Gay Man Files $60 Suit Against Bible Publishers

Michigan man Bradley LaShawn Fowler has filed a $60 million suit against Zondervan publishing and a $10 million suit against Nashville-based Thomas Nelson Publishing saying versions of their Bibles which call homosexuality a sin violate his consitutional rights:

"'The Court has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of these claims,' the judge wrote. Fowler, 39, alleges Zondervan's Bibles referring to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of 'demoralization, chaos and bewilderment.' The intent of the publisher was to design a religious, sacred document to reflect an individual opinion or a group's conclusion to cause 'me or anyone who is a homosexual to endure verbal abuse, discrimination, episodes of hate, and physical violence ... including murder,' Fowler wrote. Fowler's suit claims Zondervan's text revisions from a 1980s version of the Bible included, and then deleted, a reference to homosexuality in 1 Corinthians without informing the public of the changes."

(via goodasyou)

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Al Gore Endorses Barack Obama in Michigan

"Take it from me, elections matter."

Former VP Al Gore endorsed Barack Obama in Detroit, Michigan last night.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Clinton Wins Puerto Rico as DNC Votes on FL, MI Delegate Issues

The DNC Rules and Bylaws committee voted to resolve the Michigan and Florida delegate situation over the weekend.

Said Howard Dean at the opening of the meeting: "This is not about Barack Obama, this is not about Hillary Clinton. "This is about our country. This is about restoring America to its greatness. There have been very tough disagreements and ugly moments. Emotions have run very high. There have been blatantly sexist comments, particularly by some members of the media. And blatantly racist remarks. And we know that those comments have no place in our society... We need to come together."

Talking Points Memo reports: "In a huge blow to Hillary's hopes, such as they are, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee has now voted in favor of a compromise measure for Michigan, giving 69 pledged delegates to Hillary Clinton and 59 to Barack Obama at a half-vote each. This effectively ends Hillary's bid to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations in full -- which she was hoping for in a last-ditch effort to close the delegate count and, more importantly for her campaign's moral arguments, to try to narrow Obama's unofficial popular vote lead. Still, Hillary's chief delegate counter, Harold Ickes, seemed to signal that there's still a possibility that she might fight on. In a harsh tone of voice, Ickes told the committee that Hillary personally informed him that she reserves the right to take the dispute over Michigan to the Credentials Committee in Denver, on the grounds that the committee had no right to transfer 'Uncommitted' votes over to Obama."

Ickes remarks at the DNC meeting, above right. Here's the Clinton campaign statement.

The decision upset many Clinton supporters, including this woman, who was thrown out of the rules committee meeting and whose ugly rant was widely published across the blogosphere this weekend:

AmericaBlog reports that protests over the DNC meeting have been overblown by the media.

Meanwhile, Clinton won an overwhelming victory in Puerto Rico over the weekend.

The NYT: "Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won another overwhelming victory over Senator Barack Obama on Sunday — this time in Puerto Rico — even as many Democrats, including some of her supporters, suggested it would be best if she dropped her threat to battle on past the end of the primary voting on Tuesday. 'There’s nobody taking Hillary’s side but Hillary people,' said Donald Fowler of South Carolina, a former national party chairman and one of Mrs. Clinton’s most prominent supporters, referring to her campaign’s suggestions that she might seek to challenge the way the party resolved the fight this weekend over seating the Michigan and Florida delegations. 'It’s too bad. She deserves better than this.' In a telephone interview Sunday from San Juan, P.R., Mrs. Clinton still raised the possibility that she would challenge the party’s decision on seating those delegates. 'Well, we are going to look at that and make a determination at some point,' she said. 'But I haven’t made any decision at this time.'"

Despite the Clinton victory, Barack Obama gained 17 delegates in the Puerto Rico vote, leaving him just 47 short of the 2,118 required for the nomination.

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #289

BUSH AND GOLF: President learns it's not a good idea to hit the back nine when we're at war.

TONY ROMO: Does a hatchet job on "Take Me Out to the Ball Game">.

KENT COUNTY GOP: A video (and possible ad) that the Kent County, Michigan GOP has created that paints Barack Obama as a white-flag-waiving elitist.

ANDREW CHRISTIAN: The underwear designer takes his goods to the beaches of Rio to see if the locals will make the switch.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Court: Michigan Gay Marriage Ban Affects Health Benefits

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled 5-2 today that state employers, including government offices and schools, cannot offer health insurance to the partners of gay employees.

According to the Detroit Free Press, "An amendment to the state constitution approved by voters in 2004 to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman also prohibits public employers from providing health care and other benefits to the same sex partners of employees, a divided Michigan Supreme Court ruled today.The court majority found that language in the amendment prohibiting recognition of other unions 'for any purpose' included the extension of benefits to gay and lesbian partners of public employees. Several Michigan universities, including U-M and MSU, along with various municipal and school employers had offered the benefits as a means of attracting workers."

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News: Mad Drag Queen, Thailand, Christian Siriano, Asteroids

San Francisco financial services firm reconsidering move to Oklahoma City because of Sally Kern's anti-gay remarks.

Drag queen who looks like Amelia Earhart targets Intimate Ideas, a lingerie store that refused to hire him — with his car!

Thailand's government ignoring surge in HIV rates among MSM: "Thai gays have essentially been left to sink or swim; and they're sinking."

Britney Spears now taking driving lessons from her kids.

Reduce your risk of prostate cancer: rub one out regularly.

Christian Siriano rips The Hills' Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port: "It’s really sad that if I didn’t win Project Runway, I probably wouldn’t have the sponsors I have now. I would have never been able to do what they have done because they all have disposable income, and yet their work still isn’t that great! I mean, it’s fun and flirty and young, but they’re not innovators. None of them will ever be an innovative designer. Buyers and editors are looking for longevity, and hopefully they will see that in me.”

AP: Same-sex couples in U.S. having trouble getting divorced. Rhode Island's Cassandra Ormison: "We all know people who have gone through divorces. At the end of that long and unhappy period, they have been able to breathe a sigh of relief. I do not see that on my horizon, that sigh of relief that it's over."

HGTV hosts in Canada Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan get married. Ryan: "After a year of living in Toronto, filming Home Heist, it became clear to us that it was time to tie the knot. Canada is such a progressive nation, so welcoming and open-mindedly liberal about gay marriage, that we felt thoroughly inspired."

One of the first Scottish couples to join in a civil partnership has been driven apart because of homophobic attacks: "Every time we went out young thugs would abuse us because of our sexuality and once we were set upon and attacked by three neds. It got worse after I moved to another house, in Irvine. For two months I was calling the police out about three times a night. Gangs of up to 15 youths were outside shouting abuse, throwing bricks and trying to break my door down."

Bravo's Step it Up and Dance has a contestant with a gay porn past (warning: NSFW)

First seniors home for gays and lesbians in Canada is proposed in Vancouver: "So far, the project is nothing more than a proposal, but already more than 30 people have plunked down a $1,000 deposit since it was first advertised two weeks ago, according to the U.S. developer. The plan is for a condo development featuring living units, a communal dining room, a fitness centre, a lounge and cabaret."

13-year-old German schoolboy corrects NASA on path of errant asteroid: "Nico Marquardt used telescopic findings from the Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam (AIP) to calculate that there was a 1 in 450 chance that the Apophis asteroid will collide with Earth, the Potsdamer Neuerster Nachrichten reported. NASA had previously estimated the chances at only 1 in 45,000 but told its sister organisation, the European Space Agency (ESA), that the young whizzkid had got it right." (UPDATE: Hoax!)

American Idol's Michael Johns prefers to be an alert drunk.

Last week I posted about gay rights activist John Corvino, who had his appearance canceled by Michigan's Aquinas College, because he's gay. Students found a new, larger venue for him to speak at, which was donated for free.

South Africans reach out to gays in Zimbabwe: "The South African Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP), formerly known as the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality (NCGLE), is concerned about the deepening political, economic and social crises in Zimbabwe. We express our full solidarity with the lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, women, workers and all the people of Zimbabwe. We add our voice in condemning the unjustified delay in the release of the 29 March elections. As Zimbabwean Independence Day approaches on 18 April 2008, Zimbabweans have nothing to celebrate in honour of their heroic liberation struggle and historic achievement of freedom and democracy."

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News: Thailand, Dick Cheney, Brazil Wedding, Diva Clinton

Jay Leno and Ryan Phillippe are still on good terms after the "gayest look" incident. Said Leno: "No, we talked about it before. We're friends. I mean, it's a talk show. That's what you do."

Same-sex weddings, civil unions, commitment ceremonies big business in New England: "Throughout the Northeast, competition has spiked among wedding sites, hotels, resorts and inns as the travel industry has realized that same-sex ceremonies can draw scores of guests, who turn these destinations weddings into weekend stays."

Ashlee Simpson is another straight woman who loves that gay guys love her man.

Red Cross in Thailand changes screening process for gay blood donors: "Gay-rights activists had complained that one question, which was meant to target people more likely to have diseases transmitted by sex and drugs, had effectively blocked all gay men from donating by only asking about same-sex relations. 'We didn't mean to hurt anyone,' said Soisaang Pikulsod, director of the Thai Red Cross National Blood Centre. 'It was just to ensure the highest possible safety of our patients.' The Red Cross will rework the form to include more questions about all types of sexual behaviour, gay or heterosexual, that could increase the risk of diseases such as AIDS, she said."

Kathy Griffin and Adnan Ghalib in most obvious paparazzi punk'd ever.

Dick Cheney has either a naked woman or an alien entity in his lenses. Or Lynne Cheney, in which case it would be both.

American Idol loses one of the guys [SPOILER].

Gay-friendly college fairs a budding trend: "Students are coming out at a much younger age. That process isn't beginning in college or after college like we may have seen 10 or 20 years ago. So these high school students who are out come looking for a range of things that show a college will generally have students like them, and a university with an inclusive mission."

Judge tosses Florida lawsuit filed by high school student denied the right to form a gay-straight alliance: "The former student, Yasmin Gonzalez, has graduated, so she's no longer affected by the school's decision to ban the club, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore said in a ruling Wednesday. Gonzalez's attorneys with the ACLU tried to maintain her stake in the case by seeking nominal monetary damages, but Moore ruled she isn't entitled to any money because she wasn't claiming violations of due process. 'We were surprised and disappointed by his interpretation,' said Rob Rosenwald, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. Rosenwald plans to ask the judge to reconsider. Attorneys for the school board declined to comment."

Brazil televises "tacky" gay wedding.

George Michael = God?

East Village Boys offer T-shirt that big shooters wear with pride.

TPM suggests "diva theory" behind Hillary's appeal: "Hillary is the diva, the fabulous woman who is fabulous just because she says so. She's the woman who is abused (by her husband), ridiculed (by the press), hated (by Republican mouth-breathers), yet she's still standing. She's like from some exploitation film where the heroine is beaten and barely raped before pulling a knife out of her sock and slicing the mean guy's balls off. Her supporters have stood by her and fought her battles with her - and sometimes for her - since the 1990s. The emotional connection runs too deep. R-e-s-p-e-c-t, she shakes her finger. Find out what it means to me. And the crowd eats it up." Can any shallower arguments be made?

Michigan's Aquinas College cancels speech by gay rights activist. President: "I'm not trying to keep people from seeing him. I'm trying to prevent the college from sponsoring an event that displays an attack on Catholic teaching values."

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Michigan Killer of Gay Man Guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter

Steven Scarborough, a 22-year-old Tennessee man, who faced a felony murder charge that carries a life without parole sentence in the killing of 62-year-old Victor Manious in Grand Rapids, Michigan, got off easily yesterday when a jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter which carries a maximum 15 years in prison.

Scarborough's attorneys used a "gay panic" defense, suggesting that the murder was a reaction to Manious' sexual advances. Prosecutors had said that Scarborough lured Manious from a gay bar to his friend's apartment with intent to rob him, but ended up murdering him. Manious' body was found in the trunk of his car, and Scarborough spent the days following the murder shopping, traveling, and dining with Manious' credit cards.

The Grand Rapids Press reports: "Upon hearing the verdict, Scarborough hugged his lawyer, Paul Denenfeld, and smiled. His mother, Veronica Hand, in court with her husband, Michael, wept. Grand Rapids Police Detective Kristen Rogers, who interviewed Scarborough once he was apprehended, put her head in her hands. Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Helen Brinkman said she would tell the Manious family she did her best. 'I just wish the jury would have known about his previous record and that he came to Michigan to flee the conviction,' she said. Denenfeld said the jury was aware of his previous record and obviously believed that he was a victim of an assault."

Verdict in Steven Scarborough case: Guilty of voluntary manslaughter of Victor Manious [the grand rapids press]

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Accused Killer Uses 'Gay Panic' Defense in Michigan Murder Trial

A jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan began its deliberations yesterday in the murder trial of 21-year-old Steve Scarborough, who last July struck 62-year-old Victor Manious with a bat before dragging Manious down a flight of stairs and putting him in the trunk of the victim's car where he was left to die. Scarborough, then, according to The Grand Rapids Press, "spent the next several days dining, shopping and traveling with credit cards belonging to Manious."

The prosecution claims that Scarborough was at a gay bar and targeted Manious for robbery, luring him to his friend Justin Robinson's apartment where the robbery was botched, Manious was struck, and the body was hidden. The defense claims that Manious, who came to the apartment looking for Robinson, knocked out Scarborough and when Scarborough awoke Manious was performing oral sex on him, which set off the chain of events leading to the murder. Another report has a slightly different version of event with the same gist.

Meanwhile, the Manious' widow and daughter can't comprehend that Manious was leading a secret gay life.

Family rejects talk of victim's secret gay lifestyle in Scarborough murder trial [the grand rapids press]

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DNC Chair Dean Urges Florida and Michigan to Re-do Contests

DNC Chair Howard Dean is urging officials from Michigan and Florida to propose plans to re-do their state primary contests, the AP reports:

"The two state parties will have to find the funds to pay for new contests without help from the national party, Dean said. 'We can't afford to do that. That's not our problem. We need our money to win the presidential race,' he said. Officials in Michigan and Florida are showing renewed interest in holding repeat presidential nominating contests so that their votes will count in the epic Democratic campaign. The Michigan governor, top officials in Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign, and Florida's state party chair all are now saying they would consider holding a sort of do-over contest by June. That's a change from the previous insistence from officials in both states that the primaries they held in January should determine how their delegates are allocated. Clinton won both contests, but the results were meaningless because the elections violated national party rules."

The Detroit Free Press reports: "Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Clinton supporter, said the victory in Ohio changes "the landscape a bit" and could open the door to a Democratic caucus -- not a primary -- in Michigan, though it would have to be privately funded and both candidates would have to agree. 'Michigan and Florida votes should count. To not count them at all would alienate these states in the general election,' she said."

And according to the Tampa Bay Tribune, "Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, the state's senior elected Democrat, called Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday to discuss the possibility, according to a spokesman. The two agreed that Florida taxpayers shouldn't pay the tab, and Nelson thinks the Democratic National Committee should bear the cost, said Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin. A statewide vote would likely cost into the double-digit millions. Meanwhile, Crist, a Republican, issued a joint statement along with Democratic Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm calling it 'reprehensible" and "intolerable' that both national parties are penalizing Florida and Michigan over their primary dates. 'Seat our delegates,' Crist and Granholm demanded."

Howard Dean's appearance on MSNBC this morning, AFTER THE JUMP...

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News: Spy Satellite, John Rechy, Noah's Arc, Kalamazoo

Spy satellite shootdown may endanger International Space Station, will also reveal military's ability to target China's strategic anti-satellite weapons.

Huckaboo: Rock group Boston orders Mike Huckabee to stop using their song. "Boston has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything Boston stands for. In fact, although I'm impressed you learned my bass guitar part on 'More Than a Feeling,' I am an Obama supporter."

Biologist laments that after 20 years of research they're no closer to developing an AIDS vaccine: "Our lack of success may be understandable but it is not acceptable. Some years ago I came to the conclusion that our community had to seriously undertake new approaches or we might find ourselves with a worldwide epidemic and no effective response. "That is just where we are today."

Project Runway designers head for Bryant Park.

Yesterday I posted a performance by David Archuleta, but here are the rest of the top 12 guys who have made it into American Idol this year.

Noah's Arc to hit the big screen.

Bono RED art auction for AIDS takes in $42 million.

CNN profiles straight couple who stayed together even after the husband revealed he was gay: "'Neither one of us had a clue -- he didn't know what being gay meant for him. ... He needed to figure that out,' recalls Anna Marie Will, of Sacramento, California. 'I needed to figure out what his being gay meant for me, and whether I could incorporate that into my life and my marriage.' What they did know was that they believed in their marriage and wanted to make it work. Jim Will's revelation in 2001 began a three-year process during which they sorted out their feelings for each other. Ultimately, the couple, whose daughter turns 15 in March, decided to stay together. 'He had to learn to talk to me -- he had spent so many years not saying what was really on his mind, and not dealing with his true feelings,' says Anna Marie Will, now 39, a worker's compensation program administrator. 'We found out once we got past all that, our marriage was so much better. We still loved each other as people and partners.'"

Revealed: the Manhattan phone book's gayest page.

Bravo announces big gay dance show.

City of Night author John Rechy releases memoir: "Rechy’s book covers, in large part, the poverty and racist climate he endured growing up in the ’40s and ’50s, the son of Mexican immigrants living on this side of the border separating El Paso, Tex., and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He lived in a house with broken windowpanes. 'We patched them with cardboard from boxes gathered outside grocery stores,' he writes. 'When the cardboard on the windows was new, I would paint pictures on it, birds, flowers. The rain would eventually streak them into colored tears.'"

TVLand censors "OhMiGod" after pressure from American Family Association.

Jake Gyllenhaal does Italian Vanity Fair.

Death sentence stands for Gary Ray Bowles, Florida serial killer of gay men.

Impromptu group forms in Kalamazoo, Michigan to stand up to Westboro Baptist Church: "The Stop the Hate in Kalamazoo Coalition formed last week after Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., said it would show up to picket the first performance of 'The Laramie Project' at Kalamazoo Central High School, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported Thursday. The play, which opens Feb. 22, is based on the 1998 killing of Matthew Shepard, who was the victim of a homophobic hate crime which ended with him being beaten to death. 'If you rebel against the standards of God and live like Matthew Shepard, you will join him in hell for eternity,' a member of the Kansas church said, the newspaper reported."

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News: New Mexico, Tom Cruise, MRSA, Jesus Kidnap, Mariah Carey

Domestic partners bill revived in New Mexico.

Zac Efron treats paparazzi to unique version of 'Blue Moon'.

Anti-gay marriage speakers meet with resistance from Vermont audience after proclaiming "Marriage can be the union between man and woman or it can be the union of any two people. Vermont cannot have both." Audience member: "It's nonsensical that marriage can't have multiple meanings. That's simply scare tactics." Outright Vermont launches statewide outreach effort: "A rainbow-colored bumper sticker, a "queer-mobile" that travels to remote and rural areas, paid spots on the radio, an online resource and a monthly newsletter are all strategies for a queer youth visibility campaign launched Thursday in Burlington. Outright Vermont, the state's largest 'queer' organization in its 20th year that works specifically with youths, wants to make Vermont the most "queer-friendly" state in the country – one person at a time."

Tom Cruise producing partner Paula Wagner speaks out about Scientology video leaks: "I am not a Scientologist, nor are most of the people Tom and I work with, but that doesn't mean I can sit by silently while he is attacked for his religious beliefs. As a film-maker and an American, I feel strongly that an individual's religion should have no bearing on their professional life."

Actress Suzanne Pleshette dies at 70.

Michigan neighborhood kidnaps devout dachshund owner's Jesus statuette: "We are holding Jesus ransom until you clean up the poopie from your wieners and trust us we see you take your wieners for long walks w/out picking up their poopie in our yards. This has upset us dearly so please clean up all the weiner poopie, if you want to see Jesus unharmed."

Gay porn Marine Matt Sanchez paranoid that a "gay jihadist" stalker/crank caller is out to defame him!

NYT on how the MRSA staph 'superbug' story went viral: "On Monday, a team of researchers led by doctors from the University of California at San Francisco announced that gay men were “many times more likely than others” to acquire a new strain of drug-resistant staphylococcus, a nasty, fast-spreading and potential lethal bacteria known as MRSA USA300. And sure enough, the study, published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was quickly picked up by reporters round the world and across the Internet, including a London tabloid which dubbed the disease 'the new H.I.V.' But for gay men in the Castro neighborhood here, which was an early epicenter for the AIDS epidemic and a current hot spot for MRSA, the report also seemed to cast an unfair, and all too familiar, stigma on their sexuality."

High school principal apologizes for inviting anti-gay pastor Ken Hutcherson to give lecture to students on civil rights.

Paula Abdul wants you to dance like there's not tomorrow.

Could volcanoes be facilitating the melt of the Antarctic glaciers? "In an article published Sunday on the Web site of the journal Nature Geoscience, Hugh Corr and David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey report the identification of a layer of volcanic ash and glass shards frozen within an ice sheet in western Antarctica. 'This is the first time we have seen a volcano beneath the ice sheet punch a hole through the ice sheet' in Antarctica, Vaughan said."

That chick Mariah Carey dishes out new album cover.

Spencer Livermore: the most powerful gay man in British politics.

LOGO to screen Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin all week.

Indiana wingnuts irate at lawmaker's refusal to hear proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage: "Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, who is chairman of the House Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, said today that the most urgent issue facing the state is property taxes, not same-sex marriage, which already is banned by Indiana law. 'I’m not planning on having a hearing,' Pelath said. 'The short session (of the legislature) was designed to deal with emergencies. We have a very serious problem with the property tax system, and we don’t have any gay marriages in Indiana.' The Senate committee plans to debate the amendment Thursday, but Eric Miller, who has pushed for passage of the amendment as founder of the conservative group Advance America, called that 'disingenuous.' The legislature, he said, is dealing with plenty of issues besides property tax reform and has the time to debate and vote on this amendment before its March 14 deadline."

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Romney Takes Michigan GOP Primary, Hillary Trounces Uncommitted

Apparently the campaign in America's Mitten worked, as Mitt Romney won the Michigan primary yesterday with 39% of the vote.

Above, if you're interested, is giddy Romney's victory speech.

On the Democratic side, the state was stripped of all of its delegates for violating party rules. Because Michigan scheduled their contest before February 5 (only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina are allowed to do so), the state was punished.

Hillary Clinton was the only candidate who did not pull her name from the ballot, which resulted in a decisive win against that other party juggernaut, Uncommitted.

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Mike Huckabee: Amend Constitution to Reflect God's Standards

In one of Mike Huckabee's final stump speeches to Michigan voters, he really showed off his true colors:

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family."

You listening, Michael Stipe?

Huckabee ended up third in the Michigan primary, with 16% of the vote, behind McCain with 30%, and Mitt Romney, the most recent GOP winner, with 39%.

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University of Michigan Offers Course on How to be Gay

A course taught by professor David Halperin at the University of Michigan has been getting some attention recently. "How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation" examines "the general topic of the role that initiation plays in the formation of gay male identity" via writing, studying it as a "sub-cultural practice", and conducting some sort of self-reflective class experiment.

It's actually a class that has been taught, and has inspired controversy and discussion, for a few years.

"In particular, we will examine a number of cultural artifacts and activities that seem to play a prominent role in learning how to be gay: Hollywood movies, grand opera, Broadway musicals, and other works of classical and popular music, as well as camp, diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, taste, style, and political activism. Are there a number of classically 'gay' works such that, despite changing tastes and generations, all gay men, of whatever class, race, or ethnicity, need to know them, in order to be gay? What is there about gay identity that explains the gay appropriation of these works? What do we learn about gay male identity by asking not who gay men are but what it is that gay men do or like? One aim of exploring these questions is to approach gay identity from the perspective of social practices and cultural identifications rather than from the perspective of gay sexuality itself. What can such an approach tell us about the sentimental, affective, or subjective dimensions of gay identity, including gay sexuality, that an exclusive focus on gay sexuality cannot? At the core of gay experience there is not only identification but disidentification. Almost as soon as I learn how to be gay, or perhaps even before, I also learn how not to be gay. I say to myself, 'Well, I may be gay, but at least I'm not like that!' Rather than attempting to promote one version of gay identity at the expense of others, this course will investigate the stakes in gay identifications and disidentifications, seeking ultimately to create the basis for a wider acceptance of the plurality of ways in which people determine how to be gay."

Then there's the alternative method: six beers, an off-campus party, and that hot freshman from down the hall you've been studying from afar.

How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation. [university of michigan]

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Ferndale, Michigan Elects the State's First Openly Gay Mayor

Ferndale, Michigan on Tuesday chose the city's first openly gay mayor and the first elected in the state, according to the Detroit News: Craig Covey, an eight-year city council member. Ferndale is a northern suburb of Detroit.

Said Covey in a press release: "We are showing the region a new way. his city embraces diversity, smart growth, efficiency, bi-partisan compromise, and eco-friendly policies...The city is now known as a leader in the efforts to bring mass transit to the metro area and has advocated for greener policies and more regional cooperation. It is also known as a safe place for diverse communities, including the most visible GLBT community in the state." Read Covey's press release here (PDF)

The Detroit News reports: "With the legal battle over whether Proposal Two requires the granting benefits to same sex couples being waged now in the Michigan Supreme Court, [Susan] Horowitz (founder of Pride Source and co-publisher of Between the Lines) said the Ferndale vote was especially encouraging. 'You just look at Ferndale as a really shining light in a state that's had some setbacks,' she said. 'I'm just ecstatic.' Covey, a Ferndale resident for 18 years, founded the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project. As a city councilman, he has championed the city's Human Rights ordinance, mass transit and green-friendly policies."

Leah Closson, a resident of Ferndale for 16 years, told the paper: "He represents the overall interests of everyone in the city. We're a heterosexual family with two kids and we own our own home. I feel he represents us."

Here's more on the benefits case currently being heard by Michigan's Supreme Court. The court is deciding whether Michigan's marriage amendment prohibits the state from extending health and other benefits to partners in same-sex relationships: "Lawyers representing public employers, affected employees, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the ACLU and gay rights groups said voters' support for the amendment reflected a desire to protect the institution of marriage, but not to limit health care or other worker benefits."

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News: Doris Lessing, Young Frankenstein, Madonna, Golden Compass

POLL: More than half of straight Americans want gays treated equally.

Major sex exhibit opens in London: "The first item on display is a 50 centimetre (20 inch) plaster fig leaf which was used to hide the private parts of Michelangelo's "David" from Queen Victoria in the 19th century."

Florida's Okeechobee County School Board bans "sex-based clubs" to halt formation of gay-straight alliance: "In a unanimous vote Tuesday, school board members adopted the policy that bans any club that is 'sex-based or based upon any sexual grouping, orientation or activity of any kind.' District officials have said the new policy, which takes effect immediately, aims to ban clubs that challenge the district's abstinence-only education."

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's Matt Foreman posts new op-ed on ENDA.

Madonna cuts $100 million+ deal with Live Nation. NYT: "The deal, which was first reported yesterday on The Wall Street Journal’s Web site, is the latest example of how tough times for record labels and concert promoters have set off a free-for-all over the rights to the various revenue streams created when a musician becomes a star. Instead of sharing in only one piece of the income — say, CD sales — companies are angling to share in all of an artist’s business lines, like publishing, merchandise sales and endorsement fees."

Young Frankenstein's Broadway transition experiences pre-opening controversy: "The latest members of the Down-on-Mel Club are some members of the Dramatists Guild - furious at him for not paying his dues - and a small but vocal group of gay people who work backstage and bristle at what they believe are some insensitive jokes in the show."

Bloggers in the backseat: David and Trent test drive Manhattan's newest cinematic experience.

REPORT: U.S. funding anti-gay groups in Africa.

Ricky Martin still fabulous.

Into the great wide open: three visitors have had to be rescued after falling into Doris Salcedo's gigantic crack at the Tate Modern. More on the vast crack that is "Shibboleth".

Doris Lessing wins 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Final trailer for The Golden Compass arrives.

Michelle Rodriguez sentenced to six months in prison.

Jeffrey Montgomery, director of Michigan's Triangle foundation, steps down after 16 years: "Spurred to bring awareness to anti-gay violence, he and two friends founded the advocacy group the Triangle Foundation in 1991, and Montgomery was suddenly a point person for the area's gay community. 'We were making enough noise to get noticed,' said Montgomery, who remembers living off his savings when the organization got started. Today, the Triangle Foundation is one of the state's leading gay rights and advocacy organizations with a $1 million budget and programming that ranges from victim services to camps for gay, lesbian and transgender youth."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's aide says the translator at Columbia misquoted his remarks about gays: "'What Ahmadinejad said was not a political answer. He said that, compared to American society, we don’t have many homosexuals,' presidential media adviser Mohammad Kalhor said."

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Insurance Co: Gay-Friendly Church a "Higher Risk" Property

A branch of The United Church of Christ in Adrian, Michigan was recently solicited by an insurance company, asking if they wanted an insurance quote. The church replied "yes" but the insurance company, Brotherhood Mutual, then refused to give it to them after learning about their gay-friendly policies.

The UCC reports:

"Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, based in Fort Wayne, Ind., told West Adrian United Church of Christ in Adrian, Mich., that its denomination's gay-affirming stances made it a 'higher risk' for property and liability insurance. 'Our company's decision to not submit a quote to your organization arose out of information that was supplied in a supplemental application, indicating that your organization 'publicly endorses or practices the marriage of same-sex couples' and 'publicly endorses or practices the ordination of the homosexual clergy,'' wrote Marci J. Fretz, a regional underwriter for Brotherhood Mutual, in a July 30 letter to the church. Ironically, the church was fully insured by another company, and happily so, but was sought out by a local agent of Brotherhood Mutual who asked to provide the church a quote and then, subsequently, refused to do so."

You may remember, United Church of Christ produced the much-publicized "Ejector Seat" and "Bouncer" ads promoting their openness to accepting people of all races and sexual orientations to their denomination.

Here's a copy of Brotherhood Mutual's letter (PDF).

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Weekend Protest Planned at Michigan Resort Hotel

Members of Detroit's Triangle Foundation will stage a protest from 11-3 on Saturday outside a resort hotel in East Tawas, Michigan, for its failure to assist a lesbian who was allegedly assaulted there at the beginning of September:

"Investigators reported that a male guest, in his 60s, allegedly attacked Michigan resident Angela Potter during her Sept. 8 stay. The man reportedly used anti-lesbian slurs against Potter, police said Thursday. When Potter asked a hotel staff member to call police, the employee reportedly agreed to call but never did. An hour later, a bruised Potter phoned police herself, investigators said. Police responded, then turned the case over to local prosecutors for review. On Wednesday, prosecutors said they had issued no arrest warrant in the case. Both victim and suspect are out-of-town residents, police said. 'Both of them were bumped, bruised, scraped and cut,' said East Tawas Police Chief Dennis Frank, reviewing photographs this week. 'It appeared they got an equal share.' Neither victim nor suspect sought medical attention, Frank added."

Said Triangle Foundation Staff Member Melissa Pope: "There is no excuse - none - for the way the hotel treated Angie. We are calling on Tawas Bay Beach Resort to issue a public apology and at least a refund to her."

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News: Virgin America, Rosie O'Donnell, Google NASA, Ricky Martin

Anti-gay Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle calls in to Michelangelo Signorile, hangs up after 10 minutes.

Virgin America announces in-flight air-to-ground broadband: "But even more interesting...VA will also be offering what amounts to a fleet-wide, airborne social network. Guests on one plane will be able to interact with other guests on that plane -- and with flyers on other planes within the VA fleet -- using Red. As I understand it, they've got some pretty ambitious plans in the works for in-flight interactivity. This could get really interesting."

Rosie O'Donnell admits to breaking own bones with a hammer as a child: "My hands and fingers usually. No one knew. My secret. Proof, that I had some value, enough to be fixed."

British politician accused of winning local election by slinging homophobic comments, court hears: "The court heard Mr Smith was devastated by the way he had lost his seat to Ms Grell by 28 votes. He later moved to northern England. In the final weeks of canvassing, people slammed doors in his face and, after his defeat, he was abused, threatened and spat at, the court heard. Leyton resident Naomi Robinson told the court she was shocked to hear Ms Grell call Mr Smith a paedophile during the election campaign. She said: 'Miss Grell told me to ask him [Mr Smith] about his 14-year-old boyfriend as she was driving away from the front of the house. I was quite shocked actually. I was not sure whether to believe it was true or not.'" UPDATE: Accused claims political conspiracy against her.

Scientists find "slight hint" of cancer risk for 10-year cell phone users.

Ricky Martin closes on swank Manhattan condo at a $3.5 million discount: "Martin's 2,637-square-foot pad with 11-foot ceilings includes a great room, a gourmet eat-in kitchen, a dining room and a study off the master suite. The residence features oak floors and a master bath with a 'wet room.'"

Becks bares it for 2008.

UK students behind "racist/homophobic/sexist" Facebook group: "The creator of the group defends it in a disclaimer, accompanying the comments. He says: 'This group is tolerant of all racial groups, genders, people of all different sexual persuasions. It welcomes anyone and everyone. Join us. It’s just a bit of a laugh.' But the group – as demonstrated by its name – does go on to write discriminatory things about all different types of people."

Berets and briefs rock the 2xist underwear show at NYC fashion week.

You've seen the video, now meet the Missionaries. And watch the MSNBC report.

Led Zeppelin to reunite for one-off comeback concert in London.

Google founders get private jet parking space from NASA.

Ann Arbor, Michigan man pleads guilty to a misdemeanor assault and battery charge for shouting homophobic slurs and hurling a dresser drawer at a pair of pedestrians.

Conservatives protest gay textbook bill in Sacramento: "'The Campaign for Children and Families' claimed students would be forced to read about gay history and exposed to 'bisexual propaganda.' The group called for a veto. 'This is not teaching them the birds and the bees,' said Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for Children and Families. 'This is saying a boy can wear a girl's dress. This is saying you might want to engage in bisexuality or transsexuality. This would revolutionize sex education.'..The bill's supporters said they believe the bill would build tolerance and non-discrimination in public schools."

180?: CNN shortens Anderson Cooper's "ambitious programming block" to one hour. UPDATE: Variety report debunked...

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News: Clay Aiken, Buenos Aires Snow, Steven Spielberg, Madonna

Analyst: Apple planning iPhone Nano priced at $300 or lower.

Look out, Buenos Aires: City sees first snow since 1918.

Though Sunday night's episode featured its first (and apparently only) full-frontal shot, the boys of Entourage won't be showing much skin any time soon. Says producer Doug Ellin: "I don't have any interest in seeing that. Adrian has tried to do that a couple of times. I've told him no. Sundance specifically. One scene in the hot tub he just decided to go without his pants on, but we didn't use that take."

Smell this: Clay Aiken's wandering foot in fracas at 35,000 feet.

Michigan judge Janet Neff, whose nomination was objected to by Sam Brownback because she once spoke at a lesbian civil union, is confirmed for Michigan's federal court.

The L.A. Times talks to Hairspray director Adam Shankman: "The movie is so laden with message you can't play the message, ever. I just want people to relate to Tracy's journey. The craziness of the material will never go away. The whole reason you have a man playing Edna is because everything is all mixed up and crazy and you can't judge books by their covers. I am Tracy. I'm this outsider who always just desperately wanted to perform and be successful."

Meet Lance Bass' Latin lover Pedro Andrade.

Steven Spielberg-designed videogames to be shown off at gaming conference E3: "The first, codenamed LMNO, is a contemporary action adventure, said Neil Young, general manager of EA's Los Angeles studio. The second, with the codename PQRS, is a puzzle game designed for Nintendo's Wii console...Spielberg said the puzzle game 'seemed like a great thing for the entire family to play together over Christmas; although you don't need the excuse of a holiday to enjoy it.' The game has been described as a mix of Saturday-morning cartoon and Jenga. Mr Young said: 'Of course just playing with blocks does not a game make. Now imagine there are up to 50 different properties that can be associated with them. They can explode or form a chemical reaction.'"

Shut up and drive: Residents of Oregon town upset about penis-shaped traffic posts.

Madonna demands eye contact at Live Earth interviews: "Never look down to check notes - all questions must be memorised or the interview will be terminated."

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News: Popemobile, Frog, Chris Evans, Boatslip, T.R. Knight

The owner of Provincetown's gay Boatslip resort, Rich Ferrell, has accused his partners of securities, mail and wire fraud: "Brian DeLaurentis, Ferrell’s attorney, is about to begin the discovery phase of a civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Florida. Charging 12 defendants with racketeering, including the seven other co-owners of