Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (May 15, 2009)

A TOTALLY SERIOUS, INDEPTH LOOK AT ABSOLUTELY ALL THE NEWS THIS WEEK
As if Neil Patrick Harris hadn't already conquered the world, it was announced this week that he's following in the footsteps of Rosie O'Donnell as the host of the upcoming Tony Awards which are going to be handed out Sunday, June 7th. It was quite something seeing Neil host the TV Land Awards and that magic gig he did earlier this year, but this gig is what I've been waiting for. It's about time someone showed Rosie and Ellen that gay men can host in the big leagues as well. 

BTW, coincidence that this announcement came on the heels of Neil's snagging the #1 spot in the Hot 100? I don't think so...

Just how screwed up is the traditional media in the United States? For an answer, one need look no further than last Sunday's White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. This is an annual event where the "journalists" who cover the White House get together for a dinner and some roasting of the President and, frequently, the press itself.

Out comedian Wanda Sykes hosted this year and, as expected, took some shots at President Obama as well as First Lady Michelle Obama. She also made some pointed jokes about Rush Limbaugh's kidneys failing and whether or not he might be a terrorist. And before you could say "flag pin", the traditional media was in a tizzy about whether Sykes had gone too far.

This is the same media that routinely says next to nothing every single week when Limbaugh or one of his minions (read Fox journalists and Republican politicians) say something insane about Obama's religion, Texas seceding from the U.S., gay marriage leading to people marrying their turtles and/or siblings marrying just to name a few nutso things wingnuts have said lately. 

Gee, why aren't I more heart-broken that the traditional media is failing?

In news I'm sure you were dying to find out, ex-lead singer Boy George (aka George O'Dowd) of Culture Club was released early from prison after serving four months of a fifteen month sentence. George was convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort he'd brought back to his apartment. What is "falsely imprisoning" anyway? That term makes no sense to me. Did O'Dowd tie up his escort and then say "Just kidding!" And what is the opposite? "Genuinely" imprisoning somone?

With any luck at all, George will now completely disappear from sight, never to be heard from again. Either that, or he's destined to get a reality show on VH1 that I'll be forced to write about. 

Meanwhile, over in the U.K., during his show on Radio 2, host Jonathan Ross 'joked', "If your son asks for a Hannah Montana MP3 player, you might want to already think about putting him down for adoption before he brings his, erm, partner home."

After a number of listeners complained, a BBC spokeswoman said: "The BBC has received four complaints about Jonathan's comments on Saturday's show. However, these off-the-cuff remarks were made purely in jest and were not intended to be offensive. Jonathan is not homophobic in any sense and never meant for his comments to be taken seriously."

Keep in mind this is the same BBC that, after John Barrowman "exposed" his naughty bits on Radio 1, rushed to apologize and said, "We do feel that the programme overstepped the mark. We acknowledge this and apologised at the end of the live programme."

Last week Rachel Maddow featured out Lt. Daniel Choi discussing his dismissal under Don't Ask/Don't Tell. This week, Choi issued a letter to President Obama and Congress begging them not to let him be fired for being gay. After all, the military is still in desperate need of Arabic linguists, which Choi just happens to be. Plus, the majority of Americans support the repeal of DADT and there are plenty of folks higher up in the miliary also speaking out against it. 

Surely, Obama would act now to repeal DADT, right? The guy has to know he owes us for our support! Wrong. Thus far the White House has had little to say about Choi or DADT. And I have to confess to feeling very let down. I understand why Obama has taken the approach to gay marriage that he has, but I don't get this at all. Ending DADT he can do for us; this he should do for us.

It's not often that I dislike a show as much as I do Family Guy and American Dad, but heart their creator anyway. However, such is the case with Seth MacFarlane who dropped by Real Time with Bill Maher for a rather naughty discussion about same-sex marriage. Not only did Seth make a pretty impassioned speech in favor of gay marriage, but he had no trouble cracking some jokes about his own supposed gay sexual predilections. For those who remember a time when celebrities embraced gay rights while also frequently making it clear they definitely weren't gay — oh, wait, that still happens — Seth is a breath of fresh air, 

Did anyone seriously think Donald Trump was going to can Miss California? I suspect Trump subscribes to the "no such thing as bad publicity" school of thought and Miss C has definitely been that. Then there is the fact she's blond and stacked. Need I say more?

BTW, kudos to former Miss USA Shannon Moakler for resigning after Trump kept Prejean on. Moakler is a gay-rights advocate and said she'd rather give up her job with the Miss USA Pageant, then teach her kids that intolerance is okay. 

Let me get this straight — NPR thinks it's okay to discuss the sexual orientation of celebrities, but suddenly gets cold feet when it comes to discussing folks who actually wield power like politicians? Gee, I wonder if the Republican attacks on them back in the 90s had an effect or not. Suddenly, I'm really glad I haven't pledged yet this year. 

Next page! What the hell are Laughing Gay Babies?