KETK Poll Fail

Yesterday, KETK, an NBC station out of Tyler, TX, conducted a day long poll asking viewers, "Will acceptance of gays be the downfall of America?"  They received hundreds of calls, mostly in favor of god fearing Christians.  Here is a clip from last night's newscast.  It's funny to see how uneducated these people are.  Even the people calling in to support us, saying that some guys are born with female brains....it's scientific fact.  It's just sad.



GLAAD has worked with the station in the last 24 hours.  They have since issued an apology for posing such an insensitive question.  The station manager is planning on going on air soon to denounce the piece.

The damage has already been done.

I'm Sick

The three of us have been out of commission since Saturday afternoon.  It started as a nasty chest cold.  Now, I'm starting to get flu symptoms.  I feel like I've been beat with a tire iron.  At the moment, it's all I can do to put a rational sentence  together, let alone a series of posts.  There have been a number of very important stories that have come across the wire in the last couple of days that I've wanted to talk about, so I'll do my best to post when I can.  Keep checking back regularly.  Thanks.

Wordless Wednesdays

Lebron's New Nike Ad

Lately, between Tiger and Lebron James, it seems like Nike makes more ads to rebuild reputations than they do to sell shoes.  This latest spot is a powerful one.  It's honest, funny at times, and well thought out.  Take a look.

CDC Confirms Man Contracted HIV Through Blood Transfusion

The CDC has recently confirmed that a Colorado man that was undergoing a kidney transplant contracted HIV from a blood transfusion.  The donor, a bisexual male, lied about his sexual history and was in the early stages of infection.  He was not aware that he was HIV positive.



There has been a nationwide ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men since the early '80s.  Earlier this year, the FDA decided to uphold the ban.  With this news coming from the CDC, it will likely be decades before the ban is lifted.

Three Gay Men Attacked Outside Denver 7-11

Over the weekend, three gay men were attacked while standing outside a Denver area 7-11.  One suffered a concussion, while another has a broken jaw in two places.  Police are looking at surveillance footage to determine suspect information at this time.

This story hits close to home for me.  I used to stop at this same 7-11 every morning on my way to work, when I lived in Denver.  It's one of the closest convenience stores to Capitol Hill, Denver's gay neighborhood, and is one of the few convenience stores between Capitol Hill and Interstate 25.  This store gets a ton of gay traffic, or at least, it used to.  For early morning commuters, this was one of the few stops for coffee and a donut.

This happened in a part of town where gay people felt safe.  It was close to home for a lot of them.  It was walking distance to the clubs.  Now what?  I'm saddened and disgusted.  Here is Denver's local 9News' coverage of the beating:

Mash Up Monday - Stayin' Alive In The Wall

This week's mash up is brought to you by Wax Audio.  The only word that comes to mind when listening to this is "seamless".

I Came Out To My Mother Yesterday

Yesterday, my mother sent me an email, asking me if I could send her my address so she could send my daughter something.  For some reason, she doesn't understand that if ties are severed between her and I, they're severed for my family as well.  She seems to think that she'll be able to have a perfectly normal relationship with her granddaughter even if she's no longer talking to her son.  I don't understand how her mind works.

In the response to her email, I told her that, considering the bang up job she did parenting me, I wanted her nowhere near my daughter.  I also decided to get a number of things off of my chest.  I told her for the first time about my PTSD, and that it was caused by years of child abuse that I had endured.  Finally, I told her about my bisexuality.

Lastly, I'm bisexual.  I've known this since I was about 11 years old.  Growing up was pure hell in that house.  I had absolutely no one I could talk to.  I had no friends.  I couldn't even talk to my own mother.  Everyday I was getting my ass kicked, being called a fatass and a faggot.  I contemplated suicide on a daily basis for most of my teenage years.  And I knew that if I opened up about what I was going through, I would be bullied by my family too.  Growing up, I wanted to come to you and tell you about the crushes I had on just as many boys as I did girls.  It wasn't just Anne and Ambre.  You have no idea how alone I was, but I knew what the consequences were if I told you.

I'm not expecting a response.  I don't want to ever speak to her again.

Ooh, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

I know what I want for Christmas:



Four and a half hours of music videos on 3 DVDs and a hardcover book.  The DVDs include all 35 music videos filmed during Jackson's solo career, and they're the full "mini movie" videos.  From what I can tell, it's going to retail for about $39.99.  It comes out November 22.

Adam Lambert - It Gets Better

I Love You Phillip Morris (Video NSFW)

This movie is finally getting released.  It had a hard time finding a U.S. distributor due to its explicit gay sexual content.  The comedy, which is based on an amazing true story, is set for a limited release on December 3rd, with a wide release later in the month.

Dan Choi, Shut The Fuck Up

Dear Dan,

Over the last week, I haven't been able to turn on a television without seeing your face.  It seems that every 10 minutes, you're on a different cable news network, talking about DADT.  I don't follow you on Twitter, yet somehow I know your every move.

I understand that you were devastated when you were discharged.  The Army was your life, and this country needs more linguists like you.  You've made your point.  Now would you please shut the fuck up.  You're a drama queen and an attention whore, and you're starting to make straight people think the rest of the gay community is full of drama queens and attention whores.

You always have to go over the top.  Dan Choi can't quietly protest with the rest of the crowd in front of the White House, he has to chain himself to the front gate.  Dan Choi has to go on a hunger strike (I still don't understand what that accomplished).  Dan Choi can't reenlist quietly like all the other gay and lesbian service members that have been discharged.  NO.  You have to alert the media beforehand, and reenlist in Times fucking Square.  While other servicemen and women are having to endure ridicule and torment while filing for their reenlistment, yours was easy and pain free.  Of course it was.  You had CNN behind you on the other side of the glass.  And on your reenlistment papers, why couldn't you have just said you were discharged for being honest about your sexual orientation, and leave it at that.  Why would you ever put something so melodramatic as, I "refused to lie about my cherished partner"?  Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?

Do you realize that your actions not only affect every one of the 14,000+ that have been discharged under DADT, but the country's perception of the gay community?  This is not about you.  You are a drop of water in an ocean.  You are not our spokesperson, and you sure as hell won't be our martyr.  When the history books are written about DADT , your name won't even be mentioned.  Do us a favor.  Quit before you embarrass us any further.

Sincerely,

Twitch

President Obama - It Gets Better

I know.  Say what you will about DADT.  I'm pissed off about it too.  But think about it.  To have a sitting President send a message directly to young gay Americans, encouraging them to stay strong in the face of anti-gay bullying, is pretty significant.

Reagan didn't mention AIDS until 1985, and didn't make a speech about it until October of 1987.  By then, more than 20,000 people had died of the disease.  Neither of the Bushes were exactly friends of the gay community.  President Obama has decidedly shown himself to be more friend than foe, and right now, I'll take what I can get.  Thank you Mr. President.

Steven Tyler Butchers The National Anthem

Steven Tyler sang the National Anthem before the Boston Bruins game on Thursday night.  Actually, he screamed the National Anthem.  It's shocking that this man is getting paid next year to judge a televised singing contest.



At least he got the words right, I think.  Francis Scott Key must have rolled over in his grave.

Brilliant Halloween Marketing

Sears has introduced a brilliant new website for Halloween that features their Sears.com site but in "Zombian":

The funny wears off in about 3 minutes, but you can go to sears.com/zombies to check it out.