Conservative icon, former Senator Jesse Helms dies at age 86:

Former Sen. Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the occasional fellow Republican during 30 conservative years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July. He was 86.

I wonder what his granddaughter will have to say. Jennifer Helm-Knox is BlogACTIVE's first recipient of the Dick and Mary Cheney Award. She's a closeted lesbian GOP elected Judge in grandpappy's state.

Thanks for the memories, Jesse:

Continue reading "Ta Ta" »

Pat on the back to CNN for featuring this article on The Trevor Project. I have known about The Trevor Project for a few years now and really commend their efforts. It is a relief to know this is available for queer youth - true life savers.

I tried to prevent myself from saying this but what the hell: Keep this article in mind when the Churches and Right-Wingers talk about all the "saving" they do.

The transgendered woman on the other end of the line was threatening to kill herself by jumping off of a parking structure. The Trevor Helpline counselor who answered the phone worked to get the 24-year-old calm and immediately called police for help.

Exactly one month later, that same woman called the helpline back -- to thank them for saving her life.

Continue reading "Trevor Project on CNN" »

With plenty of feminist readers, I can't wait to see what everyone thinks of this... Your opinions? Would it be funny if "girls" were changed to "pets" or "hobbies"?

I can't imagine she is that stupid. He's probably unable to get it up and she's probably just fine being a sexless second lady.

Florida Gov. Crist says he's getting married - St. Petersburg Times:

"ST. PETERSBURG -- Florida's most powerful bachelor is getting hitched.

Gov. Charlie Crist, single for nearly three decades, on Thursday morning became engaged to his girlfriend of nine months, Carole Rome.

Continue reading "Paging Dina McGreevey" »

We've all had crushes. But what do you do if you're sixteen and you've got a crush on a high school classmate, a football player no less. And you have no idea whether he's gay. That's the predicament a sixteen-year-old from Houston wrote to me about asking for advice on what to do. On the one hand, I'm encouraged that gay teens are now able to talk about their crushes, but unfortunately dealing with a crush is even more complicated for gay teens than it is for their straight counterparts. My response, which follows the question below, feels a little lame and tentative to me. What do you think?

Dear Eric:
you may think this is a stupid question, but my friends were of no help to me. there is this guy at my school, he is a football player and... i have a huge crush on him. i don't know if he is gay or bicurious or whatnot, but he does look at me a lot and tries to walk close to me in the hallways. What should i do? i mean, how do i find out if he is actually interested in me....how do i find out if he is even gay? --Teen with a Crush

Continue reading "I Have a Crush!" »

Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got;
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.

I left out the part about "where everybody knows your name" for a reason. Because there's nothing I love better than rattling the right wing nutjobs, I thought I'd point you to a couple of a couple of action alerts that have been sent because of something Alex, Jeremy Bishop or I wrote. Uncredited, of course.

First up, Alex and Jeremy and the Family Research Council:

Continue reading "Someone play the Cheers theme" »

Sorry for putting a bunch of tiny posts into one mid-size post, but there's a few events that needed musing on, but I can't keep up enough to issue my usual diatribes. :)

Included:

• Bil was curious about same-sex marriage in Canada, and Toronto's Pride Week provides a glimpse;
• The pregnant man has given birth;
• Three more people have been added to the controversial DSM workgroup
• The controversial Intersex Society of North America has closed its doors but given birth to another project; and
• BisexualDatingNow.com has drawn attention for exclusion of a transsexual.

Continue reading "Scattered Newsings" »

One of the many perks about writing for Bilerico is that we often get to review great books and movies. So while I was off getting married in San Francisco (it's a long flight between Florida and California), I had the chance to read Blind Fall, the newest novel from Christopher Rice.

In Rice's fourth novel, he takes the tough issues of being gay in the military, gender roles, masculinity, duty, and, of course, murder. His novel revolves around John Houck, an Iraqi war veteran who got distracted in the line of duty and was saved by a friend, Bowers.

When Houck goes to visit his friend after returning home, he is shocked to discover that Bowers has been murdered. Even more shocking is when he discovers that the man he suspects of the murder, Alex Martin, is not the killer but Bowers' long-time partner. The two mismatched men are soon bound together in a quest for justice and revenge.

Continue reading "Book Review: Blind Fall" »

Trifecta news day - the man who played Bozo the Clown died; a transgendered man in Oregon gave birth to a baby girl; Jesse Helms died of "natural causes" in North Carolina at the age of 86.

The man who told his friend Orrin Hatch that he was going to sing Dixie to Carol Moseley Braun until she cried, who delivered his state to a lagging Ronald Reagan in the Republican primary, who loved all things Pinochet, who chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, who was a vile and constant homophobe has finally died.

Continue reading "Snakes On A Plane" »

One thing clearly evident everywhere in San Francisco for PRIDE this past weekend: In many ways, it is a world unto itself. From the moment I landed at the airport (when someone greeted his boyfriend with a big hug and a deep kiss) to the moment I left (sitting next to two women with PRIDE stickers all over themselves on the flight home) it was never more apparent to me than it was this past weekend.

Contrary to those who may have hoped otherwise, time has not dulled the memory of last fall's ENDA debacle. It hasn't gone away and it's not going away any time soon. If anything, the passage of time (and, perhaps, the failure to do anything substantive to heal the wounds) has made things particularly acute in and around the Bay area. The community there feels the wound that this has caused in a very deep, personal way. The resentment, anger, frustration, and betrayal that many of us felt and continue to experience seems compounded there - not simply in the trans community but across the entire GLBT spectrum and allies.

Continue reading "Hell Hath No Fury Like A Community Divided" »

I only glanced at the headline, because I was up to my ears in work. But what I read was enough to give me a sick feeling; the kind you get when you begin to wonder whether you've made a disastrous choice, or cast your lot with exactly the wrong person. (It's a feeling at least some Bush voters, circa 2004, should be familiar with.) The headline? "Obama to Expand Bush's Faith Based Programs."

Reaching out to religious voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called for expanding President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and -- in a move sure to cause controversy -- supported some ability to hire and fire based on faith.

Obama unveiled his approach to getting religious charities more involved in government anti-poverty programs during a tour and remarks Tuesday at Eastside Community Ministry, which provides food, clothes, youth ministry and other services.

"The challenges we face today ... are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama said.

Obama's announcement is part of a series of events leading up to Friday's Fourth of July holiday that are focused on American values.

Expand them? And here I'd been hoping -- but not praying -- that maybe getting the next Democrat in the White House would ashcan the whole idea.

No such luck.

Continue reading "Walking in Faith, With Obama: Pt. 1" »

Live your truth.

Recently I started a Series of 10 tips for GLBT Folks to Deal with Friends and Family. Tip # 1 stresses the importance of giving your friends and family the opportunity to accept you. This is speaking directly to the concept of sharing who you are - and revealing your truth. Today's tip, closely related to Tip #1, encourages you to take one step further by living your truth.

To reveal your truth is an event - to live your truth is a process. Living our truth - regardless of the subject of our truth, can be difficult because there is ongoing risk involved. When you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, everyday brings new opportunities to live your truth. Should I sign my nephews card from both of us or just me? Am I going to leave my partner for a week to attend our annual family vacation with my siblings and their spouses, or do I tell my family I am not going if my partner isn't welcome? Do I mention to mom that I just got back from electrolysis? When I call the electrician to fix our light, do I tell him or her that I won't be there but "my partner" will, or do I just say "my roommate" will be there?

Continue reading "Dealing With Family & Friends Tip # 2: Live Your Truth" »