John Hagee Retracts Retraction of Katrina 'Gay Sin' Remarks

In late April, McCain supporter John Hagee appeared to retract his past remarks that gay sin brought Hurricane Katrina upon New Orleans, releasing a statement that said:

"As a believing Christian, I see the hand of God in everything that happens here on earth, both the blessings and the curses. But ultimately neither I nor any other person can know the mind of God concerning Hurricane Katrina. I should not have suggested otherwise. No matter what the cause of the storm, my heart goes out to all who suffered in this terrible tragedy. There but for the grace of God go any one of us."

Well, that didn't last long. IHagee held a conference call with religious supporters yesterday, the Dallas News reports:

"When a woman on the call asked why he seemed to have backed away from his Katrina comments in face of criticism, Hagee said he hadn't. As for the Katrina, he said, God controls hurricanes and 'God always punishes unconfessed sin.'"

Anyone surprised? Didn't think so.

McCain most recently called the controversy over Hagee's remarks "nonsense."

(via Think Progress)

AFTER THE JUMP, the Hagee video...

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CBS: Top Clinton Strategist Tells Her It's Over

As Clinton campaigns on amid mounting pressure to concede and unify the party, CBS has reported that a top Clinton strategist has told Hillary Clinton that she can't win the nomination...

Watch the report, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Chelsea Clinton to Hit Lesbian Bar with Sophie B Hawkins?

Barring any unforeseen changes in the Clinton campaign schedule, it looks as if Chelsea will be continuing the gay bar crawl she began at Portland's Red Dress Party and extended to Center City in Philadelphia when she returns to Portland before Oregon's primary.

Williamette Week's Byron Beck reports: "Just got word there is a very strong possibility that my new friend Chelsea Clinton is heading back to Portland for a very special appearance on Tuesday, May 13. Chelsea will be collecting ballots alongside out and very proud recording artist Sophie B. Hawkins."

Previously
Chelsea Clinton's Ass Grabbed in Philadelphia Gay Bar Crawl [tr]
Chelsea Clinton Hobnobs with the Muscle Marys [tr]

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Clinton Options Dwindle with Tiny Indiana Victory, Loss in NC

Hillary Clinton put on a strong facade last night as she cheered supporters on in Indiana, but it's the cancelation of all public appearances today (reported by Talking Points Memo) and the anointment of Obama as nominee by Tim Russert, Matt Drudge, and MSNBC's Chuck Todd that have people wondering about the direction the Clinton campaign will take next.

Obama won a 14-point victory in North Carolina, and lost by just 23,000 votes in Indiana.

The Washington Post reports: "Both candidates looked ahead to contests next week in West Virginia and May 20 in Oregon and Kentucky, but Clinton was nearly out of opportunities to change the course of the race. 'We have seen that it's possible to overcome the politics of division and distraction, that it's possible to overcome the same old negative attacks that are always about scoring points and never about solving our problems,' Obama said at a victory rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Illinois senator's 14-point victory in North Carolina was a dramatic comeback from a difficult campaign stretch that began last month with a big loss in Pennsylvania and was prolonged by the controversy over racially charged comments by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright."

The NYT reports: "The results from the two primaries, the largest remaining Democratic ones, assured that Mr. Obama would widen his lead in pledged delegates over Mrs. Clinton, providing him with new ammunition as he seeks to persuade Democratic leaders to coalesce around his campaign. He also increased his lead in the popular vote in winning North Carolina by more than 200,000 votes."

The candidates' speeches, below:

Russert told Keith Olbermann: "We now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be, and no one is going to dispute it."

Watch that clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

Additional reading
Reality Has Well-Known Obama Bias [huffington post]
If You Want to Crown Him [shakesville]
An obituary for the Clinton campaign [daily voice]

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News: Tom Hanks, Costume Gala, McCain Judges, Santacruzans

House owned by gay escort to socialites James Hunt Barker burns in Palm Beach, Florida.

Britney back as Neil Patrick Harris' trophy gal on How I Met Your Mother.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute gala was themed Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, but I didn't see many capes or codpieces.

Matthew McConaughey to play Captain America?

In anticipation of Brothers and Sisters' big gay wedding this weekend, GLAAD has put together a handy reference guide to weddings of same-sex couples on broadcast networks.

Publishers Weekly on the state of gay book publishing: "In my view, it is clear that today there is less and less visible publishing of gay and lesbian books. Carroll & Graf, Alyson and Harrington Park Press—in recent years the most energetic publishers of gay/lesbian fiction and nonfiction—have all either failed, drastically reduced their list of GLBT titles, or have been undergoing serial management/ownership changes. As for what most folks would consider the mainstream publishing houses, they are publishing far less of what could credibly be labeled 'gay or lesbian books' than they were 10 years ago. But what I find more distressing is that even those books that they do publish are packaged and promoted in such a way as to downplay or ignore the gay or lesbian aspect of the book."

"Official celebrity" Tom Hanks releases video endorsement of Barack Obama.

Beloved Provincetown local "Dixie" dies in accident at home.

McCain wooing conservatives with promises on judges: "McCain promised to appoint judges who, in the mold of Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, are likely to limit the reach of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. 'They would serve as the model for my own nominees if that responsibility falls to me,' McCain said in his prepared speech."

McCain aides attribute Hagee endorsement to "poor vetting": "McCain’s aides attribute the Hagee controversy to poor vetting. But even some Republicans (not affiliated with the campaign) privately wonder how the pastor’s extreme views slipped through without notice. McCain personally wooed Hagee for more than a year." Frank Rich: "Any 12-year-old with a laptop could have vetted this preacher in 30 seconds, tops."

Is Banksy the Michelangelo of graffiti?

If Brad Pitt and U2's The Edge were a gay couple with a family, this is what it might look like.

Filipino Cardinal bans gay Santacruzans: "Parishes that allow cross-dressing homosexuals to play female saints in religious festivals are insulting the Virgin Mary, the nation’s top Catholic cleric said Monday. 'We should keep sacred what is sacred,' Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said as he admonished parishes for allowing male homosexuals to play Saint Helena and other female roles traditionally given to local beauty queens. But leaders of the gay community maintained that “Marian devotees” among them deserved a place in the Maytime tradition."

Ian Strachan to appeal conviction for gay blackmail of British Royal.

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #284

HEAD OVER HILLS: Belinda Carlisle's gay son lets it be known who his mother is supporting for president.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BARACK: Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: Behind-the-scenes of last week's Ugly Betty appearance.

OIL: John McCain reveals the real reason for the war in Iraq. More here.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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News: Kevin Rudd, Jesus, Christian Siriano, Patrick McHenry, Mariah

Clinton advisor Mickey Kantor statement on Indianans unearthed: "Look at Indiana...it doesn't matter if we win. Those people are shit. How would you like to be a worthless white ni**er?" Kantor denies... UPDATE: Director Pennebaker says clip doctored...

Barack Obama pledges to stop fighting between Lauren and Heidi on The Hills.

Christian Siriano hosting virtual prom.

Australian PM Kevin Rudd signals that he may block a move by the nation's capital to legalize civil unions: "The Prime Minister warned today that he would never agree to gay marriage, which would require amendments to the Marriage Act. The act expressly states that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. While the ACT government, led by chief minister Jon Stanhope, argues its civil partnerships are different to gay marriage, the Government is concerned it too closely mimics marriage. Mr Rudd now holds the power to disallow any ACT laws that he deems to replicate marriage, just as the Howard Government did during its final term. Despite previously arguing it was a matter for the states, the Prime Minister said today that no other state was proposing laws similar to the ACT."

Mariah Carey marries Nick Cannon in the Bahamas.

Banksy, who has curated an underground graffiti exhibition in London in a tunnel which opens tonight, tells Reuters: Creating graffiti "better than sex, better than drugs."

Tom Ford makes debut as costume designer for Santa Fe opera The Letter.

Massachusetts publishes 120-page anti-bullying guide for schools. Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach: "Our kids deserve to grow up in an environment that is free from harassment and violence. The consequences of bullying can last a lifetime, but all too often it is treated as a rite of passage."

Brazilian gymnast takes his talent to the street.

Never has a shirt on: Lipstick Jungle's Robert Buckley is the new Matthew McConaughey.

Jesus is coming in 2015, look busy.

North Carolina congressman Patrick McHenry behaving conservatively.

Man charged in killing of Florida gay activist Scott Graham: "A man has been charged with murdering West Palm Beach, Fla., gay rights activist Scott Graham, who was found dead in his home on April 16, The Palm Beach Post reported Wednesday. Ricardo David Fuenes-Valle, 20, was arrested on Tuesday near Tampa by Hillsborough County deputies and U.S. marshals. He is being charged with first-degree murder. Investigators found the suspect on Tuesday after they were told that Fuenes-Valle was planning to rob Graham or burglarize his home to steal jewelry and money, West Palm Beach police captain Pat Maney told the Post. Witnesses said Graham was last seen on April 14 with Fuenes-Valle. 'We don't really have a motive at this point,' Maney said in the article. 'We are working under that assumption.'"

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McCain Gets Crudest Health Care Question of the Campaign

From an ordained Baptist minister. Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Iowa Politics reports:

"Clive businessman Marty Parrish was escorted from Sen. John McCain's town hall meeting by Des Moines police and members of the Secret Service after asking McCain if he had called his wife Cindy an expletive in 1992...Parrish said his intentions were simple in posing the question to McCain. The former Joe Biden campaign worker stressed he is very concerned about the Republican presidential nominee's temperament. 'We have a man whose temper can get the best of him,' Parrish said. 'What I am worried about is his temper. Our country is in a serious crisis. This election is the most significant one since 1860. It appears America is asleep -- so I stood up and asked the question.' Parrish signed in as a Huffington Post contributor and was taking pictures at the town hall meeting. He handed out a leaflet prior to the event alleging McCain called his wife the name in 1992 while on the campaign trail running for re-election in the Senate. The leaflet asked members of media why they were focusing on the controversial statements made in the past by Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama's pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright and ignoring the alleged comment McCain made to his wife. 'Barack Obama spent three weeks defending that,' Parrish said afterwards. 'Why does the news media continue to ignore this outrageous statement by John McCain, but fixates on Barack Obama's truthful observation that some people are bitter?' the leaflet reads."

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Barack Obama Repudiates Reverend Jeremiah Wright

Press conference on the left, Q&A on the right, via Talking Points Memo.

Said Obama: I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday. I had been a member of Trinity United Church since 1992. I've known Reverend Wright for almost twenty years. The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met twenty years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate, and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church. They certainly don't portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Reverend Wright thinks that that's political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn't know me very well. And based on his remarks yesterday, well, I might not know him as well as I thought, either.

Wright's comments at the National Press Club, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Clinton Taking Heat for North Carolina Governor's 'Pansy' Remark

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley is being criticized for the use of an anti-gay slur in his endorsement/introduction of Hillary Clinton today. In turn, Clinton is being criticized for standing by and saying nothing.

Said Easley: "This lady right here makes Rocky Balboa look like a pansy."

The Smoking Gun notes: "Easley's compliment, as it were, may offend some voters since the word 'pansy' is often used in a derogative fashion to describe a male homosexual. Or at least that's what it says in the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary on our shelf (we scanned the 'pansy' entry from page 828 and posted it below). Other dictionaries (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dictionary.com) offer a similar definition for 'pansy,' describing it as a 'disparaging' or 'derogatory' term for an 'effeminate or homosexual man.'"

The remark has already begun to reverberate across the blogosphere. More from ABC.

Watch Easley's remarks, which I've clipped, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Pastor John Hagee Retracts Claim That Gay Sin Caused Katrina

Early last week, Pastor John Hagee told right wing radio show host Dennis Prager that he still believed that Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans because gays were planning to hold a sinful gathering there.

The reiteration inspired a flurry of renewed protest, forcing John McCain, who has "gladly" accepted Hagee's endorsement, to respond. By the end of the week, a short-tempered McCain was snapping at reporters that the whole controversy was "nonsense."

At about the same time, apparently, Hagee's office was issuing this statement:

"As a believing Christian, I see the hand of God in everything that happens here on earth, both the blessings and the curses. But ultimately neither I nor any other person can know the mind of God concerning Hurricane Katrina. I should not have suggested otherwise. No matter what the cause of the storm, my heart goes out to all who suffered in this terrible tragedy. There but for the grace of God go any one of us."

Quite a turnaround, eh?

AFTER THE JUMP, a round-up of Hagee's controversial views.

(via pageoneq)

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #281

GEORGE W BUSH: His speech at the annual White House Correspondent's Dinner over the weekend. Part two here

GQ COVER: A reporter asks Obama whether he's too good-looking to relate to working class people.

100 YEARS: The DNC's new McCain attack ad.

TRAVIS CHILDERS: Mississippi Republican congressional candidate Greg Davis using Jeremiah Wright - Obama ad to attack his Democratic rival Travis Childers.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Obama's Abercrombie Boys: Case Closed

Questions regarding the origin of the Obama Abercrombie boys have been answered:

"The so-called Abercrombie boys who showed up behind Senator Barack Obama during his speech Tuesday night in Evansville, Ind., were just random Obama fans...Because they were all wearing T-shirts from Abercrombie & Fitch, they stood out in the crowd, even receiving cell-phone calls from friends who had spotted them on television during the speech. Soon the media mentioned them, wondering whether they were part of an advertising campaign, a shrewd bit of product placement by the retailer, which is geared toward the same young crowd attracted to Mr. Obama’s candidacy. Not so. The young men saw a report on CNN and called the network to say they had not planned anything. One of them works at the Abercrombie & Fitch store in Evansville. He and one of his brothers and a friend decided to go to the rally; they wear A&F clothes all the time and didn’t think twice about the T-shirts. At the rally, a campaign volunteer asked them to stand behind Mr. Obama during his speech. It was not clear what role the T-shirts played, if any, in their selection. Spokesmen for the Obama campaign and A&F said there was no plan to highlight A&F, and both were caught by surprise when the T-shirts drew such attention. Virtually all campaigns strategically select the audiences who appear behind their candidate so as to send a message to television viewers."

As I noted yesterday, folks are already selling Obamacrombie T-shirts.

Said Tom Lennox, VP-corporate communications for A&F: "We appreciate the exposure, but can not take credit for it. So, thanks to the Obama campaign for this great product placement. We wish we had thought of it. If Hillary is interested, we have stores all over North Carolina, Indiana and Oregon."

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John McCain on the Hagee Controversy: 'It's Nonsense'

Yesterday in New Orleans, John McCain was asked repeatedly about the endorsement he accepted from anti-gay Pastor John Hagee, who has said that gay sin was responsible for Hurricane Katrina's destruction of that city.

At one point on his tour bus, he snapped at a reporter, repeatedly calling the Hagee controversy "nonsense." Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Just after the exchange in the video clip above, McCain attempted to deflect the criticism by bringing up Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Said McCain "I didn't attend Pastor Hagee's church for 20 years. There's a great deal of difference, in my view, between someone who endorses you, and other circumstances."

Watch that full clip here.

In related news, Newt Gingrich was asked about McCain and how he should respond to Hagee's anti-Catholic and anti-gay statements. Gingrich said he should reject the anti-Catholic statements but remained mum about the anti-gay ones.

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North Carolina GOP Defies McCain Request, Runs Wright Ad

Despite John McCain's request to state party chair Linda Daves that an ad running in North Carolina featuring Obama and Rev. Jeremiah Wright (and using Wright's rant "No! No! No! Not God bless America. God bleep America!") not be run, the North Carolina Republican Party has decided to defy McCain and run the ad anyway.

The ad criticizes both NC Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's and state Treasurer Richard Moore's endorsements of a candidate they claim is "too extreme."

Said Obama of the ad: "My understanding is that the Republican National Committee and John McCain have both said that the ad's inappropriate. I take them at their word, and I assume that if John McCain thinks that it's an inappropriate ad, that he can get them to pull it down since he's their nominee and standard-bearer."

He assumed wrong.

UPDATE: NC Republicans pull ad...

Watch the spot, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Obama Wins Key Abercrombie & Fitch Vote

Did they coordinate their fashion choices before the rally, or is this actually a niche segment of voters that we've not seen pull together until now?

(also spotted at gawker)

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Hillary Clinton Wins Pennsylvania Primary, Soldiers On

Hillary Clinton took the Pennsylvania primary over Barack Obama with 55% of the vote to Obama's 45%. The candidates' speeches, above, via Talking Points Memo. Josh Marshall of TPM notes that, after Pennsylvania, we're basically back where we started again: "There's a lot of crowing from Hillary's campaign tonight about a shift in momentum and doubts about Obama. Tomorrow there will be a lot of chatter from Obama's campaign that none of that really matters because of the reality of the delegate numbers which won't change much."

AP: "Her victory, while comfortable, set up another critical test in two weeks time in Indiana. North Carolina votes the same day, and Obama already is the clear favorite in a Southern state with a large black population. 'Now it's up to you, Indiana,' Obama said at a rally of his own in Evansville after Pennsylvania denied him a victory that might have made the nomination his."

The NYT reports: "Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama in Pennsylvania on Tuesday by enough of a margin to continue a battle that Democrats increasingly believe is undermining their effort to unify the party and prepare for the general election against Senator John McCain. Despite a huge investment of time and money by Mr. Obama and pressure on Mrs. Clinton by the party establishment to consider folding her campaign, she won her third big state in a row. Mrs. Clinton showed again that she is a tenacious campaigner with an ability to connect with the blue-collar voters Mr. Obama has found elusive and who could be critical to a Democratic victory in November."

But is it possible for Clinton to win the nomination? MSNBC's Chuck Todd does some analysis below, and concludes that it's almost impossible for Obama to lose his lead in pledged delegates.

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Deciding the Democratic Nomination in the WWE Ring

Screw Pennsylvania. The WWE's Raw let the candidates have a go at it last night. Even Bill showed up for a little action.

Watch pre-taped messages from the candidates themselves, which are just as amusing as the clip above, AFTER THE JUMP...

And for fairness' sake, they let John McCain get a word in too.

(via new york magazine daily intelligencer)

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The Fabulous Life of John McCain

One of the McCain campaign's credit cards recently charged up $2,546.56 on a one-day shopping trip to Barney's. Official word from the campaign is that the card was "stolen."

Progressive Media USA takes a look into the Fabulous Life of John McCain, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Chelsea Clinton's Ass Grabbed in Philadelphia Gay Bar Crawl

Chelsea Clinton extended her tour of gay America over the weekend, stopping in at four bars in Philadelphia's Center City neighborhood, where her rear end discovered that the City of Brotherly Love was the city of Sisterly Love as well:

"Led around the neighborhood by Gov. Ed Rendell, Chelsea was mobbed by local gays and lesbians, as she walked from one club to the next. They ran up to hug her, posed for pictures and certainly invaded her personal space. 'I grabbed her ass,' one young woman exclaimed to her friends after snapping a picture with her arm around the former first daughter. 'Chelsea, the gays love you!' one fan exclaimed, as she took the microphone at Bump, a restaurant and bar that was her first stop. 'Oh, gosh, I don’t know if everybody loves me,' she responded. Most of those at the bar seemed to, squeezing past one another in the cramped space to get a photo. Even some patrons, donning Obama stickers -- a rally for the Illinois senator had taken place a few blocks away earlier in the evening -- tried to get a snapshot as well. In all, she visited four bars in Center City, concluding her tour at Woody’s, the city’s most famous gay bar. Getting from one event to another proved difficult at times, as she was constantly stopped by admirers while walking down the sidewalk."

Clinton was joined by director Rob Reiner and actor Robert Gant.

Said Rendell of their final stop at Woody's: "This is where the voters are...We'll see 1,500 people tonight easily and they're all voters. These are important voters, they're smart, they're sophisticated and they turn out in large numbers and always have."

CHELSEA STOPS TRAFFIC ON GAY BAR CRAWL [msnbc first read]
Chelsea Clinton hits the gay bars in Philadelphia [penn live]

Previously
Chelsea Clinton Hobnobs with the Muscle Marys [tr]

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #277

ABC NEWS: Pilloried for its ridiculous Democratic debate coverage. (source: daily dish)

HOWARD DEAN: Tells superdelegates to decide now.

GAY DAD: Recent sketch comedy from Stanford University students.

CAFFEINE: Caffeine may protect you from sun damaged skin and skin cancer.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Grabbing the Golden Girl Vote

On the left, a viral campaign video for Barack Obama from "White Haired Women for Obama" that has been making the rounds. Daily Dish notes its similarities to the Kids in the Hall sketch "30 Helens" on the right.

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ABC Criticized for Lack of Substance at Democratic Debate

ABC is being roundly criticized for the line of questioning at last night's Democratic debate, with 11,032 comments on ABC's website, the majority of which criticize the network for not dealing with substantive issues.

Above, a clip of some of the questions (these are questions only, not answers), via Crooks and Liars and Pam's House Blend (she also has a transcript of these questions) regarding electability, Reverend Jeremiah Wright (3 questions!), Clinton's Bosnia trip, flag lapel pins, and radicals from the 1970's. Below, Talking Points Memo's round-up:

A transcript of the debate can be found here.

I didn't watch the debate, but I'm not upset I didn't at this point. I'll add any interesting clips I come across to this post as they come in.

AFTER THE JUMP, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos are turned on by an audience who wants to know, 'where's the beef?' as they go to yet another commercial break...

The HuffPo writes: "Reflecting what seemed to be the main consensus of the night - that ABC botched this debate, big time - Charlie Gibson tells the crowd there will be one more, superfluous commercial break of the night and is subsequently jeered."

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Chelsea Clinton Hobnobs with the Muscle Marys

Monday, I mentioned that Chelsea Clinton had stopped in at Portland's drag 'Red Dress Party' fundraiser. Here's another shot showing the former first daughter at the fete amidst a band of jungle red Oregon Glamazons.

When we posted yesterday's photo we received an email from San Francisco photographer Jerry Pritikin, noting that it's not the first time a candidate's child has mingled with the gays in the heat of campaign season.

Pritikin sent along this photo he shot of Jimmy Carter's son "Chip" in 1976 at the San Francisco Gay Memorial Day Tricycle Race. Note the signs in the background announcing his dad's appearance at a downtown SF location on June 2nd.

Red Dress Party [just out via Pam's House Blend]

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McCain Openness to Gay Republicans Upsets Wingnut

Right-wing "pro-family" groups are apoplectic that Arnold Schwarzenegger met with the Log Cabin Republicans last weekend as John McCain's "surrogate" and are urging McCain not to go ahead with plans he has, reportedly, to meet with the group.

Wingnut leader of Republicans for Family Values, Peter LaBarbera, is particularly ruffled:

"I think this is significant. It was significant when George Bush ... met with the Log Cabin Federation before he became president -- and it doesn't surprise me that McCain is doing it. I think the danger is that when you try to be pro-homosexual and pro-family at the same time, it doesn't work...So, it becomes difficult for John McCain to say he's supporting efforts to protect marriage and also supporting the Log Cabin Republicans. I just think this is the problem with the 'big tent' [philosophy] in general in the Republican Party."

If you'lll remember, last time we heard from LaBarbera he was showing off his collection of gay fetish movies.

McCain urged to flee from Log Cabin Republicans [onn]

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News: Taxes, Ken Livingstone, Titanic, Milo Ventimiglia, Scientology

On tax day, a reminder of how the U.S. inflicts extra financial burden on gay citizens.

The last meal on the Titanic, which went down 96 years ago today. Researchers have a new theory behind the sinking — rivets.

ABC's Jake Tapper calls attention to the "Compassion Forum" appearance of Clinton and Obama at Messiah College, which I posted about last week. One of his readers asks, ""Shouldn't Democratic presidential candidates, both of whom are explicitly on the record as being in favor of gay rights, avoid schools like this as assiduously as previous generations of politicians were urged to avoid Bob Jones University? How can politicians appear at a college that espouses these ideas and then turn around and court the gay community at the same time? How can the two leading Democratic candidates appear on stage at this college and not be questioned by the press about the hypocrisy of appearing there?"

Kentucky GOP Rep. Geoff Davis on Obama: "I’m going to tell you something: That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button. He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country." Davis apologizes...

The gay Navy lieutenant from Melrose Place, Jason Beghe, escaped the clutches of Scientology and now he's speaking out on video: "It’s very, very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution. I think it stunts your evolution. If Scientology is real, then something’s fucked up."

Lack of support from London Mayor Ken Livingstone leaves 2008 International Gay & Lesbian Football Association World Championship with a funding shortfall: "Peter Tatchell of Outrage! described as 'scandalous' the lack of any funding or support from City Hall. 'Ken Livingstone is organising billions of pounds for corporate mega events like the 2012 Olympics but can’t give a few thousand pounds to help host the gay football world championship.'"

A really mean box of jelly beans, which I'm actually really curious to taste.

Project Runway is getting not one but two spin-offs on Lifetime: "The first of them doesn't have a title yet, but Weinstein said it will look at the Project Runway world through the eyes of the show's models. The second, dubbed Project Pygmalion, is a makeover series that will turn its winner into a high-society socialite."

Somebody got carried away at the tattoo parlor.

Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in the World wins big at Italian animation festival: "Cult hit half-hour show about three gay couples in the fictional 'gay ghetto' of West Lahunga Beach took the Pulcinella nod for TV series of the year. The Pulcinella for TV series for all ages went to RAI Fiction’s 'Acqua in bocca' (Water and Bubbles), about two fish in a tank and their interaction with an Italian family, from helmer Guido Manuli."

Milo Ventimiglia dreamt of being a fighter pilot.

GYM bar in NYC to open up its locker room.

Queerty talks to author Scott Heim about his new novel We Disappear: "There were all these different disappearances in the book–including Scott Heim the writer disappearing into Scott the character—I liked this idea of readers not knowing where one starts and the others begin. There are a lot of things in the book that are total fiction. The danger of doing this blurring is when people do read this as a memoir."

Tom Cruise and David Beckham to buy a soccer team together?

A townhouse in New York's West Village transformed, part of New York magazine's excellent new occasional real estate section, Vu.

Fight to allow gay blood donors heats up in Scotland.

Judicial Watch calls on FEC to investigate Elton John's Hillary Clinton benefit concert: "Recent news reports suggest that Hillary Clinton and Hillary Clinton for President have accepted an in-kind contribution from a foreign national, Sir Elton John, in contravention of federal electon laws. On behalf of Judicial Watch and its supporters, I hereby request that the FEC investigate this matter."

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Comedy Team McCains on Our Parade

The McCain Girls are the product of the 23/6 comedy site, it was revealed today:

"Drum roll, please: The creators of the McCain Girls turn out to be the comedy team behind 23/6, a five-month-old Web site owned by an affiliate of IAC/InterActiveCorp that parodies the news. The site, at 236.com, uses the motto 'Some of the news, most of the time.' Indeed, the videos’ makers say they were trying to tread the line between sincerity and irony. 'We wanted to parody the campaign-song phenomenon,' said Sarah Bernard, the president of 23/6. Because most of the so-called stars of YouTube are amateurs, the comedy site decided to take no credit for its creation. Jon Benjamin, a contributor to 23/6 who produced the 'Raining McCain' video, had watched some of the more earnest campaign songs online. Recalling one particular video, an elaborate choir production called 'Hillary4U&Me,' 'it just looked like somebody paid them money to do it,' he said. So that’s what 23/6 decided to do: hire three women with acting and singing backgrounds to create a video for Mr. McCain. 'We were pretty amazed that after the video came out, people were confused as to whether or not it was real,' Ms. Bernard said. 'That’s when I think we said ‘Hey, can we actually pull off a hoax here? How long can we keep it going?'"

I'm really disappointed. I was so looking forward to "McCainy Days and Mondays".

And if you missed them, I've posted their earlier hits AFTER THE JUMP...

Singing McCain’s Praises, or Joking? [nyt]
The McCain Girls: "It's Raining McCain!" [23/6]

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Chelsea Clinton Parties with 2,000 Gay Men at Drag Fundraiser

While in Portland, Chelsea Clinton made sure the gays got some attention, stopping in at the annual Red Dress Party, at which attendees must wear the required garment. It was probably, refreshingly, the first stop in recent weeks where she knew she wouldn't be asked about the blue dress.

Byron Beck writes: "Not to be confused with that other annual "Red Dress" fundraiser, this is the "Red Dress Party," a mondo-alcohol-fueled dance party where nearly 2,000 gay men in various states of red dress undress (and several nearly naked straight men as well as one very colorfully decorated naked woman) invade a warehouse in Northeast Portland and dance their collective asses off to pounding disco music and the incredible Storm Large and her Balls (they were beyond fabulous). Large, a bigtime Obama supporter even dedicated one of her more infamous songs, Ladylike, to Chelsea's mama. According to my sources Ms. Clinton moved heaven and earth (well, she just trimmed some of her other meetings in Oregon Saturday that included stops in Eugene and Portland State University) so that she could make the par-ty."

Adds Beck: "This small shindig was started years ago as a way for gay guys to wear girlie gowns and get stinkin’ drunk. But this much-loved party has evolved over the years. Now one of the most colorful fundraisers out there (last year the group gave away more than $25,000 to local nonprofits supporting queer youth or helping people with AIDS), it attracts over 1,500-plus attendees, including straight men and women, state legislators and anybody else who likes to rock on with their frock on."

Party Girl: Chelsea Clinton Cuts Loose With 2,000 Gay Men in Red Dresses
[williamette week]

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