WHITE HOUSE RECEPTION VIDEO: OBAMA PAYS TRIBUTE TO LGBT MOVEMENT, VOWS TO ACT! PHOTOS!

June 30, 2009
The President received a warm response at Monday night’s LGBT White House cocktail party, where, with wife Michelle at his side, he gave a 20-minute speech paying tribute to the LGBT movement. To numerous bursts of applause, he guaranteed that concrete steps toward gay equality will be taken during his days in office, the Advocate.com reports.

“I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I've made, but by the promises that my administration keeps,” Obama said to the applause of about 250 attendees midway through his speech.

The President acknowledged frustration felt by many LGBT activists who believe his administration has not moved quickly enough to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act.

“We've been in office six months now,” he said, “and I suspect that by the time this administration's over, you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration.”

He urged Congress to repeal the “so-called” Defense of Marriage Act, but stopped short of repudiating the Justice Department’s brief supporting DOMA, which drew outrage from homosexual organizations and bloggers earlier this month.

“I want to add, we have a duty to uphold existing law, but I believe we must do so in a way that does not exacerbate old divides,” he said, “and fulfilling this duty and upholding the law in no way lessens my commitment to reversing this law.”

Obama also called for the passage of Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and a fully inclusive Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill.

He addressed the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy directly, saying it undermines the effectiveness of the nation’s military. “In fact, I believe preventing patriotic Americans from serving their country weakens our national security,” he said to cheers. “Now, my administration is already working with the Pentagon and members of the House and the Senate on how we'll go about ending this policy, which will require an act of Congress.”

Obama admitted that each passing day brings “deep disappointment” to those who continue to be discharged. But he seems to have dismissed the idea of issuing an executive order to suspend the policy. “As commander in chief, in a time of war, I do have a responsibility to see that this change is administered in a practical way and a way that takes over the long term” he said, adding that he has asked the secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs chairman to develop a plan for implementing repeal.

Obama talked about the birth of the modern LGBT movement outside the Stonewall Inn in 1969 before concluding. “The truth is when these folks protested at Stonewall 40 years ago no one could have imagined that you, or, for that matter, I, would be standing here today,” he said. “So we are all witnesses to monumental changes in this country. That should give us hope, but we cannot rest. We must continue to do our part to make progress -- step by step, law by law, mind by changing mind. And I want you to know that in this task I will not only be your friend, I will continue to be an ally and a champion and a president who fights with you and for you.”

For the full text of his speech go to the Advocate.com

The people attending were generally moved and came away feeling they should give the President more time, while those who boycotted the affair mostly remained critical. I, for one, have said the man’s heart is in the right place and I will continue to support him in his efforts to bring our people full civil rights. Thank God for Obama!

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Here's a video of President Barack Obama's remarks at the historic 6-29-09 White House LGBT reception:

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Watch this San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) Stonewall tribute video ("Live narration from SFGMC's 2009 Spring Concert 'Tune In, Turn On, Sing Out', relating Stonewall to today's current equal rights battles."):

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Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==

ORIGINAL TRUSCOTT STONEWALL ARTICLES and PHOTOS! STONEWALL 101 VIDEOS!

June 30, 2009
Here’s a link to the reprinted news articles on the Stonewall Riots first published in the Village Voice while the uprising was taking place. Warning: It was 1969 and the straight media was not adverse to using terms like “faggot,” “queer,” and “limp wristed fairies.” Gay activists marched on the Voice soon after to protest the debasing language.

Here's one of the articles:

"View from Outside: Gay Power Comes to Sheridan Square"

By Lucian Truscott IV (who later wrote Dress Gray)

(photo of Truscott on the left)

Sheridan Square this weekend looked like something from a William Burroughs novel as the sudden specter of "gay power" erected its brazen head and spat out a fairy tale the likes of which the area has never seen. (continued below photo)

Originally printed in the New York Times, this photo shows the Stonewall rioters at their best

The forces of faggotry, spurred by a Friday night raid on one of the city's largest, most popular, and longest lived gay bars, the Stonewall Inn, rallied Saturday night in an unprecedented protest against the raid and continued Sunday night to assert presence, possibility, and pride until the early hours of Monday morning. "I'm a faggot, and I'm proud of it!" "Gay Power!" "I like boys!" -- these and many other slogans were heard all three nights as the show of force by the city's finery met the force of the city's finest. The result was a kind of liberation, as the gay brigade emerged from the bars, back rooms, and bedrooms of the Village and became street people . . .

. . . (Ginsberg) left, and I walked east with him. Along the way, he described how things used to be. "You know, the guys there were so beautiful—they've lost that wounded look that fags all had 10 years ago." It was the first time I had heard that crowd described as beautiful. (continued below photo)

Another 1969 photo showing cops harrassing homosexuals at the Stonewall Inn

We reached Cooper Square, and as Ginsberg turned to head toward home, he waved and yelled, "Defend the fairies!" and bounced on across the square. He enjoyed the prospect of "gay power" and is probably working on a manifesto for the movement right now. Watch out. The liberation is under way.

Watch this AARP TV video: "Stonewall 40 years Later," featuring interviews with a few LGBT activists:

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Check out your gay history knowledge with this Itay Hod 365gay.com Stonewall 101 video:

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Photo of orange/coral Tropicana Rose blossom from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos67

Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==

ADAM LAMBERT'S FIRST SINGLE "WANT" VIDEO SNEAK PEAK!

June 30, 2009
"Want" is the first single from Adam Lambert’s upcoming album, On With The Show. Adam co-wrote many of the songs on the new CD, which includes material recorded over the past two years, before he appeared on American Idol. Although he reportedly didn't want the single released yet because he doesn’t think it’s his best work, I love it! The final honed cut will be released later this summer.

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Photo of Adam Lambert from People's Hottest Bachelors issue

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As you probably know, Adam was chosen by People magazine as one of Hollywood’s Hottest Bachelors! Naturally, we concur! The photo above is from the mag. Do you believe the size of those feet? You do know what that means, don't you? It means he wears big shoes!

Check out the song “Want.” Watch the audio/video of the single below:

Here’s a video of Lambert's recent Access Hollywood interview:

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Photo of wild Chamomile Daisy anthemis cotula from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos78

Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==

BROADWAY BARES 2009 Backstage with Susan Blackwell video

Susan Blackwell makes jokes, talks dirty, ogles bodies, and touches the butts of Broadway's hottest stars in the nude naked review's dressing room. She even interviews Gavin Creel and Cheyenne Jackson! Sometimes the video takes a while to load, but be patient. It's worth it! Enjoy!

LT. DAN CHOI UNVEILS PINK TRIANGLE and SPEAKS VIDEO!

June 29, 2009
Lt. Dan Choi, who has become an articulate spokesman for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell after being cited for dismissal from the military for being gay, spoke in San Francisco Saturday during the unveiling of the Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks as part of LGBT Pride weekend. The Pink Triangle is a massive installation commemorating gay victims of the Holocaust. It has been installed every Pride weekend since 1995. Please read the following before watching the video:

Lt. Dan Choi, from Orange County, California, is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an Iraq War veteran. On Tuesday, June 30, 2009, he will face a panel of colonels who will decide whether or not to discharge him from the military for "moral and professional dereliction" under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

An amazing 141,262 people signed Lt. Choi's letter to President Obama a few weeks ago. Now he needs more help. Please sign the letter of support and add your own (optional) personal message. Lt. Choi will submit your signatures and your comments to the Army at 8 a.m. on Tuesday: Go to http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/SupportDan

Here's the video of Dan Choi giving his speech:

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Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==

BROADWAY BARES 2009 (19.0) NUDE PHOTOS and NAKED VIDEOS!

June 29, 2009
It’s been a slow news period unless you can’t get enough of the zillions of tributes to Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, so I decided to treat you to fourteen (14)photos and three (3) videos of Broadway Bares 2009 (19.0). The gay-slanted, nude, naked New York review benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and has raised over $140 million in 19 years. They only put on two jazzy, music-laden shows per year, starring (and exposing) some of Broadways biggest(!) actors. This year’s production raised $808,819! Not bad in a shaky economy!

Sorry I don't have the names of the performers. For additional photos and videos go to the Broadway Bares website, where you can donate to the cause.

Broadway Bares 2009 photo 1
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Broadway Bares 2009 photo 12
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Broadway Bares 2009 photo 13

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Enjoy watching my favorite video segment from Broadway Bares 2009 “Tight End” as follows:

You’ll find this video fun! Broadway Bares 2009 “Backstage with New York Magazine” (Tim Murphy talks to the hot half-naked bodies backstage at this AIDS benefit 6-23-09.):

Enjoy this Broadway Bares 19.0 (2009) “HOTTEST Highlights!” 6.21.09 video below:

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Photo of Irene Hardy Lantana camara from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos128

Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==

SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE 2009 LIVE BROADCAST: a review! 2008 PARADE VIDEO TRAILERS!

The first live video stream of San Francisco’s world famous Pride Parade went off with only a few hitches today. Simultaneously shown on local cable networks like Comcast and websites including www.Planetout.com and www.sfpridelive.org, the party turned out to be interesting and fun.
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Crowd celebrating this year's parade and festival in San Francisco Civic Center photo

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There was something for everyone, from Dykes on Bikes to the half-naked Leather Alliance! MC’s Jai Rodriguez, Michelle Meow, and Sebastian Kunz did a great job! Congratulations to the San Francisco Pride Organization for a good time!

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Celebrity Grand Marshals Cleve Jones, 'MILK' director Gus Van Sant, 'MILK' screenwriter Dustin Lance Black ride in the 2008 SF Pride Parade along Market Street photo

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Sometimes the picture was a bit fuzzy and my screen froze a couple of times, but I found that once I stopped trying to watch the parade on all the various websites and stuck to one, the problems disappeared. If you missed it, you can always go to www.sfpridelive.org and buy a DVD of this and/or last year’s parade. Watch these two video trailers of last year’s parade:

1968 SF Pride Trailer (San Francisco Pride 2008: Volunteers & Members):

2008 SF Pride Trailer (SF Pride PSA for the 38th Annual SF LGBT Pride Celebration & Parade):

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Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==

U.S. APOLOGIZES TO FRANK KAMENY, honors him with THEODORE ROOSEVELT AWARD!

June 27, 2009
The Washington Blade reports that 52 years after firing Frank Kameny from his civil service job in 1957 for being gay, the federal government officially apologized. John Berry, the gay director of the Office of Personnel Management, presented Kameny with a letter of regret, along with the department’s most prestigious honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award. The man is highly deserving of the tribute, as he is a true gay pioneer, one of the first to ever openly picket a government office as an open homosexual.

Photo of President Barack Obama shaking Frank Kameny's hand after extending benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers 6-17-09 photo

Here’s the full text of the letter:

“Dear Dr. Kameny:
In what we know today was a shameful action, the United States Civil Service Commission in 1957 upheld your dismissal from your job solely on the basis of your sexual orientation. In one letter to you, an agency official wrote that the Government ‘does not hire homosexuals and will not permit their employment...’ He went on to say that ‘the homosexual is automatically a security risk’ and that he ‘frequently becomes a disruptive personnel factor within any organization.’" ==continued below photo==

Photo of "Gay is Good" button, a slogan Frank Kameny created

"With the fervent passion of a true patriot, you did not resign yourself to your fate or quietly endure this wrong. With courage and strength, you fought back. And so today, I am writing to advise you that this policy, which was at odds with the bedrock principles underlying the merit-based civil service, has been repudiated by the United States Government, due in large part to your determination and life’s work, and to the thousands of Americans whose advocacy your words have inspired.

"Thus, the civil service laws, rules and regulations now provide that it is illegal to discriminate against federal employees or applicants based on matters not related to their ability to perform their jobs, including their sexual orientation. Furthermore, I am happy to inform you that the Memorandum signed by President Obama on June 17, 2009 directs the Office of Personnel Management—the successor to the CSC--to issue guidance to all executive departments and agencies regarding their obligations to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations." ==continued below photo==

Frank Kameny at Capital Pride in Washington DC June 2008 photo

"And by virtue of the authority vested in me as Director of the Office Of Personnel Management, it is my duty and great pleasure to inform you that I am adding my support, along with that of many other past Directors, for the repudiation of the reasoning of the 1957 finding by the United States Civil Service Commission to dismiss you from your job solely on the basis of your sexual orientation. Please accept our apology for the consequences of the previous policy of the United States government, and please accept the gratitude and appreciation of the United States Office of Personnel Management for the work you have done to fight discrimination and protect the merit-based civil service system.

Sincerely yours,
John Berry, Director”

The 84 year-old Kameny accepted the apology with a big smile on his face, as the photo at the top of this post attests.

Phil Johnson (left) and Frank Kameny dance together at the American Psychiatric Association Banquet in Dallas, Texas, 1972 photo

If this isn’t proof the Obama Administration is working to improve gay rights, I don’t know what is. Forty years ago I, too, was fired for being openly gay—from States Steamship Company in San Francisco, of all places. I’ll never get an apology, though, as they filed bankruptcy in 1979 for “failing to keep up with the times.” Read more about the ordeal on my website.

Photo of Wild Native Scarlet Indian Paintbrush castilleja coccinea from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos77

Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==

NYC LOVE BALL TRAILER, FUNDRAISER NEWS and SLDN PROTEST VIDEO!

June 27, 2009
Nearly a million dollars was raised by the Democratic National Committee's LGBT Leadership Council banquet at the White House Thursday night, where the plates cost $1000+ each, in spite of a highly publicized (but half-hearted) boycott.

DNC Chairman Virginia Governor Tim Kaine photo

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To the Party’s credit, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine released the following statement before the fundraiser (June 26, 2007) in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots:
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"Forty years ago at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, gay and lesbian Americans fought injustice from persecution and discrimination, bravely leading the charge in what has become the defining spark that began the gay rights movement around the world. Four decades later, we as a people have come a long way and should be proud of what we have accomplished since that day in promoting equal rights for all Americans–yet there is much more to do." ==continued below photo==
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Openly gay Rep Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis) outside fundraiser June 25, 2009 photo

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"With a President and majority in Congress committed to equality for all, our country can take more steps toward achieving the Democratic Party’s commitment to fulfilling that promise by passing such laws as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, adopting a national HIV/AIDS strategy, enhancing the safety of our military and our national security by eliminating ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell', and by repealing the Defense of Marriage Act." ==continued below photo==

Protesters outsite White House DNC LGBT fundraiser June 25, 2009 photo

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"With the courage and defiance of those individuals at Stonewall Inn still in our hearts and minds, the Democratic Party reaffirms its commitment to the march towards equality for all and second class citizenship for none."

Even the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), who picketed the banquet, sent two members inside to take part, although they reportedly were planning to vocalize their impatience with the administration from within the fundraiser.

VP Joe Biden addresses the fundraiser, pledging high priority for LGBT rights

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Inside the banquet, Vice President Joe Biden told the attendees that the administration has appointed 60 LGBT people, including nine that require Senate confirmation. He promised gay and lesbian concerns will not be “delayed, put off or not end up on Obama's plate” despite the fact that he is dealing with so many other issues.

He pledged that the White House would take up the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the passage of the Lieberman-Baldwin bill on health benefits, a ban on workplace discrimination, adoption rights for all, and an end to the HIV travel ban. Biden received multiple standing ovations as he spoke. Read the full story at politico.com.

Watch this Washington Blade video report on the SLDN protest outside the affair:

Photo of Times Square promo for June 27, 2009 Love Ball dance party at the Nokia Theater commemorating Stonewall

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Gavin Creel and other cast members from HAIR, shirtless sailors, and sexy dancers, will be featured in this Saturday's the Saint at Large Love Ball dance party (benefiting Heritage of Pride) at the Nokia Theater in New York City as part of Gay Pride Weekend.
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Photo of Times Square promo for Saint-at-Large Love Ball dance party to commemorate Stonewall

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Check out the above photos from a sneak peak performance they gave in Times Square on Thursday. And watch a trailer for the Party:

There was an interesting OP-ED piece in The New York Times yesterday entitled, “The Real Mob at Stonewall” by Lucian K. Truscott IV, the author of Dress Gray. He was a writer for the Village Voice at the time and he covered the story as it happened. He rebuffs several myths surrounding the riots. Check it out!

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Photo of ever blooming blue Bog or Swamp Salvia uglinosa from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/

Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==

WATCH SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE ON YOUR COMPUTER LIVE!

June 27, 2009
Good News! This year you can watch a live uncensored video stream of the San Francisco Pride Parade with gay celebrity host Queer Eye star Jai Rodriguez.

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Photo of the crowd in San Francisco's Civic Center celebrating SF Pride just yesterday

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It all happens this Sunday, June 28. Simply go to this San Francisco Pride location on the Internet at 10:00 a.m. PST or to the Planetout.com website a half hour later, 10:30 a.m. PST.

The SF Pride Parade is always filled with beautiful bodies, as this 2008 photo attests

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Click this link http://www.sfpride.org/ for additional information via the official SF Pride Organization. Enjoy! I know I will as I watch from my little farm in the Oklahoma boondocks!

Photo of Short Stick Verbena from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos68

Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==