Kentucky Gay Group Works to Shut Down Homophobic Bar Owner

The Louisville, Kentucky-based LGBT group Fairness Campaign is working to put a local bar out of business after its owner drove out customers using homophobic and racist slurs, WHAS reports:

"Members of the Fairness Campaign, along with other LGBT groups, spent the day handing out fliers, trying to convince people not to go to Woody's Tavern because of an alleged incident two weeks ago. Chris Hartman, Fairness Campaign says, "Woody's Tavern owner David Norton chased all of his customers out of the bar.  As he did he yelled an anti-gay slur at them calling them all 'trashy faggots' and then referring to a group of African American patrons in his bar he said 'look at the color of their skin you know what's on the tip of my tongue.' It's not the first time Woody's Tavern owner, David Norton, has been accused of making these kind of comments.  in August, he issued a public apology for comments made over a year ago."

Fairness Campaign announced its boycott last night.

News: Lincoln, Joaquin Phoenix, Sundance, Philippines, kd lang

Presbyterian leaders in Kentucky vote to allow gays and lesbians to be ordained as pastors, elders and deacons.

Abraham Lincoln's watchmaker carved a secret inscription to the president on the inside of his pocket watch. The watchmaker's memory of it is nicer than the reality: "The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try."

Stunt? Joaquin Phoenix attacks "bitch" in his audience - VIDEO.

Florida judge orders school board to allow Gay-Straight Alliance to meet at Yullee High School near Jacksonville.

Center Square: San Francisco reading of one-man play about Paul Lynde halted by "cease and desist" letter.

Gay man picked to head Sundance Film Festival: "Actor Robert Redford, who founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, said [John] Cooper 'brings to the position an infectious enthusiasm as well as a deep understanding of the Sundance brand and culture. Forward thinking, he is a natural choice of succession to lead the Festival into the 21st century.' In recent years, Cooper has been involved in distributing short films on platforms such as iTunes, XBox360, and Netflix. He's also recently spearheaded the Art House Project, an initiative of 18 art houses from across the country designed to connect regional audiences to the Sundance's films and filmmakers."

It's probably best not to give a woman-beater a Kids' Choice Award.

Oh, just kiss and get it over with.

Three new biographies explore authors who were gay (or struggled with it).

Trial to begin over anti-gay killing in Brooklyn's Crown Heights. Killer thought victim was flirting with him.

Philippines military opens recruitment to gays. Commanding officer: "I don’t have anything against gay people but I am still in the dark, I cannot imagine how they will perform and discharge their duties once they are accepted in the military"

Boston Gay Men's Chorus to tackle kd lang's "Big Boned Gal" in next concert. Somebody please send a video.

Apparently, Sean Penn's suit from Milk is a Mormon magnet.

Big Gulp: Croc gobbles shark in Australia.

Website scans NYC sandwiches.

Clay Aiken to present GLAAD award to Tyra Banks.

Gambling regulators in Las Vegas recommend $50,000 fine and a 6-month suspension of a slot machine license for city's oldest gay bar Snick's, over public sex complaint.

In praise of Sonny Bill Williams.

Google to increase user surveillance: "Google’s influence over our lives is set to grow further after it anounced today that it will track millions of people as they move through the internet in order work out what their interests are. Using that information, it will then provide targeted advertising to suit users' individual tastes."

News: Ab Fab, John Lewis, Vermont, Stone-Throwing Chimp, Vampire

Openly gay singer Matt Alber to perform at gala dinner honoring Kevin Spacey.

Filming starts on U.S. remake of Ab Fab.

Congressman John Lewis on anti-gay discrimination: "It is unfortunate that a segment of our society fails to see that we all should be treated like human beings, that we all are citizens of the United States of America. I’ve taken the position and I’ve long held this position that I fought too long and too hard against discrimination base on race and color not to stand up and speak out against discrimination based on sexual orientation."

Sneak vote moves anti-gay adoption bill forward in Kentucky.

Great ad on parenting.

Philadelphia beauty school teacher wants fellow teacher fired for calling him a "faggot."

Vermont Psychological Association, the Vermont Psychiatric Association, the Vermont Association of Mental Health Counselors, and the Vermont chapter of the National Association of Social Workers show support for marriage equality, saying same-sex marriage helps children: "The group says allowing gay couples to marry validates their relationships, could reduce discrimination and increases benefits for the families."

Madonna and Jesus Luz dress up for Purim.

Rugby's Nick Youngquest on quest to be next gay sports undie icon.

"Vampire" discovered in mass grave in Venice, Italy.

Deported Ugandan gay asylum seeker back in the UK following judge's order to Home Office.

Pride & Joy: Well-known gay shop in Northampton, Massachusetts changes hands, will remain open.

SURVEY: NYU study explores link between pornography, drug and alcohol use, and the sexual practices of men who have sex with men.

Stone-throwing chimp proves that animals plan for future events: "Crucial to the current study is the fact that Santino, a chimpanzee at the zoo in the city north of Stockholm, collected the stones in a calm state, prior to the zoo opening in the morning. The launching of the stones occurred hours later - during dominance displays to zoo visitors - with Santino in an 'agitated' state. This suggests that Santino was anticipating a future mental state - an ability that has been difficult to definitively prove in animals, according to Mathias Osvath, a cognitive scientist from Lund University in Sweden and author of the new research."

Kelly Clarkson is hitting all the morning shows so your life won't suck without her.

Conflict erupts between gay activists and orchestra and security staff at the Greek National Opera over request to cut male kiss from production of the opera Rusalka.

Trial begins for woman who plowed into crowd last August following fight at gay bar, killing one: "In addition to second-degree murder, Arena is charged with two counts each of first- and third-degree assault."

Earth entering climate change danger zone faster than anticipated?

Gay camp branches out in Canada.

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Pedro Zamora's life to be brought to the big screen: "Pedro learned he was HIV-Positive at age seventeen, and spent the rest of his life trying to educate young people about the disease. His appearance on MTV's The Real World: San Francisco in 1994 was groundbreaking, and when he died the day after the final episode aired, it was a shock to all of us who had become enamored of his sweet smile and gentle personality."

Madonna to arrive at Vanity Fair Oscar party with golden boy of her own.

NYC: Couple gay bashed at Regal Union Square theater.

Portland Mayor Sam Adams won't be distracted by Breedlove scandal: "There are things that have affected city business, there’s no question. But the work still needs to be done. There are issues that I care about."

Gays to rally in Frankfort, Kentucky over adoption bill.

North Dakota senate approves sexual orientation anti-discrimination bill: "North Dakota's Senate agreed on Wednesday, voting 27-19 to include sexual orientation in a list of categories protected by the state's human rights law. The bill now moves to the state House."

Buzzed Hartnett topples Champagne flutes at fashion week.

Panic ensues as questionable Oscar winner list leaks...

Peter Facinelli presents Costume Design Guild Awards in his undies.

Utah Showdown: Equality Utah faces off against conservative Sutherland Institute in debate. "Both sides rehashed arguments about whether being gay is a choice and whether gay and lesbian couples ought to be allowed to marry.But Will Carlson, Equality Utah's public policy manager, pushed for common ground: his group's campaign for rights -- short of same-sex marriage -- for gay and transgender Utahns.'Does disagreeing on one thing mean there's no agreeing on anything?' he asked. 'This is appealing to the better angels of our nature. ... Most people agree that basic protections involving health care, fair housing and employment, and basic security for all couples are places where we can find common ground.'Neither side was declared the winner, but the debaters lobbed a few barbs back and forth."

Six Banksy Kate Moss prints expected to fetch big bucks next week at auction.

Suburban Chicago high school sees first gay dance. Teacher: "This is the first time they've gotten to actually plan a dance explicitly for their interests. That seems like a small thing, and it's not."

Gay George Washington University student dismissed from ROTC over 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': "As a gay man, Belok said he understood how difficult it could be to conceal his homosexuality while serving in the armed forces. 'I had done a report on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ in 12th grade,' he explained in an interview with The Hoya. 'I knew what it meant to be gay in the military.' Nonetheless, he planned to keep his sexual orientation under wraps for the time being. Last fall, however, Belok’s boyfriend visited him at GWU and the two attended a fraternity party where other NROTC members saw them together...Belok was removed from the NROTC despite a GWU policy which protects students in school-sponsored clubs from discrimination based on sexual orientation."

Gyllenhaal goes green.

South Beach gears up for annual Winter Party.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey interviewed: "I feel that it's something new. I think it's a new way to communicate. It has a new take on the address book. It's a new way to interact with people. And at the same time, it does a very good job of exposing what's happening in the world right now: You can see what's trending globally, you can limit that locally and figure out what's trending within a five-mile radius of you, or you can use it socially and figure out what's trending within your own social network. That's where the newness is. I just haven't seen anything like that before."

Japan loves babyfaced gay adult movie remixes.

Boy Culture on Kathy Griffin's latest show.

British high court orders Home Secretary to find gay asylum seeker who was deported and bring him back, ruling his expulsion unlawful: "In a written statement, Mr X said that, last September, he was deceived into thinking he was being taken from Tinsley House immigration removal centre, on the perimeter of Gatwick airport, for an interview with an immigration officer. Instead, without warning, he was taken in a van by four security men to a plane. He said that, when he resisted leaving the van, he was handcuffed, and punched in his private parts to make him straighten his legs so they could be belted together. Crying, he was lifted on to the aeroplane and flown out of the country."

Weather Service Issues Alert for Falling Satellite Debris

The sky is falling!

A fireball that was caught on film over Austin, Texas, seen and reported by many, was possibly thought to be debris from two satellites that collided in orbit last week.

However, Dallas' WFAA reported this morning that the debris was unrelated to the satellite collision. Said Major Regina Winchester, with the U.S. Strategic Command: "There is no correlation between the debris from that collision and those reports of re-entry."

In Kentucky on Friday night, however, (via slog) an alert was issued by NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office for Jackson, Kentucky, warning residents about explosions and earthquakes caused by debris from space:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY
1145 PM EST FRI FEB 13 2009

...POSSIBLE SATELLITE DEBRIS FALLING ACROSS THE REGION...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS RECEIVED CALLS THIS
EVENING FROM THE PUBLIC CONCERNING POSSIBLE EXPLOSIONS AND...OR
EARTHQUAKES ACROSS THE AREA. THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION HAS
REPORTED TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT THESE EVENTS ARE BEING CAUSED
BY FALLING SATELLITE DEBRIS. THESE PIECES OF DEBRIS HAVE BEEN CAUSING
SONIC BOOMS...RESULTING IN THE VIBRATIONS BEING FELT BY SOME
RESIDENTS...AS WELL AS FLASHES OF LIGHT ACROSS THE SKY. THE CLOUD OF
DEBRIS IS LIKELY THE RESULT OF THE RECENT IN ORBIT COLLISION OF TWO
SATELLITES ON TUESDAY...FEBRUARY 10TH WHEN KOSMOS 2251 CRASHED INTO
IRIDIUM 33.

Watch film of the Austin, Texas fireball, AFTER THE JUMP...

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And heads reportedly rolling on Heroes as well...

Four Soulforce riders arrested at Central Baptist College in Arkansas: "As Conway police handcuffed three women and one man, their fellow activists remained on the public sidewalk and sang the Christian camp song that begins, 'Love, love, love, love, Christians, this is your call.' The 17 activists were all members of Soulforce Q, a group that seeks what it describes as equal treatment for gay students. The group visited the small Conway campus of about 500 students as part of its third annual Equality Ride, a national bus tour of conservative Christian colleges and universities."

Is New York going to get a moving skyscraper?

You may remember the case in Secaucus, New Jersey where a gay couple was awarded $2.84 million by a jury. The couple filed suit against that town claiming that they were harassed in an April 2004 incident by a group of firefighters who were partying at the firehouse adjacent to their residence. Now, the fire station is under investigation for a letter that went out to residents: "Last week, a letter that was sent to residents in the 2nd Ward from the "officers and members" of Rescue Co.1/Engine Co. 2, stationed in the North End firehouse. In the letter, the North End firefighters decried the departures of firefighters Charles Snyder Sr., Charles Snyder Jr., and Charles Mutschler, who, according to the letter, were forced by Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell to resign from the department. 'The Officers and Members of Rescue 1/Engine 2 are writing to the residents to reassure you that we are still both WILLING and CAPABLE of helping to keep our town safe,' said the letter. 'Recently, our firehouse has been under scrutiny for 'ALLEGATIONS' of an incident that occurred on April 24, 2004. As a result, three dedicated members forcefully resigned.'"

American Idol winner David Cook's brand spankin' new video for "Lights On".

Alan Ball on making True Blood: "How easy it is to read the vampires as a metaphor for this or that is the least interesting for me. It’s texture, but it’s not what the series is about. When I first pitched this to HBO and somebody asked me what it was about, I said, 'It’s about the terrors of intimacy.' At the time, I thought, 'Who knows what that means, but it sounds good!' Over time, I’ve really started to believe that that is the deeper meaning of the show, and I would venture to say a lot of horror movies, and is a lot of the reason why the vampire is such a powerful archetype."

Katy Perry performs at the largest AIDS fundraiser in Toronto with a bunch of shirtless hotties.

Inside fashion powerhouse Aussiebum.

Jennifer Hudson sequestered in her grief; crime scene too much.

Lindsay Lohan gets political: "In a post titled "VOTE," she apologizes for not blogging for awhile, and then gives us her get-out-and-vote spiel: 'I cannot say how important it is for everyone to get out there and vote tomorrow... The future of our country depends on it. Just one vote can make such a difference... Vote—because your thoughts are worth it..VOTE—because YOU can make this country a better place...VOTE—because you can. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She goes on to say 'yea' for Obama, including a little smiley face emoticon with her endorsement, and no on Props 8 and 4, the latter of which would require a doctor, before performing an abortion on a minor, to notify the girl's parents at least 48 hours before doing the procedure."