Towleroad Talking Points: Damon vs. Kimmel

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Is Judge Dredd coming out?

BY SAM GREISMAN

A look back at today's top stories

GAY ISSUES

Kenneth Faried is a "manimal" on the court for the Denver Nuggets (and my fantasy team) and to top it off he loves his two moms. Jacob Rudolph, the New Jersey teen whose coming out went viral earlier this week, sat down with Thomas Roberts to talk about all the attention he is receiving. 

President Obama had a video message today for thousands of LGBT activists as he continues to seemingly make LGBT rights front and center during his second term. On that score, our Ari Waldman analyzes where we and Obama need to go from here in fighting for gay rights. And great news from Rhode Island where the state's House has passed a marriage equality bill!

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ENTERTAINMENT

After years of being bumped, Matt Damon finally got his revenge on Jimmy Kimmel last night as he commandeered his show and got all of his celebrity friends to help trash the late night host. Last night on their respective shows, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert both took a look at Hillary Clinton's take down of the GOP during the Benghazi hearings. And if you're thinking of making a trip out to the desert for Coachella this year, here is the lineup. 

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WINGNUTTERY

Check out this ridiculous interplay between two hateful people, GOP Congressman James Lankford and crazy anti-gay lunatic Sally Kern. And Russia's Duma has overwhelmingly passed (on first reading) a ban on so-called "gay propaganda". 

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VIDEO OF THE DAY

Finally a definitive answer to the chicken or egg question! And you thought Beyonce's lip-synching controversy was bad, check out the lip reading version of Obama's inauguration. 

Boy Scouts Threaten to Cut Off Maryland Troop for Posting Non-Discrimination Policy Supporting Gays

The Boy Scouts of America are threatening a local Maryland troop, Pack 442, after the troop posted a Non-Discrimination Policy on its website reading "Pack 442 WILL NOT discriminate,against any individual or family based on race, religion, national origin, ability, or sexual orientation."

Mother Jones reports:

In September, the families of Pack 442, which is based in Cloverly, Maryland (a small town less than 20 miles from the nation's capital), anonymously voted and overwhelmingly approved to adopt a non-discrimination statement. According to Theresa Phillips, committee chair of Pack 442, the pack wanted Boy Scouts of America to know "we will not stand for the discrimination of homosexual minors or adults whatsoever."

Not long after the statement was posted, the National Capital Area Council (NCAC), one of the bigger local councils of the Boy Scouts of America, asked the pack to strike it from the website. "At first they [said] they would "allow" us to leave it up based on our right to freedom of speech. Now they are doing a 180 and basically asking us to either conform to BSA's discriminatory policy or get out," says Phillips.

The BSA has given the pack until tomorrow to remove the message or lose recognition from the BSA, which means losing access to member insurance, rank badges, and scout camps.

GLAAD President Herndon Graddick told Mother Jones:

"To think that the Boy Scouts would rather cast out elementary school children than accept a parent-approved policy allowing gay children and parents to participate is just unconscionable. How many young Scouts is the BSA willing to sacrifice in order to preserve its harmful and discriminatory policies? This despicable act of bullying and intimidation is yet another reminder that the BSA is out of touch with its members and the American public at large."

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1293

MARRIAGE NEWS WATCH: AFER's Matt Baume looks ahead at 2013 and what's on tap for marriage equality.

UNDERPASS: A 'fashion film' from Dior Homme.

MARINE CARE: Sperm whales adopt a deformed dolphin.

jOBS: Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The real Woz is embarrassed.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

News: Sequoia, Thom Evans, DOMA, Star Wars, Oprah

The new GOP plan to steal the next presidential election.

Obama and Hillary Clinton taping joint 60 Minutes interview for Sunday.

How do you photograph a giant Sequoia?

Oprah targeted by activists for using cream made of human foreskins on her face.

Supreme Court-appointed lawyer argues DOMA case can't be heard.

Audit reveals billionaires secretly funding climate change skeptics: "The Donors Trust, along with its sister group Donors Capital Fund, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is funnelling millions of dollars into the effort to cast doubt on climate change without revealing the identities of its wealthy backers or that they have links to the fossil fuel industry. However, an audit trail reveals that Donors is being indirectly supported by the American billionaire Charles Koch..."

JJ Abrams to direct new Star Wars film.

Is Boca Raton, Florida anti-gay? "Over the last six months, the city has been locked up with activists over a number of issues involving the rights of gays, lesbians, and non-gender conformers. Looking back, it's been a long, strange circus. In one corner we've got rusty policy; in another, city memos padded with info from anti-gay groups; and, topping things off, politicians comparing sexuality identity to dog ownership. "

VIDEO: What is Usher transforming into?

Michelangelo Signorile fondly recalls the time he called Pope Benedict 'The Devil' to his face.

Paul Begala: Will Obama deliver on gay rights? "This president has evolved significantly on gay rights, but he has a distance to go still. If he does not move quickly and decisively, the White House mailroom may soon be filled with stones, to remind him of the promise of Stonewall."

Joe Manganiello talks True Blood Season 6.

Scottish rugby player Thom Evans drapes his bod over some rocks for a new underwear campaign.

J.Crew’s Jenna Lyons is buying a Soho loft with girlfriend Courtney Crangi: "Lyons, who divorced her ex-husband of nine years, artist Vincent Mazeau, in the summer of 2011, got romantically involved with family friend Crangi right after their split, sparking rumors that Crangi, sister of jewelry designer Philip Crangi, split Lyons and her husband."

DOMA defending lawyer Paul Clement is up to more no good: "Attorneys who submitted anti-gay briefs to the Supreme Court in favor of California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act are continuing the mischaracterization of a 2002 study on child development to suggest same-sex parents are less fit than opposite-sex parents, according to the non-profit that produced the study."

Denver Nuggets Star Kenneth Faried and His Two Moms Speak Out for Civil Unions in Colorado: VIDEO

In a new video from LGBT rights group One Colorado, Denver Nuggets player Kenneth Faried (aka the "Manimal") is speaking out for civil unions in Colorado.

Says Faried in the clip: "Nobody can ever tell me I can't have two moms because I really do...They showed me what commitment is all about. I look at them, and I think, 'Wow. That's amazing.' They're amazing to me."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Late on Wednesday, Colorado's Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Colorado Civil Union Act to the Senate Appropriations Committee in a 3-2 vote.

Obama Addresses 3,000 LGBT Advocates in Video Message: WATCH

President Obama addressed the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s 25th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in a video message this afternoon. The conference is being held this week in Atlanta for 3,000 LGBT rights advocates.

Said Obama in the message:

"I’ve always said that the change we need in this country — real change — doesn’t come from Washington, it comes from folks like you. Change has always come from ordinary Americans who sit in or stand up or marched to demand it. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has been a partner at the forefront of that movement for 40 years. ... With your help, we will continue the journey to perfect our union. The work will be hard, the road will be long, but I’m more confident than ever that we will reach a better future as long as Americans like you keep reaching for justice — and all of us keep marching together."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...