At 0:49 below, Audrey Hepburn demonstrates how gay Americans should have responded to President Obama’s statement on gay marriage yesterday:

Like everything with Obama, all we get is “words, words, words.”

This is not just a gay conservative talking.  Several voices on the left have found that there’s not much there there in the president’s sudden shift on same-sex marriage.  At the Gawker, John Cook calls the statement a “cowardly cop-out”:  ”it seems fairly clear from the network’s coverage that his announcement amounts to much less than meets the eye. He now believes that gay couples should be able to marry.”

At the far left magazine Mother Jones, Adam Serwer reports that his colleague . . .

. . . David Corn spoke with an administration source and asked whether the president recognized gay marriage as a right. The official replied, “He has always said that it is a state issue, and he’s not suggesting changing that. He did not support the North Carolina amendment, but he’s not saying he will bring up a piece of federal legislation on gay marriage. This is how he feels himself about the issue, and he leaves it to the states.”

Emphasis added.  He’s not bringing up legislation?!?  And all my left-leaning gay friends on Facebook are so giddy about the statement; Obama’s just leaving it to the states.

Shouldn’t they be insisting that he show us he loves us by putting some political capital on the line and backing legislation to make federal recognition of gay relationships a reality?

He’s like the guy who tells his beloved how much he loves her, tells her wants to get married, but refuses to buy a ring or set a date.

I am not entirely comfortable with the term, “catfight” in describing the confrontation between these two Titanesses of the silver screen–but best screen confrontation between women on screen was not as catchy — and quite clunky a title. Well, I found a better; it may lack the punch of the original, but at least I’m comfortable with it.

Here, we see Irene Papas, one of few actresses to actually get the woman whose face launched a thousand ships.  Helen of Argos, later of Troy, finally of Argos is a far more complex woman than the screen beauty portrayed in most screen versions of the Trojan War.  In a man’s world, she knows how to use her feminine charms to win her way, even if it means defying her patron deity, Aphrodite.  I do not say this lightly:  Papas is the greatest living actress.

And when the divine Miss Kate plays Helen’s erstwhile mother-in-law, Hecuba, in The Trojan Women their confrontation just sizzles.

In a war fought over Helen, Hecuba lost her husband and her sons, all that was dear to her. And in the clip above, we believe that when Hepburn, er, Hecuba, asks Menelaus to kill Helen, she really wants to see Papas dead.

The face launched a thousand ships, carrying warriors which would kill thousands of Trojan men.

Before I drove cross country in 2010, I had never heard of Southern cooking diva Paula Deen, but I credit her for the harmony of our readers’ dinner in Atlanta that spring.  You see, when we gathered in that august town, I was concerned; one of our critics (with whom I have corresponded at least since 2006) would be joining us — along with two of our most outspoken conservative readers, one who, two years after the 2008 election, still sported a McCain-Palin sticker (with the Arizona Senator’s name removed) on his truck.

I had feared I might have to play peacemaker.  Well, I didn’t have to.  I don’t know how Paula Deen came up, but as soon as she did, all my Atlanta readers found something to talk about — how they delighted in this diva, enjoying her books, TV show and recipes.  They discussed which ones they had tried and home and celebrated her appreciation for butter.  Paula Deen, in short, bridged the political divide.

Aware of this woman’s capacity to foster harmony, my ears naturally perked up when my correspondent James Richardson alerted me this weekend to an article he wrote, taking to task “Northern” food critics who would bring this Southern diva down:

“Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later,” [New York-based foodie Anthony] Bourdain said Tuesday. He has also previously called Deen the “worst, most dangerous person to America” for her country cooking indulgence. Even 2011 James Beard winner Jose Andres said that Dean should “endorse a vegetable or fruit” instead of a diabetes drug.

But the Bronx cheer for apparent chef-turned-rebel terrorist Deen, a prototypical Southern mother with a lifetime’s recipes of irredeemably deep-fried dishes, is less a reflection of the culinary elitism that runs through Bourdain’s vice-ridden travelogues than the regionalist snobbery that fuels its appeal.

. . . .

From food to faith, the mythic Dixie–soulful and abundant, passionate and insubmissive–has always clashed with the rigidly cosmopolitan north, which keeps an ever watchful eye on we, her unlearned, drawling wards. (more…)

Due to an unusually busy December, I have not yet had the chance to finalize the ballot for the most coveted crown in the blogosphere, the diamond tiara bestowed upon that distinguished blogress who commands the respect of gay conservatives, the Grande Conservative Blogress Diva.

Last year, Robin of Berkeley won the coveted tiara with her American Thinker colleague Clarice Feldman joining Neo-neocon in the high-heeled slippers that mark the Regent.

Nominees in that contest included:

• Fausta
• Pam Meister
• Jill of Pundit & Pundette (also at Potluck)
• No Sheeples Here
• Elizabeth Scalia (AKA The Anchoress)
• Ann Althouse
• Sister Toldjah
• Dr. Helen (AKA the Instawife)
• Michelle Malkin
• Tammy Bruce
• Cassy Fiano
• Mary Katherine Ham
• Melissa Clouthier

MeredithAncret nominated http://www.dirtysexandpolitics.com/ but methink she might qualify as a diva herself.  Please feel free to second the above nominees or submit your own either in the comments or in an e-mail.

As you know, we here at GayPatriot define a diva as a strong woman who commands the respect of men.  And once again, it’s time to pick that blogress who best defines that quality.  In past years, I’ve linked previous nominees and diva-esque blogresses.  This year, I’ll link those past posts when I get a moment, but for now will leave it up to you to nominate those most deserving of this coveted honor.

We’ll keep nominations open for one week, through December 15 at which point Bruce and I will pick those lucky ladies to appear on the ballot.

Athena likes me:

Announcing Ann Coulter was joining the organization’s Advisory Council as Honorary Chair with the official title of “Gay Icon”, Christopher Barron, Chairman of GOProud’s Board, called the diva best-selling author “a brilliant and fearless leader of the conservative movement”:

. . . we are honored to have her as part of GOProud’s leadership. . . . Ann helped put our organization on the map. Politics is full of the meek, the compromising and the apologists – Ann, like GOProud, is the exact opposite of all of those things.

Indeed she is.  Quite the opposite.  Here’s Ann on C-SPAN.

The lady doesn’t mince words.

RELATED: Reconsidering Ann Coulter

It seems that whenever I fault the news media for going overboard about Sarah Palin, any Palin-hater within earshot will rebuke me for demanding that people refrain from criticizing the accomplished Alaska reformer.  They contend I wish to silence Palin critics. Heck, I don’t even seek to silence the rabid Palin-obsessives, just lament that those who criticize the charismatic conservative celebrity (more often than not) exaggerate her flaws, if not make up (or truncate) comments she has made or views she holds, all while refusing to acknowledge Sarah Palin’s strengths as an individual and her record as an office-holder.

Why can’t some people just express their disagreement with Mrs. Palin in a civil tone — and take the time to familiarize himself with her actual arguments?  Those who question her competence to hold office should at least consider her actual record in office.  But, some in the news media would rather ask gotcha questions than inquire into that record.

Despite the ignorance of many Palin critics of what that Republican woman actually did in Alaska, she was an accomplished reformer who had worked with Republicans and Democrats alike while governor of the Last Frontier.  Before questioning Palin’s qualifications to lead, Ann Althouse did just that when commenting on a movie based on the Alaskan’s accomplishments:

The material — which impresses some people, even to the point of getting confused into thinking that the movie is good — shows Sarah Palin’s rise to power in Alaska and her excellent achievements and immense popularity as governor. The problem is that all of this happened in the context of boldly and bravely challenging the corrupt Republican establishment. This made her very popular with Democrats in Alaska. (more…)

It seems that whenever I hear a TV show is well-written, I learn that a number of its writers are gay.  I would dare say that a number of those who helped provide the set-ups and dialogue for Lucille Ball’s pioneering physical comedy were guys like us.

The funny lady all but confirmed this in a 1980 interview from People magazine quoted in an Advocate article paying tribute yesterday to a woman one man called “the true gay icon”:

Ball was asked her thoughts on a number of subjects, including gay rights. “It’s perfectly all right with me,” she replied. “Some of the most gifted people I’ve ever met or read about are homosexual. How can you knock it?”

Because of the craziness of this past week, a visiting nephew and a visiting father, I somehow got my dates messed up.  I had planned on celebrating this centennial of Lucille Ball’s birthday today, Sunday, August 6, only looking up at my calendar yesterday afternoon to realize that it was indeed, Saturday, August 6 so Sunday would be the 100th anniversary of Lucy’s birth plus one day.

In honor of that great lady, I tracked down a few videos honoring her.  Here, the Gipper offers a tribute to the woman who made millions laugh.

Note how at about 0:46 into the video when Mike Wallace asks Ronald Reagan what made Lucy so special, the great man replied, “I don’t know that I can answer that.  You just accepted it and reveled in it, but you didn’t try to get down and analyze what she could do.  But, it just was peculiarly hers and her way.  I don’t know of anyone you could compare her to.”

What a great way to appreciate a great artist.  You don’t analyze how they do it; you just delight in how well they do it, that they make us laugh or cry — or just plain feel more alive and better connected to the universe and those around us.

Perhaps, the Southern background (or, in Bruce’s case, residence) of many of my gay friends makes Dolly Parton appear to rank with Judy, Barbra and Ethel in our diva pantheon. And it seems nearly all (yes, I said that right, nearly all) of my gay conservative friends love Dolly.

In sixteen days, she’s appearing for the first time ever at the Hollywood Bowl. And two films at Outfest (opening tonight) feature this country diva. On Saturday, July 16, you can catch Hollywood to Dollywood, a documentary about gay twins who, in an RV named Jolene, set out on a cross country trek to get their script to the buxom blond.

And on Wednesday, July 13, you can singalong with Dolly (et al.) in the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas on a very big screen at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater.

Click on the movie titles for ticket information; (more…)

Since Dame Elizabeth Taylor passed last week, many people have blogged on that lady’s class, compassion and stardom.  Roger Simon explored what how a young (heterosexual) male moviegoer experienced this beauty in his blog at Pajamas while Camille Paglia examined her sex appeal and screen presence over at Salon.

This past weekend, I watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof again, apprecaiting it more the second time, better able to see the movie as a different story from the play on which it is based.  In the film, screenwriters transformed the gay subtext to make it more palatable to a general audience.  This allowed them to bring out her sex appeal.  And did she sizzle, especially set against the bitterness of Paul Newman‘s Brick.  We really believe that Maggie the Cat is alive.  And we root for her to win back her husband.

Had the screen Brick been a closet homosexual, her sex appeal would have been wasted.  When he first saw it, his teenage heterosexual hormones raging, Simon “suffered shortness of breath.”  And, watching it this weekend, this gay guy can get what that straight man — or any other — would want to have some, well, private time with Taylor’s Maggie.

She just looked so good in Metrocolor.  Kudos to the set design team of Henry Grace and Robert Priestley and art directors William A. Horning and Urie McCleary for creating backgrounds which allowed her to stand out in every scene.

In the LA Weekly, Patrick Range McDonald reports,  ”West Hollywood residents have been calling and writing City Hall” asking the city to name a street after this classy lady.  (more…)

As fate would have it, one of the movies I received from Netflix on the day of Elizabeth Taylor‘s passing was the original Father of the Bride with her in one of the title roles.  And in honor of her passing, I watched it.

And this movie really does hold up. Not just because of the solid direction and smart script, portraying a situation which helps define a man’s relationship to his daughter (and hers to him), but also because of the players. Joan Bennett as the mother is one of those underappreciated character actors who more than pulls her weight. But, it’s Spencer Tracy and Dame Elizabeth who really steal the show, he as the archetypal father and she as the archetypal daughter who has Daddy wrapped around each of her little fingers.

When she calls at the end to tell him she loves him, she knows that expression will make him melt. And just watching her we know it too.

It’s odd to see a film, particularly today where she has third billing. Given the way she looked in this film and the way she played an all-American girl getting married, it’s no wonder this role will help catapult her to superstardom. She looked as Tracy’s Stanley Banks says upon seeing her in her wedding dress, “like a princess in a fairy tale.” Indeed.

There is, to be sure, a bit of irony in the seminal nature of this particular role to her career. She would have many weddings in her life.

In watching the extras, I realized yet again how closely her personal life was tied to her public image — and wondered if that could explain the brevity of her marriages; no man could live up to her fairy tale expectations.  She married Conrad Hilton Jr when she was just 18, the ceremony taking place one month before the release of the film featuring her as a bride.

The extras after the film include newsreel footage of that first wedding, with a passel of paparazzi and ropes holding back the crowds.  From her adolescence and her earliest adulthood, Elizabeth Taylor was always in the limelight.

In the twilight of her life, she used that limelight to good end, as our reader Jim Michaud noted: “Her work on behalf of AIDS was incredible as well as valued at the time (ignorance and discrimination of victims was still rampant during the mid-80s).”  You could honor this great lady by sponsoring one of our readers who’ll be riding in the AIDS ride this June. (more…)

This past weekend, I watched Father’s Little Dividend, the sequel to the original Father of the Bride.  While the story was weak, the cast was strong, particularly Spencer Tracy as the father the expectant Elizabeth Taylor.  And she was always exquisite.  Even when she seemed to phone in her roles, as it the celebrated shipwreck, Cleopatra, she looked exquisite on screen.

She was truly a movie star.  And she leaves with us a number of brilliant performances as well, particularly in films from the 1950s, including Suddenly, Last Summer and A Place in the Sun.  That great lady died earlier “today at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital. She was 79“:

“She was surrounded by her children: Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton,” Taylor’s publicist, Sally Morrison, said in a statement.

In the same statement, Michael Howard Wilding, 58, memorialized his mother:

“My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love,” he said. “Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts.

The New York Times reports:

In a world of flickering images, Elizabeth Taylor was a constant star. First appearing onscreen at age 9, she grew up there, never passing through an awkward age. It was one quick leap from “National Velvet” to “A Place in the Sun” and from there to “Cleopatra” as she was indelibly transformed from a vulnerable child actress into a voluptuous film queen.

In a career of more than 70 years and more than 50 films, she won two Academy Awards as best actress, for her performances as a call girl in “Butterfield 8” (in 1960) and as the acid-tongued Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (in 1966). Mike Nichols, who directed her in “Virginia Woolf,” said he considered her “one of the greatest cinema actresses.”

She will be missed, but she leaves behind an incredible, incredible body of work.

Jane Russell has died.

*Click here to understand the title (if you don’t already).

It seems that some liberals in the media have a remarkable unity of thought when it comes to gay conservatives.  Since our pal Tammy Bruce started writing for Britain’s left-of-center publication, The Guardian, she’s asked the same question we at GayPatriot get on almost a daily basis:

. . . what is it like to be gay and conservative?

After all, those conservatives hate the homos, don’t they? It must be very, very difficult for me, one concerned reader noted, to be among the intolerant and hateful.

And no matter how many times we relate our experiences, we almost always get the same incredulous look, as if they know better what it’s like to be gay and conservative (from reading the New York Times) than we know what it’s like being gay and conservative (by being openly gay in conservative circles).  In their reaction to us, they display a certain prejudice, a prejudice being:

“1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason[,] 2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.“

They have come to their opinion without knowledge of the real experiences of gay conservatives.  Not wonder Tammy finds that

The real story of bigotry and intolerance is the fact that it lives and thrives on the left. As a gay woman who spent most of her adult life pushing the cart for liberal causes with liberal friends in a liberal city, I found that sexism, racism and homophobia are staples in the liberal world. The huge irony is liberals spend every ounce of energy promoting the notion that they are the banner carriers of individualism and personal freedom, yet the hammer comes down on anyone who dares not to conform to, or who dissents even in part from, the liberal agenda.

Read the whole thing.

We have, by and large, found welcome on the right.  And over time, the intolerance on the left makes us stronger.  And helps us judge the character of our interlocutors.  For while we often deal with liberal bigotry, we also frequently find open-minded “progressives” who in their interactions with us demonstrate an ability to rise above the prejudices of their peers.

This lady don’t mince her words.  :-)

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter responded today to the announcement that WorldNetDaily was dropping her as a speaker for one of their events, calling WorldNetDaily Editor Joseph Farah a “publicity whore” and a “swine.”. . . .

WND posted an email exchange between Coulter and Farah in their public announcement that she would be removed from the list of speakers. Coulter expressed anger that he quoted her from their private emails on the issue.

My, my, this guy is a real piece of work, first, he peddles the birther nonsense, then he throws a hissy fit because Coulter would speak to an audience of gay conservatives, then he publishes private e-mails.

In her e-mail to the Dally Caller, Coulter reminds them that her “fellow evangelicals — and I know lots and lots of ‘em — – all think it’s great that I’m doing this. (of course, they know I’m not changing my mind on gay marriage even though I like gays.)”

I’m presuming the Caller had her permission to post this missive that she acknowledged she wrote in a rush.  And she has evangelicals who think it’s great she’s speaking to gay conservatives!?!?  That really does upset the narrative now, doesn’t it?

And note how she says it’s possible to like gay people and oppose gay marriage.  Upsetting another narrative.

UPDATE:  Just received this note from Chris Moody at the Daily Caller, “Ms. Coulter did give us permission to use the email.”

Guess the folks at WorldNetDaily were so pleased with the success of the American Family Association’s (AFA) boycott of Home Depot that they decided to engage in a little temper tantrum of their own. They dropped Ann Coulter as a speaker for their “‘Taking America Back National Conference’ next month because of her plan to address an event titled ‘HOMOCON’ sponsored by the homosexual (sic) Republican group GOProud that promotes same-sex marriage and military service for open homosexuals (sic).”

This shows that we still have our work cut out for us on the right.  While openly gay conservatives have, by and large, found welcome on the right, exceptions do remains.

Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND, contends GOProud has a very “‘unconservative’ agenda”.  Huh?  Guess, he doesn’t like small government and individual freedom.

In reply, Coulter stood firm:

That’s silly, I speak to a lot of groups and do not endorse them. I speak at Harvard and I certainly don’t endorse their views. I’ve spoken to Democratic groups and liberal Republican groups that loooove abortion. The main thing I do is speak on college campuses, which is about the equivalent of speaking at an al-Qaida conference. I’m sure I agree with GOProud more than I do with at least half of my college audiences. But in any event, giving a speech is not an endorsement of every position held by the people I’m speaking to. I was going to speak for you guys, I think you’re nuts on the birther thing (though I like you otherwise!).

Good for her, meanwhile Farrah continues in a rant reminiscent of some things I’ve seen in the comment threads to this blog (only twisted to fit his partisan perspective), “GOProud is about infiltration of the conservativemovement and dividing it from within with twisted and dangerous ideas way out of the mainstream of American public opinion.”

Twisted and dangerous ideas?  Guess he must have a problem with that freedom thing.

On Friday, as is my wont, when on my routine Target run, I browsed through the cheap DVDs and tossed a number in my cart, including, for five bucks, My Best Friend’s Wedding, a movie I so much enjoyed in its initial release that I had bought the VHS.  Indeed, the flick remained one of the handful of videos in my collection that I had not yet replaced with DVDs.

But, like two of those I recently replaced, this flick just didn’t hold up well for a repeat (or re-re-repeat) viewing.  I mean, I still found the premise clever, a nice twist on the romantic comedy formula.  It was well-written, well-directed and well shot. Julia Roberts was at her best (to me, it seems she either hits the target dead-center bullseye or misses completely; this was a bullseye).  The other actors were fine.  There were some very funny scenes.  Director P.J. Hogan cleverly integrated popular songs into the story.

Or maybe it was just my mood last night.  After an emotionally challenging weekend and a day full of errands and household chores, I thought a light romantic comedy would be just the ticket to relax.  I started losing interest about halfway through the movie–but this flick that usually holds my attention.

Now, compared to those other two movies I recently upgraded to DVD (from VHS) in my collection, this one actually had a story.  The other two movies featured that captivating screen presence and eternal beauty, Audrey Hepburn, one of the few women who could get away wearing some of the bizarre fashions of the 1950s and 1960s and look fabulous, you know, especially that hat with an appendage like an insect’s antenna she wears in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

That was one of the two movies that just didn’t hold up. Roman Holiday was the other.  I think I so loved those flicks when first I saw them because of the novelty of seeing the young Hepburn light up a screen.  I was just becoming a film buff when I first discovered each flick.  I was focused on how that Belgian-born beauty lit up the screen that I didn’t need a story.  (Virginia Postrel might attribute this to Hepburn’s deep glamour.) (more…)

Among the many topics touched upon last night in the most marvelous Boston dinner (great food and amazing conversation), we discussed Sarah Palin.  We all admired the former Alaska Governor (though to varying degrees), but also agreed that she’s not positioning herself well for the White House.

That said, another woman we GayPatriots all admire, the magnificent and munificent (with her wisdom) Tammy Bruce has interviewed that accomplished woman.  And if two such talented women appear together in the same podcast, it surely merits your attention.