Davina posted yesterday on that weird NOM video in which a woman accuses LGBT activists of standing in front of her. I'm a bit more skeptical about that video than she was, but we both agree that, either way, it's being used for rightwing propaganda.

Karen Ocamb posted another video NOM has put out from their tour that's standard-issue propaganda. It seems like half the point of this tour is to put out propaganda, which is probably why they're trying to keep press out of their rallies so they can control information.

Continue reading "More NOM propaganda" »

Just so we all understand who's weak (like Eve) and who's not (like Adam... I think...)

Continue reading "The Taliban on women!" »

Lt Dan Choi was officially discharged by the military in late June. Unfortunately, he wasn't told that the paperwork had finally gone through; he found out about it when Gay City New and Newsweek contacted him for comment. In a clear example of why the military can't find Osama bin Laden, they sent the paperwork to his estranged father's home.

Dan sent me this statement to run with his papers. You can click to embiggen or download your own copy here.

Dan's statement about being discharged after the jump...

Continue reading "Lt Dan Choi's discharge papers" »

Sudbay, sudbay sudbay sudbay.... sudbay sudbay.. sudbay sudbay bink. Bink bink bink. Michael cra...bink sudbay....

Oh! And Joe Sudbay said Bilerico! I thought the idea of a moderator was a to moderate and not to steal the show... Poor Michael Crawford was scuttled till the end, the last five minutes were the meatiest when he FINALLY got a chance to talk about his amazing reactivity to the NOM tour and the tactics they're taking to stop the hate in their tracks... literally. I was pretty bummed, I showed up to hear Michael; he's amazingly successful right now and his time to shine was dimmed by an endless rant from the guys who failed. Shoutout to Julia Rosen, she's pretty awesome too and didn't even get a chance to say much either.

I think this panel shows we're still stuck on bruised egos and still a bit confused about what it means to be proactive, reactive, and when to close a chapter and move on to the next chance to save marriage. Sudbay vetted this post in the end when he closed with "this was very therapeutic for me." there there...

It's 4 am in Vegas, where I'm attending the Netroots Nation conference.

Starbucks is closed, and I'm dying for a cup of coffee, having crashed last night at 10 (1 am for the Eastern time zone programmed into my Circadian software). Now it's 7 am for my addled brain, but 4 am for the cocktail waitresses who wear their lingerie to work, though the casino floor is still chock full of unsleepy patrons staring into the whirring, clanging and buzzing slot machines.

If I sit at one of the machines, however, they'll bring me strong cups of delicious coffee until my already-overloaded adrenals and my smoke-filled respiratory systems collapse.

And, oh yeah, there's much to tell about yesterday's LGBT pre-conference activities. Wait, let me just spin those wheels one more time. This machine is hot.

Continue reading "4 AM In Vegas" »

This is why I don't put much stock in abstract polls that show X percentage of Americans would vote for a gay candidate. Sure, Scott Galvin has already won an election (he's on the city council and he's running for US Congress), but he'll have to overcome more than similarly-situated straight candidates. Like vandalism.

Today was a blast, because I spent it with my intellectual peers -- puppets, show people and youth! In this video blog entry from AIDS2010 in Vienna you'll meet some amazing young people from around the world who are making a difference in their communities. You'll also be as charmed as I was by a program that teaches children in Africa about HIV/AIDS through puppetry.

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that these young people can speak for themselves. So I'll let them. Thanks for watching!

Watch the video after the jump!

Continue reading "AIDS2010 Day Two: The Wisdom of Youth" »

What happens in Vegas... gets blogged. So far, Its been a stimulating overload of new faces, old friends, and some overhashed discussion.

I love it though and I couldn't be more happy to be be here at Netroots Nations with the Bilerico gang. Day one was the LGBT pre-con, a congregation of over 60 of the nations most fervent bloggers. ENDA, DADT, more ENDA, and Dan Choi still looks hungry.

I admit, aside from all the hotel parties (Mike Rogers sure can throw a boozer), huddle sessions, and card swapping, I had to get away. In a quiet corner in one of the 4 Starbucks at the Rio, I sat with Steve Hildebrand. It was a breath of fresh air.

Continue reading "Netroots Virgin: Liberally Exhausting" »

In case the problem with getting generally homophobic men who are armed to the teeth who aren't meaningfully accountable to the law to go and arrest men cruising in parks wasn't obvious enough, here's a story that shows what can happen when everyone in that needlessly tense situation panics. I wonder how many stories like this we don't hear about?

Atlanta-based CEO DeFarra Gaymon was in New Jersey for his high school reunion, when he got caught in a cruising sting and a cop killed him. Here's the Times reporting what the cop's side of the story. I wouldn't put too much stock in it, since the only other witness to the incident is dead and the cop seems well-trained in the language he needs to put forward to justify his actions.

The officer and his partner were patrolling the park in plain clothes, part of an operation that has been going on for years, said Mr. Laurino, the prosecutor.

Around 6 p.m., after chasing down a man and arresting him, the officer realized he had lost his handcuffs in the pursuit and went back into the woods, alone, to retrieve them, the prosecutor said.

"The plainclothes officer was bending down to retrieve his handcuffs," Mr. Laurino said, "when he was approached by Mr. Gaymon, who was engaged in a sexual act at the time." Words were exchanged that the prosecutor said "would lead one to believe that" Mr. Gaymon was propositioning the officer.

More after the jump.

Continue reading "Police kill man, accuse him of cruising" »

Coincidentally, I have run into two individuals within the last week that are grappling with what I went through some years back and which I have discussed frequently on my blog, Michael-in-Norfolk. It is also a topic addressed with somewhat surprising sensitivity in the Argentine soap "Botineras" in the context of soccer star Manuel's (played by Christian Sancho, pictured above) efforts to come to terms with his sexual orientation, the fall out it brings down on his his wife and his two children.

As in the soap, these individuals that I met are attempting to deal with coming out as gay in mid life after many years of being in a marriage to a woman and fathering children. Much as I once was, these individuals are racked with an over powering since of guilt, feelings that they have "failed" their families, and deep emotional distress. They are also being confronted with spouses who accuse them of "ruining their lives".

Continue reading "When Gays in Straight Marriages Come Out" »

Love this vintage guide to men's hairstyling choices, ca. late 1950s/early 1960s. Guessing it was a sign that hung at local barbershops so boys could choose whether they wanted to look more like James Dean or Gomer Pyle. Now, who's the wise-guy who added the graffiti?

Dining out with your partner, lover or spouse follows a typical pattern. Seated opposite each other at the same table, you are furnished with separate menus from which you make individual choices.

One chooses Diet Coke, the other a Daiquiri. One starts with Cesar salad, the other goes for the soup. One always orders fish, the other fowl. Often there is little room for dessert, but the allure of a final exotic sweet results in a single shared dessert, eaten more by one than the other and praised more by one than the other. Despite those differing reviews, the enjoyment is mutual.

Throughout the consumption of these selections, you both enjoy your conversation. You are relaxing together, recharging your joint battery while touching hands slid across the tablecloth. On rare occasions, when unresolved issues arise at table, you'll quarrel above the food, calling for the check sooner than planned.

Continue reading "One Dessert. Two Forks. The Open Relationship." »