2007 Tranniversary: Trystan, Jeremy, Mac Scotty & Jai
Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” Album Cover
In politics, Gordon Brown replaced Tony Blair as the prime minister of Great Britain. Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, and Rev. Ian Paisley, the head of the Democratic Unionist Party, met face-to-face for the first time and hashed out an agreement for a power-sharing government.. The U.S. began its "surge" of some 30,000 troops to Iraq to stem increasingly deadly attacks by insurgents and militias. President Bush vetoed the $124 billion spending bill passed by Congress for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill called on the Bush administration to establish benchmarks for the Iraqi government that, if met, set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Karl Rove, highly influential and controversial advisor to President Bush, announced his resignation. The minimum wage increased to $5.85, up from $5.15. It's the first increase in 10 years. California Democrat Nancy Pelosi became the first woman speaker of the House and presided over the 100th Congress. Democrats took control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994. President Bush signed a law that legalized government eavesdropping of telephone conversations and emails of American citizens and people overseas without a warrant as long as there is a "reasonable belief" that one party is not in the United States.
In 2007, several US states passed legislation banning discrimination on sexual orientation including Washington, New Hampshire, Maryland, Michigan, Kansas, Colorado, Vermont, Oregon, Texas and Ohio. Jenny Bailey became the first transexual mayor in the UK. Several notable LGBTQ figures passed away in 2007:
Yolanda Denise King (November 17, 1955 – May 15, 2007) was an African American activist and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was also known for her artistic and entertainment endeavors and public speaking.
Jane Vance Rule, CM, OBC (28 March 1931 – 27 November 2007) was a Canadian writer of lesbian-themed works. Her first novel, Desert of the Heart, appeared in 1964, when gay activity was still a criminal offense. It turned Rule into a reluctant media celebrity, and brought her massive correspondence from women who had never dared explore lesbianism.
Barbara Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) was a prominent American activist for LGBT equality. She organized the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) from 1958 to 1963, edited the national DOB magazine The Ladder from 1963–66, and worked closely with Frank Kameny in the 1960s on the first picket lines that brought attention to the ban on employment of gay people by the largest employer in the US at that time: the United States government.
Ryan Keith Skipper (April 28, 1981 – March 14, 2007) was an American man from Polk County, Florida who was murdered on March 14, 2007 in what authorities declared a hate crime.
The Academy award for best picture went to “Atonement” in 2007. George Clooney won the award for best actor in a leading role for “Michael Clayton”. Cate Blanchett won the best actress Oscar for her performance in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” .The top grossing movies of 2007 were Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, and Transformers. The highest paid movie stars were Jessica Alba, Keira Knightley, Johnnie Depp and Matt Damon.The fabulous Beyonce’s, “Irreplaceable”, topped the billboard charts in 2007. Other hits included Rihanna’s “Umbrella”, Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape” and Fergie’s, “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”
The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears to win the NFL Super Bowl. The Boston Red Sox won the baseball world series over the Colorado Rockies. The San Antonio Spurs beat Cleveland to win the NBA championship.