Monday's Man: Channing Tatum

I saw the new movie Stop Loss starring Ryan Phillippe and Channing Tatum. I liked the movie and was very glad it focused on the horrifying physical and psychological wounds suffered by our soldiers in this war.

At the risk of sounding crass, I'm also very glad it focused on Channing Tatum rolling around in the mud in a pair of briefs.


He's actually a very good actor. So good, in fact, that one could almost forget how hot he is.

Almost.

"The Surge is Working"

"Normalcy is returning to Iraq." GW Bush, 3/27/08.

All US personnel in Baghdad have been instructed not to leave reinforced structures until further notice due to incoming rocket fire. International Herald Tribune, 3/28/08.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Dude, Where's My Ammo?

This is a picture of the 22 year old who, along with his 25 year old massage therapist buddy, got a $300,000,000 contract to provide ammunition to the Afghan army. Seriously. Somehow, these two kids, with a history of beating up valet parking attendants and getting busted for a fake ID, got a $300 million contract with the Department of Defense, established contacts with arms dealers in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Albania, and shipped ammo to Afghanistan, much of it up to 49 years old, untested and unusable. They are the only two employees of their company which is run out of an unmarked office in Miami Beach. There is so much more to this story than meets the eye, and now Congress is curious.

Just another sterling example of the Bush administration's laser-like focus on the war on terror.

Chelsea Clinton is Awesome

Just in case you missed it, here's Chelsea Clinton's classy, ballsy response to a bone-headed question. When can she run for president?

My Book Club's Next Selection

Mario's an author now.

Just in Case You Hadn't Realized Bush's War is a Big Lie

According to the British paper The Guardian, 40% of all foreign aid to Afghanistan, mostly from the US, ends up back in the pockets of big corporate interests, mainly in the form of inflated contractor rates and other sweetheart deals. Afghanistan's biggest donor, USAid, allocates half it's annual budget to just 5 American contractors, including the former Haliburton subsidiary KBR. "Most full-time expatriate consultants working for private companies in Afghanistan make between $250,000 and $500,000 a year." That money comes from foreign "aid." Think about that next time Dubya brags about his compassion.

Note that the report is from a British paper. I'm shocked, shocked I tell, you that I haven't seen it in the "liberal" American media.

Tata Jaguar

Ford Motor Company has been hemorrhaging money for a while now and has been trying to unload Jaguar and Land Rover, which haven't exactly been super performers for them. They've found a buyer: Tata Motors. Who, you say? Tata Motors sounds like some company from the Soviet People's Republic of Bulgaria that made plastic cars with lawn mower engines before the wall fell. Actually, Tata Motors is part of the Indian conglomerate Tata Group which is one of the fastest growing companies in the world. Being a stupid American, I had never heard of it. This certainly makes a statement about the standing of Mighty American Industry in the world and how the balance of power is shifting.

Does the Lady Need a Shave?

Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who is a completely heterosexual chick lovin' not gay he-man despite all those endless rumors to the contrary, has a girlfriend! The lovely lady in the picture above is "socialite" Carole Rome whom the good gov recently introduced as "my girlfriend." See how happy and totally not awkward they look? Not at all like every homo's prom picture.

Now, I have girlfriends too, lots of them. Of course, they're all guys, but I digress. Apparently Crist's "girlfriend" is a real girl, and I don't mean like Tori Spelling in Trick. I'm sure the beautifully tanned governor's new found interest in the female form has absolutely nothing to do with the rumors that he's on McCain's VP short list. I wish the happy couple years of hot steamy hetero lovin!

Monday's Man: Ryan Phillippe

Ryan Phillippe, the ultimate twink all grown up.


He has a new movie about to open called Stop Loss. It's about the Iraq war, but the marketing campaign seems to be focusing on Ryan's abs.


Should be a smash.

Last picture from the Stop Loss official site.

Auto Fetch

This video has been posted everywhere, but I just had to post it here, too. It's absolutely the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. Have a great weekend.

Tori's Tricking Again

My name is Sam and I'm a Tori Spelling fan. There, I've said it. It's true! I thought she was terrific in Trick and could spend the rest of her career playing FH/Gal Pals, and she seems to be doing just that with her new movie Kiss the Bride.

Tori plays a gal who's about to get married when her guy's ex shows up and, hold on to your seats, he's a MAN. Hijinks ensue.

Unfortunately, according to the film's web site, they don't have any current dates in Dallas, but it's being released by Dallas-based Regent entertainment, so maybe it'll find it's way here.

Hey Tori, I'm giving your flick a plug, what do you say about sending it this way?

Oh yeah, and the guys who complete the triangle, Philipp Karner and James O'Shea, are exceptionally cute:

Via Kenneth in the 212.

I'm Back

Work is a bit more sane so I can take a moment to say hi to all my readers. I hope both of you missed me! Not much has changed during the past few days, though. The cable news pundits are still salivating over Obama's preacher and hardly noticed that we have marked the 5th anniversary of "Shock and Awe." Approval ratings for the war have started creeping back up, due in no small measure to the lack of news coverage, and what coverage their is promotes the un-nuanced lie that the "surge" is working. The frequency and deadliness of bombings in Baghdad increased in February and March, but the pretty people of Tee Vee news somehow forgot about that tid bit.

My personal theory is most people don't really care about the war. Most people don't know someone in the military and their lives haven't been directly impacted so the war doesn't mean anything to them. They might put a "Support the Troops" magnet on their car and think they're accomplishing something, but the phrase means nothing to most people.

There are certainly many thoughtful, informed people who have considered opinions on the war, but I believe most people are completely unaware of the numbers of dead, the numbers of grievously wounded soldiers, the shameful lack of care for our returning wounded, and the mind boggling cost that is bankrupting our country. This was Bush/Cheney's plan all along, of course, control the flow of information, encourage people to do their part for the war effort by shopping and going to Disney World, and cutting taxes during war time. If citizens don't perceive that they're paying a price for the war then they ignore it and don't demand change. With the lavish help of the complicit press, Bush and Cheney have succeeded quite well. The war remains unpopular, but that unpopularity is paper thin. If the Democrats don't start bringing the war home and reminding Americans why it became unpopular in the first place, we could be looking at President McCain.

So that's my light, upbeat return to blogging this week! Wee! Happy Friday!

Five Years

Today is the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq. 5 years, untold thousands of deaths, thousands of American soldiers with permanent, life-altering injuries, $500 billion and counting, an American economy on the verge of collapse and still no end in sight. What do you see if you turn on cable news? Obama's preacher. What a world.

The New York times has a photo timeline that's worth a look.

Busy Boy

I'm very busy at work this week so the blogging will be light. My bosses obviously don't appreciate the importance of my creative projects and seem to want me to actually do stuff for the money they pay me. What a world.

Not that I would ever blog at work or anything.

Monday's Man: Charlie David

Charlie David is the openly-gay star of Here! TV's supernatural cheese-fest Dante's Cove. The show is nominally about witches and stuff, but mainly it's about hot guys and girls on a tropical island where everybody's gay and clothing is apparently optional. Needless to say, it's the greatest show ever.

Mary Ann is Innocent

A lawyer for Dawn Wells (Mary Ann to everyone who's lived on Earth since 1964) has released a statement and it turns out America's Sweetheart is totally innocent and didn't serve a jail term at all. I knew it all the time. The Mary Jane possession charges were dropped when someone else actually went before the judge and admitted the doobies were his. Wow. That kind of witness doesn't come along every day. Dawn wasn't aware the pot was even in the car. Oh yeah, and the weaving that aroused the cop's suspicion? She was trying to adjust the heater controls in an unfamiliar car.

So let's all celebrate Dawn's freedom! Coconut cream pie for all!

From ETonline.

Bush "Envious" of Soldiers

Dubya actually said this during a teleconference with military and civilian personnel regarding the war in Afghanistan:

"I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed."

"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks."

One hardly knows where to begin. Didn't he have his chance to experience this "fantastic," "romantic" adventure? I suppose blowing rails and banging chicks in Alabama was adventure enough for him...allegedly, of course.

Hillary Apologizes

Hillary has issued apologies for seemingly everything. She apologized for comments Bill made about Jesse Jackson in South Carolina, she repudiated and expressed her "deep regret" for Geraldine Ferraro's comments about Barak Obama, and she apologized for the U.S. Government's lame response to Hurricane Katrina.

Frankly, this is overdue. In particular, she should have responded to Bill's comments long ago. This campaign has become racially charged and I'm glad to see that she's dialing it back.

Ellen Answers Sally Kern

You've probably read about Oklahoma state representative Sally Kern who was recorded spewing lies and filth about gays to a group of supporters. She called the "homosexual agenda" the greatest threat to this country, greater than terrorism. Ellen commented on it brilliantly, and Joe.My.God has the clip. Go here to see it. Remember when people thought Ellen wasn't gay enough? Can't say that anymore.

Oh yeah, it looks like Sally has a grown gay son. That explains a lot.

Mary Ann Likes Mary Jane

Dawn Wells, best known as Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island, is a jailbird! She's still cute, though, don't you think?


She was arrested in the town of Driggs, Idaho, which is nowhere near anything you've ever heard of, after police stopped her for swerving in traffic and smelled the unmistakable odor of marijuana. She cooked up some crazy story about picking up hitchikers and kicking them out of the car when they started smoking "something," but Driggs Vice wasn't buying it. You can't get anything past those guys. The deputy saw several roaches and "containers used to store the drug" in her car and hauled her in. She did 5 days in February.

I'm seeing a comeback on Celebrity Rehab.

Via Joe.My.God.

Spitzer's Out/Paterson's In

Gov. Spitzer resigned today. Lt. Gov. David Paterson will be sworn in on Monday. The new governor is apparently a solid, progressive guy and a great friend to the gays. Read what the Empire State Pride Agenda said about him.

And with a wife this awesome, how could he not be a friend to the gays? Love the fuck-you Peta fur.

Elit Spitzer: Siegleman Part II?

Am I the only one who's underwhelmed by the whole Eliot Spitzer hooker-gate? Breathless press reports yesterday promised "shocking" revelations of a major scandal and what did we find out? The governor of New York hired a whore. That's it? That CNN hack John King worked "shocking" into every sentence, so I kept waiting to be stunned. Never happened. I know that what he allegedly did was illegal and a betrayal to his family, but I see it as a personal matter and just can't build up much excitement about it. After the parade of clay-footed politicians we've had: Jim "Gay American" McGreevey (who's media whore wife Dina was on CNN last night offering color comentary), David "Diapers" Vitter, Larry "Wide Stance" Craig, Ted "I threw the meth away" Haggard, and so many others it's almost become a rite of passage for politicians to go before the cameras, stunned wives at their sides, and admit sexual misconduct.

And for God's sake, could the next one please tell his wife it's OK if you don't come out with me? I know these women all have their own reasons for being there and my heart goes out to them, but I can't help thinking they'd much rather be at home in the tub with a very large Scotch. Or maybe at a spa at the Four Seasons on hubby's dime. When I was cheated on in the 90s, I took the bitch's Amex and went to the Ritz Carlton, but I digress.

My second reaction to this story (my first was ho hum) is why was the US Justice Department investigating Spitzer in the first place? Dubya's DOJ has a well-documented history of targeting democratic politicians for prosecution while ignoring the same or worse behavior in Republicans, turning Justice into a political tool of the Republican party. Is this Don Siegleman part II? According to the New York Times, this all began when the IRS noted large cash transfers made by the governor. Maybe the entire investigation is legitimate, and if Spitzer did it, he's a fool for giving his enemies potent ammo. But given Bush Justice's track record of politically motivated prosecutions, these are legitimate questions.

It Ain't Croquet, Barak

Just a week ago, Hillary's campaign was on the ropes and it seemed that Obama was going to float into the White House on wings of doves with choirs of angles. I was one of many who thought Hillary '08 was over, but she had different ideas. She campaigned aggressively and pulled out key victories in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island. A week later, Hillary's not letting up and Obama's still staggering from the blows. She keeps reminding America of 3:00 AM while Obama whines that she's a Mean Girl who should stop picking on him. He's like Veronica Sawyer, shocked to discover that the Heathers play rough and longing for his Betty Finn days when his toughest opponent was crazy Alan Keyes.

Frankly, for all the talk of Hillary going negative, I think it's been pretty fair and mild. This is nothing compared to what the Republican smear machine has in mind for nominee Obama when and if they don't have Hillary to kick around any more. The Rethugs will have him in a sleeper cell before the balloons hit the floor in Denver. Why, his middle name alone will be enough to deliver Dixie to McCain if Obama keeps up his mild pace.

My biggest issue with Obama has long been that he's untested. We don't know how he'll stand up to the fire hose of filth the GOP will open up. We know how Hillary can take it, but Obama? In the past week we've seen one of his key staffers fired because she called Hillary a name. Instead of standing up for his advisor, he abandoned her at the first peep from Team Hillary. That was easy, who's next? I half expect Obama to ask Hillary in an open debate "why are you such a mega-bitch?" I wish he would, just to hear her answer. (FF to 3.39).

Hillary's on a roll and isn't giving up her hard-earned momentum without a fight. They're headed to Pennsylvania with Hillary hammering on experience and toughness and Obama's hard hitting pitch this week has been...well...the delegate count. That might win Wolf Blitzer's vote, but the lunch-bucket Dems in Pittsburgh could give a shit. I'm betting Hillary's their girl.

Eventually, Veronica toughened up, lighting a cigarette off the smoldering remains of her boyfriend. I could see Hillary doing that in a second, then delivering a kick-ass foreign policy speech without skipping a beat. But Obama? He'd report a fire code violation and talk about delegate selection in Texas.

Bitch is the new black. Get used to it.

Monday's Man: Lee Pace

Lee Pace was amazing as Calpernia Adams in Soldier's Girl, he's cuter than cute in Pushing Dasies, but in his new film Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, he positively smolders and Amy Adams swoons. She's not the only one.

Friday Wetness: James McAvoy

I totally stole this picture from Towleroad this morning, so go there and read about it so I won't feel so guilty. You know I've got a huge thing for the hot Scot and this shot just about sent me off the deep end. I won't get a bit of work done today. It's from a movie he's making with Angelina Jolie appropriately named Wanted. It just shot to the top of my must-see list.

Ferocha Coutura Wins Project Runway!

And he's going to design for Posh!



I'm sure I spelled Ferocha Coutura correctly because I checked the Junior Glossary.


I was kinda hoping Rami would win and whip off his shirt, Becks-style.


Or maybe strip to his undies, Becks-style.


I've gotten really off topic but somehow don't care. What was this post about? Oh yeah yeah yeah, Rami was second.

Hmmm. Becks and Rami. Allow me to contemplate that for a while.....



Nice measurements. OK, back on topic. Jillian was third.


No, not Ann Jillian - JILLIAN!

NO! Not Gillian! Whatever, close enough. She was third.

Whatever will Junior make of all this?

Patrick Swayze Reported Critically Ill

OK folks, this is from the National Enquirer so give it a grain of salt, but the paper is reporting that Patrick Swayze has advanced pancreatic cancer and has only weeks to live. Sad news. I'll never forget swooning over Orry Main, galloping up on his stallion, and I thought he nailed his character brilliantly in To Wong Fu Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar . Let's hope for a miracle.

Update: Defamer is reporting it also.
Second Update: Now it's in the New York Times.

Hillary's a Gay Diva

A Washington Post reporter spent election night at the famous gay bar Friends in Gun Barrel City, Texas and has told the world what we've known for a while: the gays love Hillary. Read the whole thing, especially the comment about Cindy McCain...snap!

God Tells Huckster to Quit

Not that many people noticed, but Huckabee finally quit his run for Jesus last night. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

In Texas he compared his candidacy to the siege of the Alamo. The Dallas Morning News said "In Texas we call that tacky."

Hillarymentum!

Last night was Hillary's night with wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island. She won Ohio by 14 points, and took Rhode Island by 18. She had a narrow 3-point victory in Texas, but a win is a win. The big news is Obama's momentum was stopped cold. After 12 straight wins in which he consistently out-performed the polls, he hit a great big wall last night and came away with only a victory in Vermont and 3 big losses. He had pulled even with Hillary in the Texas polling and many pundits expected him to hold her off here, but, to coin a phrase, Hillary found her voice. On today's morning shows, I thought Obama seemed off his game and unimpressive. He's in a new position now, facing a different kind of adversity. It'll be interesting to see how he does.

Hillary's victory here was in the Texas primary, but the results of the caucuses, held last night, won't be known for a few days. I went to my caucus at Sunset High School in the Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff and I've got to hand it to the precinct captain and her other volunteers. They did a terrific job of keeping things orderly and moving. Other precincts weren't so lucky as there were many complaints of missing voter rolls and other alleged misconduct. The caucus was a new experience for me and for many others. We showed up as the polls closed and we were told to sit Hillary on the right and Obama on the left. After everything was explained to us, we all lined up to literally sign-in for either Hillary or Obama. Once that was done, we could leave.

I'd guess about 1200-1500 people showed up, although this is pure swag on my part. My neighborhood is a typical gentrifying older urban neighborhood, and by that I mean it's Latino and gay. There are a growing number of yuppie straight whites who've discovered how cute the gays have made things (and will stay until their rug-rats are school-age when they'll dash to the 'burbs), some older white folks who missed the 70s white-flight, and a smallish African-American population. At the caucus, the Latinos and the gays went strongly for Hillary. The yuppie whites were split and the African-Americans were strong Obama supporters. Once we lined up by candidate, the Hillary line was up the aisle, out the door, and down the hall. The Obama line ended about 2/3 up the aisle. Clearly, my precinct is Hillary country.

Texas' strange primary/caucus system has proven to be an unnecessarily complicated embarrassment and there was much talk last night of scrapping it. In past years, only party regulars and die-hards showed up and I believe the system was in place to make sure power remained in the hands of a few. Let's hope this dinosaur goes extinct.

Election Day In Texas!

The eyes of America are on Texas and Ohio today (oh yeah, and Vermont and Rhode Island) as as voters go to the polls to decide between Obama and Hillary. I know Huckabee is still in the race, hoping for a miracle, but nobody cares anymore, it's all about the Dems. The polls indicate a tight race in Texas and show a lead for Hillary in Ohio, but anything could happen.

Here in the Lone Star State, we have to do the Texas Two-Step, which means vote as usual (I already did) then tonight go to our polling place and caucus. Nobody knows how this is going to work because so few people have ever done it before. This is the first time in years that the Texas primary has counted for something and people are excited. The polling locations will be packed all day and all night and I don't expect anyone to know what to do when caucusing begins. One thing is certain though. It's an exciting time to be a Texas Democrat.

Monday's Man on Tuesday: Robert Gant

I interrupt election coverage to bring you breaking news of a Dallas celebrity sighting. After work yesterday, I was meeting a friend at the Gay/12-step Starbucks in Oak Lawn (Dallas' gayborhood) when who should walk in but Queer as Folk star Robert Gant! Right there in my Starbucks! Let me tell you, Robert Gant in person is hotter than hot in an adult MAN sort of way. There's nothing boyish about him. Unfortunately, he wasn't dressed like this:
If he had been, all the boys would have passed out in pools of spit-up non-fat latte with Splenda. He was dressed in a beautiful suede jacket that I covet, white shirt (thin, no undershirt), jeans and a gorgeous Hillary button featuring this portrait:
That's what I really covet. He was in town for a Hillary fund-raiser at JR's, the gay bar, featuring Chelsea Clinton and Gloria Steinem. I wasn't able to be there, but it had to be an amazing event.
Robert (I call him Robert) was charmingly goofy, fumbling with his credit card, his coffee, and his pastry (he bought a piece of one of those high-fat cakes Starbucks features, although I can report there there is no fat on his body), and had to be reminded that the lid was coming off his cup and he was about to spill. Cute! Then again, a Starbucks full of gays trying to be cool and not drool openly may have made him a touch nervous.

Seriously, you can't imagine how handsome he is in person. He chatted briefly with a few guys and seemed very friendly. I know I'm beginning to sound like a 10-year-old who just spotted Miley Cyrus, so I'll wrap this up with one more pic.