Senator Ted Kennedy Remembered at JFK Library: Clips

Senator Edward Kennedy was remembered at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Dorchester, Massachusetts this evening. Here is one part of Vice President Joe Biden's moving remarks that might interest you:

"I think the legacy of Teddy Kennedy can be measured in no small part as a consequence of how we in America look at one another. How blacks look at whites. How gays look at straights. How straights look at gays. How we literally look at one another. And in turn how we look at ourselves. Because when you were with him you had to measure yourself against him. And it always required you to be larger than you were inclined to be."

Biden's full remarks, plus Orrin Hatch, John Kerry, Chris Dodd, John McCain, Joseph P. Kennedy, and Caroline Kennedy, AFTER THE JUMP...

LGBT Protest Planned for DNC Fundraiser in Boston on Tuesday

In addition to protests planned for the Washington D.C. LGBT Fundraiser this Thursday, Join the Impact Massachusetts has plans to protest a Democratic Party fundraiser in Boston on Tuesday headlined by VP Joe Biden.

The group writes, on Facebook:

"As we've all seen, we've gotten more in the past 6 days for the LGBT community than we have in the past 6 months. Once this firestorm of criticism and public pressure began over the repugnant DOMA brief, we began hearing that the Hate Crimes bill may pass very soon. Then once the boycotting began of the DNC fundraiser in Washington, DC, we then learned about the relocation benefits memorandum which seemed to be a direction reaction to the boycott. Money talks folks and we have a HUGE opportunity here. Putting on this protest will be emblematic of a larger issue at hand for the Obama administration and the Dems. No longer is the protest singled out just in Washington, DC, but now they're spreading. If the Obama administration and the Dems want to tamper down frustrations, the only way for them to do so will be to take concrete strong action to pass substantive LGBT civil rights measures. Let's make them do it!"

News: Provincetown, John Mayer, Jamaica, Willem Dafoe, Zurich

Official boycott launched against Jamaica for persecution of gays.

128 prisoners, many of whom were jailed for the "crime" of homosexuality, are set to be executed in Iraq in the near future: "According to Ali Hili of IRAQI-LGBT, the Iraqi authorities plan to start executing them in batches of 20 from this week. IRAQI-LGBT urgently requests that the UK Government, Human Rights Groups and the United Nations Human Rights Commission intervene with due speed to prevent this tragic miscarriage of justice from going ahead."

John Mayer turns fan cruise into Love Boat.

Recession-era spending: Elton John celebrates 62 at Hamburger Hamlet.

Russia's Gay Pride organizers plan activist tie-in to Eurovision Song Contest awards: We believe this is the best way for those who support democratic values in Europe and who take part in the show to bring support to human rights campaigners in Russia."

Zac Efron attacked by Q-tips.

More on the growing threat to gays in Uganda: "We’ve gotten word from three separate Ugandan sources that local gays and lesbians in Uganda are worried about imminent violence, with many making plans to go into hiding or leave the country."

Jon Stewart talks marriage at University of Vermont: “I can understand being against gay marriage — if they decided to make it mandatory. This isn’t a cultural divide: They’re wrong.”

 Protestors shadow Vermont Governor Jim Douglas in wake of same-sex marriage veto remarks: "Roughly 200 protesters greeted the governor and his wife when they showed up at Green Mountain College for a maple sugaring event Saturday. The crowd watched quietly, sang or chanted while Douglas used a hand-cranked drill to tap a tree in an arboretum decorated with rainbow ribbons."

Madonna determined to adopt again in Malawi...

Zurich, Switzerland has a new lesbian mayor: "Zurich, Switzerland, has elected its first female and first openly lesbian mayor, Corine Mauch. A member of the centre-left Social Democrats, Mauch has been elected with a lead of 11,000 votes over her opposition following the surprise resignation of previous incumbent Elmar Ledergerber late last year."

New York Post says it has seen a video of Vice President Joe Biden's daughter doing cocaine: "The video, which the shooter initially hoped to sell for $2 million before scaling back his price to $400,000, shows a 20-something woman with light skin and long brown hair taking a red straw from her mouth, bending over a desk, inserting the straw into her nostril and snorting lines of white powder."

Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone show their love in Ipanema.

Right Whale mania grips Provincetown... Video...

L.A. Times on Barney Frank accusations: Does Antonin Scalia hate gays?

Gay rights groups want the Royal Family to give the okay for a hypothetical same-sex couple in the Monarchy to be able to engage in a civil partnership: "[Ben Summerskill, chief executive of gay rights group Stonewall] said: ‘I have little doubt that in 21st and 22nd Century Britain the public will judge the quality of their monarch by much more than their sexual orientation.’ He said the subject could be debated openly now because, as far as he was aware, there are no gays in the Royal Family."

Willem Dafoe gets "cheeky" for new Lars von Trier film.

Josh Hartnett rushed to hospital for abdominal pain.

Campaign against homophobic bullying to be launched in Wales: "The new bilingual version of 'The School Report' will be distributed to all secondary schools in Wales. It found 65% of pupils had experienced bullying because of their sexuality. The launch takes place at the Stonewall Cymru annual event in Llandudno. The education minister Jane Hutt said the assembly government was working to develop guidance on anti-gay bullying. 'The Welsh Assembly Government fully supports the launch of 'The School Report' which highlights the vital role schools can play in preventing and responding to homophobic bullying, both within their boundaries but also in the wider community'"

Obamas to pay for White House renovations out of their own pockets: "They 'are not using public funds or accepting donations of goods for redecorating their private quarters,' says Camille Johnston, director of communications for the First Lady. Nor is the couple, who reported $4.2 million in household income in 2007 tax returns, using money from the White House Historical Association, a privately funded foundation that paid for a $74,000 set of china shortly before Laura Bush left town."

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #417

LESBIAN AND GAY BAND ASSOCIATION: In case you missed it, here's their appearance in the inaugural parade. Here's our interview with a few of its members.

GENE ROBINSON: The Washington Blade interviews the Episcopal Bishop. Corey and I pursued Robinson throughout inauguration weekend, but always seemed to be two events behind him.

SWEARING IN: At the swearing in of senior White House staff, Biden jokes about Justice Roberts' oath gaffe and Obama doesn't appear to be amused.

CAROLINE KENNEDY: She withdraws from Senate consideration "for personal reasons." NY Post: Paterson decided against her.

Towleroad at Opening Ceremony Concert at Obama Inauguration

Hi folks. Here's our first report from DC, a brief perspective from the opening ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial. We're working with some new equipment and trying to adjust the quality of the video, which is much better in our original shot, so please bear with us. I hope you enjoy this short introduction.

More interviews coming later today....

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Biden, Etheridge Talk Rick Warren as Calls to Dump Him Continue

Last night, as I mentioned in a previous post, Vice President-elect Joe Biden appeared on Larry King Live and discussed the Rick Warren controversy. That clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

At the controversy wears on, a united front among LGBT people appears to be slipping away.

There are groups, like Californians Against Hate, who call for Obama to dump Warren, and have started a Facebook group and website, DumpRickWarren.com, urging the President-Elect to disinvite the anti-gay pastor from the inaugural ceremonies.

And then there are voices here and there, such as Melissa Etheridge, who calls for the extension of an olive branch to the pastor despite policies barring gays from his church and connections he made of gays with pedophilia, incest, and bestiality, though Etheridge has some odd rationalization for her change of heart in a piece in the Huffington Post:

"I told my manager to reach out to Pastor Warren and say "In the spirit of unity I would like to talk to him." They gave him my phone number. On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick, and before I could say anything, he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn't sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher. He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn't want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays. He invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids. He told me of his wife's struggle with breast cancer just a year before mine. When we met later that night, he entered the room with open arms and an open heart. We agreed to build bridges to the future."

And then there are legislators like Barney Frank, who has strongly condemned Obama's decision but expresses hope for his presidency and seems willing to, at the end of the day, move on.

Last night on Hardball, BlogActive's Mike Rogers debated Reverend Eugene Rivers on the Warren flap:

IMHO Obama will never dump Warren. He made a GRAVE miscalculation on the invitation, but the political stakes in dumping Warren are so great, I don't believe it will happen. I believe asking Obama to dump the pastor is the right thing to do, however, and is a direction that should be pursued, but is ultimately a fruitless battle. At the same time, I'm not forgiving like Etheridge. Warren would have to go a hell of a lot further than liking my album (???) for me to suddenly believe he's one of the good guys. Our voices must not weaken on these issues. It is right to continue to condemn the Warren decision, and it shows that not only must we hold Obama to the promises he made to the LGBT people who helped get him elected, we must demand even more.

It is shameful that Obama's campaign of "inclusivity" is to get its first national blessing from a man whose ideology is anything but inclusive. It won't be forgotten until promises, policy, and solid legislation are pursued in the direction of equality for LGBT Americans.

Watch Biden's clip from Larry King, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Congressman Barney Frank 'Disappointed' by Warren Invite [tr]
Rick Warren on Why He's Not Homophobic [tr]
Obama Defends Rick Warren's Inauguration Invitation [tr]