Day: February 16, 2007

The Week in Gay

Jon Ponder

Enough to make your head spin:

Is Gay: Whoever heard of a British pro basketball player? John Amaechi played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic and the New York Nicks. He came out after he retired, and has written a book, “Man in the Middle.”

Is Not Gay: If Rene Zellweger hadn’t married him and then divorced him practically the next day on grounds of “fraud,” I would have no clue who Kenny Chesney is. I have still never heard him sing (and have no desire to) but I will say that just looking at his photo, well, sorry dude, but you look gay. My gaydar has been wrong before and he insists on “60 Minutes” this Sunday that he is not.

Protests Too Much: One of Amaechi’s former colleages, Tim Hardaway, made the kind of statement that always makes me suspicious: “I hate gay people. I let it be known, I don’t like gay people. I don’t like to be around gay people.” My experience is, guys who are secure in their sexuality just don’t think about homos very much, if at all. Anyway, Hardaway has apologized. Next step, rehab, probably.

Gay President: A Gallup poll from last week found that 55 percent of Americans would vote for gay person for president, while 43 percent would not. By comparison, 95 percent said they would vote for a Catholic (4 percent would not); 94 percent said they would vote for a black candidate (5 percent would not) and 67 percent said they would vote someone who was married for a third time (like Giuliani) and 30 percent would not.

Poll: D.C. Insiders Don’t Believe Bush on Iran

Buck Banks

More lies: For this week’s Insider Poll, National Journal asked inside-the-Beltway types their views on whether George Bush is gearing up to lead from behind in an invasion of Iran:

‘For the umpteenth time, we are not looking for an excuse to go to war with Iran.’
— Defense Secretary Robert Gates

The new insiders poll asked 40 congressional Democrats and 35 congressional Republicans to grade the administration’s handling of Iran. Bush received an average C-plus grade from his fellow party members and a D-minus from the opposition. The perception that Bush has already decided to act against Iran was commonly cited.

“I would have given him an F, but he has not invaded yet,” a Democratic insider who gave Bush a D grumbled. A colleague echoed that reasoning, adding that a military strike “would be an utter disaster with enormously negative consequences.”

Indeed, Democrats’ skepticism of the administration’s stated intentions for dealing with Iran led Defense Secretary Robert Gates to tell reporters this week, “For the umpteenth time, we are not looking for an excuse to go to war with Iran.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday suggested she would try to nip Bush’s alleged Iran ambitions in the bud with a binding resolution requiring congressional approval for military invasion.

Predictably, Democrats were all but evenly split on whether Bush should receive a D or an F (not one gave him an A). Republicans were more forgiving: Forty-six percent gave him a B, 29 percent gave him a C and just 3 percent gave him an F. One of the 9 percent who gave him an A laid blame for the diplomatic crisis with Iran squarely on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “It is difficult to work with a person who seeks world destruction.”

There are two popular lines of thought when it comes to the Bush administration and Iran. One is that a military strike would more likely be considered justified because of Tehran’s nuclear program, and a fresh war would entice the American public to rally behind the troops. The other is that the Bush administration is chastened by the Iraq war and is sincere in seeking a diplomatic solution with Iran.

But even if the latter is the case, insiders have more criticism to add to the pile. Groused a GOP insider who gave Bush a D: Bush “should not rely on the weak-kneed lefties at the State Department to manage our interests in Iran.”

Iconic Gay Novelist, Activist Patricia Nell Warren Running for West Hollywood City Council

Jon Ponder

Given the stereotypes about gay people, you might think the gay-dominated politics in the city of West Hollywood would be colorful and. well, interesting. You would be wrong. It turns out that keeping a liberal utopia clean, productive and affordable is rather mundane work. Wehoians tend to elect officials who get the job done and (usually) keep the drama offstage.

So it’s a bit surprising that internationally known author and activist Patricia Nell Warren has announced that she is running for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council. Warren is best known as the author of “The Frontrunner,” a groundbreaking novel published in 1974 about a college track coach, a conservative ex-Marine, who finds himself falling in love with a long-distance runner on his team. She also has published six other novels, including “Harlan’s Race,” a 1994 sequel to “The Frontrunner” — and is an activist and speaker on gay sports issues and a regular contributor to Outsports.com.

So why is an iconic author running for city council in one of California’s smallest cities? Here is what she told Outsports:

WeHo’s 25th anniversary is ahead in 2009, and the city faces some big decisions. It calls itself an “urban village,” yet it’s now the sixth most densely populated city in the U.S. Meaning 37,000 residents crammed into 1.9 square miles. And the population spikes to maybe 80,000 on weekends. Growing density has caused growing pains — scarcity of parking, traffic snarls, and need for affordable housing, especially for seniors and young workforce people. There are challenges around development and culture. So the people of West Hollywood, and its government, will be deciding how “urban” we want our city to be.

Nine other candidates are running with Warren for three seats on the council.Candidates include three incumbents, John Heilman, who currently serves as mayor, and who has served on the council since West Hollywood’s incorporation in 1984; Sal Gaurriello, who has served on the council for 16 years; and Abbe Land, who has served 15 years non-consecutively.

Other candidates include:

Former City Council member Steve Martin (eight years service), attorney heads a West Hollywood Neighborhood Alliance (WEHONA) slate including artist/historic preservationist Heavenly Wilson and community ethics activist and retired businessman Ed Buck…

Contractor Jim Sorkin, a 13-year resident, actor Steve Koller (18 months) and Medical Administrator Shawn Hoffman (one year) all fulfilled the requirements necessary to gain a spot on the ballot.

West Hollywood municipal elections will be held on March 6, 2007.