Yesterday In Provincetown

Left to right: Chris Turner, Andy Towle, Michael Goff, Armistead Maupin, some short dude, Brian Sims.

Friday In Provincetown

Via Towleroad:

If you are at Bear Week in Provincetown come to Towleroad's coffee meet-up on Friday from 9-11:30 am at the Central House restaurant at the Crown & Anchor (247 Commercial) and meet literary legend Armistead Maupin and Joe.My.God blogger Joe Jervis who are our special guests, along with Andy Towle and Michael Goff.

RELATED: Maupin's final Bear Week show at the Crown & Anchor is Friday night.

BONUS: Hit the top link for a woofy Bear Week photo compilation.

Next Friday In Provincetown...

Andy Towle writes at Towleroad:

Join us for our weekly Friday morning coffee meet-up on JULY 18 from 9 - 11 am at the Central House restaurant at The Crown & Anchor Inn. This week's guest is our friend and fellow blogger Joe Jervis who writes Joe.My.God! Come meet Joe along with Towleroad's Andy Towle and Michael Goff and enjoy some coffee to start your Friday!

I'm sure I'll have run into most of you long before Friday, but I encourage you to attend. At least at that hour you won't find me with a drink in my hand. Probably.

Typepad Blogs Under Attack

Typepad reports that they are working on the problem again today and that some sites should be back up soon.  For those that have asked, this isn't an attack on LGBT blogs.

Top 50 Coming Out Stories Of 2013

Click over to Towleroad for Andy's recap of the top coming out stories of 2013.  On the list: Tom Daley, Jason Collins, Jodie Foster, Chelsea Manning, Robbie Roberts, Wentworth Miller, Rep. Michael Micaud, and many more.

Historical Marker

Towleroad alerts us to this installation by artist Norm Magnusson, who is placing these markers along Interstate 75, which runs mostly through red states. On his site he says:

The types of people who stop to read them are collectively defined more by their curiosity about the world around them than they are by any shared ideological leanings, which makes them a perfect audience for a carefully crafted message. And unlike most artworks on social or political themes, these markers don’t merely speak to the small group of viewers that seek out such work in galleries and museums; instead, they gently insert themselves into the public realm. "Are they real?" is a question viewers frequently ask, meaning "are they state-sponsored?" I love this confusion and hope to slip a message in while people are mulling it over.

Hit the artist's link for more examples.

No Good Deed, Etc...

JMG reader Mike wrote to the Tennessee Equality Project to ask why they'd made no mention of our successful fundraising campaign to pay for the funeral of gay bullying victim Jacob Rogers. With Mike's permission, here's the bulk of their response to him.

We generally do not repost such fundraising efforts because they are not within our organization's control. We typically do not have any way of knowing how those funds will be distributed. With regard to Dan Savage, Joe My God and Towleroad we could not in good conscience condone their efforts out of respect for Jacob and his family. That may seem counter-intuitive on the surface. So allow me to explain.

Each of these bloggers pledged to donate part of the contributions received for the funeral to other organizations. Had they pledged to only raise money for the family, we might have considered re-posting their efforts. Dan reports that the goal was to raise $5000 for Jacob's funeral. They raised $9000. That means that $4000 will be divided between GLSEN, the Trevor Project, and the ACLU's LGBT Youth Project. Will these organizations spend that received money to confront anti-LGBT bullying and harassment and advance policy and legislation to support that effort in Tennessee? We simply don't know. We do know the past practice of many national groups and celebrities outside of Tennessee. Without mentioning names, many national organizations in 2011 used the passage of the Don't Say Gay bill in the Senate and the workplace discrimination law we call the "Special Access to Discriminate" Act (HB600/SB632) to raise funds for their organizations. We know of several examples where these organizations and individuals received such funds and did not reinvest in efforts to promote safe schools or workplace equality in Tennessee.

TEP has been very careful about providing a positive way to respond to this tragedy without making an "ask" of contributions to TEP or other organizations. TEP's email alert about our petition to the Cheatham County School Board did not include any of our standard links to donate to our organization. We believe that it is unethical and morally wrong to raise funds for TEP or other organizations following the news of a tragedy. I do believe that Mr. Savage, Mr. Towle, and Joe.My.God have good intentions, but we could not condone their approach in this situation.

Dan Savage responds: "How many schools in Tennessee has GLSEN worked with? How many calls from Tennessee has Trevor taken? How many cases has the ACLU queer youth project taken on in Tennessee? And how many kids in Tennessee have been reached by the It Gets Better Project?"

As noted on all three blogs that day, our donation buttons were yanked once we reached the goal of $5000. But due to the overwhelming response, a total of $9000 had flooded in by the time we updated our posts. Through the accounting office of Seattle's Stranger, $5000 was delivered to the Tennessee funeral home hired by Jacob's grandmother, whom he'd been living with after reportedly being kicked out for being gay. The remainder was divided equally to the above four organizations, also as promised that morning.

NEW YORK: Slaggie Gilamonster Attends Broadway Reading Of Prop 8 Play

Towleroad reports that Maggie Gallagher was spotted in the balcony of last night's celebrity reading of the new play about Proposition 8. Andy Towle:

So what could Gallagher have hoped to glean from her perch in the balcony? Perhaps she was finally enlightened last night, that her mission is flawed and hateful, that it is futile, that what she has been working for for years destroys families, hurts children, and is ultimately un-American? I fear that she did not. I fear that what was behind her motivation to sit there and watch her words come out of Houdyshell's mouth was some sort of ego stroke, a pat on the back, a motivational fuel for her anti-gay engine.

Towle's spies added that Slaggie kept her snout in a large noisy bag of snacks throughout the performance. Classy! Hit the above link for more photos and a review of the evening.

White House Responds To DADT Ruling

Towleroad has received the below statement from White House spokesman Shin Inouye.

"The Justice Department is studying the decision, including the question of its scope and immediate effect and we expect them to announce their next steps after that review is completed. The President remains committed to legislative repeal of DADT, and he will continue to work with lawmakers to achieve that goal this fall. And he will continue to work closely with Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on an ongoing study of how to best implement the repeal."

TUESDAY IN NYC: JMG Co-Sponsored Listening Party For Scissor Sisters

Tomorrow night JMG, Towleroad, Fly-Life Inc., Josh Wood Productions and Downtown Records present a "first listen" playback party celebrating the launch of the third Scissor Sisters album, Night Work. The party runs for two hours beginning at 7pm at Rockbar in the West Village. Open vodka and beer bar courtesy of Absolut and Budweiser from 7:30-8:30. I have a feeling that at least certain members of the band might attend. (How about it Jake & Baby Daddy?) Join us, y'all!

Prop 8 Attorneys Ted Olson & David Boies Speak At The New York Times

Last night Perry Vs. Schwarzenegger lead attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies spoke before about 150 journalists at the New York Times headquarters in Manhattan in an event called "Unlikely Allies." In attendance among the print journalists were uber-blogger Andy Towle, activists Corey Johnson and Brendan Fay, former Clinton advisor David Mixner, and former GLAAD director Neil Giuliano.

Olson and Boies spoke eloquently and optimistically about the potential outcome for the case and fielded sharp questions from the audience about the possible ramifications should they lose, the campaign to put cameras in the courtroom, and the pitiful defense put on by Protect Marriage. The event was moderated by NYT Supreme Court reporter Adam Liptak, who opened with an impassioned statement of his paper's support for LGBT rights. Paul Schindler at Gay City News:

It is no exaggeration to conclude that Boies and Olson are confident about their chances before Judge Walker, from whom they expect a ruling no later than June. The next step, they predicted, would be “expedited review” by the Ninth Circuit, perhaps in an “en banc” hearing that includes all of its appellate judges.

Victory at the appellate level –– which would legalize marriage for same-sex couples either in California or possibly in all nine states in the Ninth Circuit –– would speed Supreme Court review, since that victory would certainly be stayed, the attorneys said, until the high court ruled.

Boies and Olson were cagiest on how broad they think a potential district court victory might be. The court could find –– in somewhat analogous fashion to a 1996 Supreme Court case in which an anti-gay Colorado amendment was thrown out –– that voters in California had acted to deny gay and lesbian couples the equal protection of the law, in this case guaranteed by the state rather than the federal Constitution.

Or, Walker could rule that Boies and Olson succeeded in doing what they say they will fight to the end to demonstrate –– that the fundamental right to marry and the equal protection of the laws of the United States are violated when same-sex couples are denied access to civil marriage.

That, of course, would be the ultimate game-changer. Olson, perhaps the nation’s preeminent Supreme Court litigator, and Boies are clearly banking on their ability to win that argument on the merits at the high court, whatever the conventional wisdom about the current justices’ biases.

When asked afterward whether his confidence at the district court level is about winning the general argument or more narrowly restoring the right to marry in California, Boies said he was uncertain, acknowledging that Walker might well reach a decision fashioned to survive review by the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court. Even at this first stage, then, politics are not absent from the judicial equation.

Read Paul Schindler's complete article. Below is my short slideshow from the evening, followed by Towleroad's Corey Johnson's pre-event interview with Olson and Boies. I came away even more impressed with the pair, if that's possible. And it struck me that if someone had told me ten years ago that one day I'd be gushingly shaking the hand of the lead attorney in Bush Vs. Gore, I'd have told him that he was full of the crazy. Ted Olson left us with his prediction that Prop 8 would be before the Supreme Court by October 2011. It's almost unimaginable that in just 18 months, this decades-long battle could be over.

Just Released: Massive List Of LGBT Leaders And Allies Endorse National Equality March

Towleroad is reporting that organizers of the National Equality March have released a massive list of LGBT activists, personalities, media figures, and allies who have endorsed next month's event.

Among the 140 new endorsers of the march are activists, strategists, and leaders in the fight for LGBT equality: Diane Abbitt, Roberta Bennett, Ethan Geto, Neil Giuliano, Cleve Jones, David Mixner, Nicole Murray-Ramirez, Ann Northrop, Torie Osborn, Judy Shepard, Nadine Smith, Peter Staley, Sean Strub, Urvashi Vaid and William Waybourn.

Entertainment industry endorsements include: Oscar-winning Actress Charlize Theron; Oscar-winning Producer Bruce Cohen; Oscar-winning Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black; Emmy-winning Actress Judith Light; Tony Award winners Alan Cumming and Harvey Fierstein; Jazz impresarios Kate Clinton and Dave Koz; Chad Allen; "Mad Men's" Bryan Batt; Beth Broderick; David Drake; Herb Hamsher; Lance Horne; Dan Karslake; Michael Kearns; Tim Miller; Holly Near; Larry Sullivan; Bruce Vilanch and Judge David Young.

Elected officials and other political leaders endorsing October's march include: US Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI); State Senator Tom Duane (D-NY); San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty; former US Congressman Ed Feighan; Assembly Member Micah Kellner (D-NY); former California State Senator Sheila Kuehl; Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell (D-NY); NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn; Victory Fund president and CEO, Chuck Wolfe; Donald Hitchcock; Charles O'Byrne; Marsha Scott; Frank Selvaggi; Richard Socarides; Rich Tafel; Will Trinkle; Jon Winkleman; Peter Yacobellis and Paul Yandura.

I wasn't asked, but for the record, I too endorse the National Equality March. Go to Towleroad for the complete list.

Towleroad Inaugural Coverage

Make sure you drop in on Towleroad today where Andy Towle and Corey Johnson are posting on-the-scene interviews at the inauguration. Interviews posted so far: Congressman Jared Polis. The LGBA Marching Band. Here's their photo gallery of Sunday's festivies at the Inaugration Concert.

I'll add to this post through the day as Andy and Corey add new items.

On Towleroad

I'm guest-posting for Andy Towle over on Towleroad for the next two days while he and his intrepid cub reporter Corey Johnson conduct in-person reports from the inauguration. I'll cover some of the same items you'll see here, but make sure you check in at Towleroad for their interviews with politicos and LGBT newsmakers.

Towleroad Wins 2008 Weblog Awards

Congrats to Andy and his team at Towleroad for his well-deserved winning of the 2008 Weblog Award for Best LGBT Blog! While it wasn't to be for us here at JMG, we had a little bit of fun with the beefcake and hopefully some of you discovered some great new reads from the list of nominees.

Andy Towle Zinged By Rick & Steve

Andy Towle got teased a little on LOGO last night. Towle: "I began watching this preview clip of tonights's season two premiere of LOGO's Rick & Steve yesterday on Pink is the New Blog (Trent, Arianna Huffington, and Perez Hilton are featured in it) without having any idea what was coming at the end of it. I laughed my ass off. Those bloggers. They're such bullies. Shame on them for picking on the short guy!"

Abs-olute Equality

Andy Towle picked up on this "absolutely fake and unofficial endorsement for the No on Prop 8 campaign cooked up by celebrity parodist David Gilmore at Pretty on the Outside." That's Robert Buckley from Lipstick Jungle and Hugh Jackman. Donate to No On 8 here.

Signorile Takes On Bill Donahue Over His Mission To Ban Towleroad From DNC

But all Donahue can do is complain about the commenters and those photos of men in their bathing suits. (Which Mike correctly points out are of Olympians.) Parts 2 and 3 of the interview are below.

Catholic League: Ban Towleroad From DNC

The Catholic League wants Andy Towle to be stricken from the list of credentialed bloggers attending the Democratic convention.

“Towleroad describes itself as ‘A Site with Homosexual Tendencies.’ Accordingly, it shows men in jock straps and underwear. It also has a post on Pope Benedict XVI that takes him to task for wearing a cape with ermine. Some of those who commented on this described the pope in a vile and profane way.

“Both of these blogs should be cut immediately from the list of credentialed sites. Neither functions as a responsible media outlet and both offend Catholics, as well as others. To allow them access to the Democratic National Convention sends a message to Catholics they will not forget. We look for Leah Daughtry, CEO of the Convention, to nix them ASAP.”

The other blog referred to is Bitch PHD. Congrats to both. If you are pissing off the Catholic League, you are clearly doing something right.

Gay Bloggers Credentialed For Democratic Convention

The Democratic Party has released their list of bloggers credentialed to cover the convention in Denver. The LGBT blogs represented are Towleroad, Pam's House Blend, and AmericaBlog. Congrats to all!