When Celebs "Out" Us...

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about Brad Pitt, and one the comments posted by a reader resonated with me: 

"I had to face the fact that I was gay after watching Legends of the Fall."

After reading that, it occurred to me that this otherwise innocuous comment scratched the surface of a larger, more profound question: how many gay people realized they were gay after discovering a certain celeb or public figure?

Should Sarah Palin Step Down?

There is a growing chorus of political pundits calling for Sarah Palin to step down as John McCain's running mate.

Fareed Zakaria, who hosts CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, is among them. In a recent column that ran in both Newsweek and The Washington Post, he called Palin "utterly unqualified to be vice president" and encouraged her to get out of race. He even offered her the perfect excuse, suggesting she tell everyone that she wants to spend more time with her family.

Hey, I'd buy it. Wink, wink!

Meanwhile, even the Republicans, who were once so in love with Palin, want her out of the race.

Op-ed: Keep Same-Sex Marriage OUT of Election

Much attention has been recently paid to the scant amount of attention both McCain and Obama are paying to gay issues. Indeed,with same-sex marriage amendments pending in three states (California, Florida and Arizona), the two candidates have been, for the most part, surprisingly mum.

I for one do not want gay marriage becoming the high-profile, lightning rod it was eight, and then again, four, years ago. And clearly after last night's Vice-Presidential debate, they don't want it to either. In a moment of awkward harmony both Palin and Biden were quick to say they supported civil unions but do not want and/or support a redefinition of marriage. There's enough mishigoss for them to discuss and debate (like, uh, the war, the economy); and without placing a moral value on which issue is more important than the other, gay marriage is simply reduced to an (un)welcome distraction that no one wants to deal with.

How to distract America from a trainwreck

OK, how's your retirement fund doing this afternoon? The Dow lost more than 750 points on the House's rejection of the bailout (how did your member of Congress vote?) and even European banks are scrambling.

One reporter who hasn't yet been kicked off John McCain's plane says the campaign has just the ticket to get America feeling good again: They're planning Bristol Palin's and Levi Johnston's wedding.

UPDATE: Didn't work! People are still upset! McCain pulls out all the stops: He's now offered to suspend his campaign again to help resolve the Wall Street bailout crisis.

Never again: The "Crisis" of gays in America

(All photos courtesy "Crisis" book)
There are certain symbolic foods that are eaten on Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year in order to sweeten the coming 12 months.

Visibility, Here and Now

Is gay-bashing on the rise again or does it just feel like it here in the DC metro area?  In the past month, we’ve learned about two hate crimes in our area. The first, in DC, resulted in the death of the victim.

Presenting Mrs. & Mrs. McCann

We are Chrissann L. M. (right) & Laura L. M. McCann and have been together since 3/18/05.

On our one year anniversary we registered as domestic partners.  At this time this was the way we could make our relationship the most legal within our own state.  There was no ceremony for this and no officiant, just paperwork. 

Weigh in Now: Who Won the Debate?

After a week of speculation over whether or not it would actually happen, Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama just squared off in the first Presidential Debate of the 2008 election.

PepsiCo, Levi's Go All Out To Support Gay Causes: Are You Impressed?

(Getty Images) I have friends who rail against the evils of corporate America all the time (and I do, too, on occasion), but if I could wrap my arms around corporate America today and give it a big hug, I would. That's because two big companies—PepsiCo and Levi Strauss & Co.—have lent their support to major gay causes in recent days.

Let's start with PepsiCo. The PepsiCo Foundation, which oversees the company's charitable donations, just gave $500,000 to PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). Yes, $500,000! The money will be used to fund PFLAG's Straight for Equality program, which is aimed at encouraging straight people who might not have a direct connection to the gay and lesbian community through a family member to join the cause for gay rights.

From Matt's mouth to God's ear

(Getty Images)
A few days ago, we blogged that Matt Damon likened Sarah Palin's nomination to the GOP ticket to "a really bad Disney movie." Someone at collegehumor.com has now made the trailer to that movie. Check out "Head of Skate."

But hey, I skated for 10 years, and I never went out without being quintuple-prepared for anything. My coach had us do drills an hour a day, five days a week. I broke bones, and I skated with broken bones. Watching hockey from the boards is like watching Russia from your house. Sarah, you're no skater.

In fact, there are gays out there who'd probably make a better Sarah than Sarah herself. Take our challenge, and show us your Sarah Palin!