Evening View - 42nd Street

Christian Right Launches Anti-Gay Campaign Against Annise Parker

Openly lesbian Houston mayoral candidate Annise Parker, who faces a runoff election next month, is the target of an anti-gay campaign by conservatives and Christians who say they fear a "gay takeover" at Houston City Hall.

A cluster of socially conservative Houstonians is planning a campaign to discourage voters from choosing City Controller Annise Parker in the December mayoral runoff because she is a lesbian, according to multiple ministers and conservatives involved in the effort. The group is motivated by concerns about a “gay takeover” of City Hall, given that two other candidates in the five remaining City Council races are also openly gay, as well as national interest driven by the possibility that Houston could become the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay woman.

Another primary concern is that Parker or other elected officials would seek to overturn a 2001 city charter amendment that prohibits the city from providing benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees. “The bottom line is that we didn't pick the battle, she did, when she made her agenda and sexual preference a central part of her campaign,” said Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, numbering more than 200 senior pastors in the Greater Houston area. “National gay and lesbian activists see this as a historic opportunity. The reality is that's because they're promoting an agenda which we believe to be contrary to the concerns of the community and destructive to the family.” Welch said he had “no doubt” there would be numerous independent advocacy efforts urging voters not to choose Parker, most of which would involve mail.

Annise Parker's campaign and fundraising site is here.

Miss Ladyfingers USA, The DVD?

Executives at porn studio Vivid Entertainment say they've seen one of Carrie Prejean's sex tapes and they are SO ready to sign her up as their newest porn star.

"We've now seen the footage that has been so much in the news lately, we've reviewed it and we are ready to negotiate with Carrie," said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of Vivid, adding, "we look forward to contacting Carrie and forging a business relationship with her." "The footage we saw is a series of very graphic and hot clips," Mr. Hirsch said. "Let's just say that she appears to be totally enthusiastic and is thoroughly enjoying herself. Carrie says the tape was 'the biggest mistake of my life.' That may be, but she can take this mistake and turn it into cold, hard cash. I'm more convinced than ever that this could be our best-selling Vivid-Celeb tape." Mr. Hirsch said that the third party that brought the tape to Vivid affirmed that she was over 18 years of age at the time it was made.

In May of this year Vivid made its first offer to Prejean of $1-million to make a movie with the company after her controversy with the Miss USA Pageant. Last week, the studio renewed its offer based on the discovery of her sex footage and the realization that she was comfortable having sex before a camera. The Prejean movie would be distributed under the Vivid-Celeb imprint, which is known for titles starring such personalities as Shauna Sand, Kim Kardashian and Ray J, Jimi Hendrix, Vince Neil and others.

What else does she have to lose?

WATCH: Maine's No On 1 Documentary

Both beautiful and heartbreaking. WATCH THIS.

80's Flashback

The Human League, Love Action (I Believe In Love), 1981. The second single from its landmark breakthrough album Dare, Love Action topped out at #3 on the UK pop chart, but saw no such success in the U.S. where the band would remain virtually unknown until Dare's fourth single almost two years later brought the band global success with Don't You Want Me. Love Action's line "this is Phil talking" is a reference to Iggy Pop's "Jesus, this is Iggy talking," as the band had toured as his opening act. The single's subtitle is directly lifted from Lou Reed's I Believe In Love. Reed is further referenced when Phil Oakey sings, "I believe what the old man said." To date, the Human League has had 17 Top 40 hits in the UK, six in the U.S., where they last charted with 1995's Tell Me When.

Carrie Prejean XXX Avalanche: THIRTY Nude Photos, EIGHT Sex Tapes

When it rains, it fucking pours Miss Ladyfingers USA's vajayjay. Radar Online reports that another thirty nude photos and seven solo sex tapes of Carrie Prejean have surfaced. She made "the biggest mistake of my life" at least 38 times!

There are 30 nude photos and eight sex tapes of former Miss California Carrie Prejean, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively. It’s the most shocking turn yet in a scandal that has continued to follow the woman whose anti-gay marriage stance led to a national controversy and pitted her against pageant organizers. Stripped of her crown, Prejean sued the Miss California USA pageant but reportedly settled after the sex tape surfaced. She called the sex tape the biggest mistake of her life. Now a RadarOnline.com investigation has uncovered that there are SEVEN more “biggest mistakes” of her life – all of them solo performances, just like the one sex tape that the religious beauty queen has admitted to. And there are 30 photos of Carrie, most topless, some showing everything, and most taken by Carrie using her reflection in a mirror.

NOTE: Last week's JMG post titled Carrie Prejean Sex Tape at the moment remains the top Google result for that query - having brought in about 1.2 million pervy hits to this here website thingy over the last ten days. That doesn't mean much for us, except that porn spammers have been dropping malware and virus-laden links into many Ladyfingers-related posts. Beware and do not click out!

RNC Health Plan Covered Abortions

After all the screaming about "Obamacare" paying to kill babies comes the news that the Republican National Committee's employee health plan covered abortions. For the last 18 years.

More Right-Wingers Attack LDS Support Of Salt Lake City LGBT Rights

Today the anti-gay right-wing group America Forever faxed 80,000 members of the Mormon Church a message attacking the LDS's recent support of Salt Lake City's new LGBT right law.

It is an outrage that The LDS Church was placed in this position by the gays from Utah and their movement; it is a shame to all the people of the state. The LDS Church should not be placed in this position. The reason the gays continue to harass The LDS Church is because they feel that the endorsement will sway all of the citizens of Utah and make state legislators promote the gay agenda. Furthermore, dragging the church down this road will do great harm. If people of the state of Utah and legislators are not careful, the gays will come up with a way to prove that The LDS Church runs the state and that it has too much political power, putting the church’s tax exemption status at risk. As members of the church, one must stand with the truth and separate themselves politically from being swayed by church endorsement. Everyone knows where The LDS Church stands and God does not endorse homosexuality to the children, it is a sin against nature. Stop waiting for the church to stand up and say: “please do all you can to save marriage in California”. All these laws are nothing but a backdoor to same sex marriage. Anti-discrimination laws open the backdoor for mayors to give out marriage licenses like in, San Francisco, New Jersey, San Diego, and many other cities in the nation.

The message concludes: "You have said no to drugs, no to pornography, no to prostitution, why can’t you say no to homosexuality?"

American Family Association's OneNewsNow Falls For Divorce Ban Parody

Remember back in September when i told you about John Marcott's hilarious plan to have divorce banned in California? Marcotte's Rescue Marriage site has the tagline ""You said 'til death do us part.' You're not dead yet" which should have given it away to the American Family Association's OneNewsNow:

The traditional marriage advocate points to the Bible as validating marriage and providing limited reasons for divorce. "It's a little difficult to translate God's law into the law of a secular state, so I think this is about as close as we can come without probably running into some constitutional issues," Marcotte explains. He adds that media attention has helped get the message out, and that people are talking more about the issue. His hope is that the growing discussion will translate into enough petition signatures for a 2010 ballot. His group has organized "The Wedding March on the Capitol" on Saturday (Nov. 14), and has also established a Facebook fan page that has attracted more than 9,000 fans.

Hah!

India: "O" Is For "Other"

Voters in India will now have the option of identifying themselves as male, female, or "other" on ballot forms.

Indian election authorities Thursday granted what they called an independent identity to intersex and transsexuals in the country's voter lists. Before, members of these groups -- loosely called eunuchs in Indian English -- were referred to as male or female in the voter rolls. But now, they will have the choice to tick "O" -- for others -- when indicating their gender in voter forms, the Indian election commission said in a statement. "Enumerators and booth-level officers (BLOs) shall be instructed to indicate the sex of eunuchs/transsexuals etc as 'O' if they so desire, while undertaking any house-to-house enumeration/verification of any application," a statement from election authorities said. India, home to more than 1 billion people, has 714 million registered voters.

This summer India legalized gay sex between consenting adult partners.

Restore Equality 2010

JMG reader Sean Chapin sends us his clip promoting Restore Equality 2010, the petition and fundraising drive to put marriage equality on the 2010 ballot in California. Many major LGBT and progressive groups have decided to wait unto 2012 for such an attempt.

Quote Of The Day - Anonymous

A friend of mine wrote to angrily demand why I and a mutual friend had both become a "fan" of Carrie Prejean on Facebook. I responded that one must be a fan in order to post comments. Our mutual friend, who prefers to remain anonymous, had a much, much better response.

I guess it was the first time I ever saw nude photos of her, standing on that balcony in Hawaii in a pair of pink thong bikini bottoms. One hand was resting on the rail and the other was teasing a strawberry-red nipple to erection. There was something about her mouth, the way her lips were half-open and something about her eyes.

As I browsed through photo after photo of that particular session, I felt like I made some sort of connection with her. I saw her eyes dilate and become dark wells of need. There was one photo where she sat, her breasts straining against her folded arms, on a stool in a room that looked like a hotel bathroom.

There was something going on in her mind during that photo. It looked like a dam was about to break. A huge, undulating inland sea of pure, animal lust was building up behind the Puritanical wall that we knew as Miss California USA. I felt like it was going to burst at any moment and I wanted to be there.

That is why I became a Facebook friend of Carrie Prejean.

The Best One Yet

From Christwire:

It is a well-known fact that the homosexuals have been secretly working to subvert American laws for quite some time, but the new violent turn has surprised many people (other than myself). It may have its roots in the political loss in Maine, where voters unanimously said they hate the gay lifestyle that has been overrunning their state with bed & breakfast hotels and antique shops for years. In the past, homosexuals have thrilled at outlaw sex, whether it’s hard up against a wall in 1950s public restrooms, in the 1960s in Manhattan’s West Side piers where orgies of horny, drug-addled libertines would rape each other until dawn or even in the coke-fueled 70s where big hair and flared slacks didn’t prevent them from spraying their sticky seed showers from San Francisco to Savannah.

Lately, the gays have become obsessed with homosexual marriage. They have tried to bribe numerous politicians with fundraising campaigns, political action committees and threats of voting in blocks to pursue this perverted un-Constitutional agenda. With musky thrill of a few wrongheaded victories, the gays have pushed harder, demanding greater visibility on network television, gay-themed cruise lines and the legalization of adoption. Other issues demanded by the sex-crazed sodomizers: the right for a street twink to visit his rich “sugar daddy” in the hospital so he can pull the life support plug and inherit his estate, the legalization of public displays of affection and sodomy, and the right for gays to sneak into the military so they can leer at our handsome and virile fighting men. Now that the homosexuals have taken to voting and arming themselves, is there any doubt they may achieve these goals?

Read the entire thing and catch the photo of me wearing a suicide bomb vest.

BearForce1 Is No More

Bearotic reports today that BearForce1, the world's most popular "bear band" (and there are a few) has broken up. Oh well, even with more cast changes than the Supremes, they were good for a laugh. I even saw them in "concert" at NYC's Splash Bar and can still do the silly Bearforce1 dance. Here's their first and biggest hit from two years ago, which actually did OK in Europe and landed them numerous gay Pride gigs.

Cincinnati: Threats Force Removal Of Atheism Billboard

Two days after it went up, yesterday a Cincinnati billboard promoting atheism was removed after the landlord of its site received "multiple serious threats."

The group that funded the billboard, the United Coalition of Reason, was contacted by Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati. Lamar reported that the landowner of the site had been threatened over the billboard's message and wanted it taken down. "We weren't given the landowner's identity or precise details," reported Fred Edwords, national director of the United Coalition of Reason. "Nor did we pursue them. It was sufficient to learn that multiple, significant threats had been received and that Lamar would act quickly to alleviate the problem. Lamar was most apologetic to us regarding the situation. It was a development they hadn't expected. Nor had we. Nothing like this has ever happened to us before." "Everything that has happened shows just how vital our message is," said Shawn Jeffers, co-coordinator for the Cincinnati Coalition of Reason. "It proves our point, that bigotry against people who don't believe in a god is still very real in America. Only when we atheists, agnostics and humanists come together and go public about our views will people have a chance to learn that we too are part of the community and deserve respect."

The billboard was moved to a less visible location, locals still aren't happy. "I think the sign needs to come down. Its atheist. Its going to cause problems around all the churches, not just Catholic, but Lutheran, baptist, all of them," said one man.

(Tipped by JMG reader Dorothy)

Utah Unthink Tank: Sexual Orientation Is Nothing But An Illusion

Fallout for the Mormon Church's unprecedented support for LGBT rights in Utah is already coming. A representative from the Sutherland Institute, whose "about" page describes themselves as a "public policy group" looking to "transcend impulsive, convenient, or self-serving policies" told the audience at a debate with Equality Utah that "sexual orientation is an illusion" and that "the gloves must come off" in their battle with the gay community.

(Via Chino Blanco @ Pam's House Blend)

Olbermann On Palin's Book Tour

Keith Olbermann calls Sarah Palin's book tour just a smokescreen for the "first leg of her 2012 election campaign."

Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri: I'm Open To Domestic Partnerships

Just days after he vetoed a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to make burial decisions about each other, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri now says he's "open" to considering a domestic partnership law.

“Maybe it’s something we should consider,” said Carcieri, after meeting privately Thursday for more than an hour in his office with a half-dozen members of Queer Action of Rhode Island, a group that in the immediate aftermath of his veto had labeled him “a bigot.” Among those attending was Mark Goldberg, the Providence East Sider whose five-week battle to claim the body of his partner of 17 years from the state morgue, had sparked the vetoed legislation. Citing as a possible model the “everything but marriage” referendum that won approval in the state of Washington earlier this month, Carcieri said: “I don’t know enough, yet. All I am saying is I understand the circumstances. I understand the difficulties” that can arise for same-sex couples and others — such as widows living with widowers, and widows with other widows — outside the legal framework of a traditional marriage. “Let’s see if we can find a way to solve that without discreet [pieces] of legislation every time something comes up. I just don’t think that is the right way to deal with it,” he said.

Carcieri has shown no previous inclination towards equality and has attended fundraisers for MassResistance, New England's most vile anti-gay hate group.

Teabaggers Vs. Teabaggers

They're suing each other now! Loves it!

Broadway Friday

-Rocker Reeve Carney has been named as the title lead for Spider-Man: The Musical. The lavish but troubled $40M production is scheduled to open sometime next year. Music by Bono and the Edge.

-Green Day's American Idiot musical is headed for Broadway after this weekend's close of its Berkeley debut. No theater or opening date has been announced.

-Dame Edna and Micheal Feinstein roped reporters into the oldest trick in the book - a staged celebrity feud - over their Broadway dueling shows with the same title, All About Me. Feinstein: "Titles are not copyrightable. I wish Ms. Edna well. I’ve heard of her." Dame Edna: "I’m sure Mrs. Feinstein is very proud of her son."

-Cheyenne Jackson is receiving rave reviews for his leading performance in Finian's Rainbow. Jackson, who debuted on 30 Rock last night, says he'd like to play Rock Hudson in a biopic about the late closeted star.

-"April Nixon, Jack Noseworthy, Marty Thomas, Lillias White, and Alyson Williams will perform at the launch party for Gay Life NYC, a non-profit AIDS Health Resources website. The event will be held at Splash Bar on Monday, November 16 at 11pm."

-Denzel Washington returns to Broadway this spring for a revival of August Wilson's Fences in the role originated 22 years ago by James Earl Jones.

-Friend of JMG: Jim Brochu opens his Ovation Award winning one-man show about Zero Mostel, Zero Hour, at St. Clement's Theatre this weekend. Highly recommended! Get tickets here. Limited engagement Nov.14th - Jan.31st.

'Til Death Do You Part (Or Not)

A new study by a Seattle oncologist shows that when married men get a cancer diagnosis, 3% of the their wives leave them during the course of treatment. But when women get cancer, 21% of their husbands leave them. That's seven times as many.

When the man became ill, only 3 percent experienced the end of a marriage. But among women, about 21 percent ended up separated or divorced. Among couples who split up, divorce occurred, on average, about six months after the diagnosis, although there was wide variability in the timing. It is not known whether the illness prompted the breakup or whether the couples in the study who divorced were already experiencing marital problems before the diagnosis. If couples are happy before the diagnosis, it appears that men are more likely to abandon wives who become seriously ill. If couples are already troubled before a partner becomes ill, the finding suggests that women in unhappy marriages are less likely to proceed with a divorce if their husbands become ill.

Sanctity of marriage, in sickness and in health, what God has joined, blah blah blah. Dan Savage nails it on this: "If homosexuality were a choice, like conservative Christians insist, wouldn't most women have chosen it by now?" I think we should name this phenomenon after Newt Gingrich, who famously served his uterine cancer-stricken wife divorce papers while she was still in the hospital. What's should the expression be? Pulling a Gingrich? Naw, too many possibilities there.

80's Flashback

Sheila B. Devotion, Spacer, 1980. French pop singer Anne Chancel took this Chic production to the top five of most European countries and the top of the American dance charts, selling five million copies along the way. Most of you tender kittens will know Spacer as the basis for Alcazar's 2000 smash, Crying At The Discotheque. It was a great year for Chic's Niles Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, who in 1980 also produced landmark albums for Diana Ross (Upside Down, I'm Coming Out) and Sister Sledge (Got To Love Somebody), as well as their own underrated Real People. For a laugh, go back and listen to Sheila B. Devotion's first big disco hit, 1978's cover of Singing In The Rain, which is one of the more amusing French-accented attempts at an American standard. I'm singing in deh reeeeennnn. Trivia: In some countries, the act was billed as Sheila and Black Devotion, the name of her backup dancers.

Maggie Gallagher Flashback

Jeremy Hooper at Good As You digs up the best stuff. In this 80's clip from the horrible Morton Downey Show, dig who's waiting at the microphone to attack feminist lawyer Gloria Allred. Maggie doesn't speak in this clip, which is too bad because we'd love to hear how she sounded when she only hated her own gender.

It's A JMG Media Frenzy

If you're not really bored with the story, here's a roundup of some of the news coverage about Peter LaBarbera, Matt Barber, and the Liberty Counsel calling the FBI about this here website thingy. Like an internet game of "Telephone," the story bounced from one wingnut site to another, getting worse along the way until it looked like I, myself, had called for the bombing of churches.

From The Left.....
Village Voice
Conservatives War With Gay Blogger, Call FBI Over Comments
Pink News UK
Gay Blogger Accused Of Terrorism By Religious Right-Wingers
National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Association
Is The FBI Coming After JoeMyGod?
The Advocate
Right-Winger Calls FBI On Joe.My.God.
The Raw Story
Conservative Group Links Gay Rights Movement To Islamic Terrorism
Washington Blade
Don't Give The Fundies Fodder
Stinque
Let's All Exploit Murdered Soldiers!

From The Right....
Land Of The Free
"Gay" Activists Mull "Organized Terrorism" Against Christians
World Net Daily -
"Gay" Blogger Calls Church-Bomb Threat A "Joke"
OneNewsNow (Focus On The Family)
Homosexual Blog Forecasts Violence
Illinois Family Institute
Aggression In The Campaign To Destroy Marriage

Many other wingnut sites have have reprinted the above stories, here's a few: Dakota Voice, Free Republic, Free Republic (again), Patriots & Liberty, (Interestingly, one conservative religious blog came to my defense.)

Still no call or visit from the FBI, what with them having to deal with actual terrorists threats against the president on hundreds of hate sites. Meanwhile, I've deleted a couple of dozen obviously planted comments made by LaBarbera/Barber supporters, most of whom laughably don't even know enough gay lingo to sound remotely real. Here's one I read on Michelangelo's radio show yesterday: "As a BLGT man I am ready to take a machine gun to the closest church!" He's BLGT! All at once!

Funny, yes. But it's also a vivid example of the Christianist campaign to fabricate any kind of incident that they can then use as an example of "homosexual violence" against Christians. Speaking of which, JMG commenter Cold Country, whom Peter LaBarbera described yesterday as a "violent homosexual extremist," wrote to me to out herself as a 59 year-old straight woman. Sorry, Porno Pete - you don't have that "smoking gun" yet!

Yesterday the Village Voice contacted me to see if I wanted to respond to LaBarbera's whiny complaint to them that I was "uncivil" to him. I said, "Yeah, tell him I said 'Fuck you! Fuck you right in the ear.'" How's that for civil?

NYC Tops Gay Tourism Destinations List

According to the 14th annual survey by the LGBT-focused Community Marketing, Inc, New York City remains the top choice for LGBT tourists. The reports notes that the poor economy has affected gay travel to most destinations in the last year. The top five:

1) New York
2) Las Vegas
3) San Francisco
4) Los Angeles / West Hollywood
5) Chicago

Overall trends included:
1) Due to the deep recession, almost all destinations experienced a decrease in LGBT travel, except Washington DC which garnered higher numbers.
2) The rankings remain remarkably consistent from past years. A few destinations such as Seattle, however, did jump up in rankings.
3) The top seven LGBT destinations experienced the least decline in LGBT visitors, while other destinations experienced larger declines.
4) Overall, leisure travel declined slightly among LGBT travelers, but business travel and cruise travel saw steeper drop-offs.

A top 25 list of destinations, broken down by gender and reason for visit, is available at the above link.

GuidoTV

Massachusetts Hate Group Works To Eliminate Gay Youth Commission

MassResistance, one of the Christian right organizations listed as anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has filed a bill to eliminate a Massachusetts state commission created to protect LGBT students. From their website:

As a major part of our fight to take back the schools for parents, we have filed Bill H145, which would eliminate the Massachusetts Commission on Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Youth by repealing the statute which created it. The public hearing is his coming Monday, November 16 at 2:00 pm in Room A-1 of the State House, before the Committee on Children, Families & Persons with Disabilities. You can bet that the homosexual lobby will be there to stop this from passing. No other state (or country) has such a bizarre "commission". Frankly, no one outside of Massachusetts can believe that it even exists. This official "Commission" is made up of the most radical hardcore homosexual and transgender groups and activists in the state (including men who dress as women with hormone-induced "breasts" and a woman who has surgically removed her breasts and grown a beard). Their purpose is to normalize homosexuality, transgenderism, and related behaviors to schoolchildren without their parents' knowledge or involvement.

The bill will be heard on Monday. I'll advise on whatever response is planned by the people who don't want to see LGBT children beaten, bullied, and killing themselves.

Marriage Optimism In Albany

Over at Gay City News, Paul Schindler has written an inside look at the negotiations to get the state senate to agree to a marriage equality vote before the end of the year. The Empire State Pride Agenda's Alan Van Capelle and openly gay Sen. Thomas Duane remain optimistic that "the votes are there."

“For the very first time, we have an historic commitment from the Senate majority to bring the bill to the floor,” Van Capelle told Gay City News the morning after the announcement. “I believe that we had the votes to pass the bill in June. I believe if it had been debated last night we would have had the votes.” Others echoed Van Capelle’s assessment of the significance of Tuesday evening’s announcement. “I would say that what it means is that there is almost a certainty that the marriage equality bill be voted on imminently,” said Marty Rouse, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign, which was also represented at the Paterson meeting. Agreeing with ESPA’s handicapping of the bill’s chances, Rouse said, “We’ve talked to our legislative allies, and our understanding is that the votes will be there when the vote comes to the floor.” Senators also voiced satisfaction, with Duane telling Gay City News, “I feel very happy, very positive.”

However NY1 has today posted a recap of likely votes and it doesn't look good.

While the vote is all but guaranteed, the bill's passage is anything but. A NY1 tally of lawmakers shows support for same sex marriage is not even half way there. Of 62 senators, 21 are supportive. The remaining 41 are opposed, wouldn't say, or couldn't be reached Wednesday, a state holiday. Proponents admit some of the 30 Republicans will be needed. A spokesman for the GOP conference says none are publicly supportive. Opponents like New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms Executive Director Jason McGuire say they have reason to be concerned at the polls, referencing a socially moderate Republican pushed out by a conservative in a recent congressional contest upstate. "No senator wants to be the next Dede Scozzafava and lose their seat because of the issue of marriage," McGuire said. On the other side, there's political heft for supporters facing a tough vote. Generous campaign contributions from gay rights supporters helped return Democrats to senate power for the first time in more than four decades.

PhoboQuotable - Bert Chapman

"Think of how much constructively such money could have been spent on public health issues such as improved sanitation, immunizations, and other more worthwhile programs instead of promoting immoral and self-destructive behavior through needle exchanges and widespread condom distribution. The money invested on AIDS research could be returned to taxpayers or transferred to more worthwhile areas of public health research such as cancer, heart disease, combating pandemic conditions like H1N1 flu, and promoting responsible sexual behavior such as monogamy within heterosexual marriage.

"Our ongoing U.S. political debate over health care reform also needs to factor in the economic costs of homosexual and other sexually deviant behaviors on our health care system in terms of pharmaceutical drugs, tainted blood supplies, and requiring doctors and nurses to treat sexually transmitted diseases which would be less likely to occur if people practiced chastity outside of heterosexual marriage and monogamy within such marriage. As human beings, we are actually capable of such restraint." - Purdue University professor Bert Chapman, writing on his personal blog, where he says opposition to homosexuality should be financially as well as morally based.

Chapman is under fire today at Purdue, where students and others are calling for his resignation. University officials and student gay groups have objected to Purdue's post, but defend his right to free speech and say he should not be fired.

The Auto-Tuning Of America

Billboard.com has added a nifty audio player to its Hot 100 chart which allows readers to play many of the charted singles in full. About 50% of current hits are heavily auto-tuned, including much of the Top 40. I'm calling it "robot pop."

Catholic Church Issues Ultimatum To DC: Allow Us To Discriminate Against Gays Or We Won't Feed Or Shelter The Homeless

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington DC has issued an ultimatum to Washington DC, saying if marriage equality is approved without an exemption for them, they will end all their social service programs including food and shelter for the homeless, adoption programs, and public health services.

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians. Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city. "If the city requires this, we can't do it," Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. "The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."

Several D.C. Council members said the Catholic Church is trying to erode the city's long-standing laws protecting gay men and lesbians from discrimination. The clash escalates the dispute over the same-sex marriage proposal between the council and the archdiocese, which has generally stayed out of city politics. Catholic Charities, the church's social services arm, is one of dozens of nonprofit organizations that partner with the District. It serves 68,000 people in the city, including the one-third of Washington's homeless people who go to city-owned shelters managed by the church. City leaders said the church is not the dominant provider of any particular social service, but the church pointed out that it supplements funding for city programs with $10 million from its own coffers.

Rather than exempt the Archdiocese from the law, openly gay city council member David Catania says he'd just as soon cut the city's ties to the church. "They don't represent, in my mind, an indispensable component of our social services infrastructure," said Catania.

Big Boxes Come To Manhattan

Manhattan gets it first taste of mega-box retailing today with the opening of the massive East River Plaza mall on FDR Drive in East Harlem. Anchor tenant Costco's 110,000 square foot store is open as of this morning, coming in the next few months will be the long panted-over Target, as well as other jumbo retailers at the 500,000 square foot complex, which is 95% leased. Costco officials claim they expect the location to do twice the per-square-foot sales of its average store, but I don't know where Manhattanites will store a five-liter drum of olive oil. Now our fancy exclusive little island has two Kmarts, three Home Depots, a Costco, and an Ikea that's just a ten minute water taxi from Wall Street. Meanwhile the Great Evil continues to cast jealous eyes on the borough. Give it time.

Local News On "Gay Panic" Marine Attack

Here's local Tampa news covering the "gay panic" claim of USMC reservist Jasen Bruce, who attacked a Greek Orthodox priest with a tire iron.

Quote Of The Day - Miss Ladyfingers USA

"Young women should resist the pressures of popular culture and of sex. Our bodies are temples of the Lord. We should earn respect and admiration for our hearts, not for showing skin to look sexy." - Carrie Prejean, from her memoir Still Standing.

And today, TMZ reports:

Carrie Prejean's ex-boyfriend -- the guy to whom she sent the XXX solo video -- tells TMZ Carrie and company called him last week and tried getting him to "lie" and say she was 17 when she shot the video. During an audio interview with TMZ, the man -- who asked us not to use his name -- says Carrie sent him the video when they were involved with each other in 2007. He says Carrie sent him numerous explicit videos and insists the one in question was shot when she was 20. We have verified this is indeed the guy to whom Carrie sent her solo video -- which ultimately torpedoed her settlement with Miss California USA.

They knew each other for four days and Miss Ladyfingers sent sent him numerous XXX videos. More Godly photos of Carrie's temple can be found here.

Open Thread Thursday

Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. Probably more than any other holiday, this is the one where gay folks juggle celebrations/obligations between their gay families and their bio families. Tell us how you handle this. Do you alternate years, as I used to? Do you do one and not the other? Or do you get everybody into one room?

Ladyfingers Unplugs Larry King As He Takes Call From Gay Viewer

After warning Larry King several times that his questions were "inappropriate," Miss Ladyfingers USA unplugged her microphone and sat smirking as he took a call from a viewer who identified himself as a gay man.

BELOW: Anderson Cooper reacts to the incident.

Lou Dobbs Resigns From CNN

How many seconds until he takes his racist, anti-immigrant, birther ass over to Faux News?

(Still Gay) "Ex-Gay" Preacher Donnie McClurkin Calls Gays "Vampires"

Donnie McClurkin, the supposedly "ex-gay" preacher that has been spotted having intimate dinners with "flamboyant" young men in quiet Manhattan restaurants, appeared at the Church of God In Christ's youth conference in Memphis to babble in tongues and call gays "vampires" (among other lovely things). Take it away Rod McCullom:

In the first of three disgusting YouTube videos, McClurkin begins his rant against Tonex, the gospel star and minister who recently confirmed his long-rumored sexuality. McClurkin says Tonex is a "perversion" and must pray away the gay: "God did not call young people to such peversion. Society has failed him, his church has failed him ... I would be homosexual to this day if Jesus hadn't delivered."

McClurkin also rails against against openly gay youth as "broken and feminine": "I see feminine men, feminine boys, everywhere I go ... No, don't applaud 'cuz it ain't funny. It's because we failed. I see them everywhere." Quite rich coming from McClurkin. If anyone has seen him or the young men in his inner circle, well, let's say the observation about "feminine men everywhere" is spot-on. In the second video, McClurkin turns his hate toward young lesbians: "These young girls are just as bad as the boys in homosexuality, you don't see it. They can hide ... but there are some evil young hard butch girls."

You've got to read the rest of McCullom's post.

World Health Organization: HIV #1 Cause Of Death & Disease For Women Worldwide

According to a just-released report (PDF) from the World Health Organization, the worldwide leading cause of death and disease for women 15-44 years-old is HIV/AIDS.

Globally, HIV is the leading cause of death and disease in women of reproductive age. Of the 30.8 million adults living with HIV in 2007, 15.5 million were women. The prevalence of HIV infection in women has increased since the early 1990s and is most marked in sub-Saharan Africa. Southern Africa is most affected; in 2005–2006, median HIV prevalence among pregnant women attending antenatal care was above 15% in eight Southern African countries. Infection was acquired primarily through heterosexual transmission. In all regions, HIV disproportionately affects female sex workers and injecting drug users, as well as the female partners of infected males.

Women’s particular vulnerability to HIV infection stems from a combination of biological factors and gender inequality. Some studies show that women are more likely than men to acquire HIV from an infected partner during unprotected heterosexual intercourse. The risk posed by this biological difference is compounded in cultures that limit women’s knowledge about HIV and their ability to negotiate safer sex. Stigma, violence by intimate partners, and sexual violence further increase women’s vulnerability.

Tampa: Marine Beats Greek Priest With Tire Iron, Claims Gay Panic

USMC Reservist Jasen Bruce, 28, who moonlights as a beefcake model, yesterday beat a robed Greek Orthodox priest with a tire iron, claiming the man had groped him sexually and said "Alluha Akbar." The priest, who speaks little English, says he was lost and asking for directions. Later Bruce recanted his claim that the priest spoke Arabic to him and said he didn't understand him at all. The priest is 5'6" and Bruce is a giant roided-out bodybuilder.

The priest was lost in the Channel District and needed directions to Interstate 275, so he tapped a U.S. Marines reservist on the arm and, in a thick Greek accent, asked for help. That's how police say the incident began. But Lance Cpl. Jasen Bruce said the man, who was wearing a robe, sandals and a long beard, propositioned him in English and grabbed his genitals. Both versions of events end the same way – with the priest recovering from a beating with a tire iron, the Marine reservist under arrest and police investigating a possible hate crime. The Rev. Alexios Marakis, visiting from Greece, had performed a blessing of a retired Greek priest in the West Shore area before accidentally exiting I-275 into downtown Monday evening, police said. Marakis followed cars into the Seaport Channelside Apartments on Twiggs Street and got out to ask for help.

Bruce, a reservist with a West Palm Beach unit since March, had his trunk open so he could get dry cleaning out, police said. Bruce, who lives in the apartment building, was not in uniform. Bruce grabbed a tire iron from the trunk, hit Marakis four times over the head and chased him about three blocks before pinning the priest, police said. In a 911 call, Bruce made a derogatory comment about a man he said was a terrorist and was trying to rob him and had grabbed him in a sexual manner, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. When officers arrived, police say, Bruce told them he heard the man say "Allahu Akbar" – Arabic for "God is great." "That's what they say before they blow you up," Bruce said, according to police. But at a news conference today, Bruce's attorney said his client didn't understand what Marakis said. "Lance Cpl. Bruce defended himself with the full legality of the law for being sexually attacked and potentially robbed," lawyer Jeffrey Brown said.

Bruce is free on $7500 bail and faces charges of battery with a possible hate crimes enhancement. The Marine Corps will wait for the criminal investigation to conclude before taking any action of their own. Two years ago Bruce pleaded no contest to battery on a tow truck driver.

(Via - Towleroad)

HomoQuotable - Lee Daniels

"Precious is really not a black story. I told it originally for a black audience, and I'm a black, gay filmmaker. So I told it with a gay sensibility, and I gave a black sensibility to it, because I'm African-American. But I think it's a universal story, and it goes beyond sex and/or culture to be universal.

"I met this lady who was 60 or 70 years old and attending the Sundance Film Festival, and the day after our first screening, she started sobbing in my arms. It was the most beautiful moment in all of this for me. I realized that it didn't matter if you were gay, black or from Philadelphia. This woman, who could barely speak my language, had embraced the moment and understood Precious." - Director Lee Daniels, whose film Precious shattered box office records for a limited release last weekend when it opened on 18 screens. The most Oscar-hyped film of the season, Precious opens nationwide on November 20th.

(I know I should see it, but it looks soooo depressing.)

Fellow Birthers: Orly Taitz Told Us To Lie

Even her fellow birthers are now calling out loony Orly Taitz, saying that she instructed them to lie in court. One of those calling her out is Larry Sinclair, the nutjob who wrote a book claiming he's done cocaine and had sex with the president.

A man claiming to have been Barack Obama’s homosexual lover and another claiming to have Obama’s Kenyan birth certificate say Laguna Niguel attorney Orly Taitz asked them to lie in federal court. [snip] Taitz planned to use the two as witnesses in her effort to prove Obama was born in Kenya and is not a legitimate president. However, the case was dismissed on Oct. 29 by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter without going to trial. In his dismissal, Carter wrote, “the Court has received several sworn affidavits that Taitz asked potential witnesses that she planned to call before this Court to perjure themselves. This Court is deeply concerned that Taitz may have suborned perjury through witnesses she intended to bring before this Court.” The affidavits have not been been made public by Carter. However, in a Nov. 9 motion that criticized Carter’s dismissal of the case, Taitz identifies Larry Sinclair and Lucas Smith as the witnesses she believes filed affidavits saying that she asked them to lie. She denies the accusations and told me she thinks Sinclair and Smith filed the affidavits in response to pressure put on them.

Here's an affidavit filed by Smith attesting to Taitz' instructions to lie. There's some juicy dirt on her in there.

(Tipped by JMG reader Piet)

Sen. Lindsey Graham: Senate Health Bill Dead Thanks To Lieberman

Instinct's Leading Men Of 2009 Party

Instinct Magazine's Leading Men Of 2009 party takes place in NYC on November 19th at Greenhouse in Soho. Famed DJ Bill Coleman and gay pop artist Ari Gold will perform. RSVP for admittance here. This year's "leading men" include Lt. Dan Choi, Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, activist Rob Tisinai, Levi's head Robert Hanson, activist Wayne Besen, Californians Against Hate's Fred Karger, and Cleve Jones. (And me.) I don't know if any of those guys will attend, but I'll be there. An extended version of the print interview with me is now online. I hope I don't sound like too much of a tool.

SiriusXM OutQ: 4:30 PM Today

I'll be on Michelangelo Signorile's SiriusXM OutQ show at 4:30PM (eastern) today to discuss Peter LaBarbera, Matt Barber, the religious right, and the FBI. You can listen online here.

Cruise + Travolta: Scientology Stars To Remake Homoerotic Cowboy Classic

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the classic 1969 western often cited for its homoerotic undertones, is going to be remade by the two Hollywood stars most frequently rumored to be gay. Add Scientology into the mix and you get....huh?

Tom Cruise will reportedly team up with pal John Travolta in a remake of the 1960s western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The surrogate father of Scientology plans to produce the remake through his United Artists Studio and is currently in talks with scriptwriters, a new report claims. A source tells The Daily Mirror: “Butch and Sundance is a labor of love for Tom. He was eight years old when he saw the original and it made an impression that has stayed with him all his life. He can’t wait to get to work.” Tom hopes to revive the role of Sundance–played by Robert Redford in the original film–while 55-year-old John is expected to play Cassidy. The 46-year-old star even got the blessing of Paul Newman – who originally played the role of Cassidy in the film about a pair of lovable bank robbers–before he died of lung cancer last September, tattles tell the tab.

I wonder if they'll re-do the scene where Butch and Sundance ride the same horse all day.

Near Violence Outside City Hall As Fort Worth Adds Transgender Protections

After heated debate, last night the Fort Worth City Council voted 6-3 to expand employment discrimination protections to include transgender persons. Outside the building, pro and anti-gay activists clashed and nearly came to blows. Reportedly, the city's human relations committee was working on adding transgender protections before the recent embarrassment over the Rainbow Lounge raid.

More than 200 people packed the council chambers, lining the walls and spilling into overflow rooms. "We believe, as you do, that we should respect each other," said Jon Nelson of Fairness Fort Worth. "The foundation of these recommendations isn’t preferential treatment, it’s equal treatment." Three transgender people — two transsexual women and a cross-dressing man — were among those who spoke in favor of the ordinance. "Being a transgender person has nothing to do with a person’s ability to do their job," Victoria Van Fleet said. Conservative protesters saw the proposals as violating traditional morals. "Is it our city’s responsibility to take taxpayer money and promote a lifestyle based on sexual preference or gender identity?" asked Richard Clough, a Republican activist. Ron Armstrong stood on top of his Bible in front of City Hall to symbolize that he was "standing on the word of God. "The law says clearly no man is supposed to lie with a man the way he lies with a woman," he said.

The Dallas Voice reports on the scene outside.

LGBT protesters and anti-gay counterprotesters clashed outside Fort Worth City Hall this evening in a tense scene that nearly became violent. There were no arrests or major physical altercations, but there was plenty of taunting and some heated verbal exchanges. Participants from both sides later accused the other of elbowing and pushing, and one of the counterprotesters admitted to ripping a gay Pride flag. The drama unfolded shortly after 5 p.m. with TV news cameras rolling. Fort Worth police officers looked on from a distance but did nothing to separate the two factions, which each appeared to number about a dozen.

Commenters on the Dallas Voice article report that the protesting ministers were from Eagle Mountain International Church. The church's 2008 voter guide (PDF) includes calls to oppose allowing gay Pride parades in Fort Worth, to support anti-marriage equality amendments in Florida and California, and to oppose "homosexual education" and fairness in hiring.

Alabama High School Cancels Prom Rather Than Allow Lesbian Couple To Attend

UPDATE: School board officials have reversed their decision and the couple may now attend. Another win for the ACLU LGBT Project!

Rather than bow to pressure from the ACLU that they allow an out lesbian student to bring her girlfriend to the prom, Tharptown High School in Russellville, Alabama has canceled the event entirely. The ACLU has sent the school a demand letter (PDF) citing a Supreme Court ruling saying that such actions violate the 14th Amendment. The school has until November 20th to respond before the ACLU takes legal action.

Barney Frank: DADT Repeal To Be Part Of FY 2011 DOD Funding Bill

Yesterday Rep. Barney Frank says that a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will likely be attached to a fiscal year 2011 Department of Defense funding authorization bill that will be voted on in the spring of next year. Via Washington Blade:

“The House will take up and the Senate will take up ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal,” he said. “That will again, like hate crimes, even more so, will have to be done, I believe, in the context of the defense authorization. You can’t do the standalone bill. It belongs in the defense authorization.” Frank said lawmakers would seek to amend the defense measure to include a provision repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Such a move would mimic the way Congress recently enacted the hate crimes measure. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) is the sponsor of the standalone version of legislation in the House that would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” No such legislation exists in the Senate, although Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) has said he’s in talks with the Obama administration on the issue.

Asked about Frank’s prediction for the repeal strategy, Allison Herwitt, legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign, said her organization “always takes its cues from its congressional allies.” “They’re the ones that write the legislation and obviously [the defense authorization] would be a great bill to have repeal be a part of,” she said. “That’s where it should be.” David Stacy, HRC’s senior public policy advocate, noted that Congress enacted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 1993 as part of a defense authorization bill, so repealing the law via the same vehicle would mirror the process.

And it worked for the Matthew Shepard Act.

SHOCKER: Salt Lake City Passes LGBT Rights WITH Support Of Mormon Church

Last night the city council of Salt Lake City unanimously passed an ordinance outlawing discrimination against gays in employment and housing, the first such law in the entire state of Utah. Very surprisingly, among those speaking in support of the bill were official representatives of the LDS Church.

Hours after the LDS Church announced its support Tuesday night of proposed Salt Lake City ordinances aimed at protecting gay and transgender residents from discrimination in housing and employment, the City Council unanimously approved the measures. "The church supports these ordinances," spokesman Michael Otterson told the council, "because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage." They also are consistent with Mormon teachings, he said. "I believe in a church that believes in human dignity, in treating people with respect even when we disagree -- in fact, especially when we disagree." Normally more deliberate, the council opted to vote after dozens of residents in the overflowing crowd expressed their support. "Guaranteeing a right to fair housing and fair employment is not an issue of compromise," Councilwoman Jill Remington Love said. "We are a stronger, better city this evening. I'm proud to serve on a City Council where this isn't even controversial."

The LDS Church's endorsement was hailed by leaders of Utah's gay community -- some of them stunned -- who called it a historic night they hope will set the stage for statewide legislation. "This is a great step," said Will Carlson, director of public policy for the advocacy group Equality Utah. But, he noted, four out of five gay Utahns live outside the capital and should be afforded protection as well. "Equality Utah will continue to work for that." Councilman J.T. Martin said some will dismiss the church's move, arguing LDS leaders blinked or caved to pressure. "That's not the case," he said. "I can tell you they do have compassion. They have church members who have gay sons and daughters, and they know this is an issue that touches everyone's life."

Do you think this is penance for Prop 8? Damage control? Does it matter?

Catfight: Barney Frank Vs. Ed Shultz

NY Senate Promises Marriage Vote And Debate (Sometime This Year)

NY Gov. David Paterson appeared on the local news last night and with great gravitas announced that a major breakthrough had been made with the NY Senate regarding marriage equality. An agreement had been reached that the Senate would debate and vote on marriage equality at an unspecified date to occur before the end of the end. I was thinking, "THAT'S all you got?" but apparently the agreement is a big deal. Paul Schindler at Gay City News:

Flanked by four members of the State Senate Democratic majority and the leader of New York's LGBT lobby, Governor David A. Paterson announced an agreement by which the Senate leadership has, for the first time, agreed to debate and vote on a marriage equality bill before the end of 2009.

"This is the first time that the Senate leadership has indicated that it will support a vote on marriage equality," the governor said. "This is a stunning and very happy development in this process. I will continue to place marriage equality on any special sessions that I call on Monday and Tuesday because I feel that the bill should be debated immediately. However, I have profound respect for the leadership of the Senate and the process that they took to bring us to this vote."

Paterson was joined by the Senate's deputy majority leader, Jeffrey Klein, who represents portions of the Bronx and Weschester, Brooklyn Senator Eric Adams, Manhattan Senator Eric Schneiderman, and Thomas K. Duane, the out gay Chelsea senator who is the lead sponsor of the marriage equality bill. Alan Van Capelle, the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, was also on hand.

Carrie Prejean Vs. The View

Continuing her Damage Control Tour 2009, this morning Carrie Prejean did a complete round of NYC-based talk and news shows. Miss Ladyfingers USA got a much less fawning welcome from the ladies of The View than she did from Sean Hannity, with Barbara Walters calling her out for lies in her book and telling her that the gay marriage flap was the best thing that ever happened to her. Ladyfingers responded with a curt nod and a "yeah."

Massive Blackout Rocks Brazil

An estimated 50 million people in the southern half of Brazil are without electricity tonight as the massive blackout has triggered crime alerts in several states.

The country's largest cities, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro among others, were left with no illumination or traffic lights due to the outage late Tuesday, which the energy ministry said was caused by an undetermined problem at the country's biggest hydroelectric plant, Itaipu, on the border with Paraguay. One radio station, Bandnews, said an estimated 50 million people -- one quarter of Brazil's population -- were affected. The blackout hit at 10:15 pm (0015 GMT Wednesday). The southern states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul and parts of the central state of Goias and the federal district of Brasilia were plunged into night. Police in Sao Paulo and Rio called on the cities' residents to not go out into the darkened streets to avoid the risk of accidents and an upsurge in already prolific street crime. Off-duty and vacationing officers were told to report to their posts. In Sao Paulo and its suburbs, an agglomeration of 20 million inhabitants, streets were illuminated only by the lights of cars and from a few buildings -- including hospitals -- that had their own generators.

Just three days ago, CBS' 60 Minutes reported that a similar blackout in 2007 was created by computer hackers, a claim hotly denied by Brazilian investigators.

BELOW: Twitter user RodrigoBNO sends out this shot of Rio's Copacabana beach.

Follow The Bouncing Ball

Comedy writer and cabaret performer Shelly Goldstein sends us her fun Poppins-fied take on marriage equality. You're all at home now, c'mon, follow the bouncing ball and sing out loud.

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

Say what you want, the girl isn't boring.

RI Gov. Don Carcieri: Dirty Queers Do Not Have The Right To Bury Their Partners

Saying it was a "disturbing erosion" of the "principles surrounding traditional marriage," today Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri vetoed a bill that would allow same-sex couples to make burial decisions about each other. Carcieri added that if the legislature didn't like that, he would welcome a statewide ballot vote on how to bury queers. (I'm paraphrasing.)

The bill, also sponsored by state Sen. Rhoda Perry and state Rep. David Segal, would add "domestic partners'' to the list, in current law, of people who can legally make arrangements for a deceased person's funeral, cremation or burial to include domestic partners if the deceased person left no pre-arranged funeral contract. The legislation defines a domestic partner as someone who was in an "exclusive, intimate and committed relationship" with the deceased and had lived with him or her for at least a year prior to the death; is at least 18, not married to anyone else, not related by blood and who was financially "interdependent'' with the deceased as evidenced, for example, by a joint mortgage, shared credit card or domestic partnership contract.

Carcieri said the one-year period of cohabitation required by the burial law was insufficient to override what may be the contrary burial wishes of the biological family of the deceased. Meanwhile, heterosexual couples that have known each other for ten minutes will instantly gain that right upon marriage.