This is not a ritual for me where you just come on camera and say you’re sorry and hope to move on. I’m truly sorry about what happened. I believe deeply in good journalism and fair journalism and I am determined to learn from this episode and minimize the chances of anything like this happening again.CNN “Reliable Sources” host Howard Kurtz • Apologizing, at extreme length, for his erroneous reporting about the Jason Collins story as well as his sloppy overall reporting in recent years. Kurtz, who left his job at The Daily Beast last week, said that his departure from the publication was amicable and mutual, and already in the works before the Collins situation broke. Kurtz, who also faced conflict-of-interest questions over his ties to a small-scale site called The Daily Download, spent a full fifteen minutes atoning for his journalistic sins this morning, according to Politico.
The Daily Beast and Howard Kurtz have parted company. Under the direction of our newly named political director John Avlon we have added new momentum and authority to our Washington bureau with columnists such as Jon Favreau, Joshua Dubois and Stuart Stevens joining our outstanding DC team of Eleanor Clift, Daniel Klaidman, Michael Tomasky, Eli Lake, David Frum and Michelle Cottle—giving us one of the best politics teams in the business which was instrumental in this week’s Webby win for Best News site.A statement from The Daily Beast, revealing they had dropped Howard Kurtz, days after Kurtz wrote a column for the site suggesting that openly-gay NBA star Jason Collins had lied about a prior engagement—despite the fact that Collins had been up front about the situation in interviews and had specifically mentioned the fact in his Sports Illustrated cover story. The publication retracted the column, though Politico notes that the firing may have had just as much to do with Kurtz’s extremely busy schedule. On top of the Beast, Kurtz also hosts CNN’s “Reliable Sources” and writes for “The Daily Download,” a media criticism site.
The Lavender Scare is REALLY important. Watch this terrific trailer here and think about funding —> http://hypr.vc/1du1le
“A central character in the film is Dr. Franklin Kameny, who was an astronomer working for the U.S. Army when he was summarily fired just because he was gay. But unlike the thousands before him, Frank challenged his dismissal. This film will be a tribute to Frank and the other early leaders of the movement, whose sacrifices and commitment made the world a better place for generations of LGBT people who followed.”
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“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay,” - Jason Collins
“The recent Boston Marathon bombing reinforced the notion that I shouldn’t wait for the circumstances of my coming out to be perfect. Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully? When I told Joe [Kennedy, a Massachusetts congressman and Collins’ college roommate] a few weeks ago that I was gay, he was grateful that I trusted him. He asked me to join him [at Boston’s gay pride parade] in 2013. We’ll be marching on June 8.”](http://24.media.tumblr.com/e6ad89e29532bd0c349c358c562d9bdd/tumblr_mm0vm8REVr1ruw1vso1_400.png)
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“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay,” - Jason Collins
“The recent Boston Marathon bombing reinforced the notion that I shouldn’t wait for the circumstances of my coming out to be perfect. Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully? When I told Joe [Kennedy, a Massachusetts congressman and Collins’ college roommate] a few weeks ago that I was gay, he was grateful that I trusted him. He asked me to join him [at Boston’s gay pride parade] in 2013. We’ll be marching on June 8.”
Carla Hale, a teacher at a Catholic high school in Ohio, made news last week when she was fired after her mother’s obituary revealed that she was gay. But in just days, her students have helped gather 40,000 signatures on an online petition to support her.
Hale told The Columbus Dispatch that when she returned to work following her mother’s funeral last month, school administrators showed her a letter a parent, “appalled” that Hale’s name was listed next to another woman’s in the obit, had written to the Roman Catholic diocese of Columbus. The Diocese of Columbus fired her a few days later on Holy Thursday, according to a release from Change.org.
“To see The Church, which is rooted on love and acceptance, show such intolerance is extremely disheartening,” said Hope Vacarro, a senior at Bishop Watterson, according to Change.org. “Ms. Hale is a woman who has dedicated her life to the education of children, and she deserves immense respect for that. She is a moral and ethical educator who has done nothing but bring friendship and guidance to Watterson students.”
People are amazing sometimes.
Since this story went viral, the school has been targeted by threatening phone calls. Don’t do that. There are more productive ways to handle this situation.
School Fires Gay Teacher After Her Partner’s Name Appears In Her Mother’s Obituary
“If it wouldn’t have been for my mom’s obituary and my partner’s name being Julie and not Chris or Pat or whomever, I wouldn’t be in this situation right now. It would be Wednesday, 8th period, badminton tournament.”
Boy Scouts announces proposal to lift gay ban for youth members: Adult members wouldn’t be covered by the proposed vote, however. They certainly picked a pretty quiet news day to announce this news.
It’s worse than we thought…
“Because they did not have a state-recognized marriage, they were regarded as legal strangers despite even having set up the available legal protections for each other. Roger, in turn, was subjected not just to discrimination but police brutality and legal consequences. This tragic story speaks volumes about the consequences of continuing to deny same-sex couples the right to marry and how they continue to be treated as second-class citizens.”
This story is just the saddest thing.
I was not recognized as being the husband, I wasn’t recognized as being the partner.Roger Gorley • Discussing the situation he faced as he was forced away from the bedside of his partner, Allen, at a Missouri hospital earlier this week. The men, who have been in a civil union for five year, share power of attorney and make medical decisions for one another, but the nurse at the Research Medical Center in Kansas City did not recognize this. Gorley was arrested after a member of Allen’s family asked him to be removed. He was given a restraining order, which he plans to fight in court.
Perhaps his attitude to women hasn’t changed so radically. What about homosexuality? “I don’t have a problem with gay people. I got some gay homies.” He looks round the room and laughs. “Yeah, for real. People who were gay used to get beat up. It was cool to beat up on gay people back then. But in the 90s and 2000s, gay is a way of life. Just regular people with jobs. Now they are accepted, not classified. They just went through the same things we went through as black.”
He recently spoke out in support of gay marriage in America. Does he think that Frank Ocean coming out is a sign of progress in the rap world? “Frank Ocean ain’t no rapper. He’s a singer. It’s acceptable in the singing world, but in the rap world I don’t know if it will ever be acceptable because rap is so masculine. It’s like a football team. You can’t be in a locker room full of motherfucking tough-ass dudes, then all of a sudden say, ‘Hey, man, I like you.’ You know, that’s going to be tough.”
Thoughts on Snoop’s take? It’s worth noting that the NFL in particular has struggled with this issue.
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
Wrote a thing.
Hat tip to this headline writer.
Congrats Tumblr!
Don’t screw this up Yahoo.
In 2007, I was...
I started tumblr when I was at one of the lowest points of...
Homophobic insults force gay restaurant owners in small Manitoba town to close up shop
A pair of gay restaurateurs is closing up shop in Morris, Man., saying they are sick of being the target of anti-gay slurs. Pots N Hands, which advertises “home cooked meals,” opened in the community of 1,700 70 kilometres south of Winnipeg just four months ago.
Ever since, alleges owner Dave Claringbould, he and his partner have been assailed by homophobic slurs, such as a customer asking if his plate of food was diseased.
“They should get the hell out of here. I don’t really like them — the service and who they are,” resident Aaron Kleinsasse told the Winnipeg Free Press this week.
Since word of the verbal attacks first became public, other locals have tried to bolster the new business by eating there or sending messages of support. But Claringbould says he has experienced homophobia in a small town before and knows some people will never change their attitudes. (Trevor Hagan / The Canadian Press)
Most disturbing part bolded, italicized above.
Who on Gods earth is this person saying he’s coming out of the closet in the NFL?
— Christopher Clemons (@chrisclemons91) March 26, 2013
Chris Clemons, star defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, clearly either unaware or unconcerned about diving into the deep end. He tweeted this on Tuesday, and subsequently defended his remark to incredulous respondents — he insisted he wasn’t homophobic, but that the idea of a player coming out was “selfish,” an example of “trying to make themselves bigger than the team.” Of course, the extent to which an active NFL player coming out would make them “bigger than the team” is a function of the league’s permanent, ongoing state of repression on this issue — no player has ever publicly revealed their homosexuality. This all stems from a report last week that one player was strongly considering coming out, and at the risk of editorializing, we hope he does. Such a move, in the major American sport with perhaps the greatest reputation for homophobia, would render this man a legitimate civil rights hero. And rightly so.
I have come to the conclusion that our government should not limit the right to marry based on who you love…Good people disagree with me. On the other hand, my children have a hard time understanding why this is even controversial. I think history will agree with my children.Sen. Claire McCaskill, becoming the 42nd senator to support marriage equality. Extra points for making the announcement on her Tumblr
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