Journalist Sara Whitman lays the smack down this morning. Whitman's absolutely beside herself over gay leaders like Joe Solmonese, Matt Foreman and even Melissa Etheridge's respective silences on 15-year Lawrence King's murder:

Who represents the LGBT community on a national and international stage?

Is there anyone?
…
Who was at Lawrence King’s funeral? Where were our leaders?

In this star struck culture, the way to draw attention to an issue is to put a recognizable face out front to draw the press out. Where were Joe Solmonese of HRC, Matt Foreman of NGLTF, Kevin Cathcart of Lambda, Kate Kendall of NCLR, Neil Giuliano of GLAAD? Ellen DeGeneres did her part, but what about the newly out Cheyenne Jackson? Cynthia Nixon? Melissa Etheridge? Where’s the song from Elton John? It takes leadership to bring make the kind of public statement that surrounded the Jena 6.

But we don’t have that.

That's kind of real - except for the Elton John request. That's just ridiculous.

In the wake of Cuban president Fidel Castro's resignation earlier this year, the balance of power has shifted not only to his brother, Raul, but to another Castro, Mariela, Raul's daughter.

An outspoken gay advocate and head of the National Center for Sex Education, Mariela Castro uses her position to affect positive social change. Now, with her uncle out of power and her father in, Castro's gearing up for a lavender invasion, proposing legislation that will bring bent boys and girls closer to their heterosexual peers.

And she may be making all the right moves.

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The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission ain't too happy with Matt Foreman.

The gay activist got their goat last week when, while memorializing shot teen Simmie Williams Jr., Foreman insisted that people are not born homophobic, but are taught, including while at church. And now the CAC's out for figurative blood. Said spokesperson Reverend Gary Cass:

Foreman is guilty of gross Christian bashing, the very kind of bashing he says he opposes against homosexuals.

Radical homosexuals like Foreman are quick to exploit this tragic situation for their own political purposes and in order to bash Christians. Matt Foreman owes the ministers of Broward County an apology.

Faithful Christian churches must oppose homosexual behavior, just as they must oppose other behavior they consider to be sinful…

Cass then asks for proof that a pastor "has has ever suggested or condoned violence". The man's obviously not a big history buff…

The ongoing battle between Matt Foreman and Congressman Barney Frank rages on!

The adorably cantankerous Frank appeared on Michelangelo Signorile's radio show yesterday to rebuff Foreman's remarks that Frank's "squeamish" about trans rights. Frank defended his position, of course, but also made sure to take some swipes at Foreman, including his past political judgment in endorsing former New York Governor George Pataki over Democrat Carl McCall. Frank claims Foreman went for Pataki to strike a political compromise while heading up Empire State Pride Agenda. Frank called Foreman's move "a very significant mistake in my judgment from the standpoint of in our coalition building."

Grrrrl!

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Students continue to mourn in Oxnard, California this morning.

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Outgoing Task Force leader Matt Foreman appeared on Michelangelo Signorile's radio show this week and lobbed a few hard balls at Representative Barney Frank, a man some say didn't take a strong enough stand during last year's ENDA debacle.

I think what really happened is [Speaker Nancy Pelosi's] people said 'Look, Congress has a terrible reputation right now, they're not delivering for any progressive causes… What do we have to do to deliver to our progressive allies?' That means labor and health and environment and gays. And, so, I mean, I don't know this for a fact, but I would bet my life that this is what happened: They went to Barney Frank and said 'What do we need to pass ENDA?"
…
"Representative Frank, who has always been pretty squeamish on the trans issue, and I guess I can say these things because I am leaving my job…

Frank's office called in soon after and called Foreman's allegations "absurd".

Frank will appear on Signorile's Sirius radio show today at 3:30 to plead his case.

The contemporary gay rights movement got off the ground way back in 1969. Despite nearly forty years of struggle, activists still can't overcome one fundamental hurdle: should the gay movement subscribe to separatist isolationism or dedicate itself to more universal human rights?

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Lane Hudson and Matt Foreman know a little something something about the gay rights movement. As the outgoing leader of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Foreman has helped spearhead a number of movements in Washington, New York and throughout the rest of the United States. The activist tells us he caught the activist bug after witnessing the atrocities of West Virginia's coal mining industry and only later got involved in the nascent gay rights movement. Foreman later got caught up in the more progressive, grass roots-oriented gay rights movement. Hudson, meanwhile, has been involved in activism since his wee years, when political active family members informed his social consciousness. The former Human Rights Campaign staffer gained notoriety after exposing Mark Foley's inappropriate exchanges with congressional pages. He lost his job for his involvement in that scandal and now works as an independent gay rights activists and contributes to Huffington Post. Just in case you didn't know…

The editorial union of these men counts as the first in a sporadic series called "Homo Encounters," during which our editor moderates a conversation between two notable homos from various fields. Today's one super Tuesday, so we thought Hudson and Foreman could offer some interesting thoughts on where the gay movement remains today - and where it's meant to go tomorrow. We don't want to give too much away, but be prepared for the pros and cons of incrementalism, how the Democrats can shape up (or ship out), why the federal level ain't the shit and which political enemies should be our mentors - after the jump, naturally.

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Big changes at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Executive Director Matt Foreman announced that he'll leave the non-profit for the San Francisco-based Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

From The Bilerico Project:

[Foreman] will step down in April to lead the Gay & Lesbian Program at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Foreman has led the Task Force for five years and helped propel the organization to national prominence as an outspoken and unwavering advocate of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights.

The Haas, Jr. Fund, located in San Francisco, provides more grant support to LGBT organizations than any non-gay-identified foundation in the nation.

Task Force co-chair Matt Sexton highlights some of Foreman's main accomplishments: "Our staff grew to 54 full-time positions and our budget more than doubled to nearly $10 million."

The Senate Ethics Committee will get a gay earful today. Or, rather, an eyeful.

DC-centric newspaper The Hill reports that The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will challenge the investigation into Senator Larry Craig's toilet trolling arrest. NGLTF head honcho Matt Foreman writes to Barbara Boxer and Senator John Cornyn:

We are writing to state the inherent contradiction between your treatment of allegations of ethical misconduct by Senator Larry Craig and Senator David Vitter and to insist that you open an investigation into Sen. Vitter’s conduct. There is no explanation for the diametrically opposed responses to these two situations, other than hypocrisy tinged by homophobia. There are only two ways to resolve this: drop the investigation into Sen. Craig or investigate the allegations surrounding Sen. Vitter.

Vitter, of course, came under fire after admitting to canoodling with prostitutes. The Craig investigation doesn't only highlight the Republican party's anti-gay ways, but the Democrats, too. Isn't politics just icky?

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• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director Matt Foreman has some harsh words for Democratic presidential contenders:

We find no evidence that the Democratic frontrunners counter Republicans’ anti-LGBT speech with routine and positive inclusion of LGBT people in their visions for a whole and healthy society… The Democrats include us — sorta — but only in response to a direct question and typically in the language of careful legislative reform.

Word!

• Jim McGreevey and soon-to-be ex-wife Dina Matos McGreevey make another court appearance. Judge urges them to settle and stop wasting time/money. And, for some reason, Mato-McGreevey thinks she's entitled to $56,000 a month in alimony. Was her book really that much of a bomb?

• Venice film festival gets gay with Queer Lion Award.

• PlanetOut announces mixed second quarter fiscal results.

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