, contributing editor, 365Gay Blog 10.07.2010 11:13am EDT
- University of Michigan student speaks out. Chris Armstrong, president of the University of Michigan’s student body, spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper last night. As most know, the college senior has been the target of a strange blog run by Andrew Shirvell. Called the “Chris Armstrong Watch” (it’s now behind a firewall), the question that hasn’t been answered fully is why a state employee, Shirvell is an assistant attorney general, spends an inordinate amount of time writing about an undergrad. Armstrong is seeking a personal protection order and Shirvell is on a leave of absence–he’s also been banned from campus. “Given what’s happened in the past week, and given the suicides that have happened in the past few weeks, it’s been, it’s been – it’s hard not to say something,” Armstrong said.
- Preacher wants the government to regulate gay. I’ve decided not to get bent out of shape when a Christian conservative exclaims stupid stuff. They can’t help themselves. Here is David Barton, a favorite of Glenn Beck (!), suggesting the government regulate the gay. Why? Because homosexuality ain’t good for your health. He then reads from an 1814 “legal study” that offered why homosexuality should not be promoted. Something about a country coming to an end in three generations if queens have our way.
- Support for same sex marriage inches upwards. Check out the numbers at the Pew Research Center about gay marriage in the United States. Less than 50 percent of respondents, 48, are opposed while 42 favor. Get lost in the numbers and the study shows what most know. There continues to be troubling racial, age, and gender differences. Here’s a question: do these numbers translate into actual policy? It’s easy to tell a pollster how you are on board with gay marriage, but will this also apply in the voting booth?
- Michael Cunningham’s By Nightfall is out. The author of The Hours and A Home at the End of the World has a new novel. While we are on the topic of books, congrats to Mario Vargas Llosa for being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
- Stop mocking DeMint’s morality. Why can’t politicians honestly deal with the silliness they throw out? U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint said some crazee stuff about gays and single sexually active females not being allowed in public classrooms. People laughed at him—well at least homos and harlots did. Strange the DeMinty didn’t say anything about single straight men. Wesley Denton, the senator’s spokesperson, said local school boards should be allowed to hire who they want, minus any federal intervention. “He was making a point about how the media attacks people for holding a moral opinion.” Yeah, right!
- Exodus International pulling out of Day of Truth. No fan of the Exodus International, but they get a thumbs up this morning. The organization sponsored this year’s the Day of Truth, the Christian conservative antidote to Day of Silence. They’ve decided it’s time to reassess. ”All the recent attention to bullying helped us realize that we need to equip kids to live out biblical tolerance and grace while treating their neighbors as they’d like to be treated, whether they agree with them or not,” said Alan Chambers, president of the group. Hard to argue with that.
- Ali Davis channels Christine O’Donnell. Does a better job than the candidate. I’m madly in love with Ali Davis. Check out her spoof of Christine O’Donnell’s “I’m not a witch” video. “I have never hit a puppy with a hammer. Hard.” Lose it every time she says that. As for O’Donnell, she is turning press shy. Funny considering sister girl’s whole career is based on getting in front of a camera and talking minus thought. In the polls, she is far behind. Why do I think after the election, her career will mirror the trajectory of Joe the Plumber? If she wins, please come back and mock for that prediction.
