Sunday, December 27, 2009
Bil Browning sent a message to the members of The Bilerico Project.
Subject: Weekly Reader: The Salvation Army, Katy Perry, & Lance Bass
It might have been a holiday week, but we kept plugging away to bring you the best content we could - including tons of holiday-themed posts! Check out some of these great posts from last week:
Sunday
Disturbing: Pelosi & Reid burnt in effigy by schoolchildren
Filed by: Bil Browning
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/disturbing_pelosi_reid_burnt_in_effigy_schoolchildren.php
The Last Minute Gay Geeks Gift Guide
Filed by: Nathan Strang
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/the_last_minute_gay_geeks_gift_guide.php
Monday
The year Lance Bass saved Christmas
Filed by: Joe Mirabella
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/gay_christmas.php
Surprise -- Roses at Christmas
Filed by: Patricia Nell Warren
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/roses_at_christmas.php
Tuesday
Katy Perry offends LGBT people in a bout of twitterrhea
Filed by: Jerame Davis
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/katy_perry_offends_lgbt_people_in_a_bout_of_twitter.php
8 Tips for LGBT People to Lower Holiday Stress
Filed by: D Gregory Smith
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/tis_the_season_for_depression.php
Wednesday
How Newsweek Got It Wrong On Gay Rights
Filed by: Dr. Jillian T. Weiss
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/how_newsweek_got_it_wrong_on_gay_rights.php
Just say no to the Salvation Army's red bucket
Filed by: Alex Blaze
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/just_say_no_to_the_salvation_armys_red_bucket.php
Thursday
My Marriage is a Stone
Filed by: Father Tony
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/my_marriage_is_a_stone.php
Christmas Eve in the Tenderloin
Filed by: Guest Blogger Jerry Weiss
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/christmas_eve_in_the_tenderloin.php
Friday
Merry Christmas!
Filed by: Bil Browning
http://www.facebook.com/l/a327f;www.bilerico.com/2009/12/merry_christmas_1.php
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Friday, December 25, 2009
This from The New Civil Rights Movement
Hey, CNN: “Admit” You’re Gay Is Wrong
Just a few days ago, we witnessed an “amazing” revelation: Former international rugby star Gareth Thomas said, “I’m gay.”
What’s also amazing is that so many mainstream, big media outlets did not say this:
“Gareth Thomas admits he is gay.”
Except CNN.
In, “Thomas relief after admitting he is gay,” CNN writes,
“Every gay man will tell you that ‘coming out’ is like a weight lifted from your shoulders and beng able to walk down the street knowing that there is nothing for me to hide has been a liberating experience, ” admitted Thomas…”
Because, really, why would anyone use the word “admit” when it comes to coming out? Being gay is not wrong. We “admit” to things we’ve done wrong.
We admit to lying. We admit to stealing. We admit to adultery.
We “come out,” we “acknowledge we’re gay,” we can even “reveal” we’re gay. But “admit?” Why would you “admit” to something that isn’t wrong?
Words matter.
It’s time for the media, especially the MSM, to get it straight: “admitting” you’re gay is like “admitting” you’re human.
Got it?
From The New Civil Rights Movement
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Senate Passes Health Care Bill
It's definitely not the bill we wanted, but this morning the Senate voted 60-39 to approve its version of health care reform. The Senate voted Thursday to reinvent the nation’s health care system, passing a bill to guarantee access to health insurance for tens of millions of Americans and to rein in health costs as proposed by President Obama. The 60-to-39 party-line vote, on the 25th straight day of debate on the legislation, brings Democrats a step closer to a goal they have pursued for decades. It clears the way for negotiations with the House, which passed a broadly similar bill last month by a vote of 220 to 215.Senator Robert Byrd voted this way: “This is for my friend Ted Kennedy. Aye!”
If the two chambers can strike a deal, as seems likely, the resulting product would vastly expand the role and responsibilities of the federal government. It would, as lawmakers said repeatedly in the debate, touch the lives of nearly all Americans. The bill would require most Americans to have health insurance, would add 15 million people to the Medicaid rolls and would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people, at a cost to the government of $871 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Labels: Congress, health care reform, insurance, Senate
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Utah Congressman Chaffetz Leads Effort to Dump
"That is why we have called for investigations in California and Maine into their fund-raising, which is shrouded in mystery. In Maine they refused to disclose the names of thier contributors even after being ordered to do so by Federal Judge D. Brock Hornby and Maine attorney General Janet T. Mills.
"Now we need a Congressional investigation of the National Organization for Marriage as they come charging into out nation's capitol to attempt to undo marriage equality there. They must no longer go unchecked," demanded Karger.
Chaffetz, family differ on gay marriage
SALT LAKE CITY — Gay rights groups are flabbergasted that Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, is leading a charge to block gay marriage in the District of Columbia, since his family has some interesting gay and liberal ties.
After all, his father, John Chaffetz, wrote a complimentary book about a gay couple that competed in the "Amazing Race" reality TV show. And liberal, former Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis (whose wife, Kitty, was once married to Chaffetz's father) has been helping the young Chaffetz to pass legislation.
So gay groups are questioning in widespread Internet posts why Chaffetz, with such ties, could do such a thing. They wish aloud that he would listen to his more liberal relations, and stop his pledges to try to overturn a D.C. ordinance signed by its mayor last week to allow gay marriage.
Chaffetz told the Deseret News on Monday that such groups should not hold their breath for that.
"I see my position more as a support of traditional marriage than it is an attack on gay marriage. I think I have a core moral belief in traditional marriage, and I'm willing to stand up and stand tall for traditional marriage," he said.
Although Chaffetz is a freshman, he is the ranking Republican on the House subcommittee that oversees District of Columbia operations. So he said it is part of that job to announce GOP opposition to the new ordinance, and vow to fight it since federal law gives Congress 30 days to overturn any ordinance passed by the D.C. Council.
"It has led to a whole series of very aggressive personal attacks, but go ahead, I don't care. It doesn't phase me much," Chaffetz said. Many of the attacks draw attention to how his father wrote the book "Gay Reality" about the gay couple of Bill Bartek and Joe Baldassare who gained attention as reality show contestants. And attacks point out Chaffetz's ties to Dukakis.
But Chaffetz explains, "I am the only member of my family who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am a convert." He joined the church two months after he graduated from Brigham Young University, where he had been recruited as a football placekicker.
Because of that church background, Chaffetz said he is more conservative than many in his extended family, although he said it does include both Republicans and Democrats.
"My younger brother Alex is about as conservative as it gets, other than maybe Attila the Hun," he joked. "My older half-brother (John Dukakis — who changed his last name from Chaffetz to match that of his famous stepfather, Michael Dukakis) is about as liberal as it gets."
That doesn't mean that Chaffetz hasn't sought out the opinion of his half-brother, a former actor who had roles in such films as "Jaws 2" and in such TV series as "Family Ties" and "Taxi."
"I showed my brother John a draft of a campaign piece we prepared. And he said, 'I disagree with everything you say here.' And I thought, 'We have success. We must be on to something,'" Chaffetz said.
In contrast, Chaffetz said his father is a "very conservative person," his book about the gay couple notwithstanding. "I've talked to him about some things, but not about this (gay marriage)."
While Chaffetz is not biologically related to Michael Dukakis, Chaffetz said they became well acquainted and spent time together because John Dukakis would spend the school year with Dukakis and John's mother, Kitty, and the summers with his father and his half-brothers, Jason and Alex, and their mother.
Rep. Chaffetz even headed the Dukakis campaign at BYU in 1988, before his conversions to be a Republican and a Mormon. He said he and Dukakis still keep in close contact, and the former Massachusetts governor has helped him make some Democratic contacts needed to do such things as pass House legislation to ban use of "whole-body imaging" machines at airports.
"One of the interesting phenomena is that Michael Dukakis has been very helpful in opening a lot of doors that wouldn't have been opened otherwise. Some very liberal Democrats have given me the time of day that wouldn't normally have done so, particularly some of the people from Massachusetts," Chaffetz said.
"He (Dukakis) is a passionate believer in good public service, and considers party secondary. He wants to do some things that I could never support, but I respect him," Chaffetz said. "I talked to him the day before yesterday. We keep in contact."
But, again, Chaffetz said he believes strongly in defending traditional marriage, and no one should expect differently even if he has some liberal friends and family. "I'm my own guy on this one," he said.
Still, the Utah Log Cabin Republicans on Monday called for him to change, issuing a statement that it wants him to "get back to tending the issues we sent him to Washington to represent, and stop trying to force others to adhere to his misguided interpretation of what makes a real marriage."
Monday, December 21, 2009
This from JMG
A Gay First For Martha Stewart
Popular Good As You blogger/activist Jeremy Hooper and his husband Andrew have become the first gay couple to be featured in Martha Stewart Weddings. Jeremy and Andrew were married in Connecticut in June. Congrats, guys!Labels: Bloggers, Good As You, Jeremy Hooper, Martha Stewart, publishing
posted by JMGSunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
From Father Geoff: Will America become a Fundamentalist "Republic?"
Jump here to read the full article
From JMG: Newsweek Predicts For 2010: "Obama Does Nada On Gay Rights"
Newsweek takes a grim outlook on what the president may do for us in 2010: Patience became the 2009 mantra of the gay rights movement, which generally supports Democrats. Many activists believe that in his heart Obama supports their flagship issues: the ability to serve openly in the armed forces, to be protected from employment in the workplace, and the right to marry (even though he’s on record as favoring civil unions over marriage). But they’ve received almost nothing for their troubles. What the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community has learned this year is that the president is ultimately a pragmatist.
Although his very presence in the White House is the stuff of culture wars, Obama himself is reluctant to wade into one. Moreover, if socially divisive policies have the potential to compromise his legislative agenda, Obama has proven that he simply won’t pursue them. Expect this tension to become more acute as the 2010 elections loom—and for gay rights to be shunted aside again. The last thing this pragmatist president will do is hand election-year ammunition to an already energized conservative base that’s venomously opposed to gay marriage.
Labels: 2010, Barack Obama, LGBT rights, Obama administration
Quote of the Day
"When one permits whom one studies to define the terms in which they will be understood, suspends one's interest in the temporal and contingent, or fails to distinguish between "truths," "truth claims," and "regimes of truth," one has ceased to function as historian or scholar. In that moment, a variety of roles are available: some perfectly respectable (amanuensis, collector, friend, and advocate), and some less appealing (cheerleader, voyeur, retailer of import goods). None, however, should be confused with scholarship." (Bruce Lincoln, "Theses on Method" [1996, 227])
More JMG News: Prop 8 Trial May Be Televised
The Judicial Council of the 9th Circuit authorized television cameras in certain district court proceedings Thursday, reviving a national controversy just weeks before a groundbreaking trial over same-sex marriage is slated to begin in San Francisco. The 9th Circuit currently allows cameras to televise appellate arguments, as does the 2nd Circuit. A private vendor has also recorded a handful of district court proceedings in New York. But under the 9th Circuit's new experimental program -- in which only civil, nonjury trials would qualify -- district courts would be likely to use their own camera equipment, said Circuit Executive Cathy Catterson. The method of distribution would be figured out on a case-by-case basis. "It might be posted later in the day, it could be edited, or it could be live. It would depend on the nature of the case," Catterson said.Critics of the idea point to the OJ Simpson trial as an example of how the presence of TV cameras can tend to create grandstanding and non-legal histrionics on the part of lawyers. "If it does not fit, you must acquit."
Cases to be considered for the pilot program, and the distribution details, will be decided by each district's chief judge, in consultation with 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. In San Francisco it is the Northern District of California's chief judge, Vaughn Walker, who is presiding over the federal challenge to Prop 8. Walker first raised the possibility of a televised broadcast several weeks ago, and lawyers representing pro-same-sex-marriage plaintiffs support the idea. The defendants oppose it, saying anti-gay-marriage witnesses could be subject to harassment and retribution. When the topic arose again this week, Walker alluded to possible 9th Circuit action and asked for another discussion with the parties should authorization occur.
Labels: David Boies, Proposition 8, Ted Olson, television
Courtesy of JMGJMG: DC Mayor Adrian Fenty Signs Marriage Equality Bill (In A Church!)
Moments ago, Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the city's historic marriage equality bill. Above, Fenty hands openly gay City Councilman David Catania the pen used to sign the bill Catania sponsored.In a raucous signing ceremony at a northwest Washington church, Mayor Fenty officially legalized same-sex marriage in the District, distributing ceremonial pens among the Council members standing behind him. The law now will go through a period of review consisting of 30 days in which Congress is in session. If the law passes that hurdle -- as is widely expected -- the first gay marriages in the District could take in late winter or early spring of 2010.Congratulations Washington DC! And thank you Mayor Fenty and Councilman Catania!
The ceremony at All Souls Unitarian Church -- one of many in the city that supported the legislation -- opened with comments by Fenty, Council chairman Vincent Gray, and Council members Phil Mendelson, David Catania and Jim Graham. In his opening remarks, Fenty recalled that when his own parents were married, many states would have refused to recognize their bonds. Fenty's father is black, while his mother is white. "Today an era of struggle ends for thousands of D.C. residents," he said. "Our city is taking a leap forward." Sponsoring Council member David Catania (I-At Large) opened his comments with a little family history recalling how his ancestors had moved from Massachusetts to Kansas to try and swing an election and prevent it from becoming a slave state. "So there's a tradition of troublemaking in my family, and a deep and abiding understanding of civil rights," Catania said.
Labels: Adrian Fenty, David Catania, LGBT History, marriage equality, Washington DC
Thursday, December 17, 2009
From JMG: Going Vogue
RuPaul is promoting the second season of her hit LOGO series Rupaul's Drag Race with a dig at Sarah Palin. If you recall, I got ridiculously engrossed in last season's show - to the point where I actually squealed a little bit when I met the out-of-drag Nina Flowers on the dance floor at the Black Party. Season two begins on February 1st.Labels: drag, gay artists, Logo, RuPaul, television
From JMG: BBC Apologizes For "Kill Gays" Debate
An executive from the BBC has issued an apology for yesterday's online debate asking if homosexuals should be put to death. It's not much of apology. From the blog of BBC World Service director Peter Horrocks:The original headline on our website was, in hindsight, too stark. We apologise for any offence it caused. But it's important that this does not detract from what is a crucial debate for Africans and the international community. The programme was a legitimate and responsible attempt to support a challenging discussion about proposed legislation that advocates the death penalty for those who undertake certain homosexual activities in Uganda - an important issue where the BBC can provide a platform for debate that otherwise would not exist across the continent and beyond.Like many U.S.-based bloggers, I have relied on the BBC for many stories out of non-English speaking countries. I'm going to try and use other sources, when available, in the future. So far, I'm finding their action unforgivable.
Labels: BBC, journalism, Uganda, UK
posted by Joe 0 comments 
AIDS Group Files Petition To Require Condoms In All Porn
California's AIDS Healthcare Foundation will file a petition to amend state law that that would require that male actors in all porn productions wear a condom. The majority of gay porn companies are based in California.
The change would be made to the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board's policy on bloodborne pathogens. “Although workers in adult films should enjoy protections under the current phrasing of the regulation, the adult film industry has steadfastly refused to take any steps to protect its workers from diseases spread by bloodborne pathogens, resulting in thousands of employees becoming infected with sexually transmitted diseases," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation.As reported by the Advocate, in August the AHF filed 16 worker-safety complaints with the state over the lack of condom use in porn films produced in California. Perhaps unsurprisingly, porn actors in California have been found to have 10 times the STD rate of the general population.
Should the AHF succeed, it can be expected that the popular barebacking porn companies, whose titles sell very well, would merely move their productions into another state. Some have called for a stricter law that would ban the sale of such new releases in California entirely.
Labels: AHF, California, condoms, gay porn, HIV/AIDS, porn, STDs
Quote from JMG: HomoQuotable - Ellen DeGeneres
"I'm so thankful for the freedoms that we have in this country; the freedom of speech, the freedom to vote and the freedom to love who we want. And I want to say that what's happening in Uganda makes me incredibly sad. There's an "Anti-Gay Bill" that's proposing to jail homosexuals. They are trying to give life sentences to same-sex couples, and the bill even proposes that they jail anyone who fails to report "gay activity" to the police within 24 hours. This is a horrible violation of human rights and I can't believe something like this is being discussed in this day and age. I think we should be grateful for our freedoms this holiday season. Be thankful for the people who fight for them. And let's continue to be an example to the world through our love and compassion." - Ellen DeGeneres, writing on her network fansite.Labels: Ellen Degeneres, gay artists, HomoQuotable, LGBT rights, television, Uganda
lifted from JMGWhen Same-Sex Marriage Was a Christian Rite
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A Kiev art museum contains a curious icon from St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai in Israel. It shows two robed Christian saints. Between them is a traditional Roman ‘pronubus’ (a best man), overseeing a wedding. The pronubus is Christ. The married couple are both men.
Is the icon suggesting that a gay "wedding" is being sanctified by Christ himself? The idea seems shocking. But the full answer comes from other early Christian sources about the two men featured in the icon, St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, two Roman soldiers who were Christian martyrs. These two officers in the Roman army incurred the anger of Emperor Maximian when they were exposed as ‘secret Christians’ by refusing to enter a pagan temple. Both were sent to Syria circa 303 CE where Bacchus is thought to have died while being flogged. Sergius survived torture but was later beheaded. Legend says that Bacchus appeared to the dying Sergius as an angel, telling him to be brave because they would soon be reunited in heaven.
jump here to read the full article
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Surviving The "Ex-Gay" Industry
How blatantly bizarre and predatory does "ex-gay reparative therapy" have to be for even the mental cases at Exodus International to disavow you? Here's some of what their "therapist" at their Lansing, Michigan affiliate did to young Patrick McAlvey.
“He asked how large my penis was. He asked if I shave my pubic hair. He asked what type of underwear that I wore. He wanted me to describe my sexual fantasies to him and the type of men I’m attracted to. On one occasion, he asked me to take my shirt off and show him how many push-ups I could do, which I did not do.”Truth Wins Out reports:
Truth Wins Out (TWO) revealed today that the nation’s largest “ex-gay” organization, Exodus International, officially cut ties with its Lansing affiliate Corduroy Stone after charges were made by an ex-gay survivor that the sessions included harmful and bizarre therapy. In August, Patrick McAlvey made the charges against Corduroy Stone’s Mike Jones in a Truth Wins Out video, yet it took Exodus until December to take action. Exodus’ dithering in the face of scandal cost precious time and may have placed additional youth in harm’s way, according to Truth Wins Out.VIDEO: Patrick McAlvey talks about his Exodus International predator.
Labels: "ex-gay", closet cases, Exodus International, Patrick McAlvey, religion, Truth Wins Out