Friday, July 25, 2008

Final Words

“For those who oppose the death penalty and want to see it end, our best bet is to vote for Barack Obama because his supporters have been working behind the scenes to end this practice. God bless America. It has been great living here. That’s all.” - Mississippi death row inmate Dale Bishop, shortly before he was put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday.

The trouble is, Obama does support the death penalty in many instances.

(Via - Talk Left)

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Christianists Gets Pennsylvania's Hate Crimes Law Overturned

Acting on a petition filed by the Christianist group Repent America, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's ruling that struck down that state's 2002 hate crimes law, saying it was inappropriately attached to an unrelated bill.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision striking down amendments that added sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, gender, and mental and physical disability to the state hate crime law. The law, known as the Ethnic Intimidation and Institutional Vandalism Act, was amended in 2002 to include protections for these groups by a two-thirds majority of the state legislature. Then-governor Mark Schweiker signed it into law.

The lower court ruled last November that the law was invalid because it had been tacked onto another, nonrelated bill. The ruling did not criticize the content of the law, only the way in which it had been passed. “We are extremely disappointed that some of the most vulnerable people in Pennsylvania are now unprotected by our state’s hate crimes law,” Equality Advocates Pennsylvania said in a statement.

Stephen Glassman, chairman of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, said that the court ruling will make it more difficult to fight hate crimes. “It is vitally important for our agency to be able to respond to every act of hate and bias in the Commonwealth no matter who the victim may be,” said Galssman. “We must protect the rights of people to be free from these hate crimes just as surely as we protect them on the basis of their religion, race, ethnicity or national origin.”
Last year Gov. Ed Rendell asked the legislature to enact legislation reinstating the bill, but there has been no action thus far.

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Daily Grumble

Waiting for George Michael to take the stage on Wednesday, I was grumbling to Aaron that I only went to see "oldies" acts these days, how everybody I'd seen in concert this summer had been around for 25 years or more. Yaz, Donna Summer, B-52's, Cyndi Lauper, Laurie Anderson, etc. Aaron said, "Well, don't you know of any new bands you like?" And I really couldn't think of any. I said, "Well, there's that Dashboard-something that I saw on TV. The lead singer was kinda cute. And I heard a song by the Dinner Jackets that I like. Dinner Jackets? Is that their name?" Aaron shrugged and went back to his program. Ten seconds later the Jumbotron flashed: "Neil Diamond! Five unforgettable shows!" And I couldn't help it, I went "Ooh!" Dammit.

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Broadway Friday

- The screenplay for Hairspray 2 will be written by John Waters. "Also set to return are director/choreographer Adam Shankman, the song-writing team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron." The first Hairspray: The Musical grossed over $200M and the sequel is set to open in July 2010. But somebody also thought Grease 2 was a good idea.

- A filmed performance of Rent will hit movie theaters in late September shortly after the show closes its Broadway run. The release is part of a new digital distribution network of live shows called "The Hot Ticket."

- The musical Robin And The Seven Hoods will play Broadway during the '09-10' season. The show is based on the 1964 rat pack movie of the same name.

- Shubert Theater head Phillip Smith was granted a divorce from his wife Tricia "YouTube" Walsh, after the judge blasted her posting of videos mocking her ex-husband's sexual prowess. Walsh will get a pittance of her ex's wealth as per a prenuptial agreement.

- Two time Oscar winner Emma Thompson will co-write the screenplay for a remake of My Fair Lady. Keira Knightly is in talks to play Eliza. Wouldn't it be grisly? The original opened on Broadway in 1956 and ran for six years, winning nine Tonys.

- Bizarre: Somebody broke into the warehouse storing props for Off Broadway's Gazillion Bubble Show and stole 3.4 tons of bubble liquid. Somehow, the show will gurgle on.

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Brandon McInerney To Be Tried As Adult

A Ventura County, California judge has ruled that the 14-year-old killer of gay teen Lawrence King will be tried as an adult.
Relying on past court decisions, a judge ruled Thursday that trying a 14-year-old boy accused of murder in an adult court does not violate the constitution, swatting down legal arguments raised by the boy's attorney that it was cruel and unusual punishment to do so.

"I cannot say that this is unconstitutional," said Ventura County Superior Court Judge Douglas Daily.

Teenage defendant Brandon McInerney of Oxnard is charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime in connection with the Feb. 12 killing of classmate Larry King, 15, who sometimes wore makeup and told friends he was gay.

McInerney's mother fled the court in tears. Per a 2000 California constitutional amendment, prosecutors have much more authority over whether to pursue adult charges against youthful offenders. This decision comes as a blow to the broad coalition of LGBT and progressive groups who pleaded in April for a juvenile court trial for McInerney.

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Mars Kills Homophobic Snickers Ad

The Human Rights Campaign has announced that candy giant Mars Inc. has agreed to pull their new campaign for Snickers. The commercial features Mr. T machine-gunning an effeminate-appearing Olympic race-walker. Earlier this week, AdAge critic Bob Garfield issued an open letter to the head of the ad agency responsible for the ad, calling for its immediate withdrawal.
Following conversations between the Human Rights Campaign and senior Mars representatives, the company has agreed to pull its most recent ad using stereotypes of gay men to sell its Snickers product line. HRC applauds Mars for taking swift and appropriate action.

In 2007, another distasteful Snickers advertisement was aired during Super Bowl XLI. The company subsequently pulled the ad. Following that, HRC began a constructive dialogue with Mars on workplace inclusion for GLBT employees. We were of course surprised to see the company return to the same practice it had just recently rejected.

These kinds of ads perpetuate the notion that the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is a group of second class citizens and that violence against GLBT people is not only acceptable, but humorous. We are hopeful that Mars will make the necessary changes in their organization to ensure this does not happen yet again."
Here's the commercial again.

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My Beautiful (Tethered) Balloon

As part of Central Park's 150th anniversary celebration, beginning today you can ride a tethered balloon to a height of 300 feet over over the trees.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Olmsted and Vaux's Greensward plan — the original design for the world's most famous park — the Central Park Conservancy and New York City Department of Parks & Recreation invite New Yorkers and visitors to see the City and the Park as they've never seen it before: floating in silence 30 stories in the air!

AeroBalloon™ is an anchored, helium-filled, state-of-the-art balloon that ascends to a height of 300 feet. The balloon will fly daily from July 25 to August 22, 2008 at Cherry Hill in Central Park, and will take up to four passengers at a time for a 10 minute ride. Riders are welcome from 7am to 10pm. Get a spectacular daytime view of Central Park and bustling streets, or wait until sundown and float above dazzling city lights.
The balloon is tethered at Cherry Hill, just west of the Bethesda Fountain. Phone reservations are accepted from 7-10am. After that it's first come, first served. The 10-minute ride is $25, versus $18 to visit Rockefeller Center's Top Of The Rock, which is more than twice as high and you can stay as long as want, but definitely isn't as cool as a balloon ride. I'd think I'd wanna go up at night.

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Morning View - Broadway & 60th

This is looking north on Broadway from 60th Street under Trump International Tower near Columbus Circle.

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Obama Rocks Berlin

Reviews of Barack Obama's speech in Berlin yesterday appear to be mixed, with the New York Times calling it "vague on crucial issues of trade, defense and foreign policy." However, The Nation loved it, saying, "To much of the world, Bush's talk of freedom is code for messianism, arrogance and empire. Obama reframed the debate--and reclaimed the word--with his spectacular speech in Berlin today, when he spoke of 'the dream of freedom' as something both Americans and Europeans shared and could be proud of. "

Over 200,000 Berliners heard Obama speak in person and the speech was carried live on all four German national networks. Berlin officials decided not to allow Obama to have his Reagan moment at the Brandenburg Gate after all, and the speech took place nearby at the Victory Column. Time will only tell if his speech yesterday will have the same historic resonance as Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" or JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner." The entire speech is below in two parts.

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

George Michael At Madison Square Garden

Last night I trekked to Midtown with Aaron for my fourth "oldies" concert in a week, George Michael at Madison Square Garden. Neither of us are particular fans, but while the last George Michael record I bought was probably the 12" of 1982's Wham Rap, I'm not not a fan either.

Most of my interest in George Michael over the last 25 years has come from his progression to being an (albeit initially unwilling) out gay man who has still remained globally popular. Therefore I was curious to experience this phenomenon of a major openly gay, LTR'd but unapologetically non-monogamous pop star playing the "world's most famous arena."

Last night was the second of two sold-out shows at the Garden, where we arrived to find the audience comprising about 70% females (lots of mother/daughter combos), 20% gay men, and 10% very patient boyfriends/husbands. About 45 minutes after the advertised "8PM Prompt" showtime, George Michael took the stage with six backup singers and with his band semi-hidden on the three-story riser tucked behind a mammoth trio of innovative video screens which were also part of the stage floor.

Over the next 2 1/2 hours we got 22 songs culled from George's Wham! and solo years, plus two covers: Roberta Flack's First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, and a torchy version of The Police's Roxanne. I thought the show leaned too heavily on the ballads, but 15,000 screaming females probably would disagree.

In light of George's frankness regarding his love of park cruising and his open relationship, it would have been amusing to hear him perform his 80's paean to safe sex and monogamy, I Want Your Sex. Oh, well. However, it would be unfair to deny that I got a tingly thrill to hear George introduce Amazing as being "about the man that I love" and then hear the entire arena roar its approval. Throughout the show, George was rather chatty and personable, with a few of the usual rock star shout-outs thrown in: "You are the best audience of the entire tour!"

After two encores, George returned to proclaim that the final song was about "being whatever the fuck kind of person you want to be", then launched into Freedom '90 as the massive video screen throbbed with a cartoon iteration of the gay freedom rings. Nice. Very, very nice.

Love or hate him, fan or not, you've got to admit that George Michael has, against all probable odds, somehow created something oddly magical. He hasn't charted a hit single in America in over a dozen years, but I'd bet that in a dozen more, he'll still be able sell out the Garden. I'm not about to rush to download his catalog, but after last night, I like him personally much more that I had.

Madison Square Garden Setlist
: Waiting, Fastlove, I'm Your Man, Father Figure, Hard Day, Everything She Wants, One More Try, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, An Easier Affair, Too Funky,Star People. [Intermission] Faith, Spinning the Wheel, Feeling Good, Roxanne, Kissing A Fool, Amazing, Flawless, Outside, A Different Corner, Careless Whisper, Freedom '90.

Video: Closing number Freedom '90 was a 20,000-person sing-a-long.

[Photo credit: NewNextNow Blog]

It's An Obama World

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Apology Revoked
(And Munchausen-By-Blog Syndrome)

Oh, gentle readers, what a twisted, fascinating, maddening, saddening place is this thing called Teh Internets.

Remember Cooper? The firefighter gay dad of two adopted boys who pulled his widely-loved blog after an "attack" of malicious comments and emails from the readers of this blog? Causing me to get extremely bent of out shape and offer Cooper a heartfelt (really) public apology? Over the last few days our little blogosphere has retched forth some unpleasant, uncomfortable revelations about Cooper.

The short version:
He is not a firefighter.
He is not an adoptive father.
He is not gay.
He is not, in fact, a he.

Intrigued? The long version:

The story began to unfold at Sweet/Salty, the blog of a woman named Kate, a young mother dealing with the death of her infant son. On the day of the supposed attack on Cooper's blog by JMG readers, Kate had emailed him, extremely distressed to have discovered that Cooper had lifted many of her gorgeously written posts verbatim, including photographs of her husband.

Upon receipt of Kate's surprisingly kind request to remove her plagiarized material, Cooper deleted his blog and apparently then concocted the JMG attack story to placate his legion of starry-eyed readers, people who avidly followed Cooper's Corridor as a place where they saw their most earnest ideals about gay parenting realized.

Shortly afterwards, Cooper's Corridor resumed as Nico's Niche, a private blog where Kate's material continued to appear. Kate found my public apology to Cooper and emailed me about the situation. Knowing that Father Tony has had a longtime internet friendship with Cooper, I put him on the case. What he uncovered may blow your mind.

According to the bizarre confession wrangled by Father Tony, Cooper's Corridor/Nico's Niche was written by a woman, a 52-year-old British Columbia grandmother named Jo, who says that ever since she was a little girl she has felt that she is a gay man trapped in a woman's body. Cooper/Nico (Jo claims) was a concoction created in order to deal with her lifelong gender identity disorder. She says she calls her inner gay man "Nicky".

Oh, but hang on a minute, it gets curiouser still. Turns out that there are extremely similar aspects between the Cooper/Nico story and another infamous case of blog imposterism. Years ago there was the (now-infamous in the gay blogosphere) case of A Priori Ad Lib, a blog supposedly written by a gay Canadian grade school teacher slowly dying from leukemia. The dying gay teacher's name? Nicky. Who lived in British Columbia. Who turned out to be a woman, exposed when a blog pal of mine attempted to actually visit "him" in the hospital only to find no such person existed.

As the initial outrage and sense of betrayal about Cooper died down a bit, there have been some rather generous expressions of pity towards Jo/Cooper/Nicky. Kate (the blogger whose occasionally tortured, but always lovely prose was stolen) has been by turns baffled, angry, stunned...but most of all, kind. (Her readers, understandably, not so much.) Even as evidence was put forward that Jo had plagiarized other blogs, the conversation turned to pleas for understanding for the mentally ill.

Go read Kate's initial angry post, then you absolutely must delve into Father Tony's post, where in addition to publishing Jo's emailed "confession", he muses in his typically artful way about the anonymous nature of the internet and how much we can ever really know about people, even when we think we have an insider's view of their day-to-day lives.

To my readers who leapt to defend "Cooper", I thank you for your kind words to him, however misguided we all were. I know some of you had even sent Christmas presents for "Cooper's" nonexistent children, so I can only imagine how incredibly betrayed you feel. Jo has told Father Tony that she's been suicidal over being exposed, but has found a mental health counselor and is considering gender reassignment surgery. Color me extremely skeptical on that, but at the end of day what we have here is a very troubled person who needs help of some kind.

Even this post may please the sort of person who engages in what I call "Munchausen-by-blog syndrome", but consider this yet another unhappy lesson about trust, gullibility, and how we as gay people are sometimes overeager to find our heroes.

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$300K For Pics Of Thomas Beatie's Baby

Gawker is reporting that People Magazine paid $300K for the exclusive rights to the photos of "pregnant man" Thomas Beatie's baby girl.
No word on whether he's giving the money to charity, but doesn't Beatie kind of deserve to keep it? Bidding on Angelina Jolie's baby pictures approached $20 million, and even D-listers Nicole Richie and Jamie-Lynn Spears managed to net reported seven-figure deals for photos of their offspring. And not one of those people went to the trouble of changing her gender, retaining her reproductive organs or waddling around as the world's only pregnant man! In fact, one wonders if Beatie couldn't have gotten a better deal. Sad! But only by the (also sad) metric of fameball skills. Beatie still looks like a very happy Dad, which is rumored to be worth quite a lot in and of itself.
When's the movie coming out?

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Medicaid Benefits For MA Gays

Excellent news. Yesterday the Massachusetts house passed a bill approving equal Medicaid benefits for married gays.
Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to sign the bill, which was passed by the state House on July 15. The lawmakers' actions defy the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bans legally wed same-sex couples from receiving federally provided benefits such as Medicaid, the "safety-net" health care program administered by the states.

Supporters say Massachusetts can circumvent federal law by using only state dollars to pay for gay couples' benefits. Under current law, if a same-sex couple owns a house together and one partner has to go into a nursing home, the other could lose the home once all the medical bills are paid, MassEquality said. Changing the law offers significant progress in helping LGBT seniors in crisis, said Lisa Krinksy, director of the LGBT Aging Project, which worked with MassEquality, in a written statement.

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Desperation Move

More dumbassery from the McCain camp as they pander to Florida's powerful Cuban vote. The truth is, there's no love between Obama and Castro.
The Castro advertisement actually uses the foreign leader's words against Obama. But the quote is misleading in regards to the actual political dynamics in play. For starters, since Obama became the de facto nominee, Castro has been critical of his candidacy, arguing that he has not called for serious alterations to U.S.-Cuban relations and would willingly allow the island nation to suffer from hunger. Obama, meanwhile, has criticized Castro as a repeated abuser of human rights and a tyrant whose time has passed.

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LA Police Chief Donates Against Prop.8

Los Angeles chief of police William J. Bratton supports gay marriage and has made a personal donation to the fight against Proposition 8.
LAPD Police Chief William J. Bratton has come out -- in favor of gay marriage.

As a wedding gift to friend and celebrity publicist Howard Bragman and his longtime partner, Chuck O'Donnell, Bratton made it official: He and his wife, former Court TV diva Rikki Kleiman, strongly believe that gays have a right to marry. And in honor of Bragman and O'Donnell, who wed this past week in Norwalk, the chief and Kleiman have made a donation to Equality California, a group seeking to stop a state ballot measure this November that would ban same-sex marriages.

"The Constitution guarantees life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Bratton said this week. "I see no reason why gays can't pursue happiness through marriage." After learning of the Bragman-O'Donnell union a few days ago, Bratton and Kleiman asked the couple what they would like as a wedding present. Bragman was direct: No gifts -- instead, make a donation to Equality California to help stop Prop. 8. And please make it public.

Other friends of Bragman and O'Donnell -- who was USC's Tommy Trojan for 10 years -- have done the same. They include tennis star Martina Navratilova and former "Grey's Anatomy" actor Isaiah Washington. (He's been trying to make amends with the gay community since he was caught uttering an antigay slur backstage at the Golden Globes in January 2007; Bragman is his PR rep.) The veteran celebrity spin master is hopeful that others will make donations to Equality California's efforts to stop Prop. 8 this fall.
Interesting bit about Isaiah Washington.

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100 Days Of "Better Than Sex"

Vince Sandoval, a 25-year-old gay New Yorker, is going without sex for 100 days in a "social experiment" to find things to do in and around New York City that are "better than sex". From his email to me:
I started it a little more than a month ago as a social experiment and a way to explore the art & cultural offerings of the city. It could be food, a play, concert, a hobby or practially anything under the Manhattan sun. Some of the fun things that I've done so far include going on a silent date at the Cloisters; seeing Les Paul, who invented the electric guitar and is now 93, in concert; the chocolate cube dessert at Park Avenue summer; and randomly going to City Hall to be a witness to a wedding ceremony. I just attended a cuddle party in NJ and will be going to the Russian/Turkish Baths in the East Village later this week.
Sandoval, of course, is blogging his experiment. He welcomes your suggestions.

Hmm, some of us go 100 days without sex all the freekin' time. I welcome your suggestions.

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NYC: 40% Of Gay Men Not Out To Doctors

Via Queerty:
According to a new study, 40% of gay men in New York City, who have had sex with other men, hide their sexual orientation from their doctors. The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, and looked at data from 2004 to 2005 from the Centers for Disease Control National HIV Behavioral Survey. In the survey, 452 people took part, all living in New York City. Men who were at gay bars and clubs were randomly interviewed, and then tested for HIV. The study found that men who stated that they had sex with other men were twice as likely to be tested for HIV. 63% of men who admitted to being gay received HIV tests, compared to 36% who were not be truthful about it. This shows that gay men are putting themselves at an increased risk for hIV/AIDS by hiding their sexual orientation.
Are you truthful with your doctor? It could save your life.

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Sally Kern Packs Heat

The 21st century's Anita Bryant, Oklahoma pol Sally Kern was caught attempting to bring a gun into the state Capitol Building yesterday.
State Rep. Sally Kern says she's an "outdoors girl” who's done some shooting but didn't intend to bring her pistol into the state Capitol on Wednesday. Kern, who made national headlines earlier this year when she said the homosexual agenda is the biggest threat facing this country, said she was in a hurry and didn't realize she had her pistol in her purse.

She got no farther than the Capitol security station with her pistol Wednesday. "I was pulling up to park ... hurried out of my car.” Kern, an Oklahoma City Republican, said she is "out of the habit of being at the Capitol” since the Legislature adjourned in May. "I had a meeting at 10 a.m.,” she said. Kern put her purse on the conveyor belt to be X-rayed by security equipment. As it went through, one of the security people said, "Rep. Kern ... ,” and that was when she realized her pistol was in her purse, Kern said.
Capitol police determined that Kern's was not a "malicious act" and she was allowed to take her weapon out to her car. This was not the first time she took a gun onto the floor of the legislature. Last month she "self-reported" that she'd "accidentally" brought her gun to work and was allowed to take it to her car that time as well.

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HomoQuotable - Eric Alva

"As a former Marine and patriotic American, I am deeply disturbed that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is discouraging young patriots from joining the Military at a time when our country needs their service. I am horrified that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" forces trained and ready troops to choose between serving their country and living openly -- a choice I myself would have been faced with, had a landmine not made it for me. I am appalled at the involuntary separation of thousands of skilled service members during a time of war -- threatening our country's military readiness for no good reason. I am also thankful for the acceptance of my unit members, whose support protected me from a similar fate.

"My experiences serving in the military demonstrate that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is a solution looking for a problem. Since leaving the military, the opportunities I've had to speak with Americans across the country, both gay and straight, have showed time and again that the American people support open service by gay, lesbian and bisexual troops.

"Looking back on my years in the military, I am proud. I'm proud, not only of my service and my sacrifice, but of the way my unit members accepted me. I'm proud, not only of how American culture is becoming more accepting, but of how the American military is evolving, too. Now is the time to revisit this ill-considered law. It is costing us far too much, and purchasing us nothing in return.

"Those who support "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" claim that they do so in the interest of unit cohesion. Well, as a former Marine, I can tell you what it takes to build unit cohesion: trust. It takes trust in your fellow unit members to have your back and do their job. And I can also tell you that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" does nothing but undercut that trust, and with it our nation's security. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" imposes secrecy and undermines unit cohesion, ousting gays and lesbians at the expense of the military readiness of the United States. Allowing gay, lesbian and bisexual service members to serve openly will only improve unit cohesion and in turn our military.

"I strongly urged the members of the subcommittee to rethink this failed policy and I will continue to work to change it." - Sgt. Eric Alva, openly gay former Marine and the first U.S. soldier to be injured in Iraq, in his Huffington Post essay describing the day he lost his leg and his testimony before Congress yesterday in support of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

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Yesterday's DADT Hearings


Via Nancy Pelosi's YouTube channel, here's freshman Rep. Patrick Murphy's (D-PA) most excellent grilling of Elaine Donnelly of the anti-gay Center For Military Readiness about her opposition to the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", followed by the testimony of openly gay Iraq veteran Eric Alva, who lost a leg in combat.

Chris Johnson live-blogged the hearing on HRC's BackStory. Here's a snippet of his commentary from Donnelly's testimony:
Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness is speaking. There is an audible burst of laughter from the overflow room when Donnelly throws in a "San Francisco left" phrase just for dramatic effect. Another guffaw from the crowd when Donnelly expresses her concern over gay men sharing a "cramped submarine" with other soldiers.

OMG: There is an older lady in the room who just turned around to the room brimming with youngsters and yelled issued the warning, "Show respect while she speaks!" She looks right at me when she finishes. (...Was it the tie?) WELL OKAY!

The room keeps laughing at Donnelly's outrageous statements. The older woman is obviously losing this fight. "They're just disrespectful people!" she hisses.

"Equal opportunity is important, but the needs of our military must come first," are Donnelly's closing words. I guess the words from generals and veterans who have actually served in the military don't mean anything to her, huh?

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Morning View - Essex House

Directly across from yesterday's Morning View on Central Park South is the 43-story Essex House, which was built in 1931 as the Park Hotel during Gotham's explosion of art deco landmarks (Empire State, Chrysler, etc.) The Essex is currently under renovation as more of its hotel rooms are being converted to zillion-dollar condos. Trivia: Angelina Jolie owns the penthouse. Gruesome trivia: R&B legend Donny Hathaway killed himself in '79 by jumping from his 15th floor room at the Essex House. You can't really get a good shot of Essex House from the street so here's a full-length shot I found online.

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Open Thread Thursday

What was the last full-length CD you bought?

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Bearjing 2008 Olympics

The U.S. Olympic Committee wrote to the Seattle-area Northwest Bears Club to protest their calling this year's camp-out the "Kamp Kodiak 2008 Olympic Village" on grounds of trademark infringement. (They also didn't like the name "Big Ass Bear Olympics with Dr. Bob.") Brendan McDonald, the event's organizer, responded with this bit of hilarity:
It is with bewilderment and amusement that we received your letter asking our friendly local club to refrain from using the term "Olympic" for our annual camping trip at the Miller River Campground Aug. 7-11. I am the chief organizer of this event, and consider myself fairly representative of the Northwest Bears and Northwesterners in general. Let me give a little background on myself, and perhaps you will see the inherent paradox.

I was born on a small logging town on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State at Olympic Memorial Hospital. My family and I enjoyed spending vacations at Olympic National Park, where our favorite spot was the Olympic Hot Springs. I was able to finish high school one year early due to credits earned through Olympic Community College in Bremerton. I then attended college in Olympia, the capital of Washington State since 1889, where I belonged to a club that spent weekends hiking in the Olympic Mountains. I earned my way through college by working at the Olympic Boat Center, knowing more about boats than cars due to my upbringing in this Olympic environment. Upon graduation, I moved to the community of Bellingham, where I lived on Olympic Drive, until I moved near Seattle, where I enjoy having guests stay at its premier hotel, the Olympic Four Seasons.

Please do not interpret my remarks as disrespectful. I am certain that you are simply a working person like ourselves. Basically, we are just a group of easy-going software engineers, loggers, aerospace workers, cancer researchers, and baristas trying to put salmon and cappuccino on the table just like anyone else. But I hope that you will appreciate that we consider anything "Olympic" to be our birthright, our heritage, and part of our local culture, and that we balk at anyone who suggests that we have no inherent right to this term.

That having been said, we also understand that you have the law on your side. Remove the name "Olympic" from our website? Done. The Olympic Torch? The rings? Even Dr. Bob's Big Ass Bear Olympics? Done, done, and done. We are 100% clean, and now you can check us off of your hit list.

Best regards to the Committee,
Brendan McDonald

P.S. The Northwest Bears would like you to know that we are breathing a collective sigh of relief that the Miller River Campground is in the Cascade Mountains, and not the Olympics.

The Olympics wrote back to say "thanks, file closed." Well done, Brendan.

(Via - Slog's David Schmader)

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Pam Spaulding's DNC Travel Fund

Pam Spaulding and her team of co-bloggers are among the very short list of LGBT activists on the Democratic National Convention committee's list of officially invited bloggers. Pam's House Blend is also the only blog with press credentials with a transgender blogger on its roster. Since the sanctioned bloggers have to pay their own way, please consider contributing to Pam's travel fund and help ensure the maximum visibility for Teh Homosexual Agenda at the convention. You can also contribute by picking up some Pam's House Blend merchandise at Cafe Press. Pam will be checking in on the comments here if you'd like to offer suggestions on story ideas and the kind of coverage you'd like to see from the convention - video diaries, live-blogs, interviews, etc. Thanks folks!

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Laurie Anderson At Lincoln Center

Last night Aaron and I attended the first night of legendary multi-media performance artist Laurie Anderson's five night stand at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater at the Time-Warner Center, where she presented a remarkably low-tech version of her latest show, Homeland. Four acoustic musicians, two backup singers, and Anderson's keyboard with its loops and beats. No video, no lasers, nothing.

And it was serene and lovely. Well, as serene as any show that touches on global warming, terrorism, consumerism, advertising, and American imperialism could be, I suppose. The transfixed house hardly breathed or moved during the entire show, only interrupting with applause twice as song flowed into spoken bit flowed into song. Just incredible. Near the end, Anderson brought out her longtime boyfriend (and recently, husband) Lou Reed for a compelling version of Lost Art Of Conversation. Price of admission, right there. Speaking of which, our seats were only $30. But even way up in the balcony, the excellent sight lines and acoustics of the beautiful Rose Theater provided no problem. Get tickets here, the run ends on Saturday.

I've adored Anderson since I first drove my college roommate to madness with her spooky 1980 hit, O Superman. "Cause when love is gone, there's always justice. And when justice is gone, there's always force. And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!" (Had that bit on my answering machine.) Anderson's 1984 classic Mister Heartbreak would probably land somewhere in my all-time Top Ten best albums ever list, with its beautifully weird single Sharkey's Day having been the regular final song at the afterhours club we were haunting that year. "Sun's coming up, like a big bald head." (I knew I would love the Farmboyz forever when shortly after we met, we discovered that we could all recite every word from Sharkey's Day.) My final day living in Fort Lauderdale, my roomate treated me to a Laurie Anderson concert, which I've always thought was a fittingly strange entree into my new life in San Francisco.

Lincoln Center Setlist: The Lark, Bad, Transitory Life, Only An Expert, Mambo and Bling, Maybe If I Fall, Short Fall, Underwear Gods, Out Of The Heart, Callin' Em Up, Strange Perfumes, Pictures and Things, Bodies In Motion, Sky Flying Birds, Lost Art Of Conversation, No Man's Land.

Video: A highlight of last night was Only An Expert, recorded here during the 2007 European tour of Homeland, where video projections were used. The current stand at Lincoln Center is performed on a bare stage strewn with candles.

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Autism Comments Fallout: Seven Stations Fire Michael Savage

Days after his claim that 99% of autistic children just need to be smacked into proper behavior, a seven-station radio network has cancelled Michael Savage's radio show.
Super Talk Mississippi, which owns and operates seven conservative radio stations in Mississippi, issued a press release today stating that Michael Savage and his radio show Savage Nation had been canceled effective immediately. The radio broadcaster said Savage had crossed-the-line with comments he made about autistic children.

Last week, media watchdog Media Matters posted on their site a transcript from radio talk show host Michael Savage where he claimed that autism was a “fraud” and a “racket” where “99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out.” Parents of autistic children were outraged. They said the comments were cruel and demanded an apology.

Instead of an apology, Savage lashed out at Media Matters. During Tuesday's three-hour Savage Nation broadcast, Savage called the group a “Stalinist,” “anti-family,” “illegitimate, dangerous fascist group.” He also asserted that the group “ha[s] no place in America.”

Savage has previously lost jobs for similar behavior, once telling an MSNBC caller to "die of AIDS, you pig." It appears that his comments on autism may have finally been enough for stations and advertisers. A boycott of his show has been organized by the parents of autistic children, some of whom protested outside the Manhattan studios of a local station that carries his show. Despite being rabidly anti-gay on his show, Savage has been reported to be a deeply-closeted gay man who once had an affair with legendary beat poet Allen Ginsberg.

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Curriculum Vitae

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McCain On "Obama Love"


This clip from John McCain's YouTube channel makes the claim that the media is unfairly "in love" with Barack Obama.

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Fun With Plurals

Aaron and I noticed this on 8th Avenue across from the New York Times building last night.

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The New Old Gays

The New York Observer has posted a fascinating story about the reswishification of gay culture.
Project Runway Season 1 contestant Austin Scarlett is New Old Gay, Project Runway Season 4 winner Christian Siriano is New Gay. The Scissor Sisters are New Gay. Rufus Wainwright flirts with being New Old Gay, but he’s really New Gay in a Judy Garland costume. New Old Gay is The Golden Girls; New Gay is America’s Next Top Model. New Old Gay is putting together a reading of a Wendy Wasserstein play and singing show tunes around the piano at Marie’s Crisis, the West Village bar with colored Christmas lights arranged in a rainbow pattern on the ceiling; New Gay is karaoke at Sing Sing after a birthday party at Primorski’s in Brighton Beach.
Most of the story hinges on gay men's fascination with musical theater. That's new?

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Scandal For John Edwards?

The National Enquirer is sticking to a story it posted last night which claims that NC Sen. John Edwards has been cheating on his ailing-from-cancer wife and has fathered a "love child" with documentarian Reille Hunter. According to the story, on Monday night Enquirer reporters caught Edwards sneaking in and out of Hunter's hotel room in Los Angeles, causing the Senator to flee and hide in a bathroom for 15 minutes.
At 9:45 p.m. (PST) Monday, Edwards appeared at the hotel, and was dropped off at a side entrance. NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporter Alan Butterfield witnessed the ex-senator get out of a BMW driven by a male companion and stroll into the hotel.

Said Butterfield: "Edwards was not carrying anything. He walked in alone. He was wearing a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was looking around nervously before he entered the hotel.

"Once inside, he interestingly bypassed the lobby and ducked down a side stairs to go to the bottom floor to catch the elevator up - rather than taking the elevator in the main lobby. He went out of his way not to be seen."

Meanwhile, Rielle had reserved rooms 246 and 252 under the name of the friend who had accompanied her from Santa Barbara, Bob McGovern. Rielle was in one room and McGovern was in another with her baby. This allowed her and Edwards to spend time alone, a source revealed.

Edwards went out of the hotel briefly with Rielle, they were observed by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER and then went back to her room, where he stayed until attempting to sneak out of the hotel unseen at 2:40 a.m. (PST). But when he emerged alone from an elevator into the hotel basement he was greeted by several reporters from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.

Senior NATIONAL ENQUIRER Reporter Alexander Hitchen asked Edwards why he was visiting Rielle and whether he was ready to confirm that he was the father of her baby.

Shocked to see a reporter, and without saying anything, Edwards ran up the stairs leading from the hotel basement to the lobby. But, spotting a photographer, he doubled back into the basement. As he emerged from the stairwell, reporter Butterfield questioned him about his hookup with Rielle.

Edwards did not answer and then ran into a nearby restroom. He stayed inside for about 15 minutes, refusing to answer questions from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER about what he was doing in the hotel. A group of hotel security men eventually escorted him from the men's room, while preventing the NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporters from following him out of the hotel.
While the story of this affair has been rumored for many months, if today's revelations are true, it's very disappointing. If it's true, it will likely be devastating to Edward's political career.

All the major gossip sites are on the story. Go check out Gawker, Drudge Report, ect.

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Morning View - 200 Central Park South

I love the curvy balconies of 200 Central Park South. Very Miami-meets-Manhattan. The building went up in 1963 and has 300 apartments. The tower portion is 35 stories, but only the 21-story base is curvy like this.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

That Ain't Right, Nike

Via The Gay Recluse comes word of the latest Nike campaign, which features a series of athletes "humiliated" by having their faces pushed into the crotches of other players. Tag lines on the "That Ain't Right" campaign include “Your mama won’t let you come home after this. What would she tell the neighbors?” The ad was created by Wieden+Kennedy.

Non-consensual tea-bagging = gay-mocking hilarity. Yup, a regular riot. Nike is playing on the inherent homophobia of straight athletes, men who must continually compensate for their sweaty physical contact with other males by simultaneously bleating about their heterosexuality at the same time they accuse each other of secretly enjoying all that manly man-touching.

What is Nike selling here besides the idea that gay sex is humiliating?

Worst. Ad. Of. The. Year.

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Estelle Getty, 84

Gay icon and perhaps the most beloved grandmother character in television history, Estelle "Sophia Petrillo" Getty died this morning at age 84 after suffering through several years of dementia. From her website today:
To all of Estelle's Fans,

Sadly, today July 22, 2008 at 5:35 a.m. Pacific Time, we said our last good-byes to our little friend Estelle, who passed away and made her journey to the great beyond. Although it was a trip that she never wanted to take, she went gracefully, in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by her family and her very loving care-givers.

Estelle's legacy will live on and on through the comedy and laughter she gave to us all, which will forever keep us laughing out loud.

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Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of Fly Life, today we have two Swag Tuesday giveaways - five copies each of the new albums by Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and Estonian newcomer Kerli. Each of our five winners will receive both albums.

Spotlight, the first single from Jennifer Hudson's self-titled album is out already and was well-received by the boys at Pier Dance a few weeks ago. The full-length comes out on September 30th and features help from such huge names as Akon, R. Kelly, John Legend, Jack Splash, Robin Thicke, Timbaland, T-Pain, The Underdogs and Diane Warren. Watch Jennifer Hudson's Spotlight here or you can download it now at iTunes.

Love Is Dead, the new album by newcomer Kerli, is described as a collision between Bjork and Robyn. At age 14, Kerli represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest and was signed in the U.S. by L.A. Reid shortly after. "Working with noted producer/mixer/songwriter David Maurice, whose credits include Garbage and JC Chasez, Kerli wrote the personal lyrics to all the songs, reflecting her amazing odyssey from a small town in Estonia across the sea from Scandanavia to major label recording artist." Watch Kerli's Walking On Air here or you can download it now on iTunes.

Enter the win both albums by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave an email address that you check frequently. Entries close on Wednesday at midnight PST. Publicists: if you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

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Bunny Hates Chicken

Drag superstar Lady Bunny has joined up with PETA to protest KFC with a giant billboard near the entrance of the Holland Tunnel. Says Bunny: "I've joined the PETA gang to send the message that while PETA isn't insisting that KFC stop serving chicken, it is strongly denouncing grisly procedures like de-beaking the birds while they are alive. EVERYONE I've mentioned this de-beaking to was repulsed--and this campaign seeks to spread the word." More here, including videos. As I've mentioned here many times, I think PETA is wall-to-wall loonbags. Also: two bird stories in a row!

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Rebranding The Pigeon

Wired has an idea on what to do about the worst scourge ever on American cities, the pigeon.
When you look at a pigeon, you might see a dirty, rat-like bird that fouls anything it touches with feathers or feces, but I see a waste-scavenging, protein-generating biomachine. At a time when rising demand for meat across the globe endangers the food system, and local eating has gained millions of (T-shirt wearing) adherents, it's time to reconsider our assumptions about what protein sources are considered OK to eat.

You see, city pigeons are the feral descendants of birds that were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago so that we could eat them and use their guano as fertilizer, we read in Der Spiegel. They're still doing their part, i.e. eating and breeding, but we humans have stopped doing ours, i.e. eating them.

Numbering in the hundreds of millions, they could be a new source of guilt-free protein for locavores in urban centers. Instead, we're still trying to kill off our species' former pet birds, which (as any city-dweller can attest) doesn't work.

"Killing makes no sense at all," Daniel Haag-Wackernagel, a biologist at the University of Basel, told Der Spiegel. "The birds have an enormous reproduction capacity and they'll just come back. There is a linear relationship between the bird population and the amount of food available." And in the developed world after World War II, there's always been plenty of food.

"This explosion of the pigeon population is due to the large food supply, because after the war food became cheap in relation to income," Haag-Wackernagel argues on his website. "Since this increase in our welfare, society has produced pigeon food in abundance through our wasteful practices."

It sure sounds like a bad situation, but put the two quotes together in the context of food production. A food source that lives on our trash that is so reproductively prolific that we can't kill it off? That's green tech at its finest! Pigeons are direct waste-to-food converters, like edible protein weeds, that leave droppings that could be used as fertilizer as a bonus. And yet we expend energy trying to get rid of them.

[snip]

Really, all pigeons need is a re-branding. Just as the spurned Patagonian toothfish became the majestic Chilean sea bass and the silly Chinese gooseberry became the beloved kiwifruit, pigeons can merely reclaim their previous sufficiently arugula-sounding name: squab.

The term squab now refers to the meat of the baby pigeon, but it can also mean pigeons in general, so we can simply extend the brand back to its historical proportions. In fact, some companies like Bokhari Squab Farms are already doing good business selling the stuff: A dozen of Bokhari's live squab goes for $60. So, go buy sustainablesquab.com and encourage your urban friends to make omnivorism local. Just remind them: Pigeons are fowl.
I'd rather we unleash some horrible flesh-eating virus on them, but then it might spread to our cute rats. Seriously. Rats: better than pigeons. When was the last time a rat crapped all over your car?

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DADT Hearing Tomorrow

Fifteen years after it was enacted, tomorrow the House Military Personnel Subcommittee will meet to discuss repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Among those scheduled to testify are U.S. Army Major General Vance Coleman (Ret.), U.S. Navy Captain Joan E. Darrah (Ret.), and former Marine Staff Sgt. Eric F. Alva. “This hearing begins a conversation about the national security impact of losing qualified, capable service members,” said Aubrey Sarvis, Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). “We commend Congresswoman Susan Davis (D), Chair of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, for her leadership in reviewing this obsolete law.” Davis has introduced legislation to repeal the ban.

Gen. Coleman, who served as a Division Commander, sits on the SLDN Military Advisory Council. His decorations include the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Medal. Capt. Darrah’s assignments included serving as Deputy Director of the Human Resources Directorate at the Office of Naval Intelligence. A graduate of the Naval War College, she also belongs to the SLDN Military Advisory Council.

Sergeant Alva was the first American wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served in the Marine Corps for 13 years. An ABC News/Washington Post poll released on the weekend shows that 75 percent of Americans believe LGBT people should be allowed to serve.
About 700 servicemembers are discharged every year under DADT.

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The Truman Show Delusion

Two psychiatrists have identified the "signature mental illness" of the YouTube era, people who think they are the star of their own reality show.
The five patients Dr. Gold treated were white men between the ages of 25 and 34, the majority of whom held university degrees. "I realized that I was and am the centre, the focus of attention by millions and millions of people," explained one patient, an army veteran who came from an upper-middle-class upbringing.

"My family and everyone I knew were and are actors in a script, a charade whose entire purpose is to make me the focus of the world's attention." The patient added that he planned to climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty, and if his true love were waiting for him, the puppeteer strings would be cut. If she failed to show up, he would jump to his death.

Another patient even had first-hand experience with reality TV: A 25-year-old New Englander with a bachelor's degree in film and communication studies worked as intern on a program where, he complained, cameras were secretly tracking him.

Thinking that he was also being filmed while at a polling station on Election Day in 2004, he felt that it was his duty to protest against the Bush administration by shouting that the President was "Judas." The outburst led to his admission to the Bellevue Center.

"Typically, the Truman Show Delusion is a combination of paranoia, grandiosity and ideas of reference, which means that patients believe they are receiving signals specifically meant for them from a newscast or something like that." said Dr. Gold, adding that since he started presenting these cases at conferences two years ago, colleagues have informed him of six more examples.
And here just last week somebody told me that blogging was a "one man reality show." Hmmmm.

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Not Tomatoes, It Was Jalapenos

According to the feds, the recent 43-state outbreak of salmonella was not due to tainted tomatoes after all. It was jalapenos from a single Mexican farm. Thanks to genetic matching techniques, government scientists were able to definitively identify the source. So no fresh salsa for you, for a while.

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Poll: Obama With 46 Pt. Lead Among Gays

Not necessarily surprising, unless you expecting it to be higher.
Among LGBT adults, 60 percent favor Obama while 14 percent favor McCain. Three percent of LGBT adults favor Barr, while 1 percent choose Nader. Six percent choose "other," while 17 percent of all LGBT voters are not yet sure which candidate to support -- comparable to the general population.

Among independents, Obama has a 12-point lead (38 percent to 26 percent), but one-quarter of independents are not sure, 4 percent would vote for Bob Barr and 3 percent for Ralph Nader. The findings also show that 90 percent of African-Americans are voting for Obama, as are six in 10 Latinos. Whites, however, are leaning towards McCain over Obama (40 percent versus 34 percent). The results of this Harris Poll were complied from 2,690 U.S. adults surveyed online July 3-11 by Harris Interactive.

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OK Pol Brent Rinehart Defends Comic Book


An excerpt via Towleroad:
"Well, I'm not even sure as to what homophobic means, but let's just keep in mind that we are in a cultural war. Not just here in the state of Oklahoma, but nationwide. And I have seen pictures and I have seen viewings of gay pride parades around the nation here and the state of Oklahoma, and that's the very same attire and the very same billboards that you see in these parades. So, the thing about it is, when you're putting out a message it lands on particular people's feet and they don't necessarily like the message, that doesn't mean that the message isn't true."

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Cake Wrecks

In a similar vein to yesterday's FAIL Blog post, my pal and fellow blogger RJ shares Cake Wrecks, a new blog entirely dedicated to bad decisions in cake decorating. I'll have a head slice, please. It's full of heady goodness.

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AdAge Critic Blasts Omnicon Ad Agency Head For Homophobic Ads

Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield has published an open letter to Omnicon CEO John Wren, blasting three homophobic ads that have been produced by agencies under the Omnicon umbrella.
Dear John,

Two years ago, from BBDO, Detroit, came the spot for the macho subcompact Dodge Caliber. It featured a burly tough guy snorting the words "silly little fairy" at a Tinkerbell-like pixie, only to be magic-wanded into a mincing, sweater-draped girly man. The execs at Dodge and BBDO said the connection between a storybook fairy and the epithet "fairy" never occurred to anyone in the organization. But, of course, they were lying.

In January 2007, from TBWA, New York, there was the Snickers Super Bowl ad: two auto mechanics, chewing on opposite ends of a candy bar till meeting in an accidental kiss. The incident struck them as so repulsively gay they commenced trying to cleanse themselves via a chest-hair-ripping display of manliness. The accompanying website offered alternate endings, such as one guy attacking the other with a wrench.

Now, from AMV BBDO, London, another Snickers spot, in which a butt-wiggling race walker is just too effeminate for Mr. T's liking. The snarling scourge of all things sissified chases after the guy in a pickup. "You a disgrace to the man race!" he bellows. "It's time to run like a real man!" -- whereupon the terrorized wimp is mowed down with a candy-spewing Gatling gun and admonished to "Get some nuts!"

The pun behind the campaign is obvious, adolescent and unfunny. The sentiment behind it is simply sick. John: three Omnicom agencies, three outrages. It is time for you to intervene.

The Super Bowl ad, at least, was grounded in something real. It wasn't exactly homophobic; it was about homophobia and men's deepest sexual fears about themselves. Why that issue would be the stuff of candy-bar advertising is an open question, and a good one, but there was nothing genuinely malevolent in the televised spot. This new Mr. T commercial -- like the online wrench attack -- is explicitly malevolent and beyond the pale. So unseemly, so perverse, so beneath you.

This is from your own statement on corporate responsibility: "As a leader in the communications industry, Omnicom Group is committed to ensuring that we use our position to promote socially responsible policies and practices and that we make positive contributions to society across all of our operations." Is that so? My guess is that the parents of Matthew Shepard, the Wyoming college student beaten to death for being too effeminate to suit his killers, would take a different view. Because your commercial is just a cartoonish recapitulation of their son's brutal murder.

Since you are the executive ultimately in charge of both TBWA and BBDO, I ask you: How could you be so insensitive, how could you be so shallow, and how could you be so mean?

This letter is to you, but it is equally to your colleagues throughout the industry. Are you so bereft, of ideas and simple humanity, that you must be reduced to stereotyping and bullying? That you must identify an "other" to ridicule, or worse? That you must build a brand on the backs of people who have harmed no one save for challenging a high-school locker-room standard of masculinity?

Stop the dehumanizing stereotypes. Stop the jokey violence. There is no place in advertising for cruelty. Pull the campaign. Do it now. Then tell your agencies how to behave. Or else.
You are probably familiar with the first two ads that Garfield mentions. Below is the third, the newest Snickers ad. Opinions?

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Morning View - Christopher & Hudson

Fairly bland looking for such a hotbed of sodomy and perversion, eh?

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Monday, July 21, 2008

New McCain Ad Blames Barack Obama For Rising Gas Prices


As a YouTube commenter wryly notes, Obama is totally responsible for rising gas prices because he went back in time and made sure that the world of the future would be dependent on a finite resource largely owned by foreign countries. Seriously ladies and germs, where's all that oil we're stealing from Iraq?

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Mr. Brain's Pork Faggots

Via my latest obsession: FAIL Blog. According to Wikipedia pork faggots are a specialty of southwest England and Wales. Who knew? Also: they are made of offal. Who picked Brit cuisine as their favorite in last week's Open Thread Thursday? Anybody?

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Dallas Gay Bar: No Drag Tuesdays

A Dallas gay strip joint has caused a ruckus by banning drag queens and transgendered women from its busy Tuesday nights.
Fueled by cheap drink prices and nearly naked, toned men dancing for tips, Tuesday night bar-hopping on Fitzhugh Avenue is becoming a staple in the Dallas LGBT community. So much so that locals have even given the event a nickname — “Trashy Tuesday.” But Crews Inn co-owner David Moore says he plans to remove the “T” — for transgender, that is — from the clientele at his Fitzhugh Avenue bar on Tuesday nights.

“Drag queens act like they are divas and think they can’t do no wrong,” Moore said. “They have stolen money straight off the bar, hassled costumers for drinks and locked themselves in the bathroom with a bunch of guys. And with Tuesday being our busiest night, there is just no way for me to keep the draq queens under control then. I don’t want drag queens in here that are going to misbehave.”
Drag queens and their supporters are planning a protest outside the bar tomorrow night.

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