Glee Star Jane Lynch unimpressed by Obama`s gay rights record

The Primetime Creative Arts Emmys at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. - Russ Einhorn / Splash News

By Marissa Charles Dec 23, 2010, 21:14 GMT

Glee star Jane Lynch has

declared herself unimpressed with Barack Obama’s handling of gay
rights.

The actress questioned the US President's record on gay rights in
 comments published a day after he signed the law repealing the
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

She spoke out before the US Senate voted to end the controversial
military policy that prevented openly gay men and women from serving
 in the nation’s army.

In an interview with Newsweek Lynch, who is a lesbian, was asked
to give her opinion on gay rights – including hot button topics such
as marriage, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and bullying.

She said: “Yes, we thought the great hope of Obama was going to
 magically change all that, and it doesn’t seem to have…

“He’s just nicely walking the middle.”

A request from Newsweek to Lynch’s representatives to see if she
has changed her opinion of the President following Wednesday’s
historic repeal went unanswered.

Drifter laughs as he is convicted of strangling student with electric cable while watching horror film

A drifter laughed aloud in court while he was sentenced to life imprisonment for garrotting a 19-year-old to death with electric cable, having been pumped up after watching a gory horror film on the night of the murder.

Jeromie Cancel was found guilty of brutally slaying Pace University student Kevin Pravia at the victim’s New York apartment two years ago.

Yesterday, as the heavily tattooed 24-year-old was sentenced to 25 years behind bars, the Mr Pravia’s family voiced their disgust at Cancel’s chilling laughter and lack of remorse.

Murder: Pace University student Kevin Pravia (left) was strangled with an electrical cord by Jeromie Cance (right), who laughed when sentenced

Hostel: A scene from the horror film watched by Jeromie Cancel on the night he killed 19-year-old Kevin Pravia

‘I’ll f***ing kill you, mother f***er – I’ll end you,’ screamed out the victim’s brother, jumping up from his seat in the gallery as Cancel continued to grin, snigger and make obscene gestures.

‘See me in Rikers,’ shouted back Cancel – a reference to Rikers Island, New York's main jail complex, believed to be the largest prison in the world.

‘I’ll see you in hell,’ added the victim’s father, Kevin Pravia.

Student: Mr Pravia was studying at Pace University in New York and dreamed of opening a clothes shop

Mayhem ensued as prosecutors and Mr Pravia's family, from Massachusetts, pleaded Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Daniel Fitzgerald to throw the book at Cancel.

There was even hope that the judge would sentence him to the death penalty, even though the last execution in New York was in 1976.

When asked why he killed Mr Pravia, Cancel told reporters: 'Because I wanted to! You got a problem with that?'

Mr Pravia's roommate, Josephine Madonna, discovered the victim’s body inside their apartment near Union Square, when she returned on August 31, 2008.

'When I removed the blanket I was left with an image that has never left me,' Miss Madonna said of finding her friend's corpse.

According to Cancel’s statement, Mr Pravia, who dreamed of opening a clothes shop in New York, had invited him up to his apartment after they met nearby.

Cancel told police he went upstairs to sell Mr Pravia cocaine, while defence lawyers have alluded to a gay tryst – but forensics confirmed neither drugs nor sex.

In his confession, Cancel – a mentally troubled drifter who was estranged from his Queens-based family – boasted that he strangled his slight, inebriated and passed-out victim in his bed out of boredom.

He said in his statement that it added spice to the robbery of Mr Pravia's cell phone and computer equipment.

Cancel bragged to police that he smoked a cigarette with one hand as he pulled the electrical wire tight around his victim's neck with the other, all the while watching Hostel, a 2005 film.

After he murdered Mr Pravia – and stuffed a plastic bag in his mouth – he stayed and continued to watch the horror film, he confessed.

Rikers Island: The New York jail where Cancel is likely to serve his 25-year term

Hostel was written, produced and directed by Eli Roth and produced by Quentin Tarantino and grossed $19.4million at the box office.

In the film college students, while travelling in Europe, are tempted to a hostel in Prague, which, they are promised, is full of stunning women. They are systematically tortured in a grotesque way. 

Cancel mistakenly informed police that the film he watched was another horror film, Saw – the logo of which he had tattooed on his person while in custody.

Mr Pravia’s mother, Paula, said: ‘The tattoo is Jeromie's trophy for the brutal murder of my son.

'I cry when I wake up every morning. And I cry myself to sleep.’

A prepared statement from Mr Pravia’s 12-year-old sister, which was read aloud in court, said: ‘I miss waking Kevin up on Christmas morning and having to sing five Christmas songs to finally get him up.

'The only way I can describe this man is as a monster. All I hope for now is that horrible man gets life in prison. I hope he never gets to see any of his family members like I can't see Kevin anymore.'

Cancel’s lawyer Michael Alperstein begged for clemency, citing his client’s long history of mental illness, which began with a suicide attempt aged 10.

The judge noted Cancel's 'chilling and inhuman' remorselessness, and sentenced the murderer with the maximum prison term allowed.

'You showed no hint of mercy or human decency towards Mr Pravia,’ Mr Fitzgerald told Cancel. ‘I don't think you even understand the basic notion of mercy, so you'll get none from me.’

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk

First NHL goal, first NHL kiss

 

by Joe Guckin.

We found this on the Yahoo! Sports blogPuck Daddy. After scoring his first NHL goal (in a 5-1 Washington win over the New Jersey Devils) tonight, Capitals rookie Andrew Gordon skated over to the bench and planted a kiss on the cheek of teammate Marcus Johansson, whose pass set up the goal. Just more proof that hockey players are real men.

outsports.com

Meet George Atis, The Douchebag Hockey Dad Who Bullied The Single Female Player Off His Son's Team

Kayla Watkins is 12. She plays hockey. On a team that's otherwise all-boys. Or she did, until George Atis, a father of a male teammate who didn't like her playing skills, bullied Kayla into quitting the team. Great job, douche.

"It is now 14 games into the season and I have noticed that Kayla’s play has not improved," reads a team meeting agenda drafted by George Atis, a father of a player, but not a part of the coaching staff. "It is at the point where many of the team members do not want to play on this team if this situation is not addressed." Atis, an attorney, included a whole section titled, "Kayla Watkins — Player Ability Limitations and Suggested Options." And what did Atis recommend? The Toronto Star reports:

Atis then details two possible options for consideration, either moving Kayla from defence to forward and keeping her off of power plays and penalty kills, or playing her every second shift on defence and again keeping her off special teams “until her skating and shooting improves.” “If Kayla is NOT amenable to the above options, the coach should find Kayla a new team to play on — commensurate to her skill level — for the balance of the season,” the agenda reads. Atis also raised concerns about Kayla changing in the same locker-room as the boys, stating, “there have been many ‘near miss’ incidents where the boys have almost been exposed to Kayla.”

Did we mention Kayla and Atis' son play for the Toronto Ice Dogs PeeWee “A” club, the lowest-level minor league team? As in, shouldn't kids be playing to have fun? That's what Kayla's mom Vanessa wants to know: "Do we not put our kids in team sports to learn to be a team player, to win as a team, to lose as a team and it’s not about me, me, me?"

Not that Atis is backing down.

In an interview Monday, Atis defended the agenda, saying it voiced concerns from boys on the team who were both squeamish about undressing in front of Kayla and frustrated with her play on the ice. “I wrote the agenda, I stand by it,” said Atis, whose son Michael has played with Kayla for the past two seasons until her recent departure. “I lay the blame, if you must know, at the feet of Vanessa Watkins . . . If it was my child, he would have never been in that position because I would not have put him on a team where he was not competing and where he was a liability to the team.”

For the record, Kayla's coach Paul Macchia, who selected her for his team, has her back: "There’s always complaints from parents about ice time but I’ve never seen an issue where it has gone this far before. I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish. It’s not an individual player losing a game. She made mistakes but so did others on the team. We’ve been the same since she left.”

So what happened with Kayla? After hearing about Atis' meeting agenda, she quit — permanently. She's now playing for the all-girls North York Storm, where "everyone's nice to each other. It doesn't matter if we win or lose. If we lose a game, it's okay because everyone picks each other up."

What can you do? For starters, link to this post on your own blog or Twitter, and include the words "George Atis douchebag." So Mr. Atis has a friendly reminder of just what his behavior looks like. But honestly, the person I feel for the most, besides Kayla, is Atis' son Michael, who has a shitturd for a dad.

[Kayla photo via Star; Atis photo via Facebook (profile since removed), via]

queerty.com

Barney Frank To CNS' Nicholas Ballasy: Shower Spray Won't Make You Gay

After President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that repeals the

 military's ban on gay troops serving openly, Massachusetts Congress-

man Barney Frank chided a reporter for asking if gay and straight

 service members should shower separately.

Frank let out a sarcastic gasp and turned the tables on CNS' Nicholas

 Ballasy when he asked the question.

“What do you think happens in gyms all over American?” Frank

 responded after letting out a loud gasp. “What do you think goes 

wrong with people showing with homosexuals? Do you think the spray 

makes it catching? … We don't get ourselves dry-cleaned.”

“I know you're looking for some way to kind of discredit the policy,” 

Frank added. “Do you think that gyms should have separate showers

 for gay and straight people?”

Ballasy refused to answer the question, saying he was “just quoting the recommendation” in a Pentagon report on repeal of the military's ban

 on open gay service.

“Don't be disingenuous,” Frank chided. “You're quoting those you think 

may cause us some problems. You're entitled to that, but you

 shouldn't hide behind your views.”

America's longest-serving openly gay representative also laid out

 the so-called “gay agenda” at a press conference on Wednesday.

The “gay agenda” is “to be protected against violent crimes driven by 

bigotry, it's to be able to get married, it's to be able to get a job, and 

it's to be able to fight for our country,” he said.

BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF 
PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 23, 2010

Continuing: Michael Rogers Stokes Lindsey Graham Gay Rumors

Outing blogger Michael Rogers is stoking rumors that Senator Lindsey Graham

 is gay.

The 47-year-old gay rights activist, who was featured prominently in the 

outing documentary Outrage, has tweeted about his plans to make public revealing photographs.

Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, has been fighting the rumors for years. Most recently he told the New York Times: “Like maybe I'm having a clandestine affair with Ricky Martin. I know it's really gonna upset a lot of

 gay men – I'm sure hundreds of 'em are gonna be jumping off the Golden

 Gate bridge – but I ain't available. I ain't gay. Sorry.”

After Graham – a 55-year-old U.S. Air Force reservist and perennial bachelor

 – on Saturday denounced passage of a bill that repeals the military's ban on

 gay and bisexual troops serving openly, Rogers released a pair of tweets.

“I wonder if Lindsey Graham knows I have pictures of a man who spent the

 night at his house. pls RT,” Rogers, who claims a perfect outing record,

 messaged his followers.

About half an hour later, he added: “Just reached lawyer at home. Meeting

 set for Tues. on releasing pix of man who spent night at Lindsey Graham's.”

On Tuesday, Rogers clarified his messages, saying in a blog post that he's “working on it.”

The next step “is to contact Lindsey Graham's office (as instructed by

 my counsel) to show them what I have and to see if they want to make an

 on the record comment.”

BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF 

Ricky Martin Does Not Date Stupids

December 22, 2010 by Gay Agenda News Team 

I love witty. I love mental strength. Just being secure. With all the stuff I come with, you have to be someone who is sure of himself. That turns me on. Somebody who is very sure of themselves without being arrogant – smart, witty, has a career. Somebody who is very open-minded about things. That’s what I love. Adventurous is the word.

—Ricky Martin on the type of guys he'll date … but in the future, should his current relationship end, is what I'm guessing he means [via]

Gotcha Fail: Rep. Frank Turns Tables on CNS Reporter

 by Terry Krepel

The conservative Media Research Center-owned website CNSNews.com has a habit of springing loaded questions on members of Congress. For example, it asked Obama administration official John Holdren to explain something he wrote in a book published nearly 40 years ago.

Apparently feeling confident (and sufficiently homophobic), CNS decided to target Rep. Barney Frank with a question about the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – specifically, whether he thought gay and straight soldiers should shower together. This was based on a statement calling for a ban on separate showers from the Pentagon’s report on the impact of repealing DADT that CNS had previously singled out.

Frank saw this coming from a mile away. As CNS reporter Nicholas Ballasy slowly got out the words “shower with homosexuals,” Frank let out an exaggerated gasp and responded, “What do you think happens in gyms all over America?” After calling it a “silly issue,” Frank added, “What do you think goes wrong with people showering with homosexuals? Do you think it’s the spray makes it catching? ... We don’t get ourselves dry-cleaned.”

Frank then turned the tables on his interviewer by quizzing Ballasy: “I know you’re looking for some way to kind of discredit the policy. Do you think that gyms should have separate showers for gay and straight people? I’m asking you the question because that’s the logic of what you’re telling me. You seem to think that there’s something extraordinary about gay men showering together. Do you think gyms should have separate showers for gay people and straight people?” Ballasy wouldn’t answer, insisting that he was “just quoting the recommendation.” Frank responded: “Don’t be disingenuous. You’re quoting those you think may cause us some problems. You’re entitled to do that, but you shouldn’t hide behind your views.” Frank again asked the question of Ballasy, who again wouldn’t answer, trying to change the subject: “So that’s the question you would pose to people who have an issue with that part of the report, the recommendation?” Frank made his point one more time, and that’s where the CNS ends the video.

The CNS article on Ballasy’s gotcha interview ignores how Frank saw through his tactics, instead playing up the irrelevant point that Frank opposes opposite-sex soliders showering together. But give credit to CNS for posting the video of Frank using its reporter’s gotcha tactics against him -- and thus providing other politicians with a how-to manual for the next time CNS pops up out of nowhere to fire a loaded question.

Chely Wright's Coming Out Gay Story Named Most Moving

The coming out gay of country music star Chely Wright has won GregInHollywood.com's Coming Out Story of the Year.

“No celebrity coming out story moved me more than that of Chely Wright,

” long-time Hollywood correspondent Greg Hernandez said in awarding 

Wright his 2010 Greggy Award.

The 40-year-old singer-songwriter came out gay in an interview with Peoplemagazine in May. In that interview, Wright called her coming out

 “magical” and revealed that she once believed she could alter her sexual orientation by praying it away.

Wright continued to talk about her coming out in her memoir, titled 

Like Me: Confessions of a Country Singer, and in subsequent interviews.

She confessed to Oprah that she seriously considered suicide in 2006.

“I couldn't find a way to get the pieces of my life to fit, and [I thought]: 

'I'm trapped. I can't come out because there's never been an openly 

gay country music singer. I decided on that night I was done. I was

 tired. I couldn't do it anymore. I said a prayer to God to forgive me for 

what I was about to do, and I began to cry.”

And she went on to become an advocate for gay teens.

“Young people in every corner of America are being told by their

 churches, and their parents are echoing what the churches are telling 

them, that they are damaged goods. And they are not,” she told Oprah.

Hernandez earlier named Darren Criss New Star of the Year for his

 portrayal of an out-and-proud student on Fox's Glee.

BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF 
PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 22, 2010

After DADT Repeal, Barney Frank Puts Gay Rights Opponents On Notice

Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank on Wednesday said he
 was putting opponents of gay rights on notice.

America's longest-serving openly gay representative laid out the
“gay agenda”

 to opponents shortly after President Barack Obama signed a landmark 
bill that repeals a ban on gay and bisexual troops serving openly in the
 military.

The “gay agenda,” Frank said during a press conference, is “to be
protected against violent crimes driven by bigotry, it's to be able to
get married, it's to be able to get a job, and it's to be able to fight
 for our country.”

Frank was referring to top legislative priorities of gay rights activist,
which 

include repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and “Don't Ask,
 Don't 

Tell,” and passage of a gay-inclusive hate crimes law (signed into law 
by Obama last year) and the Employment Non-Discrimination
 Act (ENDA). DOMA defines marriage for federal agencies as a
heterosexual union. ENDA outlaws workplace discrimination based
on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“For those who are worried about the radical homosexual agenda,
let me put them on notice. Two down, two to go,” he added.

BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAF