Bill Clinton Honored by GLAAD

Clinton accepts the award, flanked by Chelsea

Former President Clinton accepted GLAAD's "Advocate for Change" Award at the GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, making a moving speech in which he praised gay-rights activists for helping America progress towards "a more perfect union" - and credited daughter Chelsea and her gay friends with helping him evolve in his views.  The speech is quite good, well worth your time:



In March of this year, Clinton wrote an editorial for the Washington Post, urging the Supreme Court to overturn DOMA, an act which he signed into law in 1996 after being passed by overwhelming majorities in the Republican-controlled Congress. Excerpt:

In 1996, I signed the Defense of Marriage Act. Although that was only 17 years ago, it was a very different time. In no state in the union was same-sex marriage recognized, much less available as a legal right, but some were moving in that direction. Washington, as a result, was swirling with all manner of possible responses, some quite draconian. As a bipartisan group of former senators stated in their March 1 amicus brief to the Supreme Court, many supporters of the bill known as DOMA believed that its passage “would defuse a movement to enact a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, which would have ended the debate for a generation or more.” It was under these circumstances that DOMA came to my desk, opposed by only 81 of the 535 members of Congress. . . .

When I signed the bill, I included a statement with the admonition that “enactment of this legislation should not, despite the fierce and at times divisive rhetoric surrounding it, be understood to provide an excuse for discrimination.” Reading those words today, I know now that, even worse than providing an excuse for discrimination, the law is itself discriminatory. It should be overturned.

Fear and Loathing in East Texas, Cont'd

Kudos to GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) for prodding NBC affiliate KETK in Tyler, Texas, to apologize for their outrageous simulcast Wednesday with sister station KTBB, asking whether "gays will be the downfall of America."

Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God. uploaded the original clip to YouTube, but KETB has had it removed, ostensibly as a "copyright violation."  Nevertheless, you can still see the smear piece over at the Courage Campaign's site here - where you can also sign a petition to ask NBC Universal to end its corporate relationship with KETK, if you like.

The apology - and I leave it up to my truckbuddies to say whether it's a half-ass one or not - by KETK general manager Dave Tillery is here on their own site or here on GLAAD's.  In writing it goes like this:

This past Wednesday, our radio partner – KTBB – presented a Talkback question regarding homosexuality. That question was also simulcast during our morning news broadcast. Many of our viewers and their listeners found the wording of that question to be offensive. We understand and respect their comments. We have discussed these comments with KTBB and agree that the question was poorly worded. For that, they have apologized. And since the question also appeared on our air, we are sorry for any offense that was taken.

DILF Alert: Jarrett Barrios

Smart, sexy, newly installed GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios - who is raising two teenagers with his husband in Boston, where he was a former Massachusetts state senator - lays out his plans for the future of his organization:

"What Is This, 1970?"

GLAAD calls for The Dallas Morning News to issue a retraction of a biased article:

In the October 25th edition of The Dallas Morning News, business reporter Cheryl Hall used problematic language in referring to the LGBT community when writing about two of Stephen Jarchow’s media companies. In the article, “Dallas executive amassing a gay media mini-empire,” Hall refers to The Advocate and Out magazines owned by Jarchow’s Here Media Inc., as “two alternative lifestyle magazines.” She also refers to his Regent Entertainment film company as catering to an “alternative lifestyle audience.” Furthermore, she labels the gay community as a whole as an “affluent, well-educated minority group.” . . .

Out is a “lifestyle” magazine, as are other lifestyle magazines like GQ or Marie Clare that mix news, features, fashion and celebrities. The Advocate on the other hand is a news magazine. This mislabeling goes far beyond the magazines’ descriptions. The term “alternative lifestyle” is one that is typically used to denigrate gay people, who are as diverse in their lives as anyone. There is no single lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender lifestyle. The phrase “alternative lifestyle” is used to disparage the gay community suggesting that their sexual orientation is a choice and therefore can be “cured.” The Dallas Morning News and the Associated Press have marked this term as inappropriate and against their style guidelines. . . .

What I say:  Hell, I'd be glad to think it's 1970 in Texas . . . but most of the Lone Star State is still stuck in 1950, if you want to know the truth.  At least the DMN didn't call us "sexual perverts."