In an applause-laden speech at the White House this afternoon, President Obama laid out his most detailed committment to the gay community yet. Reiterating previous promises to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, enact federal hate crimes protections, and repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, our great orator of a president made a fantastic case for his self-professed committment to GLBTs. With Michelle by his side, Obama reminded us of what we knew him to be as a candidate: our "ally and a champion" to our community. And equally importantly, he acknowledged our frustration.

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Former Washington State Republican politico Richard Curtis, who resigned after being caught with a rent boy, says he doesn't want to proceed with extortion charges against the hustler, Cody Castagna, because his family wants to put it behind them: "My family and I have found ourselves closer as a result and are settled into a new chapter in our lives and are moving past this incident." And, we're sure, because he wants to world to forget he's a big homo. [Seattle Times]

British playwright Nicholas de Jongh will adapt actor Sir John Gielgud's triumphant return from a 1953 gay sex scandal into a stage production, Plague Over England. Says de Jongh, "The new play shows how Gielgud's arrest played a small but distinct part in the battle to make homosexuality legal… It is an extraordinary insight into the dramatic changes in social attitudes to gay life in the last fifty years." That gives us an idea: Bob Allen, Richard Curtis, Mark Foley and Larry Craig hear the news and decided today to travel as a Barber Shop Quartet to enlighten the world about sexual repression in the GOP. It can be called Elephant Shit! Any takers?

Rent boy loving Republican Richard Curtis ain't Spokane, Washington's only scandalous resident: "Since 2000, the city has been rocked by a family man who killed 10 prostitutes and had sex with some of their corpses; the outing of former mayor Jim West as a closeted homosexual who offered city jobs to young men in exchange for sex; and the bankruptcy of the Roman Catholic diocese over lawsuits brought by victims of sexual abuse by priests." This place sounds like a David Lynch creation!

"Not" rent boy Cody Castagna pleaded "not guilty" to extorting former Republican politico Richard Curtis.

A Spokane man has pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to extort money from a former state legislator after a night of sex.

Cody Castagna, 27, on Monday pleaded innocent to three counts of theft, two counts of extortion and one court of conspiracy to commit extortion.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque set a trial date of April 7.

Prosecutors contend in court documents that Castagna and three other men attempted to blackmail former Rep. Richard Curtis in October.

Curtis, a Republican from the southwest Washington town of LaCenter, said in police reports that he and Castagna had sex in a hotel room and that Castagna later took his wallet and threatened to expose him publicly if he did not pay $1,000.

Castagna just wanted his sex cash – is that a crime?! Oh, actually, yeah…

• Recently arrested hustler Cody Castagna's mug shot makes us wonder why Republican Richard Curtis would hire him in the first place.

• Zoe Leonard's 1992 "I Want A President" still resonates.

• Did Canada's New Democratic Party drop a lawyer for being trans?

• HX editor Brandon Voss talks gay with Friday Night Lights' Kyle Chandler for The Advocate. The gays apparently urged Chandler to try the theatrical arts. Figures…

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Things aren't looking good for former Republican politico Richard Curtis' rent boy, Cody Castagna:

Police issued arrest warrants Wednesday for four men accused of trying to extort money from a former state legislator who resigned his post after an affair with one of the accused became public.

Spokane County prosecutors contend in court documents that Cody Castagna and three others attempted to blackmail former Rep. Richard Curtis in October. Castagna turned himself in to authorities Wednesday night.
…
I'm not going to run, I have nothing to hide," Cody Castagna told KREM-TV as he arrived at the Spokane County Courthouse with his attorney and a bailbondsman.

[His attorney] told The Spokesman-Review newspaper he would fight the charges against his client, and that the money his client sought from Curtis was not "extortion money. It was prostitution money."

That's far more respectable, of course.

Curtis, meanwhile, faces no charges.

• Here's Snoop's new video for "Sensual Seduction". Can you feel it?

• AIDS rates rise for men who have sex with men. We've said it once and we'll say it again: use a fucking condom.

• Disgraced – and resigned – Republican politico Richard Curtis used tax money to visit Spokane, where he picked up his now infamous whore.

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Bob Allen's gay sex solicitation guilty verdict certainly isn't winning him any friends – but it is influencing people. Florida's House Speaker Marco Rubio called for the disgraced Republican to resign. Says the state's GOP chairman, Jim Greer: "I am confident that Speaker Rubio and the House of Representatives will take steps to uphold the integrity of the office, which may include Rep. Allen's resignation or other available options."

Allen ain't getting any love from the public, either. The politico's campaign funds haven't seen a single contribution since July 13th, two days after his arrest for offering a cop $20 and a blowjob.

Despite the verdict, Allen still maintains his innocence: "I am innocent. I have done nothing wrong. My family, my God and my constituents know that and we're not going to stop until we get that justice." Sounds like someone has Larry Craig syndrome: stupidity. Sheesh, why can't more Republicans be like Richard Curtis, who managed to retain a shred of dignity when he resigned.

• Floridian Republican Bob Allen has been found guilty of soliciting a male police officer for sex. May face $500 fine and 60 days in jail. TGIF!

• Jossip hit up The Atlantic's 150th anniversary bash/voyeuristic adventure. Watch for special appearances from Moby, Andrew Sullivan, Patti Smith and some other familiar faces.

• Who's your favorite fictional gay?

• RIP AIDS activist and Bill Clinton ally Dr. R. Scott Hitt.

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Arianna Huffington's new comedy website, 23/6 launched on a decidedly lavender note today. First came an uproarious imagined instant message between Rudy Giuliani and new pal Pat Robertson.

And then they unveiled the Richard Curtis-inspired Great American Beard-Off, a who's who of more-than-just trophy wives. The 23/6 staffers don't have a picture of Mrs. Curtis, but they place her beard rating at "Osama Bin Laden" because she knew what she allegedly knew about Curtis' unsavory sexual habits.

Oh, Dina McGreevey got a shout-out, too. And, as hard as it is to believe, she comes out looking good.

• A majority of American citizens support same-sex civil unions, according to ABC News, but not all opinions are created evenly:

Overall, 55 percent favor allowing homosexual couples to form legally recognized civil unions, giving them the same rights as married couples in areas such as health insurance, inheritance and pension coverage. That's up from 45 percent in an ABC/Post poll in 2006; the previous high was 51 percent in 2004.
…
On civil unions, support peaks among adults under age 30, and tanks among seniors. It's highest in the East and West, notably lower in the Midwest and South. Whites overall are more apt than blacks to support gay civil unions, and the idea wins more support among women (59 percent) than men (51 percent, and 47 percent among married men).

Interesting divide between single and married men, no?

• Reichen strips, fakes orgasm for Dante's Cove.

• Bob Allen jury cruises through park where alleged solicitation took place, one juror dismissed.

• Moscow court comes out against gay pride organizers. Anti-gay parade ban legal.

• Rosie O'Donnell offers more MSNBC explanation, professes love for Keith Olbermann.

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Cody Castagna may have agreed to sleep with recently resigned Republican Richard Curtis for $1000, but the 26-year old held a press conference Friday to declare that he's no ho.

The purpose of the press conference was to refute claims that he had any links to convicted Spokane madam Cheryl Larson. Earlier in the week there had been claims that he was associated with Larson and surveillance footage from Northern Quest Casino, where Larson operated her service and laundered money from, reportedly showed Castagna meeting with Larson.

Castagna now says that information was erroneous and that the video shows him meeting with his mother, adding that he has neither worked for Larson nor has he ever met her.

He went on to say that his encounter with Curtis was the first time he has ever accepted money for sex and continued to say that he has never been a male escort.

Castagna certainly picked an inconvenient first john, huh? Meanwhile, Washington state police are still investigating Curtis' claim that Castagna attempted to extort hush money from the former politico. Castagna's lawyer, however, would not let him comment on that case. We wonder why…

MSNBC's Dan Abrams hosted Richard Curtis' boy toy Cody Castagna last night. Watch as the 26-year old strings together some words and sortof explains the scandalous sex scandal. Abrams rapidly moves on to Castagna's well-placed lawyer, who blames the "escalation" on Curtis' extortion lie.

After the boys are swept aside, Pat Buchanan to defend the Republican party's good, not-gay name…

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Can you believe it? Yet another conservative sex scandal!? Just when we were getting over cross-dressing Richard Curtis' resignation comes news of Catholic principal Paul Schum hustling his junk in fishnets.

Via Smoking Gun:

Meet Paul Schum. The Kentucky man, a Catholic school principal, is facing a prostitution charge after Louisville police found him dressed like a woman and loitering in an alley Tuesday night. According to a criminal citation, a copy of which you'll find here, Schum, 50, was wearing fishnet stockings, fake breasts, and "all black leather" when officers discovered him "loitering in high drug trafficking and prostitution area." The citation notes that Schum, who heads Bethlehem High School, had "no reason for why he was in alley…dressed up in women's leather other than for prostitution." Schum, now on paid leave from his school post, is due in court on November 27 to answer a misdemeanor charge of loitering for the intent of prostitution.

We wonder what anti-gay Cardinal Jesús López Rodríguez would have to say about this one. Or, better yet, Catholic League leader Bill Donohue.

Washington state Republican Richard Curtis' disgraceful resignation should teach the closeted Grand Old Partiers some very valuable – and obvious – lessons. From TPM:

…If you offer to pay a guy $1000 to have sex with you, don't try to wriggle out of paying the thousand dollars.

More advice: if you get into a payment dispute with the guy you paid to have sex with you, contacting the authorities to get them involved to hassle the guy is a very bad idea.

That goes for you too, Democrats. And, yes, even you third party politicos, but we imagine most of you are smart enough to avoid such sensational sex scandals.

Richard Curtis did the right thing – and far quick than we imagined. The disgraced Republican politico resigned today and released the following statement:

Today I submitted my letter of resignation to Gov. (Chris) Gregoire effective immediately. While I believe we've done some good and helped a lot of people during the time I served in the Legislature, events that have recently come to light have hurt a lot of people. I sincerely apologize for any pain my actions may have caused.

This has been damaging to my family, and I don't want to subject them to any additional pain that might result from carrying out this matter under the scrutiny that comes with holding public office.

Larry Craig should take note.

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Things aren't looking good for Richard Curtis. The Columbian newspaper obtained a police report detailing the Republican's tryst with 26-year old Cody Castagna and, well, it's pretty damning:

The police report contains an account of how Curtis allegedly donned women’s clothing, red stockings and a black sequined lingerie top before engaging in a sex act at the store. He continued to wear them throughout the night under his clothing.

Classy!

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Republican Richard Curtis isn't the only politician embroiled in a sex scandal. A new book alleges that former and late Australian prime minister Sir William McMahon did dudes. McMahon's widow, however, denies the story.

Lady Sonia McMahon says she spoke with Stand By Your Man author Susan Mitchell, but had no idea Mitchell would make such an outrageous, infuriating claim:

Yes, I'm angry about what Susan has written, but most of all, I'm hurt.

Anyone who says he was homosexual is talking tripe. I can tell you that he was a loving man, a true romantic.
…
Before me, he went out with a lot of women. He was a workaholic and could be a little lax in the wooing department, but he was heterosexual.

The Lady also says that the gay rumors were started by a political rival. And, as if her word's not enough, Sonia can point to their three children, one of whom we all know and love: Nip/Tuck's Julian McMahon.

Washington politico Richard Curtis claims not to have had sex with an alleged male prostitute extortionist. Said male partner Cody M. Castagna says otherwise. Obviously.

According to an affidavit, Castagna and Curtis met at the Hollywood Erotic Boutique and then headed to Curtis' hotel room, where they had a bit of "mutual sexual" activity. Apparently not content with getting his rocks off, Castagna stole Curtis' wallet and then blackmailed him for $1000, which is really just awful: at least ask for two grand!

It's unclear whether or not Curtis called the cops, but they're now involved and interviewed Castagna, who says Curtis also rented two gay flicks at the hotel. Police, meanwhile, are asking for a seach warrant to check Curtis' hotel records, as well as the "erotic boutique" surveillance system. Will this scandal bring down yet another Republican leader? It's looking that way!

After opposing gay civil union legislation and employment non-discrimination initiatives in the Washington Assembly, State Rep Richard Curtis suddenly finds himself battling allegations of homosex tendencies according to Spokane newspaper The Columbian:

I am not gay," Curtis told Columbian Editor Lou Brancaccio. "I have not had sex with a guy."

Curtis says he's the victim of an attempt by an alleged male prostitute and would-be extortionist seeking to take advantage of his kindness and generosity after "trying to help somebody out."

Fellow politico State Senator Joe Zarelli's advice to Curtis? "Come say your piece and do your thing."

It seems doing precisely that is what got Curtis in his present predicament in the first place.

"Curtis Denies Wrongdoing, Says He Is Not Gay" [The Columbian]