Begin with the McCain quote from May, where he says he won't take the low road that it's not necessary, etc. etc.

Every now and then a media meme comes along that is so stupid that I can only roll my eyes in disgust. Unfortunately, these same memes are often too ubiquitous to ignore.

--Is a straight woman over forty more likely to get killed by a terrorist than to marry?
--Are the ex-cast members of Seinfeld "cursed"?
--Is Superman gay?

No, yes, and who the #%*& cares!

The gay newsmagazine the Advocate started the "Is Superman Gay?" madness with a May cover story that, for the record, never actually suggested that Superman was gay, just that he had a gay "sensibility."

This Wednesday is the National Day of Silence.

What's that? You don't know what the National Day of Silence is? Why, it's just the coolest civil rights protest ever imagined!

Read all about it in an essay I wrote in today's newspaper:

Gay Teens Break Their Silence

People joke these days that the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name has become The Love That Won't Shut Up. Gay and lesbian Americans and their allies are finally making themselves heard. Even in some high schools.

It wasn't always this way. I first joined the gay youth movement back in 1989, when I helped establish Oasis, a Tacoma [Washington] support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youths. Only one of our 150 members was "out" at school, and he was receiving death threats.

I knew of no openly gay teachers or administrators. But even then, the teenagers I worked with yearned to be open and honest about who they were. Heterosexuals often ask me why gay teenagers would want to talk about their sexuality in the first place. "Their wanting to talk about sex is just another form of rebellion, right?"

I honestly can't think of a better example of the cultural divide that is currently splitting this country than this debate raging in Oklahoma. That said, I'm not sure there's any way to compromise with people who openly advocate censorship of books like mine and the suppression of ideas. I do know that if this country is to survive, these people must be stopped.

My GOD, the right-wing LIES about gay people! USA Today has a "debate" today on the topic of same-sex adoption, and they've picked Cal Thomas, the newspaper "columnist" who is a former spokesman for the Christian Coalition, to argue the anti-gay side. And he spouts just one blatant lie after another! I'm actually annoyed with USA Today for printing his bullsh#%.

Bill O'Reilly is an entertaining clown. He used to know it, but I think that, starting in about 2003, Al Franken's attacks really got to him, and his mind has since snapped. I think he now believes his shtick.

Anyway, he's written about Brokeback Mountain. There's really no point in responding to his specific ideas, because, well, they're so stupid. For example:

According to friends of mine who have seen "Brokeback," the key scene takes place in a pup tent. Apparently, two shepherds "bond" in said tent. If I do see the movie, I know what will run through my mind during that scene: What would Clint and Lee and Eli [from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly] have done, had they stumbled upon the tent? I believe gunfire might have been involved.

Before Brokeback Mountain, there was Making Love.

The 1982 feature film was the very first studio movie to present a positive take on being gay. Starring former Charlie's Angel Kate Jackson, LA Law's Harry Hamlin, and a handsome actor named Michael Ontkean, it is the story of a young doctor finally coming to terms with his homosexuality. According to one poster for the movie:

After eight years of marriage, Claire had everything, a loving husband and an exciting career. Suddenly, Claire's whole world is threatened when she learns that her husband is involved in a love affair, but not with another woman.

When my very liberal friends argue that the U.S. has become a theocratic, fascist state, I secretly roll my eyes.

Then I read articles like this.

Here in Washington State where I live, the legislature is debating a gay rights bill--not gay marriage, mind you, but basic protections against discrimination. The argument being made to oppose the bill by the man appointed to represent the Republican Party?

"I just read the Bible for what it says. It basically says that homosexuality is an abomination," says Senate Republican Dan Swecker, who wants gays to know they can be saved. "Somehow that message has to get out. Because if people don't realize that it's a sin or there's not an opportunity for redemption, then we're going to lose them."

Supposedly, it's not okay to compare right-wingers to Nazis any more--that it's understandably insensitive to Holocaust survivors, and it's not accurate anyway.

But honestly, can anyone read these anti-gay comments from Utah State Senator Chris Buttars and not see the eerie parallels between him and a Jew-hating Nazi?

We're coming after "your kids"? Check. We're "everywhere" and getting into "everything"? Check. We harbor diseases? Check.

In Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang we had a butch gay detective. With Brokeback Mountain, we have butch gay cowboys. And on Desperate Housewives, we have butch gay teenagers.

Three portrayals of butch gay guys? Yeehaw! If this was Time Magazine, that would be more than enough to declare a full-fledged media "trend!"

I have mixed feelings about media portrayals of butch gay guys. On one hand, I'm all for anything that upends the stereotypes of GLBT folks. On the other hand, the implication of the previous sentence is that there is something negative about non-butch gay guys. After all, no one cares about media stereotypes that are positive, right? I mean, Jewish people don't exactly complain to the networks when television shows have them encouraging their kids to "get an education."

On the other other hand, straight people can relate more to non-effeminate gay characters. And anything that gets them to take us and our issues more seriously is a good thing for the gay community, even for our effeminate members.

Right?

As I posted here a few weeks ago, my gay teen novel, GEOGRAPHY CLUB, was recently banned from a school district in Washington State. Wednesday night, the school board met, I and some others spoke, and the board agreed to reverse the decision.

Mostly.

The book is being returned to the high school library, but not the junior high.

Last week, a school district banned my gay teen novel, GEOGRAPHY CLUB, because it supposedly "romanticizes" teens meeting through internet chat rooms.

Today the local paper printed my response:

THEY'VE BANNED MY GAY TEEN BOOK

By Brent Hartinger

It's hard not to take it personally when a school district bans your book.

The University Place School District recently pulled my gay teen novel, Geography Club, from the shelves of its libraries after some parents complained. Superintendent Patti Banks disregarded all the parents' concerns except one: the fact that two characters come together as a result of an internet chat room. Because of that, the book encourages "extremely high risk behavior," Banks wrote.

(There's more...)

I am the author of a gay teen novel, GEOGRAPHY CLUB, and its sequel, THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK. Last week, I wrote how GEOGRAPHY CLUB had been banned at a school district in my hometown.

Today the s##t hit the f#n in the form of an article on the front page of the daily newspaper. It's behind a free-subscription firewall, so I'll quote some of the article here:

I'm the writer of gay teen novels, some of which are, um, kinda popular, including GEOGRAPHY CLUB and its sequel, THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK.

Today I learned that GEOGRAPHY CLUB has officially been banned.

Here's a meme that really needs to get out there.  Tell your Christian and conservative friends:

"Remember 'It's a Wonderful Life'?  Walmart is Mr. Potter."

The only way to reach a lot of these idiots is force them to see the gaping, San-Andreas-Fault-like gap between Bush-reality and their own stated values, as evidenced in beloved TV show and movies.

Of course, the same thing can be done with "Erin Brokovich," "The Shawshank Redemption," etc.

Yeah, it's pathetic, but it works.

So I was talking with my aunt last night, who is a nun in South Dakota.  I asked her who she is voting for, and she said without hesitation, "Oh, Kerry, of course."  She went on to tell me how much she distrusted Bush, how unjust she thinks the Iraq war was/is, and how appalling it is that we're now hated around the world.  But then I asked her who the other nuns in her convent are voting for, and she thought for a second and said, "Well, it's a split.  All the ones who read books or newspapers are voting for Kerry.  The older ones who can't read any more will probably vote a straight pro-life ticket."

So there you have it.  The Bush constituency:  people who have no idea what's going on.  (Do I detect a new meme?)

(This is my first diary)