Jason Kenney and the Fake War on Christmas

OK I have to admit it, Jason Kenney would NOT be my first choice to play Santa Claus.

And I did think he was just a little too chubby, and not quite green enough to play the Grinch.

But surprise surprise, that is who he is playing.

The Bigot Rob Ford and the Homeless Gay Kids

OK. I know that only last night I strongly suggested that the time had come to ignore Rob Ford.

That since by now it has been clearly established that he is a crass bully, a vulgar misogynist, a low life thug, and a filthy bigot.

All that remained was to defeat him, humiliate him.

Or let nature takes its course...



If the Polar Bear God of the Great White North should choose to save us that way.

But I can't ignore this.

Kathleen Wynne and the Gay Kids

I haven't written about Kathleen Wynne becoming Ontario's first woman and lesbian Premier, for a couple of reasons.

One, I hate writing the words "openly gay." You're either gay or you're not.

And two because at this point in the 21st Century I didn't think it should be a big deal.

But sadly I was wrong. For the flood of articles and blog posts claiming it doesn't matter, clearly show it does.

When Assaulting the Homeless is Funny

I don't know whether this video of some loser apparently urinating on an unconscious homeless person is real.

The video that lasts 27-seconds shows a young man approaching a man sleeping on the sidewalk outside what appears to be Toronto's Eaton Centre. 

With his back to the camera he appears to urinate on the sleeping man while his friends can be heard laughing off-camera. The victim doesn't react and appears to remain asleep as his head and hair are soaked. 

Or a sick hoax.

When Gay Kids are Made Invisible

As if gay kids aren't persecuted enough. As if they aren't insulted, hurt, killed, or driven to suicide just because of who they are, and who they love.

As if it wasn't hideous enough that in some Catholic schools in Ontario, gay kids aren't allowed to use the word "gay."

Or must hide their banned rainbow symbol in cup cakes...

Now some writers are being told to erase young gay characters from works of fiction.

Two American authors have revealed that they were told by a literary agent to "straighten" a gay character in their post-apocalyptic young adult novel if they wished to be represented.

Make them invisible, as if gay kids don't exist. As if they were too awful to write about. 

"I work with teenagers, and some of them are gay. They never get to read fantasy novels where people like them are the heroes, and that's not right".

When you refuse to allow major characters in YA novels to be gay, you are telling gay teenagers that they are so utterly horrible that people like them can't even be allowed to exist in fiction."

Which is so profoundly evil, it reminds me of how the theocratic fascists in Iran try to make gays invisible, by claiming there aren't any in that country.

Even though they hang them...

So how have LGBT people in Iran reacted to those attempts to cower them, or make them invisible?

Answer: by setting up a wonderful Facebook page. And declaring we are EVERYWHERE.

We are queer, we are everywhere, we are fabulous, don't mess with us!

Which just happens to be the same message I would send to every homophobe on earth.

Screw off eh? Shove your bigotry up your fundamentalism.

We are here, we refuse to disappear. Despite your murderous efforts our love is still here.

And it is fiercely BATTLING...

Three Simple Words that Can Save a Life

About ten years ago I saw a young couple throw themselves in front of a subway train at the McGill metro station in downtown Montreal. It was all over in a flash.

All I saw was two people on the opposite platform suddenly rush forward, and then the body of one of them lying like a rag doll under the middle of the train when it came to a full stop.

But the incident haunted me for years. I couldn't help thinking if only I had been on the  other platform, I might have been able to do something to save them.

So I can't help but note, even on a Saturday night, that today was World Suicide Prevention Day. Because suicide is a huge problem in Canada and not enough is being done about it.

Every month about three hundred Canadians take their own lives, and many more attempt it. The young and the old are particularly vulnerable, and so are the mentally ill.

In native communities, where suicide rates are many times the rate of non-native Canadians, they call Autumn the suicide season. And what's happening in one native community is an absolute horror show.

Pikangikum, a fly-in community of 2,400 people in northwestern Ontario, is thought to have the highest suicide rate in the world...Of the 16 suicides examined by the coroner, four of the children were 12.

The top recommendation is for Ottawa to build a school in Pikangikum to replace the one that burned down four years ago. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada has committed to rebuild it, but that has not yet happened.

Our failure to stop this slaughter of our suffering native youth is a gaping wound in the side of this country. Our apparent inability to talk openly about our suicide problem only makes things worse.   

The good news, and the point of Suicide Prevention Day, is that we CAN do something about it. We can force governments to do more, we can help more Canadians choose life, and we can help reduce the shattering pain of those who loved them and lost them so suddenly.

We just have to educate ourselves about the problem.  We have to be able to recognize the symptoms and the warnings in those we know and love, know what to say and how to help them.

But perhaps the simplest and most effective thing we can do as ordinary people is just say "TALK TO ME."

Which just happens to be this year's slogan of The Trevor Project, an organization that helps LGBT kids, who attempt suicide at a rate four times higher than their straight peers.

Here's Kevin McHale from Glee speaking to them...



And here's a flash mob in Los Angeles sending out a message that I'm dedicating to everybody, young and old, gay or straight, who are feeling sad and hopeless tonight...



Yup. Talk to me eh? Three four simple words that can save a life.

Knowledge is strength.

And love can work wonders...

Leanne Iskander and the Catholic Homophobes

Leanne Iskander is a 16-year-old lesbian who has led the fight to create a Gay-Straight Alliance club at her state-funded Catholic school in Ontario.

But last week the Toronto Catholic District School Board voted to put denominational rights before human rights. And now her principal is threatening her with disciplinary action. 

Iskander, the founder of Catholic Students for GSAs (CS4GSA), and her parents were summoned for a meeting with St Joseph Catholic Secondary School principal Jeff Quenneville on Sept 1 to discuss her latest proposal for a GSA, Iskander says. The principal told her unequivocally that “an LGBT support group or GSA will never be permitted in any Catholic school because the bishops forbid them.”

And not just threatening Leanne. Also threatening her teachers:

A teacher at the school who asked to remain anonymous to protect his job says Quenneville had a clear message to staff about GSAs: “The principal said, ‘Our job is Catholicism first, curriculum second. The secular world may look at our beliefs and say we are bigots, but it is our beliefs and they are protected.’”

The teacher says Quenneville also made it clear that "if you didn't agree, then find another job."

You know, I think the board and principal are the ones who should be looking for other jobs. Because if the board thinks that religious rights trump human rights they're totally wrong. This is Canada not Iran.

If the principal thinks that tax payers should fund a school that puts Catholicism first, and the curriculum second, he's deluded. And yes he is a bigot,  and dangerously ignorant.

I am writing to you from the emergency ward at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, where my son is recovering from an attempted suicide.

Every day he curses that he is gay because of the bullying and abuse he experiences.

There are many days that I have had to wipe eggs off of our windows and our home while some of the public shows its disapproval for my son. This is truly the ugly (side) of our society. My son is a loving boy and it is extremely sad that he is so often judged by his sexual orientation rather than the wonderful qualities of his character.

As for the bishops, those perfumed bigots are the last people to lecture anybody about morality.

Or be allowed to dictate the fate of children.

And as for their plans to ban the word "gay" and the gay rainbow symbol, those homophobes can just take a hike.

Oh boy. I think it's time to roll out the Gay Rainbow Machine of Mass Destruction Instruction...



robo-rainbow from mudlevel on Vimeo.

So bigots everywhere can see that beautiful symbol of tolerance, even with their blinkers on.

Time also to support Leanne and all her friends who are struggling to make our schools kinder, gentler, better places for everyone. Support them, and send her a message of encouragement.

And of course, since I am what I am, and I've been battling bullies and bigots as long as I can remember. And always will.

I think it's a really EXCELLENT excuse to play this song again...




And hope the principal gets the message.

Bigots are ugly.

Bullying is EVIL.

Hooray for Leanne and her friends.

Hooray for the Gay-Straight Alliance...

h/t Orwell's Bastard

Fighting the Bullies: Here Come the Canadians !!!

When Dan Savage launched his It Gets Better campaign I have to admit I had mixed emotions.

On the one hand I was crazy happy that the issue of bullying was getting so much media coverage in the United States.

But on the other hand I felt sad, because there was nothing for our Canadian children.

Once again they had been forgotten. 















Even though their suffering is so great.

High schools are "the land that time forgot" in the ongoing battle to eradicate homophobia, laments University of Winnipeg education and communications Prof. Catherine Taylor.

"Kids are being tormented and terrorized, and very little is being done about it," she said.

But now I'm feeling so much better.

Because here come the Canadians !!!



And I'm proud too. Because I thought this YouTube was AWESOME. As good or better than any I have seen.

Now as I always say, telling kids that it will get better isn't enough. We have to tell them we're going to make it get better NOW.

By going after the bullies and their adult enablers, and showing them no mercy. 

But this is a great new beginning.

Our poor Canadian children aren't forgotten anymore.

And I'm so grateful...

Bullying and the Journey from Anger to Peace

When I was a teenager the bullies made me angry. And because, unlike other gentle kids I was able to fight back, that anger almost consumed me.

Because I felt I was alone, I could never allow myself to be a victim. Only a fighter. Who learned how to fight in the mean streets of Glasgow.

So now that so many others are speaking out about bullying. And how it does get BETTER.

And sending out  such powerful messages of hope.

I'm having trouble telling my story. Because it seems so inadequate and so wrong.

But it is a story about a journey from anger and violence, to love and peace.

So although I'm not religious, when I heard that a gay choir in Texas, had joined singers from 30 other religious institutions, to remember some of the bullied kids who didn't make it.

And that the concert included Bach's DONA NOBIS PACEM (Grant Us Peace) from his Mass in B Minor.

I thought I'd play it tonight...



From anger and violence, to love and peace.

I'll keep trying to tell my story.

But it does get BETTER.

Have a great weekend everybody...

Spirit Day and a Message from Google

On a day when hundreds of thousands of people in Canada and the United States answer the call of a Canadian teen to wear purple.

The event, called Spirit Day is the brainchild of Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan. The 16-year-old suggested the color purple for a reason. “Purple represents spirit on the LGBTQ flag, and that’s exactly what we’d like everyone to take with them today,” she says.

The idea took off. More than a million Facebook users have pledged to wear purple today. McMillan says that “we will wear purple in memory of the recent gay suicides. Many of them suffered from homophobic abuse in their schools or in their homes. We want to take a stand to say that we will not tolerate this.”

LGBT employees at Google have a message for bullied kids...



Good for Google. Good for Brittany McMillan.

You know how I feel about bullies.

I found a purple baseball cap.

Now please Mr Google, if I promise to be a good gay boy.

Can I have this t-shirt ?

Bullies, Gay Daddies, and the Princess Boy

With all the stories about bullying in the news recently I couldn't help thinking how would I react, if I was a dad, and one of my kids was being bullied.

Because it would drive me crazy. I hate bullies of all ages, but seeing a happy child turning into a sad, withdrawn one, and feeling helpless to do anything about it, must be  one of the worst feelings in the world.

Which is another reason, the whole idea of parenthood...which my mother loves so much... makes me feel faint.

And besides as if bullying wasn't bad enough, I recently saw the Swedish film Patrik Age 1.5. Where two gay men think they are adopting a baby.

Only to end up parenting a 15-year-old homophobic juvenile delinquent.



And although the film had a happy ending, I was practically traumatized eh?

But if Seb and I ever adopted a kid. And it's NEVER going to happen Mum.

I hope that we'd be as cool as these amazing parents and their little princess boy...



Because every little boy and girl should be allowed to be who they are. And if there were more great parents like that, the world would be a happier place.

Except that as much as I loved that gentle video, I couldn't help thinking how are they going to protect that kid from the bullies who would DESTROY him?

So all I can say is, I won't be a daddy. Because you have to be very special to be a good one. And I won't wearing purple today.

Because I don't own anything that colour.

But I will remember those dead kids, the children who are suffering in our Canadian schools. And that gentle little princess boy.

And I will fight bullies, homophobia, and all other kinds of bigotry.

Until the day I DIE...

Why Bullying Kills, and the Demon Homophobia

In Ottawa an expert on bullying explains why it KILLS.

Why does bullying hurt so much?

Studies have shown that humans need to feel part of a group or they suffer. That’s why the United Nations Convention Against Torture identifies solitary confinement as torture.

“Solitary confinement is toxic,” Dr. Vaillancourt said. “The need to belong is part of being human.”

And shunning can be just as painful.

“Social ties are not a luxury. You need them to live,” she said.

In a country where anti-gay bullying is a national sport.

But almost nobody gives a damn.

In New York, a group of Yankee fans illustrate the real problem...



The demon homophobia. And the casual hate that KILLS.

You can't fight one problem, unless you fight the other. 

Down with bigotry. Down with bullying of all kinds.

Break the oppressive silence.

Save our Canadian children...

Bullying, Homophobia, and the Holy Monsters

I was trying to write my bully story, because after the recent deaths of so many bullied gay kids in the United States, so many others are speaking out.

I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.

So I figured it was my turn eh? Because if they can be brave enough to speak about things most people want to forget, so can I. 

But then I saw this story.

The teenager hit him in the face and burned him with a cigarette on his nipple and penis as the others jeered and shouted gay slurs, the police said. Then the attackers whipped the man with a chain and sodomized him with a small baseball bat.

And I couldn't continue. Because I can't write about bullying when I'm angry. Not when it took so many years to drive the anger out of me. An anger that almost consumed me.

And still makes me want to bash bullies like those cowards in New York. Even though I now know that's not the right thing to do. And that if I did hurt them, I'd regret it for the rest of my life.

Because as hard as it still is for me to accept, those bestial bullies are only the pathetic tools of others. Those who send out and spread the message that gay is bad, demolish the self worth of children, and whether they want it or not, encourage others to attack them.

Those are the ones who make the wounds. Like the twisted old man who wrote this:

The proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered. When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behavior to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the Church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground, and irrational and violent reactions increase.

Pope Benedict. Who would dare suggest that gay rights are to blame for anti-gay violence. 

And all the other holy monsters who invoke the name of their ape God, to attack the good and the gentle. For they are the evil ones, whose perfumed hands are covered with the blood of the innocent.

Just like the Harper Cons are at least partially responsible for this wave of homophobic violence. 

For sending out the message that gay people are second class citizens. And doing NOTHING to fight homophobia.

Oh well. I'm getting angry again. That's all I can write tonight. So I'll leave you with two videos.

One that shows that whatever the evil ones say about them, or whatever they do to them.

Gay kids are AWESOME...



And the other to show that while it does get better for gay kids.

Bullies are LOSERS.

So for them it only gets WORSE...



Hey. Whatever it takes to get out the message. Gay kids are good.

Bullies are BAD.

And if we want to end homophobic violence.

We must fight the monsters who make the WOUNDS...

A Vigil To Remember the Victims of Homophobia

I went to a vigil tonight to remember the young victims of homophobic bullying.

And it was an incredibly moving experience. They read out the names of kids who had recently taken their lives. We promised to try to do more to help all the others who are still suffering out there.

And Sébastien and I each held a candle for this young  lesbian couple.












So they would not be forgotten either.

In a country where the Cons are waging war against gay people. Almost nobody gives a damn. And the real reason gay kids kill themselves are often hushed up because their families are ashamed of them.

Even though bullying in our schools is out of control. And so is the suicide rate of young people.

In Canada, suicide is the second highest cause of death for youth aged 10-24. Each year, on average, 294 youths die from suicide. Many more attempt suicide. Aboriginal teens and gay and lesbian teens may be at particularly high risk, depending on the community they live in and their own self esteem.

Oh well. You know how I feel about the homophobic bully Cons and the indifference that KILLS.

So you can imagine how I felt tonight, to see so many gay and straight people trying to make a difference. Trying to help our poor bullied children. 



















And the only thing that worries me right now is that all this sadness could drive others to take their lives. As sometimes happens with teenagers. 

So I just want to say this to any suffering gay kids out there. I know how you feel. Believe me I do.

But you are beautiful. You are loved. You are not alone. Other kids your age are waiting to welcome you with open arms. Just like Sébastien was waiting for me.

So don't you dare give up eh?

Because we are going to fight the Cons, the bigots, and the bullies harder than ever.

And it WILL GET BETTER...



Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.

The Fake Prom and the Day of Justice

Remember Constance McMillen, the Mississippi teenager who wanted to take her girlfriend to her high school prom?

And how the school board cancelled the prom rather than let her attend. And then hurt and humiliated her further by organizing a fake prom.

And how she tried to turn that cruelty into something beautiful.

Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. "They had the time of their lives," McMillen says. "That's the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn't have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom]."

Well today was her day of justice.

A school district in Mississippi has agreed to pay a recent high school graduate $35,000 in damages and adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, according to a statement released Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union.

It's a happy ending to a sad story. And a new beginning in the Old South. But what moved me the most was the reaction of my gay friends when I told them the news. Just about all of them said roughly the same thing: they couldn't pay me enough for what I had to endure.

And all I could say was I know. I KNOW.

I didn't go to my prom, and if I was straight I probably wouldn't have gone either. I had to wait until I was seventeen to dance romantically with another guy. 

At a street party in very French Montreal, with my new boy friend Sébastien.

That began sort of like this ...



I can't remember much about that night except how shy I was, the friendly cheers, the little paper lanterns, the big shoulders, and how good it felt to say to the whole world...without saying it: I like him and he likes me.

And of course how grateful I am that my motorbike didn't turn into a pumpkin at midnight eh? And that I'm still dancing with the guy I love.

Now thanks to a brave young lesbian  a lot of other gay kids are going to get a chance to know how that feels.

From little things come bigger things.

Way to go Constance...

How to Nip Homophobia in the Bud

I've never watched a single episode of Glee, the popular American television series.

But after reading this story.

And what the victim of this savage cowardly assault had to say.













"I want people to see the face of hate. I want them to look into me, and look at what people who hate people, and who are not sensitive to other people's needs, what it does and what it looks like."

I must say I love the way this dad in Glee nips some casual homophobia in the bud...



Because if you don't treat homophobia at an early stage it can grow like a cancer and hurt or kill innocent people.

So what would I tell the two thugs in Windsor? You miserable, cowardly, bully bigots. I wish I had five minutes alone with you so I could teach you that some gays bash back.

And what would I tell that great dad's gay son?

Hey kid...you know  I love you. And I think you're beautiful just the way you are. And you know how I always say if you're gay you have to be tough to be gentle. Right?

OK. So now I just want to say.... from one gay brother to another eh?

That lamp has GOTTA GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Death of Brendan Burke

What a sad story. So young, so brave, so much to look forward to, gone in a moment.

I feel so sorry for his family. Because they loved him they worried about him. Because they loved him they were there when he needed them. Because they loved him they were proud.

And he must have been so proud of them. Especially his old man.

As for us gay guys who love sports, but so often have our fun ruined by homophobia. Or have to grow up without any sporting heroes, because bigotry makes them afraid to come out. Or ruins their careers.

We will not forget that he was brave, that he was proud, that he spoke for all of us.

Way to go Brendan. Rest in peace brother. You didn't get much time. But you were OUR hero.

And we will REMEMBER...

------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a video of Brendan and his dad being interviewed shortly after he came out.

Israel: The Gay Youth and the Candle of Hope

Of all the sad stories I read today about that horrible attack on that gay youth centre in Israel, I thought this one was the saddest.

Huddled, crying and speaking in hushed tones, two dozen 16-year-olds waited outside the Intensive Care Unit at Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital) in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

The atmosphere among the teens in the corridor was as you would expect - quiet, exhausted and desperate....However, one element was missing on Sunday afternoon; there were no adults present.

"I could never tell my mom that I was gay. If I did, she would just say, 'Son, you are young and confused, you don't know what you want.' But, I am not confused, I know I am gay and I come to the youth center so that I can express myself in a safe environment and among those who are sympathetic not homophobic."

No parents to comfort them because the kids don't want them to know they're gay.... because they're afraid they won't love them anymore. Or hate them like so many others do. Or throw them into the street like so many parents do....even in places like Canada.

It can't get more depressing than that ......or this:

"We go to the youth club because that is where we feel safe. But now I don't feel I can go back there. It's no longer safe. Tel Aviv is as bad as the other neighborhoods in Israel, they all hate homosexuals."

But even in the darkest hour there is always a small candle of hope. The attack on the gay youth centre has forced Israeli society to take a hard look at the religious fanatics in their midst. The settlers and other extremist right-wing groups who are poisoning that country not just with their disgusting homophobia, and their medieval sexism. But also and above all, with their rabid hatred of Palestinians.

From Bradley Burston, who was the conscience of Israel during the horror of Gaza, a prayer for the gay kids

Cause me, Lord, to shed this defective armor,
Which we call clothing, respectability, convention,
The mask which we mistake for loyalty to tribe.
The mask which keeps me from seeing the face behind the mask of the tribe we have come to call enemy.

Which is also a prayer for the future of Israel.

So maybe something good will come out of this sad story. I hope so. In the meantime my message to the bigots in Israel or Canada or wherever, remains the same.

You will NEVER beat us. Our beautiful gay youth will NOT be denied a better world.













And when you attack one of us.

You attack us ALL...

The Gay Book Burners Strike Again

Well I see the Christianist crazies in the United States are up to their old tricks. Once they burned women and gay people. Then it was the Harry Potter books.

Now it's a book about gay teens.

The offending book is Francesca Lia Block's Baby Be-Bop, a young adult novel in which a boy, struggling with his homosexuality, is beaten up by a homophobic gang. The complaint, which according to the American Library Association also demands $120,000 (£72,000) in compensatory damages for being exposed to the book in a display at West Bend Community Memorial Library, was lodged by four men from the Christian Civil Liberties Union.

Their suit says that "the plaintiffs, all of whom are elderly, claim their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library," and that it contains derogatory language that could "put one's life in possible jeopardy, adults and children alike."

Which sounds pretty outrageous until you check out who they are...



Kookamunga. Do you think they call him Redneck Moses...or Crawdaddy Jesus?

But of course it's not funny. Because these are the kind of crazies that whip up the hatred that leads to the killing of abortion providers and the murder of gay people.

The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people killed in bias-motivated incidents increased by 28 percent in 2008 compared to a year ago, according to a national coalition of advocacy groups.

"What we're also seeing, more disturbingly, is the increase in the severity of violence...The more visibility there is the more likely we're going to see backlash, and that's exactly what we see here."

Which means until these Christianist terrorists are arrested or locked up in an insane asylum, more gay people are going to be hurt or killed.

Because we're not going ANYWHERE. And if they think we're visible now they ain't seen nothing yet.

Which leaves me with one nagging question.

If I used the Holy Dirty Book those bigot crackers read, to start my barbeque.

Not that I would eh? But say I did.

Do you think my sausages would taste of possum.... or SQUIRREL?

The Christian Civil LIBERTIES and Book Burner's Union?

Muahahahaha.

Don't make me VOMIT...

Obama's Tainted Message of Hope

On a day when the guy who designed this poster and Time Magazine's Person of the Year cover, sends a message to Obama.

I’m very disappointed by Obama’s appointment of Rick Warren to deliver his invocation during Obama’s inaugural address.....I understand that Obama is trying to appeal to conservatives and evangelicals, but this move is symbolically a slap in the face to many people. Warren is not a uniter, but a divider… he is intolerant in many of his views. I still think Obama is the best choice for president, but I can’t condone Warren’s involvement in Obama’s inauguration, no matter how insignificant it is.

On a day when the U.S. government refuses to sign a U.N. declaration calling on countries to stop jailing, torturing, and murdering gay people.

Alone among major Western nations, the United States has refused to sign a declaration presented Thursday at the United Nations calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.

Even though the streets of the United States are full of homeless gay kids.

Gay youth are disproportionately represented among homeless youth, according to a study released this week. Roughly 20 percent of homeless youth self-identify as LGBTQ... and that's a conservative estimate.

On a day when Obama's message of hope rings hollow...and one can't help but wonder what kind of country wages war on its own people.

And why Obama would hug a fat greaser Monkey God hustler homophobe like Rick Warren, and BETRAY all those gay Americans who voted for him.

And it's hard not to despair or get really angry.

Out of the blue comes a young gay American voice that lifts my spirits, and reminds me the bigots won't win...



YES !!!!!!!!!!!!

YES. WE. ARE. Which these days sounds better than Yes We Can.

Obama's message may be tainted.

But Hope springs ETERNAL....