News: Europa, Cory Monteith, Marijuana, Morrissey, David Sedaris

Obama to implement new policy on medical marijuana.

Referendum 71 signature battle continues as restraining order issued, and attorney says he is taking the case to the Supreme Court.

Researchers: Jupiter's moon Europa contains enough oxygen to support life.

Whitney Houston survives wardrobe malfunction on X-Factor.

Mormon gay rights groups slam LDS apostle Dallin Oaks for remarks on Prop 8: "he LDS leader, a former Utah Supreme Court justice, said students 'must not be deterred or coerced into silence' by advocates for 'alleged civil rights.' Oaks then condemned the protests, business boycotts, firings of church members and vandalism of LDS meetinghouses that followed the election, comparing them to voter intimidation employed against blacks in the South during the civil rights movement." Background here.

Morrissey lunches in Los Angeles.

All-star cast to perform reading of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, in Los Angeles: "Scheduled to perform are Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Star Trek), James Cromwell (Surrogates, Babe), Pauley Perrette and Michael Weatherly (NCIS), Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki (Big Bang Theory), Julie Benz (Dexter), Lisa Edelstein (House), Barrett Foa (NCIS: Los Angeles), Helen Shaver (Desert Hearts, The 4400) and Emmy Award-winner Christian Clemenson (Boston Legal).

NYT ignores anti-gay bigotry and false smears in right-wing witch hunt against Kevin Jennings.

Virginia country club votes to bar same-sex family from membership: "About 180 votes were cast to support family memberships for same-sex couples with children, according to the club's Web site. Roughly 126 votes were cast against it. For the measure to pass, a two-thirds favorable vote is required, said [member Lynn] Tiedge, who supports the measure and said she worked with at least 15 other club members to revise the club's bylaws to provide for it. Two-thirds of the 311 ballots cast would have been roughly 207 votes.' We recognize that heterosexual couples can marry and homosexuals couples can't,' Tiedge said."

Male model fixes: Will Chalker and Renato Ferreira.

Banksy "self-portrait" to go on display?

Miley Cyrus and Samantha Jones have fashion face-off in Sex and the City 2.

Glee's Cory Monteith models some fashion duds.

And also takes them off.

AP: Shepard Fairey admits to using AP photo as basis for Obama "Hope" poster. News outlet also claims Fairey “admitted to the AP that he fabricated and attempted to destroy other evidence in an effort to bolster his fair use case and cover up his previous lies and omissions.”

Where would you wish to wake up?

Gay Kenyan couple weds in London.

More than 21,000 complain to the UK's Press Complaints Commission over homophobic Daily Mail column on Stephen Gately's death.

David Sedaris on living in France: "It's disgusting how people kiss in France. It turns my stomach. It's everywhere you go, and it's not just teenagers. You go to the movies and even ticket lines for movies and there are people making out. They're sucking each others' tongues and drooling on each other's chins. Anything you've done once, you can forgive. But I never made out with anyone in public. Part of that's being gay, so that allows me to enjoy being self-righteous."

53 House GOP Sign on to Anti-Gay Witch Hunt Against Kevin Jennings

Gay-hating Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has corralled in 52 House Republicans to sign on to a letter to Obama requesting that the President fire Safe Schools czar Kevin Jennings.

Writes King in the letter:

As the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Mr. Jennings has played an integral role in promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America's schools-an agenda that runs counter to the values that many parents desire to instill in their children. As evidence of this, Mr. Jennings wrote the foreword for a book titled Queering Elementary Education: Advancing the Dialogue About Sexualities and Schooling. Throughout his career, Mr. Jennings has made it his mission to establish special protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students to the exclusion of all other students. The totality of Mr. Jennings' career has been to advocate for public affirmation of homosexuality. There is more to safe and drug free schools than can be accomplished from the narrow view of Mr. Jennings who has, for more than 20 years, almost exclusively focused on promoting the homosexual agenda.

Equally troubling is Mr. Jennings' self-described history of ignoring the sexual abuse of a child. In his book, One Teacher in Ten, Mr. Jennings recounts a 15-year old student confiding in him that he had a sexual relationship with a much older man. Mr. Jennings' only response was to ask if the underage boy used a condom. As a mandatory reporter, Mr. Jennings was required by law to report child abuse, including sex crimes. Mr. Jennings cannot serve as the "safe schools" czar when his record demonstrates a willingness to overlook the sexual abuse of a child.

You can read the full letter here.

King continues to repeat the thoroughly debunked claims about Jennings' counseling interaction with the student, and the student has even written a letter defending him.

Hopefully, the administration, which has so far defended Jennings against this anti-gay witch hunt, will continue to stand by him.

The Hill reports: "Openly gay senior Democratic Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.) called the effort a way for 'anti-gay' lawmakers to keep that issue at the forefront. 'This is just an effort to exploit anti-gay feeling — they have this anti-gay view that they understand is becoming less and less popular with the public,' Frank told The Hill on Thursday."

The wingnuts don't want to see any gay man in this position, much less one who has spent the better part of 20 years dedicating himself to teaching tolerance in the nation's schools. It's ironic that this is just a grown-up form of the anti-LGBT bullying Jennings has devoted his life to ending. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly apparent that certain members of the GOP will never stop acting like children.

The list of Republicans who have signed on to the letter, AFTER THE JUMP...

Student Defends Kevin Jennings as Right-Wing Attacks Continue

Anti-gay right-wing conservatives continue their assault on U.S. Department of Education's director of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools Kevin Jennings. Media Matters summarized the attacks at the end of last week: "The attacks on Jennings, the latest Obama administration official in the right's crosshairs, have been disgusting, misleading, baseless, and at times pointedly anti-gay."

In their latest ridiculous tactic, WingNutDaily has targeted Jennings for some complimentary remarks he once made about early gay rights activist Harry Hay, who started the Mattachine Society, one of the nation's earliest gay rights organizations. Hay also apparently advocated for NAMBLA, and you can see where that's going — straight to Sean Hannity's ears and out his mouth, most likely.

Meanwhile student at the center of the Jennings controversy, a proven 16-year-old at the time, released a statement to Media Matters:

Since I was of legal consent at the time, the fifteen-minute conversation I had with Mr. Jennings twenty-one years ago is of nobody's concern but his and mine. However, since the Republican noise machine is so concerned about my "well-being" and that of America's students, they'll be relieved to know that I was not "inducted" into homosexuality, assaulted, raped, or sold into sexual slavery.

In 1988, I had taken a bus home for the weekend, and on the return trip met someone who was also gay. The next day, I had a conversation with Mr. Jennings about it. I had no sexual contact with anybody at the time, though I was entirely legally free to do so. I was a sixteen year-old going through something most of us have experienced: adolescence. I find it regrettable that the people who have the compassion and integrity to protect our nation's students are themselves in need of protection from homophobic smear attacks. Were it not for Mr. Jennings' courage and concern for my well-being at that time in my life, I doubt I'd be the proud gay man that I am today.

- Brewster

Media Matters also published a shot of the student's drivers license.

And homophobic Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who has been working hard to overturn Iowa's marriage equality laws, is the first member of Congress to call on Obama to oust Jennings: 

"Although Rep. King says he is opposed to the bullying of anyone in schools, he also opposes conferring 'special protected status' on any particular group. (Jennings and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network strongly support a federal anti-bullying bill, H.R. 2262, currently under consideration in the House, that specifically includes sexual orientation and 'gender identity.') As for Jennings' other work, King calls it 'a political movement. It's not about protecting kids, it's about promoting homosexuality and demanding public affirmation.' King says he plans to write a letter to President Obama about the Jennings matter, and he also expects other members of Congress to join him in calling for Jennings' removal."

As I said previously, the homophobic right-wing loons who are pushing this controversy don't want to see any gay man in this position, much less one who has spent the better part of 20 years dedicating himself to wiping out anti-LGBT bullying and promoting tolerance in the nation's schools.

CNN's Jessica Yellin Debunks Right-Wing Attacks on Kevin Jennings

CNN's Jessica Yellin takes apart the lies being put forward by right-wing conservatives surrounding the Education Department's Safe and Drug-Free Schools Chief Kevin Jennings and an incident that happened over two decades ago with a 16-year-old.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously...
Under Attack from Right, Education Department's Kevin Jennings Releases Statement on Counseling Incident 21 Years Ago [tr]

Under Attack from Right, Education Department's Kevin Jennings Releases Statement on Counseling Incident 21 Years Ago

Kevin Jennings, the gay founder of GLSEN who now heads the Education Department's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, has been the target of right-wing and religious groups (such as the Family Research Council) since he was named to the position. The groups accuse Jennings of promoting homosexuality in schools. Recently, they seized upon an incident involving Jennings which happened 21 years ago in which Jennings was counseling a 16 or 17-year-old student who said he was sexually involved with a man. Jennings failure to report this to authorities is now fueling the right-wing accusations that he is somehow trying to indoctrinate children into homosexuality.

FOX News has jumped on the bandwagon, of course, claiming that Jennings covered up statutory rape.

Yesterday, Jennings released a statement admitting he mishandled the incident:

“Twenty one years later I can see how I should have handled this situation differently. I should have asked for more information and consulted legal or medical authorities. Teachers back then had little training or guidance about this kind of thing. All teachers should have a basic level of preparedness. I would like to see the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools play a bigger role in helping to prepare teachers.”

Education Secretary Arne Duncan also released a statement:

"Kevin Jennings has dedicated his professional career to promoting school safety. He is uniquely qualified for his job and I am honored to have him on our team."

The L.A. Times reports: "Jennings' inaction was discussed in the teaching community as far back as 2004. It is now being condemned as part of a broader critique of Jennings' fitness for the education post by conservative critics, who also accuse him of promoting homosexuality...Department spokesman Justin Hamilton said the accusation that Jennings promoted homosexuality was too ridiculous to deserve comment."

The wingnuts don't want to see any gay man in this position, much less one who has spent the better part of 20 years dedicating himself to wiping out anti-LGBT bullying and promoting tolerance in the nation's schools.

News: Billy Mays, Orgullo, Kevin Jennings, Avenue Q, Prop 8

NCLR, ACLU, and Lambda Legal back federal challenge to Prop 8: "In legal documents filed late Thursday, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal and the ACLU signaled a significant break with past legal tactics that avoided taking the fight to federal court."

NYT revelation: Gay men and straight men can be friends.

Zachary Quinto has a couple of male beach dates in Malibu, on the same day.

Scenes from the coup in Honduras.

Won't resign: Governor Mark Sanford compares himself to King David.

Despite ban, Russian gay activists plan to protest Obama next week on his trip to Moscow: "In a statement, Nikolai Alexeyev said the Moscow authorities had banned a proposed demonstration outside the U.S. embassy next Tuesday, the second day of Obama's July 6-8 trip...'We don't intend to abandon our plans and in the near future we will determine the format of action on July 7 during the visit of Barack Obama in Russia.' A Moscow municipal spokeswoman confirmed city authorities had turned down a request from gay activists to protest in front of the U.S. embassy on July 7. She said the area had already been booked for another event and that Muscovites were against the gay protest."

The last days of Heath Ledger.

Madrid's Orgullo gay pride festival a two-week event. Obama called out on gay rights in Paris.

Avenue Q to close on Broadway in September as 20th longest-running show of all time.

City of Toronto data sheds light on gay neighborhoods, marriages from out-of-state, etc.

Famous TV pitchman Billy Mays found dead in home.

The 5 strangest products pitched by Billy Mays.

Ashton Kutcher's spread - nsfw.

Wingnuts attack former GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings over Department of Education appointment.

Going to Rome this summer? You may want to check out these spots.

Gayby Boom: CNN on the children of same-sex couples.

Best banner ad ever?

Male model fix: Edilson Nascimiento.

Michael Jackson: UK's Daily Mail publishes tell-all; LAPD questions cardiologist.

NYDN: It's time to end LGBT discrimination. "That Stonewall has hit its fourth decade is only part of the reason that the media are giving this anniversary attention. The other reason is that there is a sense of excitement that, with the spread of gay marriage to more states, the struggle for gay rights may be about to reach a new high-water mark. But all this excitement glosses over a critical fact: Gay people have the same federal protections against discrimination in terms of the most basic civil rights that we had at the time of Stonewall. And that is exactly: zero."