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The Department of Religion at the University of Illinois decided not to have Kenneth Howell continue teaching courses on its behalf. Then, due to pressure from groups that did not understand or intentionally misrepresented what had happened, Howell was reinstated. The University was well rid of him, and, although the importance of avoiding any appearance of discrimination based on religion and any infringement of free speech and academic freedom is understandable, he should not have been rehired. He is committed to proselytizing discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people, using “morality” as a weapon to humiliate and degrade. Let me be clear: I have no personal grudge against this man. I do not know him. In fact, I am sure he is a perfectly harmless old man that may even do some good in this world. He has demonstrated an admirable ability to do what he thinks is right even when it causes himself significant inconvenience. I am, however, opposed to him as

Same Sex Sunday: DOMA decision, the Today Show, Hawaii Veto, and more | The Bilerico Project : "Last week was a roller coaster ride for the LGBT community. We started off with more than disappointing news that Hawaii's Governor Lingle vetoed the civil union law. On Same Sex Sunday we interview Lambda Legal's Jenny Pizer who will discuss a pending lawsuit to challenge the veto. Good news ended the week with with the Federal court decisions striking down section 3 of DOMA. Pizer shares her incites on this decision. The community also celebrated the Today Show's change of heart when they opened up their wedding contest to gay and lesbian couples. We spoke to the Crate and Barrel wedding contest's second place winner Jonathan Howard about how he used social media to draw attention to the Today Show issue. He also discussed how GLAAD worked with NBC. This week's round table, Metro Weekly's Senior Political Correspondent Chris Geidner, National LGBT Advocate Megh

Was it right to fire Dr. Howell, or did the University pull the trigger to early? Reese’s Pieces » Blog Archive » The firing of Dr. Howell: Its not what he said, its how he said it. : "Instruction is a fine art. When I was teaching, it was a delicate ballet between covering everything and meeting the students intellectually where they were, and where they needed me to be. There is always a problem when your beliefs and feelings are in conflict with the material. This one is a lot less of a problem when you’re a middle school literature teacher working with a non-controversial curriculum. There is an entirely different can of worms when one is a college professor–especially a professor in Religion at a public institution. Dr. Howell I am fascinated with the study of religion, and really love the work, but I don’t envy the Religion professors at the University of Illinois. No one goes into the study of Religion unless they have pretty strong feelings for some sort of creed. Whether

This just came into my mailbox from GLAAD. Hi:   This evening, GLAAD announced that NBC has agreed to change the rules of the Today Show's "Modern Wedding Contest" to allow same-sex couples to apply. Full release is below OR (link here: http://www.glaad.org/page.aspx?pid=1551 )   GLAAD released a Call to Action against NBC on Tuesday that garnered nearly 4,000 signatures (link here: http://glaadblog.org/2010/07/06/call-on-nbc-to-open-today-show-wedding-contest-to-same-sex-couples/http://glaadblog.org/2010/07/06/call-on-nbc-to-open-today-show-wedding-contest-to-same-sex-couples/)   NBC then agreed to meet with GLAAD to hear our concerns. Today, GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios met with "Today Show" Executive Producers and NBC agreed to allow same-sex couples in the contest. Additionally, NBC agreed to extend the contest deadline to Monday, July 12.   For coverage, please include a link to http://www.glaad.org/2010/calltoaction/todayshow -------------

My @FeastOfFun latest! Will @TODAYSHOW show, place or win today? Ask @GLAAD! Today’s the day for TODAY « Feast of Fun : "With the singe of Hawaii’s Governor Linda Lingle’s burn still fresh on our skin, from her veto of the legislature’s Civil Unions bill on Thursday, we may yet have a victory to count. We may not be getting relationship recognition in Hawaii, but we could soon have it at the TODAY show! After recently launching their annual “Modern Wedding” Contest, the TODAY show seems, yet again, ignorant that same-sex couples are fully capable of getting legally wed in 10% of the country. For the second year in a row since the avalanche of additions to the list of marriage equality states, TODAY show producers refused to allow same-sex couples to join in the equality fun. Enter GLAAD, stage left..." Who is GLAAD meeting with today, and what do you think the outcome will be? Learn more at my latest at FeastOfFun!

1 of my latest at Bilerico Project. A garden of wisdom | The Bilerico Project : "This week, on my other podcast, I couldn't escape my Bilerico roots. Ace Lundon, Lance Helms and I had the pleasure of interviewing celebrated lesbian writer, trailblazer, publisher--and Bilerico contributor--Patricia Nell Warren. Patricia (whom I have it on good authority is one of Bil Browning's favorite authors ever) joined us on the show after our discussion of Arizona's crazy immigration law (and more sensible pot laws) and discussed how Patricia became an icon of our movement. For those of you who don't know, Patricia, who was born and raised in Montana, made a splash in the writing world in 1974 with the publication of one of the most famous gay novels ever, The Front Runner and galvanized a community. Patricia now lives in Beverly Hills, California where she writes about the intersection between living a very gay life and broader issues that face all people and especially LGBT

She's our favorite current queer popstar, but she's got the chance, Friday to make a real difference--will she? Why is Lady Gaga playing the discriminatory TODAY Show? | The Bilerico Project : "Hey, we've all been there. We've all had jobs or done work just for the money. Today I'm a proponent of 'locally owned, locally grown,' 'buy local, shop local, eat local.' I'm a nearly-vegan vegetarian (I did put mayo-based Cajun remoulade on my sandwich last night, so not there yet). But you know how I got through college? 'Welcome to McDonald's, would you like to try the new triple-fat fat McFatty today?' Growing up slightly less than rich (okay, way more than slightly less), I understand doin' it because you need the money, but Lady Gaga isn't hurting for money: she's one of the richest stars on the planet..." Want to know why something smells funny in Gagaville? Read my latest at Bilerico.com

SameSexSunday: Prop 8 Closing Arguments; Will Blogs Kill LGBT Print Media? | The Bilerico Project : "This week on SameSexSunday with Joe Mirabella and Phil Reese, Metro Weekly Senior Political Correspondant and Law Dork blogger, Chris Geidner, shares his perspective on the Proposition 8 Federal trial closing arguments in Judge Vaughn Walker's San Francisco Court. His MetroWeekly piece, 'Case Closed' summarized the last day of the Perry vs. Schwarzenegger case--a case that could have a much broader impact than just striking down a discriminatory California ballot initiative..." Check out the rest at Bilerico!

More federal benefits for LGBT families located « Feast of Fun : "Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder led a Pride ceremony at the Justice Department and today, President Obama will greet LGBT Americans at a White House Pride Month Reception. Good week. However, its really been a good month to be queer, with the Federal Government making moves to sniff out and secure dozens of benefits for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender headed families–especially for same-sex couples where one partner works for the Federal Government. How?" Find out how at my FULL piece at Feast of Fun!

The FULL piece is over at Feast of Fun, with a ton of really important facts and commentary AFTER this snippet. Please don't comment until you've read the whole thing. Will Hawaii Governor say “Aloha” or “Aloha” to Civil Unions today? « Feast of Fun : "Today is the last day that Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle (R) can veto the state’s Civil Unions bill–and both supporters and opponents are biting their nails to see what this Diane Keaton doppelganger will do. “I really thought about this more than I have thought about any other piece of legislation,” Lingle told KITV on Sunday, July 4th, “It is a subject that has really touched the hearts and minds of everyone in Hawaii.” In June, the Governor added the bill to a list she sent to the legislator of newly passed legislation that she might potentially veto–apparently a strange quirk of the Hawaiian system. Perhaps the statement, published Sunday, released by a Governor’s office spokesperson speaks volumes..." To read the q

Reese’s Pieces » Blog Archive » 2 Tuff 2B Str8. Bingham Cup 2010 : "This past weekend, Minneapolis played host to the fifth biannual international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rugby tournament, otherwise known as the Bingham Cup. The Bingham Cup brings together 50 teams from Europe, Australia, South and Central America, and all over the United States and Canada. This year, the Minneapolis Mayhem hosted the tournament. I had the good fortune of quickly locating and befriending the most excellent team of the bunch, the Ottawa Wolves. So much fun, we sang “Hungry Like the Wolf” during half-time. The Wolves had almost as many players on the disabled list as they did on the field. They also had three straight guys–one married, one finding Twin Cities girls to be very welcoming–but they also proudly wore little rainbow flags on the right leg of their uniform shorts..." I'm extremely proud of this piece, which goes into the background about gay rugby, and why the cup i

Supreme Court: Colleges Can Discriminate Against Groups that Discriminate « Feast of Fun : "This year, the Roberts court has been pretty good to minority populations–especially the gays. Must be the down-to-earth, common sense latina wisdom that they finally have in the mix. In a 5-4 decision, yesterday with Justice Ginsberg writing, the Supreme Court sided with the University of California’s Hastings College of Law against the militant Right-Wing hate group the “Christian” Legal Society who had been denied registered organization status and benefits because they don’t allow non-Christians, gays, pro-lifers, etc… to join. Heck, even the Republicans let us in, give me a break..." So what do you think? Should the CLS be allowed to discriminate, or should they be beholden to the University's non-discrimination rules if they want University benefits? Comment on my latest over at the Feast of Fun and tell me what you think.

Reese’s Pieces » Blog Archive » My view from Homo Heights: June 28, 2010 : "“My View From Homo Heights” was one of the names tossed around when I was discussing launching this blogs. I am thinking of doing this photo-blog as a weekly thing–what do you think?" I forgot to share this one with you as well!

Reese’s Pieces » Blog Archive » My view from Homo Heights: July 4, 2010 : "Its fine to be patriotic on July 4, but why not take it one step further and be GAYtriotic on Independence Day? My neighborhood has the gaytriotic spirit every day. Check out this house just down the street from me. Now that is Homo Heights!" Go look at the cute picture I took of the house on Hill Street!

Roundtable: Holiday Weekend Version of SameSexSunday! | The Bilerico Project : "For our second weekly politics round table, we discuss Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Google's gay partner salary bump, future Justice Elena Kagan's Senate hearings, Lt. Dan Choi's curious subpoena and why we weren't part of the President's first speech on comprehensive immigration reform plus what that might mean for the bill. We also examine the Wisconsin's Supreme Court letting us down while the United States Supreme Court picks us up..." You're going to want to hear our second round table--it gets heated near the end! Such a fantastic time--I'm loving our awesome, amazing SameSexSunday podcast!

Dear Mr. President: YOU GOT SERVED! « Feast of Fun : "Yesterday Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo–the two gay soldiers who in an iconic move chained themselves to the White House fence this Spring–served the President… with a subpoena. You remember the exclusive pictures here at Feast of Fun, and the “Choi Chained” headline. I know you do. Now they’re making the bold move of calling the President as a witness in their July 14th trial. Pietrangelo and Choi’s lawyers jointly released a memo with a rationale for the move..." You know you wanna know more! That's why you should click the link and read my latest at the Feast of Fun!

I'm going strong on my new diet and fitness plan! Its going so well, I wrote about it! Why I want to be smaller | The Bilerico Project : "We are sometimes a community of size queens, but believe it or not, I want to be smaller. No, I know what you're thinking, and I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about my gut. Before I was blogging at Bilerico, I was working hard at trying to keep my weight down. I had lost 70 pounds using the fad diet of eating healthy and exercising. I know. Crazy. I was blogging on a website for weight-loss, and leading a group of gays and lesbians on that site trying to lose weight. Then I learned I was losing my job..." Want to learn more about me? Check out my latest at Bilerico.com

Check out my latest "Reese's Pieces" blog. Reese’s Pieces » Blog Archive » What Pride is : "This past weekend was Chicago Pride–the biggest insane party of the year for the midwest. Its hours of go-go boys, drag queens, DJs bar floats, politicians, and political organizations, that plays to a half million drunk sunburnt revelers annually in Lakeshore." Check out the rest, and hundreds of photos, at the217.com!