Ameriqueer

Check out my newest post on Bilerico.com: Let the President go golf, I'd rather Michelle anyway . I can't believe its a scant two weeks until the National Equality March! While I fend off my haters ("BENEDICTIA ARNOLD!") and pack my cutest protest undies, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the fact that the President will be on the other coast--in San Francisco no less (gayer than the march)--while we're all making our way down 15th St., around Lafayette Park, past the White House and down Pennsylvania Avenue to our nation's great Capitol. Golfing. Typical straight. My number two reason for being against the march when I was against the march was that I questioned the wisdom of being there when the President and Congress would not be. Even Bill Clinton attended the Millennium March (via video, that is). Then again, which Senators and Representatives were going to attend? Probably the ones who will be there anyways. Jerrold Nadler? Check. Tammy Baldwi

Ameriqueer has a new look update--similar to the old look, but with new colors and the addition of a sweet new logo made by Bilerico's Austen Crowder (who rocks, by the way). Look out later today for the long anticipated return of the Ameriqueer recap. Tell me if you like the new layout. I want to lead you to the best news stories of the day in the most effective way possible. If you think there's a way that I can do things any better, please let me know. Finally, don't forget there's two ways to get Ameriqueer updates in your RSS reader. The first is obviously this blog's feed. http://feeds2.feedburner.com/Ameriqueer Second is to get our twitter feed in your RSS reader inbox. You will get breaking updates on LGBT news and information all day long. http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/60435126.rss Its the best way for you to stay on top of the nation's most important LGBT news every day. And if you twitter, follow @Ameriqueer. http://twitter.com/ameri

A Gentleman Need Not Always be Nice, Nor Need the Open Mind Forever be Neutral "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' " In the words of one of my favorite living gay men, stop talking to the dining room tables! Let us be clear, my friends. Creatures like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter are not human. They are characters of their own devising; they are caricatures of human villainy. People who reduce themselves to monsters are appropriately regarded as monsters. They do not deserve the respect and dignity given to the least of humanity, for they are wolves in woolen garments, ghouls wearing the human form. Having dwelt too long in prideful isolation, they were long ago possessed by the desert demon, Selfishness, and, like al

My response to Pam Spaulding's Tech Powered Gay-Rights Movement was too long for the Huffington Post, so I decided to move it here. and then link to the rest of it on HuffPo for anyone who cares to read: I'm so with you Pam! New Media is opening doors for the LGBT liberation movement that have not been opened before. However, we can't forget that these are free, online services--the Far Right has just as much access to these things as we do. We need to stay ahead of the curve, we need to empower individuals--deputize everyone to be a voice for the movement, and give them the power of knowledge and history so that they can speak with authority. As far as grassroots vs traditional organizations in the future of the movement: I'm a member of many of those organizations, and I still see their value. However, our newly empowered grassroots efforts should be informing the 'big organizations' and not the other way around. We are desperately in need of a national

OK, so after the biggest flip-flop since "I was for the war before I was against it," I'm now gearing up to ready for my first March on Washington. Bil Browning jokingly threatened to go through Bilerico.com and find all of the instances where I said I would NOT be attending the march and repost them all prominently. Like Madonna, "now I find I've changed my mind." Why not? A lot of great things could happen. If you're still against the March, I have no intention of trying to change your mind. I probably share many of your same reservations, believe it or not. However, I've personally weighed out the pros and cons for myself; not the pros and cons for everyone, mind you, just my personal reasons for going and not going. I still maintain that the March's planning process has been... lets say... less than perfect. Then again, perfection isn't a requirement for being a good activist or leader. Just an attempt to do what's right at

Please check out my latest piece at the Bilerico project, " Dear Chicago Gays: I'm so sorry! " About a month and a half ago, I was in Chicago for Market Days where I met up with a few of my friends from Chicago. No surprise, most are gay men, but one in particular is a straight, Indian woman with a great sense of humor. It just so happened that on Friday night, we decided we ought to show her all of the glorious bars of Boystown--dancing and partying all night long. We somehow ended up in Cocktail (huge surprise, really). For those of you who don't know Boystown well, Cocktail is a tiny bar at the corner of Roscoe and Halstead that features glittery and muscular male go-go dancers. Our foreign female friend had never seen go-go dancers before. She was fascinated, but needed some social lubrication (tequila) before she could approach the dancer and daintily slide him a $1 tip. Six shots later, she was covered in glittery stripper-sweat and excitedly doling out all

Please Read my newest Bilerico post: A Very Special Recording with a Very Special Guy . Whenever I record an episode of Lundon Calling with Ace Lundon and Lance Helms, I generally end up in tears, doubled over in laughter at some point. If you don't know him, Ace is a pretty goofy guy. An old-school activist from way-back-when, and an Entertainment Business legend; he's been in the business for longer than God. He knows how to get a laugh. He knows everyone, and he's always got a silly anecdote. Last night, Ace recorded his first "remote" episode from Reno, Nevada where Ace spent several years in the 80's with his partner of 13 years, Patrick. We were joined, as usual by Lance Helms in Atlanta, as well as Ace's friend in Reno, Angela Brooks. We started recording an hour later than usual, and our producer, "Spiderman," warned me in advance that we weren't going to be watching the clock--which made me a little cranky. Despite that, last ni

Since the school year began, you've probably noticed that the blog isn't putting out the post/day it was doing before, and the Daily Recap has completely disappeared. Well, don't fret, if you're wondering where you can get your diverse LGBT news from, I've got an RSS feed for you. http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/60435126.rss This is the Ameriqueer twitter RSS feed . Every day @Ameriqueer tweets dozens of news stories from the best LGBT/PWA news sources across the web. From amazing blogs like Bilerico , Pam's House Blend , Joe.My.God , Blabbeando , Rod 2.0 , Good As You , to time-honored LGBT/PWA publications like 365gay.com , the Advocate and Poz Magazine . There are also some interesting new players like @latestlgbtscien , @TransNewsGirl and the @NathanOUTLoud Podcast. Find out when a new episode of your favorite LGBT PodCast is up-- Lundon Calling . Don't forget that @Ameriqueer will also let you know what there's new content at yo

N FREDRICKSON--True Hedonism : The Philosophy of Being Gay "Well," said Pooh, "what I like best—" and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. My dear gay friends, love yourselves. Let the goal of your life be named Pleasure; consider Happiness the highest good. Set no god, ideal, or person above it. Denounce as a blasphemer and apostate of Truth anyone who proclaims a higher value, for those who are not rich in self-love will find their treasury empty when they seek to enrich others. Seek in all things the maximization of Pleasure. However, having decided to be happy and to be a faithful follower pleasure, use all your resources in its pursuit and acquisition. We are rational animals. We should, then, use our cunning to increase and sustain our pleasures. And, although we live in a world

This was one of my earlier published poems. Of course, it was only Published in the Central Review--but it was published nonetheless. I did get a lot of attention for it, and I'm particularly proud of it. Reflection following. 16 ACRE CEMETERY After the dust had settled, they went to work piecing together the mystery. They knew it had been a fire, and not just impact that caused it, but just how they weren't positive. As they watched each double-H orange piece of steel lifted away by crane, and ran index and middle and ring over the porous surface, they concluded that-while the impact hadn't been the final factor, it started a chain of events that was irreversible: you see, when the American Airlines Flight 11 carrying ninety-some women and men, children, grandmothers, uncles, mentors, teachers, bag-boys, producers, guy down the street with the pretty dog; goes jogging in the neighborhood--black leash contrast to colorful shiny nylon jogging suit-says 'Hi " to yo

I Have a new post up on Bilerico.com about the good that came from Joe Wilson's heckling of the president last night. Netroots Magic: Joe Wilson's trashing is Rob Miller's treasure Last night when the tweets began flooding in about S.C. G.O.P. Rep. Joe Wilson's misguided heckling of the President of the United States, I was preparing to record another episode of Lundon Calling , the weekly podcast I co-co-host with Ace Lundon and Lance Helms. None of us really had the opportunity to see it live, so I wasn't really sure what to make of the comments about someone throwing shade at the president. I thought it was merely the general raucous booing that Democrats also hammed up for Bush like a VH1 "____ Of Love" contestant. "I agree--totally classless--but you have a short memory. Dems did same to Bush in state of union." I tweeted back to some friends. But my interest was piqued, During the first part of the show, Ace sort of takes the lead, so

Last week's Lundon Calling was a very queer look at history, from one of gay history's MAKERS, Mr. Ace Lundon himself. Of course, Lance had left us behind AGAIN, so it sort of had a funereal feel to the show. It's always a little less jovial without Lance's glass clinking there. THIS WEEK LANCE IS BACK, and I can't wait to find out what Ace has cooked up for us tonight when we record. In the mean time, please take a listen to last week's edition of Lundon Calling !

PLEASE VISIT BILERICO.COM FOR THE ORIGINAL POST ! AN EASY WAY TO DOUBLE YOUR MONEY - BIL BROWNING For the next 48 hours, a generous Projector has made an offer to the Bilerico community that can't be ignored! Our reader will match up to $1000 total raised on Bilerico if at least 12 people donate in the next 48 hours. Donate to No On 1/Maine Marriage Equality via Bilerico's ActBlue page and your donation will be doubled ! We currently stand at 13 contributors who've donated $565 to Maine. We need 25 donorsby noon on Thursday to get the matching funds. Our donor will match the total amount of contributions raised by our new donors up to $1000. We've set a goal of raising $5000 from the Bilerico communities for the fight in Maine. That's paltry compared to the Maine Catholic Bishop's decree that all Catholic churches in Maine will hold a special second collection next Sunday for the anti-gay forces pushing the referendum. Don't miss this chance to get double

In my Bilerico Post, " Where you can help us win today ," I gave a detailed background behind my 10 LGBT Campaigns Project for the fall. You know what the 10 are, now understand why I did it. Also, for every person that comes to the post on either Bilerico or here, and comments that they gave to the campaigns because of the post, I'll give $1 to each of the 9 campaigns remaining (up to $180). So I'll give up to 20 times to all 9 campaigns if 20 people tell me that my post in Bilerico or here on Ameriqueer inspired them to contribute to them. Read " Where you can help us win today ." "What's so important about local races? I don't care about marriage! I don't care about things happening in another state. I don't understand why I should support local causes when we can apply a band-aid to D.C. and everything will instantly be all better--bye bye boo-boos! "After all, the laws that are made in Washington apply to all of the states

There's more to LGBT politics than what's happening in D.C. Though I do support the National Equality March , I disagree with some that D.C. is ALWAYS where its at. Our local LGBT campaigns are rocking HARD! This year's seen more local wins than ever before. Across the country, we're turning out local victories while the lobbyists in D.C. are still trying to schedule meetings. What will happen to momentum nationally if we start to win ALL of our local contests? In order to win, we need to support. we can't support every single local campaign this Fall, but perhaps 10 to focus on for starters, and build from there. What would happen if 100 people gave just $10 to each of these 10 campaigns? What if those 100 people were 1000 people? Do you think you could convince just 10 people to give $100--$10 each--to these campaigns, and then in turn have them convince 10 more people to do the same? Monday, I released my list of 10 campaigns . Tuesday, I gave you 10-7 : 10 . Wi

I missed last week --I'm sure the boys had a ball without me. However, here is the last episode I appeared on with Lance and Ace , and the week before it was just Ace and I by our lonesomes! This week, Lance will once again be missing, but we are going to have a very special guest: Ace's good friend Becky Groves! Bottoms up! ...tops too!

Here it is: Bil Browning's birthday gift to me ! "It's a birthday !" by Bil Browning Let's see who we've got in today's birthday column? Why, it's Phil Reese! Don't believe me? He told you so himself ! Normally I just post an embarrassing childhood picture of the contributor and encourage everyone to leave snarky comments about how old they are. Since Phil is one of the contributors I've actually met in person (he's only a couple of hours away), I feel obligated to give him a little... more. You see, poor Phil's boyfriend ran off to DC this morning with another man.* You'll note that Phil obviously has a drinking problem** (as shown in the standard childhood photo to the right***), so I'm sure this latest mishap will only reinforce his abandonment issues. Should you wish to find Phil tonight and give him your best regards, he'll be hanging out at Billy Bob's Beer, Bottoms & Bar Floozies celebrating with the first fl

As I began yesterday, I think there's more to LGBT politics than what's happening in D.C. Though I did endorse the National Equality March today , I disagree with the organizers that D.C. is ALWAYS where its at. Our local snowball is rolling. This year's seen more local wins than ever before. From Vermont to Maine to Iowa, we're turning out local victories while the lobbyists in D.C. are still getting away messages. What will happen to momentum nationally if we start to win ALL of our local contests? In order to win, we need to support. we can't support every single local campaign this Fall, but perhaps 10 to focus on for starters, and build from there. What would happen if 100 people gave just $10 to each of these 10 campaigns? What if those 100 people were 1000 people? Do you think you could convince just 10 people to give $100--$10 each--to these campaigns, and then in turn have them convince 10 more people to do the same? Do you see where I'm going here?

So funny story... Apparently I endorsed the National Equality March yesterday. I found out in a peculiar way... when I read my name on the list. As surprised as anyone who has read my opinions about it, or spoken with me lately. However, I want to go ahead and endorse it anyway, even though I probably should have been followed up with before this list was made. The march is not a negative, but a positive. There are problems, but overall I believe in what this march is trying to do. My newest Bilerico Post: The Equality March Endorsement List and Me Yesterday, Towleroad unveiled a massive roster of A-list supporters for the National Equality March. We'll be marching next to my boyhood crush Chad Allen, Mad Men's Bryan Batt, my current crush Dustin Lance Black, Alan Cummings, Harvey Fierstein, the ever-gorgeous Judith Light, Jack Mackenroth, Judy Shepard, Charlize Theron, Bruce Vilanch and Judge David Young this National Coming Out Day. It's an illustrious list full of

There's more to LGBT politics than what's happening in D.C. This year, we've seen more local wins than ever before in our movement's history. From Vermont to Maine to Iowa, we're turning out local victories while the lobbyists in D.C. are still getting answering machines. What will happen nationally if we start to win ALL of our local contests? In order to win, we need to support. You and I can't support every single local campaign this Fall, but perhaps we can pick 10 to support with just a little bit of money today, and then get our friends to support those 10 too. What would happen if 100 people gave just $10 to each of these 10 campaigns? Each campaign could pay for the type of leg-work they need to change minds and hearts. What if those 100 people were 1000 people? Do you think you could convince just 10 people to give $100--$10 each--to these campaigns, and then in turn convince 10 more people to do the same? Do you see where I'm going here? Ye