Not Ugly: Eddie Cibrian

One of my fav TV shows is Ugly Betty, a candy colored spectacle that has it all: fashion, catty raparte, tranny drama - and a fabulous Latino cast. The yummy, fluffy, tart flan that is Ugly Better just got even more delish with the addition of another fabulous Latino: Eddie Cibrian as studly gym teacher Coach Diaz.



Thank you, ABC.














That Eddie plays the compassionate male role model for way-gay pre-teen character Justin makes me feel sorta guilty for lusting over the studly actor, but OMG, I'd have given my pinky to have had a gym teacher like that in junior high. I can't wait to see Eddie's character romance Justin's mom, the widow Hilda who is Tina Louise sexy and Fran Drescher camp with a spicy Rosie Perez twist.


Happy Friday, check out this clip of Eddie made by someone who has way more time than me to lust after him:

We Win!

...at least in California.

From the New York Times: California Court Affirms Right to Gay Marriage

In honor of Cali, let's play the theme song to the OC:



Seriously, though, this is a great coup. But not for the cause of gay marriage, but for the basic principle that this country is supposedly founded on: that all men are created equal. And while it's wonderful that we've won the right to be married in California, it's also sad that it was a right that had to be won. And it's a right that's going to be contested in more states.

The idea that gay people are fringe members of society who wield some Macchiavelian influence over popular culture and are out to destroy this country is still alive and well. There are many, many people in this country who hate me just because I exist. And they would love nothing more than for me to not exist. To that end they will resort to government tactics or violence to propogate the last vestige of segregation and oppression that this country can "legally" exercise.

The Right wing blogosphere is atwitter with dismay and rancor over the ruling in California. While some people are literally overwhelmed with love, another group is boiling with hate. I have faith, though, that America will emerge from this Great Gay Divide as it did from the Civil Rights Movement: somewhat stronger, somewhat more enlightened.

Let the Gays Get Married and Save the Economy

California's Supreme Court will decide today whether to repeal a 2000 referendum banning same sex marriages. Should the state decide to do so, "it would be sending the message that California considers its lesbian and gay couples equal," said Therese Stewart, San Francisco chief deputy city attorney.

Proposition 22 currently limits marriage to "a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary." Further, the state will only recognize a marriage between a man and a woman, so no out-of-state funny business is allowed either.

If the California Supreme Court wants my opinion, I think that in these bleek economic times nothing would rev up the economy more than a spate of gay weddings - now THAT's an economic stimulus plan.

Let us get married, and we'll gladly pour our 401Ks and other savings into over-the-top fiascos. We're talking jewelry, limo rentals, florists, catering hall rentals. Plus, you'd get to tax us as married couples, and you know the gays make big bux.

Seriously, though, at the heart of this debate is a question about whether gay people have the same rights as straight people. And in 2008, it's offensive and backward to even have to ponder the question. In no way does my relationship with James threaten or make less special the bond that, say, my parents have after 30 years of marriage. Nor does it make the bond that many of my friends and relatives, all in their 20s, are forming with their beloveds as they plan their weddings. I'm just me, David, and I'm lucky enough to live with the person I was meant to love forever, James. Why is this a constitutional issue?

Living in the insular world of a Chelsea gay who works in public relations I don't always feel that sting of "you're not wanted here." I live my life and in comparison to most 20-somethings, it's pretty fabulous (not bragging, I'm just sayin...). So I find it laughable when my life is cast on a ballot for the general, underpaid, undereducated public to decide whether James and I have a right to exist as a couple. Fine, let the morons on the right eat (Entenmann's) cake.

I'm not going to point fingers at groups that I don't think should be allowed to marry or sire children. Unfortunately, my rights matter just as much as theirs and we all have to share this country and it's damn bounty. Deal with it.

Bill Clinton is Box Office Poison

So says Ann Coulter, whose site, along with Michelle Malkin's, is like right wing porn. I'm always looking over my shoulder whenever I visit these sites and I read their prose, wide eyed, thinking, "that's sick, there's no way someone can think like that."

But sure enough, Coulter makes an interesting point in this week's rant against the left. The Dems have long been chipping away at the pedestal they hoisted Bill Clinton on to back in 1992: there was Monica-gate, then his VP got shafted in the 2000 election, and now Hillary has been snubbed by the super delegates.

What happened to the Bill Clinton halo effect? Here's what Ann has to say:

"Ronald Reagan was so popular, he not only won a 49-state landslide re-election for himself, but he also won a symbolic third term for his boob of a vice president, George Herbert Walker Bush (who immediately blew it by breaking his own "no new taxes" pledge).

By contrast, in addition to not being able to get half the country to vote for him in two tries, Clinton's connection to any other presidential candidate spells utter doom. Both his vice president and his wife have been defeated in elections they should have won, but lost because of their unfortunate association with him. The country has spoken. It wants to be rid of the Clintons."

Argh. I hate it when that skinny wench is right.

I can't speak for the backstabbing and intrigue that inform the Democratic Party's decisions, but I'm very disappointed with their presumptive choice for President. In short, I've lost faith in the party who for the past 8 years hasn't been able to get its act together. What happened to Howard Dean? Why are we railroading Hillary? We're giving the show over to B. Hussein Obama because that's EXACTLY what those on-the-fence voters in those red states are looking for in an alternative to the Republican candidate.

While I have no qualms with McCain, I can't (contrary to what I've said in the past) bring myself to vote for a Republican President. If Obama is on the ticket, I'm going to sit this election out.

Foreclosure Bill: Homes or Bombs?

Not sure why I hadn't posted in a week - but time flies when you're not having fun. Though there was tons I could have written about, even the painful reality of Hillary's campaign coming to an end, maybe I was rendered stupid for a few days following her defeat in North Carolina.

But ever the optimist, I've held off on my eulogy for Hillary '08. And on blogging altogether, as I was in a rancid mood last week and didn't want to take to the web to sound like a shrill, malcontent liberal.

Anyway, today's post is pretty simple: Republicans/conservatives love to gripe - selectively - about wasteful spending by the government, especially when said spending happens to actually help Americans, like the proposed $2 billion bail-out for at-risk families in the foreclosure crisis.

CNN reports that the bill proposed by Barney Frank (D-Mass), which made it through the House, will only help a tenth of the 3 million people who are currently embroiled in this fiasco. I guess a start is a start, but the Right contends that the fault lies on those who made a stupid choice, are living beyond their means, and are now trying to pass the bill on to the rest of us.

Not being an economist myself I can only deduce that it's not practical for the government to bail us out everytime we make poor spending decisions. I mean, I went cuh-razy with my college credit card that came with a frisbee at freshman orientation, as did many of my peers. One could say we were the victims of pernicious lenders and are too entitled to a reprieve.

And so it goes with this mortgage crisis bail-out - in theory. Only this time around people are going to be homeless and the repercussions of lapsed mortgages throughout the U.S. will impact other tax-paying Americans who happen to live off the real estate industry. Contractors, agents, administrative personnel, latte vendors -- if millions of people are kicked out of their homes it's going to take a lot more than $600 and a pat on the back to get this economy back on track.

Call me stupid, but this Iraq War business hasn't been an exercise in fiscal prudence either. At $200 million a day to, uh, what are we there for again? Anyway, no safer or closer to finding Osama bin Laden are we as the war reaches the $1 trillion mark. But the case can be made that shock and awe don't come cheap.

As it can be made for the mortgage crisis. Not in the form of Barney Frank's bill, which seems laden with issues, but some sort of government-funded bail out, for lack of a better term, is absolutely needed.

These Folks Will Make Splendid Parents

For some reason or another I've been on a tear about straight parents and their superior qualifactions for parenthood. That said, I have no doubt that my friends Mike and Lisa in West Hollywood are going to be way better parents than James and I could ever be. Hell, they're going to raise their soon-to-be-born in the gayest place on earth. I'm already green with envy over little Ana Sofia/Edward Antonio's (we don't know sex yet)play dates with power gays' kids.

Anyway, Mike and Lisa have started a blog to chronicle the pregnancy experience. The backstory to this is that way back in the day, when I was a lowly assistant at a lowly PR firm, Lisa adopted me. So, trust that in those wayward days of my 22nd year of life, Mike and Lisa earned their parenting stripes. Through bad boyfriends, bad jobs, they were always there to listen, counsel and poke fun at my way-gay ensembles. And they're also behind this blog as Mike was the person who inspired me to create GCL. As we often do, we yakked politics one night when I was visiting them in Chicago (they move a lot) and I ran the name of a possible blog by him and he approved, which was good enough for me to start writing.

Here's a shot of the luckiest baby-to-be at 22 weeks. I so want it to be a girl, mommy Lisa has some fabulous clothes to hand down.

Hill with Bill (O'Reilly)

Hillary went toe-to-toe with conservative TV personality Bill O'Reilly last night. Kudos to her for keeping the conversation on track in spite of Bill's gruff, vulgar, uncouth maneuvering. The premise of the interview, "I'm a rich white guy who's sick of paying taxes" - which is sorta the tagline for the Fox News Channel - was a no-win for Hill, but she held her own. However, references to "Hill Care" were plain disrespectful and starting the interview with questions about Jeremiah Wright was a not-so-sly attempt to bait Hillary on a racially-charged issue. In that case there was nothing for Hillary to do, either she'd dismiss Wright as a lunatic (with a fair amount to gripe about, though) or she'd walk into a "Yes, I support a White, English-only America" type of statement.



For Bill O'Reilly to denounce hate and act affronted when someone speaks out and says that America doesn't always work for everyone is hypocritical, but not shocking. Check out the clip below which ran on Queerty a few weeks ago. Bill O'Reilly is a hate-puppet come to life:



Sadly, BO has the highest rated cable news show in the country. That's cause Americans are such a happy, accepting bunch.

The rest of the Hillary interview below:

So, Do Straight People Make Bad Parents?

With polygamists and sex fiends running around I think the bar has been set low enough for parenthood that we shouldn't think twice about letting the boys in Boston adopt kids.

I personally couldn't rear children, one cross word and a scene like this would unfold:

God Damn America?

That Barack Obama is still on the ticket after his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has been exposed as a hate-mongering, Farrakhan-supporting, anti-American zealot is not surprising. Barack and his campaign have been given a free pass to fulfill what the conspiracy theorist in me thinks is a master plan to sabotage the Dems' bid for the White House.

Wright is on the attack after his protege has cast him out into the cold. No one puts baby in a corner, and in an address to the National Press Club in Washington, Wright declared that an attack on him is an attack on the Black Church, which is tantamount to resintating slavery. Again, not surprising seeing as my own criticism of Barack Obama has been beat back with accusations of my own latent racism.

But Wright does make an obvious point that has been overlooked in the discussion about his inciendiary remarks: The Black Church has had to evolve past slavery through Jim Crow through Katrina - issues that are impossible for the Black community to discuss without fervor.

Now, the sound bite that has everyone, including yours truly, up in arms is the "God damn America" statement Wright made in a video-recorded sermon. While it's unfortunate that Wright used "damn" as a verb, had he rattled off on the assaults against the Black community and dismissed it with "God damn America," as in "these God-damn kids are crazy," maybe things would be a little different.

Because, in reality, the Black community has a lot to be angry about. Just last week a jury acquitted three New York City police officers in the shooting death of an unarmed man in Queens. A barrage of bullets comes upon an unarmed person and no one is to blame...only in god damn America.

And as a gay man I find myself dismissing criminal acts against my community that are justified by "family values" and "religious" rhetoric with a simple "god damn America." Case in point: a comment was made yesterday, by a friend of mine who espouses some very right wing beliefs, against the Harvey Milk School here in New York. "Why should my tax dollars support a school for kids who are different? Tomorrow we'll have a school for kids who only like to wear yellow."

The ignorance and lack of historic context behind that statement - my friend didn't know who Harvey Milk was - was so astounding that I was actually left speechless. And forget historic context, just a few months ago a 15 year-old boy was shot to death in his school because he came out to one of his straight classmates and said he had a crush on him. That story made national headlines but obviously it doesn't justify creating some sort of safe place for at-risk teens.

It's that sort of callous indifference to abuses that are perpetrated on other people in this country who are deemed different and unworthy that can rattle one's patriotism, it's enough to make you throw your hands up in disbelief and say "god damn america."


For those of you who don't know who Harvey Milk is, he was a gay politician from San Francisco who was gunned down in 1978 along with the mayor of the city - by another politician who claimed that he suffered mood swings as a result of his Twinkie habit. The assassin, Daniel White, got only five years in prison. Which is more than the Sean Bell murderers got, but still...

And these are but a few of those inexplicable, consistent, hicups in the system that are worth rehashing because it seems America is on a high horse right now, shocked and appalled that anyone should be angry at the way this country operates. I'm not supporting Jeremiah Wright and his self-aggrandizing campaign, and I certainly don't support Farrakhan, but I understand where they're coming from.

Have Your Wedding Cake, Girl

The cover story of this week's New York Times Magazine is about a new trend that's emerging among gay 20-somethings in Boston: marriage.

It's certainly better than meth, but I wonder, are these boys charting a brave new course for the gay identity? Are their marriages a signal that the community should clean up its act, stop with all the parading and the lobbying because we've just closed on the cookie-cutter-home in the suburbs?

Cheeky Ward-and-June-Cleave-like photos pepper the 10 page story on the new gay pioneers who are hurrying to embrace the values that gay men have, historically, rejected. If the 70s were about Cruising, then the new millennium is going to be about My Best Friend's Wedding. As the article points out, the gay rights movement has been marked by a concerted effort to eschew the confines of suburban domesticity. But now that marriage is an option for some gay couples I wonder if popular gay identity was a "fine, I didn't want to be like you anyway" reaction to homophobia, when in reality many of us just wanted to marry the high school quarterback and register for goodies at Pottery Barn.

I have to say, reading the stories of these guys, who are all just about my age, was as uplifting as it was nauseating. I got the impression that these boys were talking about marriage with the same fervor they would reserve for the Sex and the City movie. "Hey girl, did you get the tickets to movie? OMG, I'm getting married BTW."

Granted, I never saw myself walking down the aisle, cutting a wedding cake or making sweeping professions of love before an audience. The last time I made such a public vow I had promised to hold true to the faith I was brought up with - that didn't go very well. However, I'm four years into my relationship with James and it's lovely. We even exchanged rings last year. I was 23 when we met and at the time I was absolutely OK with being single, but I definitely had my obsessive moments with men and I did panic, a lot, about what would become of me if I didn't find someone.

In that respect, I can relate with these boys' need to just skip the mine field of gay single life and just partner up with someone and get on with your life. I did that at 23 without knowing it and three vacations with both sets of families later, James and I are pretty much stuck with each other. I wouldn't have it any other way.

It bears repeating, however, that this isn't the norm for many gays in the U.S. While Massachusetts and New York are hotbeds of progressive thinking, there are many gays and lesbians for whom marriage and normalcy is just not an option. With that in mind, I think it is rather bold and exemplary that these young guys are seizing a hard-won right that goes just a little bit further in making us a legitimate part of American society.

And perhaps that nausea I felt while reading the article was my disbelief that this is really happening, that two men can get married, that it can be OK and the end of the world won't come upon us. So, who even cares how these marriages will work out?We all know the gays make for good TV, I can't wait for the Logo version of Divorce Court

Mariah and GCL Belong Together

After a very strong lobbying effort in the office last week, my boss gave me the gift of a lifetime by letting me participate in an event with Mariah Carey this past Friday at the Empire State Building.

The building was lit up in Mimi's fav colors: white, lavender and purple, in honor of her achievement as the biggest selling recording artist in history. Sidebar: This is another reason why homegirl is such a gay icon - who else would light up the most famous building in the world in pink, lavender and white?

Anyway, yours truly was on hand to capture the not-so-secret rendez vous on film for You Tube (You Tube). Mimi looked phenomenal, statuesque and radiant from achieving yet another career milestone - I was flush, exhausted and delirious following the prolonged encounter. It was one thing to see her up close, it was a completely different story to trail behind her and listen to her purr at her assistants and other members of her entourage.

I'm just that much closer to becoming a member of said entourage.

Shakira es un Class Act

Is education a human right? That's the question one of my fav singers, Shakira, posed Congress this week as part of her work on behalf of the Global Campaign for Education.

From AFP: Colombian-born pop sensation Shakira went before the US Congress Tuesday seeking support for legislation that would provide US aid for basic education programs for children in poor nations.

And just before addressing Congress, Shakira spoke with British PM Gordon Brown about her efforts with politicians like my homegirl Hillary to raise the level of U.S. spending on universal education from $456 million to $3 billion a year by 2012. Makes my week of meetings and memos seem abysmally unimportant.

You can listen to an interview with Shakira about the Education for All Act on NPR.

Though I'm not sure how voters are going to feel about pumping money into more foreign aid, there is no question that this is a worthy cause, and that Shakira is of a rare breed of entertainers who manages to keep her game classy and inspiring.

Yeah, You're Gonna Need a Shovel for This

DIG! Thus, according to televangelist Paula White, said Jesus. No matter the obstacle: government cheese, bad credit or failed marriage, so long's you got yourself a shovel, you can dig your way out of anything.

And no, stupid, Paula's not talking about a real shovel like the one she's wielding on stage in the clip above. A shovel, in times of adversity, is faith in God and his word, the Bible.

All of that sounds fine and good, and hey, Tyra is a fan, so if it's good enough for TB...

But what's interesting/frightening to me is the control these televangelists exert over people. The throngs of people waving around little plastic shovels in this clip is scary - it's one thing to encourage people to see a light at the end of the tunnel and to have faith that things will get better, but homegirl's sermon is nearly an hour of screaming, hyperventilating, tears and an exhortation to, well, dig.

And if you've read my blog before you know how I feel about throngs of aimless, hopeful people.

The fluffernutter sandwich that is religion today makes it possible for someone like Paula White to become a millionaire and that doesn't sit well with me. I'm almost OK with the self-help industry, but when it teters into profiteering from the Bible and Christianity, it becomes a business that is, by nature, corrupted by the negativity of all human pursuits.

What's even more offensive is that these lady preachers are so glammed up and fabulous that it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Ivana Trump had a revelation and started speaking in tongues and formed a church. Check out these ladies below on Trinity Broadcasting Network, it's like the B-version of The View. They're not talking about Jesus, they're promoting themselves in the most bawdy, tacky way - preening couldnt-make-it-in-Hollywood-types who have found an outlet for their personalities.





Don't get me wrong: I love me some bawdy women in high heels and diamonds, but I prefer to keep the bragging and hyperbole raunchy, not spiritual.

Maybe I'm old school in what I expect Christianity to be: humble, long suffering, temperate. That's what I learned in the church I eventually left, but it wasn't some bitter, twisted departure. I'd probably have stayed were it not for the gay thing.

On the flip side, and in defense of the ladies of the Lord, I do give them props for keeping their game classy. With all of the influences young girls have today, I guess I wouldn't mind if my daughter took a cue from Paula White instead of Hannah Montana.

Hillary Clinton: In It to Win It

CNN just declared Hillary Clinton the winner of the Pennsylvania primary.

Now that the Democrats' candidates have been reduced to prize fighters, let's throw our support behind the candidate that had been counted out again, and again, and again.

We don't know the margin of victory yet, but a win is a win. And speaking of margins, W didn't win by a landslide in 2000 or 2004. So let's give Hillary her props.

Team Obama has a lot of money to burn on Indiana, but if he truly cares about change, if his supporters really want to win in November, then we have to reclaim our party from the trenches of entertainment television and mount our campaign against the Republicans.

We already know what the Republicans are going to say about Hillary: she's a socialist, she's a liar, she's pro-choice, bla bla bla. Think about how much we still don't know about Obama and when the right time would be, for the Republicans, to drop a bombshell.

Everyone LOVES to bash Hillary, but homegirl still comes out on top. So the Dems shouldn't worry about her electability, the Republicans should.

It All Comes Down to This

Twenty-one debates later, after embellished tales of sniper fire and calls for the destruction of America, the Democrats have one last chance, tonight, to become the party that wins the White House in November.

Those odds would be greater if Hillary Clinton finally won the party's nomination.

And while it's important for the Dems to nominate the most qualified candidate for the November elections, it's equally important for the bickering and in-fighting to end as of tonight. Whoever comes out on top in PA tonight should be declared the Democrats' nominee and the runner-up should concede defeat.

Not even the Kerry/Bush election of '04 riled up the public this much. That's because no one in their right mind saw America giving W another chance - the Dems took the election for granted and look where that got us.

Today the Dems are in a similar position. If you think John McCain, with his elder-foibles and aw-shucks demeanor can't creep into the White House, think again. People don't hate McCain the way they do Hillary or Barack. And in some ways, the Dems have undone the candidtates themselves. They've allowed turned the candidates into prize fighters and now everyone wants to see blood.

All of that has to stop tonight.

The Dems have one last chance, tonight, to be the party of change. Let's stop being the party that can't ever get its act straight - the hemming and hawing has cost us two elections. Let's support the candidate that was an integral part of the ONLY Democrat Presidency Americans in their 20s have ever known.

You want to know why I'm such a conservative (at times)? I've lived 20 years under Republican rule. Show me better.

All Poped Out

Pope Benedict XVI went back to Rome last night and relinquished control of the airwaves after a week of televangelizing. Granted, he just showed up here, the media did the televangelizing.

In the aftermath of the papal visit, during which reporters breathlessly recounted every last detail of Benedict's stay, two things stand out in my mind:

1 - Americans are in desperate need of spiritual guidance
2 - The media really whored themselves out and set the separation of church and state debate back a couple of hundred years


That America is devoid of a moral compass and needs God isn't a belief limited to crackpots in the Bible Belt. There's a reason why there are so many self-help books out there and why Americans flip flop between faiths - many of us are searching for something bigger than us to help us navigate these crazy times. In that context, I can appreciate why so many people, even disenchanted Catholics, are reeling over the first visit to the U.S. by the new Pontif.

The media blitz surrounding the Pope's visit, though, was unnecessary. All the screens at my gym were tuned in to the Pope's Mass at Yankee Stadium yesterday and I couldn't help but think that some weird, twisted force had taken over the press and turned them all into mouthpieces for the Church. Yes, coverage on the papal visit inclded mentions of sexual abuse by priests, but by all accounts the media couldn't get enough Benedict. Why? Isn't the press supposed to remain objective on issues of faith and politics? Why, then, did FOX and ABC and NY1 send their reporters for on-the-scene coverage and hours of live broadcasting from a Catholic mass? NY1 even had a priest from Opus Dei describing how the mass works -- you can't buy that kind of publicity! And I found that offensive. While Americans may need spiritual guidance I hardly think the Catholic Church has any moral authority on any of the issues of that affect humanity. That the media was so eager to be a part of the Vatican's PR campaign was disappointing and kind of frightening.

I guess things could be worse, we could be in Iran and the religious proaganda would be far more constant and ridiculous.

Dad Would Be So Proud of Me

Do Straight People Make Bad Parents?

I've finally gotten around to understanding the hoopla surrounding the raid on a polygamist sect's compound in Texas. For the past two weeks the story has unfolded on the TV screens at my gym and on the front page of CNN.com but I've been too busy to really care about a bunch of crazy white people.

But the story won't go away and after reading a couple of articles on what looks like a frightening network of men raping and "marrying" their cousins, sisters and aunts, and siring children with their victims, I got to thinking how silly it would be to use this wanton abuse of women and children as an argument against straight people and their qualifications to raise children.

Yes, the Little House on the Prairie ladies we've seen on TV are creepy, but they don't represent straight people as a whole.

Funny, then, how when it comes to issues like gay marriage and gay adoption, gays are somehow accountable for every homo or two's misdeeds. Words like "gay agenda" and "indoctrination," along with references to the Folsom Street Fair and white parties, are thrown into the mix whenever we want to create our own families and integrate ourselves into society. When two guys want to get married it's suddenly part of a master plan to topple the country til the streets run pink with cosmopolitans. When hundreds of hetero-polygamists remove themselves from society to rape and abuse women and children, however, it just makes people go "hmmm."

Though not all polygamists are living in obscurity. Some of them are out, loud and proud and know how to use PR to their advantage. Check out a press release from the National Polygamy Rights Movement here.

I'm glad this story is continuing to get play, and I love that it's happening at a time when the airwaves seem to have been taken over by the Vatican. On the eve of George Bush's departure, and the end of the Christian Right's eight years of rule, it's spectacular to watch the lofty institutes of marriage and "Christianity" unravel.

I'll drink to that.

My Poak Chops Hurt

Sorry I've copped out of serious posts these past few days. In the meantime, check out this HTM (hot tranny mess):

Are You On the Hot List?

Pix from last night's festivities at Mansion here in New York and the annual Conde Nast Traveler Hot List Party.