The Senate has just confirmed Paul Oetken to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Oetken is the first openly gay man to be successfully appointed to the federal bench.
Oetken was confirmed 80-13.
Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese said in a statement, “We commend the Senate for their historic vote today. Confirmation of Paul Oetken serves as a role model for all LGBT people interested in serving on the judiciary and shows LGBT youth that hard work pays off.”
They call it the happiest day of your life for a reason. Getting married is often the hinge on which every family generation swings open. In my small-town life, it was far more important than money or a career or fame. And I could see my grandmother’s point: the very lack of any dating or interest in it, the absence of any intimate relationships, or of any normal teenage behavior, did indeed make me seem just a classic loner. But I wasn’t. Because nobody is.
“In everyone there sleeps/A sense of life lived according to love,” as the poet Philip Larkin put it, as well as the fear of never being loved. That, as Larkin added, nothing cures. And I felt, for a time, incurable.
[snip]
Yes, the main stumbling block was religion. But we were not talking of religious marriage and were more than eager to insist, as in New York state, on the inviolable religious freedom of churches, mosques, and synagogues to retain their bans on gay marriage. We were talking about civil marriage—and in that respect, religious tradition had long since ceased to apply.
Civil divorce changed marriage far more drastically for far more people than allowing the small percentage who were excluded to be included. And no one doubted an atheist’s right to marry, outside of any church or any religion, just as no one doubted the marriages of childless couples, or infertile ones. In fact, every single argument against marriage equality for gays collapsed upon inspection. And when the data showed that in the era of gay marriage, straight marriage had actually strengthened somewhat, divorce rates had declined, and marriages lasted longer, even those who worried about unintended consequences conceded that the argument was essentially over.
In a sharply worded essay, Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips — a former Memphis, Tennessee prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney — comes to the defense of GOP presidential hopeful Michelle Bachmann, who, along with her husband Marcus, have come under intense scrutiny by the media and LGBT critics for their family-owned Christian counseling business, and allegations that it performs controversial gay-to-straight “reparative” therapy.
Phillips accuses progressives of resorting to fear, intimidation, violence and mob rule.
The liberal freak show is coming after Michele Bachmann. That is not much of a surprise. Bachmann is running a very disciplined campaign, encouraging conservatives and running with a conservative agenda.
The left wants to use the gay rights issue against her.
Marcus and Michele Bachmann, according to Politico, have a history of battling gay rights groups in Minnesota. That is enough for the gay rights groups to go after her.
Phillips goes on to say that liberal and LGBT advocates resort to “intimidation” tactics because they can’t win a debate of ideas.
Very interesting article in Vegas Inc. Magazine about marketing Las Vegas to the LGBT tourism market.
According to the article, gay and lesbian tourists are becoming more and more savvy about where to spend their dollars.
And with information like the HRC’s Equality Index available via the internet on any smart phone, gay and lesbian tourists are doing their homework in deciding what Las Vegas destinations will get their business.
They can’t legally marry here. Many don’t feel comfortable walking hand-in-hand down the alcohol – powered Las Vegas Strip on a busy evening. But they have spending power — lots of it — and with the liberalization of attitudes toward gay individuals, Las Vegas travel marketers have become increasingly aggressive and nuanced in their outreach to the segment.
It’s no longer enough for marketers to simply slap a politically correct multi-colored rainbow flag on print and video ads while their own companies discriminate against their LGBT employees, denying them pay and benefits on a par with their straight counterparts.
“We have options. We don’t have to spend our money where we’re mistreated,” said David, a 45-year-old researcher from the Midwest, who despite the evolving era of enlightenment on gay issues, was too skittish to share his last name. “Zero is an embarrassing score for any company in today’s business world. Why would I spend my money with someone who doesn’t respect who I am?”
According to the NY Times, Chris Evans had to go into therapy to deal with the idea of taking on the role of Captain America, and the responsibility/commitment of the role.
When some actors land a potentially life-altering role, they celebrate that success with exorbitant purchases: new homes, sports cars, plastic surgery. When Chris Evans agreed to play Captain America, he went into therapy.
For several weeks Mr. Evans, 30, had been wrestling with — and repeatedly turning down — the offer to play that star-spangled Marvel Comics superhero, and wondering why the anxiety he often feels about public scrutiny and momentous choices was hitting him harder than ever.
He wasn’t necessarily seeking opportunities to star in a comic-book movie franchise or to spend about a month’s worth of meetings talking to a professional about his feelings. But he concluded that these seemingly unrelated options were intertwined steps on a path he needed to follow.
“I wouldn’t have done it,” Mr. Evans said, discussing his therapy experience over a recent lunch at a Studio City delicatessen, “had I not agreed to do ‘Captain America’ and gone into panic mode.” He added, “The second I agreed to do it, I was like, ‘All right, I’ll do this, but I’ve got to start working on my head.’ ”
True Blood’s Joe Manganiello and Alexander Skarsgard faced off sans clothes on last night’s True Blood episode. Manganiello tells MTV that it’s less interesting to be nude on the set with Skarsgard than it is to be with a live wolf.
Says Manganiello: “The showdown between Alcide and Eric takes place in the lake. Eric has drunk some fairy blood so he can be in the sunlight. Sookie has to enlist Alcide’s help to go track him down so he has to transform into a wolf and go sniff him out,” he explained. “Basically it’s Alcide and Eric both naked, screaming at each other at the top of their lungs with Sookie in the middle.”
Manganiello added that the whole being naked thing isn’t nearly as interesting as working with live wolves on set.
“Anytime the wolves come out it’s always a little wild,” Manganiello admitted. “Alex and I were both naked, him in the water, me not, yelling. There’s a wolf near us, Anna’s in the middle. We shot it on Valentine’s Day, so there were a lot of ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ jokes going on with Anna. It was a lot of fun,” he said. “Alex is a really funny guy, so is Anna. It’s also funny to watch Anna interact with the wolves. I think it’s hilarious.”
Texas Gov. Rick Perry says that he increasingly feels “called” to run for president next year.
“I’m not ready to tell you that I’m ready to announce that I’m in,” Mr. Perry told the Des Moines Register, the biggest newspaper in Iowa, which holds the nation’s first presidential nominating contest. “But I’m getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I’ve been called to do. This is what America needs.”
The governor’s remarks are his clearest signal yet that he will join the GOP nomination fray.
Mr. Perry, who said he would announce a decision in two to three weeks, is becoming the favorite of the Christian right, an important voter bloc for the Iowa caucuses. As The Wall Street Journal reported this weekend, Christian conservatives say Mr. Perry would be the most electable nominee who supports their values. Next month, the governor is holding a day of prayer and fasting at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. Back in April, he declared three days of prayer to end the Lone Star State’s drought.
I was just listening to this song – which I think is terrific – and realized that I have completely separate connections to all three recording artists involved in the song – Jim Brickman, Delta Goodrem and Mark Masri.
With Delta Goodrem, fresh off the dance floor
I was introduced to the gorgeous and spectacular Delta Goodrem, who is a huge recording star in her native Australia, through Olivia Newton-John. Delta is not only gorgeous and talented, but deliciously fun. I’ve been to a few very cool events with Delta and you couldn’t ask for a more fun person. At Olivia’s wedding reception, Delta and I spent a long time on the dance floor together and at one point it ran through my mind “this woman has MILLIONS of fans! She’s a huge star and she’s dancing with ME!”
Mark Masri I met when he was a guest at Olivia Newton-John’s “Grace and Gratitude: Live in Concert” which I staged for Olivia last year outside Philadelphia. What a terrific voice and lack of ego. Mark is amazing and becoming a big presence here in the US, after Canada has spent years celebrating his talents.
And, of course, Jim Brickman I’ve known for almost 15 years. My husband Michael was his publicist for years, and I’ve spent much time with Jim at his home and backstage at his concerts. I think one of my favorite memories of Jim was at an event where he and his longtime partner in crime, Anne Cochran, were performing. Jim knows my favorite recording of his was one of his very first, “By Heart.” After doing a set of music for the crowd Anne started to leave the stage, but Jim – on the fly – asked her to stay and sing “By Heart” only because he knew I was in the audience and I love the song. How many artists do something like that?
Anyway, I don’t post this to be a name dropper (although it’s turning out that way). The point, really, is how small the entertainment world is. And how cool folks can be.
Enjoy the song. I’m back to floating in the pool….
