Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Chick-Fil-A To Use Berenstain Bears As Henson Kids Meal Replacement. Bears Pissed.



Chick-Fil-A will be using Berenstain Bears books as a replacement for the Jim Henson kids meal toys, and the Berenstain Bears seem to be none-too-pleased about it. Claiming they have little control over the product placement, the Berenstain Bears are hoping upset consumers blame their publisher, whom, they say, has been working on the project for over a year.

Chaz The Intolerant Chick-Fil-A Chicken

6-Year-Old Offers 10 Reasons Not to Vote for Obama

'Matrix' Director Reveals Transition




The director of "The Matrix" and the highly-anticipated film "Cloud Atlas" has become the first major Hollywood director to publicly come out as transgender.
Lana Wachowski has revealed her transition while promoting her new film, the New York Post reported. Though the Post claims she has undergone gender reassignment surgery, this appears to be unverified.
Lana, formerly known as Larry, has been transitioning from a man to a woman for years now, the Post also reported. This new clip for "Cloud Atlas," starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, appears to her first public appearance since transitioning.
In the trailer, Lana introduces the film with her brother, Andy Wachowski, and director Tom Tykwer.
"Hi, I'm Lana," she says with her hair styled in pink dreadlocks.

Monday, July 30, 2012

ame-Sex Marriage Unanimously Included In DNC Platform

A plank supporting same-sex marriage will be included as part of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) platform, according to an exclusive report at theWashington Blade, which notes it was a unanimous decision. Also included is language supporting ENDA and rejecting DOMA. Retiring Congressman Barney Frank “who sits on the committee, told the Washington Blade on Monday that the 15-member panel unanimously backed the inclusion of a marriage equality plank after a national hearing over the weekend in Minneapolis, in which several witnesses testified in favor of such language,” Chris Johnson, writing at the Blade.

Friday, July 27, 2012


Chick-fil-A Pretends to Be a Teenage Girl on Facebook


Chick-fil-A is in the middle of a PR nightmare. After Chick-fil-A's COO admitted to being anti-gay, the Jim Henson Company pulled their toys from Chick-fil-A's kids meals. Only Chick-fil-A claimed the toys were pulled because of a "possible safety issue". That, of course, is a complete lie. A lie that the company may be propagating with fake Facebook accounts of Chick-fil-a sympathists.
Yep, Chick-fil-A is still stuck in its own reality and is doubling down on its lie. Instead of owning up to the fact that The Jim Henson Company stopped doing business with them because they're overrun with bigots, the chicken sandwich company appears to have made fake Facebook accounts to defend its honor on the social network. How do we know the accounts are fake? Just check out this back and forth on Chick-fil-A's Facebook page between real, breathing people and "Abby Farle", a Facebook account that was made 8 hours ago by a chicken PR flack with a stock image of a teenage girl as her profile picture:
It's a dirty, awful trick that is completely embarrassing and just shows how sleazy a company backed up against a wall can be. Especially a company that doesn't believe in treating all humans equally.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL BACKS ALDERMAN'S PLAN TO BLOCK ANTI-GAY CHICK-FIL-A FROM OPENING RESTAURANT



Chicago Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno says he won't allow Chick-Fil-A to open a restaurant in his Northwest Side ward because of the company's anti-gay worldview, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel is offering his support, the Chicago Tribune reports:

Moreno"If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don't want you in the 1st Ward," Moreno told the Tribune on Tuesday.

Moreno stated his position in strong terms, referring to Cathy's "bigoted, homophobic comments" in a proposed opinion page piece that an aide also sent to Tribune reporters. "Because of this man's ignorance, I will now be denying Chick-fil-A's permit to open a restaurant in the 1st Ward."

The alderman has the ideological support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
"Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values," the mayor said in a statement when asked about Moreno's decision. "They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents. This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty."

Mayor Merino's Letter to Chic-Fil-A


Jon Stewart Rips Chick-Fil-A and The Boy Scouts' Homophobia in a New 'Gaywatch

FRANK BRUNI WONDERS WHAT GOD MICHELE BACHMANN WORSHIPS


Frank Bruni takes on Michele Bachmann's so-called 'Christian' faith in a searing piece in the NYT:


M_bachmannI’d like to meet that god, and I’d like to understand that Christianity.

After questioning her attacks on Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, by suggesting she was part of the Muslim Brotherhood infiltrating America, and her previous attacks on vaccines, Bruni launches into Bachmann's attacks on Obama and gays:

Does it encourage gratuitously divisive condemnations of Barack Obama as “anti-American,” one of many incendiary phrases in her attacks against him in 2008? And does it compel a war against homosexuality waged with the language and illogic she uses?

She has said that gay men and lesbians are dysfunctional products of abuse and agents of “sexual anarchy,” and when the singer and songwriter Melissa Etheridge was battling breast cancer years ago, Bachmann helpfully chimed in: “This may be an opportunity for her now to be open to some spiritual things, now that she is suffering with that physical disease. She is a lesbian.”

Bachmann’s concept of Christian love brims with hate, and she has a deep satchel of stones to throw. From what kind of messiah did she learn that?



Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Aurora and Gun Control

Sally Ride, first U.S. woman in space, dies of cancer; comes ‘out’ in obituary


Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, died Monday at the age of 61, following a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
An announcement from her website, Sally Ride Science, noted that Ride is survived by “Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years.” O’Shaughnessy is chief operating officer and executive vice president of Sally Ride Science — and a woman — acknowledging that one of the most famous members of the U.S. space program was gay.


Monday, July 23, 2012

'Muppets' Makers Sever Ties With Anti-Gay Fast Food Chain


Last Friday, the company behind beloved shows such as "Fraggle Rock," "Labyrinth," and "The Muppets," severed ties with Chick-Fil-A due to the fast food chain's CEO's opposition to same sex marriage.
According to "Muppets" fan site ToughPigs.com, The Jim Henson Company had partnered with Chick-Fil-A to feature Jim Henson's Creature Shop toys -- "essentially a plastic tube with cut-out features for customizing your own puppet" -- in their kid's meals from mid-July until August 18th.
However, on Friday, the Jim Henson Company posted the following statement to their Facebook page:
The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to GLAAD.

Bristol Palin's three-year-old uses homophic slur



 "Not only does Bristol Palin's son Tripp call his aunt a "faggot" in this clip from the famous teen mom's Lifetime reality show, but then Bristol does nothing to correct his behavior. At just three years old, Tripp doesn't grasp what's he's saying, but clearly he'll grow up thinking it's fine to hurl homophobic slurs at people."

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Annette Bening's son answers seven questions about being trans





20-year-old son Stephen Ira Beatty, who was born Kathlyn Elizabeth Beatty, having transitioned at the age of 14, answers seven questions for the WeHappyTrans Project.

Chick-fil-A May Be Banned in Boston


If Mayor Thomas Menino has his way, Chick-fil-A may be banned in Boston.
The fast-food chain, which has donated to antigay causes and whose executives this week admitted to antigay stances while saying the company doesn’t discriminate, is looking for locations in the city. One is near the famous Freedom Trail, a series of historic sites connected to the American Revolution. But Menino says that area, or any location in Boston, isn’t appropriate for a business with such policies.
“Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston,” Menino told the Boston Herald yesterday. “You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion. … That’s the Freedom Trail. That’s where it all started right here. And we’re not going to have a company, Chick-fil-A or whatever the hell the name is, on our Freedom Trail.”
Menino said Chick-fil-A will find it “very difficult” to get licenses in Boston unless it changes its policies, and he plans to send a letter to the company’s headquarters in Atlanta “telling them my feelings on the matter.”

Friday, July 20, 2012

Obama Has to Prove He Doesn't Smoke Crack and Have Gay Sex


The President of Tea Party Nation is demanding an eye for an eye, or something like that, Raw Story reports:

PhillipsJudson Phillips, whose for-profit group is better known to Tennessee as the “Tea Party Nation Corporation,” explained in an essay that also went out in a mass email to his followers that the American people must know whether the president had secret financial support in college due to his status as a “foreign student” — and dredged up a long-disproved story of Obama’s alleged encounter smoking crack and having sex with a gay prostitute.

“A man named Larry Sinclair claims that in 1999 he and Barack Obama had sex and then smoked crack cocaine,” Phillips wrote. “This is 1999, nine years before Obama would run for President. Crack cocaine is very addictive. It is very destructive. Addiction specialist will tell you that a crack addiction is very tough to break.”



Want Chick Fil-A Taste Without The Hate? There’s A Recipe For That

Boy Scouts Long History Of Anti-LGBT Discrimination


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Head Of Boy Scouts Contacted American Family Association About Gay Ban


Bryan Fischer of theAmerican Family Association admitted on his radio program that the head of the Boy Scouts of America personally contacted him in relation to their upcoming decision on repealing their ban against allowing gay people into the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) today announced they will not change their policy and will retain their ban on gay people.
Fischer says in the audio below, “the head of the Boy Scouts called me,” and claimed that he promised Fischer, “We’re not going change our standards” — meaning, they are not going to let gays into the Boy Scouts. Fischer also claims the head of the BSA admitted they were “not doing a poll, and we’re not thinking about changing the policy.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Edie Windsor vs. DOMA May Be Best Chance To Strike Federal Gay Marriage Bar


Edith "Edie" Windsor, 83, never really thought she would be suing the government. But just to be safe, she and her late wife, Thea Spyer, always kept extensive records.
"We needed to make sure that everything was perfectly well defined and in order," Windsor said. "Because I had no idea that this might happen, and yet all our lives we knew that it was going to happen."
When Spyer died, she left her entire estate to Windsor. But because the federal government did not recognize their marriage under the Defense of Marriage Act, Windsor was hit with a bill for $363,000 in federal estate tax. If Thea had been a Theo, Windsor likes to say, she would have received her spouse's estate tax-free.
Like a handful of other plaintiffs across the country, Windsor is now hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will take her case in order to overturn DOMA, the 1996 law signed by President Bill Clinton that defines marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman. As more states have legalized same-sex marriage -- leading to more than a dozen suits challenging the constitutionality of the federal law -- and public opinion continues to shift in favor of expanded gay rights, legal experts expect a ruling from the high court to come soon. But at 83, with a heart condition, Windsor is not sure it will be soon enough.
On June 6, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sided with Windsor. This week, her lawyers filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to take her case and let her skip what would be the usual next step of going before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. This is the second attempt by Windsor's legal team to speed up the case. On June 13, after Congress' Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group filed a notice of appeal to the 2nd Circuit -- Congress has defended DOMA ever since President Barack Obama decided his Justice Department would not -- Windsor filed a motion to expedite that appeal.
Windsor's lawyers -- many of them from the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project -- argued in their Supreme Court petition that her case is the best vehicle for challenging DOMA because it is so clear that Windsor suffered financially as a direct result of the policy.

ROMNEY'S 'RETROACTIVE' BAIN RETIREMENT

Chick-fil-A COO Dan Cathy Comes Out as Antigay


Dan Cathy, the chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, said there is no denying that his company opposes marriage equality.
Cathy said that he does not feel right billing Chick-fil-A as a Christian business because, as Christian business mentor Fred Roach once said, "There is no such thing as a Christian business ... Christ never died for a corporation."
However, Cathy told the Baptist Press he aims to operate the restaurant chain "on biblical principles." When asked whether his company had an established position against marriage equality, Cathy said, "guilty as charged."
He added, "We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. ... We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

BOY SCOUTS UPHOLDS BAN ON GAYS AFTER CONFIDENTIAL TWO-YEAR REVIEW


The Boy Scouts of America has upheld its ban on gays after a "confidential two-year review" and says it will stand strong in the face of protest, the AP reports:


BsaAn 11-member special committee, formed discreetly by top Scout leaders in 2010, "came to the conclusion that this policy is absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts," the organization' national spokesman, Deron Smith, told The Associated Press.

Smith said the committee, comprised of professional scout executives and adult volunteers, was unanimous in its conclusion — preserving a long-standing policy that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 and has remained controversial ever since.

As a result of the committee's decision, the Scouts' national executive board will take no further action on a recently submitted resolution asking for reconsideration of the membership policy.


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Dueling Briefs in Leadup to Supreme Court Fight Full story here: http://www.queerty.com/dueling-briefs-in-leadup-to-supreme-court-fight-20120716/#ixzz20toWigI6

Jon Stewart Talks Mitt Romney's Bain Capital and Tax Return Defense

“I’m Against It On Moral Grounds”


"There’s just certain traditions that need to be upheld. I’ll give you the other side of it, no it doesn’t affect me, no it doesn’t change my life. There’s just traditions that need to be dealt with. I’m a believer that gay marriage should be passed because the battle is not worth the war. The gay lobby is very loud. I’m totally against it.

In 100 years from now, people are going to go, ‘Who was against gay marriage?’ And I’ll be one of those idiots and say, ‘That’s me.’ I’m just against it on moral grounds, that’s it. I’m as much a heathen as anybody. I just don’t believe on moral grounds it should be done. I don’t like it, I don’t accept it."

Good Times’ Jimmy “J.J.” Walkerdiscussing his unconventional political views, on CNN.com


Release Your Tax Returns Unless You're 'Stupid'

An Indecent Proposal from Sarah Silverman

GAY RIGHTS RESPECT REQUIRED FOR EU ENTRY


Respect for gay rights is a requirement for countries hoping to enter the European Union, the European Commission said in a note this week, EU Observer reports:


Eu"Rights of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people thus form an integral part of both the Copenhagen political criteria for accession and the EU legal framework on combatting discrimination. They are closely monitored by the EU commission, which reports annually on the progress made by enlargement countries with regard to the situation of the LGBT community," it said.

The commission note was sent to EUobserver in response to a question born of an interview with an Armenian cleric.

Armenia, a deeply Christian country where church teaching has more authority than in many EU states with Christian roots, is keen to become an EU member

Lieutenant Governor Says Women Like Her Don't Engage in Lesbian Affairs





Florida's lieutenant governor denied in an interview that she was in a secret same-sex affair at work, saying that "black women that look like me don't engage in relationships like that."

Jennifer Carroll, an outspoken Christian conservative, was accused in a court filing by a former staffer of getting caught in "a compromising position" in her office with a travel aide. Carroll sent emails to supporters after the story broke, denying it as a media-fueled rumor, and pledged to fight

Monday, July 16, 2012

AIDS Vaccine Possible Before End Of This Decade, HIV Scientist Says


A vaccine to protect against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS may be available before the end of this decade, a leading HIV research scientist says. RV144 may be the answer to fighting HIV/AIDS.
“We’re really working as fast as we can,” said Colonel Nelson Michael, director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, “who expects large-scale effectiveness studies to start in 2016,” according to a report inReuters:
The hope is to have at least 50 percent effectiveness, a level that mathematical modelers say could have a major impact on the epidemic. Michael thinks this might be the pathway for getting the first HIV vaccine licensed, possibly by 2019.
Teams have been working on a vaccine for nearly three decades, but it wasn’t until RV144, the 2009 clinical trial involving more than 16,000 adults in Thailand, that researchers achieved any hint of success.
Results of the study published in 2009 showed the vaccine combination cut HIV infections by 31.2 percent. According to Michael and many other experts, the result was not big enough to be considered effective, but its impact on researchers was huge, says Wayne Koff, chief scientific officer of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) based in New York.

Target Selling Gay Marriage Greeting Cards For Couples


In a move that could add even more complexity to its history with the LGBT community, Target is now selling greeting cards honoring same-sex marriages.
As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting, the cards -- which are produced by Carlton Cards, a unit of American Greetings, and hit store shelves in June -- feature phrases like "Mr. & Mr." and "Two very special women, one very special love." The items began appearing on Target's card racks a month after the Minnesota-based retail giant controversially began selling T-shirts commemorating Gay Pride month.
"Target is focused on diversity and inclusivity," Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder told the Star-Tribune.

Moon Amtrack

Friday, July 13, 2012

LESBIAN COUPLE TOLD THEY ARE UNWELCOME AND ASKED TO LEAVE PUBLIC PARK IN KENTUCKY



A lesbian couple expecting a child were asked to leave E.C. Million Park in Richmond, Kentucky while having a maternity photo shoot over the weekend after one of their companions was told "those type of people were not welcome" there, the Richmond Register reports:
Chenault

Cheri Chenault and her partner, Destiny Keith, are expecting a baby boy on Sept. 29, and they were having maternity pictures taken by Jessica Miller-Poole, owner of 13 Wishes Photography.

“I had picked one of the flowers (in the park) and was going to use it in the picture,” Miller- Poole said. “The gatekeeper said we were not able to pick the flowers. He left, and we continued to take pictures.”

The park gatekeeper approached them again.

“He said that we had to leave and that it was inappropriate,” Miller-Poole said.

Miller-Poole’s husband accompanies her on all photo shoots, she said.

“He talked to the man and said that if it was because they were two women, that he wanted to know,” Miller-Poole said. “The man said, ‘Those type of people were not welcomed there,’” she said. “My husband ended up getting very angry and had to walk away.”


Thursday, July 12, 2012

Supreme Court showdown on the horizon

Mitt Romney Says He Got Booed Because Black People Just Want Free Stuff

Post image for Mitt Romney Says He Got Booed Because Black People Just Want Free Stuff
Yesterday, Mitt Romney spoke to the NAACP and got booed for nearly 20 seconds when he promised the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization he will repeal Obamacare. Last night, at a fundraiser in Montana, Romney told reporters that the reason he got booed is because black people just want free stuff. If Romney went to the NAACP to tally a few more votes, he was wasting his time.
When I mentioned I am going to get rid of Obamacare they weren’t happy… That’s ok, I want people to know what I stand for and if I don’t stand for what they want, go vote for someone else, that’s just fine. But I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more free stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other. But don’t forget nothing is really free.

Maryland election officials certify same-sex marriage referendum petition


Maryland election officials on Tuesday officially certified a petition to prompt a November referendum on the state’s same-sex marriage law.
The Maryland Marriage Alliance submitted 122,481 signatures to the Secretary of State on May 29—and State Board of Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone wrote in a letter to the organization’s chair, Derek McCoy, that her office certified 109,313 of them. The organization submitted an additional 39,743 signatures late last month.
The Maryland Marriage Alliance needed to collect 55,736 signatures by June 30 to bring the issue to a vote.
“We had absolutely no doubt that we would secure and even surpass the number of signatures needed,” said Derek McCoy, chair of the Maryland Marriage Alliance. “Our alliance of partners has been working tirelessly to make sure that every registered voter in the state has an opportunity to let their voice be heard on this very important issue.”
Supporters of marriage rights for same-sex couples said they are not surprised that the Maryland Marriage Alliance was able to collect enough signatures to put the issue before voters.
“We’ve been planning for the referendum for months and are ready to roll,” Marylanders for Marriage Equality spokesperson Kevin Nix told the Blade. “Our base is fired up, momentum is with us, and the critical conversations about ‘why marriage’ are happening with voters of all backgrounds, faiths, and parts of the state.”

MAINE VOTERS PREFER MARRIAGE EQUALITY 57% TO 35%



MainePollA new poll shows that a majority of voters in Maine support marriage equality.
From The Morning Sentinel, via Towelroad:
Mainers support legalizing same-sex marriage, 57 percent to 35 percent, according to a statewide poll commissioned by the Portland Press Herald.

The proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot to allow gay couples to marry in Maine has broad support among most groups of voters. That support is especially strong in southern and coastal Maine and among young adults, women and Democrats, according to the poll.

The 22-point lead is clearly good news for backers of the ballot initiative. But, experts say, the margin of support is certain to be much smaller by Election Day.

Surprise: Kirk Cameron talks about the sanctity of marriage

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

ANDERSON COOPER PLANNING LABOR DAY WEDDING, SAYS TABLOID



Cooperwedding

Now that he's done and come out, the tabloids are claiming CNN host Anderson Cooper is preparing to propose to his boyfriend.


'Why We Fight'


Vito Russo (1946-1990) participated in every significant milestone in the gay-liberation movement: the dark days of pre-Stonewall invisibility, the Stonewall rebellion and its aftermath, the emergence of LGBT critical studies and independent filmmaking, the creation of GLAAD, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and the formation of ACT UP. He is also the author of The Celluloid Closet, which chronicles Hollywood's depictions of LGBT lives on the screen.

During the AIDS epidemic Vito watched the world he loved crumble beneath his feet. By the time Vito received his AIDS diagnosis in 1985, the epidemic was well into its first decade, and thousands had already died. Vito had long been involved in empowering his community, so he found a way to channel his rage and grief into effective and history-making activism. "Why We Fight" was a fiery 1988 speech given before a tumultuous crowd of angry ACT UP demonstrators at the New York State Capitol in Albany. The speech appears in the new collection of Vito's work, Out Spoken: The Vito Russo Reader, in two separate volumes. The books are being published July 23, on the same day that VITO, a new HBO documentary will premiere.
 July 11  would have been Vito's 66th birthday,  "Why We Fight" in its entirety (below).


"Why We Fight" 
(ACT UP Demonstration, Albany, N.Y., May 9, 1988) 

A friend of mine in New York City has a half-fare transit card, which means that you get on buses and subways for half price. And the other day, when he showed his card to the token attendant, the attendant asked what his disability was, and he said, "I have AIDS." And the attendant said, "No, you don't. If you had AIDS, you'd be home dying." And so, I wanted to speak out today as a person with AIDS who is not dying. 

You know, for the last three years, since I was diagnosed, my family thinks two things about my situation: 1) they think I'm going to die, and 2) they think that my government is doing absolutely everything in their power to stop that. And they're wrong, on both counts. 

So, if I'm dying from anything, I'm dying from homophobia. If I'm dying from anything, I'm dying from racism. If I'm dying from anything, it's from indifference and red tape, because these are the things that are preventing an end to this crisis. If I'm dying from anything, I'm dying from Jesse Helms. If I'm dying from anything, I'm dying from the president of the United States. And, especially, if I'm dying from anything, I'm dying from the sensationalism of newspapers and magazines and television shows, which are interested in me, as a human-interest story, only as long as I'm willing to be a helpless victim, but not if I'm fighting for my life. If I'm dying from anything, I'm dying from the fact that not enough rich, white, heterosexual men have gotten AIDS for anybody to give a shit. 

You know, living with AIDS in this country is like living in the twilight zone. Living with AIDS is like living through a war, which is happening only for those people who happen to be in the trenches. Every time a shell explodes, you look around and you discover that you've lost more of your friends, but nobody else notices. It isn't happening to them. They're walking the streets as though we weren't living through some sort of nightmare. And only you can hear the screams of the people who are dying and their cries for help. No one else seems to be noticing. 

And it's worse than a war, because during a war people are united in a shared experience. This war has not united us; it's divided us. It's separated those of us with AIDS and those of us who fight for people with AIDS from the rest of the population. Two and a half years ago I picked upLife magazine, and I read an editorial which said, "It's time to pay attention, because this disease is now beginning to strike the rest of us." It was as if I wasn't the one holding the magazine in my hand. And since then, nothing has changed to alter the perception that AIDS is not happening to the real people in this country. It's not happening to "us" in the United States; it's happening to "them," to the disposable populations of fags and junkies who deserve what they get. The media tells them that they don't have to care, because the people who really matter are not in danger. Twice, three times, four times, The New York Times has published editorials saying, Don't panic yet over AIDS. It still hasn't entered the general population, and until it does, we don't have to give a shit

And the days, and the months, and the years pass by, and they don't spend those days and nights and months and years trying to figure out how to get hold of the latest experimental drug, and which dose to take it at, and in what combination with other drugs, and from what source, and how are you going to pay for it, and where are you going to get it, because it isn't happening to them, so they don't give a shit. And they don't sit in television studios, surrounded by technicians who are wearing rubber gloves, who won't put a microphone on you, because it isn't happening to them, so they don't give a shit. And they don't have their houses burned down by bigots and morons. They watch it on the news and they have dinner and they go to bed, because it isn't happening to them, and they don't give a shit. And they don't spend their waking hours going from hospital room to hospital room, and watching the people that they love die slowly of neglect and bigotry, because it isn't happening to them, and they don't have to give a shit. They haven't been to two funerals a week for the last three or four or five years, so they don't give a shit, because it's not happening to them. 

And we read on the front page of The New York Times last Saturday that Anthony Fauci now says that all sorts of promising drugs for treatment haven't even been tested in the last two years because he can't afford to hire the people to test them. We're supposed to be grateful that this story has appeared in the newspaper after two years. Nobody wonders why some reporter didn't dig up that story and print it 18 months ago, before Fauci got dragged before a congressional hearing. How many people are dead in the last two years who might be alive today if those drugs had been tested more quickly? Reporters all over the country are busy printing government press releases. They don't give a shit; it isn't happening to them, meaning that it isn't happening to people like them: the real people, the world-famous general public we all keep hearing about. Legionnaires' disease was happening to them because it hit people who looked like them, who sounded like them, who were the same color as them. And that fucking story about a couple of dozen people hit the front page of every newspaper and magazine in this country, and it stayed there until that mystery got solved. 

All I read in the newspapers tells me that the mainstream, white, heterosexual population is not at risk for this disease. All the newspapers I read tell me that IV-drug users and homosexuals still account for the overwhelming majority of cases and a majority of those people at risk. And can somebody please tell me why every single penny allocated for education and prevention gets spent on ad campaigns that are directed almost exclusively to white, heterosexual teenagers, who they keep telling us are not at risk? Can somebody tell me why the only television movie ever produced by a major network in this country about the impact of this disease is not about the impact of this disease on the man who has AIDS but of the impact of AIDS on his white, straight, nuclear family? Why, for eight years, every newspaper and magazine in this country has done cover stories on AIDS only when the threat of heterosexual transmission is raised? Why, for eight years, every single educational film designed for use in high schools has eliminated any gay-positive material before being approved by the Board of Education? Why, for eight years, every single public-information pamphlet and videotape distributed by establishment sources has ignored specific homosexual content? 

Why is every bus and subway ad I read and every advertisement and every billboard I see in this country specifically not directed at gay men? Don't believe the lie that the gay community has done its job and done it well and educated its people. The gay community and IV-drug users are not all politicized people living in New York and San Francisco. Members of minority populations, including so-called sophisticated gay men, are abysmally ignorant about AIDS. If it is true that gay men and IV-drug users are the populations at risk for this disease, then we have a right to demand that education and prevention be targeted specifically to these people. And it is not happening. We are being allowed to die, while low-risk populations are being panicked -- not educated, panicked -- into believing that we deserve to die. 

Why are we here together today? We're here because it is happening to us, and we do give a shit. And if there were more of us and less of them, AIDS wouldn't be what it is at this moment in history. It's more than just a disease, which ignorant people have turned into an excuse to exercise the bigotry they have always felt. It is more than a horror story, exploited by the tabloids. AIDS is really a test of us as a people. When future generations ask what we did in this crisis, we're going to have to tell them that we were out here today. And we have to leave the legacy to those generations of people who will come after us. 

Someday, the AIDS crisis will be over. Remember that. And when that day comes, when that day has come and gone, there'll be people alive on this Earth, gay people and straight people, men and women, black and white, who will hear the story that once there was a terrible disease in this country and all over the world, and that a brave group of people stood up and fought and, in some cases, gave their lives, so that other people might live and be free. So I'm proud to be with my friends today and the people I love, because I think you're all heroes, and I'm glad to be part of this fight. But, to borrow a phrase from Michael Callen's song, "all we have is love right now. What we don't have is time." 

In a lot of ways, AIDS activists are like those doctors out there: They're so busy putting out fires and taking care of people on respirators that they don't have the time to take care of all the sick people. We're so busy putting out fires right now that we don't have the time to talk to each other and strategize and plan for the next wave, and the next day, and next month, and the next week, and the next year. And we're going to have to find the time to do that in the next few months. And we have to commit ourselves to doing that. And then, after we kick the shit out of this disease, we're all going to be alive to kick the shit out of this system, so that this never happens again.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

130 Reps Present Strike Against DOMA

One-hundred thirty members of Congress filed a joint amicus brief supportive of a lesbian couple challenging the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in court.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and all four openly gay members of the House,  representatives Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, David Cicilline, and Jared Polis signed the brief released Tuesday forGolinski v. Office of Personnel Management. Karen Golinski, a federal court employee, sued the government after being denied equal spousal benefits for her wife that her colleagues in heterosexual marriages have access to under Section 3 of DOMA.

GOP'S HEALTH CARE REPEAL EFFORT

Pitt talks about his mother's disparaging letter




After Brad Pitt's mother wrote a disparaging letter to the editor that slammed President Obama for supporting same-sex marriage and a woman's right to choose, Pitt's brother discussed the rant.
Doug Pitt was on Today discussing his new commercial for Virgin Mobile. At the end of Pitt's interview with Matt Lauer, Pitt was asked his take on the controversial letter.
"Moms and dads and kids agree to disagree all over the world, so why would our family be any different," Pitt said. "There can be healthy discussion when people disagree with you and I think there should be. The bad thing is when it turns to venom and negativity, and we don't have that in our family. It's open discussion, we can learn from each other. If anything, it solidifies your point or maybe you learn something."

"It's An Embarrassment Now to Be In the Closet"



For a segment called "Coming Out Quietly," CNN's Reliable Sourceshost Howard Kurtz spoke with Tampa Bay Times TV critic Eric Deggans, TVNewser's Gail Shister, and Sirius XM radio host-activist Michelangelo Signorile about the impact of Anderson Cooper's coming out.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Roman Catholic Church of Scotland declares ‘war on gay marriage


The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland and the most senior Catholic in the United Kingdom has declared “war on gay marriage,” pledging to spend another £100,000 in its campaign against equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in Scotland.
Speaking in today’s Sunday Times, Cardinal Keith O’Brien warned the Scottish Government that it will face an “unprecedented backlash” from the Catholic Church in Scotland if it goes ahead with plans to legalize same-sex marriage, claiming “marriage is under threat and politicians need to know the Catholic Church will bear any burden and meet any cost in its defense.”

Google Announces Worldwide 'Legalize Love' Campaign Plan In Support Of Gay Rights


Google launched a new campaign on Saturday supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights around the world.
Dot 429 reports that the initiative, called "Legalize Love," debuted in Poland and Singapore, and "will focus on places with homophobic cultures, where anti-gay laws exist," though it will operate in every city in which Google has an office.
"We want our employees who are gay or lesbian or transgender to have the same experience outside the office as they do in the office," Google executive Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe is quoted by Dot 429 as saying. "It is obviously a very ambitious piece of work."

Jan Brewer Asks Supreme Court To Overturn Ruling Allowing Benefits For Same-Sex Partners





Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) has requested that the Supreme Court overturn a ruling that allows state employees to keep their same-sex partners on their benefits, including health insurance.
Brewer filed a petition for a writ of certiorari on July 2, requesting that the high court overturn the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's September 2011 ruling in Diaz vs. Brewer. The pushback comes three months after the Ninth Circuit denied a request by Arizona state lawyers to re-hear the case with an 11-judge panel.

KEY EPISCOPAL CHURCH COMMITTEE APPROVES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LITURGY



EpiscopalAs expected, the Episcopal Church's General Convention's central prayer committee today approved of a resolution that would construct a liturgy to bless same-sex marriages, though there are still provisions for individual priests who object to marriage equality.

"No bishop, priest, deacon or lay person should be coerced or penalized in any manner, nor suffer any canonical disabilities, as a result of his or her conscientious objection to or support for the 77th General Convention’s action with regard to the Blessing of Same-Sex Relationships," reads an amendment attached to the proposal, according to MSNBC.


Sunday, July 8, 2012

EPISCOPAL CHURCH MAY SOON BLESS SAME-SEX MARRIAGES


EpisChurchGood news out of the Episcopal Church, via The Los Angeles Times:
Sixteen years after allowing gays and lesbians to become priests, the Episcopal Church appears poised to introduce a rite that would specifically bless the unions of same-sex couples.
If the liturgy is approved, which is expected, Episcopalians will become the first major denomination to endorse such a ritual for homosexual couples.
On its face, the blessing seems similar to that of a marriage rite -- including “I do,” “we have gathered together today” and an exchange of rings. Notably absent are the words “husband,” “wife” and “marriage.”
The committee says that while the liturgy is not called "marriage," there are "significant parallels." A hearing on the liturgy will be held on Saturday, but no vote is set as of yet.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Stop DOMA Challenge Denied


A federal judge in Connecticut has denied a request from the House Republican-controlled Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to halt proceedings in a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act.
Judge Vanessa Bryant of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut issued her orderWednesday in the case, Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management. BLAG filed a motion to stay last month, arguing that the same issues were under consideration in Windsor v. United States, a case now on appeal in the Second Circuit. Both cases challenge section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Last month a federal judge in New York ruled DOMA unconstitutional in the Windsor case.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Second anti-gay marriage ballot initiative fails in Washington state


 A ballot initiative seeking to define marriage as between “one man and one woman” in Washington state has fallen short of signatures needed, and won’t qualify for the November ballot.
The initiative — I-1192 — was one of two that opponents of same-sex marriage sought to place on the November ballot, likely in an effort to confuse voters. I-1192 would have asked voters to limit marriage to heterosexual couples only.
The other initiative — Referendum 74 — has qualified for the November ballot, and will ask voters to uphold or reject the state’s recently passed law legalizing same-sex marriage.
The failure of I-1192 clears the field for Referendum 74 to be the lone measure addressing same-sex marriage in the Nov. 6 general election, reported The Olympian.

FDA approves first over-the-counter home use HIV test kit


The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test, the first over-the-counter, self-administered HIV test kit to detect the presence of HIV antibodies. HIV is the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
The OraQuick in-Home HIV test is designed to allow individuals to collect an oral fluid sample by swabbing the upper and lower gums inside of their mouths, then place that sample into a developer vial, and obtain test results within 20 to 40 minutes

Chick-Fil-A's Anti-Gay Donations Totaled Nearly $2 Million In 2010


Chick-fil-A is quickly becoming more well-known for its alleged anti-gay donations than for its fried chicken.
As reported by Equality Matters and The Advocate -- among other publications -- a newly-released analysis of Chick-fil-A's charitable work has found that the fast found chain donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups over the course of 2010.
Among the many groups to receive donations through Chick-fil-A's WinShape Foundation, which was created by Chick-fil-A founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy in 1984, were the Marriage & Family Foundation ($1,188,380), Exodus International($1,000) and the Family Research Council (also $1,000), Equality Matters reported.

Obama Administration Asks Supreme Court For Quick Review Of Gay Marriage Law


he Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to settle the legal fight over a law that denies federal benefits to married gay couples.
The Justice Department on Tuesday asked the court to hear an appeal in its next term of lower court rulings striking down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act. The earliest the justices might decide to hear the case is in late September. Arguments probably would take place over the winter and a decision returned by late June 2013.
The administration said it agrees with the lower court rulings, but wants prompt high court review because President Barack Obama has instructed federal agencies to continue to enforce the law's ban on federal benefits to married gay couples until there is a final court ruling.

White Trash Medley - Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles

“What If Being Bald, Blue-Eyed Or Tall Was Illegal?”