Crown With Thorns

The Miss America Pageant is a chance for women from every state to show their beauty, skills, and in some rare cases, their intelligence. Most of what I stated was well represented by most of the contestants (especially the winner, Kristen Dalton, apparently), with the exception of Miss California, Carrie Prejean. She was posed a simple question by pageant judge Perez Hilton (gay blogger and television personality): "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?"

Now, think of the most logical response you can to this answer (keeping in mind that you want to win the pageant), and Prejean's was the opposite. Not only does she say that she is glad people have a choice between having a gay or straight marriage (by the way, she's assuming homosexuality is a choice), but she also said she believes marriage to be between a man and a woman. Also, same-sex marriage is not a choice in most states aside from Massachusetts, Iowa, and Vermont, so how is there even a choice? But anyway, this is how it went down:

Not only did she completely not take into account the entire gay rights struggle in California (which I don't see how she was chosen to represent an entire state with her views, but oh well), but she also created dissent among the gay and straight community, which, as Perez Hilton stated in his blog response to the whole incident, a Miss America should not do. His blog response is below:

Perez Hilton's Video Response

Although I am not a big fan of Perez Hilton, I agree with his basic argument of why he thought Miss California lost, which was that she did not make a intelligent response to the question. But if I will go as far as to call her a "dumb bitch" is another point entirely. And the answer to that is yes, I agree with him on that too.

And Tango Makes Three

In 2005, writers Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell wrote a children's book called And Tango Makes Three. For the third consecutive year, this book has managed to make it to the top of the American Library Association's (ALA) Top Ten list of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008. More books on the list include:

"His Dark Materials Trilogy" (Series), Philip Pullman
Reasons: Political Viewpoint, Religious Viewpoint, Violence

"TTYL"; "TTFN"; "L8R, G8R" (Series), Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

"Scary Stories" (Series), Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Religious Viewpoint, Violence

"Bless Me, Ultima," by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Violence

"The Perks of Being A Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Drugs, Homosexuality, Nudity, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited to Age Group

"Gossip Girl" (Series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

"Uncle Bobby's Wedding," by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: Homosexuality, Unsuited to Age Group

"The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

"Flashcards of My Life," by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

Want to know the reasoning behind why And Tango Makes Three is on the list?
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Anti-Family, Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group.

The story deals with the true story of two male penguins living in New York City’s Central Park Zoo who took care of an orphaned egg. So why is this a big controversy? For the fact that it shows how a homosexual relationship (even in another species) can work. Author Justin Richardson says, "[There is a] great deal of anxiety, especially among conservative parents when it comes to talking to children about gay families. The notion that telling a child about gay people will increase his chances of becoming gay is scientifically untenable, but it sure endures.”

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom had this to say on the matter:

"Books, magazines, and other reading materials should reflect the diverse views and the rich multicultural tapestry of our Nation. While not every book is right for each reader, every reader has the right to choose reading materials for themselves and their families and should be able to find those materials in libraries, classrooms, and bookstores. Our goal is to protect one of our most precious fundamental rights—our freedom to read."

So not only are they attacking our right at marriage, happiness and equality, but they are now trying to take away our rights to what we can read. If that doesn't sound the least bit Fascist, then I don't know what is. But again, my opinion....

Kanye's A Gay FIsh

Yes, the title is rather attractive, and pretty self explanatory, so there is no need to continue reading any further than this period. If you're reading this, you've read too far. If you've made it to this point, then I guess this does require an explanation. South Park, which is an animated show "notorious for its crude, surreal, and often very dark humor, which satirizes a wide range of topics including religion, politics, violence, abuse, sexuality, and mental illnesses," as Vanessa Grigoriadis of Rolling Stone magazine wrote. I believe that is the most accurate description of what South Park is. One thing the quote didn't mention is that South Park also loves to make fun of pop culture, especially its current icons.

This is where Kanye West comes in (or as some people refer to him, "Yeezy." Where they come up with half of those letters I'll never know, but that's for another blog post). He's known for his over inflated ego and sense of self-importance, but aside from all his flaws, his is also known as one of the first black hip-hop/r & b rappers to speak out against homophobia, not only in the black community, but also in the rapping industry. Could his acceptance of homosexuals be why South Park created an episode called "Fish Sticks" where Kanye West is portrayed as a closeted homosexual fish? Perhaps, but no one but me seems to be asking this question... Also, Kanye seems to be taking it well. His blog reaction is one of a sort of understanding with slight undertones of actually being angry at the way the episode portrayed him. Check out a clip below.

The War In Iraq

The war in Iraq has consumed news and blog headlines everywhere for close to a decade, and sadly, it's about to claim another victim. Yes, that's right, I am going to talk about a war in Iraq, but not the one you would think. This war is being fought by the Iraqi LGBT, a human rights group started in 2005 to support Iraqi gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

Currently, there are over 100 men waiting to be sentenced to death for being homosexual. They were all found guilty of homosexuality by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq, which is notorious not only for not giving people a fair trial, but also for ignoring international standards against torture. The Iraqi LGBT has asked for the help of Obama, as well as people around the world to help stop the execution of homosexuals.

Tony To Vatican: Evolve!

If you don't understand the humor, I can break it down for you. It's making fun of the churches view on marriage by showing this minister approving the marriage of a man and a chicken, but not gay marriage. In all actuality, there are areas where it is legal to marry your first cousin. Then again, incest has always been church approved if you look close enough. How do you think Adam and Eve continued their pure bloodline? By keeping it in the family, quite literally. Again, I digress.....

The Catholic church is full of contradictions and some outdated practices, even Tony Blair agrees with me. Tony Blair said the Vatican is out of step with ordinary Catholics and the public over homosexuality. In an interview with Reuters, Blair said:

"When people quote the passages in Leviticus condemning homosexuality, I say to them -- if you read the whole of the Old Testament and took everything that was there in a literal way ... you'd have some pretty tough policies."

Blair, who converted to Catholicism in 2007, has always been an advocate of pro-gay policies. He believes that the church needs to change along with the times. He says that the church's view on homosexual acts (not homosexuality) stems from a "huge generational difference" and should be reevaluated for the current generation.

"Now, my view is that rethinking is good, so let's carry on rethinking. We need an attitude of mind where rethinking and the concept of evolving attitudes becomes part of the discipline with which you approach your religious faith," Blair said.

This is the kind of thinking I love to read about when I hear about reform and change. That's right, Tony Blair, give yourself a round of applause. And as always, England prevails!

Gay Porn Wrangler Dead

Jack Wrangler, a famous gay porn icon who began his career in the 70's, has died. What does this mean to you, you may think? Well, to be honest, not very much if you're not familiar with the gay community. But let's travel back in time to the 1970's. Civil Rights Movements. Free love, not just for women, but also for men. Jack Wrangler emerges out of this time as one of the first gay porn stars. Although I've never seen any of his work, I've heard that it is very inspirational.

As to exactly 'what' is inspired is debatable. But one thing that is certain is his open sexuality and his macho man persona helped paved the way for gay men everywhere to feel just a little bit more comfortable about their sexuality. For that, his life deserves commending.

Below is clip from the 2008 documentary titled Anatomy of an Icon, which depicts the life of Jack Wrangler, as well as Jack Wrangler himself. I recommend checking it out if I have piqued your interest.

Equal Rights Video

This is a little video I cooked up. Enjoy.