, so come early!

By the way, Michael Mack of Bourbon Street and L.E.I. wanted me to tell the world that he has nothing to do with the current Club Montage, and sold the name and everything else to the new owners… period.

The Mr., Miss and Ms. San Diego Pride contest, which was started in the 1970s, is the oldest in the state, and now most cities have such title contests.

The annual Pride contest will take place on Monday, July 24, at 8:00 p.m. at Flicks.

Mr. (gay male), Miss (impersonator and trans) and Ms. (lesbian) contestants are now being sought. Contestants are judged solely on answering the question, “What does Pride mean to me?”

This is always a great event, and everyone is welcomed. For more information, phone (619) 692-1967. We’ll see you at Flicks on July 24. This annual event is sponsored by Bud Light.