Editorials.

This article presents information on various socio-political developments in the U.S. With turnout all-important in the fall elections, who wins is largely a matter of who inspires people to vote. In Illinois, it could be Jan Schakowsky, a veteran Citizen Action activist running for the seat vacated by Democrat Sidney Yates. In California, Lois Capps and George Brown, both fending off right-wing challenges to hold on to Democratic seats, and in Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin, a gay labor supporter facing a bitter fight to replace retiring Republican Scott Kiug. The brutal murder of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old Wyoming student who was spread-eagled on a fence, bludgeoned and left to die in freezing temperatures, is only the latest and most visible manifestation of the national plague of gay-bashing. Twelve percent of hate crimes reported to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation are antigay, and many more are unreported because of victims' fear and law-enforcement homophobia.