Elton John Gets Ben & Jerry's Flavor: Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road

Ben & Jerry's wanted to salute Elton John for finally playing the state of Vermont (he's apparently played in all 49 other states) so they have created an ice cream flavor based off one of his greatest classics:

"The limited-batch ice cream, made from 'an outrageous symphony of decadent chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks,' is a take-off on his 1970s album and song 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.' It will be available from July 18 to July 25 in the company's Vermont scoop shops, with proceeds going to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, officials said Tuesday."

He'll play Vermont on July 21. His Top of the Pops "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" performance from 1973, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Vermont Same-Sex Marriage Commission Releases Report

The Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection, a special panel set up last summer to hold hearings and study the potential impact of offering full marriage equality as opposed to civil unions in the state, released a report today that suggests the state should take steps in that direction, but declines to specifically recommend that:

"The 11-member panel says it decided not to make a final recommendation, because to do so would undercut the purpose of its report. Instead it says it wanted mainly to provide research to help lawmakers make the decision. But in its findings it says a gay marriage law would be a clearer and more direct statement of full equality by the state."

In March, the results of an annual state poll were released showing an eight-percent jump in support for same-sex marriage: "A majority of nearly 7,000 Vermonters completing opinion surveys on Town Meeting Day said they favor same-sex marriage. 54-percent said they support allowing gay couples to marry while 37-percent were opposed."

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Poll: Majority in Vermont Favor Same-Sex Marriage

A new poll reveals an eight percent jump in support for same-sex marriage in the past year in Vermont, WPTZ reports:

"A majority of nearly 7,000 Vermonters completing opinion surveys on Town Meeting Day said they favor same-sex marriage. 54-percent said they support allowing gay couples to marry while 37-percent were opposed."

Johnson State College political science professor and state Sen. William Doyle of Washington County compiles the results annually.

Doyle Survey Shows Vermont Voters Favor Same-Sex Marriage [tr]

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It Goes On: Hillary Clinton Wins Texas, Ohio as McCain Clinches

Wins in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday gave her the momentum she needed to continue in the race, although Barack Obama, who won Vermont, still holds a lead in delegates.

Said Clinton: "No candidate in recent history — Democratic or Republican — has won the White House without winning the Ohio primary. We all know that if we want a Democratic president, we need a Democratic nominee who can win Democratic states just like Ohio."

This morning, on CBS' The Early Show, Clinton hinted at a 'dream ticket' with Obama, saying "that may be where this is headed, but we have to decide who is on the top of the ticket."

McCain sealed the Republican nomination.

Full results.

Clinton and Obama's speeches above, McCain's and Huckabee's below (via Talking Points Memo).

In Texas, a gay bar toasts Hillary...
KOS: Delegate numbers DAUNTING for Clinton.
Pam Spaulding: Pollsters flummoxed, Gender, education, and Latino vote mattered...
Time to get ugly?
Intelligencer: Will Obama be able to enter hand-to-hand combat?
Did Clinton campaign darken Obama's skin color in ad leading up to primaries?
POLLS: Clinton's late attacks worked.

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News: Kelly Rowland, Sundance, Vermont, Johnny Weir, Florent

L.A. Times columnist asks why The Kite Runner, and its controversial boy-rape scene wasn't included in the GLAAD awards. Maybe because sexual orientation had nothing to do with it.

Channing Tatum recruited for GI Joe film: "The 27-year-old modern-turned-actor will play Duke, a field commander and second-in-command of the G.I. Joe Team after Hawk. Other actors signed on: Sienna Miller as The Baroness, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaj (Lost) as Heavy Duty, Rachel Nichols (Alias) as Shana ‘Scarlett’ O’Hara and Marlon Wayans as Ripcord. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock From the Sun) is also in negotiations to join the project."

Randy Lovely promoted to editor of The Arizona Republic, making him the nation's only openly gay editor of a major U.S. newspaper: "Lovely says he has never hidden his sexual preference, but is not among the most outspoken gay rights activists. 'There are many others who are much more involved. I support them, but I am not on the leadership,' he says of his NLGJA membership. 'I have not had to be anything other than what I am. I can't be the one to tell anyone they have to be out. But it is not something I am afraid of.'"

New York meatpacking staple Florent, which I did a long photo piece on two years ago, may be closing...

Johnny Weir ties with Evan Lysacek at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships but Lysacek wins for skating better in the free skate: "First place, second place, last place, I'm just happy with the way I skated. I was so nervous, and it's fantastic vindication to know I came back and didn't completely fall apart. I feel like a winner."

Keith Olbermann would trade personal success for a decent president: "I think this has been a disastrous presidential administration. I would have given what I have, in terms of broadcasting success in the nature of this newscast, I would have easily said…if I were given the choice of this or some responsible presidency in the last four years or eight years? I would have taken a responsible presidency."

Gay ordained Presbyterian minister Brian Webb-Mitchell shares tips for gay parents in new book: "I wrote the book because there was nothing out there that was pro-gay, pro-child, pro-family and pro-Christian. The books that dealt with gay parenting and Christianity were not very pro-Christian. If anything, they steered people toward the United Church of Christ and away from Catholic and Evangelical churches."

Adrian Grenier brings along his own little entourage.

New board game created by son of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Sebelius set inside a prison is called "Don't Drop the Soap": "Fight your way through 6 different exciting locations in hopes of being granted parole. Escape prison riots in The Yard, slip glass into a mob boss' lasagna in the Cafeteria, steal painkillers from the nurse's desk in the Infirmary." And whatever you do, avoid those gays in the shower room!

"Pro-family" conservatives in Arkansas launch drive to stop unmarried couples from adopting or becoming foster parents. Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee: "Anyone who tells you that this initiated act is only about gay adoption is not telling you the whole story. Anyone who will tell you, though, that gay adoption has nothing to do with this act wouldn’t be telling you the whole story, either."

Sundance Film Festival winners announced...

Work: Kelly Rowland is proud as a peacock at G-A-Y.

Gay Miller Brewing executive Vic Milford shot and killed in Milwaukee robbery: "'At this time, this is a company grieving the tragic loss of one of its dearest employees,' [a Miller spokesman] said, in a statement. 'The immediate impact of this loss is being felt most by the family and friends of Vic Milford. And out of respect for the Milford family, we believe our attention is best served by caring for those most affected by this horrible tragedy.' Milford, a citizen of South Africa, had lived in Milwaukee since taking the Miller Brewing job in February 2005, Green said, and previously worked for SABMiller since 2002. Milford is survived his parents, who are residents of Zimbabwe, a sister in Australia and a man described as Milford's life partner, who lives in South Africa, according to a Miller statement."

Carol Channing is a robber magnet!

Gay Vermont legislator Jason Lorber moonlights as a stand-up comic: "When I first came here, people said 'You're the first comedian to come to the Statehouse.' I say 'I'm the first PROFESSIONAL comedian to come to the Statehouse'...Politics is about changing society and trying to make the world a better place. And performing makes me feel so alive. I love the creative aspect of it...Growing up, I never pictured myself being with a gay guy. Now, I've come to realize that I could never be happy being with a straight guy."

L.A. Times columnist: FOX News host John Gibson should lose his platform over Heath Ledger remarks.

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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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News: Mariah Carey, Vermont, Darren Manzella, Dolce & Gabbana

New York City department of health eyes bathhouses after new report on increase in HIV infections in men under 30.

Scott Jordan, swimmer at conservative, religious St. Bonaventure University comes out to teammates: "'Scott, you're gonna get so much ass this year,' [one teammate] said to me. 'The girls are gonna be all over you.' I took the plunge. 'That’s not the kind of ass I’m looking for,' I replied...He didn’t believe me at first; In fact, most everyone I’ve come out to hasn’t believed I’m gay. But once he realized I wasn't joking around, I told him it wasn't a secret anymore. I told just three teammates that summer, purposely telling one teammate in particular because I knew he liked to gossip (yep, straight guys gossip too). As planned, gossip took care of the rest. When I got to school a month later it felt like the entire campus knew I was gay, and I had only told three people."

Mariah Carey squeals about possible duet with J Lo: "I'd rather be on stage with a pig."

Carson Kressley's How to Look Good Naked debuts higher than any other reality show in Lifetime's history.

Patrick Dempsey just stands there for Versace.

UK man convicted of two counts of assault for homophobic attack on straight teen in nightclub.

California fringe group grades GOP candidates on their support for the "natural family". Huckabee and Paul rate highest, Romney scores a "0".

Dolce & Gabbana lines 'em up for Fall/Winter campaign.

Swimsuit issue: Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson frolic in Hawaii.

Gay nightclub proposed in Madison, Wisconsin would be one of city's largest.

Philly anchorwoman Alycia Lane, suspended for calling a police officer "dyke bitch," was relieved of her duties: "'Alycia Lane "has been released from her contract effective immediately,' KYW-TV said in a statement Monday, the day she had been due back on air. Lane is accused of scuffling with a plainclothes female officer during a traffic dispute last month. A police complaint also said she used a sexual slur. Lane has denied the allegations. The 35-year-old newscaster previously found herself the target of critical news coverage, and snickers, after it was reported she had e-mailed bikini shots of herself to a married ESPN sports anchor and she tearfully discussed her divorce on the 'Dr. Phil" show.'"

EAT ME: Woman commissions wedding cake in her own image.

USA Today takes a look at "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" 60 Minutes Army Sergeant Darren Manzella: "Manzella says he was invited to join more than 600 members of an invitation-only MySpace group, Guys and Gals Like Us, for gays who don't hide their orientation from their units. The members use pseudonyms because some gay servicemembers have been discharged for acknowledging their sexual orientation elsewhere online. Nearly 12,000 troops have been dismissed under the policy approved by President Clinton in 1993. Discharges peaked at 1,273 in 2001 and have fallen sharply since the war began. 'A lot of servicemembers are getting 'wink-wink' treatment from their commanders,' says Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which studies the policy."

Last year we winner flattered to win Queerclick's Gay Bloggies - this year, Frank at OMG Blog took the prize. Congrats.

Gay-friendly gay bashed in Seattle.

Vermont opponents of same-sex marriage step up their efforts: "Several prominent opponents of gay marriage will announce at a Statehouse press conference Tuesday morning the formation of the Vermont Marriage Advisory Council, a group that will hold hearings on the benefits of traditional marriage. Stephen Cable of Rutland, the founder of the conservative group Vermont Renewal, said the formation of this traditional marriage council is in response to what he says is the pro-gay marriage leanings of the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection. 'The council will be holding forums to delegate information on the social goods that come with the institution of marriage,' Cable said Monday afternoon. 'After that, the council will open up the microphone to hear from Vermonters.'"

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News: Mars, Lynne Spears, Uruguay, Justin Timberlake, Magna Carta

Same-sex marriage supporters turn out to testify in Vermont: "Members of the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection heard only statements of support for moving past civil unions to same-sex marriage during the two-hour hearing at Montpelier's Statehouse. It was a startling switch from the legislative hearings on civil unions in the same building seven years ago, which attracted hundreds of divided Vermonters who passionately argued both for and against a legal recognition of same-sex couples."

Anderson Cooper taking suggestions for AC360 voiceover intro personalities. Coop: "While we have not made a final decision, I thought I'd let you know about our four finalists, and if there is anyone else you think should be considered, please let us know. In no particular order, the four people we are considering hiring to introduce 360 everynight are: Fran Drescher, Clint Eastwood, Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman), Cher. Personally, I'm arguing for Fran Drescher, but I'm keeping an open mind." (via popnography)

With Britney Spears a bigger mess than ever, and her younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears now knocked up, their mother Lynne Spears makes the family's ONLY recent wise decision and decides to put the parenting book she wrote on hold — indefinitely.

< 710-year-old copy of the Magna Carta sold at auction for $21.3 million by David Rubenstein, of The Carlyle Group: "Bearing the seal of King Edward I and dated 1297, it is one of 17 known copies of the historic tract that defined human rights as the foundation for liberty and democracy as it is known today. It is one of two that exist outside Britain; the other is in Australia."

New Zealand warehouse worker fired for posting note on social networking site Bebo that said "work sux" and working until midnight was "gay like the management". Sux for her.

Justin Timberlake shows off his helium heels for Super Bowl ad.

American Gladiator Alex Castro has a gay porn past: "Before he joined the cast of NBC's recently relaunched American Gladiators and began wielding gigantic Q-tip shaped battle thingies, Alex Castro, the drop-dead gorgeous massive mound of muscle, was wielding more "personal" and impressive clubs as a highly-paid gay porn model."

Mars closest to Earth and brightest in recent and coming days: "In addition to being at its closest to Earth December 18, Mars will be more-or-less at its brightest on Christmas Eve. December 24, Mars will be at opposition (perfectly opposite the Sun, with the Earth on the other side). December 23, Mars will likely attract the most attention, as it rises extremely close to the Moon, and will even be occulted (or blocked-out) for viewers in the West - A prime digital camera opportunity, either way."

Japan's top government spokesman: UFOs exist.

Gay cops on both coasts embroiled in lawsuits. In L.A., a jury is set to hear closing remarks in a suit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation, and in New York, an officer acquitted after being targeted in an undercover sting by the NYPD has been fired by the city. Asked his lawyer: "Why does the NYPD want to humiliate and embarrass themselves in front of a jury about what they did to him? All the 12 jurors who found him not guilty were livid and outraged at what the New York City Police Department did to one of their own."

Augusten Burrough's new book cover revealed.

Last month I reported that Uruguay was set to legalize civil unions. Now, with the Senate's approval, it has been done: "Under the new law, gay and straight couples will be eligible to form civil unions after living together for five years. They will have rights similar to those granted to married couples on such matters as inheritance, pensions and child custody. Uruguay's Senate passed the bill unanimously after the lower house approved it last month, a congressional spokesman said. The country's center-left president is expected to sign it into law. Several cities, including Buenos Aires and Mexico City, already have gay civil union laws on the books. Uruguay's law would be the first nationwide measure in Latin America, which is home to about half the world's Roman Catholics."

Ryan White's former attorneys publish letter responding to Huckabee's statements on AIDS.

Larry Craig secures $1.6 million earmark for dude ranch.

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News: Black Hole, Amy Winehouse, Artificial Life, Jennifer Saunders

Vermont to hold last of six same-sex marriage public hearings tonight.

Survivor winner Todd Herzog talks to AfterElton about his win and certain homophobic contestants: "Jean-Robert was really, really, really homophobic. But I knew that by letting the girls know [I’m gay] they could feel comfortable around me and that I could make a tighter alliance with them. With Amanda, Courtney, Peih-Gee, and Denise being in the finals with me, I knew I needed to take the girls because the girls feel more comfortable around the gay guy. He had a lot of opinions on it, saying, 'It's wrong. It's a choice,' things like that. But I think getting to know me really changed his mind quite a bit, because he told me that out of a lot of gay guys he's met, I surprised him. He'd always thought that the gay culture was to sleep around and drink and party and do drugs, and he was shocked that that's just not me."

Amy Winehouse ARRESTED on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

Scientists on the brink of creating entirely new life forms based on entirely artificial DNA: "Some experts are worried that a few maverick companies are already gaining monopoly control over the core 'operating system' for artificial life and are poised to become the Microsofts of synthetic biology. That could stifle competition, they say, and place enormous power in a few people's hands. 'We're heading into an era where people will be writing DNA programs like the early days of computer programming, but who will own these programs?' asked Drew Endy, a scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

L.A. Times: The mustache is back.

LIAR: Lieberman endorses John McCain. But what did he say back during his 2006 reelection campaign? “I want Democrats to be back in the majority in Washington and elect a Democratic president in 2008.”

Be seated: Mysterious out-of-reach bench appears in downtown Manhattan.

Massive black hole seen blasting a nearby galaxy: "'We've seen many jets produced by black holes, but this is the first time we've seen one punch into another galaxy like we're seeing here,' said Dan Evans, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and leader of the study. 'This jet could be causing all sorts of problems for the smaller galaxy it is pummeling.' Jets from super massive black holes produce high amounts of radiation, especially high-energy X-rays and gamma-rays, which can be lethal in large quantities. The combined effects of this radiation and particles traveling at almost the speed of light could severely damage the atmospheres of planets lying in the path of the jet. For example, protective layers of ozone in the upper atmosphere of planets could be destroyed."

Behind the scenes of the David Beckham undies shoot.

Evan Biddell wins Canadian Project Runway: "The end is here, and so am I. Nobody left on this runway but myself. I just had to say goodbye to my last two competitors, and now the judges are telling me they want to see what else I can do. They believe I have a strong point of view, and an innate sense of style. When they found out I had never built a collection before, that was the moment I felt I might take the prize. I could feel the judges simultaneously think “How the f**K did he do that?” It felt awesome to know you are exactly where you are supposed to be. To be honest with you, fashion is what I know. I love playing with the shapes of a female body, wrapping her up in rich detail, following the curves a woman, using her body as the blueprint and working around it. It just gets me off!"

The Greatest Day of My Life: Michelle Collins takes a subway ride with Anderson Cooper.

Princeton student in anti-gay hoax after pretending to be targeted by others who don't share his conservative views.

Jennifer Saunders tipped as the next Dr. Who.

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News: Barack Obama, iPhone, Vermont, Minke Whale, Charmin

Poll shows Barack Obama pulling ahead of Clinton in Iowa: "Most Democratic likely voters in Iowa, 55 percent, say they're more interested in a 'new direction and new ideas' than in strength and experience, compared with 49 percent in July -- a help to Obama, who holds a substantial lead among 'new direction' voters." And Obama struggles with spin...

Smartypants with iPhone tries to use method in latest Apple commercial to ask why plane hasn't taken off yet and gets read by pilot: "If the passenger with the iPhone would be kind enough to use it to check the weather at our alternate, calculate our fuel burn due to being rerouted around the storms, call the dispatcher to arrange our release, and then make a phone call to the nearest Air Traffic Control center to arrange our timely departure amongst the other aircraft carrying passengers with IPhones, then we will be more than happy to depart. Please ring your call button to advise the Flight Attendant and your fellow passengers when you deem it ready and responsible for this multi-million dollar aircraft and its passengers to safely leave."

Guardian gone: Now, everybody will be squeezing the Charmin.

Latvian government minister and newspaper owner praise international anti-gay group Watchmen on the Walls pledge fight against homosexuality at "human rights' conference, slam Arnold Schwarzenegger for "teaching homosexuality" to children.

18-foot-long Minke whale discovered swimming lost, 1,000 miles up the Amazon river: "Environmentalists are now considering the best way to transport the mammal from the Tapajos River, where it was last seen, back out to the Atlantic Ocean. 'It is in good condition,' veterinarian Milton Marcondes from the Brazilian Humpback Whale Institute told the Associated Press. 'We couldn't do a blood exam, so we don't know how it is doing internally, but we gave it antibiotics as a precaution.' He added that it would be easy for the whale to become ill as a result of the stress of being so far from its natural habitat."

South African guesthouse owner turns away gay guests: "We are certainly not gay-friendly, this is a Christian household. We have never had a gay couple staying in the house and we prefer to keep it that way. We hereby cancel this order and exercise our right of admission."

Popstar Azis continues to stir the pot in Bulgaria with racy magazine cover: ""I am ready to do anything for a high rating for my show! As you can see from the pictures, I sold my body, or as we say it, got a tuning." (NSFW)

British police officer among men nabbed in restroom sex sting: "The officer, who has not been named, was fined 13 days' pay following an investigation into 'cottaging' at toilets on Harrison Drive, Wallasey. Six people have been charged under the Sexual Offences Act - two have pleaded guilty, four are awaiting trial. Another 32 people, including the officer, were issued with cautions over the incidents."

Tom Cruise angered by publication of fatsuit photos.

Milo Ventimiglia thinks it's time to get mysterious for Nixon Watches.

Gay and lesbian Ohioans "eager" for Governor Ted Strickland to test limits of laws surrounding state's same-sex marriage ban.

A visit to the virtual queer red light district (nsfw).

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS hit hard by stagehand strike.

Same-sex marriage supporters get vocal in Vermont: "More than 20 people testified before the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection at its public hearing at Lyndon State College, and throughout the 90-minute session, only two people stood up to speak against same-sex marriage. This was the second forum held by the 11-member commission and the second time that a strongly supportive audience turned out. Major anti-gay groups in the state are boycotting the hearings. Joseph Gainza of Marshfield floated one theory on why gay marriage has not become a divisive topic during the hearings: Most straight Vermonters, including him, noticed that the sky did not fall down after the Vermont Legislature legalized civil unions for same-sex couples seven years ago. 'The change came and you realized that nothing in your life has changed,' said Gainza. 'The only difference is that your neighbors have some rights they didn't have. And none of your own rights were taken away in the process.'"

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Episcopal Bishop Tells Homophobes to Move On

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, in Burlington, Vermont on Friday to attend a convention of Vermont's Episcopal diocese, hit out at homophobic members of the church still upset over the ordination of New Hampshire's Gene Robinson.

Said Schori: "Obviously a handful of our church leaders are still upset and would like to see the church never ordain and never baptize a gay or lesbian person. We need to refocus on more life-and-death issues like starvation, education, medical care."

Schori and the Episcopal House of Bishops announced in September that a decision had been made by the church to "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion."

The decision, which included a halt to blessings of same-sex unions, was seen by many as caving to the international Anglican church's more conservative policies.

Said Schori at the time: "This resolution really is the result of finding common ground to stand on. Not everyone was 100 percent happy with every word in this document, as you might imagine, but together we believe that we have found a place that all of us can stand together."

Church leader says members unhappy with gay bishop should refocus [ap]

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Episcopal Church Caves to Anti-Gay Anglicans, Pledges Restraint [tr]

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News: Britney Spears, Matthew Shepard, Soft Cell, Gay Cruising

Retrial begins over gay Tucson murder: "For the second time, a jury will decide whether a disabled gay Tucson man was stabbed to death over a TV and VCR or as the result of an impulsive rage. Nine years after Mark Truesdell, 29, was slain in his North Campbell Avenue apartment, Ronnie Gene Sartin Jr., 30, is being tried on a first-degree murder charge. Sartin was living in Tucson at the time of the slaying. Sartin was convicted by a jury in 1999 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The Arizona Court of Appeals ordered the case returned to Superior Court last year for retrial after changes were made to the law regarding how premeditation is explained to jurors."

Halloween scare-a-thon: Chris Crocker recreates Britney Spears cooch flash.

Britney Spears' new album Blackout being called the best of her career.

Utah lawyer on crusade to testify against gay marriage in Vermont: "Monte Stewart will travel more than 2,300 miles this weekend to appear before the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection as the only lawyer opposed to same-sex marriage scheduled to speak Monday at its second public meeting. Stewart, the president of the Utah-based Family Marriage Law Foundation, will explain to the 11-member legislative committee why marriage rights should not be extended to gay and lesbian couples in Vermont. 'The law has clearly been decided in favor of marriage being between one man and one woman,' Stewart said Wednesday morning, from his office in Orem, Utah. 'There are clear reasons why this institution needs to be preserved.'"

Matthew Shepard foundation launches new community site for LGBT youth.

British group Soft Cell to release remix album.

REPORT: Beckham miserable in the U.S.

UK: Police add to patrols at Hampstead Heath's gay cruising spots.

Gay lawyer Aaron Charney settles bias lawsuit with NY firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he worked: "The settlement, the terms of which are confidential, brings to a close a dispute that had fascinated the New York legal community over the past several months, both with its allegations concerning partners at one of the city’s most prestigious firms and its bizarre twists and turns in the courtroom. In January, Mr Charney, who had worked in the firm’s mergers and acquisitions practice, sued the firm, accusing several partners of discriminating against him because he is gay and then papering over his complaints."

U.S. asylum denied to gay Mexican.

Lithuanian gay rights conference attacked with smoke bombs.

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News: Vermont Hate, Richard Nixon, Mont Blanc, Judd Apatow

Rhode Island Supreme Court to hear arguments tomorrow in the case of two lesbians who married in Massachusetts but want a divorce in Rhode Island: "A Family Court judge has asked the state Supreme Court to decide whether he has the authority to rule on what's believed to be the state's first same-sex divorce case. Lawyers for the women say the case has no bearing on whether gay couples can get married in Rhode Island. The General Assembly has repeatedly rejected gay marriage bills."

Contemplating the hotter Affleck.

More hate in Vermont: Burlington school hit with anti-gay graffiti. "Vandals spray-painted a swastika and other racist messages around the entrance to the city's middle school, but maintenance staff were able to clean it up before classes started Monday, officials said. Linda Carroll, principal of the school, said the graffiti included racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic words and images."

Gawker took a trip to OUT magazine's party for their most recent issue, featuring the bare ass of Tom Ford.

Street in the San Fernando Valley to be named for lesbian psychotherapist Betty Berzon.

Brad Pitt and family are setting up home at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York for a cool $100K a month.

Victoria Beckham poofs out in Paris.

Superbad director Judd Apatow lashed out at studio executive who axed his TV shows: "I don't understand how you can [bleep] me in the [bleep] when your [bleep] is still in me from last time."

Ricky Gervais lampoons George Michael's sex life in Extras (clip).

Richard Nixon called Fred Thompson, then a young Senate lawyer, "dumb as hell" during the Watergate investigation.

A group of climbers hauled a portable Jacuzzi to the top of Mont Blanc, set it up, and got in. Wouldn't be too much fun if that thing slid down the hill. (via kottke)

Performance by former Kids in the Hall actor Scott Thompson at Softball Gay World Series inspires letters of apology from tournament director: "According to our source, the comedian began bombing right after he dissed Kathy Griffin. You don't diss Kathy to the gays! He then went on to clear out the stadium with 'lame vulgar jokes and even used the N word.' At one point, he stopped his act and addressed a gaggle of lesbians that turned their backs to him, and said, 'Thanks for turning your backs while I'm here actually trying to do something. Trying to perform!'"

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Vermont Hate Crime Sisters Targeted Two Cars in Anti-Gay Attack

The teen sisters who committed the hate crime in St. Albans, Vermont "have a record of juvenile behavior issues" according to the Associated Press.

Meghan and Melissa Gaboury, 18 and 16, respectively, have been charged with a hate crime against a pair of distant relatives, Robert Driver and Dalton Flint, who are joined in a civil union. The Gaboury sisters allegedly spray-painted anti-gay epithets on the couple's car and slashed its tires.

Apparently two cars were targeted in the crime.

According to the AP, "On Sunday night, one of the men said he had spotted one of the sisters in a vehicle outside the house and said a short time later that he believed Melissa Gaboury had called his grandmother's number three times, according to a police affidavit. On Monday morning, the two men awoke to find their tires slashed and their cars spray-painted with antigay slogans. 'The girls have used these terms against us for the past few months,' one of the men told police. 'They use them to specifically demean us.'"

Said Vermont State Police Trooper Jay Riggen: "They were from Burlington. They moved up here to take care of their grandmother who's in her 80s now. It's one of those things where they're here trying to do a good thing for a relation. To be targeted specifically like this, they just want to leave the area. The word they used was they really felt like they had a crushed spirit."

Said Driver: "It was degrading, humiliating, and an invalidation of who we are as a couple and our lives."

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Teen Sisters to be Charged in Tire-Slashing Anti-Gay Hate Crime

Two teenage sisters, Melissa Gaboury, 16, and Meghan Gaboury, 18, of St. Albans, Vermont, are scheduled to appear in court today for spray painting a car with anti-gay slurs and slashing its tires. They are to be charged with a hate crime.

The car reportedly belongs to a pair of distant relatives, Robert Driver and Dalton Flint, who are joined in a civil union.

The Burlington Free Press reports: "Police said an investigation led police to interview the Gaboury sisters, who are distantly related to the victims. Interviews with the teenagers revealed that the Gabourys' interactions with Driver and Flint 'have been increasingly volatile.' Also, both sisters made anti-gay comments during their interviews, police said. A subsequent search of a GMC Blazer used by the sisters turned up a knife that matched the puncture marks on the slashed tires, and a can of red spray-paint hidden in a compartment beneath the rear seat."

Vermont State Police Press Release [vermont state police]
One teen cited, another sought in St. Albans hate crime [burlington free press]
Police: Teen Sisters Arrested In Connection With Hate Crime [wptz]

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Straight VT Woman, Hit by Anti-gay Hate Crime, Turns Activist

Alexis Smith found her car spray-painted with homophobic slurs in a Montpelier, Vermont Park-n-Ride lot upon returning from a three-day weekend in Maine, the Times Argus reports:

"Smith, 41, said she isn't gay and is unsure why her vehicle was targeted. She said she worries the epithets, painted in large, yellow letters on the hood, driver-side windows and rear of her 1986 Corolla, were intended for someone else."

There is concern in the community because less than three weeks ago the home of a Jewish family in the area was burglarized and swastikas were left spray-painted on the walls.

Smith told the paper: "I feel like because of what else has gone on, this is a really big issue in Montpelier. This is not OK. There's somebody driving a white Toyota Corolla right now who could potentially be in danger. I'm not gay. I'm not a gay activist. But I am now. I'm going out to the flag store right now and putting a big rainbow flag on here."

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Vermont Appoints Commission to Explore Gay Marriage

The Vermont legislature has created a commission to hold public hearings intended to see whether or not Vermont residents are ready to move beyond their civil union law and make gay marriage legal in the state.

The AP reports: "The 10-member commission will be led by Tom Little, a former state representative who served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in 2000, the year the Legislature passed a law that granted same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities of marriage through civil unions. The volunteer commission will hold public hearings and is scheduled to complete its study by the end of April and report to the Legislature."

As expected, Democrats and Republicans have expressed opposing views about the possibility, which wouldn't be debated until 2009.

Republican Governor Jim Douglas says the state shouldn't "reopen the wounds" inflicted during the state's civil union debate, while House Speaker Gaye Symington says that, as far as gay marriage goes, "the question has been when, not so much as whether."

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News: Bingham Cup, Ricky Martin, Stonewall, Gay Penguins

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refuses to take a stand on same-sex marriage: "Some observers think his actions are aimed at safeguarding his conservative base. But the governor's confidants say the stance isn't calculated to duck political shrapnel. In fact, even the governor's close gay advisers disagree on the marriage debate. His allies believe his stance makes perfect sense for a man who cares more for the tangible -- say, allowing domestic partners to file joint state tax returns -- than the symbolic, even if it makes history."

Ricky Martin offers a brief description of his assets.

Ann Coulter drops the "F" bomb a second time at church, to gasps from the congregation. She also "understands" how doctors who provide abortions get shot.

Historic Stonewall Bar reopening...

Fired apprentice Derek Arteta says Trump not homophobic: "He didn't know about me until we went to dinner at Spago and he asked about my wife or girlfriend, and I told him, 'I used to have a boyfriend.' It kind of threw him for a loop and I said, 'I'm gay, Mr. Trump.' And he said, 'Oh, so Ivanka does nothing for you?' I said, 'No, not really.' I was about to say, 'No, but Don Junior does,' but I decided that wouldn't be appropriate."

Irish thighs are smiling: 2008 gay rugby Bingham Cup to be held in Dublin, Ireland.

Justin Timberlake's mission to save Britney's career.

Anti-gay Baptist minister Lonnie Latham, whom I reported on early last year, has been acquitted of propositioning an undercover male police officer: "A judge found Lonnie Latham not guilty of the misdemeanor charge of offering to engage in an act of lewdness. If convicted, he would have faced up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Latham, 61, was arrested Jan. 3, 2006, outside a hotel in Oklahoma City. Police had accused Latham of asking the undercover officer for oral sex, which Latham denied."

Key West quest: become gay spring break capital.

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell's wonderful gay-themed children's book And Tango Makes Three tops American Library Association's 2006 list of most challenged books: "The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received a total of 546 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness."

Calvin Klein to release "technosexual" fragrance CK in2u.

You couldn't swing a Radar magazine at the Beatrice Inn last night without hitting a gay man.

More than 30 Vermont towns have passed resolutions to impeach President Bush.

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News: Gay Spring Break, Morrissey, Peru, Princess Diana

American Family Association unleashes attack dogs on Sears for running pro-gay ad on LOGO.