News: Polo, Jeff Gannon, Jerusalem, Sacha Baron-Cohen, Banksy

With Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem set for Thursday, Haredim choose this year to avoid public protest.

Mario Lopez attempts to recreate a classic.

VV: Why isn't anyone fucking anymore? "The city has shut down all but two bathhouses and every known sex club in Manhattan, as well as citing bars, clubs, and private parties where inspectors find any men-on-men action. The few entrepreneurs still out there complain about apathy and different priorities among younger gay men."

Nomination of homophobic surgeon general James Holsinger may be dead: "Sen. Jim Bunning (R., Ky.), a staunch supporter of surgeon general nominee James W. Holsinger Jr., suggested yesterday that the doctor’s quest for the top U.S. medical post is at an end. During a telephone news conference, Bunning said he doubted the nomination would move forward. He cited the Democratic leadership’s blockage of several Bush administration-backed judicial appointments. 'They are not moving any positions of consequence,' he said."

May 15: Universal sets release date for Sacha Baron-Cohen comedy about gay Austrian journalist Bruno.

Banksy works exceed expectations at London urban art auctions.

Washington Times columnist >Wes Pruden cavalier over millions of AIDS deaths: "We were all supposed to be dead now, done in by AIDS, the gift of the gays. After that it was SARS, bequeathed to the world by China. Then it was avian flu, which, to be fair to the alarmists, did in fact result in the deaths of millions. The millions were all chickens, true, but chickens have feelings, too. You could ask the folks at PETA."

Rex Wockner chronicles the same-sex marriages in San Diego in photos.

Prince Harry gets in uniform to honor Britain's fallen.

Gay Polo League plays in first tournament ever.

Slate: Gay culture war about to turn chemical. "If the idea of chemically suppressing homosexuality in the womb horrifies you, I have bad news: You won't be in the room when it happens. Parents control medical decisions, and surveys indicate that the vast majority of them would be upset to learn that their child was gay. Already, millions are screening embryos and fetuses to eliminate those of the "wrong" sex. Do you think they won't screen for the 'wrong' sexual orientation, too?"

Cristiano Ronaldo and the sweet taste of success.

Keanu Reeves frolics in the surf.

LETTER: The full letter from The Rt Rev Richard Chartres to Rev Martin Dudley following Dudley's marriage of two gay priests.

Jeff Gannon now blogging at the National Press Club.

Germany divided over prospect of gay Lutheran bishop: " Horst Gorski, a senior cleric from Hamburg, is standing for the post of bishop of Schleswig in northern Germany against Gerhard Ulrich, a senior cleric from the Schleswig area. The incumbent bishop is retiring in September. Gorski is a widely respected theologian and he helped set up a centre for gay and lesbian Lutheran pastors. His open homosexuality angers some Lutheran conservatives who argue his election as bishop would leave many Christians with no spiritual home."

Pittsburgh paper: Rural gays isolated, but still stigmatized.

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Will Bush Recess-Appoint Anti-Gay Surgeon General Nominee?

Whatever happened to Bush's U.S. Surgeon General nominee James Holsinger?

Turns out, nothing.

The nominee, whose Senate confirmation hearings in July were marked with concern regarding a 1991 paper the candidate wrote on homosexuality, was sent a questionnaire at the end of July. It has not yet been returned.

Holsinger concluded in his 1991 paper that homosexuality was "intuitively" unnatural. Here's a bit: "In fact, the logical complementarity of the human sexes has been so recognized in our culture that it has entered our vocabulary in the form of naming various pipe fittings either the male fitting or the female fitting depending upon which one interlocks within the other. When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur..."

Holsinger said in July that he's not anti-gay and that the paper was based on "information available to him at the time."

Some are speculating that the reason for the languishing questionnaire may be that Bush is waiting until the Senate adjourns so he can make a recess appointment, allowing Holsinger to serve until the end of the current Congress late in 2008.

Think Progress reports: "Bush has been more than willing to use this executive power to avoid or delay battles over divisive nominees such as former U.N. ambassador John Bolton and Swift Boat-funder Sam Fox. In June, the Washington Post reported that Bush had filled 105 full-time positions with recess appointments, compared to just 42 such appointments under President Clinton at the same point in his presidency."

You may have missed...
Surgeon General Nominee Holsinger Says He's Not Anti-Gay [tr]
Surgeon General Nominee Holsinger Has Broad Anti-gay Bias [tr]

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Surgeon General Nominee Holsinger Says He's Not Anti-Gay

Surgeon General nominee Dr. James Holsinger was questioned at a Senate confirmation hearing today about the 1991 paper he wrote on health and homosexuality in which he warned of "the dangers of 'anal eroticism'".

Wrote Holsinger in the paper: "In fact, the logical complementarity of the human sexes has been so recognized in our culture that it has entered our vocabulary in the form of naming various pipe fittings either the male fitting or the female fitting depending upon which one interlocks within the other. When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur..." (The full document is available here)

Senator Edward Kennedy told the panel: "Dr. Holsinger's paper is ideological and decidedly not an accurate analysis of the science then available on homosexuality. Dr. Holsinger's paper cherry picks and misuses data to support his thesis that homosexuality is unhealthy and unnatural."

According to the Associated Press, Holsinger said the paper was non-scientific and "relied on the information available to him at the time." Said the candidate: "First of all, the paper does not represent where I am today. It does not represent who I am today. I've worked diligently to provide quality health care to everyone regardless of personal characteristics including sexual orientation."

He added: I don't think there is a place in my life as a physician to do anything inimical [to a person based on their personal or sexual characteristics]...Let me be clear: I have profound respect for the essential human dignity of all people, regardless of background or sexual orientation. I pledge to you to continue that commitment especially if I am confirmed as surgeon general.''

Following claims this week by Dr. Richard Carmona, the former surgeon general, that the Bush administration muzzled him on key issues in which his statements might affect policy, Holsinger told the panel that he would not allow politics to trump science.

Said Holsinger: "I think I have a clear response to that. I would resign."

you may have missed...
Surgeon General Nominee Holsinger Has Broad Anti-gay Bias [tr]
As Holsinger is Scrutinized, Former Top Doc Says White House Muzzled Him [tr]

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As Holsinger is Scrutinized, Former Top Doc Says White House Muzzled Him

Two days before a Senate committee is scheduled to hold hearings on anti-gay surgeon general nominee Dr. James Holsinger, former surgeon general Dr. Richard Carmona, who was Bush's first surgeon general appointee, told a House committee that he was directed to keep quiet by the Bush administration on key health issues:

Said Carmona: "Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried. The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds. The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party."

Think Progress adds: "Carmona revealed that when he tried to explain the science of stem cell research to the American public, he was 'blocked at every turn, told a decision had already been made, stand down, don’t talk about it.' Additionally, political appointees were specifically assigned to 'vet his speeches' and 'spin [his] words in such a way that would be preferable to a political or ideologically pre-conceived notion that had nothing to do with science.' He was also barred from speaking freely to reporters."

Given these statements, is it any surprise that Bush has put up for nomination a man who concluded that gay sex is "intuitively" unnatural and wrote in a paper, "In fact, the logical complementarity of the human sexes has been so recognized in our culture that it has entered our vocabulary in the form of naming various pipe fittings either the male fitting or the female fitting depending upon which one interlocks within the other. When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur..."

If you'll remember, Holsinger also voted to oust a lesbian pastor from the clergy of the Methodist church and founded a congregation that advocated the "curing" of gays and lesbians.

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Surgeon General Nominee Holsinger Has Broad Anti-gay Bias

Earlier this week I briefly mentioned George Bush's nomination for U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. James Holsinger.

Holsinger's anti-gay bias has come under closer scrutiny in the past couple of days with the release of a paper he wrote in 1991 on the dangers of "anal eroticism" in which he concluded that gay sex is "intuitively" unnatural. Here's a bit of it:

"In fact, the logical complementarity of the human sexes has been so recognized in our culture that it has entered our vocabulary in the form of naming various pipe fittings either the male fitting or the female fitting depending upon which one interlocks within the other. When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur..."

The full document is here.

Holsinger also voted to oust a lesbian pastor from the United Methodist Church, the NYT reports:

"As president of the Methodist Church's national Judicial Council, Holsinger voted last year to support a pastor who blocked a gay man from joining a congregation. In 2004, he voted to expel a lesbian from the clergy. The majority of the panel voted to keep the lesbian associate pastor in place, citing questions about whether she had openly declared her homosexuality, but Holsinger dissented."

The congregation Holsinger helped establish, Hope Springs Community Church, as I noted earlier, advocates "curing" gays and lesbians.

Just one more fine nominee from George W. Bush.

Gay Groups Decry Surgeon General Nominee [nyt]
Bush’s Nominee For Surgeon General Wrote Study On The ‘Dangers’ Of ‘Anal Eroticism’ [think progress]
Bush's Surgeon General nom: gay sex is hazardous to your health [pam's house blend]

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