News: Baltimore, Claymates, Folsom Street, PETA, Brad Pitt

Baltimore police probe shooting of gay man as possible hate crime: "Police spokeswoman Officer Nicole Monroe says the shooting occurred shortly after midnight Monday in the 600 block of Howard Street. A gay couple was walking on the street when a man on a bicycle approached one of the two men and engaged him in conversation. Monroe says the second man walked ahead several feet, heard what sounded like two gunshots and saw his companion was injured. The man with the bike fled on foot, then returned for his bicycle and left the scene."

Michelle Obama pens Advocate op-ed: "The World As it Should Be."

Obama to pose for cover of Men's Health.

Blindsided Claymates apoplectic over Clay Aiken's coming out: "please tell me I'm not the only one who is shocked beyond belief! I feel numb I'm so upset. This can't be real!! How can you guys say this won't change anything? This changes EVERYTHING. I don't even know what to think right now"

Lobbying firm of Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, remains on the payroll of Freddie Mac. McCain attacks story but does not deny.

Was Condoleezza Rice passed up for VP because of her sexuality?: "It was the persistent rumors about her sexuality that ultimately killed her chances and removed her from the list...In Washington circles, it’s just assumed Rice is gay and nobody really cares. But in the glare of the media spotlight, those rumors were bound to get magnified a thousandfold and the mainstream media would have had an excuse to reveal the facts that would have caused conniption fits among the Republican base."

Log Cabin Republican slams "wacky left bloggers" for outing McCain chief of staff Mark Buse.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian profiles Kink.com's takeover of the San Francisco Armory.

Fundie Peter LaBarbera makes annual trip to San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair to confront Mayor Gavin Newsom.

A look back at "coming out" covers.

NYT David Pogue looks at the T-Mobile G-1 running Google Android.

Madonna tour towels seized in Montenegro: "The Queen Of Pop travels with 300 expensive designer towels for her and her dancers to use when they come off stage. But officials in Montenegro confiscated the lot because they were suspicious about the number she was taking into the country. A source said: 'The customs people had never come across that kind of volume of towels for personal use before, or the cost given for them. People in Montenegro just aren’t used to spending that much on a towel.'"

Drew Barrymore inserting herself between rumored gay Gossip Girl co-stars.

Bad boys: The Sarah Palin email hacker and the Britney Spears single leaker.

Brad Pitt forced into hideous yellow terrycloth get-up!

Latifah: Hairspray sequel still in the works.

PETA urges Ben & Jerry's to switch from cow milk to human breast milk: "PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves."

Scott Pomfret, author of gay erotica and a lector at a Boston Catholic church, loses the latter job over new book: "Pomfret's latest book, a sarcastic memoir titled 'Since My Last Confession,' proved too much for the friars, many of whom were interviewed by Pomfret as he wrote the book. The book suggests that some local clergy, who are given fictional names, are sexually active, and is mocking toward Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston."

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News: Geology, Mr. Blackwell, Pageants, Clay Aiken, Montauk

John Edwards admits affair, says he lied during campaign.

Condoleezza Rice undermines McCain arguments, says U.S. would be safe with Obama: "Oh, the United States will be fine. I think that we are having an important debate about how we keep the country safe. I think we are having an important debate about our responsibilities, our obligations, our interests in the Middle East in the wake of the now increasing evidence of success in Iraq. Those are important judgments for the American people to make."

Settled: The "Monster" that washed up on the beach last week in Montauk, NY was a viral marketing campaign.

At 8:08 on 08/08/08: Singer Clay Aiken is a proud father.

Log Cabin Republicans launch Republicans Against Prop. 8"...Scott Schmidt: "Marriage is a personal decision. It's not up to the long arm of the government of when, where and whom you should get married to."

Sting goes shirtless for the final show of The Police in New York City.

Radar on the unsung heroes of the child beauty pageant circuit: gay men.

Wingnut Randy Thomasson warns against horrors of 'Harvey Milk Day': "This will harm children as young [sic] kindergarten. Every May 22, AB 2567 will positively portray to children homosexual experimentation, homosexual 'marriages,' sex-change operations, and anything else that's 'in the closet.' Governor Schwarzenegger should say no to this very inappropriate bill, which has nothing to do with academic excellence."

Quentin Tarantino signs Brad Pitt for World War II action-drama Inglorious Bastards: "The 44-year-old actor will play a Southern rebel who assembles a team of eight prisoners-turned-soldiers to battle the Nazis."

Group compiling dynamic first-of-its-kind map of Earth's geology.

Connecticut man attempts murder to end gay rumors.

Diva in polka dots: Elton John makes splash in Saint-Tropez.

Fashion critic Mr. Blackwell hospitalized, emerges from coma.

Canadian border agents confiscate laptop over gay porn: "While the gay men watched, a CBSA agent sat in their truck and poked through the contents of the laptop. When he ran into locked material, he got the passwords from them. Rick and Shawn say that, in retrospect, it was a slapdash search. The laptop was combed, but not their cell phones, Shawn's Blackberry, or the loose burned CDs in the truck's glove compartment. The CBSA officers went into their office. Time ticked by as Rick and Shawn pondered what to do next. About an hour later, a CBSA officer came back with bad news. 'He came back and said 'We're going to have to confiscate the laptop.' I asked why. He said it had 'questionable material,'' says Rick."

BLOCKED: Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church also held up at Canadian border.

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Call Me Madame VP

Two articles I read while flying back and forth to my grandma’s 90th birthday party in Michigan bolster my gut feeling that McCain might be strongly considering a woman as his veep.

First, in Condé Nast Portfolio, ousted Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina—who's already been working for McCain as a tech and economic (!) advisor—is floated as a potential choice by Matthew Cooper:

"A lifelong Republican who didn’t talk much about politics during her business career, Fiorina is classically conservative, which makes her a good fit for McCain, who needs to bring large numbers of core Republican voters to the polls in order to win. She's against abortion rights (though, like McCain, she does support stem-cell research). She opposes gun control, she's a free-trader, and she's a tax cutter: 'It’s the only way to spur in-no-va-tion,' she says, rolling out each syllable."

Cooper goes on to say he’d be "shocked" if McCain tapped her (so would Fiorina) as Vice President (oh). But I wouldn't. I think McCain wants someone he likes and knows and is ideologically comfortable with rather than, for example, a religious zealot cynically chosen to plaster over a hole in his right-wing cred.

Next comes an exchange between McCain and interviewer Sandra Sobieraj Westfall from People's July 7, 2008, issue in which he was asked why none of the veep possibles he recently hosted at his home were women. McCain says:

"First of all, [former eBay CEO] Meg Whitman and her husband were there. There were 10 or 11 couples. The majority of them had nothing to do with vice president."

But needled about why he wouldn’t consider any women there as potential veeps, McCain admits:

"One, it was a social weekend and, two, not necessarily. [chuckles]"

Meg Whitman is not a bad choice for him—she was the eBay queen (which bolsters his legendarily absent economic skills) and is a longtime Republican-party (and Bush) enthusiast. And she’s a woman, which will give pause to the half of the country that generally decides elections and that is more Democrat than Republican of late.

Other possible female veeps for McCain could include Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (a strong contender) and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (fat chance). Don’t even get me started on Condoleeza Rice.

Of course, that might up the ante and make a female pick all the more appealing to Barack Obama. (Although due to the conventions' timing, it's thought Obama's pick will be announced first.) Which might open the door for choices like newcomer Hillary Clinton (you may have heard of her), Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, retired General Claudia J. Kennedy or the oft-discussed Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

In which case, a history-making election would be all the more history-making—imagine a woman on both tickets?

(Or McCain could just pick another dude.)

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #245

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: The Secretary lies about making false statements before the Iraq war.

HILLARY CLINTON: Clinton wants a debate in Wisconsin.

MICHELLE OBAMA: Her recent appearance on Larry King Live.

DAVID ARCHULETA: 16-year-old American Idol contestant sings "Heaven" at Hollywood audition.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Former Ambassador Michael Guest's Retirement Remarks

Departing Ambassador to Romania Michael Guest's parting shot at the State Department over its failure to address inequalities in rules and regulations as they apply to the gay and lesbian partners of foreign service officers was written up in the Washington Post this evening.

I mentioned it briefly in the news round-up earlier today but I think it's worth mentioning again because of the WaPo piece, and because I have Guest's full farewell speech (which I've posted after the jump).

Officials attending the ceremony talked to the paper. Said John Naland, the president of the American Foreign Service Association: "If everyone is saying we need to do more, then let's do more."

Pat Kennedy, the undersecretary for management, added: "The Secretary and the State Department do not discriminate on hiring or promotions. "These are complex issues. We are committed to giving our personnel the support they need to get their jobs done."

According to the paper, "J. Michelle Schohn, an officer in the intelligence bureau, said she gave up a budding career in archaeology and joined the foreign service simply because of the hassles she encountered when her partner was based in Azerbaijan, shortly after the Soviet Union collapsed. One of her partner's colleagues got married and his spouse immediately got a diplomatic passport, but Schohn was treated no differently than any American tourist. Because of the difficulties, she ended up flying to Azerbaijan a month at a time to stay with her partner, and received no housing allowance for staying home. At one point, during violent protests, 'had there been an evacuation, we would have had to pay to evacuate me,' she said.

The WaPo notes: "The travel costs of family pets, however, are paid for by the State Department."

And Guest added to his comments from his retirement ceremony: "This was my last chance. I never got a response. I don't know that I expected a response. What I wanted was attention to the issue....One word from the secretary [would have spurred action]. That's what I was hoping, that I would somehow get to her heart."

Perhaps she was on the Elliptical.

Former Ambassador Blasts State Dept. for Treatment of Gay Employees [washington post]

Guest's full commentary, AFTER THE JUMP...

REMARKS by MICHAEL GUEST at his RETIREMENT CEREMONY

"You know, some boys grow up wanting to conquer the world. I grew up wanting to explore it, and eventually I came to want to change it, to make the world a better place. And I remember that when I first heard about the Foreign Service, it was like WOW! - this is the career I was born for, this is what I was always meant to do.

So as you can imagine, today is a bittersweet day for me. I love this profession. I always will. I'll always be proud to have been a part of the Foreign Service. I've had the unique and happy opportunity - well, not so unique, because most of you have had this opportunity too - to work on issues I really care about. And I've had great colleagues, every step of the way, those of you here today among them. Together we've done a lot to change the world for the better, in small ways and in large, and America is safer and more prosperous because of it. And when we're criticized unjustly, as has been the case in recent days, it's regrettable that the Administration hasn't done more to stand up for us.

You know, I invited a number of the newer members of our Service today because I wanted them to see this Foreign Service rite of passage. But this isn't a typical flag ceremony. Most departing ambassadors use these events to talk about their successes, the things they've done. But I want instead to talk about my signal failure, the failure that in fact is causing me to leave the career that I love.

For the past three years, I've urged the Secretary and her senior management team to redress policies that discriminate against gay and lesbian employees. Absolutely nothing has resulted from this. And so I've felt compelled to choose between obligations to my partner, who is my family, and service to my country. That anyone should have to make that choice is a stain on the Secretary's leadership, and a shame for this institution and our country.

Since I'm leaving over this matter, I ask that you indulge me for a moment. It's irrational that my partner can't be trained in how to recognize a terrorist threat, or an intelligence trap. How is that in our overseas communities' interests, or in those of the Department? It's unfair that, because we're not married and indeed cannot marry, I have to pay his transportation to my assignments. It makes no sense that partners cannot sit in otherwise vacant seats to learn the informal community roles expected of them as Ambassadors' or DCMs' partners. Why serve in dangerous or unhealthful places, if partners' evacuations and medevacs are at issue? And shouldn't gay and lesbian partners have separate maintenance allowances, when employees answer the call to duty in Iraq and elsewhere? Does their service and sacrifice somehow matter less?

I've spoken with many, but not all, of you about this over time. To those who are hearing this for the first time, I want to make clear that this is not about gay rights. Rather, it's about the safety and effectiveness of our communities abroad, of the people who represent America. It's about equal treatment of all employees, all of whom have the same service requirements, the same contractual requirements. It's as much a part of transforming diplomacy as any issue the Secretary has chosen to address. And fundamentally, it's about principles on which our country was founded, principles that you and I are called upon to represent abroad - principles that in fact are symbolized by this flag, which ironically has been offered to my partner.

Nick [Burns] and Harry [Thomas] - and Pat Kennedy, my old friend - congratulations, I just heard yesterday that you've been confirmed as Under Secretary for Management. I have complete confidence in you, and I know you're going to do a great job. I ask all of you to give this issue the priority it deserves. This is discrimination, pure and simple, and it doesn't deserve a place in the institution that this Secretary leads. I mean, come on! We do amazing things overseas, convincing governments to do things they really don't want to do. How is it that we can't convince our own leadership, our own government, to do something that's so clearly right? Secretary Rice has access and influence with this President, and now we have a Democratic Congress - you know that we can do this! Please take this issue up - not for my sake, it's too late for that, but for the sake of those who remain, and for the integrity of this institution and indeed of this flag.

I've often said that leaders are judged not only by the challenges they tackle, but by those they fail to address. Well, this is a question of leadership - and please don't just reach for the low-hanging fruit. That's really not enough. I've heard for a year and a half now that we're going to allow partners into a few FSI courses. Well, even that hasn't happened, but that's not good enough - it's the low-hanging fruit that should have been done years ago. This issue needs a comprehensive approach. We are WAY behind the private sector in this area, and it's time for the Department to catch up.

Enough said. Please work on this. If you need help from the outside, let me know, and I'm sure I can arrange it.

It's been such an honor and privilege to work with each of you. You and others do so much for our country, and I'm grateful for your friendship. I've had a lot of good mentors over my time in the Service. Most have left the service - people like Roz Ridgway, and Ray Seitz, and Avis Bohlen, true icons in the Foreign Service. Others, like Bill Burns, are now overseas and couldn't be here. But I see one of my mentors here. Bruce Burton taught me a lot about our craft early in my career. He also taught me that it was fun to work long hours in the office. Somebody arrest that man! Really, I learned a lot from Bruce about what can be achieved in the Service. Thank you.

I've mentored several of you, to try to keep you from making the same mistakes I've made, and I hope you've found my advice helpful. To the younger and newer members of our service, let me just say that y'all are terrific. You do our country proud. I know you'll play a major role in restoring America's image abroad and in making our world a better place, and I'm sorry I won't be with you, but I'll google you and watch you from afar, so be careful not to do anything that gets you into trouble, or I'll find out. There are also a number of folks with gray hair here today - prematurely gray, of course, like mine. Within a few years, we'll turn the keys of this State Department car entirely over to you. So here's my last piece of advice: don't let this car stand idle. Rev the engines, run it as fast as you can, and enjoy the ride, as we have.

Some of you have asked what I'll be doing next. Well, truthfully, I don't know. For awhile I'll probably enjoy watching re-runs of "Murder She Wrote." Seriously, when else will I have the luxury to stop and think about what's important to me, and what I want to do at this point in life? Wherever I land, and whatever I eventually do, I know I'll work on making a difference on issues that really matter to me. Maybe saving tropical rainforests, or helping instill the rule of law or democracy overseas, or maybe just trying to improve Comcast's customer service. I'm strangely comfortable with not knowing what lies next, as I know this is the right move for me.

Wherever I go, and whatever I do, I'll carry this flag with me. It will remind me of what our country should stand for. But the stars in this flag will remind me of you, of each of you, and of so many other cherished colleagues, far-flung across this globe, who serve America with skill and dedication and pride. Know that as you embark on your journeys, you carry my heart and America's hopes with you.

Thank you again for coming, and may God bless you all.

(source)

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News: Sperm Donors, Brad Pitt, Axel Hotel, Australia

New York sperm donor ordered to pay child support to lesbian couple.

Departing ambassador slams State Department and Condoleezza Rice for DISCRIMINATORY policies: "For the past three years, I’ve urged the Secretary and her senior management team to redress policies that discriminate against gay and lesbian employees. Absolutely nothing has resulted from this. And so I’ve felt compelled to choose between obligations to my partner — who is my family — and service to my country."

Buffalo, New York man charged with third-degree assault after punching a man for making "an open display of homosexuality."

Peter Andre says that in the 80's he had a crush on Boy George and thought he was female: "She is hot. I thought I was going to marry this woman."

Studies of HIV positive gay and bisexual men reveal high rates of unprotected sex: "The research team found that 37.3 percent of the men said they had engaged in unprotected anal intercourse over the past three months. In 41.3 percent of these cases, unsafe sex took place with another HIV-infected partner, but in 31.4 percent of cases the unprotected behavior took place with a partner whose HIV status was unknown. In 23 percent of cases, the infected man engaged in unprotected sex with a partner he knew to be HIV-negative, the study found." The CDC also reported that "more than twice as likely to be infected with the AIDS virus than their white counterparts," although the reason why wasn't immediately clear.

In London to accept his GAY award, Jesse Metcalfe puts on his prettiest face and assaults a paparazzo.

Starting point: Same-sex couples in Victoria, Australia will soon be allowed to register their relationships. "Attorney-General Rob Hulls said legislation tabled in Parliament yesterday would allow the couples to record their relationship with the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Mr Hulls said the register is not gay marriage or a civil union, but would improve access to entitlements, such as superannuation, without de facto and same-sex couples having to prove repeatedly that they are in a committed relationship. 'These reforms provide that Victorian laws, in most cases treat de facto and same-sex couples the same way as married couples,' he said."

Daniel from America's Most Smartest Model is now doing Mayonnaise ads.

Fort Worth Baptist Church postpones decision on including photos of gay members in a 125th anniversary pictorial directory: " Broadway Baptist Church has debated whether the directory should include gay couples, or gay people individually but not as couples, or whether to omit all individual and family photos. Members were to vote Sunday after morning worship. But in a clear indication that they are divided over how accepting to be of homosexuality, they met for an hour and then postponed any decision until deacons make a recommendation on Feb. 24." Bigotry can be so indecisive.

"Etiquette enforcer" on the Long Island Railroad is also apparently a homophobe: " The latest chapter began March 28, as Clifford took his a seat on the 8:02 a.m. train from Long Beach, in a spot where he might stretch out his 6-foot-4 frame. Nearby, a young man talked loudly on his cellphone to a girlfriend, a railroad no-no. Clifford got upset only after the guy started yammering to Girlfriend No. 2. 'I asked him to keep it down. The kid just ignored me. I started arguing with him, 'Shut the f- - - up!' I said, 'F- - -ing faggot,' or whatever.'"

Little pink houses: Brad Pitt calls New Orleans home. And in other Pitt news, Radar wonders if the gaudy ring on Brad's right hand is a symbol of his spiritual solidarity with the gays.

New Axel Hotel is defining moment for gay and lesbian tourism in Argentina: "That Buenos Aires would be chosen for such a marketing experiment is a result of a marked change over the past several years in the acceptance of gay men and lesbians in Argentine society. This city of three million people has come a long way from the years of military dictatorship, when being openly gay could lead to jail. Five years ago this was the first major Latin American city to legalize same-sex unions, and this summer it was host to a World Cup for gay soccer players, a first in the region."

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"Rogues Gallery" of White House Mugshots on Display

An exhibit by artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese is both angering and amusing visitors to the New York Public Library. Members of the Bush administration are featured in satirical mugshots, holding placards with the date each of them stated something "incriminating" about the Iraq war, according to the New York Daily News:

"The installation includes audio clips of the administration members - complete with the sound of a flashbulb popping and a prison door slamming."

Matthew Walter, director of communications for the state GOP, told the paper, "It is simply inappropriate to have political attack art, in the form of egregious doctored photographs of the President and other high-ranking officials who have dedicated their lives to public service, in a taxpayer-funded building frequented by schoolchildren and the general public."

Raw Story reports: "Ligorano and Reese are well known for their political art: 'Line Up (2004-5), their series of portraits of Bush administration officials, acknowledges that the mug shot has become the preeminent form of portraiture in America now that more people are incarcerated there, than any other country in the world. The artists debuted Line Up, selling it as a postcard book on the streets of New York during the Republican convention in 2004. Now in its third edition, they have printed and sold more than 5,000 copies.'"

Six more works from "Line-Up" after the jump...

Library exhibit features 'mug shots' of President Bush, White House officials [ny daily news]
Fox: Library's White House mug shots might confuse little kids [raw story]

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Condoleezza Rice Exercises Foreign Policy at the Gym

You by now have heard about the Mideast peace talks this week at Annapolis, which Reuters reports Arabs are already calling a sham: "Arab commentators on Wednesday dismissed the relaunch of Israeli-Palestinian talks as a U.S.-staged media event unlikely to lead to Middle East peace. Some argued that U.S. President George W. Bush's real aim in convening Tuesday's conference in Annapolis, Maryland, was to rescue his image after failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, or to persuade Arab states their deadliest foe was Iran, not Israel."

Joe at Americablog and Michelangelo Signorile pointed me to this searing passage in Maureen Dowd's column about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her assessment of foreign conflicts, citing bits from a new biography by the NYT's Elisabeth Bumiller:

"In 2006, when Israel invaded Lebanon and many civilians died, including children, Condi and W. drew Arab and U.N. ire for not forcing Ehud Olmert to broker a cease-fire faster. That same year, in another instance of spectacular willful ignorance, she was blindsided by the Hamas win in the Palestinian elections. As she described it to Bumiller, she went upstairs at 5 a.m. the morning after the Palestinian elections in 2006 to the gym in her Watergate apartment to exercise on her elliptical machine. She saw the news crawl reporting the Hamas victory. 'I thought, ‘Well, that’s not right,’ ' she said. She kept exercising for awhile but finally got off the elliptical trainer and called the State Department. 'I said, ‘What happened in the Palestinian elections?’ and they said, ‘Oh, Hamas won.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness! Hamas won?’ ' When she couldn’t reach the State Department official on the ground in the Palestinian territories, she did what any loyal Bushie would do: She got back on the elliptical. 'I thought, might as well finish exercising,' Rice told Bumiller. 'It’s going to be a really long day.' It was one of the few times she was prescient on the Middle East."

Illustration above by Noma Bar from a review of another Condi bio in the New York Times (via wonkette).

Condi on the Elliptical [the gist]
Just like most of us, Condi learns about major international news from the t.v. She is clueless. [americablog]
NY Times Scales New Heights in Mean Condi Caricatures [wonkette]

Recently
Condoleezza Rice Confronted by "Blood-Stained" Anti-war Activist [tr]
Condi Biographer: "I Never Came Close to Finding a Female Lover" [tr]

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Condoleezza Rice Confronted by "Blood-Stained" Anti-war Activist

Anti-war protestor Desiree Anita Ali-Fairooz of the Code Pink organization was detained on Wednesday after confronting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a congressional hearing.

As Rice approached the podium, Farooz placed blood-colored hands in her face and shouted "war criminal" before being escorted form the chamber along with several other activists.

Reuters reports: "Capitol Police said later five people were arrested, including Ali-Fairooz, who was charged with disorderly conduct and assault on a police officer. She was also charged with defacing government property for smearing the red paint from her hands on the hallway wall outside the hearing room. The other four protesters faced disorderly conduct charges."

Halloween, of course, is next week, but in the Bush administration it's scary all year.

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News: Marc Jacobs, Sweden, Lance Bass, Astroglide

Same-sex marriage in Sweden closer to reality? "Sweden’s three opposition parties, the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Left Party have put forward a motion in the Swedish Parliament to allow gay marriages. There is wide support in the parliament for the move, with the only party against the plans the Christian Democrats. They are also in a minority in the government, with three out of four of the ruling parties also in favour, but the Christian Democrat’s opposition means the government is unable to put forward a motion itself."

Marc Jacobs strips again for the cover of Arena Homme +

Astroglide: Barbara Walters reportedly gave sexual lubricant recommendations to Rosie O'Donnell.

Lance Bass in shouting match with companion outside NYC's Barracuda bar: "He was creating a commotion, and then he and Lance took it outside. They fought outside, screaming at the top of their lungs."

Memorial held in NYC for gay club icon Dean Johnson. Friend: "I never felt as comfortable as a straight guy in a world where I wasn’t supposed to be than with Dean. When I met Dean, I realized what being free is all about. He never judged anybody, and he never cared about being judged."

It's Britney's video, bitch!

Condoleezza Rice's female friend Randy Bean, with whom she owns a house in Palo Alto, California, responds to rumors that the two women are a couple: "Condi and I have been friends for 25 years. We co-own an investment property in Palo Alto. We do not share a home."

On the planning of an LGBT Wedding magazine.

Responding to GLAAD, the New York Post apologizes for calling a transgender person a She-Male.

SLOG's Dan Savage talks to Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.

The Provincetown hate crimes have caught the attention of Boston's newsweekly The Phoenix.

Here's the Nan Goldin photograph, "Klara and Edda Belly Dancing", that was seized by police from a show of Elton John's collection. Elton shuttered the gallery exhibition due to the investigation, which alleges the photograph breaches child pornography laws.

Gay foster parent ban may hit the 2008 ballot in Arkansas: "Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved an initiative Thursday, which will allow supporters of the ban to collect signatures in support of placing the issue on a ballot. Now that their initiative has been approved, the Family Council Action Committee must collect at least 78-thousand votes in order to get their proposal on the 2008 ballot. It was struck down by the state Supreme Court in 2006 and failed in the state legislature during the 2007 session, so proponents of a ban on gay and unmarried foster parents decided to take the issue to the voters. After one failed attempt in September, the Family Council Action Committee got their initiative approved on Thursday."

Recent paparazzi photos of Jennifer Aniston and Orlando Bloom in Mexico which sparked relationship rumors have a backstory: they were at the 'gay power wedding' of friends Luc Brinker and Todd Diener in Mexico.

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News: David Beckham, Nellie's, Condoleezza Rice, Chris Crocker

Condoleezza Rice denied audience with Pope Benedict over U.S. foreign policy: "The US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice indicated to the Vatican that she urgently needed to meet Benedict XVI. She was on her way back into the viper’s nest of the Middle East and it would have been no bad thing to meet her counterparts with the credentials of a papal audience. Ms Rice had hoped that the audience could be fixed for early August at Castelgandolfo, the papal summer residence, when Benedict XVI returned from Lorenzago in the Dolomites, but she was told the Pope was on holiday. She insisted but to no avail. Vatican diplomats were adamant and 'Benedict XVI is on holiday' continued to be the official reply."

Hot java: One Venti Beckhammato, please...

Lesbian activist Robin Tyler calls on Arnold Schwarzenegger's lesbian chief-of-staff Susan Kennedy to resign: "I am not only extremely disappointed in the Governor's lack of courage, but am especially disappointed in Susan Kennedy, his chief of staff, whose "same gender wedding" I attended in Hawaii several years ago. Since I attended Susan's wedding, why is she so against attending mine? Both Arnold and Susan know that it is unconstitutional for the majority to deny a minority equal protection under the law."

Chris Crocker inks reality "docu-soap" deal: "It's going to pretty much be the 'Chris Crocker experience. We consider him a rebel character that people will find interesting. He's going to be a TV star."

Kathy Griffin engaged to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak?

Pop star Mika threatened with lawsuit over name, by Belgian reggae artist Mika: "I was called Mika before him and have registered the name. Even though his real name is Mica, I think he should change it."

The Washington Post takes a look at gay D.C. sports bar Nellie's: "What sounds like a gay slur isn't: Nellie's pays homage to Schantz's great- and great-great-grandmothers, both named Nellie, one of whom is captured in sepia-toned photographs on the wall. True to its theme, the sports bar sticks to showing games on its TV monitors and displaying tennis rackets, oars and trophies as decorations; the bathroom sinks once wet the hands of spectators at Washington's old Griffith Stadium."

Sydney police accused of ignoring gay bashing: "The officer told me how stressful the court process would be and said, ‘Do you realise that nine out of 10 gay men don’t report incidents because they are afraid?’ I said I wanted to press charges anyway, and they said, ‘The men are only going to get off free.’"

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The Bush Administration's Greatest Hits

From Broken Record productions...

One of our readers, Aaron Eiseman, took a closer look at the long-playing official assessments of the Iraq war by our leaders. These are some albums that you may never want to hear again, but most likely will!

Click for larger versions. And check out the 8-track and cassette from Cheney and Condi below...

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News: Manchester, David Bowie, Tennis, Tim Gunn, Madonna

Earthquakes strike Manchester's gay village: "It was the sixth earthquake to hit the city in the past month, all measuring between 1.4 and 2.5 magnitude. A swarm of 150 tremors occurred in the same area between October 2002 and January 2003. Seismologist Dr Brian Baptie of the British Geological Survey said: 'An earthquake of this magnitude is not unusual in the UK and you would not expect any structural damage as a result of this earthquake'."

Match-fixing alleged in professional tennis: "Two elite players made the claims, under anonymity, in an interview with the French sports daily claiming they have witnessed matches being "thrown" and that they had personally been offered bribes...The unnamed sources in L'Equipe's report called on the sport's authorities to act, 'before things get out of hand'. 'I know several players who have been approached, and who had the exact same experience as me,' said one player, identified only as Mister B and who claimed he had been approached physically by someone offering him 50,000 dollars to lose a match. He added: 'Not for one second did I believe it was a joke. 50,000 dollars is more than what I would have got for getting to the semi-final in this tournament, and it was tax-free cash. 'I refused his offer straight away, but I was left wondering what direction we're going in.'"

Willa Ford joins Bobby Trendy in new film about Anna Nicole Smith - first shots.

Yesterday, the death knell was sounded for West Village bar Julius. Today, news that it has reopened, at least for now.

Lesbian couple are first in Colorado to adopt. "'People say, they need two parents. We say, they've got two parents,' says Jeannie DiClementi, who along with life partner Mary Ross, have become the first gay couple to adopt children together under a new state law. 'This is a victory for children.'"

Jesse Metcalfe obtains topless female tattoo.

David Bowie to join UK TV series Dr Who as an evil alien abductor: "The singer who found fame as a cross-dressing glam rock star Ziggy Stardust in the 70s will cross swords with the Tardis's Time Lord, actor David Tennant when he kidnaps crime author Agatha Christie."

Lesbian is one of five finalists for bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago.

AfterElton talks to style guru Tim Gunn about his forthcoming show and his last relationship: "I had been in a relationship and a very intense one. And it broke up after quite a number of years. And it broke up abruptly – didn't break up from me. I was cast aside. And it was just, just at the advent of AIDS. And I found out he had been sleeping with a lot of people. And thank God I'm healthy. Because I didn't know and it had been going on for a while. So when we broke up, there the world of AIDS is spread out before me, and I thought ‘I can't do this. I don't want to be selfish, but I care too much about my health'. And the person I loved more than myself had been cheating on me and lying to me. So if that person is doing it, what about total strangers? So I just got used to being alone, very used to it."

An interactive graph based on The World Without Us, Alan Weisman's gripping new book about what would happen to the Earth should humans disappear.

REPORT: Madonna to adopt second orphan from Malawi.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tore a jewelry clerk to shreds, according to a new biography, after the clerk whispered something under her breath when Condi asked to see a nicer item: "Let’s get one thing straight. You are behind the counter because you have to work for minimum wage. I’m on this side asking to see the good jewelry because I make considerably more.

Filmmaker documents the end of three gay British men in 1967: "The outline of their deaths is well documented. On February 3 1967, the independent record producer Joe Meek killed his landlady, Violet Shenton, before turning the shotgun on himself. On August 9, the hottest new British playwright of his generation, Joe Orton, was murdered by his companion, Kenneth Halliwell. On August 27, the body of the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein was found after an accidental overdose of a prescribed sleeping pill."

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Condi Biographer: "I Never Came Close to Finding a Female Lover"

In the upcoming issue of the Advocate, Matthew Link interviews Marcus Mabry, who has just published Twice as Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power (the first biography on the Secretary of State on which she has cooperated). They discuss, in part, Condi's sexuality. Mabry says that despite all the rumors that she's a lesbian, in all his research he never found any proof:

"The lesbian rumors have been out there for a long time. In my reporting of this book for two years, at evey turn I encountered someone telling me, 'you know she's a lesbian, right?'— colleagues at Stanford, Colleagues in Washington, fellow professors around the country. That she told so-and-so she was gay, or she went out with this woman or that woman. And I would trace each of the rumors back and report them out, and they would never go anywhere. I never even came close to finding a female lover. People had assumed that her best friend, who is a gay man, was her boyfriend. Again, I think it's the Southern imerative to keep the public and the private separate. People have no idea who the private Conoleezza is, so they fill that vacuum. In private she's incredibly warm and gracious—it's shocking. Oftentimes people think a single, strong, powerful woman must be a lesbian. There's a certain homophobia implicit in that assumption."

The issue goes on sale this week.

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News: Azis, Stripper Cop, ACT UP Paris, Lance Bass

Seattle Pride parade on again. Rally searching for a resurrection.

Two female plainclothes police officers charge Scottish male stripper with impersonating a police officer: "I said I was not a police officer, I said I am a stripper. They followed me into the bar, watched the show, then asked me to go back to the station. It was all quite friendly. When I went back later they said they were going to charge me. I have spoken to two solicitors and they do not know if it will go to court."

Crain's POLL: "Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to introduce a gay marriage bill in New York state is favored by almost two-thirds of the 1,022 respondents to a recent Crain's online poll. About 63% of voters said they support a gay marriage law. If New York adopted the new legislation, it would become only the second state behind Massachusetts to legalize same-sex marriage."

Gay Pride dies in Leicester, UK: "...organisers say they are disappointed the event cannot go ahead because of a lack of cash and volunteers leaving the area."

Bulgarian pop star Azis, who married his partner last year, drags out new video.

Kentucky governor considering emergency "special session" of legislature in order to repeal benefits for gay couples.

Democratic presidential contenders go head-to-head in 90-minute televised debate tonight.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg: "I hope Al Gore enters the race; I think it would be good for the country."

Condoleezza Rice to be subpoenaed on Iraq.

ACT UP Paris has been ordered to pay the Cathedral of Notre Dame a one Euro fine for staging a mock wedding in the cathedral without its permission: "'The provocative act of June 2005 and the unrest it caused shocked many people of different faiths, whether believers or not, both in France and beyond,' the Paris archdiocese said. Act Up Paris said it was considering appealing against the decision. In the mock wedding, a man dressed as a priest and a lesbian couple - both dressed in white wedding dresses - walked up the cathedral's main aisle and mimicked a wedding ritual while about 20 activists distributed flyers denouncing the Church."

Now it's Lance Bass handing out the kisses in public.

New York Post columnist slams Matos-McGreevey tell-all: "Dina McGreevey does a disservice to women. To wives. To honest political groupies."

55% of shareholders at Micron Technology Inc. vote to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation at the company, but Micron's Board of Directors refuses to accept the resolution: " This is the first time that a majority of shareholders at any U.S. company have voted to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. For most social issue resolutions, receiving shareholder support ranging anywhere from 20 to 30 percent is considered a decent mandate."

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube: #85

DONATELLA VERSACE: Appearance on Jimmy Kimmel last Tuesday. (source: popbytes)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Condilicious shakes up the House... (source: virtual matter)

RICHARD SIMMONS: Adjustin' to the oldies on the Today show.

CANADIAN PAIRS SKATER JESSICA DUBE: Has her face slashed by a skate blade in competition over the weekend.

Check out our past guides to the Tube here!

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Hearings: Condi Rice Warned of "Terrorist Platoon of Lesbians"

On Wednesday, at hearings on the State Department's 2008 budget, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice repeatedly suggested that qualified language experts were needed at the agency, prompting this delicious exchange with Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY).

Ackerman noted that at least 322 language specialists with skills in Arabic, Farsi, and Korean have been discharged from the U.S. Military under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy began in 1993. Ackerman suggested the State Department hire back those language specialists, but not before getting in a hilarious zinger.

Ackerman: "It seems that the Defense Department has a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy when it comes to homosexuals. You don't have such a prohibition in your agency, do you?"

Rice: "No, we do not."

Ackerman: "Good for you. Well, it seems that the military has gone around and fired a whole bunch of people who speak foreign languages — Farsi and Arabic, etc...after they trained them in their foreign language schools for 63 weeks, and presumably they all pass all kinds of security things, and many of them told on themselves and were fired. For some reason, the military seems more afraid of gay people than they are against terrorists, because they’re very brave with the terrorists. I mean, If the terrorists ever got a hold of this information, they'd get a platoon of lesbians to chase us out of Baghdad. The affirmative suggestion that I would make is why can’t the State Department look to pick up all those people that were fired from the military because apparently you don’t have a policy, and put these three dozen Farsi and Arabic people to work doing what you’re suggesting would cost a lot of money to train, etc., because we have them. Can we marry up those two — or maybe that’s the wrong word — can we have some kind of union of those two issues, that you might be willing to –"

Rice: "Congressman, I’m not aware of the availability of people, but I certainly will look at what we are doing right now."

You have to love the jab Ackerman gets in there about gay marriage as well.

Sharon Alexander, deputy director of policy for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), responded to the exchange:

"Considering the critical shortage of linguists in the armed forces, a platoon of Arabic-speaking lesbians may be just what the military needs. In fact, faced with the shortage of language experts, the military would do well to consider Congressman Ackerman’s point. We cannot afford to lose critical personnel because of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ There are many brave gay men and lesbians who report for duty every day, and their contributions are immeasurably important to our national security. Secretary Rice would have no trouble finding gay linguists. In fact, our government could go a long way in addressing the shortage of language expertise by doing just as Congressman Ackerman suggests. SLDN would be happy to introduce Secretary Rice to our many clients who speak Arabic but have been dismissed because of the ban."

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News: Posh Spice, Jason Lewis, Houston Pride, Baghdad Blood

Catholic Bishop in Piedras Negras, Mexico calls recent legislation legalizing same-sex unions in the state of Coahuila "an attack on the institution of marriage."

Two of Saddam Hussein's aides have been hanged in Baghdad.

Victoria Beckham and her nipples arrive in L.A., inspiring attention from the locals.

Police officer in Corvallis, Oregon