News: Larry Craig, Big Bird, Al Sharpton, Gun Ruling, Vogue

No joke: Larry Craig and David Vitter key sponsors of Marriage Protection Amendment.

Never-before-seen photos of David Bowie revealed.

Guy "Richie" stands to gain $100 million:
No pre-nup in Madonna marriage.

Al Sharpton told Gay City News that his statement about sin to Anderson Cooper earlier this week was not aimed at Anderson but was hypothetical: "I have no idea of his sexuality. I was not talking about him as an individual anyway. It could have been anybody...I support same-sex marriage and have been lambasted by the right for it."

HIV cases "skyrocket" among young gay men: "A new report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that between 2001 and 2006 gay male sex was the largest HIV transmission category in the U.S. and also the only one which recorded an increasing number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses. The most affected are gay boys and men between the ages of 13 and 24 years, with minorities even more. The findings were released in this week's issue of the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Other factors such as genital herpes could actually double a person’s risk for contracting HIV."

Beckham blogs about bulge.

NewNowNext covers New York's HX Awards.

Prince Harry discovers source of global warming at County Fair.

Miami lesbian suing South Florida hospital because she wasn't allowed to see her partner who had suffered a stroke. Her partner later died: "Janice Langbehn, Lisa Marie Pond and three of their four children planned a cruise in February 2007 to celebrate the couple's 18 years together. But Pond suffered a massive stroke before the ship left port and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Hospital workers refused to let Langbehn into Pond's hospital room - even after a power of attorney was faxed to the hospital -- because they were not legally related. Langbehn filed a federal lawsuit in Miami on Wednesday charging hospital employees with negligence and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000. Pond was pronounced dead of a brain aneurysm about 18 hours after being admitted to the trauma center. Langbehn said she was only allowed in to see her partner for a few minutes when a priest gave Pond the last rites."

Bishop Gene Robinson and Sir Ian McKellen to make joint appearance at screening of For the Bible Tells Me So in London...

Gay creator of Big Bird costume, Kermit Love, dies at 91.

More from the set of Gossip Girl...

Log Cabin Republicans applaud Supreme Court gun ruling.

Juice: The background on bigot Bolthouse and Bolthouse farms.

London police hunt "thug" after homophobic attack: "Sahin Rahman is one of four thugs sentenced this week following the attack at Hackney-road, Bethnal Green, in London's East End, two years ago. Police say Rahman (pictured), who had been living in Mckenzie-road in Holloway, north London, is currently at large after failing to appear at Snaresbrook crown court on June 16 and remains wanted. His accomplices, all from Holloway, have appeared in court."

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi will reportedly be married at Palm Springs' Riviera Resort and Spa in October.

Real Vogue interns tell New York magazine that their internships were nothing like New York Ranger Sean Avery's: "Sean Avery eats enormous lunches in the cafeteria and gets away with spilling them on people. Elizabeth: 'I never got lunch. I didn't get lunch breaks. We had to eat in the closet.' Ashley: 'I was able to get lunch. It was like, very quick, go down get your lunch, eat it, and come back up. There was a sense of having to get permission for a lot of things. I don't remember if we had to tell them we were going to the bathroom, but that could've been possible.'"

Self-described YouTube superstar Tricia Walsh-Smith and estranged husband Phillip Smith meet in court: "I will cut your balls off and have them for breakfast."

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Al Sharpton Defends Anderson Cooper's Right to Sin

In a discussion about the James Dobson attacks on Obama I posted about yesterday, Anderson Cooper hosted Al Sharpton, author Roland Martin and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. As the three debated Evangelicals and the issues of homosexuality, HIV and AIDS, abortion, and religious tolerance, the conversation took a turn when Sharpton pointed out that Anderson may land in Hell for his behavior, whatever that might be...

Says Sharpton: "I may have some very conservative personal feelings but I feel you have the right to live your life differently. I may think that what you do Anderson is gonna put you in Hell, but I'm gonna defend your right to get there."

Answered Anderson: "I appreciate all your concerns about my afterlife. I'm personally not all that concerned, but that's a whole other discussion."

I've clipped the segment, AFTER THE JUMP...

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News: Iran, Rosie O'Donnell, Halloween, Zagreb, Gay Ghetto

Amnesty: Death penalty imminent for gay youth in Iran. "Child offender Makwan Moloudzadeh, an Iranian Kurd, is believed to be at risk of imminent execution. He has reportedly been convicted of lavat-e iqabi (anal sex) for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old boy. Makwan Moloudzadeh was aged 13 at the time of the alleged offence. His death sentence has been passed to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences and he is due to be executed in public, near his home."

Confederate flag that hangs at site of Cheney's weekend hunting trip stirs up anger from Al Sharpton: "It’s appalling for the VP to be at a private club displaying the flag of lynching, hate and murder. It’s the epitome of an insult." The good news is, nobody got shot in the face.

Rosie O'Donnell ambushed at book signing by Bill O'Reilly team. (Rosie's Video, O'Reilly's Video)

NYT: Cancellation of Halloween fest in San Francisco a sign that gay ghettos risk becoming passé. "For many in the Castro District, the cancellation is a blow that strikes at the heart of neighborhood identity, and it has brought soul-searching that goes beyond concerns about crime. These are wrenching times for San Francisco’s historic gay village, with population shifts, booming development, and a waning sense of belonging that is also being felt in gay enclaves across the nation, from Key West, Fla., to West Hollywood, as they struggle to maintain cultural relevance in the face of gentrification."

Did Avril Lavigne dress as Chris Crocker for Halloween?

Miller Brewing apologizes for allowing its brand logo to appear on posters for San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair that parodied The Last Supper.

Opposing accounts offered at trial of Navy doctor accused of secretly taping midshipmen having sex: "A Navy doctor who served as a sponsor for U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen 'violated the trust' of the students by using surveillance equipment installed in an air purifier at his Annapolis home to make 'secret sex tapes' of them, a Navy prosecutor said yesterday at the start of the doctor's court-martial. But Cmdr. Kevin Ronan's attorney, William T. Ferris, said the tapes were made by a former midshipman who used them in an attempt to extort money from his client. Ferris said the tapes became public after his client refused to give money to the former midshipman, who had been dismissed from the Naval Academy for academic reasons and needed money for expenses. 'This was a plan to extort money from Commander Ronan that went awry,' Ferris said during his opening statement at the Washington Navy Yard."

Meet the first Mr. Gay Brazil, Luciano Lupo.

Frank DeCaro looks at Paul Lynde's Halloween Special from 1976, along with a clip of Margaret Hamilton dressed as the wicked witch introducing Paul to members of KISS.

Queer community at NYU holds drag ball.

Croatian man charged with hate crime in Zagreb for attack on gay parade: "The man, identified only as Josip S., is charged with endangering lives and property by an act of hatred toward the participants of the Gay Pride parade in July, the Zagreb district prosecutors' office said. The man is the first person in Croatia to face hate crime charges since it was introduced into the Penal Code last year. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison. No date for a trial was immediately set. Police spotted the man as he prepared to throw homemade Molotov cocktails — bottles containing gasoline — at the parade participants gathering at Zagreb's main square. He fled the scene, but was tracked down later at his home."

Best Week Ever's Top 10 most humiliating pet costumes, judged by the expression on the pets' faces.

Leak reveals Cheney's plan for Iran attack? "In the scenario concocted by Cheney's strategists, Washington's first step would be to convince Israel to fire missiles at Iran's uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Tehran would retaliate with its own strike, providing the US with an excuse to attack military targets and nuclear facilities in Iran."

1884: The oldest known photograph of a tornado.

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Al Sharpton Exchanges 'Blows' with Rapper David Banner

TMZ reports on a feud between Rev. Al Sharpton and rapper David Banner, who apparently doesn't like the Reverend. Earlier this week Banner told Al to "suck [his] d*ck."

Someone from Sharpton's office responded, according to TMZ:"Through Kirsten John-Foy, one of the leaders of the Rev's National Action Network, he roared back to the site, 'From time to time we do encounter people that have sexual fantasies about Reverend Al Sharpton, but they are always women and Crump's proposition is a first.' Then, entering slightly murkier waters, John-Foy continued, 'I am sure Rev. Sharpton would not call Crump the 'N' 'B' or 'H' word ... [but] despite Crump's personal request, I am sure Reverend Sharpton would not call him a f-g--t.' A rep for Rev. Al confirmed that John-Foy's response was in fact sent from his office, but added that Rev. Al would 'never' respond directly to comments like Banner's."

Rev. Al's Gayest Fight Ever [tmz]

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MSNBC Cans Imus as Debate on Hate Speech Rages

After several advertisers (General Motors, American Express, Sprint Nextel, GlaxoSmithKline, TD Ameritrade and Ditech.com.) said they were pulling ads from MSNBC due to Don Imus' racist remarks, the network announced that it would no longer be airing Imus' talk show (see video). CBS radio, another of the show's broadcasters, announced they would monitor the situation closely but stick to the two-week suspension they had put in place. Imus' comments, that memebers of the Rutger's women's basketball team were "nappy-headed hos", has set off a national debate on racism, political correctness, freedom of speech, and tangentially, homophobia and sexism.

Al Sharpton, who has been a vocal leader in efforts to get Imus off the air, said, "This has never been about Don Imus. I have no idea whether his is a good man or not. This is about the use of public airwaves for bigoted, racist speech."

Imus appeared on Al Sharpton's radio show earlier this week and apologized for the comments.

Imus' comments inspired statements from many of the presidential candidates as well.

Barack Obama, who said he would never again appear on Imus' show, told ABC News: "I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus, but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude...He didn’t just cross the line. He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America."

On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton said, "I've never wanted to go on his show and I certainly don't ever intend to go on his show, and I felt that way before his latest outrageous, hateful, hurtful comments."

John Edwards made his intentions less specific: "I believe in redemption, I believe in forgiveness...What he said is wrong because it's wrong. It has to be condemned, we have to speak out when people use this kind of language. This is a very serious matter, it should be taken very seriously."

According to CBS, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani have both said they would continue to appear on Imus' show.

In Pennsylvania, a radio DJ was fired for sponsoring a contest in which viewers called in to repeat Imus' poisonous phrase: "I'm a nappy-headed ho."

And at Rutgers, students rallied to protest Imus' remarks, and Mary S. Hartman, university professor and director of the Institute for Women's Leadership, explained to the Home News Tribune why she thought Imus' remarks had touched a national nerve: "I think what (Imus') remark did was to expose the latent anger that we all feel. We are awakened anew to things that we just never paid attention to. I think people are just saying, 'Enough! We're not going to take it anymore!' There is a lot of hope here. Today is the beginning. A celebration of these young women was critically important for us, and to tell the world that this kind of trash radio needs to stop."

Imus on Al Sharpton's Radio show - transcript [nyt]
NBC Drops Imus Show From Its Cable Network [nyt]
Edwards On Imus Spat: 'I Believe In Forgiveness' [cbs]
Obama: Fire Imus [abc]

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