July 1, 2009Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been talking to President Obama about easing enforcement of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, Yahoo News revealed. “One of the things we’re looking at is, is there flexibility in how we apply this law," he said. Gates also told reporters there has been discussion among senior military and legal counsel about possible changes in how they apply the law, which he described as "very restrictive." "We're talking about how do we move forward on this, achieve this objective which is changing the policy."
Robert Gates Sec of Defense at West Point graduation may 23 2009 photo
The Defense Secretary offered these examples: "When we're given information from someone with vengeance in mind or blackmail, somebody who has been jilted. If somebody is outed by a third party, does that force us to take action? That's the kind of thing we're looking at, seeing if there's a more humane way to apply the law until it gets changed." So, maybe positive change is coming quicker than we all thought! I can believe in that! Read the entire article here.
Shirtless actor Chace Crawford of Gossip Girl photo. Too bad he's so damned cute!
People magazine's "Hottest Bachelor" Chace Crawford said he has to deal with a lot of rumors, but the "crappiest," according to the Gossip Girl star, is that he and costar Ed Westwick are lovers. That word describes perfectly what I think of his stupid second rate network Gossip Girl show, regardless of the so-called eye-candy that abounds there. I haven’t been able to get interested in the story lines at all. Check out the penciled in eyebrows on his 2003 high school graduation photo on the left!
Michael Jackson with mom, dad, and brother photo
MTV.com announced the Jackson family will soon be rolling in more money than they’ll know what to do with. Reports are circulating that Michael filmed a complete movie of a This Is It concert rehearsal and it will likely be released as a pricey DVD/CD. Plus he commissioned and completed a secret 3-D video of himself that was to be shown on a screen behind him during the planned London shows. As it is, all things Michael Jackson (CD’s, videos, posters, etc.) are jumping off the shelves faster than they can be replaced, since his untimely death.
Entertainment Weekly confirms that former Grey's Anatomy cast member T.R. Knight will star in a 2010 Broadway revival of Lend Me a Tenor, which will have a February opening. Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks. He’s a been a very busy bee since leaving Grey’s Anatomy. We recently told you Knight will star in the Center Theatre Group's production of Tony award winning Parade, at LA’s Mark Taper Forum October 4 through November 15.
The right-wing Family Research Council is so outraged by President Obama’s appointment of former Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network President Kevin Jennings to the Department of Education (GLSEN), they have launched a campaign to get him booted from his post as Assistant Deputy Secretary of the department's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
Bigoted DC Examiner ad by the right wing anti-gay Family Reseach Council
The right-wing homophobic organization placed a full page ad in the Washington Examiner, which was. The ad features a photo of Jennings plastered with quotes taken out of context, including, "I got stoned more often and went out to the beach at Bellows . . . spending hours watching planes take off and land at the airports take off and land at the airport, which is actually quite fascinating when you are drunk and stoned." The quote came from Jennings' memoir, Mama's Boy, Preacher's Son, which chronicles his coming of age and the origins of GLSEN. So far, the President is holding firm.
San Francisco police are looking for vandals who used road flares to damage the Pink Triangle memorial to homosexuals killed or brutalized by the Nazis. So far, no luck. We wrote about the Saturday dedication earlier, where Lt Choi spoke. Access that article and video here.
Actress Patricia Mauceri (pictured at left)has been fired from One Life to Live because she opposed a new story line in which her character supports gay rights. Mauceri plays Carlotta Vega on the soap. Apparently, producers wanted to go against stereotype and show Vega as a supportive Latina. Carlotta would have played a minor part on the upcoming gay story line between Kyle (Brett Claywell) and Fish (Scott Evans), but she objected to Carlotta’s positive attitude saying it conflicted with her personal beliefs. She was replaced with actress Saundra Santiago.
Apparently, Texas remains a bastion of official homophobia and gay bashing. Police in Fort Worth, Texas, raided a gay bar early Sunday morning, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, arresting seven people and causing at least one serious injury. The raid at the Rainbow Lounge occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City. Fort Worth police claim they conducted a routine alcohol beverage code inspection on at least one other bar that night and that the arrests at the Rainbow Lounge were for public intoxication. Police say some of the patrons arrested made “sexually explicit movements” toward officers. Witnesses disputed the police account, saying officers used excessive force. They report that one patron was hospitalized with a fractured skull as a result of the raid. More than 100 protesters gathered at the county courthouse on Sunday to rally and demand an investigation into the raid.
Photo of the anti-feminist, anti-gay Concerned Women of America
An inflammatory one-hour special that claims gay people are attempting to subvert and convert America aired Saturday afternoon on an NBC affiliate in Tampa, Fla. To add insult to injury, the special, titled Silencing Christians, aired the same day that nearby St. Petersburg celebrated Gay Pride. The special concerned the "homosexual agenda" and the civil rights advances that gays and lesbians have made in recent years. Quoting people like Wendy Wright (photo left), president of the antigay group Concerned Women for America, the special claims gay teachers, Washington insiders, and Hollywood executives are covertly working to change opinions on gays by promoting tolerance, advancing LGBT legislation, and introducing gay characters in television and movie scripts. Duh!!
The special also advanced the idea that gays can be "converted" to heterosexuals.
WFLA News Channel 8 was flooded with angry phone calls and e-mails on Saturday, according to Tampa Bay Online. Mike Pumo, WFLA general manager and president, told TBO.com that the special has aired on other stations around the country and that the content did not "raise a red flag" during the vetting procedure. Where was that? Bigotville and Hatemongers, USA?
Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson in happier times at the American Music Awards photo
Elizabeth Taylor, longtime supporter and friend of Michael Jackson, just released a statement on the death of the 50-year-old King of Pop. Through her publicist, Taylor wrote, "My heart ... my mind ... are broken. I loved Michael with all my soul and I can’t imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together. I was packing up my clothes to go to London for his opening when I heard the news. I still can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it. It can’t be so. He will live in my heart forever but it’s not enough. My life feels so empty. I don’t think anyone knew how much we loved each other. The purest most giving love I’ve ever known. Oh God! I’m going to miss him. I can’t yet imagine life without him. But I guess with God’s help ... I’ll learn. I keep looking at the photo he gave me of himself, which says, 'To my true love Elizabeth, I love you forever.' And, I will love HIM forever."
Gene Simmons said in a recent interview that Adam Lambert's decision to come out will destroy his star power. "He killed his career because now the conversation is not about his talent but about his sexual preference," he told AOL. "He's done. I hope I'm completely wrong. I hope he becomes the next Beatles . . . Adam was fantastic. What a powerful and attractive man he is. He can come on tour whenever he’d like." What dark ages is the Kiss front man living in, anyway?
Chennai India LGBT Pride 2009 6-28-09 photos
Hundreds gathered for Pride marches in three Indian cities on Sunday. The events come as Delhi High Court reviews a national law that criminalizes homosexuality. "It was the first very overt, celebratory and positive images of the community," Lesley Esteves, a New Delhi organizer, told the Associated Press. The marches were held in New Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore. The parades came a year after India’s first large gay pride march, a celebration that supporters say would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
Indian activists hoped to send a message to the court to repeal the country’s sodomy law, Section 377 of the Indian penal code. "This piece of legislation makes no sense," law student and organizer Ponni Arasu told the AP. "You cannot deny people their basic civil rights." The Delhi march was generally festive, with horns blaring and supporters dancing. But it was also meant to reach Indians still in the closet.“We’re going to tell them that they’re not alone,” said Arasu, the law student. “We are all going to be around to support them so they can live with dignity.”
Zac Efron shirtless and wet photo
And now for something completely different . . . and hilarious. Watch this website Funny or Die spoof of Perez Hilton’s infamous video asking Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas for an apology. It features Clueless star Breckin Meyer and teen heartthrob Zac Efron:
Photo of blue Cezanne Clematis Vine blossom from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos51Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author
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