Way to F Up the Olympics, NBC

Did NBC really just yank the plug on the closing ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics so they could show the frigging Marriage Ref?  They're going back to Vancouver in an hour?  So, they think people who have been awed by the majesty and OK, hype of two weeks of the Olympic games will say "Great, I love that they interrupted the closing just as it was getting good so I could watch some lame reality show.  I'm sure going to stay up another hour to catch the rest of it.  Meanwhile, I'd much rather watch Kelly Ripa give marriage advice!" 

All over America, pissed off Olympics fans are turning off their sets and going to bed.  Way to go NBC. 

What programming genius made this decision?  Probably the same asshole who fucked up The Tonight Show beyond all recongition.

Monday's Man: Ryan Carnes

These pictures of Ryan Carnes by photographer Jeff Slater have been featured on other blogs and rightly so.  They are so beyond hot that I don't have the words.  Just enjoy.

Now go here and here and enjoy the rest.  While you're at it, check out the rest of Slater's gorgeous site. 

Queen of Ce-ment Ponds Can't Shut Her Mouth

Lazy Circles New York Bureau Chief Doug alerted me to this clip posted on Perez Hilton.  Here is Miss Beverly Hills expressing her deeply held religious beliefs regarding the gays while trying on hoochie-mama dresses:



Wow.  Not exactly an intellectual heavyweight.  Also, one word of advice:  Spanx.

Analysis of the anti-gay marriage votes across the country has found consistently that the two strongest determining factors are age and education.  The more education you have, the more likely you are to vote pro-gay and the older you are, the more like you are to vote anti-gay.  Thus, opposition to marriage equality is an issue for the old and the stupid.  NOM, meet your new spokesmodel!

Hard Working Man

Sorry for the lack of posts this week but I've been super-duper busy both at home and at work.  That doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention to the news.   It should be no surprise that my top story is a pageant story.  It seems that the Queen of Ce-ment Ponds, Miss Beverly Hills herself , one Lauren Ashley, has taken it upon herself to remind us all that God wants us dead.  Hey, no probs 'cause she's got like tons and tons of evil sodomite gay friends!  You know, like her hairdresser who's going to make her look just like Kate Hudson.  She's a cinch for Miss Cali! 

The best part was the reaction of the actual City of Beverly Hills.  When the City Council heard that their queen said "die fag" (I paraphrase) they issued a statement that said who the fuck is this shitkicker from freaking Pasadena saying she represents us?  Or words to that effect.  Actually, the statement said  Miss Ashley "does not represent Beverly Hills in any capacity."  The mayor, Nancy Krasne, said "We are dismayed by any potential association with the city of Beverly Hills, which has a long history of tolerance and respect." 

How soon before Lauren is on the NOM hate tour? 

BTW, via Joe.My.God, here's a picture of the queen in question sans make-up.  Ouch.  As Dolly Parton said, there's no such thing as natural beauty. 







UPDATE:  As usual, Dan Savage cuts to the chase:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

UPDATE:  That didn't take long.  You'd think she would have learned her lesson with Carrie Prejean, but I guess her skull is as thick as the rest of her.  Maggie Galligher, Satanic Priestess of NOM said the following:

"I'm not surprised that Miss Beverly Hills, Lauren Ashley, opposes gay marriage -- after all 45 percent of young Californians voted for Prop 8, as did 7 million Californians generally. But I have to say, I am impressed with her courage in coming forward and for speaking up for Carrie. The elected officials of city of Beverly Hills are not demonstrating tolerance or kindness by continuing the avalanche of hatred against supporters of Prop 8."

So, little Miss Beverly Hills endorses putting gays to death in the name of God and it's the other people who are intolerant.  Poor little thing is just a victim.

OOPS UPDATE:  Somehow I accidently posted the wrong Keith Olbermann clip.  I'm leaving it up because it was very moving.  Here's the one I meant to post:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lieberman to Sponsor DA/DT Repeal

None other than Senator Joe Lieberman will sponsor the Senate bill to repeal Don't Ask/Don't tell.  This is reportedly being done at the request of the White House.  He gave an interview to the New York Daily News and here's an excerpt:

In an exclusive interview with the Daily News, Lieberman told me that his commitment to repealing DADT is twofold. First, allowing gays to serve openly fulfills the bedrock American promise of providing citizens with "an equal opportunity to do whatever job their talents and sense of purpose and motivations lead them to want to do - including military service." Second, and no less important for a lawmaker whose commitment to national security the Pentagon can't doubt, is that "When you artificially limit the pool of people who can enlist then you are diminishing military effectiveness."



You can read the whole thing here.  He's actually the perfect choice for this job.  He's so conservative that he spoke at the GOP convention and can't be realistically painted a pointy headed liberal.  The GOP will try, of course.  This further proves my point that gay rights issues aren't liberal or conservative issues.  They are issues of basic fairness and civil rights and there's no logical reason why conservatives and liberals can't unite on them.  We have to get to the point where fear of homos ceases to motivate the Republican base.

Via LC NY Bureau Chief Doug.

Monday's Man: Florent Amodio

By special request from Lazy Circles New York Bureau Chief Doug, I present French Olympian Florent Amodio.  Florent is Brazilian by birth and French by adoption and, to quote Doug, "delicious!"

Here hs is getting all urban on us.  Florent came in 12th in men's figure skating, and first in Doug's heart.  Or someplace. 

No skin pics, but what better way to enjoy a figure skater than on the ice? 

Oh Florent, you tease. 

Here he is reacting to his scores. What do you think, one of our people or just European?  I can never tell. 

You may watch his Free Skate here.  Don't get choked up!

More CPAC Gayness

Remember Ryan Sorba, whose anti-gay douschebaggery got him booed off-stage at the conservative freak-fest CPAC?   An openly gay conservative named Alex Knepper had a post-rant conversation with Sorba that was quite revealing.  An excerpt:

"So what did you think of my little tirade, then?”




“Oh, I thought it was quite evil, actually. I’m gay.”


“You mean you think you’re gay.”


“No, I’m gay. Do you think it’s a choice?”


“I think it’s the result of a complex process of social and environmental factors, but that it’s reversible.”


“So, like, why is it that over one hundred animals have been observed engaging in homosexual sex in nature?”


“Well, only 0.2% of animals are known to do that — ”


” — I mean, mammals, obviously, not ants, birds — ”


” — you know, animals masturbate, your dog humps your leg. Does your dog talk with a lisp?”


“Do I talk with a lisp?!” I yelled.


“A little bit.” (I later asked a couple of gay friends if I have a small lisp; both of them said I have no lisp whatsoever. Aron, who is straight, has said my voice is sometimes theatrical, but that I don’t have a lisp.)


“Rudy Giuliani has a lisp — is he gay?”

Read the whole thing here.  Then check out this video from GOProud, the far-right gay Republican group:



I am no fan of gay Republicans and do not understand how a gay person can associate himself with the GOP, but I have to say I'm glad they were there.  Between Sorba being booed off-stage and NOM getting totally served by a bunch of queers, CPAC has turned into a gay public relations bonanza.

Homophobe Booed Off Stage at CPAC

Watch what happens when a young douchebag from California tries to blast CPAC for inviting GOProud, a gay, far-right Republican group, to the conference.  The crowd isn't having it:



Conservative does not necessarily equal gay-hater. 

From Media Matters

Kathryn Grayson: 1922-2010

One of the queens of classic MGM musicals, Kathryn Grayson has died at the age of 88.  Her flawless coloratura soprano graced numerous films including Show Boat, in which she called on her North Carolina roots to play the innocent Magnolia Hawks who fell for Howard Keel's handsome gambler;  Anchors Aweigh, in which she played an aspiring actress who attracts the attention of sailors on shore leave; and perhaps most famously, Kiss Me Kate in which she played the tempestuous Lili Vanessi in 3-D!  She also replaced Julie Andrews in Camelot on Broadway. She performed with numerous opera companies and toured in a one-woman show in the 90s.  She made numerous television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy in 1956.  She is survived by a daughter, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.  

Magnolia Hawks should totally be my drag name.  If I ever did drag.

GOProud at CPAC

CNN reported on gay Republican group GOProud, which is co-sponsoring the CPAC conference, currently meeting in DC.  Watch if you have a strong stomach for ignorance and hate:



Note the friendly handshake with representatives of the hate group NOM.  Note also the so-called young, gay-friendly conservative woman who said there's an attitude among those under 40 that people have a right to do what they want in their private lives "and take the consequences, too."  Consequences?  What are the consequences of being gay, open-minded conservative lady?  Just what does that mean?   You don't care if we sodomize each other in private as long as we die young and burn in hell?   

Johnny Weir Screwed Over Again; Lysacek Wins Gold

Johnny Weir skated another flawless program last night and, as one NBC commentator put it, "the door was open" for a medal after Japan's Daisuke Takahashi fell pretty spectacularly on his quad and followed that with other mistakes.  The judges slammed the door in Johnny's face.  As in the short program, they scored Johnny surprisingly low and he didn't budge from 6th place despite numerous mistakes by skaters scored more highly. 

Bronzed heterosexual Evan Lysacek, wearing a black costume with snakes instead of feathers, skated a strong, beautiful program and absolutely earned his gold medal.  He nailed all of his jumps despite the weight of his hair gel.

Russian Evgeni Plushenko won the silver and Takahashi maintained his bronze medal position. 

Here are some of my thoughts jotted down as the skating took place.

US National Champion Jeremy Abbot's performance wasn't the disaster his short program was, but he missed his quad, made other mistakes and the energy seemed to drain from him.  My heart goes out to the guy.  He looked anguished.

Football coach Tony Dunghy was in the audience and Scott Hamilton called him "an unbelievable man of quality."  Really Scott?  Have you read this?

Chan of Canada skated to Les Miz and Bel Amiesque Brezina of the Czech Republic skated to An American in Paris.  So much for butching up men's figure skating.   

Japan's Nobunari Oda had to stop in mid-performance because of his boot lace.  He was allowed to re-start.  Shades of Tonya Harding.

Handsome Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland "had no triple axel" according to Scott Hamilton.  Apparently this is a bad thing.  He was the silver medalist "in Torino."  Shouldn't Americans call it Turin?  Were the 1960 Olympics in Roma?  The '72 games in Muenchen? 

Scott Hamilton calls Johnny Weir a "free spirit."  I love all the euphemisms.  Johnny got shockingly low scores, but held his head high with a crown of roses.  He was true to himself every step of the way.  Great performance. 

Once again, the picture was blatantly stolen from Joe.My.God. 

Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday.  I was busy as a beaver at work and then dashed home to interview a home health care agency.  Then it was time for the Olympics. 

 

Johnny Weir in 6th Place After Short Program

Johnny Weir skated his short program in the Vancouver Olympics last night and as always, he remained true to himself.  His performance was beautiful and appeared flawless to my untrained eyes.   His costume was pink and black with a plunging neckline and he ended his routine by blowing kisses to the crowd.  The homophobic figure skating establishment would love for him to go away, and his surprisingly low scores reflected it.  I believe they will always score him lower than "straight" skaters like Evan Lysacek.  The NBC commentators, including totally butch former gold medalists Dick Button and Scott Hamilton repeatedly describe Johnny as "controversial" and "quirky."  They don't know what to do with this guy.

Russian Evgeni Plushenko finished the night in first place with Lysacek in second and Japan's Daisuke Takahashi in third. 

Picture blantantly stolen from Joe.My.God.

DA/DT Letter to Editor

I had a letter to the editor published today in The Dallas Morning News.  It was in response to this letter published last week:

... but one of honor


Before taking a position on the elimination of "don't ask, don't tell," self-appointed military experts should visit a Navy destroyer or fast attack submarine.


Spend a few days living in the crew's berthing compartment, sleeping head to toe. Get dressed while bumping into other sailors also trying to pull up their pants. Take a quick shower in a small stall with a clear plastic curtain while a room full of your towel-wrapped buddies brush their teeth, shave and await their turn in the "rain locker."


The chairman of the joint chiefs, Adm. Mike Mullen, says his views on gays serving openly now mirror those of the secretary of defense and the president. When Mullen was a young ensign just starting his career in the Navy, I was a chief petty officer on a cruiser in the Atlantic fleet. Had he been in need of advice, he likely would have come to someone like me. Were he to seek my advice today, I would tell him to speak the truth and resign.


The elimination of "don't ask, don't tell" is a mistake. An officer's honor has far more value than his position, and it is inexcusable to sacrifice the former to maintain the latter.

Jerry E. Deal, Dallas

I was angered by his tortured use of honor to justify ignorance and bigotry, so I replied. 

Here is my response (edited somewhat by the DMN):


Fear of gays shows ignorance

Re: "But one of honor," by Jerry E. Deal, Wednesday Letters.


In Deal's letter regarding "don't ask,don't tell," he attacked Adm. Mike Mullen's honor and explained the tight quarters of Navy ships.


Deal left it for the reader to imagine the supposed horrors of gay sailors in those quarters.


This fear of serving with gays is not honor. It's ignorance and exactly the sort of ignorance pandered to by this bankrupt law for too many years. I guarantee Mr. Deal served with gay sailors every day of his career.


I served as an Army officer and was one of countless gay service members who left voluntarily, because I could not live with the integrity compromises required of the gay ban.


I can't think of a better argument for repeal than Deal's letter.


Samuel Hawk, Dallas
 
If you click on the link, you can read the comments people have posted in response to my letter.  At least as of 1:15 PM, many of them were positive.

Monday's Man: James McAvoy

You know I love my James McAvoy, so I decided to revisit my favorite Scottish actor with a hot shot from his incredibly dumb movie Wanted, co-starring a hopefully well-paid Angelina Jolie.   It may have been dumb, but it was well worth seeing for this scene alone.

This weekend I saw him in the sublime The Last Station, in which he reclaimed the mantle of an actor of stature.  Here he is sharing a scene with the devine Helen Mirren, holding his own (and what more could we expect from an actor in her presence):

And finally, here he is in the clutches of his love interest, Kerry Condon:

Whatever.  I still love him.

Snow Record Smashed

The record for a one-day snowfall in Dallas was 7.5 inches until yesterday when we got 12.5.  The day before, the weather folks were predicting a little snow on the morning switching over to a rain/snow mix.  All in all, it wasn't supposed to amount to much.  Shows how much they know.  The good news is the temperature never dropped below 32, and it's now about 33.  Things are slushy but not icy.  The bad news I've got a hair appointment today!  How will I face the weekend without a wash and set? 

It's Still Snowing!

It's now 6:20 Central Time and it's been snowing nonstop since before I got up this morning.  We're set to break the snowfall record for Dallas.  OK, that's 7.5 inches which would seem like a breath of spring in DC, but it's still a lot of snow.  At least one cute furry boy named Trevor loves it. 

It was tough getting those pictures because he was running around and around like crazy, plowing thorough the snow, eating the snow, rolling around in the snow, loving every minute. 

Snowgasm Hits Dallas!

This is what greeted me this morning.  I know, I know, those of you in the northeast are laughing at our piddly little snowfall, but it's supposed to continue most of the day and this is Dallas!  We don't do snow.  Plus, I have jury duty of all things, and the courts are open so I have to go mush out into it.  I must have my man hitch up the sleigh. Now, where are my Julie Christie furs? 

Snowgasm!

All the media hype surrounding the Snowpocalypse/Snowmageddon/
Snowmygod hitting the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic reminds me of the Great Blizzard of 1973.  What?  You don't remember the Great Blizzard of 1973?   You must not have grown up in the Southeast.   On February 9 of that year, it started snowing in South Carolina and we ended up with 2 feet in some places.  Even the beaches were snowed in, see?

I was a kid in North Augusta, SC at the time and I remember my mother going out to the patio table with a ruler every hour or so.  "We have 3 inches, Sam!"  "It's up to 6 inches!"  Eventually, she had to replace the ruler with a yard stick because we got 18 inches at our house, as scientifically measured by mom on the patio table.  I remember flopping into snowbanks wading into snow up to my waist.  I had never experienced more than a few inches before and was out of my mind with excitement.  I got to miss school too, which was key. 

Then I experienced the Great Blizzard of 1996 in Charlottesville, Virginia, picture below. 

Sure, it was exciting, but the excitement wore thin when I had to shovel the driveway and go to work.  Snow sucks when you're an adult.  Now that I live in Dallas, an occasional snow to make things pretty is great, and when it melts by the afternoon, it's perfect.  To all of you in the snow zone, you have my sympathies.

Sanctity of Marriage Watch

John Edwards and Rielle Hunter are reportedly getting married and plan to live on the beach in California.  Thank God California voters protected marriage from the homosexual menace. 

Films of Whatever That Decade Was Called

From Paul Proulx via Andrew Sullivan comes this lovely compilation called Films of the 2000s.  Enjoy. 


the films of the 2000s from Paul Proulx on Vimeo.

Dan Choi Back on Duty

The U.S. Army has called 1LT Dan Choi back to duty and he's currently doing what he does best, defending America!   His discharge is not final until his commander signs off on it and he's not pushing it.  Why should he?  Choi's a fine officer and we're fighting two wars.  We need to keep the best of the best on the job.  Read all about it here.

Carrie Prejean to Marry a Man

From New York Lazy Circles Bureau Chief Doug comes news that de-throned Miss California Carrie Prejean is getting married!  Opposite married to a man!  He's a hunky quarterback, see? 

Well, why not?  Carrie's a hot gal.  The marriage is doomed, of course.  Since Wes and I got gay married no hetero marriage can stand the strain.  It's the mission of all gays to destroy hetero marriage, right?  Good try, Carrie, but my advice is sign a pre-nup.

"I Will Live, I Will Die for the People of America"

That's how Sarah Palin ended her speech to the Tea Baggers convention last night at Opryland in Nashville.  Seriously.  It wasn't ironic, it was serious and the audience bought it.  After a fact-free speech filled with cliches, digs at Obama, Christianism, and vague references to ideas she doesn't understand, she had the crowd on their feet, cheering wildly.  Today, we find out that the sportscaster who attended five different community colleges would be "willing" to run for President in 2012 (warning:  that's a Fox News link).  In other words, the 2012 Presidential election started last night and Sarah Palin's in it. 

Andrew Sullivan live-blogged the speech just in case you missed it.  You can read his excellent coverage here.   

Monday's Man: Scott Fujita

In honor of today's Super Bowl, I'm posting Monday's Man a little early with New Orleans Saints Linebacker Scott Fujita.  He's not only playing for a Super Bowl ring today, he's an outspoken supporter of gay rights.  Go here to read his interview on the Equality March last fall.  An excerpt:

"By in large in this country the issue of gay rights and equality should be past the point of debate. Really, there should be no debate anymore. For me, in my small platform as a professional football player, I understand that my time in the spotlight is probably limited. The more times you have to lend your name to a cause you believe in, you should do that."

The straight, married father of two was adopted by a Japanese-American father and a caucasion mother.  This helps explain why issues of marriage equality and adoption by gay couples resonate with him. 

All right, now that I've gone all serious with Monday's Man, I need to point out that Scott Fujita is also insanely hot.  Check out these pictures below that I blatantly stole from Kenneth in the 212 (go check out Kenneth's entire post):

Professional football players are not usually my type.  Scott is a big exception.  Really big.  He's got looks, brains, and the confidence to speak out of gay rights.  This may be the sexiest Monday's Man ever.

Smoke the Bigots Out

You have to read Frank Rich's column in today's New York Times about the push to end Don't Ask/Don't Tell.  An excerpt:

"To a degree unimaginable as recently as 2004 — when Karl Rove and George W. Bush ran a national campaign exploiting fear of gay people — there is now little political advantage to spewing homophobia. Indeed, anti-gay animus is far more likely to repel voters than attract them."

Go read the whole thing here.

Weekend Movies Anyone?

What's up this weekend with you guys?  Going to any of the newly released movies?  Here in Dallas the big new movie is Dear John, the latest Nicholas Sparks tale of love at a Carolina beach.  The Dallas Morning News gave it a D and called it "as bland as unseasoned grits."  That's pretty bland.  On the up side, it stars Channing Tatum and since it's set at a beach, there's absolutely no reason for him to ever wear a shirt.  It also has charming Amanda Seyfried from Mamma Mia.  I'm still not going to see it. 

Maybe you want to see From Paris with Love starring John Travolta with a gotee and Jonathan Rees Myers in the oddest pairing of the year.  Another D from the DMN.  I'd rather drive a Toyota than be forced to see it.

Then there's Frozen, about three attractive young people slowly freezing to death because they're improbably trapped on a ski lift for a week.  It got a B, but I'm not going.  93 minutes of slow agony in the cold does not sound like a fun night at the movies.

Finally, the DMN gave a B to Killing Kasztner:  The Jew Who Dealt With Nazis which is a documentary about a man who saved Hungarian Jews.  A good documentary is right up my alley, but I have to be in the mood to see a holocaust film that's described as "methodical and overlong." 

I'm about the only person left on Earth who hasn't seen Avatar.   I'm on the fence, but I guess I should see it now that it has all those Oscar nominations, being an Oscar queen and all.  It seems like a very trite story told in a visually stunning way so I haven't been able to get very enthusiastic.  Have any of you seen it?  What did you think? 

Mehcad Brooks is a Calvin Klein Model

You're probably not interested, but just in case I thought I'd post it as a public service. 

You can click it to make him bigger. 

Source

Obama Condemns Gay Genocide at National Prayer Breakfast

Both Secretary Clinton and President Obama spoke at the Family-sponsored National Prayer Breakfast and spoke out about the gay genocide bill in Uganda.  The National Prayer Breakfast is not, as many people assume, some ecumenical love-fest.  It's sponsored by the fundamentalist Family, the very group who's members sponsored the hideous bill in Uganda.   I believe Obama and Clinton had no business being there, but I'm glad they confronted the ugliness. 

Park Your Toyota

On the heels of a recall of a gazillion Toyota and Lexus models over deadly sticking accelerator pedals, the National Transportation Safety Administration is now looking into complaints about breaks on the 2010 Prius.  Apparently a Prius can experience a temporary loss of breaking power on bumpy or slippery surfaces, in other words, exactly when you need complete control of the car.  Prius is Toyota's marquee car, symbolic of the company's quality and advanced technology.  Just don't drive it over a bump.

Interestingly, the Tacoma pick-up truck was not included in the sticking-pedal recall even though there have been reports of sticking pedals in those vehicles as well. 

Last year, I bought a lovely pre-owned Infiniti.  Pretty, huh?

A few months later, a close friend bought a pre-owned Lexus.  The Lexus was gorgeous and seemed more luxurious than the Infiniti.  I felt a twinge of jealousy.  Not any more.

Welcome, Soldier!

I was looking at the little circling globe on my blog this morning and noticed someone from an APO in Europe (meaning a military installation) was reading Lazy Circles.  Check in often!

Quote of the Day

"The reason why I supported the policy to start with is because General Colin Powell, who was then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the one that strongly recommended we adopt this policy in the Clinton administration. I have not heard General Powell or any of the other military leaders reverse their position, just like when on other issues, that people are expert and knowledgeable of, I rely on their opinion. But this is unique. These military leaders are responsible for the very lives of the men and women under their command, and that's why I am especially guided, to a large degree, by their views."

Senator John McCain, yesterday


“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,” General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: “I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen.”

General Colin Powell, today

Gates and Mullen both endorsed President Obama's plan to end Don't Ask/Don't Tell.

What will Senator Integrity do now? 

Quote of the Day

"The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to."

Senator John McCain, 2006.

Today, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff did exactly that.

Gates and Mullen Call for End to DA/DT

Defense Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff testified before Congress today and called for an end to Don't Ask/Don't Tell. Mullen said

“No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”

This was always my biggest objection to the law and the reason I left the military after 12 years.  It's about integrity.  Gays in the military are required to betray their personal integrity.  I left the Army as a Major and gave up all retirement benefits because I could no longer live with the hypocrisy and the double life.  I was senior enough that I was being called on more and more to be a part of the enforcement mechanism of DA/DT.  I always successfully avoided personal involvement in kicking out gay soldiers and, on several occasions, talked commanders out of starting new investigations into homosexuality.  Ultimately though, I got to the point where I could no longer be a part of an institution with an official policy of discrimination against of my own people.  I told myself I was working to undermine the policy from the inside, but that was a rationalization.  As an Army officer, I was part of the problem.  Besides, as a lawyer, I couldn't do what my client, the Army, wanted me to do, which was persecute gays.  So I got out.

Gates and Mullen are calling for more studies and any repeal is far off, but this is progress.      

Oscar Nom Madness!

The Oscar nominations have been announced and how did I do with my predictions?  Don't ask.  Let's just move on.  Here's a full list of all nominations.  Of course I watched it live this morning on Good Morning America and loved seeing Gabby Sidibe moments after the announcement.  She's just precious (I crack myself up).  Here are my thoughts on the nominations:

Supporting Actress:  Penelope Cruz may be waiting with her legs open, but this is a one-woman race.  Mo'nique will win and she should win.  Nice to see Maggie Gyllenhaal get nominated.  That was about as close as the Oscars got to a surprise this year.  I believe this is the third Gyllenhaal nomination.  Maybe one day there will be a Gyllenhaal win.  The two Up in the Air gals were great, but I didn't think either performance was Oscar worthy, but nobody asked me. 

Supporting Actor:  Another one-man race.  Christopher Plummer will certainly get a lot of votes for his very overdue nomination, but Christoph Waltz has won everything this year and there's no reason to believe he'll be denied the Oscar.  Nice to see Matt Damon get his first nomination.  I've always been on Team Matt.  Wes is on Team Ben, but I can overlook that.  I love that my secret lover Stanley Tucci got his first nomination.  I haven't seen The Lovely Bones and don't really want to, and have read very negative things about his performance.  I still love him.  Woody Harrelson has always gotten on my nerves.  If someone was going to get nominated for The Messenger, I would have preferred Samantha Morton.

Best Actress:  I believe this is a two-woman race between Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock and I predict that Bullock will win.  There's a feeling that this is her one shot at an award-winning dramatic role and she will never be better.  I adore Meryl and LOVED her in this movie, but Julie and Julia isn't exactly Sophie's Choice II. If she didn't win for Doubt, she's probably not going to win for this.  The most deserving in the field is Gabourey Sidibe, with Helen Mirren as the dark horse.  Gabby needs to get her cute self out there, charm all those Oscar voters and score an upset.   

Best Actor:  One-man race again as Jeff Bridges continues his awards sweep.  Colin Firth is the most deserving, but all those old farts in the Academy think queers are icky.  Morgan Freeman and George Clooney are battling it out for the title of Meryl Streep of actors.

Best Director:  It's Katherine Bigelow's year.  I'd love to see Lee Daniels win, but see what I said about Colin Firth above.

Best Picture:  District 9!  Good movie that would never ever have had a chance at Best Picture had they not changed the rules.  Maybe this 10-nomination thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.  Avatar and The Blind Side should bring in the masses and up the ratings.  I'm disappointed that A Single Man didn't get a slot, but, again, read what I said about Colin Firth above.  I think this is a battle between The Hurt Locker and Avatar.  I give the nod to Hurt Locker.

Oscar Noms are Tomorrow!

Mark your calendars for the opening of the Gay Super Bowl season.  Here are my predictions for a few of the big awards:







Best Picture

Nine
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Up
A Single Man
Up in the Air
Precious
Inglorious Basterds
The Blind Side
Crazy Heart

Best Director

Katherine Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
James Cameron for making a fortune Avatar
Lee Daniels for Precious
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Quinton Tarantino for Inglorious Basterds

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges for The Fisher King Crazy Heart
Colin Firth for A Single Man
Jeremy Renner for Hurt Locker
George Clooney for Up in the Air
Tobey Maguire for Brothers

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock for The Blindside
Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Carey Mulligan for An Overrated Education
Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Meryl Streep for Julie and Julia

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer for lifetime achievement The Last Station
Stanley Tucci for The Devil Wears Prada The Lovely Bones
Christophe Waltz for Inglorious Basterds
Christian McKay for Me and Orson Wells

Supporting Actress

Marion Cotillard for Nine
Vera Farmiga for finally breaking through Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick for best cute young find Up in the Air
Mo'nique for Precious
Samantha Morton for The Messenger

I've purposely thrown in some long shots so you can realize my brilliance if they're nominated.

Monday's Man: Clinton Kelly

When Sean of Just a Jeep Guy sent me this picture of Clinton Kelly in his boxer shorts I knew I had my Monday's Man.  In my Miss America post, I noted that the host of What Not to Wear and Behind the Scenes at Miss America mentioned that he recently got married.  Surely he meant married to a man right?  In comments, Sean cleared it up.  Clinton is one of our people. 

Of course he is, who else could work layers like this? 

And look this flawless in a suit?  Go check out Seans' blog.