Lights out for Larry Craig. A Minnesota judge rejected the Idahoan senator's plea to dismiss a disorderly conduct charge. As we're all well aware, police buster Craig for cruising an airport bathroom for gay sex. Says CNN:

Hennepin County District Judge Charles Porter found Craig had entered the guilty plea "accurately, voluntarily and intelligently" and it was too late to withdraw his admission.

In a sharply worded, 27-page order, the judge found the Idaho Republican had freely given his plea after extensive discussions with prosecutors and after waiving his right to an attorney.

"The defendant, a career politician with a college education, is of at least above-average intelligence," Porter wrote. "He knew what he was saying, reading and signing."

Larry Craig said he would resign if the plea was denied. The clock's ticking…

The original report included a quote from the Senator saying he would stay in office. That was an old statement. Apologies.

Television's first openly gay judge David Young popped into Larry King Live last night to discuss celebrity trainwrecks. Because, you know, that's what television judges do. Toward the end of the show, guest host Tony Potts took a second to ask Young what he thinks of Senator Larry Craig's toilet trolling drama:

Potts: Judge David, let me ask you, you are openly gay. You're on the bench there. What would you do in the case of presiding other Senator Larry Craig's effort to withdraw his guilty plea. Would — that fact that you're also gay, would that lead you to recuse yourself from that at all? How do you handle that issue?

Young: No, I don't think one's sexual orientation really has anything to do with it. I think the bottom line is, is there enough legal grounds for him to withdraw his guilty plea? And you're talking about a person who writes laws. You're not talking about John Q. Citizen who may have under duress, who may have been having a bad day, acting crazy.

Here's a lawmaker who mailed in his guilty plea. And he did it to cover it up. The guy is a total hypocrite and I would deny his motion and if I could I'd assess court costs against him for taking up and wasting the court's time. The man is just outrageous.

Hey…that's some tough judicial love ("with a snap".)

Is there anything we gays can't do? Not according to virulent homophobe and walking cadaver Fred Phelps.

Phelps and his brood of hate-mongering Baptists will be taking a trip to Minnesota to highlight how America's sins allegedly brought down the 35W bridge.

The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., plans to stage protests at funerals of victims of the 35W bridge collapse to state that God made the bridge fall because he hates America, and especially Minnesota, because of its tolerance of homosexuality.
…
In a press release issued the day after the bridge collapse, the church called for protests at the funerals and outlined its feelings about the relationship between God's plan and the sins of Minneapolis and Minnesota, which it calls the "land of the Sodomite damned."

Shouldn't that be "damned Sodomite"? God may hate fags, but he loves dyslexia!

[Thanks for the heads up, Republicoft.]

• John Roberts - the same man who brought us Jackie & Debra - has done it again. Send this one along to your mom. Especially if you're not out yet. It'll help her work through it…

• Ivan Marrow, the gay businessman who alleges Zurich Life ruined his business, may love being gay, but he wishes he were born straight.

• Ex-Idol on Sanjaya Malakar on I Love New York 2? Or does TMZ just think all Indian people look alike?

• Can the church save Jamaica's homos? According to American lesbian Reverend Nancy Wilson, yes: "We have strong allies in heterosexual church leaders here, but sometimes they are afraid to speak out for fear of being criticized by others, and so I met with many of them this week and say you have to come out and tell the others that they don't speak for all of you."

• Hey, wanna see pictures of Lindsay Lohan snorting coke? Look no further.

• Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed the state's domestic partnership bill. Outfront Minnesota executive director Ann DeGroot ain't happy: "This veto is not good government. It’s the state telling local governments what they can and cannot do. We thought the governor supported local control. The governor has chosen to make a political point over good public policy." No wonder Pawlenty is GOP presidential candidate John McCain's election committee co-chair.

• Advertisers are now one step closer to taking over the entire world. Next stop: your dreams.

Minnesota gay college student Paul Marquardt found himself on the receiving end of a good ol' fashioned American knuckle-sandwich last Thursday. The Minnesota Staute University - Moorhead pupil had been when walking home from the library when a group of hoodlums approached.

The gang started shouting at him. Hoping they would go away, Marquardt turned up his music, hoping they'd leave him alone. Unfortunately, the group had other ideas:

Marquardt said he was followed by a group of men who yelled anti-gay slurs at him at which point he turned up his MP3 player in an attempt to ignore the men. The men then threw him to the ground, knocking him unconscious, and kicking him repeatedly. Marquardt regained consciousness several minutes later, but remembered very little of the attack. He was treated for a concussion, a separated shoulder, a broken wrist, and possible spleen damage.

Spleen damage ain't pretty.

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