Towleroad Talking Points: Obama is Sworn in Again

BY SAM GREISMAN

A look back at the top stories from a busy day

INAUGURATION

On an MLK Jr. day Dr. King himself would be proud to witness, President Barack Obama was sworn into his second term in office. In a landmark moment in his inaugural address Obama called for gay equality. In addition, openly gay poet Richard Blanco took the stage to read a poem he had written for the occasion. Also, CNN's Don Lemon took a moment to catch up with some gay americans in the crowd in Washington. It was a proud and hopeful day for not just gay Americans but Americans in general. 

Obama also had some of his celebrity friends on hand to help him ring in the occasion. Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson both performed for the crowd. When it was all said and done, Obama took one final, poignant look at a setting he will never see again from the same office, and we take a look at what the first five years of his Presidency has looked like. 

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ENTERTAINMENT

It has been over a week since Jodie Foster kind of "came out" at the Golden Globes yet, it is still a major source of pop culture fodder. Check out Randy Rainbow's attempt to set up Jodie with some ladies. And also watch SNL's lampoon of her speech from this weekend. 

Former The Facts of Life actress Charlotte Rae is shopping around a memoir in which she describes the shame her husband brought on her when he came out. And James Franco discusses the leather fetish movie he currently has at Sundance. 

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WINGNUTTERY

Fox & Friends continues to display their lack of connection with the real world, as depicted by their belief that Downton Abbey is going to bring down the Liberals. Lupe Fiasco just craps all over a gig at an inauguration party, and some disturbing news from UCLA. 

Al Roker Nabs Parade-side 'Interviews' with Obama and Biden: VIDEO

Al Roker is never one to shy from a challenge. That and the goading he's enduring from Brian Williams back at the studio is what makes this clip so winning.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Michelle Obama Eyerolls John Boehner: VIDEO

There's a gif of this delicious 'I've had enough of you' moment being widely circulated.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1289

THE AUTOMATIC SHOES: Out Washington-based musician Automatic Shoes presents his track "Act II".

MEANWHILE IN RUSSIA: Ice fishing made easy

MADDIE: 8th-grader promotes LGBT equality at school.

EXTREME TENNIS BALL CHASING: Dog with a GoPro.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

News: Twin Peaks, Lance Armstrong, Batmobile, Frank Bruni, Drag

TAB: Elton John paid £20K to the surrogate mom of Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John.

San Francisco's Twin Peaks Tavern gets landmark status: "Twin Peaks Tavern, which first opened in 1935 but was purchased by Cunha and Forster in 1971, is believed to be the first gay bar in the nation to feature full-length, open plate glass windows that let its patrons look out, and more importantly, the public look in...It has now survived for 40 years as one of the Castro district's most memorable and welcoming establishments."

Matthew McConaughey reacts to the lies of his friend Lance Armstrong. "What was he supposed to do? Call me to the side and go, 'Hey man, I did it but don't tell anybody.'"

Nicole Kidman now an "indie" actress.

First transgender wedding takes place in Israel: "The couple, a blonde-bombshell and her husband, whose identity was not revealed, walked down the aisle to the cheers and tears of their friends and family, and with a Channel 2 television crew in tow."

WATCH: Eva Longoria on her participation in Obama's inauguration.

Male model fix: Gabriel Burger.

Fayetteville Observer covers discrimination against LGBT service members, plight of lesbian war widow Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice. "More than a year after the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell,' some gay and lesbian troops on Fort Bragg and in the National Guard say they are still not on equal footing with their heterosexual counterparts."

Portugal passes trangender hate crime law.

Frank Bruni on love, marriage and voters.

Katie Couric to interview Manti Te'o: "Ms. Couric’'s interview will be televised on Thursday on 'Katie,' the syndicated talk show she began last fall, a spokeswoman for the show said on Sunday. Excerpts from the interview will be broadcast in advance on 'Good Morning America' and other ABC News programs. Mr. Te'o will be joined by his parents, Brian and Ottilia, for the interview. Mr. Te'o apparently misled his father about the girlfriend, claiming at one point that he'd met her in Hawaii."

VIDEO: Selena Gomez covers Britney's "Baby One More Time".

New coffee table book celebrates drag.

Giant crater on Mars may once have been a lake. "The discovery came from a study of images by NASA's powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that revealed new evidence of a wet underground environment on the Red Planet. The images focused on the giant McLaughlin Crater, which is about 57 miles (92 kilometers) wide and so deep that underground water appears to have flowed into the crater at some point in the distant past."

Original Batmobile sells for $4.2 million.

On the potential Harvey Milk airport: "As of Jan. 16, District 9 supervisor David Campos had the support of five from the Board of Supervisors, including his own. Campos needs the support of one more to qualify for the majority six signatures needed to push the initiative onto the November ballot."

Google Earth maps North Korean labor camps.

Gay bundler Rufus Gifford thanks donors announces final Obama fundraising totals: "The campaign disclosed that it had 4.5 million total donors to the campaign and the Democratic National Committee, including 2.9 million new donors who didn’t pitch in during the 2008 cycle. According to the data presented by the campaign, the average donation was $65.89."

CNN's Don Lemon Gets Reactions to Obama's Address from Gay Americans on the National Mall: VIDEO

Today's inaugural speech from President Obama was the first in history to address gay rights (watch it HERE). Don Lemon gets reaction from two gay Americans on the National Mall.

Said one man: "I hope it pushes us forward and makes us equal with everyone else, included with everyone else in the country. It makes me feel good to be an American right now and think that things are going to be better in the future."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...