LGBT NEWS and RANDOM GAY THOUGHTS!

July 6, 2009
The New York Times reports that the median audience age of the Tonight show, now starring Conan O’Brien, has gone down from 55 to 45. I guess the crazy red head’s antics are just a little too wild for older views, unless you’re gay like me. Although I think O’Brien is hilarious, I have to admit Jay Leno tickles my fancy just a little bit more. You heard me! Happily, they are both gay friendly, with Jay having the edge in the articulate department.

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Recent photo of Michael Jackson, King of Pop

Is anybody else sick and tired of all the tributes to Michael Jackson? I especially could do without all the gossip the tabloid shows are presenting as fact, i.e. his drug use, his plastic surgeries, and his assorted idiosyncrasies. The man is a music and dance icon, a black and white pioneer who should be granted full and total respect. Enough is enough!

Even with President Obama in charge of an economy devastated by former President George W. Bush, the United States’ financial situation continues to faulter, even taking its toll on the gay community. The bi-weekly gay newspaper the New York Blade has suspended publication and laid off its editor in chief reports the New York Times. coincides with the selling of HX Magazine, the gay bar weekly HX Media also owned, to undisclosed buyers.

365gay News reports that an Ontario professor has developed an experimental HIV vaccine that may be soon brought state-side for human testing. Dr. Chil-Yong Kang, a University of Western Ontario professor, developed the vaccine, called SAV001-H . Sumagen Canada Inc, who supports the professor, says that the vaccine has been tested on animals without any identified adverse effects or safety risks. The makers of the vaccine are waiting for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before they can begin testing the vaccine on humans. Seventy countries around the world have already patented the vaccine. Read the full CTV story here.

Earlier protest after brutal beatings and arrests at Ft Worth gay bar Rainbow Lounge photo

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Chad Gibson, a Fort Worth, Texas resident who had his skull cracked during a police raid of the gay club the Rainbow Lounge that has been compared to the harassment of police at Stonewall, is finally talking about his arrest. The incident occurred on June 28 when two TABC and seven Fort Worth police officers raided the newly opened Rainbow Lounge nightclub.

Photo of Sunday night demonstration against police brutality at Rainbow Lounge in Texas

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According to witnesses, Gibson was manhandled by officers and slammed to the ground, even though they were unprovoked. Police have constructed a different story, saying an intoxicated Gibson grabbed an officer’s groin.

7-5-09 photo of gay victim Chad Gibson from his hospital bed

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Gibson finally broke his silence Sunday, July 5, to WFAA-TV in Fort Worth, denying that he groped anyone. He told a reporter that he wants the officers involved in the raid to be prosecuted, saying the response by the city of Fort Worth has been a cover up. Gibson is still fearful of a blood clot located behind his right eye. “I’m scared that something might happen,” Gibson said. “It might start bleeding.” The incident is currently being investigated by Forth Worth police, who are now undergoing “sensitivity training.” Read the full WFAA-TV story and watch Gibson’s interview here.
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Marion Barry, politician hypocrite extraordinairee photo

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Another political “moral leader” hypocrite bites the dust! Former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry was arrested Saturday on charges of stalking a female acquaintance. Barry is scheduled to appear in court this Thursday. Barry was arrested on Saturday after a woman, who Barry claims is a friend, flagged down a police officer and said that she was being chased by Barry in another car. Barry was released on citation with a mandatory court appearance early Sunday morning. According to ABC News, a spokeswoman for Barry said “that the 40-year-old woman is somebody that Barry had helped financially during ‘various stages of instability’ in her life. ”

Barry served four terms as mayor and is currently serving as a D.C. council member. Despite being black, the man lacks empathy for other minorities. He has publicly spoken against same-sex marriage in Washington, D.C. and called himself a “moral leader” earlier in the year at an anti-marriage equality protest in the nation’s capital. This is not the first time Barry has been in trouble with the law. During his third term as mayor, Barry was videotaped smoking crack in a hotel room in 1990 with a prostitute during an FBI sting and is currently on probation in a federal tax evasion case. Read the full ABC News story here.

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Oscar winning gay writer Dustin Lance Black photo

There’s a great article in The Advocate's “Forty Under 40” June issue about good-looking, gay screen writer Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar winner for Milk. Dustin is the man who made an extremely articulate acceptance speech with a passionate plea for LGBT rights at the recent Academy Awards. Read the entire cover article here.
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Deceased August Provost with the "love of his life" MySpace photo

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The military insists murdered openly-gay Navy Seaman August Provost was not a hate crime victim, despite family claims that he had been harassed by other sailors. Navy spokesman Lt. Kyle Raines, Navy Region Southwest told CNN: "There are no indications that the body of Seaman Provost was bound, gagged or mutilated as some media have reported. There was a fire set in an effort to cover up evidence. The specific cause of death will be addressed once the autopsy report and toxicology reports have been completed. There was a person who was initially held as a person of interest. He is no longer being held. There is now a second sailor who was not previously identified to the media who has been linked to the commission of the crime through both physical evidence and his own statement. The second sailor is being held. His name has not been released."

Watch this official Navy report on the Provost story:

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Gay actor Chad Allen getting a dance lesson on Show and Tell web show

Out.com in conjunction with ABC.com has launched a new Web series that manages to gay up the already extremely gay Dancing With the Stars. Titled Show and Tell, judge Bruno Tonioli partners with such gay celebs at Chad Allen, Lady Bunny, and Robert Gant for a spin around the floor.

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Gay singer/dancer Robert Gant dips his male partner on Show and Tell photo

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These instructional videos kick off with celebs getting one-on-one training, followed by same-sex dancing professionals demonstrating proper technique.

In the first video of the series, Hairspray’s Marissa Jaret Winokur tries her hand at the waltz. Check it out here: