News: Brian Paddick, Senegal, Thomas Beatie, Commercial Closet

Patrick Sammon steps down as president of Log Cabin Republicans.

London's gay former top cop Brian Paddick joins cast of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, reveals George Michael used to ask him for drugs: [Paddick] famously championed a lenient approach to drug possession during his tenure. He said today: 'Every time I met up with George Michael, the first thing he’d always ask was: 'Have you got a spliff?'...'The joke wears off after a while, but he said it again and again.'" Also on board the show, believe it or not, are George Takei and Martina Navratilova.

Pregnant man Thomas Beatie has another bun in the oven: "Thomas Beatie, who is in his first trimester, tells Walters he did not go back on the male hormone testosterone after Susan's birth so he could have another baby. 'I feel good,' he said. 'I had my checkups with my hormone level, as far as the HCG. And everything is right on track.' He says the baby is due June 12."

Showtime and Stan Lee collaborating on gay superhero project based upon Perry Moore's novel Hero. Moore is writing the script.

Oregon woman beaten with a rock after telling man that she's gay: "Washington County sheriff's deputies said the woman was walking along a street in Aloha on Tuesday when a young man asked for a cigarette. The woman said the man asked whether she was gay and became angry when she told him that she was. Deputies said the two struggled, she fell, he beat her with a rock and his fists, and then she escaped. The suspect was described as white, 16 to 22 years old, about 6 feet tall and slender with very large ears."

Top Chef: New York gays form "Team Rainbow".

Gael Garcia Bernal gets pensive for Flaunt.

European Parliament asks Bulgaria to recognize same-sex couples in its domestic partner legislation: " The all-party ‘intergroup’ for gay and lesbian rights has written to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Sergei Stanishev, and members of the National Assembly expressing concerns that same-sex couples are not included in the draft legislation. 'Unions between opposite-sex and same-sex couples are based on the same ground,' says the letter, signed by MEPs Michael Cashman, Lissy Gräner, Raúl Romeva and Sophie In´t Veld."

Brody Jenner without his bros, or clothes.

Following the 'witchhunt' it experienced last year, Senegal's gay community is now regrouping with the aid of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission: "IGLHRC had stepped in to respond to the arrests and condemn the violence already last year, but now hopes to be able to turn from emergency aid to the development of a forceful Senegalese movement fighting for less discrimination of sexual minorities and increased legal rights."

What's the point of having Cam Gigandet in Men's Health if he's not going to show off his assets.

Sleepless kids become fat adults. Sleepless adults become fatter.

The story behind Commercial Closet founder Michael Wilke's departure from the organization in the wake of its GLAAD merger: " Negotiations for a January, 2009 merger had been all but finalized and, in June, Wilke and his editorial director had moved into GLAAD’s New York offices. On Monday, days after learning from his board of directors that the merger had gone through two months ahead of schedule, Wilke says he found out from an article on Ad Age’s Website that he would no longer be with the organization he’d founded seven years ago. 'There wasn’t supposed to be a shutdown,' Wilke told Advocate.com. 'That was never planned. I know the board was very concerned about being in the black at the end of the year, so their solution was to cancel our big fundraiser and to let me go.'"

Christina Aguilera not sure if Lady Gaga is a man or a woman.

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McCain Aide Steve Schmidt Meets with LCR, Talks of Lesbian Sister

Tuesday I posted about the Log Cabin Republican endorsement of John McCain for President (here's LCR President Patrick Sammon discussing the endorsement on CNN), and now we have video (courtesy of Think Progress)of senior campaign strategist Steve Schmidt addressing the group Thursday at a luncheon to thank them for their support.

Video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Said Schmidt: "I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign’s respect to your organization and to your group. At a personal level, my sister and her partner are an important part of my life and our children’s life. I admire your group and your organization and I encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe in because the day is going to come. (applause)...You are an important part of our party, the party of Abraham Lincoln. We as Republicans are the party of freedom and as a party we strive to reach that goal. We look forward to your support and your help for the senator."

Schmidt then hailed Sarah Palin's arrival (Palin has opposed civil unions, gay marriage, hate crime laws including sexual orientation, benefits for same-sex partners) as a force in the party: "We had a great night last night. I will just tell you that in the last 48 hours the smearing and the defamation of this family is unlike anything I have ever seen. You saw this beautiful American family on the stage last night and you saw one of the great speeches in the history of political conventions by an accomplished governor of a state who has just announced herself as a major force in the Republican party in her own right, and I think the other side has got to be sitting on the other side saying 'oh - my - God.'"

Schmidt's appearance, of course, was given a hearty round of applause by the group.

Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Log Cabin President Patrick Sammon Defends McCain Endorsement

Patrick Sammon, the President of the Log Cabin Republicans, appeared on CNN to defend the group's endorsement yesterday of John McCain for President.

By the way, the McCain campaign also yesterday accepted that endorsement. Said McCain National Political Director Mike DuHaime: "On behalf of Senator McCain and the campaign, thank you for this endorsement. Sen. McCain is running an inclusive campaign and he’ll have an inclusive administration [as president]."

As I noted yesterday, McCain doesn't even know what the acronym LGBT stands for. He also doesn't believe gays are fit to adopt children, supports a ban on gays in the military, is worried if his clothing looks too gay, isn't sure if condoms stop the spread of HIV, thinks same-sex marriage ceremonies are okay as long as they're just pretend, and has promised right-wing religious groups that he'll start speaking out more vocally against LGBT causes.

Watch Sammon's appearance, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Log Cabin Republicans Endorse 'Maverick' John McCain for President [tr]

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Stop In The Name Of Love

The president of the Log Cabin Republicans, Patrick Sammon, urges fellow conservatives to back off using gay marriage as a wedge issue again:

"Acceptance of loving, committed gay and lesbian couples is on the rise and, consequently, the marriage debate does not have the same heat it used to. Republicans who try exploiting the issue for political gain this November will fail. And they’ll further alienate the young people who are already leaving the GOP in droves."

So...stop pushing this issue because it's no longer effective, not because it's wrong?

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Log Cabin Republican President Sammon a Kenneth Cole Poster Boy

Log Cabin Republican President Patrick Sammon has been hailed by Kenneth Cole as a "non-uniform thinker" in his latest ad campaign celebrating "25 years of non-uniform thinking".

Sammon is also featured in a video on the site.

Recently
Log Cabin Republicans Defend Gay-Bashing McCain Robo-calls [tr]
GOP YouTube Debate: Log Cabin Republicans [tr]

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Log Cabin Republicans Avoid Gay Rights in New Mitt Romney Ad

The Log Cabin Republicans, who are not endorsing a candidate in the Republican primary, have targeted Mitt Romney in a new ad to air in Iowa and on national cable, seeking to expose his past record to social conservatives.

The ad makes no mention of Romney's relationship with gay rights but hammers at the candidate's past record on abortion rights and gun laws. It also seeks to show that he's not a Reagan Republican.

LCR President Patrick Sammon talked to the Associated Press about the ad: "The bottom line is this is much more than about gay rights. He has been all over the map on every single issue. He quite frankly hasn't credibly explained his shifting positions. Particularly in Iowa, Gov. Romney has spent millions of dollars on the air trying to portray himself as a certain kind of candidate. We think that it's important to educate them about what his real record is."

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Patrick Sammon Named New President of Log Cabin Republicans

Rumors that Rick Santorum's communications director Robert Traynham was to be named president of the Log Cabin Republicans were just that. Patrick Sammon has been named to succeed outgoing pres. Patrick Guerriero, who held the post for nearly four years. Sammon was formerly executive vice president of the Liberty Education Forum, a non-profit arm of the Log Cabin organization.

Said Sammon: "I'm humbled and honored to be leading Log Cabin Republicans during this important time. Log Cabin's mission is more important than ever before. I will provide a strong voice for those in our Party who believe the GOP can return to power by pursuing a unifying and inclusive conservative agenda that attracts voters from both the center and the right...As someone who has lived almost ten years in smaller conservative cities, I've learned that most Americans are at their core decent people who value freedom and fairness for their family, friends, and neighbors. We need to continue seeking more allies for equality among conservatives and people of faith. Our side is winning the fight for equality, but we must do more in the years ahead to unify all Americans, particularly conservatives, around our common values of freedom and fairness."

Former president Guerriero has taken a job with the Gill Action Fund.

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