Four Men Arrested After Anti-Gay Attack on Priest, Transgender Teens

A priest who interrupted and helped stop an attack on a group of transgender teens by a group of teenage boys outside a shelter in Queens, NY, was himself attacked, struck by buckets and a belt after the young men returned for a second round. The young men were reportedly using anti-gay slurs:

The NYT reports: "The priest, the Rev. Louis Braxton Jr., said he was returning to the shelter, Carmen’s Place, on Steinway Street in Astoria, about 10:30 on Monday night when he saw a group of youths hit a resident on the head with a bag of garbage. Father Braxton, an Episcopal priest who is the shelter’s director, said he shouted at the attackers and they fled. But four youths returned soon after holding a paint bucket, a miter box, steel brackets and a belt. By then other shelter residents had gathered outside, Father Braxton said. Two residents of Carmen’s Place argued with the four and were punched in the face and body, Kevin Ryan, a spokesman for the Queens district attorney’s office, said."

The Daily News adds: "The teens started harassing Alessandra-Michelle Carver, 21, as she was dancing in front of Carmen's Place in Astoria about 10:30 p.m. on Monday. 'One of them hit me with a garbage can,' she said. 'Then his friends started joining in.' .... The other residents fended off the attackers, and when the teens finally fled, they ran past Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officers, who nabbed them and charged all four with assault as a hate crime, gang assault, weapon possession and harassment. 'This is a place where we come to regroup and get away from that abuse,' Carver said of Carmen's Place, which houses eight people ages 17 to 24. Those arrested were Tyreek Childs, 17; Trevaugn Payne, 16; Shara Mozie, 17, and a 15-year-old whose name was not released because of his age."

NY1 has video interviews of those attacked.

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News: Howard Dean, iPhone, Lance Armstrong, Reggae, Ryan Gosling

Russian gay activists to picket Iranian Embassy in Moscow. Nikolai Alexeyev: "We need to continuously remind the state authorities that the death penalty must be abolished."

Line forms a week early for 3G iPhone...

Ryan Gosling makes an excellent case for the white T-shirt.

Larry Craig's bathroom stall to return to spotlight: "Thousands of members of the international media will have to walk past it when they land at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul at the end of the summer. Many will feel obligated to stop and file a story. For the party that bills itself as stronger on family values than the Democrats, it likely will prove an unwelcome distraction."

UK Study: employees who are "out" at work perform better.

Half Blood Prince: First look at new Harry Potter film.

Lance Armstrong gets a beard.

Signorile on Arthur Finkelstein, the gay Republican behind Jesse Helms: "Conservative, then-closeted, Republican political operative Arthur Finkelstein helped engineer Helms' racist campaign against African-American Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt in 1990, as Helms was vilifying gay sexuality, blocking AIDS funding, stalling prevention and attacking queer artists. (See the ad below that was aired at the height of the campaign and which resulted in Gantt going from a a lead in the polls to defeat on Election Day). Had Jesse Helms not had the handiwork of Finkelstein, who worked for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and various right-wing senators, he might have lost that race. Instead, we had another decade of his antigay grip on the Republican Party, as he blocked HIV prevention measures and thousands more died."

SALON: Transgender man delivered a baby, but failed to deliver respect.

Nicole Kidman gives birth to a Sunday on a Monday.

Obama campaign plane makes emergency stop due to mechanical problems.

"No Homo" the latest catchphrase to sweep NFL locker rooms: "LenDale White says to Vince Young: 'Vince, you’ve got great nips. No homo.' Did you catch the subtle twist there? LenDale has said something that on any other day might be considered gay, but, and this is key, he’s inoculated his heterosexuality by appending, no homo at the end. No homo also works at the front of the phrase but then it’s much less enjoyable because the other party has been keyed into the homosexuality of the statement that’s to follow. Hence, 'No homo. Vince you’ve got great nips.' No dice there."

Reggae music label plans "Straight Pride Parade" in Brooklyn to protest ban of gay murder music artist Stapler.

Howard Dean holds holiday fundraiser in Provincetown: "From a small podium Dean spoke of the enormous progress that has been made in terms of civil rights — for instance, the number of states that have had referendums on gay marriage — despite eight years under 'one of most oppressive presidents' the country has ever known and a Supreme Court he characterized as 'a disgrace. It’s interesting,' he said. 'Sometimes you have to just sit back and look. The grassroots have changed dramatically.'"

NBC to buy The Weather Channel for $3.5 billion. Hurricane Bertha forms in the Atlantic...

Matt Damon checks into the Green Zone.

Michael Ausiello: Hit TV show planning big gay twist.

Getting away with it: Kylie Minogue breaks royal protocol as she is bestowed with the Order of the British Empire...

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News: Peter Pace, Jellyfish, Oregon, Gilbert Baker, Moscow

Bush awards former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair and homophobe Peter Pace the Congressional Medal of Freedom.

Will Smith superhero movie re-branded by construction worker in London's Leicester Square.

Sick: Brutal trans-bashing by Memphis police officer caught on video. "The video, recorded February 12th, shows Duanna Johnson in the booking area at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center after an arrest for prostitution. The tape clearly shows a Memphis police officer walk over to Johnson - a transsexual - and hit her in the face several times. 'Actually he was trying to get me to come over to where he was, and I responded by telling him that wasn't my name - that my mother didn't name me a 'faggot' or a 'he-she,' so he got upset and approached me. And that's when it started.'"

Uh oh, there's a new Spears in town.

Gaytona.com: where gay and Nascar meet.

Experts: Mass proliferation of jellyfish a sure sign that environment is out of whack.

Oregon opponents of gay rights laws abandon efforts to repeal them: "Organizers conceded Monday that their initiatives to repeal two Oregon gay rights laws will not make the November ballot. The fact that the initiatives are stalled offers more evidence that opponents are losing support, say gay rights activists, who were also celebrating the legalization of same-sex marriages in California on Monday."

Provocation: Right-wing group asks Israeli Supreme Court to ban Gay Pride in Jerusalem: "In a petition to the court, the small National Jewish Front called the event 'a provocation,' while the municipality filed a brief saying it too objected to the parade, scheduled to be held on June 26. 'We are against this parade which harms social relations,' city spokesman Gidi Schemerling told AFP."

Members of the clergy in Albany today rallied to protest Governor David Paterson's decision to recognize same-sex marriages preformed out of state.

An interview with rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker: "I love going to cities around the world and seeing the rainbow flag, knowing that it's a safe place where I can be myself...In 1978, when I thought of creating a flag for the gay movement there was no other international symbol for us than the pink triangle, which the Nazis used to identify homosexuals in concentration camps. Even though the pink triangle was and still is a powerful symbol, it was very much forced upon us. I almost instantly thought of using the rainbow. To me, it was the only thing that could really express our diversity, beauty and our joy. I was astounded nobody had thought of making a rainbow flag before because it seemed like such an obvious symbol for us."

Mario Lopez is impressed with himself.

Recommend picks from the California Tourism Commission for places to have your wedding or honeymoon.

Mickey Rourke spent his Father's Day with a dude in a thong.

Hockey jock doesn't speak, but carries a big stick (warning: site NSFW)

District Court of Moscow dismisses complaint by activists that gay pride ban was unlawful: " During court hearing, Nikolai Alekseev, principle the organiser of Moscow Pride, said that the Russian legislation does not give the authorities the right to ban any public event if it does not contradict the Constitution. According to the law, he told the court, authorities are obliged to offer an alternative place or time for the conduct of such an event if it is not possible to stage it in the place where planned."

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Thai School Creates 'Trans' Toilet

A school in Thailand has created a "transvestite toilet" for its "teen boys who prefer to dress as girls" according to the AP.

"The Kampang School in northeastern Thailand conducted a survey last term that showed more than 200 of the school's 2,600 students considered themselves transgender, said school director Sitisak Sumontha. So, when classes resumed in May, the school unveiled a unisex restroom designated by a human figure split in half — part man in blue and part woman in red. Below it are the words 'Transvestite Toilet.' Three transgender students praised the new restroom as they plucked their eyebrows and applied face powder in front of the mirror outside the stalls."

There seems to be some confusion in the reporting between "transgender" and "transvestite" and perhaps the terms are more blurred in Thailand, and either way, it seems like a hugely disproportionate number of students for either definition. 200 out of 2600?

In any case, the concept isn't that foreign. As you may remember, I posted about a school in Colorado back in February when it announced it would be accommodating an eight-year-old transgender-identified child by providing unisex bathrooms.

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Pregnant Trans Man Thomas Beatie to Give Birth Shortly

Pregnant transgender man Thomas Beatie is less than a month away from giving birth and a slew of new images of Beatie at home and about have been published by the UK tabloid News of the World.

Said Beatie: "I'm 36 weeks now and almost due but I feel fantastic. Every day Nancy and I think about how we just cannot wait to hold our daughter for the first time, to finally get to touch her and see her face. We have her nursery ready and her diapers are lined up in her bedroom. Everything is ready to go. We have even picked a name which we both love—although we're waiting until she is born before we tell anyone. All the people who really know us and love us, our friends and family, have been incredibly supportive. So much so we might even have more children. We will just see what the experience is like with our daughter's arrival first and then give it some thought."

Good Morning America did a segment on the photos of Beatie, but felt the above image of Beatie shaving was a bit much for their viewers.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

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News: Gina Gershon, Tel Aviv, Sam Nunn, MTV, Scott McClellan

Missouri joins 10 other states in push to halt California's same-sex marriage law from going forward: "The other states filed a brief Friday asking the court to postpone action pending the results of a November ballot question in which California voters could overrule the decision. The ballot question was certified in California on Monday, prompting Nixon’s action. 'Regardless of how California decides to proceed, Missouri does not recognize same-sex marriages performed in California or any other state,' Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said Tuesday." UPDATE: Court gives green light to marriage.

John Mayer's hot rod.

Openly gay candidates win state legislature seats in California and Montana.

New York State Assembly passes bill banning transgender discrimination: "...the New York State Assembly voted 102-33 to amend the state’s human rights law to include anti-discrimination protections based upon gender identity and expression. The bill (A.6584a), known as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) bans discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment, credit, public accommodations, and other areas of everyday life."

Airlines contemplating putting passengers on the scales?

Gay days kicks off in Orlando, Florida.

Gay community center opens in Tel Aviv: "A new mezuzah was affixed to the entrance to a building on the campus of the 'Dov Hoz' school in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, one covered in the rainbow flag of the Gay Pride movement. After decades as the home of the 'Workers' children's school' serving the children of the Labor Party elite, and later a local high school, the building is now home to Tel Aviv's first-ever Gay and Lesbian community center. 'The image of God can be seen in every person, and therefore, this building is not only a community center, but a house of God' said Rabbi David Lazar at a ceremony to bless the affixing of the building's mezuzah."

Prison Break's Dominic Purcell shows some insight.

Former Georgia senator Sam Nunn says it may be time to reconsider "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": "I think [when] 15 years go by on any personnel policy, it’s appropriate to take another look at it — see how it’s working, ask the hard questions, hear from the military. Start with a Pentagon study."

Crystal ("you are a whore") Conners denies having affair with Bill Clinton.

More Prince William seamen photos.

Scott McClellan memoir docu-drama in the works?

MTV fined $498,000 by UK regulator for offensive content: "The music broadcaster was fined for material carried on its TMF, MTV U.K., MTV France and MTV Hits channels, including uses of the word 'motherf***er' and 'f**k' in music videos and for airing racist and homophobic texts including such sentiments as 'the white race will triumph' and 'death to all gays' on MTV France."

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Change of Heart Bears Fruit for Once-Biased Scottsdale Bar Owners

Last December I posted about Scottsdale bar owner Tom Anderson's decision to convert his bar Anderson's Fifth Estate to a bar that serves the gay community after making headlines in 2006 when he banned a transgender woman following complaints she was using the women's bathroom.

In December, Anderson said he had decided he wanted to "change Scottsdale" after a number of high-profile anti-gay hate incidents there. He also saw a need in the nightlife community for a new gay venue.

Anderson's decision seems to have paid off. The club, which now has lines it never saw before, was lauded in the Arizona Republic over the weekend, and tells the story of Anderson's transformation after the unfortunate 2006 incident:

"For more than a year afterward, Anderson was the subject of dozens of newspaper and television stories pitting him against the GLBT community and its allies. He became known as the club owner who kicked out a transgendered woman. This happened as people were questioning whether Scottsdale was becoming hostile toward the GLBT community, after a gay couple was assaulted outside a restaurant and after Mayor Mary Manross refused to observe GLBT month in June, instead, proclaiming it to be Human Relations Diversity Observance month. Anderson, who owns the club with his wife, Roberta, resolved the dispute in November 2007 by building a gender-neutral restroom. Anderson said that during the controversy over the discrimination complaint he met with members of the GLBT community. One of the things he learned was how underserved the community was in Scottsdale, with only one bar, BS West, in the area. Anderson said he saw both a business opportunity and a chance to be part of a community he'd come to know and enjoy. The Andersons reopened the club as Forbidden in December, a month after the resolution. The 5,500-square foot club can hold 325 people and is open five days a week, up from three when it was Anderson's Fifth Estate. Now, more than 700 people come through on Fridays and Saturdays each, more than double what Fridays used to draw."

Uproar turns straight bar into gay hot spot [arizona republic]

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News: Orcas, Dax Shepard, Homecoming King, Alabama

NPR runs heartbreaking piece on two boys who identify as girls: "It’s really hard for him. He’ll disappear and close a door, and we’ll find him playing with dolls and Polly Pockets and … the stuff that he’s drawn to...He really struggles with the color pink. He really struggles with the color pink."

Dax Shepard appears to be acting out the role of Abercrombie door dude in the new film When in Rome.

Neil Patrick Harris's Barney shows off his new trophy date, Britney Spears. Watch it.

Jay Bakker to spend Mother's Day in honor of the late Tammy Faye pressuring megachurch pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church to sit down and talk to LGBT activist group Soulforce: "I want to celebrate my mother's life, and help spread the message she lived and preached. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as 'us' and 'them.' We hope the families of Lakewood Church will open their hearts and minds to us and sit down and have a conversation and share a meal. ... Let's put our differences aside and share the love and hope of Christ."

Details on the first dates of Madonna's "Sticky and Sweet" world tour.

Arizona Christian group Alliance Defense Fund has hand in New York same-sex marriage cases.

Shawnee Mission East High School loves its gay Homecoming King.

Investigators say photographers won't be charged for photos of teenage water polo players that turned up on gay porn websites: "The Orange County district attorney's office says a four-month investigation determined Scott Cornelius and Allen Rockwell didn't commit any crimes. Cornelius, a University of California, Irvine, police employee currently on paid leave, is still being investigated by the university to determine if he violated college policies. Photographs of youths as young as 14 taken by Cornelius and Rockwell appeared on homosexual pornographic Web sites. But district attorney's office spokeswoman Farrah Emami says 'legally there were no criminal charges we could file.'"

Killer whales photographed hunting dolphins for the first time ever.

Matt Foreman's new perspective.

Your money's worth: Mario Lopez embroiled in Broadway bicep controversy.

Two card stud.

Alabama legislature passes two pro-gay bills: "In an email from State Rep. Patricia Todd, she announced that the Alabama House of Representatives passed the Hate Crimes Bill sponsored by Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery by a vote of 46 to 44, mostly along party lines. While the fate of the bill is unsure as it moves to the Senate, this is huge progress, as the legislation was defeated last year. Also passed (unanimously) was an anti-bullying bill sponsored by Rep. Betty Carol Graham of Alexander City and Sen. Parker Griffith of Huntsville. This is also going to to the Senate."

Truce Off: McGreevey's fail to reach a settlement in their divorce trial.

Don't sit on the benches in New York subway stations unless you want bedbugs.

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FOX Red Eye Hosts Trash Pregnant Trans Man Thomas Beatie

As well as "the little Ewok she's gonna crap out."

Greg Gutfeld and the folks at Red Eye make MSNBC's Morning Joe hosts look like saints. Such nice people.

One of them suggests "it" (meaning Thomas Beatie) should kill itself. Maybe they should just put Beatie in an empty lot and stone "it" to death.

Watch the clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Morning Joe Hosts Disgusted by 'Pregnant Dude' Thomas Beatie [tr]
This Man is 22 Weeks Pregnant [tr]

(via queerty)

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Morning Joe Hosts Disgusted by 'Pregnant Dude' Thomas Beatie

I thought Oprah handled the story of pregnant transgender man Thomas Beatie with respect yesterday. Not everybody's so accepting of Beatie, however, and plenty of people are openly threatened by him.

Like David Letterman, who called Beatie an "androgynous freak show" in his Top Ten the other night, the hosts of MSNBC's Morning Joe spent a few minutes expressing their nausea. Take a look at how Willie Geist, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough air their disgust about Oprah "legitimizing this" in this morning's 'News You Can't Use':

Says Scarborough: "I'm not gonna look at this. Tell me when it's over. I'm not looking. We don't want the facts. I can't handle the facts."

Says Brzezinski: "I don't want to know the deal. I don't want to hear. I'm gonna be sick. I'm gonna be sick. I am upset. That was not only stupid and useless, but quite frankly, disgusting."

Brzezinski asked who the father is, and Scarborough responds: "The parrot at the pet shop...A former aide of Jim McGreevey. Are the McGreevey's involved in this in any way?"

Watch the clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Letterman Calls Pregnant Trans Man an 'Androgynous Freak Show'

Via Shakesville comes this ugly nugget.

David Letterman's show last night not only featured Walnuts' high-larious comedy routine, but also a Top 10 list in which Thomas Beatie, the transgender man who is now 23 weeks pregnant, was labeled an "androgynous freak show."

Letterman attempts to explain Beatie's situation using a cutting motion: "He had the thing."

Beatie is scheduled to appear on Oprah tomorrow.

Watch the clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

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This Man is 22 Weeks Pregnant

Thomas Beatie is transgender, legally male, and has a wife, Nancy. He's also 22 weeks pregnant. The couple's first attempt at pregnancy was fraught with life threatening medical isses. However, their second attempt has resulted in, by all accounts, a healthy pregnancy. Eight years after having his last menstrual cycle he stopped taking bimonthly testosterone injections and his body regulated itself so that he was able to conceive.

Beatie writes, in The Advocate: "Our situation sparks legal, political, and social unknowns. We have only begun experiencing opposition from people who are upset by our situation. Doctors have discriminated against us, turning us away due to their religious beliefs. Health care professionals have refused to call me by a male pronoun or recognize Nancy as my wife. Receptionists have laughed at us. Friends and family have been unsupportive; most of Nancy’s family doesn’t even know I’m transgender."

Beatie is due on July 3.

Labor of Love [the advocate]

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Sportrait: Danny Cipriani

English rugby stud Danny Cipriani is set to make his debut for England against Ireland this weekend, ousting star Jonny Wilkinson from the top spot. Though the news is big in the rugby world, Cipriani's already been busy making news elsewhere, however.

He was recently rejected in a competition on the British version of the reality show My Super Sweet Sixteen for being too skinny. Huh?

Cipriani also still lives with his mother and dated transgender model Larissa Summers. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

Two more shots AFTER THE JUMP...

(source)

previously
Sportrait: John Cena [tr]
Sportrait: Riley Skinner [tr]
Sportrait: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [tr]
Sportrait: Michael Phelps [tr]
Sportrait: Brett Favre [tr]
Sportrait: Raúl [tr]

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HRC Defends Position on ENDA as Trans Groups Picket Outside

Gay City News reports that a 50-strong group of transgender supporters picketed HRC's New York dinner on Saturday, while inside President Joe Solmonese defended the group's trans-exclusive position on ENDA.

Said Solmonese: "I understand and I hear every day that some members of our community are feeling forgotten or left behind. It is easy to understand why. We have to overlook our differences and we have got to see instead of our individual wants and immediate desires... a vision for the America that we all want to live in...I have to ask myself: When did we all become so impatient? When did we say to ourselves, okay that civil rights thing, I'll give it a year, maybe two, then I'm done. Let me be very clear: No, we are not done. We are in the grueling, blinding middle of this fight and the middle of this fight is the hardest part...Some of us may want to stand back or check out, but there is no standing back. There is no checking out. Because sometimes -- and I know this is frustrating -- the fight for our rights feels like hell, but as Winston Churchill so aptly put it, 'When you are going through hell the most important thing is to keep going.'"

Gay City News also notes that missing from the dinner were many elected officials who had attended in the past, many of whom cited "scheduling conflicts" as their reason for not attending. How many of those absences had to do with the ENDA position is unclear.

Snubbed by NYC Pols, HRC Answers Its Critics [gay city news]

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Trans Groups Urging Williams and Menzel to Cancel HRC Appearance?

Ugly Betty's Vanessa Williams and Wicked's Idina Menzel are scheduled to appear at a Human Rights Campaign dinner on February 23rd at the New York Hilton, but transgender groups unhappy over the group's position on ENDA are reportedly trying to derail the appearances.

Via the New York Post: "Both are scheduled to appear at the Human Rights Campaign dinner Feb. 23 at the New York Hilton. The problem is that many homosexual organizations are upset with HRC because the group supported an effort to pass a gay-rights bill that left out the transgender community, which includes pre-op and post-op transsexuals. The pro-transgender activists promise a picket line of demonstrators at the event, and Menzel and Williams are being urged to cancel their appearances."

Williams, who stars opposite Rebecca Romijn's transgender character on Ugly Betty, is scheduled to receive HRC's 'Ally for Equality' award, and Menzel is scheduled to perform at the gala event.

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #245

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS: His recent appearance on Conan in which he discusses his Sesame Street appearance as "the shoe fairy."

KATY SETTERFIELD: Takes on Dusty Springfield on Graham Norton's show The One and Only. (source: dlisted)

GLENN BECK: Ugly women are progressives.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY SWIM CLUB: Do Hot Chip for Oxfam. (source: outsports)

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Matt Foreman Charges Barney Frank "Squeamish" on Trans Issues

Noting that he is leaving his job and therefore able to talk candidly about some of his experiences, outgoing National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman told Michelangelo Signorile on his radio show Wednesday that he felt Representative Barney Frank was "squeamish" on transgender issues.

Said Foreman: "Of the many things I've loved about being in the Task Force, is that, you know, we're a progressive organization, and we're proud of it, and that we have a history of speaking the truth and seeing the world in a bigger way than just a 'gay-specific,' 'me-first-all-the-time' attitude that affects so much of our movement. I think what really happened [ on ENDA] is [Speaker Nancy Pelosi's] people said 'Look, Congress has a terrible reputation right now, they're not delivering for any progressive causes... What do we have to do to deliver to our progressive allies?' That means labor and health and environment and gays. And, so, I mean, I don't know this for a fact, but I would bet my life that this is what happened: They went to Barney Frank and said 'What do we need to pass ENDA?' Representative Frank, who has always been pretty squeamish on the trans issue, and I guess I can say these things because I am leaving my job...you know, said 'Look the best way to pass ENDA, and the easiest way is to -- let's take out gender identity,' and I don't think the Speaker's people thought this through--didn't think it through--and then they said 'OK, let's do it'."

Frank called the remarks "absurd" and has scheduled an appearance on Signorile's Sirius show today at 3:30 to respond.

PageOneQ has audio clips of Foreman's appearance.

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Colorado School Accommodates 8-Year-old Transgender Student

Here's an example of how schools should be treating diversity in their schools. Perhaps this kind of example can help prevent incidents like the murder that happened in Oxnard, California.

CNN interviews Kim Pearson of Trans Youth Family Advocates about an eight-year-old transgender-identified child who is returning to a school in Douglas County, Colorado that has adjusted its facilities and teaching environment to accommodate her.

According to CNN, two unisex bathrooms have been provided for the student, teachers will call the student by her name, parents and teachers will get info on transgender people, and officials will be made available for questions.

The school released this statement: "We continue to be focused on providing a positive learning environment for this student and all students in the class and school that is free from harassment. As with many other students, this particular student brings a diverse set of circumstances to the school setting."

Watch the full clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

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News: Asteroid, Dennis Quaid, Bullying, Oprah, Chile, Pope

Pope's New York itinerary released.

Remember the sculptor who created the Dead Prince Harry? Behold his latest work, the Oprah Sarcophagus.

Nearly 500 same-sex couples in the Czech Republic have registered their partnerships since it became legal in July 2006: "... legal registered partnerships were concluded by 353 homosexual male and 134 female couples. In 43 cases, one of the partners was a foreigner, especially from Slovakia, but also Azerbaijan, Taiwan, Israel, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Armenia, the Netherlands, the USA and Canada. Homosexual couples were prosecuted in the former Czechoslovakia until 1961. The law on registered partnership of same sex couples was passed by the Czech Chamber of Deputies in March 2006 when the Chamber overrode President Vaclav Klaus's veto by a narrow majority."

Bello men's fashion magazine to launch online tomorrow.

Australian chicken restaurant entrepreneur pleads 'not guilty' to murdering his gay partner: "Gerurdas Gerrit Heijne, 44, appeared in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court via videolink from Hakea Prison. His partner of more than 20 years, Frank Cianciosi, was found dead in the apartment on January 4, but police have not revealed how he died. Mr Heijne did not apply for bail."

The Brady Bunch: Results of a Patriots QB look-alike contest.

Obama's rebuttal to Bush's State of the Union address breaks YouTube records: "By Tuesday afternoon, 'Barack Obama's response to Bush's final State of the Union' was the most watched clip in the world, drawing a over 300,000 views in under 20 hours. The public has shown overwhelming and sustained interest in hearing from Obama directly. This is the third Obama video to shoot into YouTube's top three in the past 10 days -- past clips of naked celebrities and Scientology rants -- and the first video that was shot specifically for web viewers, rather than broadcasting documentary footage of a speech."

Inside the sex diaries of John Maynard Keynes.

Madonna becoming workout cyborg.

Anti-homophobia campaign launched in Australia: "Sergeant Scott Davis from the Police Gay and Lesbian Advisory Unit says police want people to speak up, and send a message to perpetrators that their actions will not be tolerated. The posters will be displayed throughout metropolitan Victoria and in all Victorian police stations."

T-shirt companies refuse to munch on Gay Bigfoot's banana.

Transgender student denied dorm room because he has not yet undergone sexual reassignment surgery: "Osborn was denied a male dorm room because, while his driver's license shows him as male and he is undergoing hormone treatment, he has not had gender reassignment surgery to complete the transition. Osborn and Walton contend that it should not be a requirement to undergo costly medical procedures if one is unable or unwilling to do so in order for the university to recognize Osborn as a "real" transgender person."

Dennis Quaid joins cast of GI Joe.

Gay Chilean website is actually aligned with homophobic Evangelical fundamentalists?

Asteroid coasts by Earth, just outside the orbit of the Moon: "Were TU24 to have struck land, it might have caused a magnitude seven earthquake and left a city-sized crater."

Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in Britain to launch new guidance on homophobic bullying: "The new guidance recommends that if a pupil makes persistent remarks, they should be removed from the classroom and staff should talk in detail about why such language is unacceptable. Similarly, in severe circumstances, schools should consider permanent exclusion for physical bullying. Much more needs to be done to prevent such bullying in the first place. Stonewall and Each advise encouraging positive role models. But Sue Sanders, co-chair of Schools Out, which campaigns against homophobia in education, says a big problem is that teachers find it hard to be out themselves. 'The government and local authorities need to celebrate the existence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teachers,' she says. 'If teachers don't feel safe to be out, how the hell will our kids?'"

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News: Sean Penn Badgley, Scottsdale, Hello Kitty, Giorgio Armani

Sean Penn: The future Harvey Milk ends his 11 year marriage.

Penn Badgley: hot and bothered.

Censorship debate continues surrounding the BBC's dubbing, and then undubbing of the word "faggot" from The Pogues' Christmas tune "Fairytale of New York". Times Online: "The present consensus is with MacGowan – that there is nothing wrong with using the word 'faggot' in this context. Lighten up, you Milly Tants. My unfashionable counterview is that there is something very wrong in using it, that Radio 1 was right in its original decision and should have shown more balls and stuck by it. 'Faggot' is a term of anti-gay abuse; in this song it is most definitely an insult...To say that you’re offended these days is to risk being accused of being humourless; of not getting the joke. It’s the same risk you run as a woman who is offended by the endless parade of breasts in magazines such as Nuts. The new casual homophobia is couched as a perfectly acceptable, knowing joke, and coincides with a general feeling that gays have had quite enough equality: equal age of consent; civil partnership ceremonies (but not marriage). That we are getting a little too big for our boots."

First shots of Edward Norton as Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk.

Fashion designer and Project Runway contestant Jack Mackenroth talks to NYC's HX magazine about his reaction to Sarah Jessica Parker on the show and his cameo in the upcoming Sex and the City movie, among other things: "When I watched [the reaction] back I was like, 'I am so gay.' Which is fine. I embrace the gayness. I’m super-gay. I’m a big ol’ queen...[The Sex and the City cameo] was completely unrelated. A friend of mine knew the person that was casting the extras, so he called me up and said they needed a gay guy with a good body, and I was like, 'Alright!' But she’s super-nice and totally genuine. It was very painful for her to do the critiques because she doesn’t like being mean."

Fans swarm Giorgio Armani as he visits his NYC Soho Armani Exchange store: "Everyone rushed him and started asking for autographs. It was mayhem."

Hello Kitty for Men, coming soon.

Scottsdale, Arizona bar owner converts to a gay nightclub after year-long dispute over the banning of a transgender patron: "Owner Tom Anderson (pictured on right, with co-owner brother Ted) said he made the transition in an effort to 'change Scottsdale.' The city saw a number of high-profile anti-gay and hate crimes this year, said Sam Holdren of Equality Arizona. Anderson made headlines last year when he banned a transgender woman from Anderson's Fifth Estate after female customers complained about transgender patrons using the women's restroom. The woman, Michele DeLaFreniere, filed a discrimination complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office."

A theory on Rednecks vs. Gay Marriage: "...if we are trying to explain (but not excuse) why the churchgoing divorcees oppose it, the answer is that they see homosexuality, married or not, as non-traditional. The churchgoing divorcees are not asserting their family virtue, logically conceived, but their family virtue as traditionally defined. It is the traditional definition of family virtue that prevails in the communities where the churchgoing divorcees are trying to ingratiate themselves, as a way to compensate for and cover their fractured family lives."

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #204

TRANSAMERICAN LOVE STORY: Calpernia Adams and Andrea James talk about their upcoming reality show, and react to comments written on Perez Hilton's site.

MIKE GRAVEL: A must-see music video and the story behind it. (via slog)

KELLIE PICKLER: Is she smarter than a kindergartner?

DO YOU REALLY NEED TO TOUCH ME? Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) asks Rove to "take this opportunity to retract his (Rove's) outrageous statements" on FOX News Sunday.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here

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ENDA Goes Before House Rules Committee; Headed to Floor

Gay City News reports that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is currently before the House Rules Committee and is headed to the floor at some point this week. The version of the bill before the committee does not include protections for transgender individuals:

"According to Steve Adamske, a spokesman for out gay Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, ENDA's lead sponsor, the Committee will take up the measure in the form it was scaled back to in late September, at Frank's recommendation, to include only sexual orientation - and not gender identity and expression - as a protected class."

Rep. Tammy Baldwin's amendment, which would add protections for transgender individuals back into the bill, may be heard on the floor as well, however, the exact process by which that would occur is reportedly being considered by the Rules Committee.

Baldwin declined to add her name in support of the watered-down ENDA (she was a co-sponsor of the original bill), and several Democrats may defect in their support of it due to the lack of transgender inclusion. However, Gay City News notes, the fact that is in committee is a signal that leadership feels it has the votes to pass the bill.

ENDA Heading to Floor This Week [gay city news]

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New: Staph Threat, George Lucas, Lance Bass, New York City Taxis

Lesbian mom says daughter now goes to school with bodyguard because of bullying: "Virginia Gaffey says that her 9-year-old daughter was physically assaulted by other students on the playground at Tucker Elementary in Milton. She claims that the reason was because she is a gay mother."

Lance Bass tells GQ that Britney Spears was surprised when he came out to her: "It was the night of her first wedding, actually. I was in Vegas with her, her dancers, her manager, and my boyfriend at the time . . . Her manager had already gotten rid of [her first husband] Jason [Alexander] - they'd flown him home. Britney was upset about what she had done. I felt bad for her. I knew she was about to go through a lot of crap. I felt the need to share something. So I sat her on my bed, and I'm like, Well, I'm gay!"

Istanbul attempts to shut down gay rights organization: "The Governor's Office of Istanbul has demanded the closure of Lambda Istanbul, an organization defending lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people's rights in Turkey, claiming that the name and objectives of the group are 'against the law and morality'. The governor had asked in early 2007 that the group be shut down; in July, the local Prosecutor's Office rejected the complaint. The Governor's Office then took the case to a higher court, the Beyoglu Sutluce Court of First Instance No. 5, which heard the case in July 2007 and ordered a second hearing for October."

D.C. police chief sends out directive to department on treating transgender people with respect.

NYC taxis get new logo treatment.

George Lucas plotting Star Wars TV series: "There is a caveat, though: The proposed series doesn't have anyone named Luke or Anakin in it, a story path that Lucas concedes is 'taking chances' as far as connecting with an audience expecting the familiar mythology. 'The Skywalkers aren't in it, and it's about minor characters,' Lucas said in an interview. 'It has nothing to do with Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader or any of those people. It's completely different. But it's a good idea, and it's going to be a lot of fun to do.'"

Bravo Workout trainer Brian Peeler flexes his muscles.

Young gay Iranian on the run may soon be back in the UK.

Staph bacteria causing more American deaths each year than the AIDS virus: "The microbe, a strain of a once innocuous staph bacterium that has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics, is responsible for more than 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculated. Although mounting evidence shows that the infection is becoming more common, the estimate published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association is the first national assessment of the toll from the insidious pathogen, officials said. 'This is a significant public health problem. We should be very worried,' said Scott K. Fridkin, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC."

Carson Kressley getting new reality show: "Called Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, the show will have eight episodes, and will focus on mother and daughter pairs who want to compete in both the Miss and Mrs. USA Pageant. The pairs will all be living together in a house in L.A., and will undergo weekly 'de-sashing' ceremonies."

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