Happy Birthday Barry

There was a time in my life when I would listen to Barry only behind closed doors. I didn't think it was kewl to let it be known that I just feel good everytime I hear him sing. But as I've grown older and learned not to care about what the next person thinks, I feel it's time I come out of the closet. YES, I am a fan-ilow of the Manilow. It may make me very very gay but I just don't care anymore. I love Barry Manilow and I don't care who knows (just don't tell my mama).

I have to dance everytime I hear Copacabana. It is probably the catchiest song of all time. I mean how can you not like that one? Looks Like We Made It is just beautiful and inspirational. Daybreak makes me think about the movie Serial Mom and thats not a bad thought to have. You know what's funny about I Write the Songs? Barry didn't write that song. Okay maybe not funny to you but I chuckle a little when I think of that. As accomplished a song writer as Mr. Manilow is, one of his biggest hits is I Write the Songs and he didn't write that song. And who doesn't love the song Mandy?

There is one person that knew (before I went public) about my Barry crush. That was my bff Derrick. One day we were playing Marry, Date or Dump [if you've never played then get the game it's soooo much fun] with some friends. This card came up with the names Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart, and someone else that I can't remember. Derrick looked at me and started laughing. He was the only one in the room that pegged me perfectly on that card cause he knows me just a bit too well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARRY.

And the Ignorance Continues

This is another one for the WTF file. Apparently the organization Christian Civil Liberties Union has approached the public library of Milwaukee. There request is just so bizarre that I'm not sure if I should laugh or be offended. The CCLU is apparently so disgusted by the book Baby Be-Bop that they would like permission to publicly burn or destroy the library's copy of the book. The group is also asking for $120,000 for damages caused to its members by the book being on the shelf.

The CCLU claims that the book is “explicitly vulgar, racial, and anti-Christian." They also charge that their four plaintiffs all of whom are elderly "claim their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library” because the book contains the word "nigger" and derogatory sexual and political epithets that can incite violence and “put one’s life in possible jeopardy, adults and children alike.”

Amazon's description of the book is as follows:

A prequel of sorts to Weetzie Bat, the novel opens while Weetzie's best friend Dirk is still a child, lying on his mat at naptime. "Dirk had known it since he could remember" that is, that he is gay. Tenderly raised by Grandma Fifi, famous for her pastries and her 1955 Pontiac convertible, Dirk struggles with love and fear: "He wanted to be strong and to love someone who was strong; he wanted to meet any gaze, to laugh under the brightest sunlight and never hide." After his first heartbreak, with his closest friend (who cannot accept Dirk's love nor his own for Dirk), Dirk battles more fiercely for identity; beaten up by a gang of punks, he slumps into semiconsciousness and is visited by his ancestors, each telling a haunting, lyrical tale of love, faith and self-acceptance.

I need for someone to explain to me how something that sounds like a children's book (although it may have homosexual subject matter) does damage to four grown ass women. If you find the book offensive then the resolution to your problem is not to read the damn book. I have to apologize for my language. I just get so pissed when I learn that stupid people are allowed to walk around and breed. They want to publicly destroy the book but it has to be library's copy of the book? Buy your copy and destroy that if you want to have a public protest. I think this is a group that is just looking for some attention (and I'm probably giving them what they want by generating this post) but they need to just get a clue.

Ken Hutcherson - Gays Athletes Should Stay In The Closet!

Rev. Ken Hutcherson, former (and brief) linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys and current pastor for Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, WA is getting some attention now because of his recent statement that gays don't have a place in professional sports. He claims that out gay men would make their teammates uncomfortable. He stated, "It would be safer for the team and the individual if they didn't come out." Hutcherson is also working to appeal Washington state's domestic-partnership registry because he does not feel that gay rights should be considered equal rights. "It's not a civil rights issue like with racism -- there's no comparison,” he wrote on his blog. "I can't change being black… but there are a lot of people, especially in our churches, that have changed being gay."

WTF? It is unfortunate that people like this actually do have a following. At the vehemently homophobic site americansfortruth.com, they brag about how Hutcherson pursuaded students to boycott the 2008 Day of Silence of Mt. Si High School in Redmond, Washington. The Day of Silence is a day when students use their voice (or lack thereof) to raise awareness to anti-gay harrasment, bullying and name-calling. So in essence the Hutcherson boycott of the Day of Silence was a statement that this behavior [the type of behaviour that caused two young boys to take their own lives this year] is okay.

It is discouraging to learn that brothers of influence hold such homophobic and ignorant beliefs. It does bring joy to know that we still have allies in places like the NAACP. Julian Bond has promised that his organization will be an ally in the fight for LGBT equality. Let's hope bad apples like Hutcherson don't start to spoil the whole bunch.

Obama Grants Benefits to Same-Gender Couples

President Barack Obama just signed a memo granting certain benefits to federal employees same-gender relationships that are currently denied domestic partner benefits. This memorandum does not bring gay and lesbian couples the full range of benefits equal to there heterosexual counterparts [health insurance is not included] but it is a step in the right direction. Obama states in the video, "That 's why I'm proud to announce my support of the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act."

This video makes me feel a little better about our President. He has been so quiet for so long regarding LGBT issues I was beginning to wonder if everything he promised while campaigning was just rhetoric.

America's Greatest Pageant Winner

Vanessa Williams is the grandest diva to ever winner a pageant. She is so bad that when controversy about her emerged (nude photos of Williams popped up several months after she won her prestigious title) she proudly resigned and walked away from the title Miss America. The win in itself was phenomenal as the title made her the first African-American women to wear the crown. But without it she has gone on to become on of the biggest names in entertainment winning Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award nominations. What is even more amazing is her advocacy on behalf of the LGBT community. She received the "Ally for Equality Award" from the Human Rights Campaign in 2008.

She recently sat down with the guys at Advocate magazine and granted them an interview. She talks about her new album The Real Thing (which by the way is phenomenal). She talks about the weddings of her gay friends she just attended. And she talks about her exhaustion with now de-throned Ms. California Carrie Prejean. And she talks about her role as Wilhelmina on Ugly Betty.

How can you not love this woman? No matter what she does, she does it well. Singing, acting and dancing all while looking soooo good. I want to be like her when I grow up. And I think she is getting better looking as the years roll by. Get into the article here.

Is the Ex-Gay Movement Hurting the LGBT Community?

I don't know about you but I know that I did not choose to be gay. For me, I sincerely believe with all my being that God made me who I am. Being this fabulous can only be a divine gift from God. But recently I am becoming more and more aware of ex-gays giving there testimonies and explaining how they have been delivered from their homosexuality. I'm not sure if there is an increase in numbers or if the status quo has remained the same but they're just getting more attention, but whatever the case the ex-gay movement is making its way more into the mainstream.

One of the more recent former homosexuals but now saved, sanctified and redeemed is Larrel. You can see her in the video below. Larrel and her band of followers are ex-homosexuals, ex-mastubators, ex-whatevers and ex-you-name-its. She says that she is so much happier since being delivered.


Thanx to loldarian.com for giving me a heads up about the video below. I don't know if the guy was delivered from his homosexuality or not. He went to his church and asked them to cast the homosexual demon out of his body. The video is a bit shocking. It contains the exorcism. The church ladies are running around hysterically. At one point the man is rolling about on the floor as if he is having a seizure. Towards the end he vomits and one of the ladies shouts "catch it in the plastic bag" as if this is the demon being released from his body. There are actually two parts of the video and version below is the second half.

I can only speak for myself; I can not speak for other people. But I can and will make assumptions. One of my favorite shows on BET-J was My Two Cents which featured two same-gender loving individuals as hosts, Keith Boykin and StacyAnn Chin. Chin made reference several times on the show that she chose to be a lesbian. I have no reason to doubt her. She seems very sincere. But I'm happy Keith pointed out to her on the show, "You do see how that confuses people don't you."

Keith Boykin did not choose to be gay. None of my gay friends chose to be gay. I did not choose to be gay. So when some individuals say that for them it was a choice, it gives people ammunition. They can then claim that this is the case for the entire LGBT community. IT IS NOT. For the majority of us we did not have a choice in this.

Adding more fuel to the fire is this seemingly new trend of ex-gays that are so pleased to announce there exodus from the land of homosexuality. Probably one of the more famous is acclaimed gospel singer Donnie McClurkin. McClurkin compared his homosexuality to diabetes. With diabetes you still have a desire for sugar but if you stay away from it long enough the craving slowly goes away. I guess he's saying that by not having sex with men, his homosexuality is going away. I'm not quite sure I can agree with that logic.

Again I have to say that I don't know these people and I can't speak for these people. Looking at the video of Larrel, she seems sincere as she's speaking. Knowing the prejudice and hatred people harbor at us I can understand an individuals desire to no longer be gay. My issue is the harm this is doing to the LGBT individuals that are comfortable in their skin and have no desire to change. These testimonies give the conservatives and the Christian-right more reason to continue their hatred toward our community. It also gives politicians reasons to deny us protective legislation and equality. It gives them the power to say, "Look at these individuals, they can change. Then the rest of them can change to."

Dustin Lance Black: The Controversy

Controversial blogger Perez Hilton (most recently famous for starting the Miss California ruckus by asking the gay marriage question to Carrie Prejean in the Ms. USA pageant) is back at it again. Hilton who has recently tried to use his popular influence to be an advocate for the LGBT community has shifted his popular site away from celebrity gossip and towards addressing issues important to the gay and lesbian cause. At least briefly anyway. He was apparently approached with pictures of gay hot boy of the moment Dustin Lance Black, Oscar winner for the screenplay Milk. The pictures show Black having unsafe sex.

Many have blasted Perez saying it was inappropriate for him to post these pictures. Dustin's Oscar win has garnered him a great deal of popularity also and he has been using his influence to be an advocate for the LGBT community. The photos (which I'll advise are not safe for work) can be seen by scrolling to the bottom of the page here.

(update - when last checked the pictures have been removed from Perez's site).

I'll be first to admit that I'm not a big fan of Perez Hilton. Well I wasn't. When his gears shifted away from celebrity fluff to covering issues more substantial he was starting to win me over. Then this issue came up and suddenly everyone is up in arms and angry at Perez. Well I have to say this - if you clicked on the link above and went and looked at the pictures then shut the hell up. Perez did nothing that most newsrooms and bloggers wouldn't also do if they had the opportunity. These pictures were going to show up with or without Perez but I'm defintely not mad at him for being the first to reveal them.

As for Dustin, he is handling this so eloquently. His response was perfect. "It is unfortunate that individuals and other outside parties are trying to profit from material which is clearly private." He goes on to say, "I have had the privilege to speak to people across the country, both gay and straight, on a number of critical issues including safe sex. More important than the embarrassment of this incident is the misleading message these images send. I apologize and cannot emphasize enough the importance of responsible sexual practices." Put it out there and keep stepping Dustin. Good for you.

I don't think any less of Perez for posting the pics. I don't think any less of Dustin for being in the pics. Being the first to post these pictures does not make Perez sleazy or irresponsible. His site is popular because he is frequently the first to drop big news. This is what Perez does. And I was proud to hear Dustin handle the situation as he did. He continued to endorse his message of safe sex and for this I do NOT think of him as a hypocrit. I would have been more dissappointed if he stopped spreading that message. Both of these men, Perez and Dustin, have a job to do and both of them are doing it.

We've Come a Long Way Lord

There is a terrific article on 365Gay.com about an important event fastly approaching. The Stonewall Riot - the event which catapalted the gay rights movement from almost non-existant to pissed off protestors that spanned the nation - will be seeing its 40th anniversary this month. The article goes into the history of what happened that night and compares it to the rallies and protests we're seeing today for LGBT equality.

There was a hymn we used to sing in church back when I was a little choir boy. The verse of the song went We've come a long way, Lord. A mighty long way. As I was reading the article it made me realize just how far we have come. Back in the days of Stonewall, gays and lesbians, drag queens and transexuals were not interested in equality. They were just trying to end the bullying and harassment they received from every aspect of society including the police. Just in case you're not aware it was illegal for two men to have sex. It was illegal for two men to dance together. And it was illegal to cross-dress.

Though we still have a long way to go, we need to appreciate the accomplishments we've made. Accomplishments that have come thanks to the hell-raisers at Stonewall. Accomplishments that have come thanks to heroes like Harvey Milk and Bayard Rustin. Accomplishments that have come thanks to our many HIV/ AIDS Service organizations. Accomplishments that have come thanks to Prop 8 protestors and same-sex marriage organizers. And accomplishments that come thanks to the visibility of the many LGBT individuals that choose to live their life open and honestly.

Sodomy laws ended in 2003 because the case Lawrence vs. Texas made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Funding for prevention and intervention of HIV/AIDS is possible because groups like ACT-UP acted up and refused to be silent when gay men were dying left and right. Same-sex individuals can not only dance together now but do so as such fabulous functions like pride celebrations and circuit parties across the country and around the world. Not only is cross-dressing no longer illegal but several boys in dresses (i.e. RuPaul, Sylvestor, Lady Bunny) have enjoyed national and international fame and success. Yes, we've come a mighty long way.

But I won't get it twisted. We still have a long way to go. Until my brothers and sisters in uniform stop being fired we have to press on. Until all states grant us the right to marry we have to press on. Until employment non-disrimination protection is provided for all of the LGBT community (and we must include the T) then we must press on. Until gays and lesbians have the right to parent and adopt children like heterosexuals have then we must press on.

I'm smart enough to know that we will not get to the mountain top anytime soon. This journey that we're on is simultaneously exciting and frightening. But as I look around and I think things over, where we are now is soooo far from where we were, that just for a few minutes I won't complain. Yes we've come a long way Lord. A mighty long way.

Ms. California Loses Her Crown

I just have three words for former Ms. California (and hater of gay marriage) Carrie Prejean - beat it bitch. Donald Trump just told the girl she's fired which is just absolutely delightful to me. Many people have speculated that Carrie's answer regarding same-sex marriages is what cost her the title of Ms. USA. And I'll be honest I really didn't care about her answer one way or the other. Let's be real, it is a beauty contest. She will not be called upon help develop legislation. She will not decide what is or isn't unconstitutional regarding our community. She was just a pretty girl in a pretty girl contest. Her answer was her opinion and I can't hate on her for that.

My pleasure in seeing her lose the title is a bit selfish. One - I was sick of her periodically popping up defending her answer. Girl it's behind you. Just let it go. Two - I was sick of the Christian right and various other conservative groups elevating her to iconic status. She was becoming the poster child for what good Americans should be thinking (not doing because we can't forget those nearly naked photos of her popped up following the competition). I still don't understand the controversy over the photos. She was a contestant in a beauty contest but for some reason people acted all shocked when revealing photos of her were discovered. So we can require her to parade across the stage in next to nothing but when she does some modeling outside of the competition for some reason we develop morals and what she did was wrong. The photos were not published in some racy magazine and they were done by a professional photographer. I just didn't get it.

I have a feeling that this isn't the end of Ms. Carrie baby. She may pull a Vanessa Williams and become more famous following the pageant than she was before. But no matter what I feel about her (and I'm not a fan) I must admit - that picture above is fierce. The wind swept hair. The Wonder Woman pose. The bitch is serving.

Simply Beautiful

Thank you to the guys at Queerty.com for sharing these.

What Is She Holding on to?

Lynda Cater on Gay Rights, WonderWoman and Music

Just left AfterEllen and was very pleased to see an interview with probably the greatest gay icon of all time. Bigger than Ms. Ross. Bigger than Cher. Bigger than Elton. I'm talking about the one and only Wonder Woman herself Lynda Carter. Now I don't know about you - but her show shaped me more than probably in other show when I was a kid.

I should be a little embarassed to tell this story, but I'm not. I distinctly remember my brother and I playing as kids. It was summer so there was no school and we were left to our devices to amuse ourselves. So we decided to become superheroes and frolic about the yard. My brother was Batman. He made a mask for himself and that was the only alteration he needed. But as for me, there was no other hero worthy of my time than the timeless Diana Prince herself. This was the 70s so the coochie cutter shorts weren't really taboo - all kids straight and gay were wearing these. But I matched those short shorts with some cowboy boots. Then I found a towel and crafted myself a halter top. I went into my Mama's room and found some braclets. Then I found a piece of her hair jewelry that I could craft into a tiera. I was probably 5 or 6 at the time, but child Iwas fierce. And I remember singing the theme song from the show as I went running about the yard. Good times - good times.

But back to Lynda Carter. She states in her interview that she was once told, "Girl, I'll tell you something, if you ever have a gay following you will know that you've made it." So about fifteen years ago when she received a phone call from a lesbian magazine wanting to talk with her she was thrilled because that was the moment she realized the LGBT community idolized her. She speaks also in the new interview about gay marriage and equality for the gay community. She seems to get it. She understands that were not asking for special rights just equal rights.

The interview is a very worthwhile read because she talks more to and about the LGBT community. She talks about her days wearing the red, white and gold costume and about the her appearing in the upcoming Wonder Woman movie. She even talks about the other iconic women we adore like Charlies Angels, Lucy Lawless (Xena) and Lyndsay Wagner (the Bionic Woman). And she talks about her new CD. Music was her first love and she is returning to it. Her CD At Last will be available on June 9. Get into the interview here.

Binational Same-Sex Couples

There is an interesting article today at 365Gay.com pertaining to same-sex binational couples. Gay men and women that live in the US that go into a relationship with someone living here but not a citizen (usually here on a student or work visa) have a lot to consider about their relationship. When the visa expires that other person is expected to leave the country. Now if this were a heterosexual couple, a simple marriage would solve this problem. But since we're denied marriage in most this solution doesn't hold true for us. In that respect the same-gender loving community is vulnerable.

We all know that life has many trials and tribulations. Attemping to find that person you want to spend the rest of your life with is one of the most difficult challenges many deal with. Usually you have face this challenge many times in that search for that special one. So it should be a wonderful and dear thing when you find him or her. But the consequences you must deal with if that person is from another country are great. I witnessed these difficulties myself as I know several couples that have experienced or are currently dealing with this. In one relationship the outcome wasn't pretty - one partner was forced to leave involuntarily. He was actually detained by immigration and deported.

Enter the Uniting American Families Act (formerly Permanent Partners Immigration Act). There are currently about 36,000 same-sex couples kept apart by US Immigration laws. The Uniting American Families Act would add the words “permanent partner” every time the word “spouse” appears in the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. This would in essence give these couples the same rights and priviledges straight couples enjoy when it comes to citizenship status. Permanent partners would need to prove they are committed, unmarried to anyone else, have no close blood relationship, and the inability to legally marry their permanent partner.

I for one hopes this bit of legislation lives to become a bill. I'm unsure whether the Congress we have is ready to pass something this progressive but I think the country is ready for it.

Great Short Film - Souljah

Just watched a terrific new short film on Logo. Soulja is only about twelve minutes long, but there is a lot packed into those twelve minutes. Check it out below.

More great videos from DowneTV on DowneLink.com, the biggest gay social network