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As much as I think David Letterman is a souless jerk for going after a politician's kids, I think a protest outside his studio calling him a pedophile is about the most counterproductive and trivializing approach possible.
But it does make for some fun video. I'm not sure what I enjoy most, the lunacy, the white guy's eyebrow-arching racism, or the two goofs making out behind that Carol Burnett character towards the end.
Our friends at Ex-Gay Watch (I need a nifty logo like theirs) alerted us to a piece that aired last night on CNN featuring Richard Cohen – not the WaPo columnist – one of the most controversial, and unlicensed, practitioners of so-called "reparative therapy" for gays.
I'll leave the heavy lifting to the experts at EGW, but the piece – whether unintentional or not – was hi-frickin'-larious. We are treated to therapy sessions between Cohen and 42-year-old "Rob," a gay man who thinks that Cohen can help him become un-gay.
We see Cohen practicing "touch therapy" to recreate a "healthy father-son bond." Call me crazy, but it appeared to be a cunning way for Cohen for be able to get his jollies cuddling up with other men while still claiming that he is now straight.
We then see Cohen engaging in an interesting form of quackery that he calls "bioenergetics," whaling on a pillow with a tennis racket in lieu of his overbearing mother. Frightening stuff. Norman-Bates freaky.
I suggest if you find yourself in a session with Cohen that you dial 9-1 on your cell phone, just to save time in case you need to hit that last 1.
We are treated to more of the same tripe that we have seen from the ex-gay movement, this happy-crappy talk about how "there's nothing wrong with being gay," but somehow one can choose to be straight, even though we don't exactly see hordes of heterosexual men stampeding the opposite direction into ex-straight therapy.
What I got out of the piece is that it is a sign of progress that the gay guy aspiring to be straight was the one hiding his identity, while the gay guy who long ago gave up on reparative-therapy nonsense was proudly public.
[Watch video – 6:42, WMV format, high bandwidth]
[Watch video – 6:42, WMV format, low bandwidth]
"Scouting for All" takes its message of tolerance to Washington, D.C., on May 24.
A news conference, rally and candlelight vigil will be held to protest the Boy Scouts' ongoing exclusion of gays and atheists.
Scouting for All President Scott Cozza writes that they will be "reading the names of those scouts who have turned in their scouting awards to Scouting for All in protest of the BSA's national leadership's policy of discrimination against gay and atheist youth and adults."
The full text of the announcement follows ...
How can I not adore my home state? On the very same day Peter and crew filed petitions for a destined-to-fail advisory referendum on the November ballot to recommend a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed an executive order extending benefits to state employees with same-sex partners.
Meanwhile, the Republican candidate for governor, Judy Barr Topinka, stated, "Don't even look at me. I support civil unions." I highly recommend this website "outlining" her views. Hilarious.
Equality Illinois, apparently finding itself with way too much time on their hands because of all this bipartisan tolerance, cheered on a pointless hissy fit after a local urban magazine known for its irreverent tone offered a contest seeking the most outrageous pictures from this year's Pride Parade.
What about the most inspiring (gay student groups) or the most heartwarming or affirming (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays or various religious institutions). Why does the media continue to try to titillate the population at large with what is "outrageous" in our community?
When reached for comment, organizers replied, "This guy's been to a pride parade before, right?" They then vowed to win the contest themselves, wandering off in a flurry of whispers about sequins and rhinestones.
As Dan Savage is given to saying, the religious right in America does not merely hate the homosexual agenda, but the heterosexual agenda as well. Opposition to vaccinations against a cancer-causing STD, bans against sex toys, severe issues with even life-saving contraception, and a Kansas crusade against heavy petting, there are few aspects of human sexuality outside of blind missionary that are safe against the prying policemen of American puritanism.
Taken in this context, we gay folk are truly the canaries in the coalmine of sexual freedom. When they came for the anonymous warehouse-sling sex, I said nothing; for I did not go to creepy warehouses with older, vaguely foreign men in boots . . .
I think we all know the poem.
Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher tackled this issue with its panel. Liberals and conservatives holding hands. Mass hysteria. Bill even chimes in on the forest of debate over manscaping.
[Watch video – 6:58, WMV format, high bandwidth]
[Watch video – 6:58, WMV format, low bandwidth]
GayPatriotWest points out the crucial distinctions between Trent Lott's problem and gays' "problem."
Ricky Santorum, who believes that allowing gay people to marry signals the impending collapse of Western civilization if not the Apocalypse itself, is working hard to re-elect an adulterous House member who allegedly assaulted his mistress. A spokeswoman had no comment on the obvious incongruity.
This is funnier than anything else I have written this week.
I know Matt Drudge viscerally hates all things left-wing, a category in which Stephen Colbert is now firmly ensconced, but what is this poorly punctuated bullshit about, exactly?:
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So he's trying to humiliate a show that comes on at 11:30 p.m. by comparing it to the prime-time line-up of a competing network?
Isn't it also significant that "The Colbert Report," a relatively new show, is already out-pacing the entire prime-time schedules of CNN, MSNBC and Headline News, and is nearly even with Fox's 11 p.m. hour?
Stupid Walter-Winchell-wannabe queer.
Developing ...
Looks like we're about to get five more years of theocratic rule at the FCC:
The President intends to nominate Kevin J. Martin, of North Carolina, to be a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, for an additional five-year term expiring June 30, 2011. Upon appointment, he will be redesignated Chairman. Mr. Martin currently serves as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
What a Catch-22 the "ex-gay" movement has put us in: On one hand, they disingenuously vilify us for "recruiting" heteros.
Yet on the other hand, they see no irony whatsoever in campaigns like "Change is Possible." Funny, that.
Another conservative is moving not just to block so-called "special rights" for gays, but to take away their existing rights. (See also: Fletcher item from yesterday.)
Aligning himself with Fred Phelps on the issue of same-sex marriage, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is now confirming Canadian gays' worst fears.
Ottawa and Washington might be 455 miles apart, but they haven't been this close together in a long time.
[h/t Anthony]
From the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News:
As many as 15 people claiming ties with white-supremacist groups apparently lost their way Monday night and tried to stage a march at the wrong place, a Miami University spokesman said.
Their intended target apparently was the ACLU, which held a seminar on immigration at the Miami University-Hamilton campus, said Richard Little, a MU spokesman. [...]
Little said he believes the group had come from Toledo: "They were there simply because they were lost and confused."
To coin a phrase: Heh.
"Science Guy" offends Texans with ... science.
Doesn't Rick Santorum believe this is a sin?:
"He tends to come from behind."
— Ed Gillespie on Sen. Rick Santorum
How long can a black diva survive after losing her gay voting base? According to American Idol, not very long! As Mandisa lumbered across the stage to sing her farewells, we were treated to a, "Bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ."
Sister, blow me in the name of Gianni Versace. Buh bye, now.
That said, last night's show was fairly awful across the board. Not all folks are suited to country. Unsurprisingly, Kelly and Bucky excelled while other contestants were left floundering. The notable exception to the staged car crash was - as ever - Chris Daughtry. Though not a fan, I must admit Bucky's rendition of "Best I've Ever Had" - a personal favorite - was the high point of the evening.
Also included is Ryan Seacrest going several circles of prissy after Simon accused him of dressing like a character from Desperate Housewives. When Simon admonishes Ryan to "shave the beard," we can't help but wonder if he meant Teri Hatcher.
[Watch video – 6:17, WMV format, high bandwidth]
[Watch video – 6:17, WMV format, low bandwidth]
God bless Penn Gillette! If the vertically advantaged prestidigitator were to run for President, I'm pretty sure he'd have my vote.
For the past several years, ever since the landmark Boy Scouts of America v Dale case, I thought I had staked out a solid position: As reprehensible as I found the Boy Scouts' discrimination against gays and atheists, I don't cherry-pick the First Amendment. I think that freedom of association is generally a good thing, because it means the assholes of the world will usually cordon themselves off where they won't bother the rest of us.
But then came last night's season premiere of Showtime's outstanding series "Bullshit!"
Penn and the silent though emotive Teller laid bare the tangled relationship between the Boy Scouts and government, relying on an almost incalculable amount of public funds and accommodations to carry out Scouting activities.
The Supreme Court essentially dismissed the intent of the New Jersey public-accommodations law that was at issue in the Dale case. They also bought the BSA line that homosexuality is incompatible with the Boy Scouts' oath regarding what is "morally straight" and "clean," even though it is clear that such an interpretation of that oath is a perversion of the Scouts' history and its own past stated meaning of those terms.
As an aside, a few years back when I worked in the Senate, I played a bit part in helping to turn back legislative threats to the Scouts' dependence on government. Even though I was accurately representing the position of my boss, I felt I could do so in good faith, based on my own experience in the Boy Scouts dating back to the early 1980s. But as "Bullshit!" points out, the BSA was hijacked by the Mormon Church in the mid-'80s, and today I'm sickened that I didn't know the full story before now.
The bottom line is, you cannot have private membership standards that exclude a good swath of the public while continuing to suck off the public teat. If the BSA were to turn back their millions of dollars in federal funds, and their millions more in the in-kind use of public accommodations, perhaps I could revert back to my laissez faire attitude in the second paragraph.
Until then, these duplicitous assholes – and their enablers in Washington, D.C. – need to be continually exposed to the harsh light of day.
Shine on, Penn and Teller. Shine on.
I FORGOT TO ADD that the video below is generally NSFW, based on copious use of the word "fuck" and one brief female titty shot around 23 minutes in.
[Watch video – 29:29, WMV format, high bandwidth]
[Watch video – 29:29, WMV format, low bandwidth]
Good-bye, Tom. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way back to Texas.
Sen. John McCain is working against Republicans and with lefty Sen. Ted Kennedy to push through the Democrats' preferred position on immigration. What a liberal sell-out!
What's that, you say? The blogs in the know today have ditched the McCain-as-maverick storyline and are labeling him as "Bush redux"? [See here, here, here, here, and here, for starters.] The senator's most recent "offense" was his decision to speak at Liberty University, leading one to surmise that a liberal's favorite debate is one without an opponent.
So I guess I'm swimming up-meme today. The blogging lefties are painting John McCain as a fire-breathing wingnut in a coordinated effort that is as laughable as it is hyperbolic.
Look, I carry no brief for John McCain. I don't like the guy, and I can't foresee any circumstance under which I'd vote for him. But if we're to believe that they're just now realizing that "every liberal's favorite Republican" is a Republican, then I have some ocean-front property to sell you in Arizona.
Captain's Quarters this morning already wrote the post that I wish I had written first:
The trouble with McCain the Maverick is that he never existed. McCain has spent his entire political career as McCain the Center of the Universe, mostly adopting positions that get him as much air time as possible. It comes as no surprise that he now wants to suck up to the Bush contingent in the GOP [...]
I don't know what the lefties are so worried about. The John McCain who wants to nationalize health care, restrict gun rights, raise taxes, and curtail political speech will undoubtedly return soon enough. All he needs is a light breeze.
UPDATE: I should have added this guy to my list of people who are shocked – shocked, I say! – that McCain is a Republican. And as a rhetorical aside: Exactly how many "conservatives" take their cues from DailyKos, anyway?
UPDATE 2: Add 365gay.com to the Coalition of the Obtuse.
Just in time for spring, the new issue of DNA magazine is all about love and marriage. Apropos of nothing and dropped in the midst of the nuptial bliss is one of the hot guys of menaustralia.com.
Click to "uncensor" the image (NSFW).
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More from DNA after the jump, including why porn star Lucas Ridgeston hung up the cum-rag ... and the gay Catholic blogger who opposes marriage equality.
Continue reading "DNA: The Marriage Issue (Plus Obligatory Sex)" »
Anyone who pays a great deal of atttention to gay politics knows the day-to-day conflicts over issues like marriage and adoption are fought by activists against right-wing religious leaders. Anyone who watches the Colbert Report knows Stephen Colbert's right-wing, "Mega-American" commentator often generates pious platitudes parodying Jerry Falwell and others. Barely an episode airs without at least some reference to gay rights forces vs the religious right.
So it is with two episodes this week. In the first, Stephen interviews Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman, representative of California's porn-ridden San Fernando Valley. Here, we're treated to a re-enactment of the steamy male-on-male film, Hot Slice, originally aired on the Daily Show. (Plus a small segment on Chicago winters I couldn't resist including).
In the second clip, Colbert scolds society for eschewing good old American values, including the gradual usurpation of heterosexual norms on USA Today's weather page.
California's 27th District
[Watch video – 8:33, WMV format, high bandwidth]
[Watch video – 8:33, WMV format, low bandwidth]
Showers With a Chance of Gay
[Watch video – 3:29, WMV format, high bandwidth]
[Watch video – 3:29, WMV format, low bandwidth]
