Saturday, June 21, 2008

As Gay As The Day Is Was Long

I was going to make a joke about how we should all feel a little more gay today, but it turns out that yesterday was the longest day of the year, the first time the summer solstice didn't fall on June 21st since 1975. Therefore, if you are as gay as the day is long, you peaked yesterday.

Labels:


Friday, June 20, 2008

Reminder: Folsom East This Sunday

Don't forget that Folsom Street East takes places this Sunday on 28th Street in West Chelsea. Even if you're not down with the scene, it's hard to resist any reason to stand in the sun and drink beer with 10,000 scantily clad perverts.

This year's performers include punksters Kissy Kamikaze, dance hotties Noa Tylo and Frederick Ford, SuperNova, Trai la Trash, and Sylvia Tosun. Best bet: Godfather of Punk and Blowoff kingpin Bob Mould goes on at 6PM.

For a glimpse at the venues of NYC's famed but mostly gone leather scene, check out this excellent post at Vanishing New York, where Jeremiah has posted a before-and-after photo essay of the city's once notorious leather hot spots.

Labels: , , , ,


EU Pressures USA On HIV Travel Ban

The European Union is pressuring the United States to end its ban on HIV positive travelers. Under US law, HIV+ people are restricted from entering the United States.
The European Commissioner for Justice has raised the issue of issue of people with HIV being banned from entry into the US visa waiver programme with Michael Chertoff, US Secretary of Homeland Security.

Jacques Barrot has asked for "information on the reasons why individuals carrying HIV are excluded from using the US Visa Waiver Programme." MEPs have kept pressure on the Commission over the issue as the EU is in negotiations with the US authorities to secure visa-free travel (a visa waiver) for EU citizens from all 27 member states.

The United States is one of 13 countries in the world, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, that bans visitors who are HIV-positive. London Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has been at the forefront of a campaign to overturn the ban on HIV positive people travelling to America.
A repeal of the ban has been before Congress since March, but has been stalled and may not be voted on during the current session despite widespread bipartisan support. The repeal is attached to a controversial global AIDS relief bill, hence the roadblock.
In the U.S., a broad coalition of groups calling for repeal of the HIV visitors and immigration ban, including civil liberties and human rights advocates, were hopeful that attaching the repeal measure to the highly popular PEPFAR bill would greatly increase its chances of passing.

Their expectations were dampened, however, when Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and at least six other conservative GOP senators placed a hold on the PEPFAR bill, preventing it from coming up for a vote unless at least 60 senators vote to break the hold.

Coburn said his main concern was the decision by PEPFAR backers to drop from the existing 1993 PEPFAR law a requirement that at least 55 percent of AIDS relief funds be used for AIDS treatment, including the use of life-saving anti-retroviral drugs. The 1993 law expires in September.

The Bush administration, at the recommendation of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Mark Dybul, a gay official appointed by Bush, supports the decision to drop the 55 percent treatment floor. A number of prominent Republican senators and nearly all Senate Democrats also support dropping the 55 percent floor for treatment.

Labels: , ,


A Tweet From Mars: "We Have ICE!"

JMG reader Rafael tips us to the news that the Mars Phoenix Lander has found evidence of water ice on Mars. Fascinating.
The confirmation that water ice exists in the area directly surrounding the lander is big and good news for the Martian mission. NASA's stated goal for the Mars Phoenix was to find exactly this -- water ice -- and then analyze it. With the latest news, the first step is accomplished. All that's left now is to get the water into the Phoenix's instruments, a task which has occasionally proven more difficult than anticipated.
Oh, and how did the Phoenix send the news? Via its Twitter account.
"Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!" the Mars Phoenix Lander tweeted at about 5:15 pm.

Labels: , , ,


"I'm Voting Republican"


Two million views on YouTube in under 10 days. Visit the I'm Voting Republican site. Frightening and hilarious.

Labels: , ,


Abstinence Sex Ed To Continue

One of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated on American school kids, the federal "abstinence only" sexual education program will continue to the tune of $176M.
Despite a growing body of evidence showing it is not only ineffective but also discriminatory toward LGBT youth a renewal of the Bush administration's abstinence-only-until-marriage program for schools appears likely in Congress. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies has voted to continue funding the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program.

The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education. “It’s hard to imagine a good reason why, in these tight economic times, Congress would intentionally flush taxpayer dollars down the drain by spending them on disproven, ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

"We are floored that they continue to ignore study after study, and the consensus of the pubic health community, all concluding that these programs censor vital health care information, teach gender stereotypes, discriminate against lesbian and gay teens, and in some cases promote religion in the classroom in violation of the Constitution."

Labels: , ,


Then End Of The (Gay) Line?

In a Slate story titled The Gay Culture War Is About To Turn Chemical, William Saletan discusses last week's story about the latest study into the gay brain and speculates that the long-feared Twilight Of The Golds world of aborting gay fetuses or "switching off" their gayness in the womb may be closer that we think.

The sample consisted of 25 straight men, 25 straight women, 20 gay men, and 20 lesbians. In overall symmetry and amygdala activity, the brains of gay men resembled the brains of straight women, whereas the brains of lesbians resembled the brains of straight men. Previous work has connected such differences to fear, anxiety, aggression, and verbal, spatial, and navigational ability. It's not just a matter of preferring men or women. The broader implication, one expert argues, is that "in gay men, the brain is feminized."

Are the differences genetic? Not likely. "As to the genetic factors, the current view is that they may play a role in male homosexuality, but they seem to be insignificant for female homosexuality," the authors conclude. "Genetic factors, therefore, appear less probable as the major common denominator for all group differences observed here."

So, what's the common factor? If the study's design rules out learned influences, and if the results in women rule out genetics, that leaves what the authors call "hormonal influences" or noncognitive differences in the infant environment. According to the Guardian, the same research team has "begun another study to investigate brain symmetry in newborn babies, to see if it can be used to predict their future sexual orientation." If it can, that will scratch postnatal factors off the list, and the search will narrow to hormones in the womb. Already, the authors point to evidence that homosexuality may be caused by "under-exposure to prenatal androgens" in males and "over-exposure" in females.

Where science leads, technology follows. Two years ago, scientists in Oregon reported an attempt to "interfere with defeminization of adult sexual partner preferences" in sheep. Their method, as they described it, was to alter hormonal inputs in pregnant ewes "during the period of gestation when the sheep brain is maximally sensitive to the behavior-modifying effects of exogenous testosterone." When the attempt failed, they concluded that the dosage should be increased.

[snip]

If the idea of chemically suppressing homosexuality in the womb horrifies you, I have bad news: You won't be in the room when it happens. Parents control medical decisions, and surveys indicate that the vast majority of them would be upset to learn that their child was gay. Already, millions are screening embryos and fetuses to eliminate those of the "wrong" sex. Do you think they won't screen for the "wrong" sexual orientation, too?

Liberals are slow to see what's coming. They're still fighting the culture war. The Toronto Star, like other papers, finds a neuroscientist who thinks the new study "should erode the moral judgments often made against homosexual preferences and rebut any argument that it is a mere a lifestyle choice." Well, yes. But then what? The reduction of homosexuality to neurobiology doesn't mean your sexual orientation can't be controlled. It just means the person controlling it won't be you.

Even some major Christians are onboard already. Last year I posted about Rev. Albert Mohler, the leader of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who said, "If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin."

Futurists have been predicting the end of homosexuality in this manner for decades.

Labels: , , ,


Broadway Friday

- Brooklynites no longer have to schlep to Times Square for discount theatre tickets. The Theatre Development Fund has opened a TKTS booth above the Jay Street-Borough Hall subway stop on A,C,F lines.

- The usual post-Tony Awards fallout: Cry-Baby will close on June 22 after ony 45 previews and 68 performances. A Catered Affair will close on July 27th after only 27 previews and 116 performances.

- Even the stunt casting of Mario "Biceps Diva" Lopez couldn't save A Chorus Line. The show closes on August 17th after well-received 18-month revival.

- Tony winner David Hyde Pierce will star in a Manhattan Theatre Club revival of Accent On Youth, set to open in April 2009.

-The 10th Annual Broadway Barks animal welfare event takes place on July 12th on Schubert Alley. Hosted by creators Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters, the event is free and features many local animal shelters who will be doing an onsite adopt-a-thon. Major stars of Broadway will appear, including Cheyenne Jackson, Nathan Lane, and Mario Lopez. I went to Broadway Barks last year and had a blast.

- Tony winner Christian Hoff will star in the revival of 1940's Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical, Pal Joey. The show also will star Stockard Channing and Martha Plimpton and opens Dec. 11th at Studio 54. Trivia: Elaine Strich starred in the 1952 revival of the show.

- Musical legend Cyd Charrisse died at 87 this week. Turner Classic Movies will air Singin' in the Rain, The Band Wagon, and Silk Stockings in a six-hour marathon on June 27, beginning at 8pm. Despite starring in numerous beloved MGM musicals, Charisse only appeared on Broadway once, in 1992's Grand Hotel.

Labels:


Impatient With Bush, Israel Decides To End World On Its Own

Saddle them horsemen up.
Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Several American officials said the Israeli exercise appeared to be an effort to develop the military’s capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Iran’s nuclear program.

More than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters participated in the maneuvers, which were carried out over the eastern Mediterranean and over Greece during the first week of June, American officials said.

The exercise also included Israeli helicopters that could be used to rescue downed pilots. The helicopters and refueling tankers flew more than 900 miles, which is about the same distance between Israel and Iran’s uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, American officials said.

Israeli officials declined to discuss the details of the exercise. A spokesman for the Israeli military would say only that the country’s air force “regularly trains for various missions in order to confront and meet the challenges posed by the threats facing Israel.”
Once the war with Iran starts, there may be a slight ringing in your ears. Fortunately, you'll be nowhere near them.

Labels: , ,


Maine LGBT Rights Repeal Bid Fails

Another one for the win column!
A conservative Christian group has given up its attempt to mount a referendum drive to wipe out all protections for LGBT citizens in Maine. The Christian Civic League of Maine in an e-mail to its supporters said that it was giving up because it has "neither enough funds nor enough volunteer support to continue the effort."

The group would have had to collect more than 55,000 signatures by next January to place its proposal on the statewide ballot in November 2009. Thursday the organization conceded it has collected only about 5,000 signatures.

The proposal would have banned same-sex marriage and civil unions, wipe out existing laws giving limited rights to gay and lesbian couples, removed LGBT protections under the state's Human Rights Act, and would remove funding from the Attorney General's Office to investigate discrimination claims.

Labels: ,


HomoQuotable - Will Bower

"The most important issue to me is the democratic principle itself. I see this season as having put forth an anti-democratically elected candidate. So for me, that’s the biggest issue of all. And if we go down a path, where, you know, the parties don’t uphold democratic principles, then who’s going to uphold democratic principles?

"So that’s my biggest issue of all and that transcends Republican or Democrat. At this stage of the game, I’m planning to vote for McCain. That’s me as an individual. I’m not speaking for PUMA or its members." -Huffington Post columnist Will Bower, speaking to Fox News.

Bower is one of the organizers of PUMA - "Party Unity, My Ass" - a grassroots group meant to unite voters who are upset that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee. According to Bower, some members of PUMA are planning to disrupt the Democratic Convention.

Labels: , , , ,


Morning View - Bank Of America Tower

Hmm, when I mentioned the onset of construction of the new Bank Of America Tower back in August 2006, it really seemed like it would turn out, I don't know, good. I know it's not really finished, but still, I'm not feeling it yet.

The building topped out back in December when the spire was added, making it the second tallest building in NYC and the third tallest in the country. It only has 54 stories versus the 77 stories of the nearby Chrysler Building, but somehow the BOFA Tower's roof is 19 feet higher. The spire is 150 feet higher.

The BOFA is supposed to be the greenest skyscraper ever built - constructed mostly of recycled and recyclable materials. Rainwater will be captured for use in the coolant system and the air vented by the HVAC will be filtered and leave the building cleaner than when it came in. So says the hype, anyway.

Labels:


Thursday, June 19, 2008

Bearforce1 - Shake That Thing


Furry disco bunnies Bearforce1 are back again with a new single and two new cast members. Man, these guys are like the Destiny's Child of bear groups. How many Bearforce1-ers have there been so far? Seven? For this single they've dropped their Bears On 45 medley schtick.

Labels: , , ,


SC's "I Believe" Plate Challenged

The Americans United for Separation of Church and State have filed a federal lawsuit to stop South Carolina from issuing the "I Believe" license plate mentioned here last week.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today filed a lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of several religious leaders and a religious organization whose First Amendment rights are violated by South Carolina’s “I Believe” license plate. The new plate features the words, “I Believe,” accompanied by a depiction of a large, bright-yellow Christian cross superimposed on a multicolored stained glass church window.

Plaintiffs in the case include four South Carolina clergy the Rev. Dr. Thomas A. Summers, Rabbi Sanford T. Marcus, the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Knight and the Rev. Dr. Neal Jones as well as the Hindu American Foundation. The Summers v. Adams lawsuit charges that the Christian plate gives preferential government treatment to one faith. It asks the court to prevent South Carolina officials from producing the plates.

“The state has clearly given preferential treatment to Christianity with this license plate,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “I can’t think of a more flagrant violation of the First Amendment’s promise of equal treatment for all faiths. I believe these plates will not see the light of day.”
According to the suit, the plates violate not only separation of church and state, but freedom of speech as well. Other religions will not get their own plates nor will a "I Don't Believe" plate be issued.

Labels: , , ,


NY Orders Female Clothes For Trans Juvies

A decision to provide women's undergarments to transgendered prisoners in New York state juvenile detention facilities is causing an outcry from jailers.
The state has quietly ordered male-only juvenile detention centers to keep bras and panties in stock for transgendered delinquents - angering many jail staffers. Each facility must stock a dozen bras and panties of each size in case they are requested, employees said and agency officials confirmed. Girls' centers also must stock men's underwear.

Two longtime employees of the agency ripped the policy, saying they fear it promotes an alternative lifestyle in order to accommodate a minuscule population. "People are appalled," one employee said. "The vast majority of kids in here don't fit the category and want nothing to do with this." The second employee said it would have made more sense to phase the policy in rather than enact it all at once.

"I'm dealing with predominantly inner-city kids from gang neighborhoods; there's a lot of other battles and issues I need to deal with," he said. The state Office of Children and Family Services order is part of a policy quietly enacted in response to a lawsuit. In addition to keeping "gender neutral undergarments" in stock, facility staff must call transgendered youths by their chosen, rather than their legal, names.

Those boys who believe they are girls also must be called "she" by those at the facilities, while girls who believe they are boys must be called "he" under the policy. Transgendered kids in the system can shower privately, shave body parts, use makeup and grow their hair long. Some can request to be transferred to a facility in upstate Red Hook that has housed a number of transgendered kids, officials said.
Sigh. According to the story, there are only about 20 transgendered prisoners in the state's 30 juvenile facilities. Exactly how is this hurting anybody?

Labels: ,


Ode To Lesbian Liplocks Tops Chart


The #2 pop single in the nation this week is Katy Perry's ode to lesbian experimentation, I Kissed A Girl (which is not the Jill Sobule song of the same title from some years back). The Concerned Women of America are horrified:
The song, performed by Katy Perry, is called I Kissed a Girl. The lyrics speak of kissing a girl "just to try it," adding that the "experimental game" is "just human nature." In addition, the singer is hopeful that her boyfriend does not mind she is experimenting with a lesbian relationship.

Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America takes issue with the song luring girls into sexual experimentation. "... [E]ven if they have a boyfriend and consider themselves heterosexual, [the singer entices them] to just try a lesbian experience," she maintains. "It's really intended to mess girls up." Wright argues that the song works to break down a girl's sense of morality concerning lesbianism, and also works to get girls to be less critical of homosexuality.
What a nightmare! A song that gets kids to be less judgmental!

In other homo music news, Rich Morel's co-production of Cyndi Lauper's single, Same Old Fucking Story, is #1 this week on the Billboard dance chart. The track has become a Blowoff staple over the last few months. Congrats, Rich.

Labels: , , , , ,


Obama's Campaign Goofs On Head Scarves

Barack Obama's campaign has apologized to a Detroit woman after reneging on an offer to seat her behind Obama's podium after seeing that she and her companion were wearing head scarves.
A young Muslim woman said she and another woman were refused seats directly behind Barack Obama - and in front of TV cameras - at a Detroit rally because they wear head scarfs.

Hebba Aref said Wednesday that she and Shimaa Abdelfadeel were among 20,000 supporters who gathered to see the Democratic presidential hopeful on Monday at the Joe Louis Arena when the groups they were with were separately invited by Obama campaign volunteers to sit behind the podium. But Aref said the volunteers told members of both parties in separate discussions that women wearing hijabs, the traditional Muslim head scarves, weren't included in the invitation and couldn't sit behind the podium.

Aref, a 25-year-old lawyer, said a member of her group was told by a volunteer that she could not invite Aref because of "a sensitive political climate." Obama spokesman Bill Burton issued a statement saying such actions are "not the policy of the campaign."

"It is offensive and counter to Obama's commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run. We sincerely apologize for this behavior," the statement read.

Aref said she replied by thanking Burton, but requested Obama apologize directly to her and Abdelfadeel, as well as invitations to sit behind him at a future campaign event. Obama spokeswoman Amy Brundage said the campaign has apologized. "He needs to take the matter seriously and send a strong message against any kind of discrimination," Aref said.
The Freepers routinely photoshop head scarves and turbans onto Obama already, seems like a waste of time to "dress the stage" with non-Muslims.

Labels: ,


More Idiocy From Hate Radio's Biggest Closet Case: Michael Savage

Via Media Matters:
Responding to a caller who said, "I had to explain to my young son why these two men were holding hands the other day," radio host Michael Savage stated, during the June 16 broadcast of The Savage Nation, "You've got to explain to the children ... why God told people this was wrong." He went on to say, "You have to explain this to them in this time of mental rape that's going on. The children's minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia, that's my position. They're raping our children's minds."

During a discussion about gay marriage with a previous caller, Savage said: "It's not a joke when you pervert an institution like marriage, which is in trouble enough. It's not a joke." He added, "Our children are being destroyed by this." He went on to say of gay marriage, "It's a very important story. The children don't know what to make of it. Children nine, 10 are saying, 'I'm gay.' They don't know what it even means." He added: "It's a giant propaganda machine trying to pervert children."
Savage (real name Michael Weiner) has a national daily audience reported at over 8 million. Late last year Savage made comments about Muslims that led to a moderately successful advertiser boycott of his show. In 2003, Savage was fired from MSNBC after he called a listener a "sodomite" and told him that he should "get AIDS and die."

Back in the early 70's, Savage lived in San Francisco where he befriended famed gay poet Allen Ginsberg. Letters and postcards exchanged between Ginsberg and Savage are maintained in the late poet's papers at Stanford University. Via Wikipedia: "One postcard mentions his desire to photograph Ginsberg in a provocative way, though Savage states that this correspondence is actually a forgery created by gay detractors." In 2006, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann said on air, "For God's sake, Mike. Will you just cut to the chase and come OUT of the closet?"

Labels: , , ,


The 2008 Values And Beliefs Poll

The 2008 Gallup Values and Beliefs Poll shows the nation evenly split on the moral acceptability of homosexual sex, with 48% finding it acceptable and 48% saying it's morally wrong. In 2001, the "wrong" number was 53% and the "OK" number was 40%. Check out the other questions on the poll. (You'll have to embiggen the image.)

Labels: ,


2700 CA Licenses In Two Days

California's county clerks did a week's worth of business in the first two days of legal gay marriage:
In the two days since same-sex couples have been allowed to wed in California, the number of marriage licenses issued statewide has surpassed that of an entire typical June week, according to a Times survey of the state’s 58 county clerks.

Just over 2,700 marriage licenses were issued in the state between 5:01 p.m. on Monday -- when the state Supreme Court's ruling lifted the ban on gay marriage -- and the end of business on Tuesday. The statewide average for a whole week in June is about 2,460.

Topping the list is Los Angeles County, the state's largest with a population of about 9.9 million, which issued one license on Monday evening in Beverly Hills and 648 Tuesday. San Diego County, population about 3 million, was second with 230. San Francisco County, population 765,000 was third with 212. Officials in Sacramento County, which usually issues about 25 licenses a day, issued 134 by closing time at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The county has 1.4 million residents.
Of course, the volume of licenses issued will diminish greatly after this pent up demand is satisfied. And if things go as in Massachusetts, within a few months the ratio of lesbians to gay men getting married will settle in at, what, 4-1?

Labels: ,


HomoQuotable - Armistead Maupin

"The sad truth is that gay rights has always been the disposable card of liberal politics. The very fact of our existence is still “controversial” even to those who make a noise about being our friends. We’re still the fly in the ointment, the “divisive issue” that can lose an election. Just look at the weak-kneed response from the Clinton and Obama camps when the California supreme court made its landmark decision overthrowing the ban on same-sex marriage.

"Both candidates hid behind a campaign spokesperson and both reaffirmed their 'separate but equal' policies of civil unions, thereby assuming a stance that would keep them in comfy solidarity with John McCain come November. The problem, of course, was that California court had just ruled that separate was NOT equal and never would be, so Clinton and Obama both ended up looking like -- there’s no other way to put this -- pussies." - Author Armistead Maupin, in an essay in the current issue of The Advocate.

Labels: , ,


Morning View - Bethesda Terrace

Considered to be the heart of Central Park, the centerpiece of the Bethesda Terrace is the fountain, which is perhaps the favorite of all park icons for filmmakers - having appeared in Godspell, Angels In America, The Producers, and many other films. And if you're a nature lover (ahem), the Ramble is just to the right left.

Labels:


Sing Out, Louise!


OK, so after reading rave after rave about Patti Lupone's performance at the Tonys on Sunday (which I mentioned here that I forgot to record), I finally hunted it down on YouTube and yeah, it lives up to the hype. But I'm far, far more tickled by this Patti Lupone homage clip. I don't know who the heck this Michael Burbach kid is, but he is made of the awesome. And the fabulous. Watch this clip and you will instantly became 100% gayer.

Labels: , ,


Open Thread Thursday

How's your love life these days?

Labels:


Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Charging For The Wrong Service

As Dan Savage says, "Somebody give this guy an airline to run."
Airlines know that people prefer to bring their bags on board because they want to avoid the time and hassle needed to collect them at baggage claim and the risk that they'll be lost. Charging to check bags, then, is foolish because it is an attempt to get passengers to pay for something that they don't want to do anyway – and will seek to avoid by trying to bring more of their baggage on board.

That's why charging for bringing luggage on board makes good sense. Those who are adept at barging their way first onto the plane will complain loudly if the airlines initiate this proposal. The rest of us, though, will take great comfort in knowing that they have to pay extra when they stuff the overhead compartments with their oversize luggage.
Even before this checked baggage charge nonsense started, my biggest air travel gripe was the ultra-maroons who tried to bring gorilla-sized trunks into the cabin and then argued with the flight crew about it, slowing down boarding for everyone. And now it's going to get much, much worse. Checked bags should be free. Having to pay for the convenience of bringing a suitcase into the cabin is a much more sensible.

Labels:


The Gay After


Last night when I saw Jon Stewart's typically hilarious take on the first day of gay marriage, I knew I'd have to give the Comedy Central video player another shot here. Hopefully most of you downloaded Firefox 3 yesterday and this won't crash your browser. Cuz it IS damn funny.

UPDATE: Here's Part Two.

Labels: , ,


Defending The Sacred

This cartoon was published in 2004 during the Massachusetts marriage battle. Not much has changed, has it?

Labels:


John Hagee Knows Women


You really have to laugh at Pastor John "Gays Caused Katrina" Hagee, John McCain's former spiritual advisor. Check out what he says about "today's American woman." A partial transcript via Slog:
God paints the portrait of the ideal woman and he takes time to mention that she is a mother. If the secular humanist of the 21st century took his brush to paint the portrait of the thoroughly modern Millie, it would be with a cigarette dangling out of her mouth, smoke twirling out of her nostrils, language that would make a sailor blush – even Rosie O’Donnell. Her breath would smell like a brewery, a condom in one hand and the feminist manual in the other, listing the local abortion clinics to snuff out the life that was within her body. Her allegiance is always to her career. Her children are latchkey children who come home and who live alone until mother and daddy finally arrive after dark.

Women can render service in many secular fields, but God says her highest and best field—in God’s opinion!—is that of being a mother. [… ] When mothers instill into their children honesty, responsibility, integrity, truth, industry, and a sense of honor, America’s future is secure. But when mothers abandon those principles, America is finished it’s over.
Slog's Erica Barnett reacts: "Neat! I can’t reveal any of the super-secret details about the Feminist Manual, but suffice it to say it’s right there on my bookshelf next to the Loose Girl’s Guide to Your Best Abortion Ever! and Lesbian Sodomy for Dummies."

The crack about Rosie made me laugh, but how dare he diss Thoroughly Modern Millie? Oh, it's broughten, Hagee. It's broughten.

Labels: , , ,


The Heinz Deli Mayo "Mum"


Wow, this is cute. From the Guardian UK:
Heinz is set to challenge some viewer expectations with a light-hearted TV campaign that features two men sharing a kiss. The TV commercial, which promotes a new range of dressing called Heinz Deli Mayo, breaks tonight and will be supported by a press campaign. Heinz' new ad opens with a family on a normal morning routine with a young boy and girl getting ready for school and their father preparing for the office.

The young boy and girl go to the kitchen to get their sandwiches, which are being prepared by a man with a New York accent dressed in a deli serving outfit who they refer to as "mum". When their father goes to get his sandwich he says to mum in the kitchen "See you tonight love". However, mum barks back "Hey, ain't you forgetting something?", at which point the two men share a kiss. Mum then sends the father off with the words: "Love you. Straight home from work, sweet cheeks."

The TV ad is the first by Heinz's new ad agency AMV BBDO since it won the £10m a year UK business last year. AMV BBDO said that the concept behind the campaign is that the product tastes so good "It's as if you have your own New York deli man in your kitchen". The TV campaign will run for five weeks and be supported by press ads of the deli chef and the strapline "Give your BLT a little NYC".
Congrats to Heinz and BBDO for a clever, respectful, humorous take on gay families (depending on how you read the ad). And the kiss is really very sweet.

Labels: , , ,


Haters Fail Again In CA

Another failure by the Liberty Counsel in their desperate last minute bid to stop California's gay marriages:
A California state appeals court on Tuesday refused a motion by a conservative group to halt the rush by same-sex couples to marry. The Campaign for California Families argued that marriage licenses should not be issued until the legislature amends dozens of state laws addressing marriage to conform with the state Supreme Court ruling that gays and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry.

The organization was represented by the Virginia-based Liberty Counsel. It argued that the wording of the high allows the lower court to set the terms and schedule for implementing the decision. "The motion for stay or other extraordinary relief, submitted by the Campaign for California Families on June 12, 2008, is denied" the appeals court ruled.

It was the second loss for the group. Earlier this month the Supreme Court rejected a motion to stay its decision legalizing same-sex marriage until voters have a chance to consider a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.

Labels: , ,


Marriage Step-By-Step

Veteran gay reporter Rex Wockner has posted a nice marriage photo essay from San Diego, following gay couples from paying for their license right up to saying their vows. Sweet.

UPDATE: Rex's partner has posted video of San Diego's first gay wedding (the guys pictured above).

Labels: , ,


Grandmother Arrested After Beating Teen Found In Lesbian Hook-Up

Oh, the tabloids will have a field day with this.
Police said a 61-year-old Reading woman beat her 16-year-old granddaughter severely after finding her in bed with another girl. Joyce Beddell is charged with aggravated and simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child.

Police said Beddell's granddaughter suffered serious bruises to her legs and buttocks during Thursday's assault with a cane and a belt. The other girl fled from the house before the beating began. Beddell told police she had done nothing wrong. She told police she should be allowed to discipline her granddaughter as she wishes. Beddell was jailed in lieu of $10,000 bail. It was unclear if she had a lawyer.
Would granny have gone so off the rails if she'd found a young man in her granddaughter's bed? No way to know.

Labels: ,


On Sale At The Texas GOP Convention

Anybody surprised?

Labels: , , ,


Morning View - Packing Crate

That giant packing crate in the middle of Union Square is actually a walk-in advertisement for the new (America's! Largest!) Ikea that opens in Brooklyn's Red Hook nabe today - much to the endless quivering coverage of NYC blogs and news outlets. "It's rampant gentrification!" "We need the jobs!" "But what about the traffic?!" "Fuck that, I want a cheap-ass sofa!" (Speaking of which, people have been lining up since Sunday outside the store in the hopes of being one of the first 100 customers who will get a free couch. I'd rather narfle the Garthok, but whatevs.)

You can get to the new Ikea via their transfer buses which will pick you up from the closest subway stop, or you can take their free ferry from downtown Manhattan. Seems like just as long a trip as taking their free bus from the Port Authority to the store by the Newark airport - which I've done twice. Ugh. (But I dig my cheap-ass desk.)

Labels:


Tuesday, June 17, 2008

ACLU Launches "Blog Of Rights Symposium"

In recognition of Pride month, the ACLU has launched the Blog Of Rights Symposium, which features posts from many of the nation's top LGBT bloggers.
"We know that people's attitudes about LGBT people are more likely to be supportive when they have had an opportunity to talk to LGBT people about what it means to be LGBT," said Matt Coles, Director of the ACLU's LGBT & AIDS Project. "We're hoping this symposium will spark many of those important conversations."

...The LGBT Pride symposium marks the second in a continuing series of symposiums hosted by the ACLU. The ACLU Blog of Rights will serve as an online home for the discussion of crucial civil liberties issues including privacy, freedom of speech and religion, capital punishment, racial justice, voter rights, and the rights of LGBT people, immigrants, women, and prisoners. Blog posts will highlight current legislation, litigation and efforts to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The ACLU Blog of Rights is online at: http://blog.aclu.org/

The ACLU's LGBT Project recently launched its LGBT activist toolkit, Get Busy, Get Equal, to encourage LGBT people to work for equality in their communities. In addition to the blog, which features a weekday roundup of LGBT news and discussion about the ACLU's advocacy on behalf of LGBT people, the site provides instructions on how to organize and work to pass local ordinances barring LGBT discrimination, domestic partner registries and safe school policies. The Get Busy, Get Equal toolkit is online at www.aclu.org/getequal.
Check out the Blog Of Rights Symposium. Posts on civil equality are already up from Pam Spaulding, Bil Browning, John Aravosis, Kate Clinton, Andrew Belonsky, and many others.

Labels: , , ,


Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of Fly Life Inc, today's Swag Tuesday booty is two tickets to Donna Summer in concert as she tours to support her hit album Crayons, which is now in stores and has already launched two hit singles: I'm A Fire (#1 Dance) and Stamp Your Feet (#6 Dance this week and rising.) Summer's first studio album in 17 years, Crayons debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at #17, her highest debuting album ever.
Summer helped to define the 70’s pop music generation and Crayons will have all the characteristics that made Donna an icon. Containing a potent mix of the up-tempo tunes and ballads, the new album showcases incredible new material that is written by Donna (who wrote or co-wrote the majority of her hits of the 70's and 80's). Working with Donna are renowned writers and producers including: Greg Kurstin (Lilly Allen, Pink), Danielle Brisebois (Natasha Bedingfield, New Radicals), JR Rotem (Sean Kingston, Rihanna), Evan Bogart (co-writer of Rihanna's smash "SOS" and the son of legendary record executive, Casablanca Records founder and Donna's mentor, Neil Bogart), and Lester Mendez (Shakira, Santana).

Donna’s long list of musical accomplishments include: 14 #1 Billboard singles, 12 Gold and Platinum singles, 5 Grammy Awards, 6 American Music Awards, 2 Double Platinum albums, 1 Platinum album, 8 Gold albums. Her song “Last Dance” won both Oscar and Golden Globe awards.
Complete tour information is here. Today's swag giveaway is for the following dates only:

Boston - Sat July 12th
NJ PNC - Fri July 18th
Jones Beach NY - Sat July 19th
Atlantic City - Fri July 25th
Oakland - Sat Aug 16th
Los Angeles - Fri Aug 22nd
Chicago - Sat Aug 30th

Enter to win tickets to see Donna Summer by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave an email address that you check frequently. Entries close at midnight Wednesday EST. Tickets are transferable to another party if you are unable to be at one of the above listed dates. Publicists: if you'd like take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

Labels: ,


Winter Party Generates Record Donation

The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's Winter Party Festival (which took place in March) generated a record donation of $180,000 to Miami's Dade Community Foundation GLBT Community Projects Fund.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force announced at a Coconut Grove reception last night that $200,000 from the 11th Annual Miami Recognition Dinner and the 2008 Winter Party Festival will benefit the local Miami GLBT community. Of that amount, $180,000 will be granted to Dade Community Foundation’s GLBT Community Projects Fund to be disbursed to local organizations providing critical services to LGBT people. The remaining $20,000 will be used to conduct a long-term strategic planning process for the future of the Winter Party Festival. Last year the Task Force’s donation to the Foundation was $160,000.
Pictured are the NGLTF's Russell Roybal presenting a ceremonial check to Dade Community Foundation's Ruth Shack. Non-profit + volunteers + fantastic setting = good work. Win, win, win.

Labels: , , , , ,


Booty Stall

Tuesday, 8:45AM, Third Avenue

Woman On Cell: So he calls me, get this, at 3am, and he's all 'Ooh, baby. I miss you so much.' And I'm all 'Yeah, well I miss Jesus but you ain't gettin' any ass from either of us at 3am.'

Labels: , ,


UK Nightclub Survey: 41% Of Poz Gay Men Unaware Of Status

A survey conducted in gay nightclubs in the UK revealed that 41% of the men who tested HIV positive were unaware of their status.
The survey, which took oral fluid samples from over 3500 men in gay bars, clubs and sauna's around the UK, found that 9% of men who took part in the survey were HIV positive. The surveys were carried out in Glasgow and Edinburgh by the MRC, and in London, Brighton and Manchester by the UCL Centre for Sexual Health and HIV Research.

Of the 3501 men who took part in the survey 318 (9%) were found to be HIV infected and of these 131 (41.2%) were unaware of their status. 92% of those who were found to be HIV infected have previously had and HIV test and 62.3% thought that they were still HIV negative. The results also found that men with undiagnosed or diagnosed HIV positive status were more likely to have unsafe sex then men who were HIV negative. The results show that although persuading more men to find out there status is important, more work needs to be done to persuade men who are aware or unsure of their HIV status to practice safer sex

On the upside, it seems encouraging that only 9% of the total sample were positive.

Labels: , ,


Oregon LGBT Rights Repeal Fails

It's a day for good news:
Social conservatives and church groups are admitting defeat in their efforts to collect signatures for initiatives to repeal two Oregon gay rights laws in this November's election.

The campaigns were aimed at derailing a domestic partnership law and another new law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Both were enacted by the 2007 Legislature.

Opponents say they are dropping their efforts to qualify the repeal initiatives for this fall's ballot because neither has received a state-approved ballot title and the deadline for turning in signatures is only a few weeks away - July 3rd.

Labels: ,


The Hate Truck

These idiots were among the mere dozens of protesters at SF's City Hall yesterday and were far, far outnumbered by those celebrating. Photo by Storm Bear, from the Bilerico gay marriage photosite.

Labels: , , , ,


Al Gore Endorses Obama,
Is He A Veep Prospect?

Al Gore finally endorsed Obama last night.
Former Vice President Al Gore made his debut appearance in the presidential campaign here Monday evening, offering a vigorous endorsement of Senator Barack Obama and urging Democrats to keep in mind the consequences of not taking the general election with grave seriousness.

“Looking back over the last eight years, I can tell you that we have already learned one important fact since the year 2000,” Mr. Gore said. “Take it from me, elections matter. If you think the next appointments to the Supreme Court are important, you know that elections matter.”

Mr. Gore and Mr. Obama strode onto the stage arm in arm to thundering applause from a crowd of nearly 20,000 people at a downtown arena. As Mr. Gore ticked through a long list of challenges facing the nation, he hailed Mr. Obama as “clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.”

Mr. Gore had purposefully stayed on the sidelines during the long Democratic primary fight. He announced his endorsement of Mr. Obama a few hours earlier on Monday in a message to supporters on the former vice president’s vast e-mail list. Their appearance here touched off a flurry of curiosity among Democrats, with many quietly asking if Mr. Gore would be on Mr. Obama’s list of prospective running mates.
Oh please oh please oh please.

Labels: , ,


Meet The Tyler-Olsons

Robin Tyler and Diane Olson were the first couple married in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. Fabulous shot by LA Times photographer Luis Sinco.

Labels: , ,


Morning View - Three New Yorks

I like this bit from E.B. White that I found posted in the subway:
There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter - the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to the New York in quest of something. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion.
I am a settler.

Labels:


Monday, June 16, 2008

Hitched!!!

Labels: , , , , ,


Paging Auntie Em

Check out this incredible shot of a tornado touching down in Iowa as caught by local woman Lori Mehman. Somehow nobody was killed. And down in Fort Lauderdale our own Father Tony caught a gorgeous shot of a waterspout just off the coast.

Labels: , , ,


Watch Online: First Gay Weddings In CA

You can watch today's historic gay marriages in California online here. Ceremonies began at 5PM California time.

Labels: , ,


HomoQuotable - Andrew Sullivan

"This blog [Sullivan's] has long described the useless organization called the Human Rights Campaign as a tool of the Hillary Clinton campaign. But the scale of the group's enmeshment with the Clintons is revealed by Michael Petrelis's research into the campaign contributions of all its major figures.

"The final tally? Drum roll: Hillary Clinton: $4,300, Chris Dodd: $3,000, John Edwards: $750, Bill Richardson: $500, Barack Obama: $0.

"In the end, they couldn't even fake it. When Obama got the nomination, the news of HRC's endorsement was made on the HRC website by a college intern! The trouble, of course, is that the fusion of gay rights with the Clinton machine - fatal to gay equality in the 1990s - has not exactly given the lobbying group much cachet with the next potential Democratic president.

"Meanwhile, Solmonese's record on Capitol Hill is, despite his breathless promises a while back, non-existent.

"They still haven't passed their hate crimes bill; the employment non-discrimination bill is still in limbo (they were insisting it should be the priority over marriage and the military two decades ago!), Don't Ask, Don't Tell still stands, and HRC didn't even ask the presidential candidates what their position was on the HIV immigration and tourism ban on their election questionnaire. One reason the US still has the same HIV immigration and tourism policies as Saudi Arabia and Yemen is because the US chief gay lobby group is more interested in selling tchotchkes than standing up for gay people or people with HIV.

"But fear not: they have persuaded Christian Siriano to design a "fierce, fabulous, flawless" t-shirt for the summer. This is what the suckers still give them money for." - Andrew Sullivan.

While I am not uncritical of the HRC, I wouldn't necessarily characterize the personal donations of a few thousand dollars by HRC executives as "enmeshment", nor would I saddle them as being entirely responsible for the failures of the movement.

Labels: , ,


Gotham Still Safest Big U.S. City

The 2007 murder stats have been compiled and once again New York City has the lowest homicide rate of the 25 biggest cities in the nation.
New York's safe, but not this safe: There are nine big cities in the United States where not a single murder occurred last year. Ann Arbor, Mich.; Cambridge, Mass.; and Provo, Utah; are among the kill-free zones, FBI crime stats for 2007 show. Bellevue, Wash.; Costa Mesa, Daly City and Huntington Beach, Calif.; Pembroke Pines, Fla.; and Westminster, Colo., round out the cities with populations of at least 100,000 that had no murders in 2007.

While New York City can't make that claim, its 2007 homicide tally of fewer than 500 meant it was the safest of the nation's 25 largest cities - and safer than many smaller cities. The bloodiest was New Orleans, with 94.7 murders per 100,000 population in 2007, compared with New York City's rate of 6 slayings per 100,000.

New York ranked 129th out of the nation's 251 cities with populations of more than 100,000. "The numbers continue to go in the right direction, and it's because of the impressive efforts of the men and women of the NYPD, as well as our innovative policing strategies and efforts to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals," Mayor Bloomberg said.

Murders in New York City declined 16.8%, compared with 2.7% nationally. In addition, the FBI's report showed that violent crime in New York City decreased 3.1% last year, outpacing a national drop of 1.4%.
If I read that right, you're about 20 times more likely to be murdered in New Orleans than in NYC. And it's interesting that Pembroke Pines, Florida is listed as one of the nine "big" cities with no murders in 2007. I lived in Pembroke Pines for a couple of my Fort Lauderdale years and always thought of it as more of a Lauderdale neighborhood than as a "big city" of its own.

Labels: ,


Let My Partner Stay

Another great viewer-created clip from CurrentTV: "Because same-sex marriages are not recognized in the United States, certain marital benefits, like the advantage of permanent residency for a foreign born partner, are denied to bi-national spouses. This commonly results in the foreign partner being forced to leave the United States, and their loved ones, behind. Brittany and Joanna's story is one of thousands."

Labels: ,


The Last Father's Day

The Family Research Council ran this bit of loveliness in some California newspapers over the weekend.

Labels: , , ,


The Real David Benkof

Those of you who engaged David Benkof in the comments of last week's HomoQuotable post about him will be interested in Timothy Kincaid's exhaustive expose' on Benkof over at Box Turtle Bulletin. Go read Kincaid's post - it's a corker.

Labels: , ,


The Gay Brain

An interesting confirmation of Simon Levay's work:
Scientists have recently found that the brains of homosexuals have structural and functional differences from those of their straight counterparts.

The Wellcome Trust Centre for neuro-imaging at University College London used magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI to look into the brains of 80 men and women, including 16 gays and 15 lesbians.

They found that lesbians have a "male-like" proportion and distribution of grey matter in their brain when compared with heterosexual women.

"In homosexual women, the perirhinal cortex grey matter displayed a male-like structural pattern," the researchers said in a paper published in the Public Library of Science. The perirhinal area is associated with social and sexual behaviour. Another study done in Sweden claims that chemical pheromones, which affect our sense of smell, are different for gay men and straight men.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy for Science, Ivanka Savic of the Karolinska Institutet presented 12 gay men, 12 heterosexual woman and 12 heterosexual men with male sweat.

She found that both heterosexual women and gay men responded strongly when smelling male sweat which contained a chemical found in the male hormone testosterone while heterosexual men have little response.

These work reports similar findings to the widely published work of Simon LeVay in 1991. LeVay worked on brains of both homosexual and heterosexual people who died of AIDS and found that the anterior hypothalamus, an area linked to sexual behaviour, is twice as big in heterosexual men compared to women and homosexual men.
As the story notes, both this new study and LeVay's used very small samples, making their conclusions difficult to support.

Labels:


On Party Etiquette

This little gem appeared in yesterday's new etiquette column in the New York Times:
You’re at someone’s house who starts talking about how wrong gay marriage is. You are gay. What do you do?

Anonymous

Assuming you’re an advocate of gay marriage, you should calmly make your best argument for equal treatment. Your host may not have heard a persuasive case before — at least not by a gay man sitting in his living room. If, after a period of give and take, he persists in his view of “Adam and Eve,” not “Adam and Steve,” tell him you’ll have to agree to disagree, and leave it at that.

You may be annoyed for the rest of the evening, but the ability to differ in a civilized way speaks volumes to your character. Plus, there are so many excellent cleaning products on the market these days that spilling your boeuf bourguignon all over his sofa won’t leave permanent stains anyway.
(Via - Queerty)

Labels: ,


Westboro To Picket First Gay Wedding
In San Francisco

Fred Phelps and his Westboro loonies will be picketing at San Francisco City Hall today to picket the wedding of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, the couple that was first to marry there back in 2004 and who will repeat their history ceremony legally today at 5:00PM.

But in a way, having a raving nutjob like Phelps there may actually help our side. Casual bigotry may not seem so harmless when you see your own hate reflected in twisted faces of the Westboro Church.

Labels: , , ,


2008 Tony Awards

Dammit, I forgot to record the Tony Awards. How was it? Major winners here. Best Musical: In The Heights. Best Play: August: Osage County. Nothing for Xanadu. Boo.
"August: Osage County" came out as a big winner at the 62nd annual Tony Awards on Sunday. It won five awards in all, including Best Play. The darkly comedic play, which focuses on a dysfunctional Oklahoma family, also won Best Leading Actress in a Play, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, Best Direction of a Play, and Best Scenic Design of a Play. Meanwhile, "South Pacific" has dominated the musical categories of the night. It garnered a total of 7 Tonys, including Best Revival of a Musical.

Labels: ,


Morning View - 14th & 6th

Labels: