NYT on Stonewall 2.0: “Outraged by California voters' ban on same-sex marriage, a new wave of advocates, shaken out of a generational apathy, have pushed to the forefront of the gay rights movement, using freshly minted grass-roots groups and embracing not only new technologies but also old-school methods like sit-ins and sickouts.” Kate Kendell of ‘No on 8': “Even from my vantage point, I would have a wish list of things I would have done differently…It's totally legitimate to say that the normal way of doing things did not get us to the finish line. And now some of those groups need to move over a couple of lanes to make room.”
“I Support Same Sex Marriage” T-shirt pulled from shelves at Urban Outfitters. Are Richard Hayne's politics to blame?
Milk wins New York Film Critics Award for Best Picture. Penn and Brolin win acting awards.
Wingnut winning Old Spice's “Manliness” contest.
Gay man settles with Chicago police in beating case on morning trial was to begin: “A jury was selected and opening statements given by both sides Monday in the lawsuit filed by Alexander Ruppert, who said he was falsely arrested in March 2006, then viciously beaten by officers while they shouted anti-gay slurs. Details of the settlement were not immediately available.”
Illinois civil union bill loses momentum as state in disarray: “First proposed in 2007 and running out of time before the current legislature expires, the bill would grant same-sex couples many of the rights given to opposite-sex married couples. There are two remaining legislative days on lawmakers' calendar in January—but its sponsor said it would take a back seat to the state's ongoing budget crisis. And it seemed still less likely to be called after FBI agents arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on federal corruption charges Tuesday, casting state leadership into disarray.”
Obama and Harry Reid join calls for Blagojevich to resign.
A milk post that's not about Harvey! Chris Brown puts on his mustache, with outtakes…
Peril: Anderson Cooper to swim with great white sharks, without a cage. “I was comfortable diving, and the guy we were with has done it many times. He's one of the few people who does. I thought it was a risk worth taking. I'm not sure there's a shark clause in my contract. I don't think the attorneys thought of that…They actually tell you to hold your breath when a shark comes toward you. But my heart was beating so fast I couldn't actually hold my breath. It's pretty clear for people that they should not try this at home. It's made very clear in the piece that this is something that the man has done hundreds of times before.”
Elizabeth Taylor makes another visit to West Hollywood's The Abbey.
Gay man assaulted in Vancouver hate crime: “Another West End gay man says he was called a fag and sucker punched as he walked hand in hand with his boyfriend near the corner of Davie and Burrard Sts Dec 4…[Chris] Hiller says before he hit the ground, all he heard was a male voice allegedly saying, ‘You fag, I'm going to beat the shit out of you, I don't like you, stay away from me. Don't even come near me, you fag.' Hiller says he remembers being hit twice, once on the jaw, which knocked him to the ground where he hit his head, and a second blow that caught him in the teeth.”
CIRCUS: Spears returns to the top of the charts, and goes Christmas caroling with Ellen DeGeneres.
Michelangelo Signorile hosts Rachel Maddow…
Serial killer in São Paulo, Brazil targeting gays? AP: “Brazilian police are investigating whether a possible serial killer is behind the murders of more than a dozen gay men in a park in suburban Sao Paulo. Police chief Paulo Fernando Fortunato tells the O Globo newspaper that 13 gay men were killed there between February 2007 and August 2008. He says police are not sure whether a single person is responsible. Undercover police are now patrolling the park at night.” UPDATE: Brazil policeman suspected.
Completed Lollipop Generation film to screen in New York.