#TBT - Can anyone tell me about this 70s Australian tv drama called 'The Box'

I was trolling around youtube and found a clip from this Australian 70s drama called 'The Box.'  I know nothing about this show, but all I can say is that even in the 70s, America was beat out by other countries when it comes to depictions of gays:

'Bubbles and racism in the lgbt community' & other Thursday midday news briefs

Now Is the Time to Start Talking About Racism in the LGBT Community - WONDERFUL piece, which I have a small disagreement with. It's not so much as racism than it is bubbles. Unfortunately, large segments of my lgbt community live in bubbles which unfortunately insulates them from the fact that our struggle is multicultural and other voices and people need to be heard, celebrated and lifted up as leaders. Think of this from the perspective of a gay man. We have folks like Larry Kramer, Michelangelo Signorile, Vito Russo, Harvey Milk, Evan Wolfson. I refuse to believe that out there aren't gay men of color out there who we can see as reaching the same status in the lgbt community as these wonderful leaders have. They are out there, but do they get attention or time to shine? And do their opinions get as much respect as the folks mentioned? Or their contributions to the totality of the lgbt struggle for equality? I ask this question as a person who has wondered about this regarding the projects I have created and the posts I have written. 

Okay, let's talk about 'silencing' - And before folks accuse me of whining in the news item above, this wonderful post by Jeremy Hooper serves a dual purpose. It outlines just how the game is run on lgbts regarding "professional victimhood" and so-called censorship by the anti-gay right and their collaborators. Insulting a community and then pulling the "stop trying to silence me" card when you get responses for your comment is yet another way of "gaming the referee." It's an ugly tactic, but thanks to certain degrees of laziness by folks who should know better, it generally works.  

Gambian Dictator On LGBT People: ‘If You Do It Here, I Will Slit Your Throat’ - Remember what I said about the "multicultural struggle."  

Texas Bill Could Protect Welfare Providers Who Force Kids Into Gay Conversion Therapy - I won't "mess with Texas." I will just throw some holy water and anointing oil at the state.  

Marriage protection bill passes another hurdle in Alabama Legislature - You know, folks used to wait until AFTER the Supreme Court ruled in a way they didn't agree with before showing their proverbial asses.

Another anti-gay, oversexed, heterosexual hypocrite done caught, y'all

The above "sexually charged text messages" are from Missouri Speaker of the House John Diehl to a college intern. Diehl is married with three children. Naturally, the intern he traded messages with is NOT his wife.

It's certainly a juicy scandal, made more apropo to the lgbt community because according to Right Wing Watch:

Earlier this year, Diehl and the president pro-tempore of the state Senate filed an amicus brief in defense of the state’s anti-gay-marriage amendment, leading the Missouri Family Policy Council, the state affiliate of the Family Research Council, to praise the speaker “for demonstrating moral leadership and true integrity in standing up for the sacred institution of marriage and the family values of the people of Missouri.” The state affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention thanked him for “fighting to defend biblical marriage.”

 . . .  Diehl also co-sponsored a 2012 bill to ban Gay-Straight Alliances in public schools, which read: “Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no instruction, material, or extracurricular activity sponsored by a public school that discusses sexual orientation other than in scientific instruction concerning human reproduction shall be provided in any public school.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch at the time called it a “hateful and unconstitutional attack on individual rights” and slammed Diehl for backing “a loathsome bill in a cynical attempt to garner support from the right wing.”

As with the case of SC Rep. Mark Sanford, LA Senator David Vitter, etc., etc., perhaps some folks need to stop accusing gays of attempting to ruin marriage and instead focus on those who claim to be defending it.

'Should Tim Cook hold Texas accountable for its homophobia?' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

Tim Cook

Why Tim Cook Should Threaten to Shut Down Apple Campus Amid Texas Anti-Gay Crusade - Texas has gone anti-gay crazy. Michelangelo Signorile thinks Apple CEO and out gay man Tim Cook can do something about it. What do you think? 

FDA releases plan to end lifetime ban on gay, bisexual blood donors - Wonderful idea. The only downside is envisioning Porno Pete LaBarbera going insane and posting dirty pics of gay men. Where does he get those anyway?  

How The FDA’s Revised Blood Ban Caters To Religious Anti-Gay Beliefs - Then again . . .  

Michigan ‘Death Star’ Bill Would Override Local Employment Laws, Including LGBT Protections - "Death Star" bill? I say we use that name. 

 Eureka Springs Upholds LGBT Protections; Anti-Gay Leader Blames Threats Against Christian Voters: VIDEO - THIS has been the talk of the morning. BTW I don't buy the claim that "Christians were scared to vote." 

 Fischer: Support For Gay Rights Is 'Evidence That Satan Exists' - No, honey. The fact that you have a job shows that Satan has an evil sense of humor.

Dear Phyllis Schafly, a lady always knows when to leave. Take the hint.

Phyllis Schafly

I know that conservatives assume that Phyllis Schafly is some type of arch-goddess of their movement, but there comes a time when some folks just need to be put out in the pasture.

The legendary Lena Horne is reputed to have once said "A lady always knows when to leave the room."

Ms. Schafly, take the hint. Or at least remember your gay son when you spin such trash as below:

In an interview with conservative radio host Chuck Wilder on Monday, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly said that lawsuits against business owners who violate nondiscrimination measures by refusing service to gay and lesbian customers show that marriage equality advocates ultimately seek “to wipe out the Christian religion.” “Have you noticed that only Christian small-businesspeople have been harassed and sued for refusing to participate in same-sex marriages even though our fast-growing immigrant populations, you know of Muslims, Hindus and other faiths are also opposed to that concept?” Wilder asked. “The use of same-sex marriage to attack Christian businesses but not businesses run by members of other religions demonstrates what is really driving the demand for the new constitutional right to same-sex marriage.” “Well, that is right,” Schlafly responded. “They want to wipe out the Christian religion. And most of these other religions do not recognize same-sex marriage. I assume there are some Muslim bakers and photographers and other people who have been harassed, but they’re not being attacked and they’re not being criticized.”

US Congresswoman claims Christians are being persecuted in America but draws blank when asked for examples

The Family Research Council are going to be soooo angry at Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn:

At the South Carolina Freedom Summit, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN 7) advocated State Department intervention when asked what role the United States should play in protecting Christians around the world:

One of the things that we should be doing here is being very strong in our stance with religious freedom in our country... Our allies around the globe want to see us stay strong on our rights and not erode those rights... With the human rights violations and religious persecutions around the globe, we need a State Department that is going to step in and say, "This is not acceptable."

Blackburn thought that Christians are being persecuted in the U.S., but could not give any examples when asked by this reporter. Watch her remarks below:

I think that says it all regarding this "Christian persecution" nonsense. Thank you, Congresswoman Blackburn

'The knife of Kirsten Powers' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

The supposed 'Silencing': How Kirsten Powers Is helping far-right sell pervasive meme - This situation brought me down yesterday and it is still poking at my mind today. Jeremy Hooper puts the entire situation in perspective better than I can. But in a nutshell, I learned an ugly truth. Sometimes when a pundit claims to be for lgbt equality, it is only for the knife to go deeper when they stab the community in the back. Such is the case with "Fox News liberal" Kirsten Powers. She has just published a "liberals and gays are trying to silence their critics" book, which should garner her much popularity and attention. I learned two things by this experience regarding her book. From the excerpts I read thus far, her book is no different than any of the books written by conservatives like Jonah Goldberg, Laura Ingraham, or Ann Coulter. Heck, the cover of Powers's book is clearly stolen from the cover of one of Coulter's book - i.e. skinny blond in fetching outfit standing defiantly with her hand on her hip besides the book title. Powers offers nothing new. It's not simply the idea that Powers is pushing. It's that the idea is pretty much a carbon copy of the other books which whines that liberals and gays are "silencing" people and she uses the same half-baked anecdotes already offered as proof of a conspiracy and flowery language to cover up the fact that her theory is simply a conservative wet dream. Powers is merely tracing, i.e. copying a formula and claiming that her spin on it is original when it is actually old and stale. The only difference being is that she is supposedly a "supporter" of lgbt equality. In essence, she is exploiting her so-called relationship with lgbts to sell her book. And the second thing I learned? From reading Jeremy's post, people like Powers are always whining about being silenced, but they generally (and probably deliberately) mistake debate challenging their ideas as attempts to silence them. Sorry for the long expository, but it depresses me when stories of our pursuit for equality are bastardized for profit, particularly those who are supposed to be on our side.

Breaking–Exclusive: Activist Admits Her Testimony To Senators On Texas Anti-Gay Bill Was False - This just took place. Watch how quickly some in the media will try to obscure this. 

 How To Assess The ‘Truth’ When Writing About Transgender People - This isn't difficult to do if folks were willing to learn rather than scare themselves.  

What Happened When A Gay Dad Challenged A School Over Its Cancelation Of An LGBT-Themed Play - Wonderful!  

Ireland Is About To Become The First Country To Vote For Same-Sex Marriage - Don't count the chickens before they hatch. And I hope they hatch very well.