39th Anniversary Of The UpStairs Lounge Fire: VIDEO

Today is the 39th anniversary of the firebombing of the UpStairs Lounge, the New Orleans gay bar, which killed 32 gay men and constituted the single largest mass murder of gays in the history of the United States.

The UpStairs Lounge was located on the second floor of an old building at Chartres Street and Iberville Street, just off Canal Street, near the edge of the French Quarter. In 1973, June 24th fell on a Sunday, and most of the 60 or in attendance were members of New Orleans' Metropolitan Community Church, which held services in the bar. That evening, they sang their unofficial anthem, Brotherhood of Man's "United We Stand," with accompaniment from resident pianist David Gary. They socialized. Just before 8 p.m., a doorbell rang. Someone opened the door, and discovered the Lounge's wooden staircase was ablaze. The UpStairs Lounge was promptly engulfed.

Erik Ose, writing four years ago in the Huffington Post, described the scene:

The emergency exit was not marked, and the windows were boarded up or covered with iron bars. A few survivors managed to make it through, and jumped to the sidewalks, some in flames. Rev. Bill Larson, the local MCC pastor, got stuck halfway and burned to death wedged in a window, his corpse visible throughout the next day to witnesses below.

Bartender Buddy Rasmussen led a group of fifteen to safety through the unmarked back door. One of them was MCC assistant pastor George "Mitch" Mitchell. Then Mitch ran back into the burning building trying to save his partner, Louis Broussard. Their bodies were discovered lying together.

29 lives were lost that night, and another three victims later died of injuries from the fire. 

The mainstream media was largely uninterested in showing compassion for gay arson victims:

Initial news coverage omitted mention that the fire had anything to do with gays, despite the fact that a gay church in a gay bar had been torched. What stories did appear used dehumanizing language to paint the scene, with stories in the States-Item, New Orleans' afternoon paper, describing "bodies stacked up like pancakes," and that "in one corner, workers stood knee deep in bodies...the heat had been so intense, many were cooked together." Other reports spoke of "mass charred flesh" and victims who were "literally cooked."

The press ran quotes from one cab driver who said, "I hope the fire burned their dress off," and a local woman who claimed "the Lord had something to do with this." The fire disappeared from headlines after the second day.

A joke made the rounds and was repeated by talk radio hosts asking, "What will they bury the ashes of queers in? Fruit jars." Official statements by police were similarly offensive. Major Henry Morris, chief detective of the New Orleans Police Department, dismissed the importance of the investigation in an interview with the States-Item. Asked about identifying the victims, he said, "We don't even know these papers belonged to the people we found them on. Some thieves hung out there, and you know this was a queer bar."

In the days that followed, other churches refused to allow survivors to hold a memorial service for the victims on their premises. Catholics, Lutherans, and Baptists all said no.

Eventually, a Unitarian congregation agreed to host a memorial service. The UpStairs arsonist was never apprehended.

AFTER THE JUMP, see the only surviving news coverage of the fire. 

NEWS: Afghanistan And Egypt; Brad And Ellen; Glenn Beck, Louis Farrakahn, And Andy Samberg (VIDEO!)

 "LGBT Rights Window Closing In Egypt":

In many ways, the huge demonstrations of early 2011 that took place in Tahrir Square and led to the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak inspired Egypt’s gay community to join the call for a new, more democratic nation.

But now more than a year into the revolution, Egypt’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has stepped back out of the public eye and retreated into the shadows once again.

... On a recent reporting trip to Egypt ... I met Taher Lamey, a doctor and member of the LGBT community who volunteered in the tented field hospitals of Tahrir helping victims of attacks by Egyptian security forces.

... In the heady days following the toppling of Mubarak, [Lamey] said he had high hopes for the revolution. He said, “The best of the country is involved in this. But they won’t win. If these people were in charge you would expect a lot from this country. International connections, democracy, social justice, social welfare..”

And, he believes, LGBT rights.

“I’m sure also that would have definitely been better because they’d have been liberals, ” he explained.

But in a country whose newly elected parliament is controlled by a two Islamist parties that control more than two-thirds of the seats, that possibility, he added, is “a long way off.”

Taher sighed and said he’s thankful he also holds a Dutch passport.

“I could leave. I have a fear of what happens next. I think we will be the next Iran,” he says.

 Australian political advetisement: homophobic, xenophobic and racist -- all at once! 

 American soldier loses it; goes on door-to-door killing spree in Afghanistan. Nine children, seven adults die:

Residents of three villages in the Panjwai district of Kandahar Province described a terrifying string of attacks in which the soldier, who had walked more than a mile from his base, tried door after door, eventually breaking in to kill within three separate houses. At the first, the man gathered 11 bodies, including those of four girls younger than 6, and set fire to them, villagers said. 

 Ohio Attorney General and Santorumfan Mike DeWine squashes effort to get marriage equality on state ballot:

Mike DeWine said Friday that Freedom to Marry Ohio had submitted the initial required 1,000 voter signatures but had not supplied an adequate description of the measure.

 Newt Gingrich campaign zeroes in on new target: Good Christian Bitches. 

 Scientists "now have a glimpse of the brain's bio-molecular code for memory."

 Glenn Beck vs. The Nation of Islam vs. Barack Obama.

 Brad Pitt shows Ellen around New Orlean's 9th Ward ...

 ... in advance of a star-stuffed benefit last night for his foundation, Make It Right, which is rebuilding the ward's homes and bringing home the city's displaced citizens. Brad Pitt! He's awesome. 

 Lots of people say Andy Samberg's parody of other comedians' parodies of Sarah Palin's on last night's SNL was amazing. I'm not one of those people. Are you? Find out AFTER THE JUMP ...

Alabama Fan Arrested for Teabagging Assault on Unconscious Man: VIDEO

Last weekend, Brandon posted a sick video of a mob of Alabama fans taunting and harassing an unconscious LSU fan at a Krystal fast food restaurant on Bourbon Street in New Orleans following the game. The video, since removed from YouTube, showed the Alabama fan, now identified as Brian Downing, teabagging the unconscious fan's face.

Downing has now been arrested. Turns out he was the second cousin of the Russell County Sheriff, the Times Picayune reports:

Detectives met Downing, 32, at his attorney's office in Mid-City and then took him to Central Lock-Up, where he was booked with one count of sexual battery and one count of obscenity.

Earlier in the day, Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor, who said he is a second cousin to Downing, said he personally spoke with the NOPD sex crimes detective handling the case about whether to arrest the man or send him to New Orleans for questioning.

Although he'd heard about the video -- which has created a firestorm on the Internet -- for a couple days, Taylor said he watched it Thursday morning at the prompting of other people who suggested the University of Alabama fan was his relative. The man in the video indeed appeared to be Downing, he said.

Watch Downing's arrest, AFTER THE JUMP...

Jonathan Vilma Explains Manliness On Twitter

If you're confused, undecided, or otherwise uncertain about gender roles and their meaning in modern society, fear not: Jonathan Vilma, linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, has taken to Twitter to clear things up. Last night, seemingly out of the blue, he Tweeted:

Grown men should NOT hav female tendencies. Period. [sic]

This bit of wisdom was re-Tweeted by fullbacker Vonta Leach, of the Baltimore Ravens. According to OutSports, when a fan objected to Vilma's editorializing, Vilma replied:

hey.....SHUTUP

So, that settles that.

Focus on the Family Responds to 'Regret' from TOMS Shoes Founder

Focus on the Family President Jim Daly responded to a statement yesterday from TOMS shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, distancing himself from the anti-gay, anti-choice Evangelical group, with a statement of their own to Christianity Today:

Said Daly, of the interview program on which Mycoskie appeared:

"By contract, TOMS has the right to block broadcast of the program. We hope they won't do that, but we have yet to hear directly from Blake or anyone at TOMS about this situation....Yes, we believe marriage is a sacred, lifetime union between one man and one woman. Yes, we advocate in the public policy arena for laws that uphold that truth. But the same Bible that tells us God's design and intent for marriage tells us all people are created in His image and are worthy of dignity and respect."

Daly added: "While we may disagree with those who spearheaded this effort to get TOMS to distance themselves from us, our desire is not so much to defeat them at the ballot box as it is to bring them closer to the heart of Jesus Christ -- the only hope any of us have for the forgiveness and overcoming of our sins."

And Christianity Today adds: 

Daly said Mycoskie's apology was an "unfortunate statement about the culture we live in, when an organization like ours is deemed unfit" over beliefs about marriage. “It's also a chilling statement about the future of the culture we live in," he said.

Haters playing the victim card once again.

UPDATE: The full FOTF statement, via Jeremy Hooper at Good As You, AFTER THE JUMP...

Video: Anderson Cooper Takes His Mardi Gras Bead-Throwing Very Seriously

Earlier I posted a photo of Anderson Cooper and co. on top of the Endymion float in this year's New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. Here's some video. It's clear that Anderson tackles all of his jobs with utmost seriousness.

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone!

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...