LGBTQ news and entertainment
Airman First Class Daniel Henderson and his husband Jerret Henderson talk about how the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from honoring legal marriages of same-sex couples, hurts their family.
Pledge to stand with military families like Daniel and Jerret at http://freedomtomarry.org/military
From May 2010, an exchange between President Michael D Higgins of Ireland and Tea Party-loving radio guy Michael Graham on Irish radio.
Someone comes out on the short end. And I’m not talking the fiery Irishman…
Dan and Pat Lawson, a Maine couple married for 30 years, discusses their twin sons, one of whom is straight and one gay, about why marriage matters.
The pro-equality group Mainers United for Marriage, issued a statement in which campaign manager Matt McTighe commented on the latest ad, saying:
“Our campaign is built upon honest and open conversations with Mainers about why marriage matters to all loving, committed couples. The personal story of the real Maine family highlighted in GLAD’s new ad resembles the conversations we’ve had with tens of thousands of Mainers across the state who are changing their hearts and minds and growing more supportive of the freedom to marry every day.”
I love that he leaves out all the GOP/conservatives who asked him to drop out of his senate race like:
and on and on and on the list goes…
But Akin points to the liberal media. JUST the liberal media.
Then there’s this….
Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, and Dan Savage, writer of the Savage Love column, met at Savage’s home in Seattle for dinner and a debate over same-sex marriage and the Bible. Moderated by Mark Oppenheimer from the New York Times.
I watched the entire “debate.” Here are a few of my own opinions:
• I do wish this had been more of a debate in the traditional sense that a debate gives way to more back and forth and exchange of ideas. This format gave Dan Savage and Brian Brown each 15 minutes to make “opening statements.” That accounted for practically half the debate time in total. I get that opening statements are customary in debates, but fifteen minutes each in a one hour debate seems excessive in that both of these men often have the opportunity to put forth their own lengthy statements of position.
I really would have liked to have seen 5 minute or so “opening statements” and then see the moderator ask more questions and address actual answers. I’m not blaming the moderator – I don’t know who made up these rules. Just saying what I’d have rather seen.
• Many times Brian Brown doesn’t answer questions put directly to him. Almost in the same vein of Sarah Palin in her one 2008 election debate, he brushed aside things he didn’t want to address, and instead addressed what he wanted to talk about. He never really answered the question of would any evidence ever change his mind on the issue of same-sex marriage. This happened a couple of times.
• As in any political debate – which this was since it regards laws and civil rights – a common “trick of the trade” is deflection. Brian Brown over and over again deflects to polygamy as if it’s the topic of the day. Over and over again. As Dan Savage points out, no one in the LGBT community is promoting that idea or legalizing polygamy. But because it is seen as a stark negative, Brian Brown kept coming back to that idea – at times demanding that Dan Savage “defend” polygamy, as if it were Dan’s position. This became very off-putting and, as if often the case in opposing marriage equality, tried to pose an alternate idea as if it were the one being debated.
• I appreciate that these two men remained civil and had the discussion they did. As I mention earlier, the rules seemed set up to just allow talking points at times. I’m not saying I want to see yelling and talking over one another, but I believe shorter time frames for questions and answers would have led to a more diverse and deeper discussion.
Just my thoughts. I may add more upon more reflection.
Tom Daley continues to dominate the media world after his impressive showing at the 2012 Olympics.
The Smoking Nun blog features several pics from Tom’s recent photo shoot for Heat Magazine in the UK, which is apparently similar to the US’s People Magazine.
No denying this guy has some star power. I’m curious to see where he goes next with his fame.
Click on either pic to enlarge. More pics at The Smoking Nun.
Wow. What a great story. When a community says “enough.”
WTVR reports: Jordan Addison says that his car was vandalized four times between March and May of this year and that someone even keyed “die” into the side of the vehicle because he is gay.
Addison said the lowest estimate he received to fix the car was $2,500, but that he just couldn’t afford to repair it. Some Roanoke businesses heard what happened and pitched in to fix the damage for free.
“Once I saw the vandalism that was done to it I said that’s uncalled for we’re gonna fix your car that’s the least we can do,” said Quality Auto Paint and Body’s Richard Henegar Jr.
The auto body shop repainted the car and even added in $10,000 worth of extras for Addison.
