THE FIRST FRIEND

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John F. Kennedy's life was a fairy tale, and iconic pictures of him and his family are pervasive in American culture. Who hasn't seen the photos of Kennedy and his son in the Oval Office or Kennedy with Jackie sailing off Cape Cod?

David Pitts, a local gay author, has uncovered a trove of pictures featuring Kennedy with a less familiar face - that of Lem Billings, Kennedy's gay friend from their years at Choate School, a prep school in Connecticut, during the 1930s. In his new book, "Jack and Lem: John F. Kennedy and Lem Billings, the Untold Story of an Extraordinary Friendship," Pitts explores the relationship the pair shared until Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.


Pitts, who has a long standing interest in Kennedy, said that the inspiration for the project came from reading a variety of books over the years about the former president in which the name Lem Billings kept appearing, but was never fully explained. Pitts began researching the pair's relationship and uncovered how progressive Kennedy was in terms of accepting Billings' sexual orientation.


"The most surprising thing I learned was just how extremely close this friendship was," Pitts says, "Outside of his family, John F. Kennedy was closer to Lem Billings than any other person in his life."

In writing his book, Pitts interviewed members of Billings’ family (his sister and brother are both alive and in their 90s), writer Gore Vidal and Ben Bradlee, the former editor of the Washington Post, who knew both Billings and Kennedy.


"The letters that John F. Kennedy and Lem Billings exchanged, along with an oral history that Lem did before he died, were restricted until Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., made them available to me," Pitts says.

Beginning with their years at Choate, Billings often spent holidays and vacations with the Kennedys, although his family lived in Baltimore. He was also a fixture at the White House, which many found odd. Billings had a room there, and he frequently listened to the president vent about the international crises in Cuba and Berlin. Politicos wrote him off as Kennedy’s school friend who was a political lightweight, and others felt that he simply spent too much time hanging around.

Persistent rumors about Kennedy’s bisexuality are not answered in this book. Pitts uncovered no evidence that suggested a sexual relationship between the two friends.

"I tried to apply journalistic rules - and didn’t put in any gossip," Pitts says, "I only put in information that I could confirm … Something could have gone on, but I uncovered no evidence of that fact."

As for the relationship between Lem and Jackie Kennedy, Pitts writes, "All the people I interviewed about the relationship between Jackie and Lem - which I think is an interesting relationship in and of itself - agreed really on the nature of that relationship.

There was no disagreement among any of the people who knew them both. And that is, she liked him. She had more in common with him than she did with JFK in many ways. She was interested in the arts like he was, she had the same kind of sensibility. She also appreciated the role he played in her marriage during all the rough spots in the early days, essentially.

And the evidence that she liked him, the proof of it really, is that after the assassination when she could easily have cut him loose, she didn't. When the British invited her to England for the memorial for JFK at Runnymede, she asked Lem to go with her. She frequently visited him in Manhattan when she lived there in the 60s, and she also went to his funeral. So the evidence that she essentially liked him is there.

On the other hand, there is also evidence that she was frustrated at times that he was always there, so it's a mixed relationship. Probably when you think about it, it's a marriage of three people, so that attitude is understandable.

JFK golfing with Press Secretary Pierre D. Salinger and K. LeMoyne Billings in Hyannisport July 27, 1963, three months before President Kennedy was assassinated.

*Lem Billings is also listed (K. LeMoyne Billings) as one of the ushers at JFK's wedding and after Kennedy's death, became one of the directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Corporation.

I also found this interesting and somewhat amusing article in the New York Times titled:

TO CATCH A THIEF, RUN FAST!

By ALBIN KREBS AND ROBERT MCG. THOMAS
Published: January 17, 1981

The Kennedys always were fast on their feet when it came to running for office. But yesterday afternoon, one of the younger generation helped the police run down a pickpocket inside Bloomingdale's.

The helper was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 26-year-old son of the late Senator. He was on the Lexington Avenue subway with K. LeMoyne Billings, a long-time family friend and financial advisor, when someone took off with Mr. Billings's wallet and $60 in it.

Mr. Kennedy, the police said, chased the thief out of the 59th Street station, yelling for a nearby Transit Police officer, James McQueen, to help. The suspect ran into the crowded department store, but the other pursuers caught him on the second floor. The wallet and the money were recovered.

THE DARK SIDE

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St. Petersburg, Florida Republican (remember the "family values party") City Council Chairman John Bryan committed suicide Friday after allegations of sexual abuse involving his 12 and 15 year old adopted daughters surfaced and a custody hearing determined that Bryan was ordered by the courts to have no further contact with them.

Bryant had already admitted to a sexual relationship with a former nanny who he later adopted; although he claimed the sex was consensual and that she was over 18 at the time.

Several local politicians say they had heard tales of sexual improprieties for decades.

His very good friend, Holier Than Thou St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker (the same mayor who refuses to acknowledge Gay Pride, even though millions of dollars are generated for the city of St. Petersburg each year), must have had his head buried in his bible because he stated that he "never heard of any allegations of Councilman John Bryan's sexual improprieties".

Who knew what, who did what will never be known because the coward took the easy way out!

Howard Troxler of the St. Petersburg times writes:

"It is never the future by which we destroy ourselves. It is what we do in the present, which in the next heartbeat becomes an unchangeable past. In making our choices each of us, in our own way, is inspired by the better part of our nature, but tortured by the dark."

SINKING

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Faster than a crack whore pouncing on a twenty-dollar bill, the rats are abandoning the sinking ship; others haven't even had a chance to come aboard before they begin to sink!

George Bush's nominee for Surgeon General has drawn a lot of heat for among other things, his crack-pot anti-gay views as a leader in the United Methodist affiliate of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. But a new report may finally sink his already controversial nomination in a sea of conflicts of interest that have marked his career.

Dr. James Holsinger has also been a longtime leader of the Confessing Movement in the United Methodist Church. The Confessing Movement is a rightwing "renewal group" affiliated with the Washington, DC-based Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), whose purpose for a generation has been to divide and disrupt the historic churchs of mainline protestantism in the interests of advancing neoconservatism and the religious right.

Holsinger was elected to the highest court in the Methodist Church a time when the IRD-affiliated church "renewal" groups had launched efforts to use church judicial systems to enforce their notions of orthodoxy, particularly on matters related to homosexuality.

Now, an investigation by Rev. Andrew J. Weaver, Ph.D. and Lawrence H. McGaughey, Esq., and published at Media Transparency, shows that Holsinger used the sale of a United Methodist Church-owned hospital in Kentucky, as a cash cow for his personal ambitions. It took years of litigation by the church to find out what had happened to its money, only to learn that Holsinger had diverted millions to endow professorships at the Chandler Medical Center at the University of Kentucky where he served as Chancellor and fundraiser-in-chief.

Meanwhile, Weaver and McGaughy report Holsinger did not disclose to his fellow church justices that he he was party to significant litigation against the church in the state courts -- and thereby surface any potential conflicts of interest. The litigation cost the United Methodist Church (UMC) millions of dollars in legal fees to recover its assets.

The article also raises questions about how those assets (that were not given away) were managed while under the control of Dr. Holsinger and his associates, some of whom apparently also had conflicts of interest.

Time to say goodbye, James!

GAY MARRIAGE~A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT

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The marriage window opened in Polk County, Iowa, for a few hours Friday, until around 11:30, when District Court Judge Robert Hanson stayed his order legalizing same-sex marriage pending an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. But the win is sweet nonetheless. Hanson's opinion laid out one of the strongest arguments in support of marriage equality ever articulated by an American court.

Hanson's 63-page opinion Thursday held that the denial of marriage violates the due process and equal protection rights of same-sex couples under the state constitution. Hanson initially struck the state ban on gay nuptials, and ordered the county clerks to issue marriage licenses at once. Some 20 couples reportedly applied Friday morning before Hanson put on the brakes.

Hanson wrote that marriage was a fundamental right under the state constitution's due process clause, and as such, its denial triggered the highest level of court scrutiny. He also ruled that Iowa's statutory ban on same-sex marriage violated the state's equal protection clause by discriminating on the basis of sex, a determination that also required heightened scrutiny.

Finally, Hanson ruled that the state's asserted justifications for maintaining a marriage ban did not even pass the lowest standards of court review. Assuming that a state interest in promoting "responsible procreation" was a legitimate purpose, Hanson wrote, the remedy of blocking all gay couples from matrimony bore no rational relationship to the state's alleged goals. The fact that heterosexual felons, older couples, and couples with no interest in having children were free to marry also undercut the state's argument.

Iowa may be a red state, but as Hanson pointed out, it has a history of far-sighted jurisprudence. The state was the second, after California, to toss out laws against interracial marriage, years before the U.S. Supreme Court took action in Loving v Virginia.

This year, the Iowa state legislature passed a gay rights bill into law, banning sexual orientation and gender identity bias in employment, housing and public accommodations. The law was signed by youthful Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat.

On Friday, Culver called on the legislature to stay out of the marriage wars until the case has been heard by the state supreme court. Iowa is one of 23 states that has not amended its constitution to ban same-sex marriage, although a Defense of Marriage Act was passed in 1998.

OH NO, NOT AGAIN!

Why can't these married republicans just find a nice quiet gay bar to meet men, and stop trying to make a "connection" in public men's rooms?

He voted yes on prohibiting same-sex marriage. He voted no on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. He also voted no on adding sexual orientation to the definition of hate crimes. And Senator Craig voted yes to recommend a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
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Republican Sen. Larry Craig (Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men's public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.

Craig's arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

A spokesman for Craig described the incident as a "he said/he said misunderstanding," and said the office would release a fuller statement later Monday afternoon.

After he was arrested, Craig, who is married, was taken to the Airport Police Operations Center to be interviewed about the lewd conduct incident, according to the police report. At one point during the interview, Craig handed the plainclothes sergeant who arrested him a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and said, "What do you think about that?" the report states.

In October 2006, Craig's office publicly denied allegations that he was a homosexual made on a gay activist Web site - blogactive.com. Craig's office told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that the charge was "completely ridiculous," saying that the allegations had "no basis in fact."

By John McArdle
Roll Call Staff

HOMOPHOBIA ALERT

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The Republican representative to the fundamental christian movement in America, President George Bush has nominated Judge Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Judge Southwick's record plainly shows that he cannot be given the responsibility to protect the basic rights of all Americans.

As a Mississippi judge, Southwick put his personal bias before widely regarded scientific and legal evidence - as in one case where he separated a biological mother from her 8-year-old child in part because of the mother's sexual orientation.

Even more troubling, Judge Southwick used this case to further his own agenda by joining a concurrence citing highly charged and irrelevant Mississippi rules against "the practice of homosexuality" - including policies regarding sodomy.

This type of bigoted decision-making is unacceptable for any judge, let alone a lifetime member of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

THE DROOLING HOMOPHOBE AND HIS PEDOPHILE SON

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Right-wing Christian extremist Dave Daubenmire of Pass the Salt Ministries with his flock, has been on a crusade to disrupt the church services of gay-friendly churches.

But that's not even the best part of the story. As is so often the case, the best part of the story is in an almost offhand remark.

In a Bible-spewing homophobic rant earlier this year about a visit to the Gay Pride Parade, Daubenmire had this to say:

"The 'meat' on display will forever change the way you view homosexuality. Sin has no boundaries, no clutch, and no emergency brake. Once you dip your toe into the pool of sin, especially sexual sin, there is a magnetism that will not let go."

Ummmm...

Let me put it this way. The straight guys I know who visit the Gay Pride Parade do not describe the event as having "a magnetism that will not let go." Their reaction is more along the lines of, "Nice dress, dude."

They describe it as interesting, entertaining, touching, hilarious, kind of tedious when the "polo-shirted employees of boring corporations" contingents go by, etc. But they do not describe it as a pool of sin with a magnetism that will not let go.

The straight guys I know are not forever changed by the sight of gay male "meat on display," and they are quite capable of resisting the magnetism of homosexuality. They find the magnetic pull of homosexuality pretty gosh-darned unmagnetic. That's kind of what makes them, you know -- straight.

So I just have to ask: Do Dave Daubenmire, and Ted Haggard, and all the rest of the right-wing Christian leering brigade, really not know what they sound like? Do they really not see that frothing at the mouth closely resembles drooling?

ABOVE FROM: Greta Christina

Personally, I think Dave Daubenmire has personal family issues that should be his focus at the moment; not the disruption of churches where gay men and lesbians are welcomed as part of the congregation. It appears that while daddy was away, holding up signs quoting the bible on homosexuality, his son was busy on the computer...... being a very very bad boy!


NEWARK, Ohio -- The 24-year-old son of conservative religious activist David Daubenmire will spend the next five years on probation after a Licking County judge convicted him on a child-pornography charge.

At a hearing this morning, Zachary Daubenmire pleaded no contest to a felony charge of pandering obscenity involving a minor. Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Marcelain convicted him on the charge and immediately sentenced him.

Daubenmire, whose father has fought pornography as the founder of Pass the Salt Ministries and Minutemen United, also was fined $1,000 and must spend two years in prison if he violates terms of his probation.

And then of course, keeping in step with most religious bigots who finally get "caught" with their pants down:

The younger Daubenmire showed genuine remorse and is now in counseling for an addiction that he told the judge began when he was 15.

Authorities found 37 still images and 26 movies depicting young girls enaging in sex with men on the family's home computer. A computer repair technician discovered the pornography last August.

The Columbus Dispatch

SCOTT BRISON WEDS PARTNER

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Nova Scotia: The Honourable Scott Brison, MP made history of a sort when he became the first federal politician to marry his same-sex partner.

The wedding ceremony took place Saturday near Brison's country home in Cheverie, N.S., a town of 200. He is the MP for the Nova Scotia riding of Kings-Hants.

Guests described the ceremony as joyful and emotional.

"It's something we need to celebrate and we must be proud that Canada is showing the way," Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said after the wedding.

"I came first to celebrate love and happiness between two friends of mine, but if by my presence it helps a bit to reinforce a newly recognized right and to encourage other countries to do the same, I am pleased."

Former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna saw significance in the wedding.

"Everyone involved felt like they were part of a history-making event," said McKenna. "It seemed like a validation of a long process."

Former prime ministers Joe Clark and Paul Martin -- whose government passed same-sex marriage legislation -- and former Liberal cabinet minister Bill Graham were among the other political notables in attendance.

Brison's spokesperson, Dale Palmeter, told The Canadian Press that the marriage is a personal affair and would be celebrated in private.

Neighbours in the small sea-side town on Nova Scotia's western shore were perplexed by the media frenzy surrounding the marriage.

"I think it's silly that there's so much publicity over it," said Joanne Lake, a neighbour of Brison's. "If he was straight, would there be quite so much publicity over his wedding?"

Brison, 40, stepped aside in 2000 to allow then-Tory leader Joe Clark run in a byelection. He came out publicly in 2002.

Brison sought the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party in 2003, then crossed the floor to the Liberals just days after the Progressive Conservatives merged with the Canadian Alliance. He ran for the Liberal leadership in 2006.

Brison became the first openly gay federal cabinet minister in 2004 -- coincidentally, the same year a Nova Scotia judge ruled that not allowing gays in that province was unconstitutional. However, he has said he is "not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay."

Earlier this summer, Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman wed his partner Christopher Peloso at a lodge near Sudbury, Ont.

When word of his engagement to St. Pierre first became public in October 2005, Brison said: "I'm looking forward to the day when the idea of a gay or lesbian politician getting married is not a story at all."

OPEN MOUTH ~ INSERT PENIS

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I've previously written about married, Florida Republican State Representative Bob Allen, who offered an undercover policeman $20.00 to perform oral sex and then went on to say the reason he made this offer was because the park where he was going to use the mens room [cruising], was full of big black men and he was scared; angering the black community ....... well it seems he has now angered the Latino community as well.

Florida Rep. Bob Allen, stripped of his committee assignments this week by a House speaker seeking his resignation over his gay sex scandal, instead made more enemies with an apparent slur against Florida's Latino leadership. "I would think this leadership more than anyone would think that we don't want to copy totalitarian governments but copy American principles," Allen told the Miami Herald on Wednesday in an apparent reference to House Speaker Marco Rubio being Cuban-American.

Allen was forced to backpedal as yet more of his fellow Republicans called for his head.

"The fact that he's comparing the consequences of the allegations of his sexual misconduct to the plight of dissidents trapped in Castro's gulag is at best absurd and at worst insulting. He needs to go," Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, told the Herald, adding that Allen's comments made him "physically irked."

The party leadership wants Allen to resign before his Aug. 23 arraignment on a misdemeanor charge of solicitation to commit prostitution.

Even Gov. Charlie Crist weighed in, telling the Orlando Sentinel that "I have to respect the wishes of the speaker. . . . It's a House issue."

Allen, R-Merritt Island, was arrested July 11 outside a Titusville park public restroom after allegedly offering a male undercover officer $20 and oral sex.

The lawmaker, who last year co-sponsored legislation to tighten penalties for public sex and indecent exposure, insists he is innocent, and said last month that his actions were prompted by fear because the undercover cop and passersby were all black.

"The House will continue to respect Rep. Allen's right to defend himself against the charges which arose when he was arrested," Rubio's office said in a statement.

"However, we must acknowledge that in addition to being a private citizen, he is a public official. As such, we are judged by a higher standard than procedural innocence. . . . It is my personal belief that because of the allegations against him, Rep. Allen can no longer effectively serve the people of his district in the Florida House."

Allen told the Sentinel that he was "the most misunderstood guy on Earth.

"Never was I trying to ever say Marco is the new Fidel. That's the most insulting thing you can tell anyone in Miami," Allen said. "I would have used North Korea if I thought more."

A CASE FOR GAY MARRIAGE

This is the story of a religious fanatic, a Catholic mother who is willing to sacrifice her sons happiness, his health and his life for her religious beliefs.
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There's a place in hell reserved for fanatical Catholic Jeanne Atkins who records show stated that if her son was going to return to life with his partner after recovering from his stroke, she would prefer he not recover at all!

Brett Conrad spent more than half his life as Patrick Atkins' partner. For 25 years, the men shared bank accounts, apartments and eventually a home in Fishers.

But when Atkins, 47, fell seriously ill in 2005, Conrad faced what many gay couples from Indiana consider a travesty: no law guaranteeing them the same rights as married couples to participate in care decisions for their ill partners.

Conrad, 47, spent much of the past two years trying to win guardianship of Atkins from Atkins' parents, Thomas and Jeanne of Carmel. Jeanne Atkins is quoted in court documents as saying she believes homosexuality is a sin and that she disapproves of the men's relationship. The parents have barred Conrad from visiting their now-disabled son in their home where he lives.

In June, Conrad won visitation rights from the Indiana Court of Appeals, but the court upheld an earlier Hamilton County ruling that left control of Atkins' care to his parents.

Gay-rights activists say the men's story illustrates the discrimination embedded in Indiana law and underscores why gay marriage should be allowed.

On the other side, opponents of same-sex marriage say the case could have been prevented if Conrad and Atkins had used existing laws that can give unmarried couples -- straight and gay -- the legal right to act on each other's behalf.

In its ruling, the appeals court recognized the human suffering at the center of the case:
"We are confronted here with the heartbreaking fracture of a family," the judges wrote in their ruling. "Brett and Patrick have spent 25 years together as life partners -- longer than Patrick lived at home with his parents -- and their future life together has been destroyed by Patrick's tragic medical condition and by the Atkinses' unwillingness to accept their son's lifestyle."
Court debates go on.

According to the case file, Atkins and Conrad met in 1978 while attending Wabash College in Crawfordsville.

Atkins came from a deeply religious family that disapproved of the relationship. In 2000, he begged for acceptance from his family through a letter.

"Trust me," he wrote, "God loves us all so very much, and I know he approves of the love that Brett and I have shared for over 20 years."

Conrad and Atkins lived together in various apartments for 12 years until buying a home in Fishers in 1992, which they titled jointly, court documents say.
Before falling ill, Atkins had been chief executive of his family's business, Atkins Elegant Desserts and Atkins Cheesecake.

On March 11, 2005, Atkins collapsed while on a business trip to Atlanta. He had a ruptured aneurysm and later suffered a stroke while hospitalized.
Conrad traveled to the Atlanta hospital to be with Atkins but was soon denied access by the family. Hospital staff defied the family's wishes and let Conrad visit Atkins during off-hours.

Atkins eventually was moved to a nursing facility in Carmel, where Conrad would arrive after regular visiting hours so the Atkinses would not see him.
He filed his guardianship request in June 2005. That November, the Atkinses moved Patrick into their home and have since refused to let Conrad visit. They also have refused his phone calls.

At the time of the trial, Atkins was able to walk, dress, bathe and feed himself with some help, to read accurately but understand only 25 percent of what he read, and to engage in simple conversations, court documents show. He still required close supervision and had significant problems with short-term memory and maintaining a prolonged attention span.

His condition today remains much the same, according to the most recent court filings.

The recent decision

In the June 27 decision, the appeals court ordered the lower court to grant Conrad the right to visit Atkins but not the right to be his guardian.

While judges have discretion in awarding guardianship, their decision is guided by state statute, which spells out that guardianship of an incapacitated person should fall to whoever has power of attorney, which is the legal authorization to act on behalf of that person.

If no power of attorney exists, next in line comes the spouse, then an adult child, then a parent and still more options related to marriage or blood. There is no specific right for gay partners.

Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven R. Nation sided with the Atkins family, noting the lack of a power of attorney.

The appellate court affirmed that decision, saying it found no evidence the lower court had abused its discretion and that it was clear the Atkinses were committed to providing Patrick the best possible care.

In its decision, however, the court expressed misgivings about how the Atkinses feel about their son's sexuality. "We are extraordinarily skeptical that the Atkinses are able to take care of Patrick's emotional needs," said Chief Judge John G. Baker, writing for the 2-1 majority.

That, in part, is why the judges granted Conrad visitation rights, citing the findings of a court-appointed guardian who testified that Atkins would only stand to benefit if Conrad were allowed to visit him.

Gay-rights advocates say nothing short of marriage rights can provide the legal shield necessary to defend against a partner's relatives.

Without such protection, says the Rev. Jeff Miner, a pastor at Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, a gay-affirming congregation in Indianapolis, "you're thrown upon the mercy of the family, and in some cases they're not merciful."
Others who fought for a same-sex marriage ban in the Indiana Constitution this year see the issue differently.

"The problem isn't the couple couldn't get married," said Curt Smith, president of the conservative Indiana Family Institute. "The energy from the intervention comes from the parents' disapproval. . . . They think it's wrong, and that's not something the law can address."

While Conrad v. Atkins is a tragic case, Smith said, it doesn't merit changing Indiana laws.
The same circumstance could have befallen an unmarried straight couple, and there are a number of protections available to unwed couples that Conrad and Atkins didn't use, he said.

For example, he said, gay couples can appoint a health-care representative to ensure they are cared for in times of illness. Partners can include each other in wills.
But many gay couples aren't confident of those methods, saying nothing can match the unassailable rights of marriage.

Regardless of how the courts rule in the Conrad-Atkins case, the Atkinses aren't likely to change their minds about their son's relationship.
Jeanne Atkins testified at trial that it was "probably true" she would not let the men see each other unless required by law.

The record also shows that she told Conrad that if her son was going to return to life with his partner after recovering from his stroke, she would prefer he not recover at all.

TWO CELEBRATIONS OF GAY MARRIAGE IN CANADA

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It may be known for its breathtaking views of the Minas Basin and the sheer cliffs of Blomidon, but a quiet corner of Nova Scotia has become the setting for an historic political first that some say will further affirm gay rights.

The tiny community of Cheverie on the province's western shoreline will host the wedding on Saturday of one of its most famous sons, Liberal MP Scott Brison, and his partner Maxime St. Pierre.

News of the nuptials has made headlines across the country as Brison becomes the first federal politician to tie the knot since gay marriage was legalized just over two years ago.

But many of the 200 or so residents of the blink-and-you-miss-it community of Cheverie don't understand the fuss, saying it's merely the story of a popular local boy who's come home to marry his longtime love.

"Everybody knows Scott, so it's just another wedding, I guess," said Paul, an employee at Cheverie's autobody shop who would only give his first name.

"People are talking, but I don't think it bothers anybody. It's not the 1800s anymore."



Brison's wedding comes just weeks after George Smitherman, Ontario's first openly gay cabinet minister, wed his partner Christopher Peloso at a lodge near Sudbury, Ont.



Deputy Premier George Smitherman and his partner Christopher Peloso made it official, exchanging vows yesterday before about 200 family members and well-wishers at Laurentian Lodge, a rustic and idyllic resort north of this small former mining community.

The 40-minute ceremony was conducted by Ojibway spiritual advisor Ron Indian-Mandamin, who referred to the ancient concept of gay or "two-spirited people" who in generations past often served as tribes' mystics or medicine men.

"Truth is the most powerful of all things. We need to show that this is a beautiful thing. The blood that flows through each and every one of us is the same," Indian-Mandamin said.



Barrie-area Justice of the Peace Gerry Solursh conducted the civil portion of the wedding, followed by jazz/blues singer Molly Johnson, who sang a moving rendition of her song "If You Know Love."

Smitherman, who as provincial health minister is a senior member of cabinet and often mentioned on the shortlist of future candidates for mayor of Toronto, acknowledged that such a public pronouncement of love would have political overtones.

"We haven't sought to make it political. It happens to be who I am and what I've done for almost my entire adult life so it's no surprise that it is going to have some political elements to it," Smitherman said.

BRAZILIAN SOCCER NOT FOR GAYS?

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(Sao Paulo, Brazil) The director of a prominent soccer club insinuates on national television that a player on a rival team is gay. The player sues for slander and goes on TV to deny being homosexual. A judge causes an uproar by saying gays don't belong in Brazilian soccer.

With a narrative like a Latin American telenovela, a controversy over the questioned sexual orientation of Sao Paulo midfielder Richarlyson has shaken one of Brazil's most hallowed institutions - soccer - with insults, blanket accusations of homophobia and unsolicited defences for supposedly closeted gay teammates.

It all started in June when Palmeiras club director Jose Cyrillo Junior was asked on a national TV program whether it was true that a soccer player from his team was negotiating for an exclusive television interview to announce that he was homosexual.

Cyrillo denied the report, but added "Richarlyson 'almost' played for Palmeiras," suggesting the 24 year old ninth year pro was gay.

Cyrillo later apologized, but Richarlyson filed a criminal complaint for slander, saying he was wrongly accused of being gay.

Judge Manoel Maximiano Junqueira Filho stoked the dispute by dismissing Richarlyson's claim and issuing a ruling that suggested he leave the game if he was homosexual. If he wasn't, the judge said, Richarlyson was obliged to defend himself on the same TV program where he was accused.

"Not that a homosexual can't play soccer," Filho wrote. "He can, but he must form his own team and federation, setting up matches with those who want to play against him."





The judge concluded that it is not "reasonable to accept homosexuals in Brazilian soccer because it would hurt the uniformity present" in team sport. Soccer, the judge said, is a "virile game" but "not homosexual," and allowing gays could lead to affirmative action for the sport requiring quotas of gays.

The ruling prompted the government body that oversees judicial ethics in Brazil to demand an explanation from the judge, who has until Friday to respond.

The judge, who did not respond to repeated requests for interviews, abruptly voided his initial ruling last week, saying a different court has jurisdiction. Then he took a leave of absence beginning Monday with no date for a return.

Gay rights groups were outraged, but said the controversy has forced the issue of homosexuals out in the open in Brazil, a country where gays are generally tolerated but usually not in soccer and are often ridiculed.

"It was a fascist statement and (the judge) needs to pay for it," said Marcelo Cerqueira, president of the Grupo Gay da Bahia.

He said there are several gays in Brazil's pro league, but they fear disclosing their sexual orientation over losing their jobs.

"This case is important to uncover the issue about gays in soccer, to create debate," Cerqueira said.

"Soccer is a macho sport anywhere in the world, but we know there are homosexual players, just like there are homosexuals in other professions," columnist and TV commentator Antero Greco said. "But sexual orientation should never be a problem as long as the person is competent at what he or she does."

Richarlyson, who has played for four different Brazilian clubs and with Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, declined for months to address the issue of whether he was gay, but finally went on Brazil's most popular weekly news and entertainment program to say that he is heterosexual.

"If I was (homosexual), I wouldn't have any problems admitting it," he said on the Fantastico TV program.

The player's lawyer said he believes the public began doubting Richarlyson's sexual orientation after he celebrated a goal against Palmeiras by dancing on the sidelines. Palmeiras fans have constantly jeered him since.

Richarlyson said he doesn't mind the fans' behavior, but he still isn't willing to accept the insults from a judge.

"This is a disrespect not only to me, it's a disrespect to Brazil," Richarlyson said. "All that matters is if the player can do his job on the field."

Associated Press

009 RAGING!

BITS AND PIECES FROM HERE AND THERE........
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POLITICS AS USUAL


Led by Democrats since the start of this year, Congress now has a "confidence" rating of 14 percent, the lowest since Gallup started asking the question in 1973 and five points lower than Republicans scored last year.

The voters put the Democrats in to end the war, and it's escalating.

The Democrats voted the money for the surge and the money for the next $459.6 billion military budget.

Their latest achievement was to provide enough votes in support of Bush to legalize warrantless wiretapping for "foreign suspects whose communications pass through the United States."

Enough Democrats joined Republicans to make this a 227-183 victory for Bush. The Democrats control the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have stopped the bill in its tracks if she'd wanted to. But she didn't. The Democrats' game is to go along with the White House agenda while stirring up dust storms to blind the base to their failure to bring the troops home or restore constitutional government.

The row over the US Attorneys and the conduct of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has always been something of a typhoon in a teaspoon. The Democrats love it, since they imagine it portrays them to the public as resolute guardians of the impartial administration of justice, a concept whose credibility most Americans sensibly deride.

The one Democrat acting on principle in the Gonzales affair has been Senator Russ Feingold. He at least tried to dig into the visit of chief White House counsel Gonzales, as he then was, to the bedside of Attorney General John Ashcroft, to get him to sign off on the illegal wiretaps. And how did the Democrat-controlled Congress deal with Feingold's efforts to nail Gonzales for his efforts to undermine the Constitution and for his prevarications under oath? It promptly legalized the eavesdropping.

Just as the Democrats work tirelessly to demonstrate to the voters that it makes zero difference which party controls Congress, the political establishment forces all candidates for the presidential nomination to sever any compromising ties to sanity and common sense.

Just as their poll numbers are going down, Bush's are going up, by five points in Gallup from early July. People are beginning to think the surge is working, courtesy of the New York Times. So are we better or worse off since the Democrats won back Congress?

GAY RIGHTS AS USUAL


The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Presidential Forum on Thursday evening should have been called the "Presidential Forum on Marriage Equality". Sorting out the questions by topic, excluding minor follow-ups and sticking with the planned ones, and by my count there were 22 questions on marriage or couples benefits in relation to marriage, 2 on HIV prevention, 2 on Don't Ask, 2 on employment discrimination, and 15 other questions on topics that weren't directly related to one another.

I know, I know, marriage is important to a lot of people. But when there are an estimated 670,000 same-sex couples living together in the country and estimates of the number of LGBT people range from 8 to 20 million. That's about 3 to 8% of the queers in this country, and those couples aren't just worried about marriage-related issues. Could we broaden our horizons?

Have we already forgotten the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill, sitting quietly in a corner of the senate?

RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY AS USUAL

Proving that bigotry is alive and well in the U.S. House of Representatives, who would we have but Idaho's own Bill Sali. He's well known as crazy and obnoxious.

He's periodically good for a laugh, but there's an ugly and dangerous side to his antics.

"We have not only a Hindu prayer being offered in the Senate, we have a Muslim member of the House of Representatives now, Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Those are changes -- and they are not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers," asserts Sali.

Sali says America was built on Christian principles that were derived from scripture. He also says the only way the United States has been allowed to exist in a world that is so hostile to Christian principles is through "the protective hand of God.""You know, the Lord can cause the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike," says the Idaho Republican.According to Congressman Sali, the only way the U.S. can continue to survive is under that protective hand of God.

He states when a Hindu prayer is offered, "that's a different god" and that it "creates problems for the longevity of this country."

Sali just better give it up..... doesn't he know that according to Benedict XVI, the only way to get to heaven is to become catholic?

The face of the new GOP, just like the old GOP.

ANIMAL ABUSE

It's no secret that I own two very loved, spoiled and pampered PUGS.

Daisy, who has ruled this household for almost 13 years was purchased by me when she was 6 weeks old. As she ages, her medical expenses in the last four months have been staggering but that is not a problem; we manage and will continue to do so. She is once again healthy and puppy-like playful.

Muggs, was adopted by Daisy and I six years ago. Little more than a year old, he came from a home where the owner realized she could no longer take care of him or meet the financial obligations necessary to maintain a well nourished, healthy dog.

Turning on the early morning news prior to leaving for work this week, this is all I heard:

Sarasota, Florida - A Sarasota woman has been arrested after officials say she locked her two dogs in a bedroom with no food and water for two months.

Deanna Sperber Ramono told Sarasota Police she was working too much to take care of her two PUGS, so she locked them up in a bedroom.

Authorities say there was feces all over the floor of the room and that the dogs had apparently been dead for more than three weeks when they were found.

Officials say the dogs had tried to claw the door and window blinds in an attempt to escape.


Five days later, I just can't get this horror out of my mind!


As a medical social worker, I'm very well aware of the fact that starvation is a very slow, very painful death.


Why couldn't this bitch just call someone for help, surrender these animals to a shelter?

OH NO - NOT AGAIN!

I promise that if a Democrat (aka: liberal) gets caught in a compromising position, I will post it. It just seems that the Republicans (aka: conservative) are the ones getting caught lately.... and quite frequently too!

I have no problem with consensual sex, but really now it's just not very nice to be caught with a sleeping man's dick in your mouth, is it?

Not once, but twice?
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JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. - The chairman of the Clark County (Ind.) Republican Party - who last month was elected president of the Young Republican National Federation - has resigned both posts, apparently in the wake of a criminal investigation.

Tuesday, Glenn Murphy Jr. e-mailed media outlets a letter announcing his resignation from both positions, citing an unexpected business opportunity that would prohibit him from holding a partisan political office.

However, the Clark County Sheriff's Department on Friday began investigating Murphy for alleged criminal deviate conduct - potentially a class B felony - after speaking with a 22-year-old man who claimed that on July 31, Murphy performed an unwanted sex act on him while the man slept in a relative's Jeffersonville home.

Murphy, a 33-year-old Utica resident, has not been arrested nor has he been charged with a crime. A copy of the police report has been posted on a politically focused Internet site and another was provided to a reporter with The Evening News and The Tribune on Tuesday evening.

Larry Wilder, Murphy's attorney, said Murphy is cooperating with police and Prosecutor Steve Stewart. Wilder said Murphy contends the sex act was consensual.

In 1998, a 21-year-old male filed a similar report with Clarksville police claiming Murphy attempted to perform a sex act on him while he was sleeping. Charges were never filed in that case.

THE EVENING NEWS AND THE TRIBUNE (JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind.)

My personal advice to Mr. Murphy is..... try performing oral sex on a consenting, very much awake adult male. You just might both enjoy it!

MAKE WAY FOR THE CLOWN

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Every time these bigoted clowns get caught, there's an excuse.

(Tampa, Florida) State Rep. Bob Allen (R), a longtime foe of LGBT rights in Florida, has a bizarre excuse for being charged with offering a male cop $20 for oral sex in a washroom at a park.

He was busted last month in a sting at Veteran's Memorial Park in Titusville, Florida. (story)

In taped statements made by Allen to police following his arrest and released by the force Allen admits to soliciting the male officer but claims that it was the result of being nervous by the high number of black men in the park.

"I certainly wasn't there to have sex with anybody and certainly wasn't there to exchange money for it," Allen told officers.

Of the arresting officer Allen said in the tape, "This was a pretty stocky black guy, and there was nothing but other black guys around in the park."

He claimed he feared he "was about to be a statistic" would have said anything just to get away.

But on the tape Allen also admits warning the undercover cop that "undercover cops" were in the area and the man should be careful.

"I said they're around here, you ought to know about that."

He only realized he was talking to an officer when he flashed his badge.

The arresting officer's handwritten report on the arrest also was released by the force.

Titusville Officer Danny Kavanaugh who was on plainclothes duty says he observed Allen entering the washroom twice. Kavanaugh said he was drying his hands in a stall when Allen peered over the stall door.

The officer's report said that after peering over the stall a second time, Allen pushed open the door and joined Kavanaugh inside. Allen muttered "'hi,'v" and then said, "'this is kind of a public place, isn't it,'" the report said.

Kavanaugh wrote that he asked Allen about going somewhere else and Allen suggested going "across the bridge, it's quieter over there."

"Well look, man, I'm trying to make some money; you think you can hook me up with 20 bucks?" Kavanaugh wrote in the report that he had asked Allen.

The Republican lawmaker, the report said, replied, "Sure, I can do that, but this place is too public."

According to Kavanaugh's statement, the officer said, "do you want just (oral sex)?" and Allen replied, "I was thinking you would want one."

It was at that point Allen was arrested.

Ironically, Allen was the Police Union's 2007 Lawmaker of the Year.

In the last session of the Florida legislature he sponsored a failed bill that would have tightened the state's prohibition on public sex. He also has been a supporter of amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and has opposed a bill to curb bullying of gay students.

Allen has been charged with solicitation for prostitution, which has a maximum penalty of one year in jail.

Prior to his arrest Allen was a co-chair of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in Florida, a position he has since resigned.

365Gay

PRICELESS!

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Telling it like it is.....



Is there a Pulitzer for the "most revealing" photo of a Republican couple? If so, we nominate the AP picture in today's Washington Post of GOP Senator David "Diaperman" Vitter and his psycho wife Wendy.

An 8 x 12 print of this should be given to freshmen membeers of the House and Senate - put it on the cover of the Welcome to Congress orientation guide! Because this is the inevitable end product of a Washington marriage: The stupid creepy diaper-wearing politician stands dumb eyed and shamed while his crazy-eyed horse-mouthed power-mad wife yells at reporters because her idiot whoremonger husband is repeatedly caught at the whorehouse.

Wonkette

THE ASIAN CUP

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Yesterday’s win of the Asian Cup for Iraq's national soccer team was an '"inspirational triumph for a team whose players straddle bitter and violent ethnic divides. "

After the game yesterday, team captain Younis Mahmoud called for the United States to withdraw its troops:

I want America to go out," he said. "Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, but out. "

"I wish the American people didn’t invade Iraq and, hopefully, it will be over soon."

A HYPOCRITE AND A LIAR!

While discussing the arrest of Republican state representative Robert Allen at work today, my co-workers questioned my reasoning for placing emphasis on this news story and featuring it on my blog (see my previous post).

I explained it in simple terms. Part of the mission statement of this blog is to expose hypocrisy and/or bigotry in politics and religion.

Mr. Allen has consistently voted against gay rights (including the right to marry), voted against laws that would protect the younger gay community from harassment in schools, aligned himself with the christian coalition more than 90% of the time and ...... this one is hard to believe ...... authored a failed Florida House Bill #1475, the "Lewd Or Lascivious Exhibition Act" which would have made public masturbation in the presence of another adult illegal, whether the other adult consented or not.

THIS IS A HYPOCRITE!

"I'm not in anyway associated with what they are saying,
this is disgusting." Republican state representative Bob Allen said shortly after he was arrested Wednesday.

As Mr. Allen continues to deny his involvement, below is the arresting affidavit and at the bottom of this post, you can click on a link which will bring you to the actual arrest record.



"On 11 July 2007 at approximately 1533 hours I was conducting a plain clothes investigation in the area of 10 Broad Street (Space View Park). I observed a white male driving a silver 4 door Toyota pull into the driveway, which is a roundabout, twice within a matter of moments. I recall this because I was conducting surveillance in an attempt to capture a burglar in a nearby condominium and I was concerned about counter-surveillance.

"I observed Allen walk into the men's restroom ... I then observed Allen leave the restroom and walk towards a park bench. I then entered the bathroom to adjust my police radio. On my way out of the restroom I almost bumped into Allen who was on his way into the restroom again. Allen changed his course of direction when he saw that I was leaving the restroom and went back towards his park bench. I talked with the other officers again and then entered the bathroom and began washing my hands. Allen entered the the restroom behind me and proceeded into the first stall.

"I realized there were no paper towels to dry my hands so I walked into the handicap stall to dry my hands. As I stood in the stall drying my hands I observed Allen look over the door of my stall and make eye contact with me. Allen then stepped away and then came back to the door of my stall and looked in, making eye contact with me again.

"I said 'hey buddy' and Allen said 'hi' and then stepped away again. About 5 seconds later Allen pushed open the door to my stall and stepped inside. I was standing againste the far wall of the stall . Allen closed the door behind him and stood against it. I said 'What's up?' and Allen again said 'hi.' Allen then said, 'this is kind of a public place isn't it?' I said, 'do you have somewhere else we can go?' Allen said, 'How about across the bridge, it's quiet over there.' Allen engaged me in a conversation in which it was agreed that he would pay me $20 in order to perform a 'blow job' on me. Allen stated that he wanted me to ride with him across the river before he performed the act and gave me the money. Before entering Allen's vehicle I identified myself as a police officer and detained him."

To see a copy of the actual police report, click here.

IT'S THE HYPOCRISY, STUPID!

In the last session of the Florida legislature, conservative republican State Representative Robert Allen sponsored a failed bill that would have tightened the state's prohibition on public sex.

He also has been a supporter of amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and has opposed a bill to curb bullying of gay students.
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"I'm not in anyway associated with that they are saying, this is disgusting." state representative Bob Allen said shortly after he was arrested Wednesday.



Titusville, Florida police say they have arrested Republican Florida State Representative Robert "Bob" Allen, of Merrit Island, on second degree charges for solicitation for prostitution.

Allen, 48, was arrested Wednesday afternoon at Veteran's Memorial Park on East Broad St. in Titusville. The park was under surveillance by a detail of undercover police officers.

Officers say they noticed Allen acting suspicious as he went in and out of the men's restroom 3 times. Minutes later, he solicited an undercover male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20. Officers realized he was a public figure after the arrest.

Married with one daughter, Allen has a strong conservative record.

Between 2003 and 2006 Allen voted with the Christian Coalition over 90% of the time.

Allen has been endorsed by the Florida Right to Life Committee and this year he voted to impose a 24-hour waiting period on third-trimester abortions.

BY THE NUMBERS

777,000

777,000 is the number of openly gay two person households in America in 2005, according to the American Community Survey in which the Census Bureau quizzes a statistically representative sample of 14-million households. That's a 30 percent increase from the 2000 census, a rate of growth five times faster than the population as a whole.




The increase was most pronounced in the Midwest, with Wisconsin showing an 81 percent jump in the number of same-sex couples and Minnesota, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and Indiana among the 10 fastest growing states in this respect.

What this means, perhaps, is that gay America is becoming more like Middle America. "Much of the stereotype around gays is a stereotype of urban white gay men" says UCLA law school research fello Gary Gates, an expert on the themography of geography of the gay and lesbian population. "The gay population is becoming less like that and more like the population in general."

Gay couples are still more likely than straight ones to live in cities, but the gap is smaller than popularly believed and closing. -The Economist

The Art of Steve Walker