What is it with magicians?!

David Copperfield rode a glossy wave of canned beauty for years - until rape allegations derailed his perfect veneer. Now we have admitted homosexual Hans Klok, who must be covered in at least one layer of fantastical pancake make-up. He's practically glowing at this press conference for his upcoming German tour.

Despite his aesthetic efforts, however, Klok comes out looking a bit like Mary Cheney, which isn't necessarily a bad thing…

America Online charted new queer territory earlier this year when it unveiled its LGBT blog, QueerSighted. The gamble paid off, indeed, with over 3.5 million page views a month and the potential for endless advertising revenue. Then, about six months later, that dream died - or, rather, was killed, when AOL canned editor Kenneth Hill and told the other homo-journos to start packing.

Now, one former member of the collective's raising some not-so-rhetorical questions. Writes Richard Rothstein:

And, at the end of the day, I suppose we can't accuse AOL of homophobia or politics. After all, Mary Cheney remains a vice president at AOL and she, as we all know, is a staunch supporter of the queer community, our rights and our voice. And just because a number of AOL's openly homophobic and conservative right wing bloggers remain employed and blogging doesn't mean that the termination of large numbers of senior gay employees means anything.

Rothstein also alleges that AOL attempted to silence the site's former writers. Obviously it didn't work.

Lynne Cheney took to the boob tube yesterday to promote her new book, Blue Skies, No Fences.

In addition to defending her husband, calling Vice President Dick Cheney a "terrific guy", the 66-year old second lady discusses how times have changed. For example, her generation didn't always welcome the homos, "[The times] were hard on kids who were gay". No thanks to the Republican party, of course.

Since birthing lesbian daughter Mary, Lynne says she - and society- have "evolved":

I think the society has evolved. I've evolved in my way of thinking, but I think the whole society has evolved. You know, my mother had a rule which was people are just people.

Speaking of people, Cheney's interviewer, Rita Braver, happens to be married to a lawyer who helped Cheney get published.

Everyone has something to say about Mary Cheney and Heather Poe's new baby, Samuel David, but Out's looking into the future and wondering what lil' Sammy Dave will be saying in about a year-and-a-half.

We voted for God is dead. Satan lives, as did 12.3% of the respondents. The majority of readers, however, have voted for "Da-da", to which we say, "Ha-ha".

Fred Phelps isn't the only one wondering about Mary Cheney's whereabouts in son Samuel David Cheney's first press photo-op. Family Pride's executive director, Jennifer Chrisler spilled some ink on that very subject. None of the other Cheney children have had such media welcoming, she writes, and Sammy Dave wouldn't have had one had it not been for his lesbianic origins. What's most queer, however, isn't the fact that journalists have gone ga-ga over the little lad, but that his notable mother has been under lock-and-key since his birth.

By virtue of Mary's status as the Vice President's daughter, she and her partner, Heather Poe, continue to be arguably the most prominent Republican lesbian couple in the country. Mary's pregnancy has been covered by the media since it was first announced. The couple welcomed their first child, Samuel, into the world earlier this week. And yet the mothers are not included in the photo that was sent out to announce the birth of their child.

Mary may have announced that she doesn't want her child to be a political pawn, but Chrisler rightly points out that allowing the White House to edit her and her lover, Heather Poe, out of the picture may be the most political move of all.

The cadaverous Fred Phelps crawled from the crypt this weekend to send The Cheney Family a very special post-baby message. The Westboro Baptist's horrid, rotting leader takes to YouTube for what may be one of the most ingeniously evil missives in history:

Vice President Dick Cheney and his goofy wife Lynne are Mr. and Mrs. Antichrist America. If anybody now doubts whether God has cursed America with an irreversible curse, let him gaze upon the photo-op politically inspired picture, put out yesterday, of these two old fools who are holding dyke Daughter Mary's newborn bastard son and pretending to like it.

Phelps makes no mention of crowns or even a celebratory reception. He does, however, point out that God has now left America and we're all doomed to burn in hell. So, what else is new?

CONTINUED »

Mary Cheney knew her child with lesbian lover Heather Poe would cause a stink. Anticipating the conservatives outrage, Vice-President Dick Cheney's daughter released a preemptive statement:

When Heather and I decided to have a baby, I knew it wasn’t going to be the most popular decision. This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate, on either side of a political issue. It is my child.

While some people celebrated Samuel David Cheney's birth on Wednesday, not everyone jumped for joy. Take, for example, Peter LaBarbera, the homophobic leader of anti-gay group, Americans for Truth…

CONTINUED »

Blesses news from the White House: Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary Cheney has given birth to a son, Samuel David Cheney. The 8 lb, 6 ounce boy came bursting into the world this morning at 9:46. Miraculously, the lesbian's love child does not have horns or a pointy tail.

Ms. Cheney and her girlfriend, Heather Poe, are no doubt relieved that their controversial child has come out safe and sound. Congratulations to the Cheney family - except for you, Dick. You blow.

In celebration of young Mr. Cheney's birth, Family Pride will be hosting a virtual "baby shower" on which readers can chat about the little bundle of joy.

• Poor Mary Cheney. Her book, Now It's My Turn, only sells for a measly $.07. Don't people know she's has a baby on the way

• Who tried to keep TR Knight in the closet?

• Michael Bay offers you a look at Transformers.

• Mickey Mouse clone fights for Hamas.

• Connecticut drops same-sex marriage debate.

• Maroon 5's Adam Levine on being gay: "I'm not into dick. I wish I were. It would be so much easier. Because, you know, men have a certain camaraderie with each other that's easygoing and kind of simple, when you think about it." Then why are all gay relationships so dramatic?

That's right folks! The company once headed by VP Dick Cheney has rewritten three policies to protect the 'mos from harassment and discrimination!!

Before we get the party started, we'll let super sappho-journo Kerry Eleveld of The New York Blade dispense the earth-shatteringly straight-forward details:

In a little noticed move last month, Halliburton amended three of its corporate governance policies to protect gays and lesbians from being discriminated against, harassed, or fired simply on the basis of their sexual orientation.

The move came in response to a shareholder resolution filed by the Boston-based investment firm Trillium Asset Management Corporation on behalf of its clients who own Halliburton stock.

So, why all the excitement? Because just law year the company squashed a similar Trillium-endorsed resolution with an SEC-backed technicality. This year they passed it in a matter of days. An early baby present to Mary Cheney, perhaps?

CONTINUED »

• Moscow's mayor may have banned gay pride, but the Russian government supports the queer right to assemble.

• Gay rights activists may have cheered Italy's potential civil partnership law, but Pope Benedict XVI ain't feeling so cheery. (Surprise, surprise.)

• Potential GOP Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee may not want to comment on Mary Cheney's pregnancy, but he does say he doesn't support gay marriage.

• Scissor Sisters may be uber-talented, but it doesn't really translate on their second Passions appearance. (Or the first.)

• Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead may think they're Dannielynn Marshall Stern's papas, but Zsa Zsa Gabor's hubby, Prince Frederick von Anhalt says he's the real deal.

• The Red Cross may ban men who have sex with men from donating blood, but Cleveland officials think they're wrong.

Here's some video of Dr. Kyle Pruett insisting that homophobe schmuck bag and Focus on the Family leader James Dobson misused his research for his erroneous Time Magazine article in which admonished Mary Cheney for having a baby with her lesbian love, Heather Poe.

Dobson wrote:

With all due respect to Cheney and her partner, Heather Poe, the majority of more than 30 years of social-science evidence indicates that children do best on every measure of well-being when raised by their married mother and father. That is not to say Cheney and Poe will not love their child. But love alone is not enough to guarantee healthy growth and development. The two most loving women in the world cannot provide a daddy for a little boy–any more than the two most loving men can be complete role models for a little girl… The unique value of fathers has been explained by Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale Medical School in his book Fatherneed: Why Father Care Is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child. Pruett says dads are critically important simply because "fathers do not mother."

Pruett's the second of Dobson's "sources" to come out against the essay.

So, what's the mean? Well, Dobson's a liar, but other than that, probably not that much. Still, it's always entertaining watching a bigot liar get what he deserves…

Related: James Dobson Doesn't Want To Offend

Daddy Dickie may not want to talk about Mary Cheney's controversial pregnancy, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have something to say on the matter.

Speaking on a panel for Glamour Magazine (yeah, we were kind of surprised, too), 37-year Mary broke it all down:

When Heather [Poe, her girlfriend] and I decided to have a baby, I knew it wasn’t going to be the most popular decision. This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate, on either side of a political issue. It is my child.

Go, girl!

As for James Dobson's equally contentious article in Time Magazine in which Dobson blasted Cheney's dykey decision, insisting that children are better off with a man and a woman, Mary says she's never really cared what he thinks, adding,

Every piece of remotely responsible research that has been done in the last 20 years has shown there is no difference between children raised by same-sex parents and children raised by opposite-sex parents; what matters is being raised in a stable, loving environment.

And if there's anyone who's stable and loving, it's Mary Cheney. As for the rest of her family…well, we suppose Mama Lynn's pretty chill. We don't advise she allow Daddy Dickie too much alone time. He may not be able to resist the urge to sap the child's life force.