SC Lt. Gov. Outed

South Carolina's Lt. Governor Andre Bauer has been outed by Mike Rogers of Blog Active. This is the same Andre Bauer who recently volunteered to a reporter for The State that he's 100% heterosexual. Mike Rogers also outed Larry Craig months before his men's room arrest.

Andre may very well become South Carolina's next governor if Governor Sanford is impeached or forced to resign.

Andre is also, naturally a super duper Christian. His website flaunts it like crazy. He's a big supporter of the "I Believe" license plates and he supported Huckabee in '08.

So, who is the South Carolina Republican establishment going to stick with, the heterosexual hypocrite or the homosexual hypocrite? Who do you think? This is the best news Governor Sanford's heard all summer.

Photos from AndreBauer.com

Daytime Emmys: The Bold and the Beautiful and Rachel Ray

I watched part of the Daytime Emmys last night, but switched to True Blood after the first hour. I missed The Bold and the Beautiful win for Best Drama which is all right since I've never seen it and haven't watched a soap opera since All My Children during an unfortunate period of unemployment in the 80s.

I did, however, stayed tuned long enough to see Rachel Ray beat Ellen DeGeneres for Best Entertainment Talk Show. Holy crap, how did that happen?

Tyra Banks won Best Informational Talk Show which sounds like it was invented so Ellen and Tyra wouldn't have to go head to head.

Loved loved loved Vanessa Williams' opening number.

Monday's Man: Stephen Moyer

Never have the undead been as sexy as the men of True Blood. They are led British actor Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton, the vampire with a moral core...

And perfect chest hair.

And now he's marrying Sookie! I kinda wish it was Eric, but I guess little Flora grew up.

Anderson Cooper Takes on Heidi

You just know Anderson Cooper is a huge pageant queen. I'm sure he was at home, sipping an appletini watching last week's Miss Universe pageant. Apparently, he wasn't fond of Heidi Montag's liveish TV singing debut Here's his bitchy take on it.



Meow. I love a hot bitch.

After the show, Heidi twittered her thanks to God. Seriously. Honey, if God couldn't pull it out for Miss Dominican Republic, he sure wasn't guiding your lip synching.

Never one to miss a promotional opportunity, Mr. Heidi, repellantly attractive Spencer Pratt, issued the following statement:

"It's our pleasure to help out anyone whose ratings are in need," Spencer said. "We appreciate every second people spend talking about the greatest performance in television history, which over a billion people saw."

That'll teach him, Spence. As Hollywood Gossip pointed out, his billion viewer assertion was only off by about 990 million. Give or take. I give this round to the silver fox.

h/t, LC NY Bureau Chief Doug

Have a Great Weekend

I leave you with this wonderful clip of John Barrowman and Daniel Boys singing I Know Him So Well. Gorgeous.

3 Fired Over Rainbow Lounge Raid

3 TABC officers have been fired over the Rainbow Lounge raid. Agent Christopher Aller and agent trainee Jason Chapman, who participated in the raid, and their supervisor, Sgt. Terry Parsons, were fired effective September 2.

"Aller and Chapman failed to report that they used force when arresting the customer or that he was seriously injured, according to a report on the agency's investigation released earlier this month. They also were accused of participating in the raid without their supervisor's approval, disrupting the business during the raid and wearing improper attire, the report states.

Parsons failed to ensure that the agents submitted a report on using force during the arrest, did not take appropriate action after learning they didn't wear proper attire during the raid and did not notify supervisors that multiple arrests had been made that night, the report states."

Parson's supervisor, Lt. Gene Anderson, will be suspended without pay for 3 days and be on probation for 6 months. His boss, Cpt Charlie Cloud, who oversees the Dallas and Fort Worth TABC offices, received a written reprimand.

It is a new day in Texas.

75 Years for Gay Bashing

Texas Justice for a gay man. Bobby Singleton was sentenced to 75 years for the brutal beating of Jimmy Dean in Oak Lawn in July 2008 that left him in permanent pain. The prosecutor asked for 60 years, but the jury gave him more.

Singleton testified in an attempt to get a lesser sentence. He said he and his accomplice didn't target Dean because he was gay, yet he also said they specifically went to Dallas' gay neighborhood of Oak Lawn because "we figured they wouldn't put up as much of a fight." In his statement to the police, he said "We figured they would be easier targets because there [sic] are a lot of homosexuals around the area." Thus, Singleton was either lying on the stand or lying to the police. Then there's the matter of screaming "faggot" at Dean while beating him. Singleton said it's a word he would say to anyone in a fight, ignoring the fact that this wasn't just anyone. This was a gay man in a neighborhood targeted specifically because of its gay character.

Singleton's attorney told the jury that Singleton didn't deserve more than 20 years, but Prosecutor Marshall McCallam asked for 60 years, and told jurors they should add a few more years for Singleton's "fabricated little apology."

After sentencing, most of the jury lined up to hug Dean and his friends. One woman told him to start living his life again and go back to his music. Dean is a musician who put away his guitars after the beating. Here's hoping he finds his art again.

Dominick Dunne: 1925-2009

Writer Dominick Dunne has died of blatter cancer at the age of 83. He was the best-selling novelist of numerous books including The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. He was also a regular contributor to Vanity Fair and wrote often of crimes among the wealthy. He became a fierce advocate for the families of crime victims after his daughter Dominique was murdered and the murderer served only four years. He wrote extensively of OJ Simpson, Michael Skakel and others. It was his 1993 book A Season in Purgatory, about the 1975 murder of Connecticut teenager Martha Moxley, that revived interest in the case, leading to the eventual arrest and conviction of Skakel. Before becoming a novelist, he was a film producer whose credits included The Boys in the Band. He was the brother of writer John Gregory Dunne and the father of actor Griffin Dunne.

Jimmy Lee Dean Testifies

Jimmy Lee Dean, the Dallas gay man who was viciously beaten and robbed after leaving an Oak Lawn gay bar, testified in the trial of Bobby Singleton, who is accused in the assault. Dean testified that he is in pain every day and his face is held together with metal, mesh and screws. He suffered a broken back, dislocated jaw, and a broken chin. He is in constant pain and his face will never look like it once did. He has no sense of smell. Another man, Jonathan Gunter, has already been convicted and sentenced to 30 years. Gunter and Singleton allegedly came to Oak Lawn specifically to target gays for robbery.

UPDATE: Singleton has been found GUILTY of aggravated robbery. The jury heard a recorded phone conversation from jail in which he laughed about the attack and said he planned to say he was gay so no one would think the attack was motivated by anti-gay hate.

He admitted the robbery in a statement to the police and said the following:

"We figured they would be easier targets because their [sic] are a lot of homosexuals around the area."

The Lion of the Senate Dead

Senator Ted Kennedy has died at the age of 77. He had been battling a brain tumor for some time. His death comes in the midst of his family's mouring the death of his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Jean Kennedy Smith is now the only surviving Kennedy sibling of his generation.

Kennedy served in the Senate since 1962 and championed virtually every major progressive initiative including civil rights including gay rights, education, health care, and the eradication of poverty.

He is survived by his wife, Vicki, his children, step-children, and grandchildren.

Miss Universe - Who Was Robbed?

My faithful readers know that I'm a big ole pageant queen, so naturally I was glued to the Tee Vee on Sunday night for the Miss Universe Pageant, "Live, from the islands of the Bahamas!" The winner? Miss Venezuela (yawn) again. It was back-to-back wins for the Miss Mississippi of the Miss Universe Pageant. There she is at the top of the post in her flaming red flamenco-meets-Rita-Hayworth look. Miss USA, cute Kristin Dalton from North Carolina (right), made top 10, but, alas, wasn't selected for top 5. I blame her evening gown which was not flattering, not sexy, and not fashion-forward. Here are the top 5:

Miss Puerto Rico is another perennial winner and Mayra Matos was Fourth runner-up. Fashion hint: big ones are in.

Miss Australia had the fresh, outdoorsy look you would expect from down under. Loved her. She was third runner-up.

Miss Kosovo easily had the most stunning evening gown look. Dress inspired by Jacqueline Kennedy and hair by Judith Ford? Maybe, but the only European in the final 5 made second runner-up.

First Runner-Up, Miss Dominican Republic said this gown was in her "favorite color." Um, white is your favorite color? The hubby said it was sort of a peach that didn't show up on TV, but I quibble. She was beautiful in the extreme, had a mega-watt smile and the gown was soft and sexy. I was shocked when she lost to Venezuela.

So what are your thoughts? Do you think Australia should have won? Kosovo? Dom. Rep.? Maybe I should get over my pageant obsession?

Inspired by LC NY Bureau Chief Doug.

Michael Jackson's Death Ruled a Homocide

"Lethal levels" of the anesthetic propofol were found in his system. Jackson's physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, "acknowledged to police that he administered propofol, authorities said they could find no evidence that he had purchased, ordered or obtained the medication under his medical license or Drug Enforcement Administration tracking number. However, police detectives saw about eight bottles of propofol in the house along with other vials and pills that had been prescribed to Jackson by Dr. Murray, Dr. Arnold Klein and Dr. Allan Metzger." Read more here.

Mehcad Brooks...Sweaty

Talk about a dream headline. True Blood's Mehcad Brooks recently took part in a celebrity triathalon in Hawaii and here's the photographic result. I realize it's completely unfair to hit you with this on a Monday morning when you need to concentrate on work, but I couldn't wait. Sue me.

See more sweaty maleness at Towleroad.

Monday's Man: Alexander Skarsgard

In last week's opera mania, I neglected to mark an auspicious occasion: Alexander Skarsgard's first nude scene in True Blood. Unless you're into Scandinavian Gods, he probably doesn't do a thing for you.

True Blood wasn't the Swedish actor's first time getting nekkid. Here he is lathering up with a couple of fellas in the film Hundtricket. Pic from Oh La La Mag.

Just your average living God. Nothing to get excited about.

Project Runway is Back!

Project Runway is back and on Lifetime after a lengthy litigation hiatus. I'm not going to give you a complete recap (who could compete with Junior?), just a few comments.

Los Angeles? Really? Even if their garment district is "like seven times bigger than New York" it's not the fashion capitol. Even America's Next Top Model figured that one out. And Tim Gunn in LA just isn't right.

Two, count 'em, two contestants from Charleston! Who knew Charleston was a fashion capitol? And one super-cute contestant from Savannah! I spend much of my youth in that Charleston-Beaufort-Savannah corridor, including my years at the College of Charleston, so I'm loving this.

The Savannah boy is Mitchell Hall and I think he's the cutest contestant since Wesley. I know he designed a caftan that looked like Bea Arthur playing Queen Victoria at a nudist camp, he'll be back to show his stuff.

I loved the all-star challenge. I really didn't like Daniel Vosovic's collection and was surprised that the judges were enraptured by it. I liked Chris' collection much better and I think Korto should have won. There are about three women on earth who can wear Daniel's dress while Korto designed for real women. But, let's face it. Michael Kors has wanted to fuck Daniel since he was on the show the first time, and he's trying to make up for that second-place finish.

Gallagher Pwned Again

Lou Dobbs has begun to redeem himself (somewhat) for having birthers on his show with this debate between tired old Maggie Gallagher of the hate group NOM and law professor Tobias Wolff. Wolff presented calm, measured, factual arguments to easily counter Gallagher's same old-same-old threat to marriage talking points. Take a look:

$25 Grand for 10 Minutes' Work

Levi Johnston has been offered $25,000 to make a jerk off video for Straightcollegemen.com. This comes on top of his existing offer to pose nude for Unzipped Magazine. Hey, this is your moment, buddy. Grab it.

You've got to go watch the straight-guy's-guide-to-making-a-jerk-off-video-and-bagging-a-hot-babe here. Sort of NSFW.

"Vile, Contemptable Nonsense"

Barney Frank pwns an anti-Obama fanatic at a health care town hall. Watch.



This is how all those lunatics should be addressed. Thank God for Barney Frank.

Dems To Go it Alone?

The White House is considering pushing through health care reform without the Republicans. Anderson Cooper reports.



It's about damn time. Obama could give the Republicans everything they want and they'd still vote against it. Bipartisanship only works if both sides are willing and with the GOP, it's party first, country last. Always.

"A Kiss and a Handshake"

If you saw the Mad Men premiere on Sunday, you probably shared Brian Batt's jaw dropping reaction to Sal's encounter with a hot bellhop. It was meant to be Sal's first experience with a man and the handsome and openly gay Batt played it perfectly. Click here to see his interview about the scene.

Actually, something just like that happened (or rather, almost happened) to me when I was single, still in the Army and semi-closeted. After a massage, a spa employee came up to my Atlanta hotel room to get me to sign something that clearly didn't need signing. I was in a bathrobe, right out of the shower and he seemed nervous. I was a clueless goof and the guy wasn't as agressive as Sal's bellhop, so nothing happened. Sigh. I've replayed it in my head a thousand times.

h/t LC NY Bureau Chief Doug

Here's the jaw dropping scene. Love the "handshake."

Bea's Golden Girls

If you're in New York, you can check out the exhibit The Figure and Dr. Freud at Haunch of Venison. The exhibit "focuses on the psychological theories developed by Sigmund Freud as a critical lens through which to observe the inner psyches of both artist and subject." It features a nude painting of Bea Authur. I have no idea if she posed for it, but if she did, it's pretty impressive. The painting is by John Curran and it's called, appropriately, Bea Arthur Nude. See the whole thing here.

Question For the Day

Did suburban housewives in 1963 use the term "lesbian?"

Dancing With the Wingnuts

Dancing With the Stars has announced their new cast. Among the has-beens (Donnie Osmond) and never-weres (Joanna Krupa??) is former Congressman, the Bug Man himself, Mr. "I AM the Federal Government," Tom Delay. I will not be watching. I'm not featuring his picture because I don't want to scare my readers.

Monday's Man: Zachary Stains

Since I'm in an Operatic mood, I present tenor Zachary Stains. He recently appeared completely naked in a production of Ercole su'l Termodonte. Naked. Completely naked.

Who says Opera isn't sexy? For lots of pictures of Zachary au naturale, click here.

Opera Queens

The hubby and I are back from our short vacation in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico. We stayed at the fabulous, gay-owned Inn of the Turquoise Bear, which I highly recommend. Their breakfasts are phenomenal (the green chile/cheese omelet was unreal) and their wine and cheese happy hours are tons of fun.

Without doubt the highlight of the trip was the Santa Fe Opera. It's open-air and perched on the edge of a mountain with breathtaking views. We arrived early, got a glass of champagne and looked out over the vista. When the lights flickered, we took our seats and the lights dimmed as the sun set over the Sangre de Christo mountains. At intermission, we got more champagne and looked up at the sky filled with stars, a real treat for a couple of city dwellers. Oh yeah, and the opera was superb. We saw Alceste starring Christine Brewer. You can see a glimpse of the spectacular sets and costumes below.

The Santa Fe Opera is one of those things you must do once in your life, and preferably more often. In fact, we've already made reservations for next year for Madame Butterfly and The Magic Flute. Before Friday, my opera experience consisted of my mother taking me to see Carmen and Die Fledermaus presented by the Augusta Opera Company in Augusta, GA, which is apparently experiencing seriously hard times. I was 12ish and she was trying to expose me to culture. Her efforts were not in vain, though, because Friday evening turned me into a first class Opera Queen.

Vacay in Santa Fe

The hubby and I are off for a few days in beautiful Santa Fe, NM, so there will be no more blogging this week. Try to hold it together. I'm sure the gay-owned Inn of the Turquoise Bear has wi-fi or something, but I don't have a laptop, so it doesn't really matter. The picture is of the Santa Fe Opera, which is a beautiful, open-air venue that I've been wanting to visit. I'm excited to say we have tickets and we intend to become cultured opera queens.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver 1921-2009

Eunice Kennedy Shriver has died at the age of 88. She was the middle child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy and her siblings included President John F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy. They also included her sister Rosemary, who's reportedly mild retardation led to a lobotomy and a lifetime in an institution. She inspired Eunice to devote her life to improving the quality of life of the developmentally disabled. She is best known for founding the Special Olympics. She was a graduate of Stanford University and worked for a time at the State Department. She also worked as a social worker at the Alderson Federal women's correctional institution in West Virginia, which became famous years later as the prison where Martha Stewart was incarcerated. She is survived by her husband, Sergeant Shriver, her daughter Maria Shriver, four other children, Robert, Timothy, Anthony and Mark, and sixteen grandchildren. Senator Kennedy and Jean Kennedy Smith are now the only surviving Kennedy children of their generation.

Read more about her work here.

Source.

Kathy Griffin is Brilliant

Here's Kathy Griffin (looking spectacular, by the way) with her date for the Teen Choice Awards, Levi Johnston. Nobody is better at promotion than La Griffin. The Finale of her Life on the D-List is tonight, by sheer coincidence. I'll be watching.

Via Towleroad.

Wise Latinas

According to the New York Times, Wise Latina t-shirts have become a mini fashion trend among, well, wise Latinas. Think of this as the living embodiment of the stupid white-guys-only Republican strategy. When Sessions, Cornyn, and all those other less than wise Anglo men were grilling Sonia Sotomayor about her "Wise Latinas make better decisions than white men" comment, what do you suppose Hispanic women were thinking? How about "I'm too wise to vote for you next time."

Monday's Man: Chris Messina

By request, from Six Feet Under and Julie and Julia, I present insanely cute Chris Messina. Does he have the perfect smattering of chest hair ever or what?

You know you want to wake up to this tomorrow morning.

Even better with scruff!

Happy Birthday Whitney Houston!

And Melanie Griffith!

And me. Don't even think about asking how old I am.

Orly Found Me!

The truth is finally out! I'm not really an American. I'm a Manchurian blogger.
Click to make it bigger.

Build your own here.

Hillary Pwns John Bolton

As I posted earlier, when President Clinton brought American prisoners Laura Ling and Euna Lee home from North Korea, John Bolton criticized the mission without offering any alternative for freeing the women. Watch Hillary's reaction to the mere mention of Bolton's name.



I love Hillary Clinton.

Fake Birth Certificate Rejected

Remember the obviously fake Obama birth certificate that purported to document Obama's birth in the Republic of Kenya before there was a Republic of Kenya? The judge threw it out due to numerous mistakes in the filing. I guess they don't teach motions practice in correspondence law school.

Plus, it turns out the birthers were punked! It was so easy, too. Funniest think I've heard all week.

Wise Justice

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court. She becomes the first person of Hispanic descent and the third woman on the Court. Confirmation was never seriously in doubt but for some reason the nation had to go through a months-long political circus.

The announcement was made by none other than Senator Al Franken. Watch it here. Somewhere, Jim DeMint's head exploded.

Great Day for America...And Republicans Crap All Over It

Yesterday, we all saw the heartwarming images of American journalists Euna Lee (above) and Laura Ling returning to America after several months in a North Korean prison. This is a good thing, right? President Clinton went over there, sat for a frowning picture with the Dear Leader and in return, two Americans who were illegally imprisoned have been reunited with their families. Who doesn't feel at least a little tug on the heartstrings? Neocon Republicans, that's who. George Bush's UN Ambassador, John Bolton, fired off an editorial condemning the action as paying "political ransom" and "poorly thought-out gesture politics." Never mind that the Bush Administration's record of dealing with North Korea is less than sterling, Obama must not be allowed to have a success. Naturally, Bolton doesn't offer an alternative plan for release of Lee and Ling, only criticism of the President's success.

Then there's professional Clinton-hater Dick Morris. He was interviewed by useful-idiot Sean Hannity and actually said it might have been better to leave Lee and Ling in prison. A quote: "Maybe they don't come home. Maybe they go to North Korea and live with the consequences of their decision to go there." Hey asshole, they aren't kids who got sent to detention. They're American citizens who were seized illegally and sentenced to 12 years hard labor in a North Korean prison. You'd be kissing Clinton's boots if he came to rescue you from an hour in a county lock-up. What a shithead. You can watch the segment here.

Thus, the right wing response to the triumphant return home of two Americans from a hellish North Korean prison is we should have let them rot in the gulag. These people truly have no heart or soul. Party first, country last, humanity never.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

Today is President Obama's 48th birthday. He and I are both Leos. I don't know what that means but it seems like the coolest people are born in August.

Birth Mother

Here is Orly Taitz, correspondence school lawyer/dentist/real estate agent/Soviet Republic of Moldova-born leader of the Birthers. She's trying to explain the obviously-faked Kenyan birth certificate that she has filed in one of her several court cases. It's hard to watch, but trust me, you won't be able to turn your eyes away.



It's as if Ava Gabor and Lady Bunny had a deranged love child, stuck her in a looney bin for 50 years and she escaped.

h/t LC NY Bureau Chief Doug.

UPDATE: Was the "Kenyan" birth certificate really an altered Australian birth certificate?

Naomi Sims: 1948-2009

Naomi Sims, known as the first black supermodel, has died of cancer at 61. She made history as the first black cover model for Ladies Home Journal in 1968. Her career included covers of Life and Cosmopolitan and a national TV advertising campaign for AT&T. She retired from modeling after only five years and started a wig business, the Metropa Company, which became a multi-million dollar success. She expanded into The Naomi Sims Collection of cosmetics and fragrances and made another fortune. She was also the author of five books on beauty. She was a self-made woman who was born in Oxford, Mississippi and became a foster child in Pittsburgh. It was in Pittsburgh that she decided to strive to become somebody "really important." She certainly did.

If you're in New York, you can see two of her images, including the Life cover above, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibit, The Model as Muse.

Monday's Man: Sam Trammell

I'm becoming seriously obsessed with True Blood, mainly because of all the outrageous man meat on display every Sunday night. Today, consider Sam Trammell, the good-guy bar owner/shape shifter/scruffy dude.

He's the kind of solid guy you want to get serious with. Except for that whole changing-into-a-dog thing.

How about a moonlight swim?