Stonewall Rebellion To Be Featured In New York State Museum Exhibit

This just in from New York State Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell's office:

December , 17 2007 – Under the leadership of Assembly Member O’Donnell, openly lesbian, gay, and bisexual state legislators (O’Donnell, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, State Senator Thomas Duane, Assembly Member Matthew Titone, and Assembly Member Micah Kellner) have secured a commitment from the New York State Museum to include the Stonewall Rebellion in an exhibit which will explore the fight for human rights throughout the history of New York State.

The 2006-07 state budget included $20 million to create exhibits that more accurately reflect New York State’s paramount position in American history. One of the new exhibits was slated to include places and citizens of the state that played a dominant role in civil and human rights movements.

The exhibit is still being planned. The New York State Museum is in Albany, so hopefully they'll eventually travel the exhibit to NYC. Congrats to O'Donnell (Rosie's bro) and his team. Micah Kellner, the first openly bisexual state legislator in NY, is my rep in the Assembly.

Don't Give Up On Vista

I was at first puzzled by the above ad headline over on the New York Times, but it's actually part of the Apple ad in the right column. Cute. Sound required.

Shelter Kitty Says "Bundle Up"

Shelley is worried about this weekend's nor'easter, but I tried explaining that tv weathermen live to plotz over things like this. Plus, they only actually get to SAY "nor'easter" about once or twice a year and I can tell that it rocks their world to do so. I actually kinda dig when a terrible storm is imminent - even hurricanes used to weirdly thrill me back when I lived in Fort Lauderdale. Anyway, the JMG household is fully stocked with Fancy Feast and Fresh Step, just in case.

The Irony Cross

I find it faintly amusing that among the numerous major league baseball players named in yesterday's massive steroid scandal is Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte, the bible-thumping family values man who preaches against pre-marital sex and drug use. Pettitte is a favorite guest on many Christian talk shows.

The title of Pettitte's 2005 book: Strike Zone: Targeting A Life Of Integrity & Purity. Apparently the strike zone is question was Pettitte's rear end where he was getting shots of human growth hormone.

Bonush Time

The Grill, 1st Avenue, 9AM

Woman 1: Hell no, I'm not going. Fuck Christmas and fuck them.
Woman 2: You have to go to get the check.
Woman 1: What? If I don't go, I don't get it?
Woman 2: I guess.
Woman 1: In that case, I'll go, but I'm showing up shitfaced.
Woman 2: Just like a regular Monday.
Woman 1: Fuck you.
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At Least He Hasn't Shot Anybody

Remember that 700 Club story about James Stabile, the gay guy who was touched by a pastor ("Fire!") at that I-35 "purity seige" outside a Dallas gay bar and instantly renounced his homosexuality? Turns out he's bipolar, had stopped taking his meds, and has already been kicked out of the ministry's Build-A-Breeder home for wayward Xtians for being a "compulsive liar" (their words.)

From John Wright at the Dallas Voice:

Finally, I was able to get in touch with Stabile's father, Joseph, who gave me the real scoop. Coincidentally, Joseph Stabile is pastor of Cochran Chapel United Methodist Church, the oldest church in Dallas.

Joseph Stabile said he's fully accepting of his son's sexual orientation and believes being gay is neither a choice nor a sin. Joseph Stabile said James left home to go out that Friday night and never returned. Joseph said James, or "B.J." as his parents affectionately refer to him, is bipolar and had stopped taking his medication.

James called a few days later and told his parents he was moving out, and that he'd be back to get his stuff. James apparently had moved in with some folks from Heartland. After that, it would be some time before James' parents heard from him, as his church friends reportedly advised him not to contact them.

Joseph Stabile said the Heartland folks also may have advised James to throw away his medication, telling him that God would cure his bipolar disorder, too.

Joseph's parents said James has a tendency to be less than truthful, especially when he's off his medication, and that he loves attention. They said they don't believe he's ever questioned his sexuality, but that the folks from Heartland manipulated and exploited him for publicity.

It wasn't until James got to Pure Life that he was able to reconnect with his parents. Not surprisingly, James wasn't fitting in to the program, his father said.

James did not fit into the program because their whole aim was to have him not be gay, his father said. Thankfully, the story has a happy ending. After nearly four months, James returned home last weekend.

His parents said they feel it's too soon for James to talk about what happened, and that they want him to see his therapist first. They said James has revealed little about his time at Pure Life, which he now refers to as straight camp. James just told them it was horrible and that there are some things he will never be able to share.

James mother, Suzanne, said he told her the people at Pure Life constantly threatened that he was going to hell.

Men in the program had to be fully clothed from the neck down at all times, including when they went to sleep, James told his parents. And they were prohibited from any physical contact, including shaking hands.

When James got kicked out, his father asked someone at Pure Life whether they would buy him a bus ticket. After all, James had paid $2,100 to get in to the program, plus $150 a week. But the representative from Pure Life refused.

Joseph Stabile has contacted The 700 Club and asked them to retract the information about James in the segment. For now, though, James parents are just glad to have him back. None of that experience was Christian, helpful, loving or supportive, Suzanne Stabile said.

Uh, welcome back, James. I guess.

Cover Your Ears

The Twelve Days Of Christmas, from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

(Via - Daimeon @ Pam's House Blend.)

Broadway Friday

The trailer for the movie version of Mamma Mia!, starring Meryl Streep, has been released.

- Hairspray and Sweeney Todd have received Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.

Other musical nominations:
Best Actress - Nicki Blonski (Hairspray)
Best Actress - Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd).
Best Actor - Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)
Best Supporting Actor -John Travolta (Hairspray).

Trivia: Who has won a major acting award for a character played in drag? (There have been a few.)

- Terrence Howard and Tony Award winners Anika Noni Rose, James Earl Jones, and Phylicia Rashad will star in the upcoming Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Debbie Allen will direct. Previews begin at the Broadhurst Theater on February 12, with an official opening scheduled for March 6.

- One-time Broadway actress Madonna (Speed The Plow) was elected to the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame yesterday. Elvis wept.

- Monsoon Wedding is being adapted for a upcoming Broadway debut. Let's hope it's better than Bombay Dreams.

- Tony nominees Kiki & Herb will release a DVD titled Kiki & Herb: Live At The Knitting Factory on January 2nd. Filmed live on May 17th this year, the DVD will include bonus videos of Not Without My Napalm, Live at the Fez, Banging in the Nails and The King Must Die.

The Fatal Cost Of The "Ex-Gay" Movement

The young man who last Sunday shot and killed two people at a youth ministry training center, then killed two more and himself at Colorado's New Life Church (Ted Haggard's former home), was a cast out from the youth ministry, probably because he failed their attempts to make him "ex-gay".

As noted by Richard Rothstein, Matthew Murray, 24, posted on his blog that he had written letters to his mother, complaining that the church had forgiven Haggard, but not him.

Last summer, he wrote, "People like us are going to go to hell, according to Christians." He lists several reasons why. Reason number seven is bluntly stated, "I'm bisexual." In other postings, Murray wrote, "... I can never get a female date. I am at least able to get some male action."

And later, he wrote about confronting his mother about his bisexuality.

Murray wrote that he told her, "Using drugs, alcohol and having gay sex, I'm just trying to do what any Christian pastor would do. At least I'm not doing meth like Ted Haggard."

Murray also noted that the Church forgave Haggard.

He posted, "I want to know where was all the love, mercy and compassion for my supposed imperfections?"

In 2002, Murray was dismissed from the Youth With A Mission group for what they described as "health reasons." Youth With A Mission has been described as "associated with the ex-gay organization Exodus International, has been criticized by some as a 'cult' and attacked for 'brainwashing' members and promoting anti-gay messages."

Rothstein concludes his above-linked post with, "At least in Iran, the executions of gay men are swift. In the United States we prefer to slowly drive our gay children insane so that they grow up to be monsters."

Will the Christanist right and the "ex-gay" movement take the deadly example of Matthew Murray and his victims to heart? Or will this horrible incident only strengthen their resolve to continue attempting to pray the gay away? I expect the latter. Look for the Christianists to leverage the Murray shooting into even more ugly vitriol against gays. Bet on it.
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A Gotham Threeway

According to the Wall Street Journal , aides to Michael "Not A Presidential Candidate" Bloomberg are hoping for a Clinton-Giuliani showdown after the primaries.

One scenario -- and the one aides are hoping for -- would be a race between fellow New Yorkers Hillary Clinton and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Sen. Clinton's negative rating is the highest in either party, while Mr. Giuliani's is the highest among Republicans. That match-up could make what supporters see as Mr. Bloomberg's "above the fray" image more appealing. Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Giuliani are also seen as moderate on social issues, which could mute opposition to Mr. Bloomberg from the religious right. "If the parties nominate polarizing candidates...then there's plenty of room" for Mr. Bloomberg, independent pollster John Zogby said.

With both Clinton and Giuliani suffering recent declines in the polling, a "subway series" no longer seems like such a lock, but how interesting it would be to have a three-way NYC-based presidential race. If Giuliani is the Yankees and Clinton is the Mets, who does that make Bloomberg?

Interesting to note: Ross Perot spent $65M running for president in 1992. Bloomberg spent $84M to run for mayor in 2005. Word is, he's prepared to spend a billion dollars of his own money to run for president.
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Gay Small-Business Owners:Neotenic Dyslexics?

After the story earlier this week suggesting that "men are 'made gay' because they retain infantile or juvenile characteristics into adulthood – a phenomenon known as neoteny", a reader pointed me to this New York Times story about dyslexia:

It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play on their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought.

The report, compiled by Julie Logan, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Cass Business School in London, found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs she had surveyed — 35 percent — identified themselves as dyslexic. The study also concluded that dyslexics were more likely than nondyslexics to delegate authority, to excel in oral communication and problem solving and were twice as likely to own two or more businesses.

I've known a couple of childlike bar owners who had lousy writing skills. Not that I'm buying this or anything.

Friendly Voices - Mary J. Blige

"I've heard a couple of guys say foul things, and those guys are not around me anymore. When they say things like that, I'm looking at them like, 'What makes you so scared? You don't know who you are?'

"I don't dislike them or anything, it just makes me wonder about them period. If you're not sure about that, then you ain't sure about a lotta things." - R&B diva Mary J. Blige, who says she has fired staffers for making homophobic remarks.

Duffy - Rockferry

My boss from back in my music biz days is staying with me this week and he's just turned me onto Welsh popster Duffy, whose single Rockferry sounds a lot like Lulu to me. With maybe some Dusty Springfield thrown in.

VoiceMailSucks.com

I just saw a taxi ad for VoiceMailSucks.com, a site which promises "SimulScribe utilizes cutting edge voice recognition technology to convert your voicemail messages into text. We deliver your transcribed voicemail, along with the original audio, to your mobile phone, PDA, and/or email account. This process streamlines your communication flow, saving you both time and money."

Anybody here use this? Does it work?
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Gay Marriage Ban Makes Florida Ballot

Florida's secretary of state announced yesterday that the anti-gay group Florida4Marriage has collected enough signatures to force their anti-gay marriage amendment onto the state ballot next year. Equality Florida and the ACLU will challenge the petition in court. Those opposing the amendment claim it could not only ban gay marriage but could repeal domestic partners benefits statewide, including those for straight couples.

The amendment says, "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

Florida requires 611,009 valid signatures to place an item on the ballot. Florida4Marriage collected 612,192 according to the Secretary of State, some of those signatures till require verification.

Florida4Marriage said it will continue to collect and submit signatures right up until the January 29 deadline.

The ballot measure was written by the conservative Christian law firm of Liberty Counsel.

"This is an historic day and the next big step to permanently protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman," said its chair Mathew Staver.

"In November, Floridians will have the opportunity to protect marriage so that it will never be destroyed by the stroke of a judge’s pen. Protecting marriage is the best investment we can make in the lives of children and the future of Florida," said Stave, who also is Dean of Liberty University School of Law founded by the late evangelist Jerry Falwell.

According to Florida4Marriage, closet-case Gov. Charlie Crist signed the petition although he has not commented on the campaign publicly and has said that the Republican party should not pursue a gay marriage ban.

W00t!

The Merriam-Webster word of the year for 2007: w00t!

The rest of this year's top ten:

2. facebook
3. conundrum
4. quixotic
5. blamestorm
6. sardoodledom
7.apathetic
8. Pecksniffian
9. hypocrite
10. charlatan

Last year's word of the year: truthiness.
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Who Has The Oil?

Here's a map of the world with the countries resized based on oil reserves. Embiggen the image and predict where we'll invade next! It's fun!

(Via - Andrew Sullivan.)

Open Thread Thursday

What was the best pop single this year?
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Janet Jackson's New Single

Here's Feedback, Janet Jackson's first single off her upcoming album.

Ill Papa: Gay Marriage Is An Obstacle To World Peace

"Everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and woman, everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of new life ... constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace." - Pope Benedict, in the 15-page annual papal message. Also standing in the way of whirled peas: abortion, birth control, nuclear arms proliferation, environmental pollution and economic inequality.

(Via - Pam's House Blend.)

Icelandic Kid Pranks White House

You'll love this one.

Icelandic teenager Visill Atlason was watching a recent episode of the Ellen Degeneres show during which Jenna Bush called her dad live on the show, using Ellen's on-set landline. Apparently, Atlason was somehow able to decipher the number that Jenna dialed and called Dubya's secret private number himself, pretending to be president of Iceland.

Atlason, 16, called the White House claiming to be President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, and asked to speak to President George W. Bush. He was passed around but says he got through to Mr Bush's private secretary and set up a phone meeting with him. Along the way he says he was asked a series of questions about Mr Grimsson, which he answered using Wikipedia.

Questions included Mr. Grimsson's date of birth, parent's names, where he grew up and when he took office. Atlason said all he wanted to do was have a chat with the president, and invite him to visit Iceland. "I wasn't rude and was addressed as Mr. President by the White House staff over and over again," he said.

Atlason was found out before he got to talk to the president, and got a visit from local police in his hometown of Akranes instead of an interview with Mr. Bush. Rebellious to the end, he said it was "totally worth all the fuss."

The White House is claiming that the kid actually called the West Wing's general switchboard, but still they had the Secret Service call on the Icelandic police to visit him.

The Year Of Lepore

Just got a press release announcing that 2008 will be "The Year Of Amanda Lepore!" And here the Chinese have been thinking it would be the Year Of The Rat.

Anyway, you can get your 2008 Amanda Lepore calendar on her website and she'll be signing copies at Patrica Field on December 21st. Somehow I doubt these calenders will end up in the Barnes & Noble cut-out bin with the puppies and kittens, come February.

Die Mommy Die!

Last night Aaron, Father Tony, Little David and I saw Charles Busch's Die Mommy Die! at the New World Stages. I haven't seen Busch since I saw my very first play in NYC, Vampire Lesbians Of Sodom, sometime in the 80's.

I'd already seen the movie, but I still had a great time, even if I'm not sure that the show lives up to Ben Brantley's rave review in the New York Times. But if you're a fan of the late-career movies of faded divas, the references to Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, and Joan Crawford come machine-gun fast.

By the way, the New World Stages, a former movie five-plex located under a plaza on West 50th, is a great Off-Broadway venue. Cool bar, neat layout, great video art in the lobby. Last night I picked up a signed window card for the show, as part their Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraiser. And my inexorable march to Offical Show Queen continues.

Morning View - Don't Leaf Me This Way

Even though we've had a few (very light) bouts of snow, it took yesterday's rain to cause most of the leaves on my street to finally give up for the winter. The supers of Manhattan are always glad when the last of the leaves are down.

More Page Problems For Congress

From the ABC News blog, The Blotter:

Teenaged congressional pages performed oral sex in front of their colleagues for weeks before they were caught and expelled from the program, according to a new report in Roll Call newspaper.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pledged to reform the page program, which brings dozens of 15- and 16-year-old students to live and study in Washington, D.C., while working as aides in congressional offices.

"As a mother and a grandmother, nothing is more important to me than the safety and security of our House pages," Pelosi said in a statement.

The page program has been reportedly reformed at least once already in the past year, after former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., was exposed for sending inappropriate and suggestive e-mails and instant messages to teenaged former pages.

Two Republican lawmakers resigned their seats on the page program's oversight board last week to protest what they said was a failure to inform them of misbehavior in the program which was leading to expulsions.

In addition to the two pages reportedly expelled for their oral sex performances, two other pages were reportedly expelled for shoplifting from stores at Washington, D.C.-area shopping malls. One was reportedly charged with a felony.

A December 7th post on The Blotter notes that the two pages were male and female. The sex acts took place in a dorm room while other pages kept lookout for adults. Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., have announced that they are resigned from the panel that oversees the Congressional page program.

Dems And Lambda Legal Protest New HIV Travel Rules

More than two dozen Democrats in the House have sent Homeland Security a letter protesting the proposed new travel rules for HIV+ foreigners. The letter says that the so-called "streamlining" of the process of allowing HIV+ individuals to enter the United States places the burden of the decision on those lacking the necessary medical expertise. The letter goes on to complain, "There would be no appeal process. Selecting this pathway would also require applicants to waive any right to readjust their status once in the United States — a waiver not required under current policy."

Lambda Legal is on the case too, issuing a statement that reads in part: " The suggested regulations continue the stigmatizing discrimination against people living with HIV, create greater barriers to their entry into the U.S. and significantly curtail their legal rights once here. In fact, the proposed application would force applicants to waive all rights to change their visa status once in the U.S. — which would prevent them from requesting to stay longer, applying for a work visa while in the U.S., or obtaining U.S. citizenship down the road if they qualify for political asylum."

HomoQuotable - Wayne Besen

"It was also no surprise that Barbara Walters 10 most fascinating people of 2007 included no scientists and was loaded with no less than seven celebrities, who are primarily interesting because we want to sleep with them, thus they boost ratings. I'm sure Justin Timberlake is interesting, but what about the scientists who just turned skin cells into stem cells? Too bad they can't dance.

If you are dumbfounded how men like Huckabee and Bush are taken seriously, just consider that America, thanks to religious fanatics, has become dumber. I have hope that our nation will wake up and realize that what is going on doesn't add up - until I remember that most of us can no longer add." - Wayne Besen.

Gay Historian Allan Berube, Dead At 61

(Photo credit: Rex Wockner.) Noted gay author and historian Allan Berube has died due to ulcer complications at age 61. Author Wayne Hoffman, Berube's longtime friend, has written an obituary:

Gay historian Allan Berube, award-winning author of “Coming Out Under Fire,” died on December 11, 2007. He was 61.

His death was due to sudden complications following the discovery of two stomach ulcers, according to his close friend Jonathan Ned Katz, a fellow gay historian.

Berube was, for decades, an independent historian and community activist. He first came to progressive political activism in opposition to the Vietnam war, working with the American Friends Service Committee in Boston in the late 1960s, after dropping out of the University of Chicago. After coming out in 1969, he joined a “gay liberation collective household,” and later moved to San Francisco to join a gay commune for craftspeople. He remained in San Francisco for many years, and was one of the founders of the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History Project in 1978. His slide shows about women who dressed and passed as men – and married other women – were welcomed by enthusiastic audiences around the country.

Berube is best remembered for his groundbreaking work of gay history, published in 1990: Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II. The Lambda Literary Award-winning book, which was later adapted by Arthur Dong into a Peabody Award-winning documentary, was often cited in Senate hearings on the military’s anti-gay policies in 1993.

Martin Duberman, distinguished professor of history emeritus at the City University of New York, called Berube’s book “superb…not only in terms of his prose style, which was absolutely lucid and even elegant, but also in terms of the very fine-spun analysis. Allan was not one to create shallow generalizations about either a given individual or a series of events. He was utterly meticulous and utterly careful. No one will ever, I think, have to redo the book on World War II, and you can almost never say that about a historian or a given piece of historical research.”

In 1996, Berube received a “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for his work.

For the past decade, while living in New York City and the Catskills, Berube had been working on a history of queer working class men in the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union in the 1930s and ‘40s, a project for which he received a Rockefeller Residency Fellowship in the Humanities from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at CUNY.

Berube traveled the country presenting slide shows about his current research, and lectured on gay and lesbian history at Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Cruz. He wrote stories for numerous publications, including Mother Jones, Gay Community News, The Advocate, The Washington Blade, Out/Look, and the Body Politic. He also published articles in several anthologies, including “White Trash” (which included a rare personal essay in which he recounted his childhood in a trailer park in Bayonne, N.J.) and “Policing Public Sex,” in which he detailed the history of gay bathhouses.

“Allan took great pride in his role as a community historian,” said John D’Emilio, professor of history at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of several books on gay history. “He loved the excitement that his talks and slide shows generated in an audience, and he loved that he, a college dropout, had written a book that made a difference in the world. He was an inspiration to everyone who knew him, as sweet and kind and genuinely moral a human being as anyone could hope to meet.”

For the past several years, Berube lived in Liberty, N.Y., in the Catskills. There, he owned a bed & breakfast, and operated Intelligent Design, a store selling mid-century modern collectibles. Berube’s partner, John Nelson, said, “Allan just loved it when people walked into the Liberty story, looked around, and were happy.”

Berube was twice elected a trustee of the village of Liberty.

“Allan was extremely proud of helping to preserve Liberty’s historic character,” said Katz. “Allan initiated the successful nomination of Liberty’s whole Main Street as a historic district, saved from demolition a major building with a classic 1950s façade, and bought and renovated the Shelburne Playhouse, one of the last remaining performance halls that were once part of the area’s many hotels.”

In addition to Nelson, Berube is also survived by his mother and three sisters.

It's been a very tough week for gay pioneers. Bob Kohler, Mel Cheren, and now Allan Berube. Here are some links to learn more about Allan:

Gay Historian Allan Berube Dies At 61 - The Advocate
Allan Berube - IMDB profile
Coming Out Under Fire - New York Times review
Coming Out Under Fire - QueerTheory.com review
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The Real Reason Lott Is Resigning?

Harper's Magazine is speculating that Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott may be resigning because of his possible interference in the FBI's investigation of his brother-in-law, Richard "Dickey" Scruggs, a Mississippi lawyer who, with three other lawyers, has been indicted for attempting to bribe a state circuit court judge.

Scruggs, described as "arguably the most famous and possibly the wealthiest trial lawyer in the United States" may have asked Lott to intervene in his case. Lott may have had telephone conversations with the Justice Department asking them to "lay off" his brother-in-law.

Not as juicy as that dumbass gay hooker scandal, but a hell of a "Lott" more plausible, eh?

But I Love My Neoteny!

From the Sunday Times:

DESMOND MORRIS, who became a bestselling author by applying zoology to explain human behaviour, has now utilised the techniques to put forward an explanation for homosexuality.

In his latest book, The Naked Man, he concludes that men are “made gay” because they retain infantile or juvenile characteristics into adulthood – a phenomenon known as neoteny.

According to this theory, gay men also tend to be more inventive and creative than heterosexuals because they are more likely to retain the mental agility and playfulness of childhood.

“Gays have in general made a disproportionately greater contribution to life than nongays,” said Morris, who is also a noted artist. “The creative gay has very much advanced Planet Earth.”

“The playfulness of childhood is continued with certain people into adulthood. This is very much a positive. Adult playfulness means that certain people, often a fairly large proportion of them gay, are more inventive and curious than heterosexuals.”

Nature, nurture, neoteny. Mix and match, take your pick.
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Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting An Establishment Of Religion

House Resolution 847, to be presented today by Rep. Steve King (R-IA):

Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;

Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;

Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;

Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible;

Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;

Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;

Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;

Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God’s redemption, mercy, and Grace; and

Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

(Via - The Stranger.)

Caption This

She's Just Not That Into You

Third & 68th, Tuesday, 9AM

Woman On Cell: Wait a minute. Hold up. Go back. You get a 20% discount at Bloomingdales? When? ALL THE TIME? And you're just telling me this NOW? I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to totally reevaluate our friendship.
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Ryan White's Mom Angry With Huckabee

The Human Rights Campaign is trying to engineer a meeting between Mike Huckabee and Jeanne White-Ginder, mother of Ryan White, the Indiana teenager whose battle with AIDS in the 80's riveted the nation and made Ryan a darling of AIDS activists such as Elton John.

White-Ginder says Huckabee's recent comments about AIDS have infuriated her and that "We have to treat this disease like a disease, and like Ryan always said, not like a dirty word." When her son contracted HIV through his treatment for hemophilia in 1984, he was barred from public school, becoming the country's best-known example of discrimination against people with AIDS. After Ryan White's death, the largest federally funded program for people with AIDS was named for him.

While I understand why the HRC is using the example of Ryan White to respond to Huckabee, White is also one of the sainted, media-proof, "innocent victims" of AIDS. Gay organizations invoking the image of a straight teenager to protest AIDS discrimination has always stuck in my craw.

UPDATE: Huckabee has responded to the HRC's letter. Regarding the White family: "I certainly never would want to say anything that would be hurtful to them or anyone else. I would have great regret and anxiety if I thought my comments were hurtful or in any way added to the already incredible pain that families have felt regardless of how they contracted AIDS."
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His Meds Made Him Queer

This sounds like it was Mirapex.

(Paris) A French civil servant who claims he was turned gay by his Parkinson's medication has won a lawsuit against against a distributor of drugs containing dopamine. Didier Jambart is seeking about a half-million dollars in compensation.

His lawsuit claimed that he was not told the medication could lead to compulsive behavior. He claimed that after taking the drugs he developed "homosexual urges" and spent hours searching for gay sex.

He also claimed that he developed a gambling compulsion and even sold toys belonging to his two young sons to get money to place on horse races. Jambert said he began noticing the changes within a year of starting the meds.

"As soon as we saw him we knew immediately it was dopamine agonists," Philippe Damier, head of the neurology department at the Nantes CHU hospital testified.

Jambart was given different medication and his disorders disappeared. "Without that, I would have killed myself or have ended up in prison," Jambert said. The penalty phase of the trial is set to begin.

So do the drugs give you a compulsion to do things that you previously had no interest in? The need for gay sex just comes out of thin air? Hmmm.

Evening View - Rockefeller Center Tree

As you can see, I am overwhelmed with the joy of the season.

Not The Usual Small Town Holiday Display Story

An atheist group in Connecticut is drawing flak for their "Imagine No Religion" holiday display in front of Rockford's town hall. The three-sided sign uses an image of the World Trade Center to suggest that to world would be a safer place without religion. (Uh, amen to THAT.) According to city officials, the Connecticut Valley Atheists' permit request was for a sign that marks the Winter Solstice only. That message is only on one of the three sides of the sign.

From the CVA website:

Al Qaeda is not an evil organization which happens to be religious (such as the Nazis were), but rather an organization whose evil is directly caused by its religious beliefs. If its members were Atheists instead the WTC would still be intact. There's no reason for people to be offended because a display promoting Atheism touts what would be an advantage of Atheism, just because they would prefer a different way of accomplishing the same end. We would not be offended if a religious group put up a sign showing the intact WTC with the text, "Imagine all religions relying on absolute moral principles and rejecting the idea that morality is derived from the will of God as revealed by holy scripture.", although it would be pretty hard to read that while driving down Route 74.

After the atheists' sign went up, the town's mayor had a Christmas tree erected to block it from view. When he was told that the tree was obscuring the sign, he said, "Oh, really? That's unfortunate."

Rudy Loves The Sinner (And The Doublespeak)

Yesterday on Meet The Press, Rudy Giuliani was asked if he agreed with Mike Huckabee that homosexuality was an "aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle" Giuliani: "No, I don’t believe it’s sinful. My moral views on this come from the Catholic Church. I believe that homosexuality, heterosexuality, as a way of somebody leads their life isn’t sinful. It’s the acts—it’s the various acts that people perform that are sinful, not the orientation that they have.”

From the NY Observer:

This sort of tortured logic has characterized Mr. Giuliani’s stated positions on social issues throughout the presidential campaign. He has tried to play the same middle ground game on abortion, with an equally incomprehensible result. He has stuck with his long-standing position that a woman has the right to choose whether to have an abortion. But, to soften the blow to the right, he promises that he’ll pack the courts with “strict constructionists”—jurists who could make it possible for women to be thrown in prison for exercising a choice that Mr. Giuliani believes they have the right to make.

A few weeks ago, it seemed like none of this would matter: So much of the right was predisposed to like Mr. Giuliani and view him as most electable Republican that they’d rationalize their way to accepting his half-hearted social issues rhetoric. But then came Bernie Kerik, Judi-gate, business dealings with Qatar, all conspiring to send his poll numbers into decline.

Mr. Giuliani is gamely coming up with ever more novel excuses for his newfound conservative beliefs. The question now is whether conservatives are still willing to make excuses for him

As the Observer article notes, for Republicans there's no such thing as being too conservative on gay rights. But no matter how Rudy tries to spin his past, the simple fact is that he was once our friend. What a strange irony that the left can now use that against him.
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Dutch To Fight Homophobia At Home And Abroad

Saying they "will not shy away from difficult discussions", the Dutch government has pledged 2.5M euros to fight homophobia at home and abroad. The money will be spent between 2008-2011 and will be used to target young people, mostly Muslim youth in schools and sports organizations. The Dutch also plan to request the legalization of homosexuality from the countries to whom they send developmental aid. Homosexuality is illegal in half of those 36 countries.

"Godfather Of Disco", Mel Cheren Has Died

Clubland was rocked this weekend by the news that Mel Cheren, the "Godfather Of Disco", has died from complications of AIDS. Cheren provided the financial backing to open legendary gay nightclub the Paradise Garage, and founded seminal dance music label West End Records. Earlier this year, Cheren's biography, My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep On Dancin', was turned into the documentary film The Godfather Of Disco.

Cheren became well known for his charity work and in 1987 formed 24 Hours For Life, a not-for-profit organization of media and music professionals which produced fundraising events for AIDS relief and education. A true renaissance man, Cheren was also an accomplished painter -five album covers that he created were nominated for Grammys and much of his artwork hangs the Colonial House Inn, the award-winning Chelsea bed & breakfast he owned.

Last night Rich Morel and I reminisced about West End Records and its many classic tracks: Shirley Lites' Heat You Up (Melt You Down), Raw Silks' Do It To The Music, Loose Joints' Is It All Over My Face. Later, at the Eagle, DJ Paul Ferrer played a brief tribute set for Cheren, including one of the most influential records in dance music history, Taana Gardner's Heartbeat, a track made famous by Paradise Garage DJ and Cheren protege' Larry Levan. Here is a clip from the documentary, West End Records: History In The Making.

Huckabee: I Still Believe PWAs Should Be Isolated

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee yesterday refused to recant his 1992 call for AIDS patients to be quarantined, saying "I still believe this today, that we were acting more out of political correctness. I don't run from it, I don't recant it."

In 1992, Huckabee said, "It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents."

Yesterday Huckabee that he had not been calling for a quarantine, but could not state how "isolation" could otherwise be achieved. Huckabee's 1992 Associated Press questionnaire also says that he finds homosexuality "an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle."

Another Big Blowoff

Last night's NYC Blowoff was even better than the last one, as positive word of mouth from October's event brought in a huge crowd, causing a waiting line outside the Highline Ballroom and lines almost as long inside at the coat check and restrooms. Congrats to Bob Mould and Rich Morel for creating what will surely be a long-running Manhattan must-do.

The high point of the night was DJ Rich Morel debuting his latest collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Same Ol' Fuckin' Story, during which Cyndi joined Rich in the DJ booth, prompting a rush of fans brandishing cell-cams. Big fun! Other big names were in the house, including NGLTF executive director Matt Foreman with his partner Frank, and most of the cast of The Ritz, which closes tonight. (Thank dog I finally saw the show on Friday night!) Last night Ritz star (and Tony nominee!) Kevin Chamberlin told me that he used to be a coat check boy at the Saint! Photo recap below.
BELOW: 1. Rich Morel & Cyndi Lauper. 2. Mossimo, David, Jordan. 3. Matt Forman & Frank. 4. Me & Cyndi Lauper.
UPDATE: Check out Dr. Jeff's great photo gallery from the evening.