If I did not blog on gay topics, I would long since have let my subscription to the gay magazine, the Advocate, lapse. The periodical regularly provides biased coverage of the news, with regular misrepresentations of Republicans and conservatives. Its latest issue, announcing TV personality Bill Maher as it’s “Person of the Year,” is just another example of its narrow focus.

Were it not for Bill Maher’s left-wing politics as well as regular attacks on conservatives, the Advocate would certainly not have chosen to honor him. This periodical regularly heralds left-of-center media figures even when they have done little to make gay lives better.

If Bill Maher did not offer up the politics Hollywood wants to promote, he would long since have vanished from the scene. He’s more pretentious than funny and offers little (if any) original thought. Far from being politically incorrect, he just mouths whatever slogans he feels will endear him to producers and other entertainment industry bigwigs. Kind of like Madonna (the pop-star not the mother of Jesus) without the vocal talent.

This year, there are clear candidates for people of the year, individuals who have not been in the media spotlight, but who have done a good deal for gay people. Last month, for the first time since states have been voting on referenda defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman (and otherwise limiting the types of relationships states may recognize), voters in one state — Arizona — defeated one of these pernicious proposals. At the same time, while similar referenda passed in other states, they saw the margin of victory greatly reduced (from those in states which had voted on marriage in previous years).

It seems there’s been a shift in the debate on gay marriage. Perhaps, gay organizations have learned from their past campaigns and adjusted their rhetoric to better influence Americans. Whatever the case, those who organized against the Arizona referendum succeeded in improving the lives of gay people by blocking an initiative which would have banned recognition of our unions. As they proved that passage of these referenda is not a given, they provided a model for activists in other states to follow.

I don’t know who these people are — and would dare say their politics are (by and large) not my own. But, those activists did do something more than just pretend to be courageous while spouting politically correct views.

So, here’s to the real people of the year (as far as the gay world is concerned) — those who worked successfully to defeat the Arizona referendum. It’s too bad our media outlets are more obsessed with self-important celebrities than they are with those making real accomplishments outside our nation’s entertainment centers.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW!!!!

Given the number of talented blogresses under consideration for the coveted title of “Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2007,” we had to find a way of paring down the list to a manageable number. To be sure, every blogress listed in my last post truly qualifies as a diva, a strong confident woman who commands the respect of men. When I reviewed their blogs, I was impressed by the quality of their writing and the independence of their thought.

In the end, we decided to nominate based on an objective criterion — those blogresses who had been seconded, either in the comments section or in e-mail to one of us. Please note that not all nominees are conservative per se. Some are libertarian. And others, while more centrist, distinguish themselves by their iconoclasm and the manner in which they take on the silliness of certain leftists — and conservative pretenders, i.e., those who, in the words of one of our nominees, “drive . . . liberals nuts.”

That said, please find below the list of nominees. We’ll post the link to the post as soon as Bruce gets it up:

Ann Althouse
The Anchoress
Little Miss Attila
Tammy Bruce
Dymphna of Gates of Vienna
e-Claire
Townhall’s Mary Katharine Ham
Sondra K of Knowledge is Power
National Review Online‘s K-Lo (Kathryn Jean Lopez)
Michelle Malkin
Virginia Postrel of Dynamist Blog
Kathy Shaidle of Relapsed Catholic
Alexandra von Maltzan of All Things Beautiful

We will keep this round of voting open until December 24th at which point, we’ll do a second round of ballotting with the top candidates.

In the past few weeks, where I have found myself able to write only with much difficulty, I did a lot of thinking, about events of the day as well as some of the broader social issues I wish to address, both on this blog and in other writings. And I have been delighted to note that ideas for my Fantasy Epic which had only come to me intermittently for most of the fall started to flow freely in the past few weeks.

In short, it has been a period of introspection, but I know it is soon to come to an end, for, in the past few days, instead of vague ideas and broad notions that have crossed my mind, I have also had a great variety of ideas for posts to this blog. I expect to start writing again later this afternoon — as soon as I post the list of nominees for Grande Conservative Blogress Diva.

To those who have e-mailed me — and not yet heard back — please note that I am not neglecting your missives, only that, because of graduate school work, other obligations and my own more “quiet” period, I have allowed my e-mail to back up — on this and other accounts, primarily opening those related to the Blogress Diva competition (and other pressing obligations). As soon as I have a moment, I will get to your correspondence.

I hope in the coming days to address some of the issues that have crossed my mind during this period of introspection as many of them relate to gay culture, particularly our attitudes toward sexuality — and personal difference.

And to those who have sent me words of support, while they were not needed, they were greatly appreciated. It wasn’t personal difficulty that had prevented me from writing, but merely a need to step back and think about things, a time to ponder and not to post. I do hope that this period now concluding will serve me well in terms of personal growth as well as the ideas I express on this blog — and in other endeavors.

- B. Daniel Blatt (GayPatriotWest@aol.com)