MetroBike

I guess this guy likes the MetroCard logo. Discovered in Hells Kitchen near 10th Avenue.

Spitzer Promises Gay Marriage For NY

NY Governor Elliot Spitzer preached to the choir at a private fundraiser in the West Village on Wedneday.

"One of the first things we're going to do when [Senate Minority Leader] Malcolm Smith is [majority] leader is gay marriage," the witness recounted Spitzer as telling some 60 people who paid up to $10,000 each to attend the event in Greenwich Village Wednesday night.

"Everybody applauded when he said that," said the witness, who was among senators, Democratic activists and lobbyists at a fund-raising event for the Senate Democratic Committee. It was held in the library of the elegant West 13th Street home of HBO's "Oz" creator Tom Fantana.

Two other witnesses, including an elected official, said they couldn't recall Spitzer's exact language, but added that the governor suggested a Democratic-controlled state Senate would follow the state Assembly's action this year in passing, for the first time ever, a gay-marriage bill.

Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno's spokesman said: "Driver's licenses for illegals and gay marriages are not what the people of New York want. This is Gov. Spitzer promoting another divisive issue and it indicates that his priorities are all wrong."

Same sex marriage has been approved by the state assembly, but under Bruno, the state senate will never have the chance to vote on the issue. Republicans presently control the senate by a slim majority, 33-29.
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Hillary: I Don't Play The Gender Card

I was fairly impressed with Hillary Clinton's performance at last night's Democratic debate in Las Vegas. But claiming that she doesn't constantly stress that she's a w-o-m-a-n seems a little dishonest.

Waiter, There's 100 Roaches In My Soup

Serendipity 3, the famous Manhattan restaurant with the never-purchased $25,000 dessert, was closed by the Department of Health on Wednesday. Inspectors found stagnant water, mouse droppings, house flies, fruit flies, and more than 100 live cockroaches.

Mmmm, sprinkles.

Nouveau Nouvel

A futuristic 75-story tower will rise in midtown next to the MOMA. According to the glowing review in the NY Times:

Designed by the architect Jean Nouvel for a site next to the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown promises to be the most exhilarating addition to the skyline in a generation. Its faceted exterior, tapering to a series of crystalline peaks, suggests an atavistic preoccupation with celestial heights. It brings to mind John Ruskin’s praise for the irrationality of Gothic architecture: “It not only dared, but delighted in, the infringement of every servile principle.”

At a similar height to the Chrysler Building, the tower will contain a hotel, luxury condos, and three floors of new space for the museum. As I've noted here several times, most of more recent Manhattan skyscrapers have been hideously bland glass towers, but this looks spectacular.

Hate Crimes Overturned In Pennsylvania

A lawsuit by Christian activist group Repent America has successfully overturned the portion of Pennsylvania's hate crimes law that covers sexual orientation and physical disability. Yesterday a state court voted 5-1 to overturn a 2002 expansion of the law, ruling that the amendment was created unconstitutionally because it was inserted into another bill covering agricultural vandalism.

An as yet unapproved federal hate crimes act covering LGBT people is similarly inserted into a defense authorization bill. Maybe it's time to start demanding that these bills be stand-alone only. Not only does a "clean" win make these sort of reversals more difficult to obtain, it makes who voted for what bill and why, much more evident.

(Via - Pam's House Blend.)
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U.S To HIV+: Stay Out

The government has proposed new rules which will make it even harder for HIV+ persons to enter the country, according to Gay Men's Health Crisis and Immigration Equality.

On World AIDS Day last year, President Bush announced his intention to create a streamlined process for foreign travelers with HIV to enter the United States more easily. Currently the United States is one of only 13 countries in the world, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, which ban travel for individuals who are HIV-positive.

Now, almost a year later, DHS has proposed "streamlined" regulations which would make it even harder to get a short-term waiver, Immigration Equality and the Gay Men's Health Crisis say in a joint statement.

"Unfortunately, despite using the terms 'streamlined' and 'categorical,' in reality these regulations are neither," said Victoria Neilson, Legal Director of Immigration Equality.

Under the new rules, a visitor would need to travel with all the medication he would need during his stay in the U.S., prove that he has medical insurance that is accepted in the U.S. and would cover any medical contingency, and prove that he won't engage in behavior that might put the American public at risk. The maximum term of the waiver would be 30 days.

"More than two decades into this epidemic, the United States continues to stigmatize people with HIV and treat this illness unlike any other virus," said Neilson.

You have prove you won't engage in risky behavior? Why don't they just ask you to prove you won't get hit by a car? How do you prove you won't do something in the future? And even if you GET a waiver, you can only stay 30 days? Just outrageous.
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Morning View - Holly's House

"Golightly. Holly Golightly. I live downstairs. We met this morning, remember?" In Breakfast At Tiffany's, Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly lived in an apartment in this house at 169 East 71st Street on the Upper East Side. My favorite line: "I've got to do something about the way I look. I mean, a girl just can't go to Sing Sing with a green face."

Broadway Friday

- One week into Broadway's strike, the stagehands union and the League of American Theaters and Producers return to the negotiating table today for the first time since Nov. 8th. Mediating are representatives from Disney, whose The Little Mermaid and The Lion King are both closed. Both sides are under tremendous pressure to reach an agreement before next week's lucrative holiday business slips away. If the strike continues for more than one more week, some shows may elect to close permanently, particularly those with limited engagements and those whose grosses were already faltering pre-strike. All striking houses are currently canceled through Sunday.

- No surprise. Off Broadway theaters are booming, with most in the Times Square area reporting sell-outs all week. Also at capacity are the eight Broadway houses not affected by the strike.

- Another beneficiary of the strike is Chelsea gay club Splash, whose Musical Mondays theme night was packed with this week. So says this article, which despite the headline, is primarily PR for Splash VJ John Bantay, who is slated to join the cast of The Ritz next week.

- The soundtrack to the upcoming movie, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street will be released on Dec. 18th on Nonesuch Records. The movie stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Sacha Baron Cohen, all of whom do their own singing.

- Dolly Parton's 9 To 5: The Musical will have its world premier in Los Angeles on Sept. 3, 2008. Alison Janney plays Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin's character from the movie), Stephanie J. Block plays Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda), and Megan Hilty plays Doralee Rhodes (Dolly Parton). Tony winner Joe Mantello will direct. In February, Parton releases a new album, Backwoods Barbie. The title track was written for the Doralee character and is in the show.

- For an Off-Off Broadway experience, check out the St. Barts Players' take on 1776, featuring our own Little David! Inexpensive at $25, five shows this weekend including tonight. I remember my high school playing the movie version in history class, but failing to note the numerous historical inaccuracies. History! Easier than actually teaching.
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On Building Coalitions

I had a brief but fascinating exchange on a feminist blog yesterday. Not to get too into the nuts and bolts of the conversation, the takeaway message I received from a couple of the commenters was that men cannot ever be considered feminists, regardless of their positions on women's rights. The author of the blog was generally kind to me and suggested that the best description for men such as myself was "pro-feminist", which I think means "someone who supports the work of feminists, but still shouldn't meddle in the actual movement."

I offered the example of P-FLAG as heteros who are gay activists and wondered why the same paradigm could not be applied to men who advocate for women's rights. One commenter told me, "We don’t need you. You’d make a better “ally” by telling other males that women don’t need them, than by trying to insist to us that we do. This is just another way that you males make nuisances of yourselves."

Ouch.

Some critics of national LGBT organizations make accusations of "mission creep", saying that groups such as the HRC and the NGLTF need to stick to strictly "gay" issues and that they have no business taking part in other social causes. "We're not paying dues to the HRC for them for them to take part in Jena 6 protest marches," said a commenter on a popular gay blog this morning.

Opinions? Women-bashing comments will be heavily moderated on this thread, so don't even go there. Let's have a nice respectful discussion on how we as gay people perceive our non-gay allies and how we consider ourselves as allies in other just causes.
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Setbacks

Today Nancy Pelosi is expected to announce a postponement of the final vote on the defense funding authorization bill to which the Matthew Shepard (hate crimes) Act is attached. The Out Of Iraq Caucus, a group of as many as 20 gay-supportive Democrats, are threatening to vote against the act because it would provide funding for President Bush to continue the war. Additionally, the majority of Republican reps and some conservative Democrats have said they will also vote against the bill unless the hate crimes provision is removed.

The House passed a freestanding version of the hate crimes measure before the Senate passed its version. House Democratic leaders indicated then that they would agree to keep the Shepard bill as part of the DOD authorization measure.

But that strategy appeared to be unraveling on Wednesday when House Democrats belonging to the Out of Iraq Caucus said they would vote against the defense authorization bill unless new language was added to curtail the president’s ability to continue the war.

If the current version of the DOD authorization bill unravels, Congress will likely vote to extend spending levels approved in the previous DOD authorization bill. Eventually a new DOD authorization bill will have to be passed, but it’s unknown if the hate crimes amendment would be carried over in the bill or if a new version will be drafted from scratch.

On the ENDA front, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that he does not believe the Senate will have time to consider ENDA this year.

Bad day.
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Attack Of The Earworm

Ack. I cannot get this very annoying Optimum Online reggaeton jingle out of my head. For days now. Earworm! Earworm! Make it stop. 8-7-7 3-9-3 4-4-4-eeeeeeeeight.

Michael #3

Cafe Luka, 1st Avenue, Wednesday 8pm

Old Lady 1: So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?

Old Lady 2: I'm having dinner with my daughter and her new husband.

Old Lady 1: New? She got married again? How many is this?

Old Lady 2: Four. And this is the third "Michael". I guess she likes Michaels.

Old Lady 1: Sounds like she likes a lot of things.
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Three Local Victories

Some nice advances for LGBT rights around the country:

-Toledo, Ohio has become the first major city in the state to offer domestic partners benefits. Both same-sex and unmarried couples who prove they cohabitate, have intermingled finances, and are over 18 years-old can register to receive the same city benefits as married couples. Registering with the city also serves as proof of the relationship to non-city employees whose employers offer similar benefits. Toledo's ordinance is based on similar rules in Cleveland Heights.

-In Montgomery County, Maryland, local human rights protections were extended to transgenders. Gays and lesbians were already cover under county ordinance, now covered: gender identity and expression.

-After a four year fight by local activists, Waterloo, Iowa has added sexual orientation to its list of protected classes. The new law covers all LGBT folks and anyone "perceived as such".
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Poor Amy Contrada

The Claudia Contrada story hit Free Republic tonight and quite amusingly, most of the Freepers are ripping on her MOTHER. Oh, the delicious irony.

-"Claudia’s parents are idiots. They “reluctantly” let their daughter preform in this pro-homosexual play and then turn around and express amazement that this happens! I mean really, how stupid does one have to be. It would be as if pro-life activists “reluctantly” allowed their daughter to get an internship at Planned Parenthood (you know to buffer her college application) and then express suprise when their daughter got an abortion."

-"The parents however are quite and utterly shocking! I mean here you have a woman who works and supports an organization whose main purpose is to fight against the pro-homosexual agenda in Mass public schools (a cause I support) enrolling her daugther in a Mass public school and then allowing her daughter to preform in a very very pro-homosexual musical/play! The parents are a JOKE!"

-"If MASS RESIST continues to employ such a moron, then I am beginning to wonder if they are really a front group for the homosexualists."

-"Maybe this girl’s mother should have spent less time warning others about the homosexualists through her work at MASS RESIST and more time cultivating her own family. These parents are complete and utter whack jobs."


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Execution Halted For Gay Iranian

Crediting the pressure of its global protest efforts, the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission announced yesterday that the impending execution of a gay Iranian man has been halted.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has learned that the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, has nullified the impending death sentence of Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizen found guilty of multiple counts of anal rape (ighab), allegedly committed when he was 13 years old. The Iranian Chief Justice described the death sentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land.

"This is a stunning victory for human rights and a reminder of the power of global protest," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director, who on November 5 sent a letter in Persian and English asking that Iranian authorities intervene to halt the execution.

While this announcement comes too soon for JMG readers have had any hand in saving this man's life, I hope everybody who sent the emails suggested in my Tuesday post feels pretty good right now. It's probably impossible to know if the Iranian judge would not have come to this decision on his own, but this news does serve to spur hope that even Iran can be swayed by the voice of the international LGBT community.

Open Thread Thursday

A week from today, rather than sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with my bio family in Orlando, I'll be in a fancy-schmancy midtown restaurant with some of my gay family. Lots of gay folks juggle holiday celebrations between their gay and bio families. Tell us how you do it. Same day, different times? Alternating years? Everybody in the same room?
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Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe Does NOT Appreciate Your "Man-Crush"

Seattle AIDS Group Turns Culture Police

Dan Savage reports that Seattle's Lifelong AIDS Alliance has canned Glamazonia, the long-time hostess of its popular Gay Bingo fundraiser, because (get this) of a new sexual harassment policy that does not allow the use of naughty language during its events.

Drag queens. No trash talk. The mind reels.

Glamazonia, aka Thom Hubert, says, "There was language [in the policy] how 'the performer/mc will prepare material avoiding sexually suggestive material… will use appropriate language and avoid vulgar language.' As a drag queen, if I stuck to this stuff by the letter, why, I’d have to wear a black robe and stand behind a podium and just read the numbers out. The contract said, ‘the host will not act in a flirtatious manner, will not wear reveailing clothing, will not make sexual gestures or comments.’ How could any drag queen appear or perform under these guidelines?"

None that I've ever seen could.
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Washington Blade: CDC To Report 50% Rise In HIV Infections

UPDATE: For those who didn't read the full Blade report, I should have made it more clear that the below rise in counted HIV infections is primarily due to the better reporting under stricter CDC guidelines. The news remains grim, but the upside will be better funding to address the actual case load.

The Washington Blade reports that the CDC is about to release disturbing new data indicating an unprecedented 50% rise in HIV infections. The rise is driven by better reporting methods.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is mulling over when to release alarming new statistics showing that as many as 50 percent more people are being infected with HIV each year in the United States than originally reported by the government.

According to AIDS advocacy groups familiar with the CDC, middle level officials at the disease prevention agency have quietly confided in colleagues in professional and scientific circles that the number of new HIV infections now appears to be as high as 58,000 to 63,000 cases in the most recent 12-month period.

On its web site this week, the CDC left unchanged its longstanding estimate that about 40,000 Americans per year become infected with HIV, a figure it says has remained “relatively stable” for most of the past decade.

CDC officials have told leaders of AIDS advocacy groups that the new figures are being withheld while they are subjected to a rigorous peer review process by an unidentified scientific journal, which is expected to publish the findings within the next few months.

Others familiar with the CDC have said CDC would likely publish the new data in its own journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “It seems to be a poorly kept secret,” said Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Everybody who has dealings with the CDC is talking about it.”

A fifty percent rise. FIFTY. Completely depressing. I really don't know what else to say.

Yesterday the CDC released other data indicated that a record 1 million cases of chlamydia were reported in the U.S. last year, but says that the new number is partially due to better detection and reporting methods, similar to the HIV rise reported above. Syphilis and gonorrhea are also rising again after hitting recent record lows. "Super-bug" or drug-resistant gonorrhea is rising even faster.

No Driver's License For Illegals

Citing overwhelming opposition, NY Governor Elliot Spitzer has withdrawn his controversial proposal to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Spitzer: "I am not willing to fight to the bitter end on something that will not ultimately be implemented and we also have an enormous agenda on other issues of great importance to New York State that was being stymied by the constant and almost singular focus on this issue."

The plan was partly conceived in order to allow illegal immigrants to provide documentation to employers and be paid legal wages. The driver's licenses would not have been usable to cross borders or board planes. It was opposed by 80% of polled New Yorkers and touched off a wave of dissent across the country.

Naturally, I thought it was a great idea.
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Judith Regan: Fox News Made Me Lie To Protect Rudy

Former book publisher Judith Regan filed a $100M suit against Fox News parent company News Corp yesterday, claiming that senior executives encouraged her to lie about her affair with disgraced from NYC chief of police Bernard Kerik when he became a nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security. Regan's suit alleges that News Corp was trying to protect the presidential aspirations of Rudy Giuliani. Anybody surprised?

According to the NY Times story, Regan's suit does not name any specific News Corp executives or offer substantiation of her claim. Regan has an ax to grind against News Corp regarding her failed attempt to publish O.J. Simpson's If I Did It. Regan maintains that News Corp has been on a years-long campaign to ruin and discredit her.
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Celebrate Divfursity

Believing he is cursed for having stoned two dogs to death as a child, an Indian man is attempting to remove the curse by marrying a dog in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony.

P. Selvakumar, a 33-year-old farm labourer from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, married the four-year-old stray bitch after it was bathed and processed to his village temple dressed in an orange sari and garlanded with flowers. The marriage took place on the advice of the man's astrologer who said it was the only way to atone for his actions of more than 20 years ago. He was reported to have suffered a series of physical ailments after stoning the dogs to death and hanging their bodies from a tree. “After that my legs and hands got paralysed and I lost hearing in one ear,” said Mr Selvakumar after the ceremony with his new "bride", whose name is Selvi. A reception attended by some 200 guests was held for the newlyweds in the groom's house during which Selvi grew restless and ran away. However she was subsequently recaptured and returned to her husband who gave her milk and a bun to eat. It is understood that the groom is still free to find a human wife should he be inclined. Mr Selvakumar is not the first man to have hit the headlines for having romantic relations with animals. Last year a Sudanese man was forced to marry a goat after village elders discovered him having sex with her. The goat died shortly afterwards.

Unsurprisingly, this story made it into the Free Republic's "homosexual agenda" file, but a couple of the Freepers actually have some funny things to say:

-"Selvi Selvakumar, after a rousing tick dip, wore her bridal dress well and upon inquiry, responded simply, 'woof'. It is expected that a pre-nup received her paw-mark at the insistence of the groom as 'she had nothing when I met her!'"

-"The Massachusetts Supreme Court is expected to rule in his favor."

-"Anyone who is against this happy union is a right-wing Christian conservative."

But I know you guys can do better.
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Gay Former Cop Runs For London Mayor

London's former Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner, Brian Paddick, is the Liberal Democrats' nominee for London mayor. Once the highest-ranked openly gay cop in the world, Paddick, 49, will face popular Labor incumbent Ken Livingstone and Tory candidate Boris Johnson.

Earlier this year, Paddick left London's police force after 30-year career. In 2005, he famously argued with London's Police Commissioner regarding the 2005 shooting by police of an innocent man mistaken for a terror suspect. Tony Blair's government maintained the man was a terrorist, Paddick was proven correct. Paddick also made a name for his deprioritizing of drug arrests.

If Paddick is elected, London will join Paris and Berlin as major world cities with openly gay mayors.

Tan-Cray-D'oh!

Right-wing fringe presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has released his first attack ad in Iowa, complete with a bomb explosion. Tancredo, as always, is playing to xenophobes. Job stealers! Jihadists! Close the borders! The Iowa Caucus takes place January 3rd.

Barney Frank Joins Clinton Campaign

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has endorsed Hillary Clinton and joined her campaign as an economic advisor.

Barney Frank: "Based on my work with her on issues involving discrimination, I am convinced that Hillary Clinton is the candidate best equipped to pass laws that will treat all Americans with dignity, fairness and equality, no matter who they are or who they love."

Hillary Clinton: "Barney has devoted his life to championing economic fairness and civil rights, and expanding opportunity for all Americans. I’m delighted he’ll take a leadership role in our campaign."

Frank became the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee when to Democrats took over Congress in 2006, making him particularly suited for his new role with the Clinton campaign.

Good Work Wednesday

DC: Nov. 30th thru Dec. 2nd, Servicemembers United (formerly Call to Duty) is partnering with the Human Rights Campaign, Log Cabin Republicans, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and the Liberty Education Forum for a three-day tribute on the National Mall to honor the 12,000 Americans who have been discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law since its inception. One American flag will be placed on the Mall for each discharged service member, which will serve as the backdrop for a series of events honoring their service, their sacrifice, and their fight to serve with dignity.

LAS VEGAS: Thursday's Democratic presidential debate will be shown live from UNLV at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada at 5PM. "Bring you friends, your family, your questions and get educated on where the candidates stand on the issues important to you."

NYC: God's Love We Deliver, which delivers free meals to homebound AIDS and cancer patients, holds their 14th Annual Race To Deliver, a 4 Mile Run in Central Park on Sunday, November 18th. Register, pledge, donate here.

NYC: The Ali Forney Center, New York City's most comprehensive service organization for homeless LGBT youth-announces a memorial celebration of Ali Forney, commemorating his life and recognizing his continued inspiration to others on the ten-year anniversary of his tragic murder. Also commemorated is the 5-year anniversary of the Center itself, providing shelter, safety, and dignity to LGBT young people rejected by their families.The celebration is open to the public, and will place at Judson Memorial Church on Thursday, December 6. Speakers will include Executive Director Carl Siciliano, family and friends of Ali Forney, and others TBA as well as vocal performances.

LA: The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Community Center 36th Annual Gala & Auction takes place on November 17th at the Hyatt Regency Century City. "Singer and Activist Jenifer Lewis and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles to be Honored; Chorus to Perform “duet” with the iconic Linda Ronstadt." Tickets: $300 for individuals, $400 for VIP admission which includes preferred seating; $3,000 for a table of 10, and $4,000 for a VIP table of 10.

NYC: The Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project will stage their 2007 Courage Awards at Gotham Hall on November 19th, hosted by B.D. Wong. This year's honorees: New York State Assembly Member Daniel J. O'Donnell, Ms. Verna Eggleston of the Bloomberg Family Foundation, and Sundance Channel.

This Seems About Right

(Via - Strangemaps.)

Silverman Jingle: Hoax?

The painfully unfunny Sarah Silverman is being credited as the author of AIDS-mocking ad jingle supposedly discarded from an upcoming World AIDS Day campaign by Gap's Product RED department. It remains unclear whether the story is a hoax or whether Silverman actually wrote it.

I'm not black
I'm not gay
And Africa is so far away
But what's one more December holiday?
Happy AIDS Day anyway

AIDS is a gift
that keeps on giving
Give (RED) gifts
And stop regifting
Help African kids get drugs
(SHOUT) But not for tripping!
Happy AIDS Day anyway

The story comes via an anonymous tipster at Copyranter, who says, "OK, even though Silverman is part of the new general Gap campaign, there's no way in hell Gap would ever run all or part of this as a TV spot, though I could definitely see her singing it on her show. The tipster also says this project may have been put on hold, and examining the lyrics, I can see why."

I like gallows humor as much as the next person so maybe I'm tempted to believe this story because of my profound dislike for Silverman. I don't really know. Last week a friend of mine said, "Have you noticed how casual racism is, like, all the rage now for comedians?" I said, "You mean Sarah Silverman?" He said, "Totally."
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Recess Appointment For Holsinger

It appears that Dubya will appoint Dr. James Holsinger as Surgeon General while Congress is in its holiday recess. Holsinger's nomination has been stalled since he was grilled by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) about the whackjob doctor's infamous 1991 paper on homosexuality in which he used a plumbing metaphor to describe gay sex.

Like male and female pipe fittings, certain male and female body parts are designed for each other. When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur.

Yesterday Holsinger resigned from the board of trustees of the Asbury Theological Seminary, presumably in preparation for his appointment as Surgeon General. Holsinger and his wife co-founded the Hope Springs Community Church which operates an "ex-gay" ministry. A recess appointment would be good until the end of 2008.

This is a typically sneaky move by Dubya and a profound disappointment to the legislators and activists who have strenuously objected to Holsinger.

(Via - Box Turtle Bulletin.)

You Are SO Busted

And then Kevin's boss found this picture on his Facebook profile, taken that night at a Halloween party in Worcester, Massacusetts.Remember kiddies, teh Intrawebs sees ALL.

HomoQuotable - Matt Foreman

"We are writing to state the inherent contradiction between your treatment of allegations of ethical misconduct by Senator Larry Craig and Senator David Vitter and to insist that you open an investigation into Sen. Vitter’s conduct. There is no explanation for the diametrically opposed responses to these two situations, other than hypocrisy tinged by homophobia. There are only two ways to resolve this: drop the investigation into Sen. Craig or investigate the allegations surrounding Sen. Vitter." - Matt Foreman, Executive Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, in a letter to Senate Ethics Committee chairs Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Cornyn (R-TX).

There has been no Senate investigation of David Vitter, despite his acknowledgment of having visited a New Orleans prostitute. In July, a complaint was filed by the Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). CREW spokeswoman Naomi Steiner: "It’s outrageous that they don’t seem to be investigating. They seemed to jump so quickly with Mr. Craig and gave Sen. Vitter a standing ovation in the Republican caucus."

It should be noted that the Hill story mistakenly credits the NGLTF with pushing ENDA through the House last week. The NGLTF opposed the T-less ENDA.

(Via - The Hill.)

Iran Continues To Execute Gays

THIS WEEK: In a private meeting with British members of Parliament, an Iranian official has said that gays in Iran deserve to be tortured and executed. Mohsen Yahyavi is the highest-ranked Iranian politician to admit that that the death penalty for homosexuality exists in Iran. Last year the hanging of two teenage boys for alleged homosexual crimes caused an outcry when photos of the boys made it onto the internet.

LAST WEEK: The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission issued an action alert, requesting emails be sent to the Iranian government protesting the impending execution of a 21 year-old Kurdish man who has been convicted of "anal rape", a crime he supposedly committed when he was 13 years old.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has learned that Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizen of Kurdish origin from the city of Paveh, in the Western province of Kermanshah, has been sentenced by the government to execution. Makvan has been convicted of multiple counts of anal rape and sentenced to execution for crimes allegedly committed when he was 13 years old. IGLHRC calls for an international response to stop this scheduled execution.

Imposing the death penalty for crimes committed by juveniles is prohibited under international law as well as by the Iranian legal system. In addition, IGLHRC calls on the international community to condemn the use of the death penalty as a punishment for any sex or morality-related crime, whether consensual or non-consensual, as unnecessarily extreme. In this case, since none of the alleged victims ever claimed to have been raped, and all of them admitted to the court that their initial accounts of sexual intercourse with Makvan were false and had been acquired under coercion, the imposition of the death penalty is especially objectionable.

As an organization dedicated to defending the rights of sexual minorities worldwide, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) objects to any law, policy or ruling that penalizes consensual homosexual relationships among adults.

IGLHRC requests that you send letters in English or Persian to the following Iranian officials, demanding that the order of execution in the case of Makvan Mouloodzadeh be withdrawn:

* The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, His Eminence Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei,: istiftaa@wilayah.org and info@leader.ir and info@khamenei.ir * The Honorable Chief Justice, His Eminence Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi: shahroudi@Dadgostary-tehran.ir and ijpr@iranjudiciary.org
* Iranian President, His Excellency Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
* Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Manuchehr Motaki: matbuat@mfa.gov.ir

Please also email a copy of your correspondence to IGLHRC at: halizadeh@iglhrc.org

LAST YEAR: I attended a vigil at the Iranian consulate here in NYC, where many progressive groups protested the hanging executions of two gay Iranian youth. Cynics may say that last year's protest and this current one is a wasted effort, and maybe they're right, but please go the IGLHRC's site, copy their sample letter, and send it to the addresses listed above. It won't take you two minutes.

Hairy Xmas

BearForce1 wishes you a hairy Xmas. Is it too early to watch furry guys in shorts disco in the snow? Didn't think so.

Morning View - Dee-Luxe Apartment In The Sky

Fish don't fry in the kitchen. Beans don't burn on the grill. Took a whole lotta tryin', just to get up that hill. The Jeffersons' deluxe apartment in the sky is at 185 East 85th Street near Third Avenue. Did the Jeffersons ever go out on their balcony? Looks like most of the units have one. I guess this is what passed for dee-luxe in the '70s.

Ill Papa To Visit Gotham

Pope Benedict Goering XVI will be visiting New York City in April to speak at the United Nations and tour Ground Zero. There will be a public mass at Yankee Stadium. I plan on joining what I hope will be thousands of other intrinsically evil people there to protest.

Don't Feed, Kill

New York City Councilman Simcha Felder, (D-Brooklyn) proposed a new ordinance today which would outlaw feeding pigeons, punishable by fines up to $1000. Felder was on the evening news tonight to say, "Hey, if you like pigeons so much, bring them into your home and feed them there. And let them crap all over your house instead of the city." Felder also wants to create a "pigeon czar" to address the damage caused to city structures by pigeons, including bridges being corroded by decades of droppings.

A single pigeon produces 25 pounds of droppings a year. As people with HIV are particularly imperiled by pigeon-borne illnesses, there have been some real showdowns with pigeon feeders in places like San Francisco.

My opinion, from the JMG archives:

Pigeons, dey's just feathered rats
Dey's make more noise than fucking cats
Me and neighbors, in cahoots
Stomp them with our steely boots
Make dey's little heads go splats

Related: KillThePigeons.com.
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Crock Options

From the New York Times:

Bonnie Brown was fresh from a nasty divorce in 1999, living with her sister and uncertain of her future. On a lark, she answered an ad for an in-house masseuse at Google, then a Silicon Valley start-up with 40 employees. She was offered the part-time job, which started out at $450 a week but included a pile of Google stock options that she figured might never be worth a penny.

After five years of kneading engineers’ backs, Ms. Brown retired, cashing in most of her stock options, which were worth millions of dollars. To her delight, the shares she held onto have continued to balloon in value.

Sigh. Right about the time Ms. Brown joined Google, my employers in California also went public. By the time the creditors came to padlock the corporate headquarters near Sacramento, my thousand-or-so stock options were worth six cents each.

Grumpy Cat

Shelley is giving a grumpy glare because I wanted to sit in her chair. The nerve of me. She'll stay on the back of the chair when I sit down, but occasionally bites my ear just so I don't forget my place. To answer some emails: she never had her re-spaying last week because she went out of heat the night before the appointment. The vet needs to perform the surgery while she's still "anxious", so the cat carrier is back in the closet and her comfy sweater is back on the sill. I've got to stay super-vigilent for the onset of her next heat episode so we don't miss our next window of opportunity.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

The Dugout, Sunday, 7pm

Bear 1: Actually, I think it's about over. I mean, I love him. But I don't love love him.

Bear 2: So you gonna cut him loose? Or just turn him into a friend-with-benefits?

Bear 1: Oh, definitely friend-with-benefits. Cuz when he fucks me, he fuck fucks me.

HomoQuotable - Stephen Benjamin

"Mark Twain wrote in one of his journals that, 'In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.'

Gays and lesbians who serve under the Ban are those patriots. The personal cost can be enormous. Partners and lovers cease to exist, lovers become friends, and genders change in an instant. And to the extreme, fifteen years ago, being a patriot cost PO3 Allen Schindler his life.

Yet despite it all and even while condemned to the shadows: We still serve. As the great Dr. Martin Luther King believed, we also believe. We believe that the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice and that one day, our service will be fully honored. Because, in the end, it comes down to one thing, as former Army officer and current SLDN Board Member Jeff Cleghorn has reminded me of many times: Gay blood bleeds as red as straight." - Former Petty Officer Stephen Benjamin, on the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network blog, which is running a series of posts from ex-military members in honor of Veterans Day.

Obama Guest Posts On Bilerico

"Over the last several weeks, the question of GLBT equality was placed on center stage by the appearance of Donnie McClurkin at one of my campaign events. McClurkin is a talented performer and a beloved figure among many African Americans and Christians around the country. At the same time, he espouses beliefs about homosexuality that I completely reject.

The events of the last several weeks are not the occasion that I would have chosen to discuss America’s divisions on gay rights and my own deep commitment to GLBT equality. Now that the issue is before us, however, I do not intend to run away from it. These events have provided an important opportunity for us to confront a difficult fact: There are good, decent, moral people in this country who do not yet embrace their gay brothers and sisters as full members of our shared community.
We will not secure full equality for all GLBT Americans until we learn how to address that deep disagreement and move beyond it. To achieve that goal, we must state our beliefs boldly, bring the message of equality to audiences that have not yet accepted it, and listen to what those audiences have to say in return." - Barack Obama, in a guest post today on the Bilerico Project. The commenters have not been kind.

$500K Grant For LGBT Senior Advocacy

SAGE (Service and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force have received a $500,00 grant from the Arcus Gay & Lesbian Fund to support advocacy for LGBT seniors.

"As the one organization that focuses on the full gamut of LGBT aging issues both locally and nationally, SAGE is thrilled to partner with the Task Force on this national effort to improve the lives of the senior members of our community," said SAGE Executive Director Michael Adams. "This initiative serves a critical need: in the next 20 years the number of LGBT people age 65 and above will grow by 70 percent - from approximately 3 million now to roughly 5 million over the next quarter century. This demographic tidal wave, combined with the endemic invisibility, marginalization, and discrimination faced by LGBT older people, lends an added urgency to this first-of-a-kind national advocacy effort. Thanks to this funding from Arcus, we will be able to launch a strategic and focused effort to increase visibility, awareness, policy protections and support for LGBT older people." Adams added that the new initiative is especially timely since SAGE is celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2008, just launched an on-line community of LGBT aging advocates and service providers nationwide, and plans on hosting its fourth national conference on LGBT aging next fall.

"We are grateful to the Arcus Foundation for funding this innovative partnership between the Task Force and SAGE," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "This project will combine the Task Force's federal policy and research expertise, SAGE's unparalleled understanding of the needs of LGBT elders, and the energy of activists across the nation to shape a better future for all our seniors."

Learn more about SAGE here.

Editorial Support For Barney Frank

Both the New York Times and the Washington Post have published editorials in support of Barney Frank's ENDA tactics. A couple of excerpts:

WaPo:

Many gay rights activists opposed the bill because the final version didn't include protection for transgender people, including those who have changed their sex, who are living their lives as the other sex or who do not conform to traditional gender roles. The omission was a painful but wise choice that Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) made to increase the bill's chance of passage. Transgender people must channel the activism this action sparked into a long-term effort to educate the public and lawmakers about the discrimination they face.

NY Times:

Winning a majority in the House required a painful decision by the bill’s sponsors to jettison language extending the prohibition against employment discrimination to transgender individuals. As a result, some gay rights groups opposed the final bill.

We sympathize with the groups’ sense of injustice, but disagree heartily as to strategy. Transgender people should be protected from discrimination, and we hope they soon will be. It would have been regrettable, however, had the sponsors refused to compromise, and as a result, lost the chance to extend basic civil rights to the millions of Americans who would be covered by the current bill.

Throughout American history, civil rights have been achieved in incremental steps. The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, barred race discrimination in public accommodations, an enormous step forward at the time. It wasn’t until the next year that Congress protected voting rights in a separate bill.

Bob Allen Convicted

Florida Republican legislator Bob Allen was convicted Friday of solicitation of an undercover officer. He faces 60 days in jail, a $500 fine, and will likely be immediately removed from the legislature. In July, Allen was arrested in a public park near Titusville, Florida after offering to pay an undercover cop $20 if Allen could blow him.

After his arrest, Allen protested, "I'm not in anyway associated with that they are saying, this is disgusting.'' He later told investigators that he only "played along" with the undercover cop because he feared black men.

As these things go, Rep. Allen is the author of failed Florida House Bill #1475, the "Lewd Or Lascivious Exhibition Act" which would have made public masturbation in the presence of another adult illegal, whether the other adult consented or not. Florida statutes already cover such behavior for when a minor is present and the bill died in committee.

In 2005, Allen told right-wing Christian site World Net Daily about his "Sexual Predators Elimination Act" which sought mandatory life without parole sentences for those designated as sexual predators. Allen's now-ironic statement to WND: "We can get away from all those expensive law-enforcement time-wasting factors by simply going straight to the root of the problem, and that is the offender, and put them in a locked up place where we know we're safe." The bill was strongly opposed by the Florida ACLU and did not pass.

Oh, and Bob Allen is the local Police Union 2007 Legislator Of The Year. Heh.
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Manhattan Monday

- Real estate bust? What bust? A few blocks from me, a billionaire just paid $150 million for a condo, nearly double what has ever been paid for a Manhattan residence. He gets 30,000 square feet at about $5000/sq. ft. But hey, it comes with maid service.

- Also now available on the Upper East Side, the world's most expensive dessert: $25,000 for the "Frrrozen Haute Chocolate" at Serendipity 3. The ingredients, via Gothamist: "28 different cocoas and five grams of edible 24-karat gold, served in a goblet lined with edible gold. It’s consumed as conspicuously as possible with a gold spoon decorated with white and chocolate-colored diamonds and is crowned by an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds. Both the spoon and bracelet are intended for the diner to keep, along with a vastly over-inflated sense of social status."

- Cable host James Lipton charged with being annoying. Verdict: extra guilty.

- Village Voice co-founder, six-time husband, one-time wife-stabber and heterosexual author Norman Mailer, dead at 84. Gore Vidal spotted dancing.

- Coming soon: No need to run down and check the sign, Manhattan's parking rules will go online. Of note: Temporary parking restrictions due to movie filming will not appear on the site. Sorta related: You can now subscribe to Port Authority text messages advising about traffic on the Hudson River crossings. Which you'll receive in New Jersey. Where it's illegal to use electronic devices behind the wheel.

- Some straight guy saw the "girl of his dreams" on the subway, and created a webpage about her, mentioning her rosy cheeks and braided hair. Turns out, she wasn't Wendy.

Instant Disco History # 13 - The Bump

I'm long overdue for an Instant Disco History post, so here's an all-video entry featuring three hit songs about that painful '70s dance craze, the bump. The 1977 Munich Machine album to the left doesn't contain any songs about the bump, which probably caused more bruised hips than New York City's old rusty subway turn-styles, but I've always loved those bumping robots.

Lady Bump
Penny McLean
Atlantic Records 1975

Austrian-born Penny McLean had a worldwide hit with Lady Bump, either despite or because of the famous scream that she lets loose several times during the record. Shortly before her solo success with Lady Bump, McLean joined Silver Convention as producers put faces to the anonymous studio singers who had recorded the global #1 hit Fly Robin, Fly. McLean does appear on Silver Convention's follow-up hit, Get Up And Boogie, which hit #2 in the U.S. in 1976, just as the second hit from her solo album, 1-2-3-4 Fire, also stormed the charts. Miss McLean had a very busy couple of years, then pretty much disappeared. She's really cute in this video.


Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)
Joe Tex
Epic Records 1977

Joe Tex had a big hit in '77 with this almost-novelty record about getting knocked on his ass while doing the bump with a hefty woman. Tex, who died in '82, was an R&B/blues icon who often boasted of having invented rap and of having had his dance moves stolen by James Brown. Old timers should recall Tex for his impossibly catch 1972 hit, I Gotcha, which hit #1 R&B, #2 pop. Ain't Gonna Bump made it to #12 on the U.S. pop charts in early 1977. Here's a complete mess of a performance video in which Tex is upstaged by the big woman bumping the hell out of a background dancer. The camera and the audience don't know who to watch.


Baby Do You Wanna Bump?
Boney M
Atlantic Records 1974

One of the most popular and greatest selling acts in the history of pop music, West Germany's Boney M had very little success in the United States and their first single, Baby Do You Wanna Bump? was no exception. In fact, despite a long run of chart toppers across Europe, Boney M's best U.S. showing was 1978's Rivers Of Babylon, which hit #30 here. I read recently that Boney M is the only act with two songs in Britain's all-time top ten: Rivers Of Babylon and their Xmas hit, Mary's Boy Child. (Even the Beatles only have ONE song in the UK all-time top ten.) By the way, the vocals on Baby Do You Wanna Bump? were all performed by producer Frank Farian, including the "female" chorus, so while this video is tons of fun, everybody is lip-syncing Farian. Oh, and if that modus operandi seems familiar, it's because Farian was also the mastermind behind Milli Vanilli. Yup. Bonus super trivia: Check for a close-up of one-time Boney M singer, Canadian disco superstar Claudja Barry, right about the 1:50 mark.


Instant Disco History archives.