Eleven-year-old Will Phillips, who last year refused to stand up in class for the Pledge of Allegiance until there was “liberty and justice for all,” received a GLAAD Media Award for his activism on behalf of the gay community. In his acceptance speech he called for President Obama to use the bully pulpit of his office to affect change. Amazing stuff. Watch:
Dolly Parton appeared on the Joy Behar Show last week where she was asked about marriage equality and megachurch pastor Joel Osteen’s recent comment that gays “weren’t God’s best work.” Watch:
While Dolly Parton’s support of the gay community has hardly been secret, she does join other country music stars Reba McEntire and Martina McBride in supporting same-sex marriage.
Window/Unite Media, publisher of various gay newspapers including Washington Blade, Southern Voice, Houston Voice and South Florida Blade ceased publication over the weekend.
The news, first reported by Washington City Paper’s sister paper Creative Loafing Atlanta, was confirmed by a Washington Blade employee. The publication has also stated the news on its Twitter feed: “Washington Blade, like all Window Media publications, is closing today. Thank you for your support. (Keep following us for developments.)”
Window/Unite Co-Presidents Michael Kitchens and Steve Myers, both based out of the area, were in town Monday to terminate the Blade’s 21 employees.
Blade Publisher Lynne Brown says it’s been a difficult day, but says to be on the lookout for a new publication to rise from the Blade in the near future; she said Blade employees have already scheduled a meeting on Tuesday to discuss starting their own venture. The area’s gay community is strong, she said, and “In adversity, there’s great opportunity.”
The Washington Blade started as an independent publication in 1969 and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. The Southern Voice, based out of Atlanta, formed similarly in 1988.
As gay newspapers and magazines continue to fold, people will turn increasingly to blogs for their news. Since said blogs, Inside, Looking Out included, frequently cite traditional media in their posts, here’s hoping we are up to the task.
Update: The White House disavows the statement. From the Plum Line:
“That sentiment does not reflect White House thinking at all, we’ve held easily a dozen calls with the progressive online community because we believe the online communities can often keep the focus on how policy will affect the American people rather than just the political back-and-forth.”
Oh. No. They. Didn’t.
Nice try invalidating our march. Sure, we’re just like the fringe that believed women should have the right to vote. And the fringe that demanded civil rights for blacks.
From John Avarosis @ Americablog:
So the gay community, and its concerns about President Obama’s inaction, and backtracking, on DADT and DOMA, are now, according to President Obama’s White House, part of a larger “fringe” that acts like small children who play in their pajamas and need to grow up. (And a note to our readers: The White House just included all of you in that loony “left fringe.”)
I wonder how the Human Rights Campaign is going to explain how the White House just knifed our community less than 24 hours after he went to their dinner and claimed he was our friend.
Ditto.
If standing up for equality means I’m part of the Internet Left Fringe, then I wear the badge proudly, & so should everyone else. Badge below.
