News: Spencer Tunick, Bijou, Michelle Bachmann, Bullying, Otters

Washington Post calls for protection of Washington Blade's historic archives: "Every effort should be made to keep the archive accessible to researchers and historians." Closure raises questions...More from Gay City News...

Photographer Spencer Tunick seeks gays and lesbians for mass Sydney Mardi Gras nude shoot: “I want someone who is straight to lie peacefully naked next to someone who is gay. I think the act, not only making the work, but the act itself is a calming of the senses.”

If a gay man calls you an otter, is this what he's referring to?

Sirdeaner Walker and two other mothers urge Massachusetts lawmakers to pass anti-bullying bill.

Charges dropped in Perez Hilton assault case: "Black Eyed Peas manager Liborio Molina apologized to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton as part of an agreement allowing assault charges against him to be dropped, lawyers said Wednesday. 'I apologize for what I did on June 22 of 2009, even though you engaged in highly offensive comments ... I acknowledge that these kinds of issues should not be resolved through a physical response,' the apology read. Hilton told The Associated Press in an e-mail he was happy Molina had accepted responsibility for his actions."

The Insider goes on Levi Johnston's photo shoot.

Man found dead in Bijou theater in Chicago.

CREW: Michelle Bachmann's teabagger rally may have violated House rules. "Bachmann's site urged people to come to the Capitol rally 'and tell their Representatives to vote no' on the health-care reform bill. House rules prohibit members from using their sites -- which are funded by taxpayers -- to conduct 'grassroots lobbying or solicit support for a Member's position.' CREW also alleges that Bachmann and her allies may have violated other House rules by holding a rally without a permit. News reports suggest the event's organizer's made an effort to call it a press conference, for which a permit wouldn't be needed. But no questions were asked at the event, and in a TV interview beforehand, Bachmann urged supporters 'to come to Washington, D.C. by the car load.'"

Beyond Gay: Lesbian and gay man attempt to get it on in sequel to Humpday.

ChurchOuting: Site outs closeted Catholic priests.

The spy who loved him: Trial of gay spy and Macedonian interpreter/lover, to whom he leaked classified secrets, grips Germany. "Spiegel magazine reported that this included information obtained by British agents, and that K. revealed it 'in the bedroom' or by allowing his lover access to his laptop computer. The latter 'then intended to pass this information on either to people in the area of organised crime in Macedonia or to foreign intelligence agencies,' federal prosecutors said. For the defence, however, the two men are victims of a homophobic witch-hunt within the BND, which since the affair broke has reportedly been forced to sever contacts with at least 19 information sources in the Balkans."

Vman celebrates legendary male models.

Rosie O'Donnell: Partner Kelli Carpenter moved out two years ago.

Seven tips for dissolving gay unions.

Gay Philippine party Ladlad appeals to elections board for reconsideration.

Police use taser on 10-year-old girl: "According to a report filed by Bradshaw on Thursday, the officer found the girl on the floor of the house screaming and crying. She refused to follow her mother's instructions and the mother told Bradshaw to use his Taser. Bradshaw carried the girl to the living room and told her she was going to jail, according to the report. The girl was violently kicking, the report said, and struck Bradshaw in the groin with her legs and feet. The report said Bradshaw administered a 'very, very brief' stun with the Taser, put the girl in handcuffs and carried her to his patrol car. She was taken to the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter in Cecil."

News: Ken Cuccinelli, Detroit, Rumer Willis, Malaysia, Britney Spears

Gay Detroit City Council candidate Charles Pugh under scrutiny after Detroit Free Press pulls endorsement because of foreclosure on condominium.

Kathie Lee Gifford as a gay droid for Halloween.

Watch: Britney Spears' new video for "3".

Homophobic bigot Randy Thomasson is urging his followers to call schools and school boards and force them to erase Harvey Milk Day from their curricula.

NYT looks at Annise Parker's race to be the mayor of Houston, Texas: “I always told voters the truth. There is an element of, ‘Well, if she will tell us the truth about her sexual orientation she will tell us the truth about anything.’”

LOL: ChristWire on how the Golden Girls turned an entire generation of American boys gay.

WATCH: Brand new trailer for James Cameron's Avatar, starring Sam Worthington.

ICANN votes to liberalize country web domains: "This means that in a few months, folks will finally be able to type URLs in languages using non-Latin alphabets. For instance, in China, websites will be able soon be in Chinese; in the Middle East they might be in Arabic or Hebrew; in Greece in Greek letters, Russia in Russian letters."

Pete Wentz got a tattoo of Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta on his leg.

Autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire draws 18-foot mural of New York City from memory after 20 minute helicopter ride.

Body 2 Body: Malaysian queer anthology is first of its kind.

Rumer Willis to play a lesbian on 90210: "This isn't a fling. We're coming at this [relationship] from a genuine place and not going, 'Let's do a titillating story that will grab some promotion.' This is a real aspect of teenager life that's interesting...And there's been a real void in the 90210 universe in terms of gay and bisexual characters."

Indiewire looks at this year's gay Oscar hopes: "This year could also find as many as three best pictures helmed by gay men. In addition to 'A Single Man,' there’s Rob Marshall’s 'Nine,' and Lee Daniels’ 'Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,' the latter of which also features a major gay character.  What I think is really interesting here - and what speaks volumes to social systems in behind-the-scenes Hollywood - is Lee Daniels’s prospective nomination.  If he gets nominated for best director, it would be much more monumental because he is African-American than it would be because he is openly gay."

Twilight's hunk wolf Alex Meraz takes it off.

First look: Cheyenne Jackson on 30 Rock.

The Real World: Starship Enterprise.

Birmingham school board enacts LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying policy.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: "My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. ... They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents (to put it politely; I need my thesaurus to be polite) behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society."

Ever want to hear from a Tired Old Queen who loves movies? Here's your chance.

True Life: MTV looking for athete coming out stories.

Esera Tuaolo on Larry Johnson's "faggot" slur: "What is also crippling to an athlete is hearing slurs like that thrown around like it's just the thing to do. When you use (gay slurs) and you use it in a negative term, it's the same as calling a woman a (expletive). Or the same as calling an African-American the (expletive). It's demeaning to another human being. And it's not right."

53 House GOP Sign on to Anti-Gay Witch Hunt Against Kevin Jennings

Gay-hating Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has corralled in 52 House Republicans to sign on to a letter to Obama requesting that the President fire Safe Schools czar Kevin Jennings.

Writes King in the letter:

As the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Mr. Jennings has played an integral role in promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America's schools-an agenda that runs counter to the values that many parents desire to instill in their children. As evidence of this, Mr. Jennings wrote the foreword for a book titled Queering Elementary Education: Advancing the Dialogue About Sexualities and Schooling. Throughout his career, Mr. Jennings has made it his mission to establish special protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students to the exclusion of all other students. The totality of Mr. Jennings' career has been to advocate for public affirmation of homosexuality. There is more to safe and drug free schools than can be accomplished from the narrow view of Mr. Jennings who has, for more than 20 years, almost exclusively focused on promoting the homosexual agenda.

Equally troubling is Mr. Jennings' self-described history of ignoring the sexual abuse of a child. In his book, One Teacher in Ten, Mr. Jennings recounts a 15-year old student confiding in him that he had a sexual relationship with a much older man. Mr. Jennings' only response was to ask if the underage boy used a condom. As a mandatory reporter, Mr. Jennings was required by law to report child abuse, including sex crimes. Mr. Jennings cannot serve as the "safe schools" czar when his record demonstrates a willingness to overlook the sexual abuse of a child.

You can read the full letter here.

King continues to repeat the thoroughly debunked claims about Jennings' counseling interaction with the student, and the student has even written a letter defending him.

Hopefully, the administration, which has so far defended Jennings against this anti-gay witch hunt, will continue to stand by him.

The Hill reports: "Openly gay senior Democratic Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.) called the effort a way for 'anti-gay' lawmakers to keep that issue at the forefront. 'This is just an effort to exploit anti-gay feeling — they have this anti-gay view that they understand is becoming less and less popular with the public,' Frank told The Hill on Thursday."

The wingnuts don't want to see any gay man in this position, much less one who has spent the better part of 20 years dedicating himself to teaching tolerance in the nation's schools. It's ironic that this is just a grown-up form of the anti-LGBT bullying Jennings has devoted his life to ending. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly apparent that certain members of the GOP will never stop acting like children.

The list of Republicans who have signed on to the letter, AFTER THE JUMP...

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #550

STARGAZING: It's astronomy night at the White House.

BULLY BEATDOWN: Another thug gets his due.

KATHY GRIFFIN: Her appearance earlier this week on Joy Behar's CNN show.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

Under Attack from Right, Education Department's Kevin Jennings Releases Statement on Counseling Incident 21 Years Ago

Kevin Jennings, the gay founder of GLSEN who now heads the Education Department's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, has been the target of right-wing and religious groups (such as the Family Research Council) since he was named to the position. The groups accuse Jennings of promoting homosexuality in schools. Recently, they seized upon an incident involving Jennings which happened 21 years ago in which Jennings was counseling a 16 or 17-year-old student who said he was sexually involved with a man. Jennings failure to report this to authorities is now fueling the right-wing accusations that he is somehow trying to indoctrinate children into homosexuality.

FOX News has jumped on the bandwagon, of course, claiming that Jennings covered up statutory rape.

Yesterday, Jennings released a statement admitting he mishandled the incident:

“Twenty one years later I can see how I should have handled this situation differently. I should have asked for more information and consulted legal or medical authorities. Teachers back then had little training or guidance about this kind of thing. All teachers should have a basic level of preparedness. I would like to see the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools play a bigger role in helping to prepare teachers.”

Education Secretary Arne Duncan also released a statement:

"Kevin Jennings has dedicated his professional career to promoting school safety. He is uniquely qualified for his job and I am honored to have him on our team."

The L.A. Times reports: "Jennings' inaction was discussed in the teaching community as far back as 2004. It is now being condemned as part of a broader critique of Jennings' fitness for the education post by conservative critics, who also accuse him of promoting homosexuality...Department spokesman Justin Hamilton said the accusation that Jennings promoted homosexuality was too ridiculous to deserve comment."

The wingnuts don't want to see any gay man in this position, much less one who has spent the better part of 20 years dedicating himself to wiping out anti-LGBT bullying and promoting tolerance in the nation's schools.

Bill O'Reilly Angry Kids Can't Opt Out of Anti-Bullying School Course

FOX News bully Bill O'Reilly and Megyn Kelly address the recent hubbub in Alameda, California over anti-bullying courses being taught in that city's school district.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...