Oh, Freezepop, thank you for jolting us awake with a shot of sugary, synthetic pop. "Frontload" is out as an EP now. We really dig the Taxi Cab Confessions vibe of the video, if only because it reminds us of all the fun things we've done in the back of a cab over the years.

In a post that will surely upset the "We must not be divisive!" crowd, Andrew Sullivan questions the continued value of the Human Rights Campaign, noting that not only is there almost no information about last weekend's protests on their site, but also:

"In the two decades of serious struggle for marriage equality, the Human Rights Campaign has been mostly absent, and when present, often passive or reactive. Here's a simple statistic that might help shake us out of complacency: HRC claims to have spent $3.4 million on No On 8. The Mormon church was able to spend over $20 million, by appealing to its members. Why are non-gay Mormons more capable of organizing and fund-raising on a gay rights measure than the biggest national gay rights group?"

It's not a dumb question.

CONTINUED »

Super-queeny pop star Prince become a Jehovah's Witness seven years ago, an experience he describes as "a realization. It’s like Morpheus and Neo in ‘The Matrix'". The upshot of this for everyone is that if you live in Los Angeles, there's an honest-to-goodness chance that you'll have Prince show up on your doorstep one day, clutching a copy of The Watchtower. The downside? He's saying things like:

"But there’s the problem of interpretation, and you’ve got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn’t. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you’ve got blue, you’ve got the Democrats, and they’re, like, ‘You can do whatever you want.’ Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right… God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’"

CONTINUED »

The Delhi High Court is considering whether to make gay sex legal in India, the world's second most populous country. This morning, anti-gay rights advocates told the court that legalizing gay sex would increase the spread of HIV & AIDS. Advocate H P Sharma told the court:

"There is an increasing tendency of homosexuals in India to indulge in group sex. What is even more disturbing is that in the name of HIV/AIDS control, they try to get safe places for carrying out perverted sexual practices on a collective scale. Homosexuality will adversely affect the public health and in the name of thrill, enjoyment and fun the young shall walk into the trap of homosexual addiction. The tragic aspect of this is that alcohol, drugs and disease are the natural concomitants of homosexual activity."

The court rejected arguments made last week that gay sex causes bodily harm after gay rights advocates showed the bench World Health Organization documents refuting the claim. The opposition countered that no study had been conducted in India on the matter, but the court replied "Human beings are same everywhere." Gay sex is illegal under Section 377 under the Indian Penal Code and offenders can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

You have to give Michael Signorile credit for not losing his cool as Universal Press Syndicate writer and President of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy Maggie Gallagher spews a bunch of lies about why gay people shouldn't marry. Signorile, whose never been one to keep his mouth shut about anything, plays it smart and gives Gallagher all the rope she needs to hang herself with.

If the argument Gallagher presents (Marriage is for breeding! Gays are gonna get us!) is the best our opponents can come up with (and there's no reason they wouldn't put their best foot forward on CNN), our goal is simple– point out, calmly and simply that the case against marriage equality is based on lies and stupidity. Poor Michael, he's like a kindergarten teacher enduring a student's tirade in this piece.

With global warming keeping temperatures on the West Coast in the 90s over the weekend, Brazilian cutie Rodrigo Calazans is here to remind you the upside: every season is now swimsuit season.


[Images]


Over 100,000 protesters across the country and across the globe attended rallies and marched on Saturday in protest of California's Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage. From Fairbanks, Alaska, where 32 people stood with signs in 6 degree weather as snow fell to San Diego, where 25,000 people marched on an unseasonably hot autumn day that reached into the 90s, supporters of civil rights demanded equality.

"This is the first time in U.S. history that the majority voted to strip the rights of a minority. Who will be next?" asked Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lori Jean, who also credited young people as the driving force of the movement, saying "We now pass the torch to you!" The protests, organized via the website www.jointheimpact.com, spread through sites like Facebook, Myspace & Twitter.

Many of you sent in photos, videos and stories of the day. After the jump, we present some of these snapshots from across the country. You may want to grab a hankie.

CONTINUED »

For Prop 8, too

And she didn't even need the cover of People to do it.

Having never (so?) publicly discussed her sexual orientation — but having made light of it on stage and on The New Adventures of Old Christine, where her character remains married to Julia Louis-Dreyfus — comedian Wanda Sykes surprised Las Vegas Prop 8 protesters by announcing she is gay and married her wife on Oct. 25. Why speak up now? Because of Prop 8's passage. "I felt like I was being attacked, personally attacked — our community was attacked. … Now, I gotta get in their face. … I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay. … Instead of having gay marriage in California — no — we're going to get it across the country."

At 4:25, listen to an interview with Wanda about coming out. (She says she's talked about being gay on stage before; this we didn't know.) She also disagrees with the exit polling saying 70 percent of blacks voted for Prop 8. [Photo and audio via The Strip Podcast]

Update: Additional video below.

CONTINUED »

Were Sunday's religious sermons, just two days before a Tuesday Election Day, responsible for the conservative push behind Proposition 8? With Joy Behar guesting Larry King Live, guest Cynthia Nixon theorizes as much, while also delving into her own personal dilemma: Her girlfriend Christine Marinoni, who Cynthia wants to marry, has no legal rights to their children.

 

The return of pop music disaster Britney Spears arrives in music shops (and Amazon, and iTunes) on Dec. 2, which just happens to be her birthday. And coupled with some well played publicity efforts (appearing on stage with Madonna in Los Angeles, unveiling her newly toned body in the "Womanizer" video), the album Circus could very likely usher Ms. Spears back into America's good graces.

Will her fans take the bait?

Take a listen to a series of track snippets from her upcoming album, and jump to conclusions yourself.

(Audio not working? Try here.)

 

Say what you will about Ashton Kutcher — What Happens In Vegas, Guess Who, and the list goes on — but it's nice to see the guy's on the side of gay folk, and willing to drill down the entire notion of Proposition 8 so succinctly: That in a country founded on the separation of church and state, we refuse to separate church and state. (Oh, and the religious guy in the beginning is hell-a interesting too.)

No, not really, but the queen of television had Melissa Etheridge and her wife Tammy Lynn Michaels on today talking about Prop.8 and the national debate that's raging on about it. The clip starts with a great rundown of this week's media coverage of the event. As soon as we have part two of the segment, we'll post it.

You all need to stop whatever you are doing right now and watch this amazing live streaming video feed of puppies! You may have already seen these puppies, since they are taking the world by storm in what's obviously an attack by Al Qaeda designed to turn us into a nation of slack-jawed high-pitched morons.

But as we told you from day one: We love puppies. If you never hear from me again, it'll be because I'm sitting at my desk, clapping my hands like a schoolgirl squealing, "The one with the green collar is trying to use the one with the yellow collar as a pillow! Awwww" over an over again. We've been waiting for something like this ever since The Puppy Channel went off the air.

This super rare VHS copy of Miami Horror's 1983 classic "Don't Be on With Her" fell into our laps today and we wanted to share it with you in all it's bootleggy goodness.

We're totally fucking with you, folks. Miami Horror is actually a newish Australian group whose first EP, Bravado, containing this song, is available tomorrow. The video is directed by the same duo who did today's Morning Aural, Rhett & Warren of Moop Jaw and clearly, they enjoy messing with people's minds.

» Shepard Fairey Designs Marriage Equality Poster

Proving once and for all that orange is the new gay, Shepard Fairey, the L.A. street artist behind "Obey Andre" and this year's iconic Obama "Hope" poster has designed an image for equal marriage supporters that's free to use and distribute. You can download a hi-res PDF here.

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