Laura Bush says she supports gay marriage

Former first Lady Laura Bush told Larry King this week [1]that she is in favor of gay marriage – a very different position than her husband, the former president.

She and her husband “disagree” on the issue, she told King.

“There are a lot of people who have trouble coming to terms with [gay marriage] because they see marriage as traditionally between a man and a woman,” she told King. “But I also know that, you know, when couples are committed to each other and love each other, that they ought to have, I think, the same sort of rights that everyone has.”

She added, “I understand totally what George thinks and what other people think about marriage being between a man and a woman. And it’s a real, you know, reversal really for [them] to accept gay marriage,” but she thinks that legalization is coming, she said.

Laura Bush is making the talk show circuit while promoting her memoir “Spoken from the Heart.”

[1] http://larrykinglive.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/12/laura-bush-supports-gay-marriage-abortion/?iref=allsearch

Friday Watercooler: Palin/Bachmann 2012…Hell Yeah!

• If only. On Sean Hannity [1] Wednesday night, Hannity asked his guests Sarah Palin and Rep. Michelle Bachmann if they would consider being on the same ticket for a presidential run in 2012. Palin answered in her usual cagey way “As I have said, I’m not gonna close any doors that perhaps would be open.” When Hannity asked the crowd what they thought there was a roar of approval. Most likely the same kind of roar that would come from a left-leaning crowd. How could the lefties amongst us not roar in approval for that kind of competition. Bring it on!

[2]

• He has supporters, too! Here is an addendum to a previous Friday Watercooler. Remember Derrick Martin who was allowed to attend his prom with his male date and was subsequently kicked out of his parents house? Remember how his classmates were soooo supportive of him that they held a rally [3] not because they cared that he was gay but because they were worried that their town would be known “known as a pro gay town”? Well, brave Derrick gets his own REALLY supportive rally [4] tonight in Macon, Georgia. Now lets hope some rich, famous gay gives Derrik a scholarship [5].

[6]

• She shows her true colors. Yet another shout out for our straight ally, Cyndi Lauper. I LOVE this lady. Lauper is spearheading the first permanent housing complex for homeless LGBT youth. Opening in the winter of 2011, The True Colors Residence [7] will give homeless LGBT youth ages 18-24 will have subsidized homes to help get them off the street. I find it shocking that, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, between 20 – 40% of LGBT homeless youth identify as LGBT. I am happy that Cyndi puts her money where her mouth is. I live a few blocks from the proposed site and look forward to welcoming the residence into the neighborhood. The girl doesn’t just want to have fun!

[8]

• CNN apologizes, sort of. CNN Host Kyra Phillips [9] started a “debate” segment yesterday with the question “Homosexuality, Is it a problem in need of a cure?” Her producers invited a controversial “expert” in the “ex-gay” movement who was expelled from the American Counseling Association for ethical abuses and presented him as a “Psychotherapist, educator and expert in the field of sexual reorientation”. GLAAD [10] sent out a call to action and today the topic was revisited by Ms. Phillips on CNN by bringing on a real expert in the mental health field to educate that gay was not a mental illness and wasn’t need of curing. I really don’t have much issue with Ms. Phillips, I have an issue with the production. If they can’t afford or are too lazy to research their experts to see if they truly are experts, it’s time for a new job. Our friends at AfterElton.com have the video.

[11]

• God Save Malcom McLaren. This bit of news has saddened me. Former impresario and manager of the the Sex Pistols has died of mesothelioma in Switzerland. With Vivienne Westwood, McLaren [12] opened the clothing store Let It Rock (later Sex) in the early seventies before stumbling upon the future Johnny Rotten. Though the Sex Pistols flamed out quickly McLaren was instrumental in the seismic shift of music that is know as punk rock. A true Revolutionary!

[13]

• Gleeful. I hate to admit that I am excited for the new season of Glee. I don’t think it’s the best show but it definitely brings out the show queen in me. Besides, there is some definite eye candy on display. And who doesn’t LOVE Jane Lynch [14]. AfterElton’s Gay Man of the Decade, Neil Patrick Harris [15] guest stars on a future episode and the video below is behind the scenes scenes from that episode. We Got The Funk, indeed!

[1] http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/hannity-would-you-like-to-see-a-palin-bachmann-ticket-video.php?ref=fpb
[2] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-sarah-palin-michelle-bachmann-detail.jpg
[3] http://www.365gay.com/news/weekend-watercooler-billie-joe-armstrong-talks-about-his-sexuality-again/
[4] http://www.macon.com/2010/04/07/1086151/rally-planned-friday-to-support.html
[5] http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-19-mississippi-prom-gay-teen_N.htm
[6] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-derrick-martin-gay-prom-student-georga-detail.jpg
[7] http://www.dnainfo.com/20100406/central-harlem/cyndi-lauper-open-shelter-for-homeless-lgbt-youth-harlem
[8] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-cyndi-lauper-detail.jpg
[9] http://www.afterelton.com/blog/michaeljensen/cnn-kyra-phillips-gays-cohen-not-appropriate
[10] http://www.glaad.org/Page.aspx?pid=1378
[11] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-kyra-phillips-cnn-detail.jpg
[12] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/malcolm-mclaren-dies-aged-64-1939621.html
[13] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-malcom-mclaren-detail.jpg
[14] http://www.afterellen.com/blog/thelinster/jane-lynch-dishes-on-glee-scenes-with-neil-patrick-harris-and-molly-shannon
[15] http://www.afterelton.com/people/2010/01/man-of-decade-results

CNN: Is there a need for a gay cure?

In a controversial segment [1] aired Tuesday, news anchor Kyra Phillips explores the question of whether there is a need to cure homosexuality.

Rep. Bonnie Lowenthal, the California assemblywoman advocating for the repeal of a law requiring health professionals to seek a cure for gays, debated the issue with ex-gay Richard Cohen. Interesting fact: Neither guest is gay.

[2]

Lowenthal mentions the law was created at a time when homosexuality was officially a mental disorder. “It has been on the books for 60 years and is quite useless and rather offensive to many, including myself,” she said on CNN.

Cohen is the author of “Coming Out Straight” and claims to be a psychotherapist. He was expelled from the American Counseling Association in 2002 for what the Washington Post [3]called “multiple ethics violations.”

Cohen argues that California’s existing law seeking to cure homosexuals actually is a good thing because it forces studies of sexual predators which he sites as a reason people go gay.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHgJbjIXw8g&feature=player_embedded
[2] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-gay-cure-top.jpg
[3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/15/AR2005081501063.html

Friday Watercooler: Her Name Was Steven; plus more Oklahoma bigots

• Trans-formative. Steven Stanton was hit by a media storm when he was fired from his 14-year job as city manager of Largo, Florida for revealing that he was preparing for gender reassignment. What was once a news story has been transformed into the CNN documentary Her Name Was Steven.

The …

CNN poll: 69% OK with DADT repeal

CNN poll: 69% OK with DADT repeal

‘Hope for Haiti’ telethon to feature Anderson Cooper

CNN’s Anderson Cooper will join Wyclef Jean and George Clooney in hosting MTV Network’s “Hope for Haiti,” the global telethon.

Cooper will broadcast from Los Angeles, Jean in New York and Clooney in Los Angeles. They will be joined by performers including Jennifer Hudson, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Bono, Bruce Springsteen and …

Group appeals to Burundi to drop law banning homosexuality

(Burundi) Human Rights Watch has appealed to Burundi to repeal a law passed in April that makes homosexuality illegal and punishable by up to two years in prison reports CNN.

In a recently released report, Human Rights Watch said that many gays and lesbians face great discrimination in the eastern African …

Apple using double-standard for gay iPhone apps?

Apple is maintaining a double-standard when it comes to gay-themed iPhone apps, a developer claims. Attempting to draw publicity, Terry Ray claims that his iGaydar title was rejected from the App Store on the same day as Bruno — an app based on the Sacha Baron Cohen movie — was approved. iGaydar was rejected for “objectionable content,” despite being considerably less graphic than the Bruno app, according to Ray.

iGaydar pretends to detect a person’s sexuality, first displaying a random percentage and then announcing a tongue-in-cheek statement, such as “Honey, not even your priorities are straight.” By contrast the Bruno app lets users undress Cohen’s character, and touch various body parts which can elicit potentially offensive responses. Bruno is only on the App Store as a result of major studio backing and publicity, Ray charges.

Apple has rejected a number of apps with sex-related themes in the past, even when the titles did not show anything explicit. Naughty Loaded Dice was briefly blocked earlier in July, while an e-book reader, Eucalyptus, was temporarily blocked in May. Though only meant as general-purpose reading software, one of the books available for Eucalyptus is the Kama Sutra, a centuries-old Indian religious text that Apple deemed “inappropriate sexual content.”

See Apple using double-standard for gay iPhone apps?

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/apple-using-d…

Conservatives reject funding for Montreal gay festival

A gay and lesbian arts festival that was told it met all government criteria under a new tourism stimulus program learned Tuesday it was rejected for funding.

The news arrived at Montreal’s Divers-Cite a few weeks after tension swept the Conservative caucus over funding for Toronto’s Pride week, and just days before the beginning of the event.

The directors of Montreal’s Divers-Cite had actually sprung to the defence of Stephen Harper’s government earlier this month, telling The Canadian Press that the Conservatives had never treated them differently. Some in the gay community attacked them for their comments.

They had submitted a bid under the new Marquee Tourism Events Program for $155,000 to add performers and promotion to this year’s $2-million event.

Government relations and marketing director Paul Girard said bureaucrats handling his file at Industry Canada told him his application met all the criteria, and had been sent up to Minister Tony Clement’s office for final approval.

When he phoned to check on the bid Tuesday, Mr. Girard says he was told by a senior bureaucrat that the $100-million program had received so many requests, the government simply had to make a choice.

“We knew that anybody that was to be refused and didn’t meet the criteria got a quick No,” Mr. Girard said. “As time advanced, we became more and more confident.”

Paul’s sister Suzanne, the festival’s director, says the organization was completely shocked by the response. Divers-Cite has received funding from Economic Development Canada for several years, as well as Canadian Heritage.

See Conservatives reject funding for Montreal gay festival

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