Folsom Street East: June 21st

After a hiatus in 2013 due to the continuing makeover of West 28th Street, Folsom Street East came roaring back last year just one block away. Some details on this year's flesh fair:

Folsom Street East, Inc. (FSE) today announced that it will hold its 18th annual Street Fair on Sunday, June 21st, from 11 AM to 4 PM, in Manhattan on West 27th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. Folsom Street East is the largest fetish block party on the East Coast; this year’s theme is “THE NEW YORK YOU WERE WARNED ABOUT.” FSE is proud to share visual branding illustrated for the 2015 Street Fair by visionary comic book creator Phil Jimenez. “Folsom Street East is a celebration of the rebellious spirit of the New York kink and fetish scene, and our imagery for this year’s fair depicts our community in all its vibrant diversity,” said Paul Harrison Phillips, Communications Manager for Folsom Street East. “We’re immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Phil Jimenez to realize an ass-kicking vision of our modern city that never sleeps.”

This year's beneficiaries are the New York City Anti-Violence Project and Visual AIDS. Updates and photos can be found on their Facebook event page.

Illinois Bishop On His Handcuffed & Gagged Priest: It Was Non-Sexual Self-Bondage Because He Was Alone

Remember the priest who called 911 for help getting out of his handcuffs and mouth gag?  Today that priest's boss, Diocese of Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki (left), is telling the press that that there was "no sexual component" to the incident because the priest had been alone at the time. Uh-huh. According to Paprocki, "self-bondage" was merely the priest's way of alleviating the stress of his job.

Here's an excerpt of Paprocki's statement:

The unfortunate result of such patterns of life—in no way limited to the experience of Catholic priests—is that persons often find themselves seeking patterns of ‘self-medication’ to soothe emotional turmoil. Alcoholism, the use of illicit drugs, compulsive gambling, sexual acting out and the use of pornography are some of the more common manifestations, none of which were present in this situation. Instead, according to the clinical therapist, Father Donovan is suffering from a psychological condition that manifests itself in self-bondage as a response to stress.* The clinical therapist also confirms that the strict absence of illicit sexual behaviors, relationships, and patterns reveal that this self-bondage is to be understood as non-sexual in nature.

Father Donovan appears to have been completely forthright with me in his account of this event, which is consistent with the public record. In the face of the embarrassment of these revelations, the subsequent attention of the press, and the widespread distribution of misinformation found on the Internet and elsewhere, he asks for the basic respect of accurate reporting of the event, the correction of untrue defamatory information arising from unsubstantiated rumors and claims, and the privacy now to heal from the trauma of this event and the original stress that precipitated it.

Paprocki goes on to post a definition of "non-sexual self-bondage." (Tipped by JMG reader Andrew)

RELATED: Earlier this month Paprocki appeared at the Illinois state house to testify against that state's proposed same-sex marriage bill.  The following Sunday he ordered all the parishes in his diocese to read an anti-gay letter during mass.  In September, Paprocki posted a YouTube video in which he warned that Satan "will take the souls" of any Catholic who votes for a Democrat.

CORRECTION: An earlier draft of this post misidentified Paprocki as being from Connecticut, home of last week's "cross-dressing meth priest" story. I'm getting all these kinky priest stories mixed up!

TRAILER: Kink

Also from James Franco and also debuting this weekend at Sundance. Via press release:

Director Christina Voros and producer James Franco pull back the curtain on the fetish empire of Kink.com, the Internet’s largest producer of BDSM content. In a particularly obscure corner of an industry that operates largely out of public view, Kink.com’s directors and models strive for authenticity. In an enterprise often known for exploitative practices, Kink.com upholds an ironclad set of values to foster an environment that is safe, sane, and consensual. They aim to demystify the BDSM lifestyle, and to serve as an example and an educational resource for the BDSM community. In kink, we discover not only a fascinating and often misunderstood subculture, but also, in a career far from the mainstream, a group of intelligent, charismatic, and driven people who really, truly love what they do.

Possibly not work-friendly.

Illinois Bishop Who Put "Handcuffs & Ball-Gag Priest" On Leave Testified Against Same-Sex Marriage Yesterday

Yesterday Diocese of Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki testified against same-sex marriage before the Illinois state Senate. His testimony came just days after he was forced to put one of his own kinky priests on leave for calling 911 to get help to free himself from handcuffs and a mouth gag.

NO SEX UNTIL MARRIAGE!

Below is the letter Paprocki is demanding that all priests in his diocese read aloud this Sunday. NOM blogger Thomas Peters has also posted the letter on his blog at Catholic Vote. (Psst: They use Disqus.)

Illinois Catholic Priest Calls 911: "Help! I Can't Get Out Of These Handcuffs!"

The 911 operator in Springfield, Illinois fielded an unusual emergency call from the local Catholic church in late November.  The story was published yesterday by the Illinois Times.

The pastor of St. Aloysius church on Springfield’s north end has been granted a leave of absence after he called 911 from the rectory and told a dispatcher that he needed help getting out of handcuffs. “I’m going to need help getting out before this becomes a medical emergency,” Father Tom Donovan told a dispatcher who sounds a bit incredulous during the Nov. 28 call. “You’re stuck in a pair of handcuffs?” the dispatcher asks. “(I was) playing with them and I need help getting out,” Donovan responds. Donovan told the dispatcher that he was alone in the rectory. It’s not clear exactly how he ended up in handcuffs or why he feared a medical emergency. His voice sounds garbled or muffled on the tape, and sources say that police discovered some sort of gag on the priest when they arrived. The diocese has been tight-lipped about the matter, saying only that Bishop Thomas Paprocki granted Donovan’s request for a leave of absence at some point before Christmas.

Bolding is mine. It took me a few extra minutes to write this post because I was laughing so hard at the 911 call. I am a horrible person.

(Tipped by JMG reader Michael)

Dan Savage On "Normal" Sex

50 Shades: The Magazine

TAMPA: Venue For GOProud's Homocon 2012 Hosts Monthly Fetish Sex Parties

Ybor City's Honey Pot, the venue for GOProud's Homocon 2012 event during the GOP convention, also hosts monthly fetish sex parties. Interesting. And we are already know that the Honey Pot is just three gay skips from the "discreet rear entrance" of the local bathhouse, which is offering free admittance to RNC attendees. GOProud's Chris Barron says he doesn't give a fuck what we think about his party in a sex club. Good for him! I wonder if all those uptight wingers will feel the same way once they find out?
(Via AmericaBlog Gay)

Peter LaBarbera Hates Everybody Equally

Porno Pete LaBarbera is determined that no one in United States be allowed to enjoy sexual freedom. To that end, he's now turned his piggy lust-filled eyes to the straight world's cavalcade of kinkster and swing events, calling on his erect-for-Jeebus followers to deluge an Ohio hotel with complaints about a planned swinger/SM party.

In his latest missive, LaBabera's tongue hangs out as he details all of the various demos and activities slated for this weekend's Winter Wickedness, but he fails to mention the slight detail that this is an event primarily for heterosexuals.

Americans For Truth has confirmed that the Holiday Inn Columbus-Worthington Hotel, at 7007 North High Street in Worthington, Ohio, is hosting a sadomasochistic celebration called (appropriately) “Winter Wickedness” this Friday and Saturday– featuring classes on “gangbang” fantasies and various acts of sadomasochistic perversion and consensual sexualized violence including subjecting fellow participants to hot wax torture, whipping, “cutting” and needles, and being stapled with an electric staple gun.

TAKE ACTION: 1) call the Holiday Inn Columbus-Worthington today at 614-436-0700 and urge them to cancel this event for the sake of decency and public health. Pass this story on to your friends to call; and 2) call Holiday Inn’s corporate offices (the chain is owned by Intercontinental Hotels Group) by going to their website HERE or by calling their guest relations department at 800-621-0555 ext. 1. Tell them that is wrong to profit off of degrading and dangerous perversions that could present a health hazard to hotel workers or other guests.

Earlier this week, the National Coalition For Sexual Freedom called for a counter campaign of support calls to the host hotel:

Please make a phone call now to support the Holiday Inn Worthington, the host hotel for Adventures In Sexuality's (AIS) Winter Wickedness Event taking place February 6-8th. The religious extremist group, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, along with a local religious radio station in the Columbus, Ohio, area are running a smear campaign against this pansexual BDSM event. Peter LaBarbara of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality calls the event "a freakish sadomasochistic perversion-fest" and urges people to call the hotel's corporate headquarters to pressure them into canceling "for the sake of decency and public health."

Bob Burney, a religious extremist Talk Radio DJ, devoted an entire segment of his show slamming Winter Wickedness and attempting to link the event with non-consensual and criminal activities. He urged his listeners to call and mount a campaign against the hotel. (Tuesday, Part 3 starting at 10 min 42sec: ) Click here to listen. It will only take a minute for you to help! It doesn't matter where you live or if you're not going to attend this event. Please call the Intercontinental Hotels Group Corporate Customer service line at 800-621-0555, then press option 1, then option 5, and thank them for not discriminating against groups, and for being willing to face minor adversity for the sake of our freedom. You can also call the Holiday Inn Columbus-Worthington today at 614-436-0700 – they'll be very glad to hear a friendly voice to counter the hatred of the religious extremists.

LaBarbera claims that the hotel has received thousands of complaining calls, probably from people who couldn't get laid with a roll of hundreds and a suite at the Ritz-Carlton. Meanwhile he makes more money, this time by pretending that a straight swinger event is yet another pervy hotbed of dirty homos.

(Photo credit: Michael Petrelis)

More Comedy From The CWA

And the hits keep coming from the Concerned Women of America, who've now got their merkins in a knot because the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force bestowed an honor called the "Leather Leadership Award" to Guy Baldwin at last week's Creating Change conference. From the NGLTF's site:

Baldwin is a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist, author and activist on behalf of “erotically uncommon people.” Baldwin may be best known for his monthly essays which appeared in Drummer Magazine and were collected in his 1993 book, Ties That Bind. Baldwin is a former titleholder, having served in 1989 as Mister National Leather Association and also as the 11th International Mr. Leather. In 1987, Baldwin launched the DSM Project to mobilize mental health professionals worldwide to press for changes to the official clinical definitions that had long been used to label leather people, gay and otherwise, as pathological.

The CWA responds:

Slavery Advocate Honored with Support from the DNC

The Democratic National Committee has put its support behind the honoring of Guy Baldwin, a sado-masochism advocate, by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Matt Barber, CWA’s Policy Director for Cultural Issues, and Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans for Truth, condemn this action which occurred during Black History Month.

Don't you love how the CWA pretends they can't parse the difference between sex-slaves and literal slavery? "Slavery Advocate Honored" wins the 2008 Bullshit Headline Award. So far.

(Via - Dan Savage.)

Karl Rove's Kinky Dad

Boing Boing is reporting on a first-person essay on a body-modification aficionado site called BMEzine, in which the author claims to be in possession of Karl Rove's adoptive father's cock ring. And while Louis Rove is well known to have been gay, apparently he was also very into genital piercing (NSFW), having participated during the 70's in "piercing parties."

So the father of the architect of the Republican party's virulently anti-gay campaigns was not only a homo, he was kinky as well. Rove didn't know that Louis was not his biological father until after his parents separated and Louis came out. Rove's mother later committed suicide. Yet Rove kept a picture of Louis on his desk at the White House. Louis died of lung cancer after retiring to Palm Springs. Such a sad, strange, twisted story. How does all of this play into the current ugly state of the U.S. government? Maybe not at all. Maybe, a lot.