News: Nixon, Carnivorous Plant, LaToya Jackson, Utah, Mona Lisa

30 short LGBT films nominated for £25,000 Iris Prize.

Giant meat-eating plant discovered: "The plant is among the largest of all carnivorous plant species and produces spectacular traps as large as other species which catch not only insects, but also rodents as large as rats."

LaToya Jackson may be on primetime this fall.

Gays in Utah lose an ally as Utah Governor Jon Huntsman resigns to become Ambassador to China.

TAPES: Richard Nixon thought Leonard Bernstein's man-on-man kisses with Alvin Ailey were "absolutely sickening."

Twisted UK Roman Catholic priest David "devil in the dog collar" Pearce faces jail for sexual assault on schoolboys for 36 years.

Washington anti-gay marriage foes want donor names kept secret: "Sponsors of a campaign to overturn Washington state's domestic partnership law have asked the state's Public Disclosure Commission to keep the names of their donors secret because they say the supporters have received threats."

First listen: Ryan Gosling's band Dead Man's Bones track "My Body's a Zombie for You".

Just to clear everything up: Jaime Pressley did not pee on the sidewalk outside the Abbey in West Hollywood.

Teabagger tears up Rosa Parks poster at Claire McCaskill town hall.

Well-known homophobe and right-wing windbag Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council has already penned a piece for Wingnut Daily criticizing Obama's award of the medal to Milk, calling it "the first time in history that the nation's highest civilian award has been granted primarily on the basis of someone's sex life."

Tom Cruise's son Connor likely to take role in remake of Red Dawn.

Beckham stretches his legs.

The Amateur Gourmet and his boyfriend eat at El Bulli, the world's #1 restaurant.

Advertiser boycott of Glenn Beck pushed.

Woman attempts to scald the Mona Lisa with cup of English breakfast tea: "Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece was completely unscathed, as the ceramic mug smashed on bullet-proof glass surrounding the painting. Paris police said the woman was taken to a psychiatric ward afterwards. 'It looks like it was done by someone who was unhinged and wanted to draw attention to herself,' a Louvre spokesman was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency."

Bradley Cooper beams at Hangover premiere in Barcelona without Renee Zellweger. Ted Casablanca on the new relationship: "We seriously think his publicist has more to do with these A-list couplings than his heart. He knows he's unavailable—in more ways than one, trust—but he's trying to convince these women otherwise."

Pee Wee Herman returning to the stage. Reubens: “It’s time. My Pee-wee suit and red bow tie are at the ready - and this is proof that white shoes are cool past Labor Day.”

Minnesota Senator Paul Koering doesn't find enough support to run for governor: "But Koering, a gay legislator, also believes the fact he’s gay is something Republican Party delegates find hard to accept. 'I didn’t really want to say that,' he said. 'That’s a hurdle some delegates can’t get over,' said Koering. They’re just closed to him, he explained."

FRC's Peter Sprigg vs HRC's Joe Solmonese on Same-Sex Marriage

Yesterday on Hardball, the Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg and Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese debated the Miss USA pageant and same-sex marriage.

You may remember Sprigg's 2008 interview I posted here about the Uniting American Families Act. Said Sprigg: "I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society."

Sprigg has also used his false remarks about children and gays before as well.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

GLAAD Issues 'Call to Action' Over FX Networks' 30 Days

GLAAD issued a "call to action" this week over FX Networks' Morgan Spurlock series 30 Days from In the episode, which aired last night (and is scheduled to repeat in NYC on Friday night), a woman who opposes gay and lesbian parents and their families lives for 30 days with gay parents Dennis and Thomas and their four adopted sons.

The episode also airs a disgusting statement from Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council (watch it, AFTER THE JUMP). Says Sprigg: "Homosexuality is associated with higher rates of sexual promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse, and those are all reasons for us to be concerned about placing children into that kind of setting."

Writes GLAAD: "While there is no credible scientific research that backs Sprigg’s claim - and much that disputes it - the episode presents his assertion as if it were fact and offers no credible social science experts or child health authorities to challenge Sprigg’s assertion. Indeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Child Welfare League of America, and many other child health and social services authorities who support parenting by qualified lesbian and gay parents dispute Sprigg’s claim."

I've posted about Sprigg before. You may remember that back in March, Sprigg talked about immigration to the Medill Reports, saying, "I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society."

Dan Savage, who watched the show and knows the family portrayed, had this to add: "I happen to know the gay couple featured, Tom and Dennis Patrick, and their four boys. Every summer my family attends Gay Family Week in Saugatuck (not just me and the boyfriend and the kid, but my whole extended family), as do the Patricks. Tom and Dennis are great, mellow, thoughtful guys who’ve adopted four boys out of foster care. The state of Michigan, which should be pinning a medal on these guys, has instead threatened to take away their health-care benefits in the wake of an anti-gay marriage amendment to Michigan’s state constitution."

Watch the clip in question (via Joe.My.God), AFTER THE JUMP...