Raising my "Political IQ"

Q Syndicate has renamed my column, and I'm very pleased with the change. Here's the release. (And yes, it includes enough praise to make me blush bright, bright red, but this is publicity, ya' know.)

Q Syndicate Op-Ed Column Gets New Name

The popular "Lesbian Notions" op-ed column, syndicated since 1997, will undergo a name change in November, when it officially becomes "Political IQ," Q Syndicate announced today.

Veteran journalist Diane Silver will continue giving readers the inside scoop on topics she knows and loves - Washington politics, LGBT families, the religious right, local and state struggles, and the meaning of queer life in the 21st century. Her most recent column, "How to Lose California," for example, predicted the shift against marriage rights in California before Rex Wockner, Andrew Sullivan, or John Aravosis were on the story.

"The column has clearly outgrown its birth name," says Q Syndicate editor in chief Paula Martinac, who created "Lesbian Notions" 11 years ago as a progressive op-ed. "The old title suggests primarily lesbian topics, but in fact it's a really solid, well-written, and savvy op-ed column on all things LGBT - written by a lesbian. The name change will better reflect the actual content of the column."

Silver loves the new name. "I remain an out and proud lesbian, and I certainly continue to be full of notions, but the new, broader name does a better job of reflecting the content of my work," she says. "In this time of upheaval, breathtaking challenge, and an ever increasing role for government, we had all better raise our political IQs, or we’ll suffer the consequences."

A fulltime writer, Silver's work has appeared in Ms. magazine, Salon.com, and other national publications. Her book, The New Civil War, was published by Franklin Watts in 1997. She has covered politics, government, disasters, and even a bit of murder for a McClatchy newspaper and United Press International. Silver has edited magazines and taught reporting and writing at two universities.

During her interlude in politics, Silver served as a press secretary for a Democratic candidate for governor in Kansas, directed communications in a statewide effort to defeat a marriage ban, and helped found the first LGBT PAC in Kansas and the first unified LGBT political organization in that state. Silver can be found online at www.dianesilver.net.

Founded in 1995, Q Syndicate is the largest supplier of content to the LGBT media. More than 100 gay and lesbian newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and websites throughout the world have run Q Syndicate columns, puzzles, and cartoons. If you are already subscribing to "Lesbian Notions," there's no need to do anything - the op-ed will begin to appear on your Q Syndicate content page as "Political IQ" with the November 3 installment. To subscribe to "Political IQ," contact Q Syndicate Editor in Chief Martinac at paula@qsyndicate.com.

I am most definitely a lesbian with notions, and a new column

I'm pleased to announce that I'm now nationally syndicated, and yes, my head is full of notions.

Q Syndicate made if official in the following news release that was distributed this morning.

Presidential politics, the knock-down drag-out battle over marriage equality, key local struggles, and the meaning of queer life will be tackled when a nationally published author takes on a revamped "Lesbians Notions" column, Q Syndicate announced today.

Veteran journalist and political activist Diane Silver will take over "Lesbian Notions" from Libby Post, who left Q Syndicate in June to pursue other opportunities. Silver's columns will be available beginning with the September 8th installment, "The Coming of Armageddon: Fundamentalists are right to label marriage the final battle in the culture war."

"For all of us in the GLBT community, politics is second in importance only to breathing," Silver says. "The health and welfare of our families, our personal liberty, even our jobs and safety depend on who gets elected and what they do in office. Even the tone of a campaign, whether demonizing or respectful, can make our lives easier or more dangerous."

Before the Internet, the community's biggest problem was getting up-to-date information. "Today we're inundated with information - some accurate, some not - and the problem is figuring out what it means," she says. "My job is to bring perspective, a calm voice when the Chicken Littles are running around and screaming their heads off, and to sound the alarm when necessary."

A fulltime writer, Silver's work has appeared in Ms. magazine, Salon.com, and other national publications. Her book, The New Civil War, was published by Franklin Watts in 1997. She has covered politics, government, disasters, and even a bit of murder for a McClatchy newspaper and United Press International. Silver has edited magazines and taught reporting and writing at two universities.

During her interlude in politics, Silver served as a press secretary for a Democratic candidate for governor in Kansas, directed communications in a statewide effort to defeat a marriage ban, and helped found the first GLBT PAC in Kansas and the first unified GLBT political organization in that state. Silver can be found online at www.dianesilver.net.

Founded in 1995, Q Syndicate is the largest supplier of content to the GLBT media. More than 100 gay and lesbian newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and websites throughout the world have run Q Syndicate columns, puzzles, and cartoons. "Lesbian Notions" is one of Q Syndicate's longest-running columns, created in 1997 by writer Paula Martinac, who thought lesbians should be talking about more than potlucks in the GLBT press.

To subscribe to "Lesbian Notions," contact Q Syndicate Editor in Chief Paula Martinac at paula@qsyndicate.com

What a whirlwind!

By Diane Silver

Life has been wild the last few months, and I have definitely been a very bad and neglectful blogger. The good news is that my writing career is taking off.

I'll have an announcement soon, but until that day I'm going to post some of the things that have been keeping me from blogging. Among them was a delightful guest stint on the Lesbian Notions column, which is distributed nationally by Q Syndicate.

And yes, I'm going to get back to posting those odd bits of information that catch my fancy.