Feast of Fun » politics

Anti-Equality MN Senate Majority Leader Resigns Due to Extramarital Affair

Tim — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:32:06 +0000

Anti-Equality Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned from her leadership post the day after fellow Republicans confronted her about allegations that she had an “inappropriate relationship” with a staff member. Koch rose to power in the 2010 mid-terms, when the GOP took control of the State Senate for the first time in 40 years. She is the first woman in the state to hold the position of Senate Majority Leader. Having control of both chambers of the legislature, republicans pushed through a 2012 ballot initiative for a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in the state. Passed in both houses, they circumvented a signature from Governor Mark Dayton, who campaigned in 2010 on full marriage equality rights. Polls on the issue to vary wildly, but appear to be statistically even for and against the amendment.

It hasn’t been reported if the alleged staffer is male or female.

These scum are always revealed as hypocrites. With a husband and a daughter, it seems like Koch needs to “protect” her own marriage and family before concerning herself with others. I hope Minnesotans see how cynical the blowhard state GOP is and that this will put the nail in the coffin of the anti-equality amendment.

5 Scientific Reasons Powerful People Will Always Suck

Angela — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:23:11 +0000

Excerpt: #3. Experiments Show Power and Hypocrisy Are Linked in the Brain

This one goes a long way toward explaining the almost endemic hypocrisy of politicians and business leaders we see in the news every day. It explains why so many vehemently anti-gay politicians and religious leaders are creepy sexual deviants. It explains why banks are currently refusing to lend to anyone while giving their employees huge bonuses with bailout money. And it explains why the Senate voted itself a pay raise on the same day it refused to increase the minimum wage.

(To be fair, some anti-gay authority figures are just sad-sack closet cases, not full-on deviants. Still makes them hypocrites, though!)

How to create change: Lauren & Ellie

Phil Reese — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:31:57 +0000

This is at once inspiring, hilarious and a great civics lesson.

Lauren and Ellie don’t like the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law, so they’re taking to YouTube. But they aren’t just getting on to complain and whine. Watch these two college girls do absolutely everything right.

I hope everyone starts making videos like this. The best part is when they fill up his mailbox with messages from all of their friends.

I love that the video starts out with Lady Gaga over their shoulder–Gaga and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had a Twitter exchange over DADT the other day as well. She’s an outspoken advocate. Thanks Gaga!

Oh, and by the way–wonder what Michael Bennet thought of Lauren and Ellie?

Word is Ellen wants them on. Great job, Lauren and Ellie!

Happy Pride Y’all!

Phil Reese — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:00:19 +0000

Happy Pride y’all!

I’m traveling the Midwest this week, so I’ve got an abbreviated politics update. I just wanted to ask:

What LGBT issues most concern you?

Is it employment issues?
Relationship Recognition?
Bullying?
Hate Crimes?
Homelessness?
Immigration?
AIDS/HIV & STI?

Comment on the politics issues that you think our community should be moving forward on next.

Do me another favor at Pride, too, will you?

Talk to your friends about that issue. If you’re passionate about marriage equality, ask your friends how they feel about it, and what they’re doing to try to move it forward. Employment non-discrimination or Don’t Ask Don’t Tell? Ask your friends if they know it’s legal to fire someone gay in almost half of the states in the USA, and legal to fire someone transgender in 2/3rds of the states. Ask them what they think we can do to fix this.

Post your comments here and let’s see where we are all at–

AND HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY PRIDE!

Will Lady GaGa Join the Arizona Boycott?

RyanJustice — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:20:55 +0000

Lady GaGa is loyal to her fans, no question about that. But the question of the day is whether she will stand against SB1070, the new Arizona immigration law.

Recently, sentiment has been growing for Lady GaGa to cancel her July 31st show in Phoenix. Companies, states, and even cities have already begun cutting ties with Arizona based companies in protest of the discriminatory and unconstitutional legislation.

I myself didn’t have tickets for the Monster Ball when it was here in Chicago, and I hear it is marvelous. If I lived in Arizona and had tickets, I would probably be fairly upset. But in the grand scheme of things, the boycott is going to be what reverses the legislation. Money talks.

What do you think? Should Lady GaGa cancel her tour?

Mike Rogers Outs Mark Kirk… or Does He?

Phil Reese — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:33:56 +0000

As promised earlier, professional GOP-hypocrite outer Mike Rogers has delivered a post that claims to tear the veil from Mark Kirk’s secret life.

And Mark Kirk’s big giant secret is:

He screwed around with dudes twice in college?

I know many many men in Michigan, then, (some long married with kids) that we need to start calling gay. I’m not sure this constitutes Mike Rogers’ best outing. This does however raise some questions. If Mark Kirk had fooled around with some guys in college (let’s face it, that’s a rather average story) has he maintained this same arrangement since?

Mike Rogers, who is a friend of mine, tries to imply in his post that Kirk’s short, childless marriage is more evidence of his homosexuality. However, Kimberly Vertolli, Kirk’s ex-wife, who is still very close with him, has insisted to me that her husband is not gay.

Does Mike Rogers have more up his sleeve, or is this it? We’ll have to see how this plays out. For now, I would hesitate to really call this an “outing.” However, if Mike has more, Kirk may have some explaining to to to his Republican supporters.

Is Mike Rogers about to out Mark Kirk?

Phil Reese — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:37:48 +0000

UPDATE: MIKE ROGERS HAS PUBLISHED HIS MARK KIRK OUTING POST–IS IT ENOUGH TO GET ANY TRACTION?

Mike Rogers, the subject of HBO’s documentary Outrage! about the conspiracy of the political gay closet, seems to be hinting that, like Madonna, he has a tale to tell. Apparently, that tale is that Mike thinks Mark Kirk–the Republican running against Alexi Giannoulias for President Barack Obama’s former Senate Seat–has got too gay to hide it well.

Madonna says “a man can tell a thousand lies.” In this situation, would she be referring to Mark or Mike?

All this weekend, Mike Rogers’ slightly less than aesthetic site, blogactive.com, read:

“How do I know the recently divorced Mark Kirk is gay? He told me he was! More details after the holiday.”

Full disclosure, I’m friends with both Mike Rogers and Kirk’s ex-wife Kimberly Vertolli–who has sincerely insisted to me personally she’s positive her ex-husband is not gay–and I’ve been hesitant to reach out to either, waiting to see what the announcement is first.

Making this whole situation a lot more complex is the fact that Mark Kirk is a Commander in the Naval Reserves. Kirk recently voted against the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in the House of Representatives. As a contrast, the current Senator holding the seat Mark Kirk is campaigning for has been a co-sponsor of the effort to repeal the discriminatory law in the upper-house.

After the vote, the Human Rights Campaign, who had avoided getting involved in the race, endorsed Kirk’s Senate campaign opponent, current Illinois Treasurer and former banker Alexi Giannoulias.

Is Mark Kirk ready for the fall?

Or is Mike Rogers too blind to see the writing on the wall?

How will we hear? When will we learn? How will we know?

While you wait to find out, have a little Madge!

24 Year Old Openly Gay Student Wins Kentucky House Primary

RyanJustice — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:46:29 +0000

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Matthew Vanderpool, an openly gay 24 year old with only $150.00 in campaign donations and no college degree has won the democratic primary for the 45th District of Kentucky’s House of Representatives. A friend of mine from back in Lexington, KY from a few years back, Matthew Vanderpool has done an amazing thing today.

Read the rest over at my blog, the Big Gay Welcome Wagon!

Equality can’t wait… but the website can

Phil Reese — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:46:51 +0000

UPDATED:The campaign tells me that they hope to grow a base of supporters who share Alexi’s support for marriage equality and an end to DOMA and DADT, so this petition is just the first of many rollouts to come over the length of the campaign. They also want to remind everyone that Rep. Mark Kirk does not have any sort of similar LGBT-supportive material on his site.

Yesterday I was up in Chicago for the press conference announcing the launch of Alexi Giannoulias’ new LGBT petition website EqualityCantWait.com at the Center on Halstead–a petition site that collects your information as it helps you contact your Senators about the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. By the way, both Illinois Senators (Durbin, Burris) are co-sponsors of the bill to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, so if you live here, there’s not a lot of reason (at least for now) to visit the site of the man looking to take the former Senate seat of Barack Obama. However, if you sign the petition, the campaign will be able to let you know first as the website’s functionality improves, and more campaigns are launched.

Right now the website is a little less than lackluster. However, the campaign promises that in the next few weeks we will see a significant rollout of other website changes, some of which will include other similar LGBT efforts. I don’t doubt that they have big things planned–such as a similar appeal for the Employment Non-discrimination Act and other LGBT bills–but what do you think of the current content?

Totally makes me think of that old movie, “Can’t Hardly Wait,” too.

Why Kagan’s rumored sexuality won’t matter in the hearing

Phil Reese — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:50:13 +0000

Is she or isn’t she?

We aren’t going to find that out any time soon. Insiders have said off the record that she’s partnered. Many others have said that she’s totally straight for guys. Either way, its not going to matter when her confirmation hearing comes up before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Why aren’t the pols going to grill Elena Kagan on the gay thing?

Because they don’t want to open that can of worms.

The Senate Judiciary Committee includes at least one very high-profile closeted gay man in Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and perhaps two more, if Washington rumors pan out as true.

Why won’t the Republicans on the committee then make a big deal about her sexual orientation? Because shining a spotlight on the closet is the last thing they’re going to want to do with a whopping possible three closet-cases on the committee. Any Republican who brings up Kagan’s gay rumors during the hearing risks having the camera turned back around on themselves or one of their colleagues. Graham, whose rumored-orientation is so public the major media has even picked up the story–which is rare, because they generally ignore stories about the closet–will likely make a point in the members’ closed-door meetings to discourage such a line of questioning.

The fact that her rumored-lesbianism has become such a story in the mainstream media is an anomaly in itself. Generally closeted politicians are shielded by the media. For years before Mark Foley was outed by Lane Hudson, Washington insiders traded stories of his skeezy behavior around pages. Once he was outed, and the anchors began asking politicians “Did you know?” they had no choice but to come clean. They knew but they didn’t say anything. With rumors that red hot on the hill, there is no doubt that the reporters who cover the hill were also in the know. So what happens?

There is an unspoken rule in the mainstream media–especially the mainstream media covering politics–that the closet is never opened. Why?

For one, noone wants to be accused of trafficking in rumors. Certainly, media outlets have a policy of ignoring any stories that are going to sound like gossip. Every unmarried or strong woman in Washington is going to be called a lesbian. Look at Hilary Clinton, Janet Reno, and now Elena Kagan. Then again, sometimes those rumors turn out to be true, as in the case of Barbara Jordan.

Still there’s something a little more. Because–despite the hype–news organizations are still very conservative institutions, one can’t rise in the ranks if one is gay–Anderson Cooper aside. For that reason, many producers, editors and even anchors and reporters go into the closet to protect their careers. The media’s silence on the closet stems from this primarily. The producers, shielding themselves, will avoid any discussion of anyone’s closet. Period.

Finally, because its so easy to say someone is a closet gay, reporting on a gay rumor would just be bad journalism. A few well placed hints by a PR firm is all it takes to get the rumor mill churning. However, if that turns out to be a manufactured story, no media organization would deal well with that kind of egg on their faces.

An organization well-positioned to be able to out people, however, would be Fox News–strangely enough. But when their own top anchor, Shepard Smith, saddles up to the bar right next to Anderson Cooper, they’re not going to move any time soon.

Understand, though, that the closet door swings both ways. There are just as many secrets on the other side of the aisle as there are in the Republican seats. Eric Massa was just the tip of the iceberg for the Democrats. Opening this can of worms would unearth a lot of dirt.

But wouldn’t it be great if–after the explosion and subsequent fallout–everyone could start living openly and honestly in Washington? I think we’d see ENDA passed, DADT and DOMA repealed, and we’d certainly never see another attempt at passing a Constitutional amendment to bar equality. The Washington closet is definitely the biggest obstacle to passing any pro-gay legislation, and those helping with the shielding by hiding the evidence are complicit.

LGBT people will have to continue to wait for the day that lawmakers don’t shy away from supporting our rights because they’re afraid of the truth coming out. Until then, its important, however, we also make a point to push the meme that someone’s sexual orientation–Republican or Democrat–does not affect the job they will do, and that qualified LGBT people are just as qualified for the Supreme Court or even the Presidency as heterosexuals.

Don’t expect that to start with these hearings, however. I’d be absolutely shocked if anyone brought up the lesbian rumors–especially if it were a Republican who did.

VIDEO: The Pope Song (WARNING- Possibly Offensive, NSFW)

Rick Aiello — Mon, 03 May 2010 07:36:08 +0000

Prepare to have this song stuck in your head for the next month.

And prepare to laugh out loud.

Rosie O’Donnell Obliterates Mike Huckabee on Air

RyanJustice — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:14:16 +0000

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last week, you probably came across the news story of presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee telling gay people to get a dog, rather than adopt. Appaling I know.

Apparently, Mike Huckabee was unaware of this new story as he agreed to be on Rosie O’Donnell’s Sirius radio show.

Illinois Discriminatory Anti-Gay, Anti-Jobs Bill Gone but Not Forgotten

Phil Reese — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:31:56 +0000

Last week I told you about the urgent action needed to stop a bill seeking to water down Illinois’ potent gender identity and sexual orientation inclusive employment non-discrimination law. Republican gubernatorial front-runner, Bill Brady, had quietly introduced a bill to expand “religious exemptions” so much that the law would be nearly nullified. Bill Brady had been vehemently against the law when it was initially introduced, back when he was in the lower house. Now a Senator and GOP Governor hopeful, Brady was seeking to use transgender, gay, lesbian and bisexual folks in Illinois to court favor in rural areas, and shore up his conservative base.

Brady is a right wing nut job. He needn’t worry about his conservative base. I don’t use nut job loosely. Brady is currently campaigning on–among other things–a strong “reform” platform–specifically touting campaign finance reform and term limits. One of the longest serving lawmakers in the Assembly, Brady voted against campaign finance reform bills numerous times, and also voted against a term limits bill. I’m confused…

CHECK OUT THE REST AT MY BILERICO.COM POST–AND FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!

More About Avatar and Race

Cray — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:48:41 +0000

“Whether Avatar is racist is a matter for debate. Regardless of where you come down on that question, it’s undeniable that the film – like alien apartheid flick District 9, released earlier this year – is emphatically a fantasy about race. Specifically, it’s a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people. Avatar and scifi films like it give us the opportunity to answer the question: What do white people fantasize about when they fantasize about racial identity?”

Read More

FOF #921 – Thank Zeus for Xanadu! – 01.30.09

Fausto Fernós — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:47:17 +0000

Ding dong, the cuckoo clock has run out for Governor Blagojevich. Yesterday the Illinois senate unanimously voted to impeach the unpopular Governor on corruption charges, in their best Donald Trump impersonation- you’re fired.

Meanwhile HBO aired the awkward documentary, The Trails of Ted Haggard, which focused on the fallen homo-hungry evangelist. The short documentary sheds a light on the complex wall of lies that fundamentalist Christians construct when declaring war on same-sex love. Will Ted Haggard rehabilitate his career as a religious leader, or will you buy life insurance from him?

Chicago bear movie night community organizer and viral YouTube star Jaimie Williamson joins us to weigh in on their fates.

President Obama describes the 18 billion Wall Street executive bonuses as shameful.

A New York State High school student gets caught cross dressing to cheat on a Regents exam.

Xanadu the Broadway Musical roller skates into Chicago, much to the delight of fans of the campy 1980 film.

The film was an unofficial remake of the 1947 film “Down to Earth” starring Rita Hayworth. (That’s why they used all that WWII stuff!) Xanadu, the film, attempted to capitalize on Olivia Newton John’s success in “Grease” but it didn’t pan out and she was blamed for the box office bomb. The other leads didn’t fair very well either- a very old Gene Kelly, in his last film performed an awkward three way dance number on roller skates and Michael Beck garnered a Razzie award for “Worst Actor.”

The film took place in the 1980s, but actually was shot in 1979. It was a never-to-be realized vision of what the 1980s could be- a decade of creativity, decadence and sexual liberation. Sadly, conservative Reaganomics, AIDS and the Cold War got in the way of that dream.

Check out these screenshots from the “Dancin” sequence in the film:

Featuring a over-the-top score by ELO and an appearance by The Tubes, the film was an oddball combo of musical styles and tacky sets. In one memorable scene, the Tubes dressed up as a punk/new wave band merges and moans with a 1940′s big band. The result was hilariously catastrophic. Click here to see the video.

Is that Darcel Wyne and Deborah Jenssen, two of the famous Solid Gold dancers? Yes it is!

By contrast, Xanadu the Musical is a candy coated take on the darker film, poking a lot of fun not only at Olivia Newtown John, the 1970s and disco, but also at the conventions of musical theater itself.

It carries the self-deprecating tone popularized by shows like “The Producers” and “Urinetown” and continued in “Spamalot!”

The Broadway version of Xanadu closed in October, but you can catch it in all its glory at the Water Tower Drury Lane Theatre. It’s star Elizabeth Stanley easily dominates the show and surpasses Kerry Butler who originated the role on Broadway. If she pursues a career in pop music, Elizabeth Stanley easily could be the next Olivia Newton John.

With all the bad news, it’s nice to be able to escape to “a place where all your hopes survive, they call it Xanadu” and with tickets starting at $25, you can’t afford to miss this wonderfully hilarious show.

Thank Zeus for Xanadu!

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FOF #918 – Kate Clinton Burns Bush – 01.27.09

Fausto Fernós — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:08:22 +0000

For over 25 years, Kate Clinton has worked as a political commentator and comedian on stage and television, succeeding as an out lesbian.

Before Ellen, Before Rosie and even before Lily Tomlin, there was Kate Clinton.

A self-described Stonehenge lesbian, feminist humorist or fumerist, Clinton paved the way for many queer people in the world of comedy at a time when being gay was the butt of the joke, not the person telling them.

Because of people like Kate, we can do what we do today on our talk show. Thank you!

Kate just participated in the ancient ritual of sage burning to clear the bad mojo at the White House left by the Bushes and she got into trouble

But not with the Feds, but with Native Americans. Find out what happened on today’s show.

Listen as Kate joins us to talk about video blogging, her hopes for the new president, her long career as a comedian and the future of the gay rights moment.

Thanks to Paula who put us in contact with Kate. Listeners like you make a real difference.

Featured Music:
Rachael Sage – Blistering Sun: Amazon | Site
Melissa Ferrick – Goodbye Youth: iTunes

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FOF #906 – Doma-Bama – 01.09.09

Fausto Fernós — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:30:04 +0000

Bad cops, no donuts! That’s one of Andy Thayer’s favorite chants. Andy is a hard working longtime activist fighting for gay and lesbian rights with the Gay Liberation Network.

Andy is leading this weekend’s demonstration against the Defense of Marriage Act. Will President Elect Obama repeal this awful measure?

President to be Obama seems to speak from both sides of his mouth about gay marriage and we wonder what are Obama’s true feelings on marriage equality.

Listen as we talk with Andy about politics, Blajovichian tactics, the fear of addressing the Middle East conflict, the bad economy and whether we hold Obama to too high of a standard.

A hostile letter to gay bars in Seattle Washington threatening to poison their guests with ricin sounds like it was written by a cheesy batman super villain. Was the author Catwoman or a pissed off gay man? We think it may be a Catwoman wannabe so Fausto does his best Eartha to read the man’s letter on today’s show.

An Australian court uses gay prison rape as a threat to a young driver if he does not stop speeding “You’ll find big, ugly, hairy strong men (in jail) who’ve got faces only a mother could love that will pay a lot of attention to you — and your anatomy… you’ll get to shower with the gorillas in the mist down at Long Bay jail.”

Gu Gu the panda fights back. Gu Gu attacked a visitor who jumped the barrier to retrieve a toy dropped by his five year old son and bit the man’s legs and refused to let go. The zookeeper had to pry his jaws open with tools to free the father. Just last year Gu Gu attacked a man who tried to give him a hug. The lesson here is simple, do not portend to mess with the panda.

And woes on snow, Austrian farmers are making money selling snow to German Ski Resorts. Even though Europe is as cold as hell right now, they aren’t getting enough snow at some resorts so they have to actually import snow for their ski trails.

Your tool to surviving the downturn in the economy- Feast of Fools.

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FOF #895 – A World Without Gay People – 12.10.08

Fausto Fernós — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:58:13 +0000

What would the world be like without gay people? On today’s show Marc Felion and myself Fausto Fernos try to go back into the closet, and play it straight.

Believe me, it doesn’t last for long as the pretense of banging chicks quickly goes out the window. It’s hard playing straight so may be that’s why we all want the day off.

Many queer people across America are taking the day off work and donating their time to a local charity in support of Marriage Equality in a Day Without a Gay? We hope that if you can take the day off, then please do as Equality is calling you!

To learn more about actions taking place in your area, visit jointheimpact.com

One person who’s not to hot for gay marriage is musician Rufus Wainwright. In an interview with the New York Press the openly gay pop star is ambivalent about the struggle for equality, saying: “if you want to marry a dog, why don’t you go ahead and marry a dog. I don’t care.”

He also claims to be a Libertarian which is like being an old school Republican who like to kick it back and smoke the ganja.

Well, we thought the idea of singing about marrying a dog could be Rufus’ next big hit so we a little ditty for him titled “So Why Don’t You Marry A Dog?” Listen to the show for its debut!

Somebody’s in love, American Idol finalist Clay Aiken is dating the incredibly sexy Broadway dancer Reed Kelly, a man who can do the splits while balancing on one hand. But we really want to know is can he do quarter turns?

The La Times reports there is a bias against adopting black dogs in animal shelters across the country, blaming our subconscious fear of the dark. They are offering specials on adopting

Saddams spicy Chinese chicken wings, the beavers reintroduced into Scotland, fake boobs lost at sea and the dangers of kissing too hard.

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Proposition 8 Protest

Marc Felion — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:28:33 +0000

Frustrated with the anti-gay measures in the last election? Stand up and make your voice heard. Join us this Saturday for a fierce rally to protest Proposition 8 which took away existing same-sex marriage rights in California. As Keith Olberman beautifully put it, it’s not just a gay rights issue, it’s about the human heart.

Besides, it’s the ultimate gay mixer. There will be lots of smart, brave and good looking guys and gals fighting for marriage. Why wouldn’t you not want to go?

Proposition 8 Protest
Saturday, November 15, 2008

Time:
10:30AM WEST COAST
11:30AM MOUNTIAN TIME ZONE
12:30PM CENTRAL TIME ZONE – Chicago
1:30PM EAST COAST

Location:
Your local City Hall, but if you’re in Chicago, it’s at Federal Plaza at Dearborn and Adams. Here’s a map.

To learn more, visit: Join The Impact, Gay Liberation Network or the Facebook Event.

Our gay pride shouldn’t be something we celebrate one month out of the year. We need to fight for equality! There’s no bigger turn on than a passion for justice.

FOF #868 – French Fruit Flies – 10.29.08

Fausto Fernós — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:12:40 +0000

Just a few more days until Halloween! What are you dressing up as? When we’re not busy podcasting, we love to dress up as pandas. Panda, panda, don’t you wanna panda, panda?

On today’s show we’ve got Curtis Jensen, director of marketing for Steamworks- with an update on San Francisco’s struggle with it’s own Halloween Celebration and his return to dressing up in drag! Yoo hoo!

After all, in the late 80s Curtis was well known in Salt Lake City, Utah as Marlene Lovebird- one of the hottest fund raising drag queens with killer heels.

Although it seems pretty likely that Barak Obama will be our nations next president, the fight for equality has just begun. Will a favorable political outcome on November 4 diffuse the pressure for change?

Sarah Palin announces her new political enemy- French fruit flies. The You-Know-What to Nowhere is mad that federal money is spent on studying fruit flies in Paris, France.

What Palin doesn’t understand is that fruit flies are used by researchers to make scientific discoveries that are valuable to just the very causes she says she supports. Without fruit flies we wouldn’t have the advances in genetic research we need to better understand and treat possibly genetic diseases, like Autism.

Is Daniel Cowart, the racist terrorist plotting to kill 88 African Americans including Barak Obama while wearing a white tuxedo and matching top hat a trannie? Maybe not a trannie, but he could be a little bit of a cross dresser. File photos seem to show him wearing eye makeup and pretty bright pink lipstick. While fashionable, they don’t exactly match his black swastika tattoo on his shoulder.

PLUS we perform a dramatic reading of a slash fiction story written by a devoted fan, Tanya, on how Feast of Fools made the two brothers from the Supernatural TV show gay for each other! There is a whole genre of slash fiction revolving around these two brothers.

Technically, this is incest, or as they call it, “Wincest,” but that doesn’t stop the fans from loving it!

We need your votes to win the People’s Choice Podcast Awards, so please visit the Podcast Awards and vote once a day from your computer email address.

This award is for everyone at Feast of Fools, including every guest on the show, the faithful listeners that have donated money, bought a t shirt, left a comment or participated in the community forums and our sponsors who understand the value our message. Thank you!

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FOF #854 – Round Two, Obama Vs. McCain – 10.08.08

Marc Felion — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:10:45 +0000

Ding ding, Round Two! Barak Obama and John McCain face-off once again in the fight for America’s Presidency, stabilizing the economy and our hearts.

What was up with that red carpet? It hurt my eyes!

Wasn’t it great when Tom Brockaw told McCain to get out of the way so he could finish the show?

Obama came across once again as eloquent, well informed and level headed. Is America ready to have a competent leader? I think so, Yes we can! Nail McCain to the wall Obama!

What does the sound of a failing political campaign sound like? “TERRORISM!” Last weekend Gov. Palin and Sen. McCain both directly declared their political opponent associated with terrorists and even scoff indifferently when their supporters jokingly threatened to kill Senator Obama. Is this what the election has boiled down to?

One way the Republicans can win this election is to simply lock away Sen. Obama in Guantanamo bay, but as Harold and Kumar showed in their movie, it’s way easy to escape.

I went with Michael Lehet to see the Scooty and JoJo’s Carpenter’s Halloween, a reenactment of Halloween John Carpenter’s Halloween set to the music of the Carpenters. It’s truly an odd mix of horror and camp. If you are a fan of camp, drag, the movie Halloween or the music of the Carpenters then this is a must see for you.

Get your tickets now if you want good seats. Also, the set is in FULL COLOR and you won’t believe how good it looks!

Michael and I also saw Watch Out based on Joseph Suglia’s book that features the super sexy Matt Riddlehoover as narcissistic Jonathan Burrows, who is only sexually attracted to himself and even makes love to a blow up doll that looks like himself.

Through Jonathan’s journey we encounter many strange characters, all of whom are sexually attracted to the very handsome protagonist but in who he has no interest whatsoever. He delivers a condescending diatribe against them about why he would never find them attractive and even kills some of them. This movie is a totally over the top cross between Strangers with Candy and Jeffrey Dahlmer.

Michael convinced me to go the Improv Everywhere’s MP3 Chicago which I initially didn’t want to go because it sounded a bit hokey- I was to download an mp3 audio file, be at a specific location and do what ever it told me to do at a precise time. Now, I’ve seen enough X-Files or Twilight Zone episodes to know how terribly wrong things like this can go. For all I know it could have turned me into a government assassin.

But, after a long night partying with Miss Tracy Tyler we all hopped in the car and experienced what turned out to be a very fun day. Sometimes it is fun to do just let yourself go and let someone else call the shots. And I totally kicked ass in the Epic Battle.

Listen as we talk about the bizarre Anglican Reverend Peter Mullen, who suggests tattooing gay men’s butts with health warning signs. How about tattooing priests faces with “Religion can seriously damage your mental health.”

What’s the secret to the Beckhams beautiful skin? Bird Poop! Yes, they are both getting sh*tfaced for beauty. Its an exotic beauty treatment for Japan.

Nailing the Jell-O to the wall every time- Feast of Fools.

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FOFA #508 – Lizz with Two Z’s – 10.06.08

Fausto Fernós — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:05:03 +0000

You may not immediately recognize Lizz’s name, but you probably enjoy the fruits of her labor.

Comedian and television producer Lizz Winstead created the news parody program “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central as a response to CNN’s paradigm shifting coverage of the first War in Iraq in the early 90s. Since it’s inception the show has become a major source for people’s news despite the fact that it’s a comedy show.

Lizz chats with us about about how The Daily Show was conceived, their original choice for host and wether she ever got an apology from Craig Kilborn about the nasty comment that got him suspended.

Ms Winstead has a had a lot of odd jobs, from working at the Red Barn to the relaunch team for Broadway Production of Grey Gardens She has come up with fantastic taglines for the show including “What’s wrong with snacking on a little cat food in your bathing suit?-Grey Gardens, The Musical” She highly recommends the show so get your tickets now.

It’s funny that Lizz takes us to task (and by surprise) for asking in a previous post why her good friend pornographer Chi Chi LaRue is on OUT Magazine’s “Power 50″ Who would have thought that this funny lady has a pornographer as a friend? It turns out they are friends from their days in Minnesota. Lizz lets us know that it might not be that ChiChi has made a gazzillion dollars in skin flicks that put him on the list but rather as top gay pornographer he knows where all the gay bodies are buried.

We like Lizz and what she has to say about the podcast genre. She thinks podcasts are comedically funnier than radio and TV. The word itself is funny and the medium is fresh.

Lizz blogs from time to time on the Huffington Post and you can befriend her on myspace.

[Originally posted on 04/09/07]

Maybe the most important podcast ever made- Feast of Fools.

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FOF #849 – Marching for Matthew Shepard – 09.26.08

Marc Felion — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:49:57 +0000

It’s been 10 years since college student Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in the town of Laramie, Wyoming.

How far have we come in creating laws to protect queer folks from violent crimes?

On today’s show we’ve got Wayne Besen- best known for Anything but Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth, a tell-all book about the deceptive practices behind ex-gay groups and Andy Thayer from the Gay Liberation Network.

Wayne will be speaking in Chicago this Saturday Sept 27th for the 10th annual Matthew Shepard March protesting the murder of Matthew Shepard and all victims of hate violence. The rally starts at 8pm on the corner of Roscoe and Halsted followed by a march through the neighborhood.

The controversial induction of Fundamentalist Radio personality James Dobson into the Museum of Broadcast Communication’s Hall of Fame has a lot of people up in arms. Why would they ask him of all people? Is this just a cry for help from antiquated institution that isn’t even relevant anymore to secure money or is something else going on here?

Check out Dump Dobson to learn how you can protest against Dobson’s inclusion into the Hall of Fame.

Is the Bush administration a shop-o-holic? The chilly reception to the 700 billion dollar bailout and a deficit out of control shows us a Republican party struggling to handle their obsession with spending. Will somebody please hire Washington a therapist or get them to find a hobby other than spending money.

Mama’s Milk Ice Cream? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are putting pressure on the Vermont Ice Cream company Ben and Jerry’s to substitute human breast milk instead of cow milk in their ice cream.

The demand comes in the wake of news reports of a Swiss Restaurant which uses cows milk in three quarters of all the dairy products it serves. How about a Moma’s Mounds blizzard sundae?

Listen to today’s show as we talk about these topics and more. What’s the big deal over celebrities in glass closets and what happens if Obama wins the U.S. Presidenital Election. Will Obama solve all our problems?

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FOF #800 – We Are All Hussein – 07.16.08

Marc Felion — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:44:07 +0000

Happy 800 shows everyone! Love to watch that odometer of podcasting turn.

Today we’re thrilled to have our good friend, writer and health advocate Jim Pickett joining us to dispel some rumors, conspiracies and misconception surrounding HIV/AIDS and healthcare.

We are very happy to announce that the Feast of Fools is the proud recipient of the Esteem Awards for best GLBT podcast presented by Windy City Black Pride and Pride Index. We’re sorry that we weren’t able to attend the awards ceremony on July 2 as we were in Pennsylvania. We’ve been honored to have such African Americans on the show as RuPaul, Alexyss K. Tylor, Rev. Charles Straight, Mr. Gay Shar Devon, author Frederick Smith, actor Marcus Patrick and video blogger B. Scott just to name a few.

The ACLU is condemning the crackdown on saggy pants in Flint, Michigan. The Flint Police Department routinely stops people who wear saggy pants that hang below their butts and issues misdemeanors for the offense citing disorderly conduct and indecent exposure laws.

The police cheif is even accused of asking the alleged offenders to lift up their long shirts so he can see just how low their pants sag. We know know that the only people that wear their pants like that are black kids in urban settings or white kids in the suburbs. I wonder which type the police are targeting.

Since we are always on the subject of safe sex, remember condoms aren’t the only way to protect yourself. You should always make sure that the place you are having sex is a safe and secure one. For example Taiwanese couple were making love in the back seat of their car when their car suddenly plummeted 150 feet down the cliff side. Although the unfortunate couple were bruised and battered, they did manage to climb back up the hill and get some help. We hope the woman’s husband doesn’t find out about the accident as he wasn’t the man in the car.

Wisconsinites, don’t run off to California for your same sex marriage just yet! Same sex couples that get married in California may get arrested in Wisconsin. An obscure law from 1915 states that it is a crime for a Wisconsin resident to enter marriage in another state if that marriage is illegal here. It carries a fine up to $10,000 and nine months in prison. Now you know what to get the couple for their wedding gift- bail bonds! We can’t wait to see how this plays out!

Don’t forget to join us for “Let’s Take a Glass Together” on Wednesday July 23 at 6pm, at Sidetrack for a live podcast forum on the LGBT community and alcohol. Come discover how we can have a healthier relationship with alcohol in this unique event presented by LifeLube, Project CRYSP and the Chicago Task Force on LGBT Substance Use and Abuse.

I’m not sure what to say about this controversial New Yorker magazine cover depicting our possible future president Barak Obama and his wife Michelle as a muslim terrorist and a radical black activist. I love satire, I love crossing the line and I love to poke fun at political leaders, no matter who they are.

Some are easier to poke fun than others. The New Yorker claims this cover is just a send-up of all the ultraconservative, loony misconceptions Obama’s critics have tried to create. Tasteless and offensive as it may be, they have every right to run this image and for us to react to it.

This country, and the world can not afford another four more years of Bush’s policies, and divisive, fear based politics. Having Barak Obama as President means taking a look not only at our own racism, but also how we criticize our political leaders. I think it’s healthy for the public at large to have a massive purging of our hateful feelings, but at the same time, covers like this might just have the unintended consequence of bringing us four more years of an environmentally, economically and militarily disastrous leader, John McCain.

Go ahead and lick it- Feast of Fools.

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FOF #797 – The Second Starbucks to the Right – 07.11.08

Fausto Fernós — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:01:43 +0000

It’s so good to run into old friends!

On today’s show one of my old gal pals Barb Kingston joins us to talk about transforming herself into a happier, loving lesbian.

Barb was one of the very first guests on the show back when we started four years ago as an audio blog. This was even before iTunes created its fantastic podcast directory and allowed millions of listeners to download and enjoy the Feast of Fools every day.

Today Barb lives in Boulder, Colorado and is currently traveling the Midwest visiting friends and simply enjoying life. She eats a much healthier diet and has disavowed her love for cheese fries. I like to think of cheese fries as an ex-girlfriend you still love but for health reasons don’t have sex with anymore.

Barb used to work at Starbucks and used to get me free coffee drinks, which re-ignited my love for the mega-coffee chain’s brew. But all is not so pretty in Starbucksland.

The closing of over 600 stores has sparked a heated discussion in our community forums on the economy, large corporations, elitism and what it means to be an American. Obama’s peeps should take note of this division, because it lies very close to the heart of how many Americans feel about large corporations and how they impact our everyday lives.

I don’t know if you noticed it, but suddenly many women in Hollywood this past year have embraced their “lesbian relationships” but not their identity. Even right now on the iTunes music store, the #1 song is Katy Perry’s I Kissed a Girl which talks about Katy, a straight woman, contemplating her mixed feelings about being attracted to another woman.

Just when you thought it was safe to go into the children’s section of a toy store, look who came by for a little shopping! Michael Jackson, looking more like Howard Huges than the king of pop. I’m not sure why Jack-O is in a wheelchair but I hope he hasn’t lost the ability to moon walk.

Barb considers herself to be a titty connoisseur so we decided to challenge her to test at Fake or Not, a website that shows you women’s breast and then asks you to judge whether they are fake or not. Since I’m not very knowledgeable about what a real or fake boob looks like (I only felt Kathy Griffin’s boobs, I never actually saw them unharnessed) we looked up how to tell a real boob from a fake one. Basically, if it looks fake, it probably is fake. If they are too high, too round, too pert or if the still stand at attention when the girl is laying down then they are probably fake.

The state of Wisconsin has officially made it illegal to have sex with a corpse. A group of three men were almost let go after trying to dig up a twenty year old motorcycle victim after she had been dead for a week. They never got to her body but the government was hard pressed to find a law to charge them with. Eventually they settled on a law that says it’s illegal to have sex with someone against their will and since a dead person can’t give consent they are being charged.

The three of them almost didn’t get charge with anything since a lower court judges ruled nothing in state law banned necrophilia. There was a public outrage in Wisconsin after one blogger wrote: “Doing the dirty with the dead OK in Wisconsin.”

Sex laws vary from state to state and some state’s laws are absolutely ridiculous. Did you know that giving or receiving head is against the law in 18 states, including Arizona and Utah? Here is a list of ten ridiculous sex laws. Some of these laws you just have to wonder who introduced them to the legislature floor.

The podcast that melts in your mouth, your hands, pretty much everywhere- Feast of Fools.

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FOF #781 – Big Bear Double Date – 06.17.08

Marc Felion — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:33:01 +0000

Ah happy memories. It was such a blast to ride up to Milwaukee with Tracy Tyler to perform at the Pridefest Milwaukee celebration, an event that started out with a torrential downpour and ended with fireworks in Tracy’s jaw dropping number.

An hour after arriving to our hotel, I called Tracy to see when she wanted to head out to the event and she already had a romantic visitor in her room! She even put him on the phone to prove that he was there.

–Click here to see a photo gallery of our show and after-party at Stir in Milwaukee.

On today’s show Tracy shares her sexy tales of visiting Milwaukee, the Beer Capital of America and our haphazard ride up there.

We set her up with bear comedian Marc Peurye, who co-hosts the comedy night every Wednesday at 9:30pm, McDunna’s Pub in Chicago.

A new study by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute suggests gay men’s brains are similar to straight women’s and that lesbians’ brains are like men’s. The researches announced on Monday that queers and their hetero counterparts share some characteristics in the area of the brain responsible for emotion, mood and anxiety, highlighting some of the potential underpinnings of sexuality.

I’m not sure where trannies fit into this unusual equation, but it certainly would be interesting to see them included in the study, don’t you think? Although Tracy does say she has a woman’s brain in a man’s body and we believe her. Still, I’d like to see what’s in that skull of hers.

Sock Monkey Obama- the controversy over a Utah company’s sock doll fashioned after the 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raises some important questions about racism and how we collectively feel about the man who will most likely be the next President of the United States.

Is comparing Obama to a monkey racist or is it just a reaction to seeing a politician with big ears? After all, President George W Bush was compared to a monkey millions of times and the monkeys never complained.

The NAACP, who made the news last year by staging a mock funeral for the “N-word” responded by calling the toy ‘‘pure racism at its extreme.’’

The toy makers issued a response saying they meant no harm by it, and were only tying their affection for Obama to the children’s toy they grew up with.

Obviously the racism and inequality we live with won’t disappear overnight if the country elects its first black President (not counting Bill Clinton). Will people use the political success of Barak Obama as a way to diffuse any argument over racism in America today?

“We have a black president = we are no longer racist.”

I think one good way to fight racism is to start talking about it. If a silly doll raises this topic, it can’t be a bad thing.

Say hello to Plutoids. Not a spicy mint, but a new term for dwarf planets such as Pluto.

The International Astronomical Union feels bad that they took the title of planet away from Pluto so they came up with a new term for not quite a planet, not quite an asteroid- plutoid. We should all be so lucky to have a international association of scientists pondering the meaning of our own mass, shape and weight.

Check out Tracy in Sweeney Todd the Musical- playing Friday, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays 2pm until June 28th at the Actors Theater Company at 1125 W. Loyola Avenue in Chicago.

A roller coaster of fun- Feast of Fools.

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FOF #750 – Transgender Menace – 04.30.08

Fausto Fernós — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:24:57 +0000

I am a woman, ok? Tracy is in a bit of a quandry. Our modern day suburban tranny Tracy Tyler is in a bit of a stick since she got cast as a man in a local production of the musical Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Since Tracy has spent the past couple of years working hard to unveil the woman inside herself, being cast as a man in a musical challenges her gender identity, as well as her identity as an actor. What will Tracy do an how will she pull off this Victor/Victoria and then Victor again story?

She’s isn’t the only one playing around with gender. Isabella Rossellini has become a transpecies porn star in a series of short films about the sex lives of bugs, insects, and various creatures. Each episode begins with Isabella speaking to the camera “ If I were a…(firefly, spider, dragonfly etc.).” She then dons a male costume of that species and explains how the species does “it.” Birds do it, bees do it, let’s fall in love.

So after CNN interviewed the three tools wearing the Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts to confirm that the Bama isn’t taking advertisers, the general public (including me) have come out with their own “Obamacrombie” and “Hillister” t-shirts. Who will win this fashion election?

OR

Bikini season is just around the corner and Tracy is wondering if she will sport a bikini or will she cover it up like that incident in Katmandu, or was that Kalamazoo? Maybe it was in Kankakee or in Kenosha? We’re just glad it wasn’t in Cucamonga.

Plus tips on tipping the pizza delivery guy, how to get what you want from a hot sexy man. Stick around!

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Always a little bit off center- Feast of Fools.

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FOF #709 – Growing Old Fabulously – 02.21.08

Fausto Fernós — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:19:05 +0000

In many cultures the aging process is embraced and revered because as we grow older we gain wisdom, stability and respect.

But for many people, especially gay men, the aging process is a deep source of anxiety and isolation as they come to terms with unfulfilled life expectations.

Some of us came out of the closet late in life and so aging reminds us of the youthful gay activities we missed out on. Some people will do anything to avoid embracing their adulthood because in many ways they were deprived in the past of a rich gay experience and are eager to make up for it as an adult.

How do we embrace the aging process in a healthy way when our lives don’t turn out the way we expected it to?

Embracing aging is not lowering your expectations; it’s finding new creative ways to expand your horizons.

On today’s show writer, journalist and communications consultant Louis Weisberg joins us to talk about growing old and loving it!

Well known for his sharp political editorial articles, Louis joins us to talk about how he’s begun to think of aging as a fabulous process and not something to be fearful of.

Louis talks about the controversial cover story where he detailed and photographed his plastic surgery procedures and why you shouldn’t be so afraid to go under the knife.

Having spent over 20 years working in the gay press in Chicago, Louis has met and interviewed many fabulous divas like Eartha Kitt and politicians like Barak Obama.

Even though he met and interviewed the Democratic Presidential candidate hopeful from Illinois, he thinks we all should back Hilary Clinton for President.

Listen as we talk about why gay men struggle with substance abuse, finding new love and the tumultuous history of gay publishing in Chicago. This is a show you don’t want to miss.

Your secret weapon in the war against ugly- Feast of Fools.

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Release the pressure! Saca la presión.

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