Olbermann Covers The Occupation Of Wall Street

Former MSNBC talk show host Keith Olbermann, whose popular show Countdown now running on Current TV, is taking advantage of the mainstream media blackout on the occupation of Wall Street by running a segment on the protest.  Watch the video below, he refers to the arrest of protesters under a 166-year-old statute banning masks as "crap" and questions why major newspapers are refusing to print news about the event.

Favorite quote:  "You'd think it would at least have made it into the traffic reports."

I think his guest's analysis is correct to a point.  I can't help but feeling that the news blackout is more about the corporate interests in the mainstream media, however, than about any sort of disinterest in liberal protests.  Both are probably true.

Michele Bachmann Isn't Just Dumb, She Makes Bad Jokes Too

Around the 00:30 mark, Bachmann, during her appearance on Leno, tries to explain away the reparative therapy scandal surrounding her Christian counseling clinics by asserting that when asked about it, she misheard "pray the gay away" as "pray the gray away."  Uh, the joke... falls flat.




She also seemed to confuse her beliefs and convictions with a criminal conviction.  Which, in my mind, isn't too far off:

“If you become president — and you seem pretty strident in your views…,” Jay Leno said, before Bachmann interrupted him. 

“Convicted. I’m convicted,” she said. 

“Convicted?” Leno replied. “No, you don’t get convicted until after you’re in office. That’s later. You have to get elected first.”

DADT Repeal Countdown: Day 5

Michael Bedwell, a tireless and stalwart activist who has worked to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military openly, wanted to remind many of us in the days leading to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell of the history of the struggle that so many of us have worked in.  Bedwell is the webmaster of leonardmatlovich.com and also was arrested with me in Washington DC.

One piece of that history is, of course, the legendary Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, the father of the American LGBT military movement.  Matlovich was the first gay man to ever come out while in the US military, an action that catapulted him into the national spotlight and began the long road which, for many, will be resolved in five days.

This gem is a video excerpt that Michael passed me of a made-for-TV movie documenting Matlovich's court case in which he sued to stay in the military.  He was unsuccessful, but the case was the first shot fired in a long, tireless war against government-sanctioned bigotry.




 Michael included these comments:

17 years before their film on Grete Cammermeyer, NBC broadcast this made-for-TV movie [the 1st about a living gay person]. While all concerned [including Rue McClanahan as his Mother] were well-intentioned, Leonard's real-life charisma was missing behind the cartoonish moustache they gave Dourif. Still, America learned more than they had before about gays in the military—and that same day the DoD announced that those discharged could apply for upgrades to Honorable.

I wonder how Leonard would feel today, as repeal approaches.  Would he celebrate?  Or would he be stopping short of jubilation and remind us that our transgender brothers and sisters still do not have the freedoms we are about to attain?

Chaz Bono To Dance On ABC, Pisses Off Bigots

Some people could really just use a hobby.  Ballroom dancing maybe?

It's been announced that Chaz Bono, the transgender son of international pop diva Cher, will be joining the upcoming cast of Dancing With The Stars on the gay-friendly network ABC.  Naturally, he will be dancing as a man, and that has many "pro-family" (honestly, I call them anti-family.  They sure don't seem to like mine) advocates in an uproar, citing supposed "thousands" of e-mails being sent to ABC to protest the inclusion of a transman on the popular show.

I love a man who looks good in a suit.

Tony Perkins (AKA T-Punk) of the Family Research Council (an official SPLC certified hate group with connections to the KKK and other white supremacists) had this to say:

Forget "Dancing with the Stars." ABC is dancing with the transgenders. Hello, I'm Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. On the 13th season of Dancing with the Stars, the indoctrination is in full swing. This fall, ABC's picked its first transsexual to compete. Chaz Bono, the famous child of Sonny and Cher, may have been born a woman--but she'll be dancing as a man. And while the gay community approves, fans certainly don't. ABC's been blasted by thousands of viewers for turning a popular show into an hour-long political statement. The message boards are full of angry parents who think ABC's gone too far. One mom wrote, "I am not about to risk the potential for on screen dialogue about sex changes and gender confusion while my 7- and 9-year old are watching... We are NOT tolerant--[if tolerance means allowing] any influences to come unfiltered into our home..." I guess if "Dancing" wants to advertise for the radical Left, they'll find out how out of step they are!

Riiiiiiiiight, Tony.  Let's talk about why this won't work.  First, you're assuming that kids give a damn who is dancing on their television.  My assumption would be that if someone tells them they are a man, that child will accept that.  Can we please remember the video of the kid who found out that two men at his Thanksgiving celebration were married-- and didn't give two shits about it?


Did you notice the complete and utter lack of discussion of sex with this boy? It was explained in easy to understand terms that had nothing to do with sexual behavior, but instead let the boy know that hey, sometimes men like men instead of women.

 Does T-Punk really want to piss off CHER?!

And really, do they know who they're up against?  ABC, owned by Disney.  That's right.  One of the richest companies in the world is in charge of this show, and they're no stranger to threats of boycott over their LGBT-inclusive policies.  Were those boycotts effective?  No.  Did Disney care, in the slightest, over these groups anti-gay views?   The American Family Association, Focus on the Family, and Southern Baptists ended their 8 year boycott of Disney back in 2005, with no effect on the media giant. 

Lastly, I asked one of my straight readers, Tiffany Smith, how she felt about the possibility of her four year-old daughter being exposed to a transman on television, and she had this to say:

I have no problem at all that Chaz Bono is going to be on TV.  In fact, I'm interested to watch him and get to know him.  I think its a wonderful thing to expose your children to healthy images of people happily being themselves!  Then she too can grow up knowing that its more important to be true to yourself than do what everyone thinks is "beautiful" and "correct."

So good luck, T-Punk.  Not only do you have Chaz Bono and Disney-ABC as opponents on this issue, but the American people are set against the denigration of LGBT families and their representation on television.

To close, another reader of mine who proudly counts herself a Christian and grandmother, Kelli, had these uplifting words to say on Facebook:

I think that it is wrong to deny your children truth. The truth is that every human being has a body and a spirit. Every spirit deserves to be nurtured and loved. Even God has addressed this issue. People who want to read something else into life need to get over themselves.

Well said.  

"As If"

I've long considered myself an ally to slutty dressers everywhere, cuz hey!  Who doesn't like showing of their goodies?  Thus, I really appreciated this Scottish ad spot eviscerating the "she was asking for it" excuse for rape.




Thanks to Justin Rosario of Filthy Liberal Scum for the tip.

John Barrowman: Torchwood US Is Going To Be Way Gay

John Barrowman laid gay fans' fears to rest, saying that the US series, co-produced by Starz, is going to be just as gay as the UK version.

Some were worried that US execs would want to dumb-down the gay elements, eliminating part of the risque appeal of the Doctor Who spinoff.

"But Barrowman has stated otherwise. He told US magazine Entertainment Weekly: 'I knew they would be true to the show and not change it drastically. If it was watered down, I wouldn't have done it.

"'For those people who are staunch fans, it's going to have the heart and soul of Torchwood which we've always had, plus the energy and excitement of a show that's bigger and better.'"

Evidently there's going to be even more boy-on-boy hotness.  Suh-weet!

[Pinkpaper]

Ashton Kutcher to Replace Charlie Sheen

In a move to save the huge "Two and a Half Men" franchise, reports are coming down that Ashton Kutcher will replace crazy ass Charlie Sheen.

"Kutcher, 33, the husband of actress Demi Moore, is joining the cast for the upcoming ninth season of the money-spinning show that is scheduled for broadcast in the fall of 2011.

"Friday's statement did not say what role Kutcher would play but industry sources said he is not expected to be a direct replacement for Sheen's womanizing bachelor character."

Charlie's tiger blood was boiling when he responded to the news.  "Kutcher is a sweetheart and a brilliant comedic performer ... Oh wait, so am I!", he reportedly bleated to TMZ.

Careful, Ashton!  You don't want to be a recipient of a Charlie Sheen fist of fury!

[LATimes]

Au Revoir, Glenn Beck

Fox News fans may have to soon look elsewhere for their dose of crackpot conspiracy theories and prophecies of the End Times as wingnut favorite Glenn Beck may be getting the axe at the end of the year.

Glenn is hoping to shit out better ratings.  VERBAL diarrhea always worked before.

Since his appearance on the talking-head circuit in 2009, he's amassed millions of fans, held rallies, railed against the President and generally made himself a nuisance.  Sadly, since his "Restoring Honor" rally with an attendance of 100,000, his viewership has dropped off-- by approximately a third.  Some blame the passage of "Obamacare," while some (notably myself) think he's just gotten too crazy for even the crazies to stomach.

Well, sounds like the kids at Fox can't stomach him either.

"He still has numbers that just about any cable news host would envy and, with about two million viewers a night, outdraws all his competition combined. But the erosion is significant enough that Fox News officials are willing to say — anonymously, of course; they don’t want to be identified as criticizing the talent — that they are looking at the end of his contract in December and contemplating life without Mr. Beck."

Pfffft.  Who cares?  He needs to hurry up, quit his show, make his bid in politics and get creamed in the primaries, publish his memoirs, and then just shut the hell up.  You know it's going to happen!   Well, maybe not that last part. 

[NYT]