The hits just keep coming for Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean. And when we say "hits," we mean video of his testimony in the ongoing discrimination lawsuit filed by former gay outreach director Donald Hitchcock.

In case you're just joining us, Hitchcock claims key DNC leaders conspired to sack him as retaliation for his boyfriend Paul Yandura's public criticism of the party. Dean denies the allegations, claiming Hitchcock failed to seduce the gays.

This particular video - part of which has been blacked out for its confidentiality - has less to do with Hitchcock's firing and more to do with the Democratic Party's alleged inclusion, specifically with regard to the national convention's contentious gay goals.

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Witnesses continue to come forward after this weekend's shooting at a gay-inclusive Unitarian church in Tennessee.

The kids over at Out & About received an exclusive account from Carla Lewis, who was there when Jim Adkisson came in firing. This excerpt picks up right after Adkisson fired his first shot:

My mind tried to register the sound. I was thinking, "Did a speaker explode? Did I hear a prop gun? Did something go wrong?" and as soon as that thought left my mind I smelled the sulfur from the gunpowder and heard another BOOM and then BOOM. I left go of Jaime's hand and stepped around the corner just as John Bohstedt tackled the shooter. Immediately two others were on top of him.
…
In the minutes leading up to when the police arrived Jaime and I saw children with escorts looking for their parents. We saw children and adults with blood on their clothes. We saw the worst side of human cruelty we had ever seen. We knew people had been shot but we didn't know who.

We eventually gathered with the rest of the church family on a hill behind the sanctuary. Most of the children were in safe hands at the Second Presbyterian Church next door. While we were congregated together I noticed our friend. She is a transgender youth. She told us that Greg, her foster father, had been hit. That really hit home.

Scary, scary shit…

Former Attorney General staffer Monica Goodling and her cohorts had some pretty queer hiring practices.

A Department of Justice report confirmed today that Goodling, who worked as a White House liaison for A.G. Alberto Gonzales' office, considered political affiliation, influence and sexuality when considering new hires:

Several witnesses provided credible testimony that one of the reasons for Goodling’s actions was the alleged sexual orientation of the AUSA.
…
We concluded that Goodling’s actions violated Department policy and federal law, and constituted misconduct.

In addition, we believe [Executive Office for the United States Attorneys Executive Director Michael] Battle should have raised concerns about Goodling’s actions. In this instance, Battle knew that Goodling had considered sexual orientation as a reason to deny the [Assistant U.S. Attorney] an extension of her EOUSA detail.

Sexuality wasn't the only litmus test, of course. One man was rejected because his resume "appeared to be a liberal Democrat."

There's no word on whether the staffers will face charges, although some Congressional investigators may pursue perjury for the lies Goodling and others told during Congressional hearings.

Hear's a PDF of the DOJ's ruling, if you're interested.

The Chinese government will begin a "gender determination" process for female athletes to make sure they're not too manly:

Experts at the lab, located at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, will evaluate cases based on their external appearance and take blood samples to test hormones, genes and chromosomes…
…
The concept has drawn criticism over the years, largely because certain chromosomal abnormalities may cause a woman to fail a test, even though it gives her no competitive advantage. Also, if a female athlete fails a test she must have a physiological examination, which many consider invasive and a privacy violation.
…
At the 1996 Atlanta Games, eight athletes failed the tests but were all cleared by subsequent examinations. Santhi Soundarajan, a middle-distance runner from India, was stripped of an Asian Games silver medal in 2006 after failing a gender verification test.

We wonder where a post-op male-to-female would stand…

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa released a statement yesterday on why he chose not to attend HRC's boycotted gala:

The Human Rights Campaign is on the frontlines of the fight for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights and I fully support its important mission at this critical moment in history.

It has come to my attention that the San Francisco Labor Council has voted to formally boycott HRC's annual fundraising gala and regretfully, I cannot attend this years event.

As Mayor of the largest city in California, I am committed to creating a world in which no member or group in society is denied full and equal rights. It is my hope that this time next year will find us all united by victory in the fight against Proposition 8 and ever more determined to establish equal rights, with no exceptions, for every one of us.

And peace shall reign…

Mazel to the tov to Lura Groen! The Houston-based lesbian Evangelical Lutheran preacher lady received an official ordination this weekend, despite the fact that she refuses to give up on same-sex loving:

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America does ordain gay pastors, but only if they agree to remain celibate. Groen, however, has refused, claiming heterosexual colleagues are not held to the same standard. She says church members have been supportive.

"There's a very good fit between the values of this congregation and the values I want to espouse as a preacher — to be telling God's love to all the world and the way that that calls us to treat everyone fairly," said Pastor Lura Groen.

Girl, you be fierce.

Brazil's bent boys should rejoice over their nations' new fag rag Junior. From the looks of these snaps, the pages be on fire!

Oh, and good news for folks in France and Portugal: you can find Junior on your shelves, too. We Americans, meanwhile, are left out. Boo…

Police aren't releasing many details about the mysterious murder of 18-year old trans teen Angie Zapata, but they're definitely digging into her background:

The beating death of a transgender teenager in Colorado may have been provoked by her lifestyle, police said.

"The bottom line is, we can't rule it in, we can't rule it out," Sgt. Joseph Tymkowych, a police spokesman in Greeley, Colo., told ABCNews.com.

Born a male, Justin Zapata, 18, identified herself as a woman and was known to family and friends as Angie. Her body was found in her apartment a week ago, with wounds to the head and face, police say. Missing was her green 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser. Authorities have not
yet recovered the car, which they hope will provide evidence that might help crack the case.

"The sooner we can find it, the better," Tymkowych said of the car.
…
[Police] think the suspect — or suspects — likely had some type of relationship with Zapata.

"We believe the victim knew or was an acquaintance with the suspect," Tymkowych said, adding that they have almost been able to clear a former roommate initially identified as a possible person of interest.

Tymkowych also mentioned that since Zapata didn't legally change her name, prosecutors must refer to her as Justin Zapata, "We don't have a problem using 'Angie.' We don't want to offend the family or anyone with gender concerns, but for it to be a good, clean prosecution, we can't identify a victim who doesn't exist."

Still following Madge brother Chris Ciccone's lengthy press tour? Well, we are, so suffer with us, will you?

After hitting up Good Morning America and Chelsea Lately to promote a tell-all about his singer sister, Ciccone now sits down - or, rather, has sat down - with the barely-there Page Six Magazine.

If you're like us, you want to go straight to the end, so here it is, as told by a press release:

[Ciccone] knows the book won’t bring them closer together, and she’ll probably be furious. Christopher, however, is optimistic. “Look, I don’t think the book is going to make us closer at this point,” he says. “But when she reads it and finds out what I was going through and who I am as a person… well, I just don’t think anything bad can come of that.”

"When she reads it?" Oh, you dear, dear boy…

Read the press release after the jump, if you dare…

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The House of Representatives did the right thing yesterday:

The House of Representatives voted 303 to 115 late Thursday to approve a sweeping global AIDS relief bill that includes language repealing a 1993 U.S. immigration law that prohibits HIV-positive visitors from entering the country and bars most foreigners with HIV from obtaining legal immigrant status.

The action by the House came one week after the Senate approved an identical version of the AIDS relief measure by a vote of 80 to 16.

The bill, which renews the highly popular U.S. foreign aide program known as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) now goes to President Bush, who has said he plans to sign the legislation.

Even after Bush signs the plan, however, the Department of Health and Human Services must repeal its internal ban.

South African homos are preparing to protest outside the Sunday Sun's offices after the paper published a "shocking homophobic article" penned by Jon Qwelane:

Qwelane wrote that: "There could be a few things [about which] I could take issue with Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, but his unflinching and unapologetic stance over homosexuals is definitely not among those."

He added that he could only pray that politicians would one day have "the balls" to scrap the sections in the Constitution that sanctioned gay and lesbian marriages.

Ah, yes - and, while they at it, why not reinstate apartheid…

A night out turned into jail time for some unlucky Thai bar-goers:

Tourist police and regular police raided a gay pub in the middle of the city, which was open for entertainment out of business hours. Police found more than 200 customers in the pub. Many of them did not have I.D. cards and some tested positive for drug consumption.
…
Police arrested the pub manager for illegal opening and detained customers without I.D. cards or for consuming drugs. The offenders will be prosecuted, accordingly.

That's a nasty hangover…

We wonder if there will be an expansion deck…

[Gay Republican Cards via The Gist]

Northern Ireland's Iris Robinson's repeated anti-gay outbursts have her political colleagues wondering about her mental health:

Robinson's outbursts against homosexuals are developing into "an unhealthy obsession" for which she should seek psychiatric help, it has been claimed.
Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson said she was convinced the DUP MP was stressed and this was manifesting itself in a series of public remarks targeting homosexuality.
…
Ms Anderson said: "Iris seems to be constantly obsessed with the gay and lesbian community."

"I think she (Mrs Robinson] should seek a quiet moment to sit down and talk to somebody herself."

The Sinn Fein woman continued by suggesting the DUP MP "takes time out".

Robinson's remarks have included comparing sodomy to child abuse, calling gays sinners and recommending reparative therapy to "treat" the gay folk. Yep, she sounds certifiable to us!

California's social conservatives are sinking to new lows in their battle to ban gay marriage:

Backers of a November initiative to ban same-sex marriage in California plan to tell voters in the state ballot pamphlet that the constitutional amendment would protect children as young as kindergarten age from being taught in school about the virtues of gay and lesbian matrimony.

"If the gay marriage ruling is not overturned, teachers will be required to teach young children there is no difference between gay marriage and traditional marriage," supporters of Proposition 8 said in ballot arguments that went on public display this week at the secretary of state's office.

And then the gays will unfurl their tentacles, suck out everyone's brains and take over the world!