The speech, the transcript of which is included below, was very good but also of little note. There’s not much there that President Barack Obama hasn’t said before when he met with some 250 to 300 LGBT guests in the East Room of the White House today. That gathering was billed as a commemoration for the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. The President acknowledged Frank Kameny, who was fired in 1957 from the Army map service because he was gay. Later in the speech, he acknowledged the estimated 272 servicemembers who have been fired by the Pentagon since ...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates today called the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy "very restrictive" and said the Pentagon is investigating "if there's a more humane way to apply [Don't Ask, Don't Tell] until it gets changed," AFP reports: "The Pentagon boss said he discussed the issue last week with US President Barack Obama and that there also has been discussion among senior military and legal counsel about possible changes in how they apply the law, which he described as 'very restrictive.' The defense secretary said one possible modification might be consider the circumstances under which a service member ...

Beginning at 4:25 PM EDT, the White House will begin streaming tonight’s Stonewall celebration. You can watch it here. Brian Bond, who organized the event, has written about tonight’s event: As a gay kid growing up in rural Missouri – I never thought I would end up helping to organize an LGBT Pride event in the White House. Then again, I never thought I would ever realize my dream to work in the White House. But thanks to the historic election of Barack Obama, today I am honored to be working here. . . . People may not know ...

Jarrett Barrios, the new president of GLAAD, told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield this morning that he hopes to talk to President Barack Obama at a reception Monday “about fundamental equality at a time when it’s the 40th anniversary of Stonewall.” Barrios and leaders of other LGBT advocacy groups have been invited to a White House reception tomorrow. “I, for one, am appreciative that the president has decided to commemorate Stonewall,” Barrios said. “This is a very important symbolic act from the White House.” But He said there is far more that he and others expect of the White House and Congress, ...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Michael Jackson update — the cops are looking for a second physician.  Jackson’s primary physician Dr. Conrad Murray has lawyered up.  Randy Jackson appears to be making the funeral plans.  (Randy is the youngest brother.)  Michael Jackson will be on the cover of Time magazine.  The Jackson family may be looking to get a second autopsy. (TMZ has been two to four hours ahead of the MSM on this story.) Last night the Washington Post reported ...

Are the LGBT blogosphere’s opinions of President Barack Obama in line with those of the average LGBT man and woman on the street? In two ...

According to The Advocate, about 25 protesters met DNC invitees as they gathered for the LGBT Leadership Caucus’s DNC Fundraiser Thursday night: Despite the controversy, about 180 people showed up to hear Vice President Joe Biden speak for a price tag of $1,000 to $30,400 per plate. The event brought in nearly $1 million, up from about $750,000 last year, according to a Democratic Party source. But the scene was not one of total discord between inside and outside. Some DNC staffers working the event were also wearing red, white, and blue “265” buttons as a reminder of the number of ...

There is more evidence that we tortured and/or abused prisoners at Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan. This is so un-American. From the BBC: Bagram has held thousands of people over the last eight years and a new detention centre is currently under construction at the camp. Some of the inmates are forcibly taken there from abroad, especially Pakistanis and at least two Britons. Since coming to office US President Barack Obama has banned the use of torture and ordered a review of policy on detainees, which is expected to report next month. But unlike its detainees at the US naval facility at ...

Within the last eight minutes, President Barack Obama opened his fourth domestic press conference—you can watch on CNN.com—"as he seeks to re-focus the political debate amid criticism of his approach to the ongoing protests in Iran and lingering doubts about... ...

Dan Savage dug up this little factoid regarding forced deportation of foreign nationals whose spouse dies within a two--year window of their marriage - it's called the "widow's penalty."Apparently: "Napolitano has ordered deportations of surviving spouses and their children deferred for two years. That gives Congress time to fix the law if it chooses to."Savage wonders why Obama can't do the same with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Actually, he could. ...

The harping of conservatives has become louder and louder over the last couple of weeks over the budget deficit.  They have wrongly stated that Barack Obama spending us into poverty.  There are many analogies that could be used but the one that I’ll use right now is that our house is on fire.  First, we need to put out the fire.  Secondly we rebuild the house. I’ll avoid mentioning the obvious that these deficit hawks were silent in 2001, 2003 and again in 2004 as President Bush passed massive tax cuts that were not offset by massive spending cuts.  ...

Congressman Hastings and 76 Members of Congress Urge President Obama to Suspend “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and Initiate Bilateral Repeal Process. WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) and 76 Members of Congress sent the following letter to President Barack Obama urging him to suspend the investigation and discharge of service members in [...] ...

Seventy-seven congressmen, led by Florida Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, have sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him "to take immediate action" and stop investigations of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" violations, reports The Advocate. The new strategy calls for... ...

Last week, word went out that the Justice Department will meet with LGBT groups to try to iron out how the Justice Department can go forward with future litigation with DOMA without insulting a key group of fellow Americans. I think that has the potential of being a very good move, and I’m glad LGBT advocacy groups are being invited to this working meeting. But we are also learning that the White House plans on inviting LGBT leadership to a cocktail party of some sort later in the week. I can’t think of anything more inappropriate than that. I ...

hey y'all! i'm so bummed the weekend will be soon drawing to a close - thankfully the weather has been less gloomy and more sunny over the past few days! right now i've got the latest video from lily allen for her latest single fuck you off her album it's not me, it's you - it's a message that was written with our former president george w. bush in mind (i'm so happy he's out of office - the vibe barack obama has brought to washington DC is refreshing - although i'm not crazy over ...

This is a funny Jib-Jab video.  Barack Obama is a cartoon character.  He is saving the day.  Very funny. Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today! ...

WASHINGTON -- The White House said Thursday it was seeking ways to include same-sex marriages, unions and partnerships in 2010 Census data, the second time in a week the administration has signaled a policy change of interest to the gay community. The administration has directed the Census Bureau to determine changes needed in tabulation software to allow for same-sex marriage data to be released early in 2011 with other detailed demographic information from the decennial count. The bureau historically hasn't released same-sex marriage data. The gay community strongly supported President Barack Obama during the 2008 election. But some gay activists ...

This is major. Stampp Corbin, one of the leading gay supporters of President Barack Obama and the former Co-Chair of the Obama LGBT Leadership Council during the presidential campaign, announces he will not attend the Democratic Party's LGBT fundraiser scheduled... ...

Steve Vogel at the Washington Post profiles several federal employees who are hopeful the limited federal benefits extension, signed yesterday by President Barack Obama, will lead to health benefits for their partners. Candy Holmes (left), is 33-year federal employee and... ...

:::NOTE::: as this post goes on, I get more pissy, as you can see the swear words increase exponentially.. you've been warned::::Ok, I voted for Barack Obama.I bought his "Yes We Can" spiel and -- I have to say -- I was moved by him.I didn't vote for him in the primaries though. Nope. I voted for Hillary. I voted for Hillary because I trusted her -- well, as much as one can trust a lying, dirty-ass, back-stabbing, people-crushing politician, anyway.BUT -- since this country is a bunch of pussies and couldn't let a pussy run the country, my ...