I Didn't Say It ...

Taye Diggs, who will be taking on the role of trans East German rock star Hedwig on Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, on letting his "inner homosexual" out:

“I mean I went through a stage where I was a drag queen in high school in 10th and 11th grade. I experienced with homosexuality and ass play and so outside of that…I worked the streets…male prostitution — I’m kidding — [but] I have a flaming homosexual inside of me so I’m raring to let that out."

Oh Taye, you played me! I was thinking of you as a hot male prostitute, drag queen homosexual and that was almost too much.

Still, Taye Diggs; hot; hot; and hot.

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Jon Stewart, on those “religious freedom” bills:

"It seems like gay marriage looms a lot larger in the minds of certain conservatives than it does in the Bible. And the only thing I would say is, don’t they sell cakes to sinners all the time? Adulterers? When you come in do you go 'I'd like a cake,' and they go 'Do you use the name of the Lord in vain?' How do you figure that out? It feels disingenuous."

Um, because it is; it’s homophobia and bigotry plain and simple, when you use your “Bible” to discriminate against one group of people, er, sinners, I’m guessing, while all the other sinners get a pass.

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Cleve Jones, LGBT activist, marking Harvey Milk's 85th birthday:

"As I look back over the decades, I marvel at the progress our community has made in achieving our rights and know that Harvey would be proud. And as we wait for the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality, I know that Harvey would remind us that our struggle is not yet won — no matter what the court decides."

This will be a huge victory, no doubt, but we still I have gender inequality, workplace and housing discrimination, religious discrimination to fight against.

The war is not over, but we might be close to winning a big battle!

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Karen Carter Peterson, Louisiana state senator, on Governor Bobby Jindal’s "religious freedom" executive order:

"We've heard him talk about how he feels about executive orders, but those are at the federal level. He don't like those. But today it's okay to just ignore the House and the clear rejection of something that's just not good for our state. He didn't even have the courage to testify before the House, but he wants to roll out a press release saying what he's going to do through executive action. But guess what he did have time to do? To start running commercial, not here in New Orleans, or Baton Rouge, or Monroe - he ran a religious freedom commercial in Iowa. Are you kidding me? Why don't you roll some commercials out on how to fix this nightmare that you've created right here in Louisiana? This is ridiculous.”

Bobby Jindal is just pandering and scheming and misrepresenting his own party, and his own state, for his own personal need to be president, which, let’s be queer, ain’t never gonna happen.

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Evan Wolfson, head of Freedom To Marry, on Ireland’s vote for marriage equality:

"With a nationwide landslide in favor, Ireland now becomes the first country in the world to pass the freedom to marry by popular referendum, as well as the 21st nation and the 10th predominantly Catholic country in which same-sex couples can marry. … The global momentum for the freedom to marry reflects and reinforces the progress we are making here in the United States – and we look now to the Supreme Court to bring our country to national resolution, following Ireland’s good example." 

It’s time.

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Frank Bruni, in the New York Times, on Catholics and same-sex marriage:

"Take a look at this list of countries: Belgium, Canada, Spain, Argentina, Portugal, Brazil, France, Uruguay, Luxembourg and Ireland. Name two things that they have in common. They don’t share a continent, obviously. Or a language. But in all of them, the Roman Catholic Church has more adherents, at least nominally, than any other religious denomination does. And all of them belong to the vanguard of 20 nations that have decided to make same-sex marriage legal."

That’s the part that amazes me most of all: that these predominantly Catholic countries are defying their churches and Pope Frankie and demanding LGBT equality.

And yet here in America lotsa gay folks can’t even get a wedding cake in places where it’s legal.

The march goes on.

[photo source]

Someone Else Calls Us To Action

Cleve Jones, who conceived of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and worked as an intern in Harvey Milk's office in the 70s, responds to David Mixner's call for a National March On Washington For LGBT Rights:

"....

Over the past six months I have been contacted by many of the emerging new leaders of the grassroots movement created in the wake of Proposition 8, some eager to organize a march on Washington. Up until now, I have discouraged plans for a march, based mostly on my memories of the cost and difficulties of previous marches. I also had high hopes for our new President and the Democratic majority in Congress.
As I write this, we in California are still waiting for the State Supreme Court's decision on Proposition 8. Today is the 30th anniversary of the White Night Riots and tomorrow is Harvey Milk's birthday. Next month we will observe the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion and the birth of the modern LGBT Movement.
Across the country, a new generation of LGBT leaders is rising up, learning how to organize, speak out and fight back. These young activists reject compromise and delay; “the tranquilizing drug of gradualism,” described so aptly by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They are demanding nothing less than full equality under the law for LGBT people in all fifty states.In my travels throughout California and around the country, I have been stunned and inspired by the determination and fearlessness of our young people. This is the generation that is going to win. This is the time to unite and push - as we have never pushed before - to achieve victory.
Sadly, at the very moment we are poised to reach our greatest goals, President Obama and the Democratic leaders of Congress have turned their backs, forgotten their promises and betrayed our trust. In recent weeks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has stated that repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act is “not a priority.” President Obama has ignored the appeals of brave young people serving in our military as they are drummed out of the services for being gay or lesbian. Indeed, Lt. Daniel Choi who recently “came out” publicly, was dismissed from the army, even though he is a highly valued fluent Arabic speaker and a veteran of the Iraq war.
Apologists for the Democrats counsel caution and patience. They speak of “political reality.” The time has come to change that reality.I applaud and endorse David Mixner's call for a national march with the following four suggestions:

• Schedule the march for the weekend of October 10 - 11, 2009. This is National Coming Out Day and the 30th anniversary of the first national march.....The Columbus Day holiday provides a three-day weekend for many and the weather is generally favorable.
• Have one demand only: “Full Equality Now - full and equal protection under the law for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” Let's stop settling for fractions of equality. Every compromise undermines our humanity. We must declare our equality.
• Organize the march from the grassroots with a decentralized internet-based campaign. Keep it simple; avoid bloated budgets and cumbersome structures. The primary objective must be to turn out the largest possible crowd. We don't need elaborate and expensive staging or fabulous dinner parties....we need a million or more people in the street demanding equality now.
• Encourage and enlist our allies in the broader progressive movement to build the march. Involve the labor movement, racial, ethnic and immigrant communities, progressive faith leaders, peace and social justice advocates and other supporters. LGBT people of all ages and races recognize the challenges facing our nation and our planet. We are eager to stand, as equals, with our fellow citizens in meeting these challenges.

We are on the verge of a new chapter in the history of our country and our movement. There is a bold new spirit and a powerful new resolve within our communities. Now is the time. We are equal."

Circularity

Last night we watched Milk; great film, great story. It makes me want to re-re-read The Life and Times of Harvey Milk: The Mayor of Castro Street.

But this post is about the circularity of random thought; how I tend to start at one sort of innocuous point and then begin talking only to arrive back at my starting place. Like last night, as we're lying in bed, just about to go to sleep, I say:

Sean Penn was Harvey Milk and Emile Hirsch was Cleve Jones in the movie.

Yeah.

Well, Sean Penn also directed Emile Hirsch in Into The Wild, that movie about the kid that gives away all his money and travels the country and ends up in Alaska, where he dies?

What?

And remember when Cleve was talking to that girl in Milk, and saying he was taking her dancing at The Stud?

Uh....okay.

Well, I've been to The Stud. I didn't realize it was open way back in the 70s.

Oh, so what did you do at The Stud?

Funny story....one time we'd gone wine tasting in Napa, and a group of us decided to go into the city for the evening. Well, we wound up south of market and ate dinner at a little Italian place. Then Maria said we should go to The Stud. We all thought it a good idea except Robbie.

Who's Robbie?

The only straight guy in the crowd. Well, I was the only gay guy, and there was Robbie and Vicki and Diane and Maria--who I told you looks like Ramona from Real Housewives.

Okay?

So, Robbie says, "The Stud" sounds like a gay bar. And Maria and I say, "Oh no, it's not." So we walk down Folsom and we head into The Stud, with Robbie looking a bit more petrified with each step. "Are you sure it isn't gay?" he asked. "No." So we walked into The Stud and the first thing Robbie sees is some hot guy on the bar dancing in his tighty whities! He looked like he was gonna run, so I told him we'd have one drink and if he didn't want to stay then we'd go. He asked me what he should do if a guy asked him to dance or something.

And what did you say?

I said dance if you wanna dance.....and if you wanna do something, well, go ahead.

Uh....huh.....

And then, just down the street from The Stud was a place called The Paradise Lounge. It was a punk club for a while and then turned into a kind of throw-back-to-the-fifties nightclub. When it was punk, it was right after it was a YMCA, and they put a Plexiglas floor over the pool so you could dance over it.

That sounds cool.

It was until the yuppies came in. It went from punk to after work cocktails in about a week. But then as Paradise Lounge, they would have local bands play. One of them was The Fabulous Bud. E. Love Show.

Who's that?

Bud. E. Love was Jerry Lewis's alternate personality in the original The Nutty Professor. And this Bud E. Love at the Paradise had a whole sort of 1950s Vegas lounge act thing that he did. And right it front of the band was a tiny, tiny dance floor. Well, Bud E. was singing and this couple got up to dance and so Bud E. started doing that Sammy Davis Jr thing, that bow-chicky-bow-ka-chow, and he said to the band, "Bring it down fellas." And then he tapped the couiple and said "When Bud E. sings....Nobody dances!" Cracked me up.

Why are you telling me this. I'm tired.

Because like I said, Jerry Lewis played the original Bud E. Love.

So?

Jerry Lewis won an Honorary Oscar the night Sean Penn won for Milk.

So.

Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch. The Stud. Paradise Lounge Jerry Lewis. Sean Penn. Circularity.

Go. To. Sleep!