LGBTQ news and entertainment
The brilliantly talented Billy Porter on religious bigotry.
I’m fortunate to know Billy personally, and I walk away from every conversation feeling enlightened and inspired by Billy’s passion, talent and humanity.
As a director, actor and writer, he brings a unique but clear sensibility to his work. If you don’t know his work, get on iTunes or youtube and explore. I promise you’ll be glad you did.
Former half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and reality TV star Donald Trump may currently be two of the best known Republican stars in America – but being a celebrity doesn’t necessarily translate into concrete political support, a new poll finds.
Fifty-eight percent of registered voters surveyed by Quinnipiac University indicated they “would never vote” for Palin or Trump for president.
The independent poll sought to measure voter enthusiasm for potential GOP candidates. Former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas topped the poll in enthusiasm with 38 percent saying they would “consider voting” for Romney and 15 percent indicating they were enthusiastic about him while 34 percent responded they would consider voting for Huckabee and 13 percent are enthusiastic about his candidacy.
“Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are in the best shape,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Polling Institute said in his analysis. “Sarah Palin and Donald Trump suffer from the reality that, as our mothers told us, ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression.'”
Though 15 percent of respondents indicated they are enthusiastic about Palin, only 24 percent said they would consider voting for her.
Trump received a 9 percent enthusiasm rating and a 26 percent rating on whether individuals would vote for him.
(from the AP)
The White House has announced that it will not release the death photos of Osama Bin Laden.
While right-wing news outlets have clamored for the photos to be published, as evidence of Bin Laden’s actual death and for their potential use to intimidate other terrorists, others have argued that the photos could inflame anti-American sentiment and endanger U.S. soldiers and civilians living abroad.
In a quote to the press, Obama reportedly made the statement “we don’t trot this stuff out as trophies — that’s not who we are.”
From the AP: “There’s no doubt we killed Osama bin Laden,” the president said in an interview with CBS News. Obama said there was no need to release the photographs or gloat. “There’s no need to spike the football,” he said.
The president said that for anyone who doesn’t believe bin Laden is dead, “we don’t think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference.”
“There are going to be some folks who deny it. The fact of the matter is you won’t see bin Laden walking on this earth again,” said Obama.
Sarah Palin, the former half-term governor of Alaska, recently tweeted her support to release the photos. Thus, the difference between class and crass.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will mark the 30th anniversary of the emergence of what became known as the HIV and AIDS epidemic with a three-part display and website beginning June 3.
“HIV and AIDS Thirty Years Ago” will look at the public health, scientific and political responses in the early phase (1981-87) of the global pandemic. This showcase will be located in the museum’s “Science in American Life” exhibition, which focuses on the connections among science, culture and society in American history. The display will feature photographs, magazine covers and other graphics .
The website will be available at americanhistory.si.edu/hivaids.
In “Archiving the History of an Epidemic: HIV and AIDS, 1985-2009,” the museum’s Archives Center will show how individuals and society were affected by the epidemic through a selection of archival materials from its collections, including posters for the 1993 movie Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington and the 1989 film Longtime Companion; brochures, photographs and other popular culture materials; and quotes from oral histories of people affected by the epidemic.
The museum will also display a panel from the AIDS Memorial Quilt of the Names Project Foundation, honoring Roger Lyon, who died of complications from AIDS in 1984 shortly after testifying before Congress to appeal for funding to combat the growing epidemic.
This is a really wonderful story from AZCentral.com about two gay dads who have adopted 12 children over the past few years and created a warm, fantastic family by choice.
It’s 11-year-old Andrew’s turn to set the table for dinner, and he deals out 14 paper plates as if they were playing cards. Marcus, 5, climbs onto a bench and announces, “It smells like pancakes.” His brother, 3-year-old Cooper, counters, “I think it smells like chicken.”
“It smells like Ambrose,” says Logan, 7, climbing in between Cooper and their sister Ambrose, who’s 4. She glares at the laughing boys. Actually, it smells like spaghetti. A big pot of homemade sauce is bubbling on the stove.
The six littlest children fit on the 9-foot-long bench along one side of the table. Andrew and the four other big kids sit in chairs on the other side. Olivia, the baby of the family, is in a high chair. Daddy sits at one end, Papa at the other.
Steven and Roger Ham are raising 12 children, all adopted from foster care, in Arizona, one of the most unlikely places for two gay men to piece together a family.
Click here to read the whole story.
It’s a terrific testament to the daily business that families go through and what it means to the kids to have a loving home.
With so many debates about whether gay couples should be able to adopt, this tells the true tale. Kids need love and they don’t judge it. They just accept it.
An amazing new commercial for Google’s Chrome web browser aired during Tuesday night’s episode of “Glee” on FOX, and showcased the “It Gets Better” project.
“Beginning with one inspiring video, Dan Savage used the web to create the “It Gets Better” project — a movement that has generated thousands of uplifting videos that give hope to teens,” said Google.
The commercial is part of Chrome’s “the web is what you make of it” campaign.
Dan Savage, a Seattle-based LGBT activist and author, and his husband Terry Miller, launched the “It Gets Better Project” to provide support and encouragement to LGBT teens struggling with bullying and adversity.
From a new Newsweek/Daily Beast poll:
WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR (LIKELY VOTERS ONLY) IN MATCH-UP BETWEEN:
Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney
42% Obama / 36% Romney
Barack Obama vs. Mike Huckabee
42% Obama / 38% Huckabee
Barack Obama vs. Sarah Palin
50% Obama / 29% Palin
Barack Obama vs. Donald Trump
53% Obama / 25% Trump
In the wake of the capture of Osama Bin Laden…
Do you think President Obama is a strong leader overall?
STRONG 55%
WEAK 44%
Do you think President Obama is a strong leader in the war on terrorism?
STRONG 63%
WEAK 34%
Chris Hemsworth (right) who plays the title role of ‘Thor’ and brother Liam on the red carpet for the premiere of “Thor” at the El Captian theater in the heart of Hollywood.
Besides the fact that I’m excited about the movie, I just wanted to post the picture – because I can. Look at them!
🙂
Richard and John, who just celebrated 61 years together, exemplify why we cannot wait any longer for marriage equality in New York.
As they look back on a lifetime of memories, there’s one more they want to create.
Marriage.
For more stories like this, go to freedomtomarry.org
A Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday has the president’s approval rating at 56 percent, up nine points from Post and Pew surveys conducted in April, riding on the strength of higher ratings for Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan and of terrorism.
Approval of his handling of Afghanistan was at 44 percent last month, but in the new poll, conducted Monday, 60 percent of Americans said they approve of how he’s dealing with the issue.
On managing the threat of terror, Obama does even better, with 69 percent of those surveyed saying they approve, up from 56 percent last month.