EASIER SAID THAN DONE

A LITTLE NUN HUMOR

TELL ESPN!

Yesterday, when Jason Collins became the first openly gay player in the NBA, he emphasized the importance of his Christian faith in accepting himself and deciding to come out. But within hours, ESPN sportscaster Chris Broussard characterized coming out as "openly living in unrepentant sin" and attacked Collins, saying "I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don't think the Bible would characterize them as a Christian." Shockingly, so far ESPN is standing by Broussard, describing his tirade as "a respectful discussion of personal viewpoints." ESPN needs to hear immediately from thousands of Christians who are appalled that the network is allowing our faith to be wielded as a weapon of anti-gay hatred. Sign the petition to ESPN: Suspend Chris Broussard immediately. FAITHFULAMERICA

LOVE HER HAIR, BUT.....

ANYONE BUT QUINN

THURSDAY AT NOON: ANYONE BUT QUINN RALLY AND PRESS CONFERENCE. Action & Press Conference 12:00p - Volunteer action Location: City Hall Park, Manhattan (meet across from 250 Broadway) All are welcome to join our volunteers in passing out flyers and collecting petition signatures in support of our campaign and voicing our objection to the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital and all other NYC hospitals. 1:00p - Press Conference Location: Steps of City Hall, Manhattan Speakers will tell their own personal stories on how the closing of their community hospital, St. Vincent's has negatively impacted their lives and livelihood. Anybody But Quinn Campaign www.nycisnotforsale.com @NYCisNot4Sale

I GOT EMAIL FROM PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN!

In the wake of the tragic mass shooting in Newtown, these artists came together and created some beautiful images to express their outrage and heartbreak at the senseless loss of innocent lives. And after the shameful vote in the U.S. Senate, their message is more timely than ever. Watch this powerful video and share it with your friends and family today: http://www.demandaction.org/cartoonists/ Thank you for making your voice heard and supporting the gun violence prevention movement. Philip Seymour Hoffman

MY WORD OF ADVICE FOR SHARON NEEDLES

CHECK OUT THE SECOND PERFORMER AS LA LUPE!

I don't know her name but she is magic!

MOM WANTS "PORNOGRAPHIC" DIARY OF ANNE FRANK BANNED

A mother in Michigan has made it her mission to have a "pornographic" book being taught at her daughter's middle school pulled from the curriculum. That book? The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Listen up, mom! Your daughter has a vagina and she came out of yours. Was her birth pornographic? Then neither is Diary Of Anne Frank! MORE: GAWKER

HMMMMM...

VIA HUFFPO: April 29 (Reuters) - Tens of millions of U.S. dollars in cash were delivered by the CIA in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags to the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade, the New York Times says, citing current and former advisers to the Afghan leader. The so-called "ghost money" was meant to buy influence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying. "The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan", one American official said, "was the United States." MORE: HUFFPO

SO THAT'S HOW THEY DO IT!

WHAT A GREAT VOICE!

CAUGHT TURNING TRICKS WHILE WORKING AT WALMART

The prices weren't the only thing going down! THESMOKINGGUN

WHEEEE!

SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE LIKES!

OBAMA'S DREADFUL CIVIL RIGHTS RECORD

You'd like to think that the first president of color might be better on civil rights. Not worse that George W. Bush. Remember the NDAA which gave presidents the right to detain American citizens without a trial? Obama apologized for signing it and then promised to never use it, though of course future presidents can. So who was forcing him to sign it? He is eroding our civil rights and concerning this aspect of his presidency, he is worse than Bush was. Let's hear what the Obama apologists have to say to that. NOAM CHOMSKY: "In an interview with AlterNet this past week, America’s most well-known left-wing intellectual slammed President Obama for his inexplicable “attacks” on civil liberties in the forms of various laws expanding upon the executive powers set forth by President George W. Bush." MEDIAITE.COM

HORRIFYING!

Gay teens starved, tortured, killed at camp to turn them into ‘men’ Game ranger course 'general' is on trial for murder, child abuse, neglect and allegedly forced teen to eat his own faeces. GAYSTARNEWS

BIANCA ON DANIELLE

WHEW!

MEET THE GAL WITH THE WORLD'S STRONGEST VAGINA

Tatyana Kozhevnikovam, who holds the Guinness World Record for “vagina weightlifting”, can lift a 30-pound kettlebell using nothing but her private parts. MORE: COUNSELHEAL

SO CUTE!

PLEASE SIGN IF YOU AGREE!

Please join with Daily Kos and Senator Sherrod Brown by signing our petition urging all U.S. senators to oppose any bill containing cuts to Social Security, including chained CPI. Click here to sign the petition. With the White House standing firmly behind its proposal to cut Social Security through chained CPI, we need keep seniors out of poverty by rallying opposition to Social Security cuts in the U.S. Senate. And we’re in luck–progressive champion Sen. Sherrod Brown is spearheading an effort just like that in the Senate, organizing his colleagues to stand firm against any and all cuts to the earned benefit that is Social Security. Please join with Daily Kos and Senator Sherrod Brown by signing our petition urging all U.S. senators to oppose any bill containing cuts to Social Security, including chained CPI. Senator Brown can use these signatures to help build opposition to Social Security cuts amongst his colleagues. MORE: DAILYKOS

IRAQ PART 2

Chuck Hagel claims that Syria has used chemical weapons. Who did they use them on? Why is that a concern of the US? Are you personally scared by what's going on in Syria or even know? I don't. Is whoever is using sarin a threat to the US? No, but the fact that someone is using small quantities of a weapon of mass destruction is being laid out as a possible pathway to war, much as non-existent yellowcake uranium was used to trick us into invading Iraq for 8 1/2 preposterous years. And republicans like John McCain want war. The US is always looking for an excuse for war, despite the Americans being sick of war and signaling quite plainly that our government needs to get the US back together before we fix any other country's problems. I'm more concerned with jobs and austerity measures than any small quantity of sarin used in a country we aren't at war with...yet. It really boils down to this: after Iraq, the US cannot effectively sell itself as an honorable nation which would polices the world fairly. Our credibility is gone, folks. And if we truly are motivated by wanting atrocities like sarin attacks to stop, then let the US stop committing it's own, much larger scale atrocities abroad. MORE: GUARDIAN

THIS GUY DOESN'T SEEM SO CRAZY NOW

DEMENTED!

HOW TO CHEAT IN CLASS

THIS GUY MAKES A GREAT POINT

Since 9/11, our government and our news has been telling us that terrorists attack the US because of our freedom. So why aren't terrorists attacking the rest of the free world? BECAUSE THOSE COUNTRIES DON'T ATTACK THEM LIKE THE US DOES. Everyone is raving about Boston's excellent crisis response team. But which would you prefer: a great crisis response team or fewer crises that they need responding to? The US is asking for more terrorist attacks. If you truly were horrified by the bombings, then ask yourself why US foreign policy made them happen. It's Time to Reconsider U.S. Policies That Create Terrorists by M. J. Rosenberg: "In short, the aphorism often used to describe the effect of drone attacks can be applied to U.S. policy in the Muslim world in general: for every enemy we kill, we create dozens or hundreds more. And some of those enemies turn up here as terrorists." MORE: HUFFPO

TODAY'S CATHOLIC GIGGLE

BUN-BUN IN PITTSBURGH THIS SATURDAY

DJ Max Rodriguez will fill in for me at Splash's Disco Sunday from 7-11.

PRINCESS DIANA VS KATE!

GUESS WHO'S CUMMING FOR DINNER?

FAREA AL-MUSLIMI, YEMENI, BOSTON AND DRONES

Did you even know the US was killing people in Yemen with our tax dollars? We're sewing the seeds of hatred and violence all over the world. And we act surprised when muslim brothers bomb us in Boston? Muslim terrorists act in solidarity with their brothers--whether in Indonesia, Somalia, Yemen or Chechen. This young man claims that US drone strikes are the most effective recruitment tool for extremists. And that the "dangerous" man the US was targeting wasn't even a terrorist, but rather someone who could have been easily captured on the ground by any farmer. Rather than killing 5 needlessly. He recalls the time he spent in the US as a student the high point of his life. FAREA AL-MUSLIMI: "What Wessab’s villagers knew of the U.S. was based on my stories about my wonderful experiences here. The friendships and values I experienced and described to the villagers helped them understand the America that I know and that I love. Now, however, when they think of America, they think of the terror they feel from the drones that hover over their heads, ready to fire missiles at any time. What the violent militants had previously failed to achieve, one drone strike accomplished in an instant. There is now an intense anger against America in Wessab. This is not an isolated incident. The drone strikes are the face of America to many Yemenis. I have spoken to many victims of U.S. drone strikes, like a mother in Jaar who had to identify her innocent 18-year-old son’s body through a video in a stranger’s cellphone, or the father in Shaqra who held his four- and six-year-old children as they died in his arms. Recently in Aden, I spoke with one of the tribal leaders present in 2009 at the place where the U.S. cruise missiles targeted the village of al-Majalah in Lawdar, Abyan. More than 40 civilians were killed, including four pregnant women. The tribal leader and others tried to rescue the victims, but the bodies were so decimated that it was impossible to differentiate between those of children, women and their animals. Some of these innocent people were buried in the same grave as their animals." JEREMY SCAHILL: "Because the United States doesn’t have any actual intelligence on the ground in Yemen, they’ve taken to doing these signature strikes where they develop a pattern of life, and they say, if people are in a certain region of Yemen or Pakistan or Somalia—if people are in a certain region and they’re of military age—they could be anywhere from 15 to 70 years old—and they fit some kind of a pattern of other people we believe to be terrorists, then they become legitimate targets. So it’s the most horrific form of pre-crime. They don’t know the identities of the people that they’re killing. They don’t know whether they’ve been involved with any activity. They’re killed for who they might be or they might one day become." It's wonderful that Boston's rescue team worked so effectively to minimize the loss of lives. But if the US wasn't creating new enemies around the world every almost everyday, we wouldn't have to worry as much about that. This guy's testimony to Congress yesterday has gone viral. The Obama administration declined sending a representative to hear him. And Obama appointed "the drone guy", John Brennan, as CIA director and has greatly increased drone attacks since Bush. But these attacks aren't making us safer if they're highly effective recruiting tools for future terrorist to strike at the US. It's called connecting the dots. Do you prefer excellent crisis response teams or fewer crises that they'd need to respond to? "Does do unto others" ring a bell with anyone out there?

DUMBEST THING EVER SAID ON FOX "NEWS"

HOLLY WOODLAWN: 1ST SHOW IS SOLD OUT!

Andy Warhol/Lou Reed legend makes rare New York live appearance. May 17 & 20 at Laurie Beechman Theatre Buy tickets HERE. In a rare public appearance, Andy Warhol Superstar HOLLY WOODLAWN returns to New York with a new live show, THE HOLLY WOODLAWN SHOW. It will be presented for two performances only: Friday, May 17 and Monday, May 20 at 7:30pm at The Laurie Beechman Theater (inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street at 9th Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2 & 3 trains at 42nd Street). Tickets are $22 plus a $15 food/drink minimum. To purchase tickets, call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com. THE HOLLY WOODLAWN SHOW is a new evening of songs and stories by this incomparable transgender artist, as well as a frank question-and-answer session. It includes her signature rendition of the Lou Reed song "Take a Walk on the Wild Side," plus other classics. Woodlawn will be accompanied by Lance Cruce, long-time pianist for Joan Rivers. Please note: This performance will be filmed live as part of a documentary on Holly's life that is currently in production. SPINCYCLE

ME IN THE MID-80S IN NYC

PROOF THAT I WAS ONCE YOUNG AND THIN--AND KINDA CRAZY!

THE MAN MUST HAVE HIDDEN TALENTS!

CUZ HE NOT THAT CUTE, IS HE! ROLLINGOUT

BRAVO!

SO GLAD THAT JON USES HIS VOICE ON ISSUES LIKE MONSANTO. At his rally in DC, he was also one of the nation's loudest voices for peace. MNN: You know what I love about Jon Stewart? My teenager doesn’t hear Charlie Brown’s teacher’s voice coming out of his mouth. Let me explain. When I mention something like the Monsanto Protection Act at the dinner table, what my son hears is, “Wha, wha, wha, wha, wha, wha.” When Jon Stewart explains something, my son hears the whole thing and says something like, “Hey mom, did you know about this?”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

MORE: MNN

CALL ME OLDIE-LOCKS AND THE BEARS!

I'M ON PINS AND NEEDLES!

OH, MADGE!

SO GORGEOUS HE WAS KICKED OUT OF SAUDI ARABIA!

AND THERE WERE TWO OTHERS! MORE: HUFFPO

NIGERIAN DISCO!

CISPA UPDATE

I know that it's easy to dismiss people posting about CISPA and internet censorship as geeks or crazed activists. But does this article breaks it down enough for you to understand what it might mean, how invasive it is and how sick it is that anyone would even SUGGEST linking your personal, leisure time activities with your job. Should anyone have to care in a "free" country what our boss thinks of our social interaction? Much less handing over our passwords so that presumably, our bosses could even masquerade as us on social media? What freak dared proposed this? We know what Congress isn't getting done (background checks for guns, a budget that doesn't cut social security, etc.) Now we see what they do support and can get done: radical, intrusive and definitely not any kind of freedom-supporting legislation like this. I can safely say that the majority of us in both parties would NOT want anything like this passed. Am I right? My few remaining republican friends left--am I right? BUT LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: MANY OF US DON'T HAVE JOBS SO IT'S LESS OF AN ISSUE. "Handing over passwords could legally be a condition of acquiring or keeping a job, said WebProNews. Perlmutter said of his amendment before it was defeated: 'It helps the individual protect his right to privacy and it doesn't allow the employer to impersonate that particular employee when other people are interacting with that person across social media platforms." MORE: DAILYMAIL

AT LEAST THEY CALLED ME A "SHE"!

SARAH JESSICA PARKER AND CYNTHIA NIXON ADD SOME SERIOUS STAR POWER TO LGBT BENEFIT FOR MAYORAL HOPEFUL BILL DEBLASIO. DOWN WITH QUINN! Months after “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon signed on to a key role in de Blasio’s campaign, co-star Sarah Jessica Parker has agreed to headline a May 12 fund-raiser along with a raft of comedians, actors and a drag queen named Lady Bunny. Bunny, who is known for glitzy outfits, false eyelashes and disco songs like “Shame, Shame, Shame!” and “The Pussycat Song,” has also made “Sex and the City” cameos. She may be the first drag queen touted on a candidate’s supporters list, but de Blasio has prided himself on running an unconventional campaign. This photo of me was taken at Studio 54 reunion last year. In keeping with the disco theme, I'd rubbed cocaine (baby powder) on my nose. No one got it, but when did that ever keep me from telling a joke? (Maybe they didn't see anything unusual.) I also brought poppers and offered it to people--as part of the 70s theme, of course. Only Studio's publicist, Carmen D'Allesio, snorted some and we boogied. MORE: DAILYNEWS THE BENEFIT: MAY 12TH AT THE CUTTING ROOM Join Cynthia Nixon, Alan Cumming, Justin Vivian Bond, Murray Hill and dozens of other LGBT New Yorkers working to elect a real progressive as Mayor of New York. We believe in workers rights, affordable housing, police reform, and not doing everything Big Real Estate wants. So does Bill. We are not supporting candidates just because they are also LGBT, we are supporting the most progressive viable candidate running.

BIZARRE!

A man in New Zealand spent three months in prison and is facing an additional 10 years of penalties for possessing cartoon drawings of young-looking elves and pixies having sex. Ronald Clark's drawings were deemed by a court to be "underage," making the pictures child pornography under New Zealand law -- even though they were animated images, not photographs. Clark now faces a decade-long supervision order that would prevent him from going near certain areas where children might be, Clark's lawyer, Roger Bowden, told The Huffington Post. MORE: HUFFPO

WHAT A CREW!

LADY OF THE LAKE

Relatively long and kinda artsy, this may not be for all of you. But if you enjoy demented puppetry, this is right up your alley. The director Michael Lucid went on to become better known as Damiana Garcia, World Of Wonder's nerdy resident red carpet correspondent with lots of hilarious videos on youtube.

DIRE

WOW!

APACHE: REWORKED

Remember the song Apache that was often sampled in hip-hop records with a great drum break? Well, here's a nutty disco version which didn't see fit to include that break, but it is the epitome of disco cheese.

CARLY RAE JEPSEN AT WHITE PARTY

I have nothing against Carly Rae Jepsen or this decent pop song. But does anyone else remember when large gay events hired a different kind of act: Kevin Aviance, Inaya Day, Kristine W FanBase, Pepper MaShay, Deborah Cox, Ce Ce Peniston, Kim English, Ultra Nate, Vernessa Mitchell, Deborah Cooper, Robin S, etc? Now gays can fight in the military and may soon be able to get married. But do we have to assimilate so much that we're listening to the same music as straights when our own musical tastes just a decade ago were infinitely superior? And is Carly's pointless guitar player strumming over the pre-recorded track add ANYTHING except a joke factor? With a few notable exceptions, LA was never known for it's house music scene. And White Party is in Palm Springs but it's attended by people from LA and all over. They do have a bigger underground rock scene than NYC. But there used to be a different dance diva performing at Roxy every weekend singing Peace In The Valley or The Pressure. But now gays dance to top 40 and clubs dwindling due to grindr and bottle service in a recession can't afford to book Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Pitbull, Nicky Minaj, etc. But why would gays want anything under the radar when today's gays just lap up the typical hype? There is a market for it if promoters had an imagination: Beth Ditto just sold out XL and it was her first gay club appearance. I think kids buy what they are sold whereas they used to seek out stuff that was different. There was honor in unearthing fresh stuff and it was appreciated by those with open minds--we lionized djs who were able to twirl us in ways we never knew we could be twirled. And when you buy anything you are sold, they freely sell you crap and you buy it. See: Iraq war.

LADY BUNNY AND LADY BECKY IN 1993

With my lovely mom outside my first one-woman show at The Duplex, 24 Carrot Lady. I know many of us love our mom, and of course in terms of sheer size I'm hogging the photo. But I think she looks like a movie star!

TEXTING CODES FOR THE OVER 50 CROWD!

* ATD- At the Doctor's * BFF - Best Friends Funeral * BTW- Bring the Wheelchair * BYOT - Bring Your Own Teeth * CBM- Covered by Medicare * CUATSC- See You at the Senior Center * DWI- Driving While Incontinent * FWIW - Forgot Where I Was * GGPBL- Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low ... * GHA - Got Heartburn Again * HGBM - Had Good Bowel Movement * LMDO- Laughing My Dentures Out * LOL- Living on Lipitor * OMSG - Oh My! Sorry, Gas * TOT- Texting on Toilet * WAITT - Who Am I Talking To? * GGLKI - Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking in

SOMETHING TO PONDER

I'm certainly glad they caught those Boston bombers. And I'm glad they caught one of them alive so that we can determine what caused their cruel actions. Are they muslim terrorists or just crazies? If Dzhokhar was a crazy, the Senate should just hand him some assault rifles. That's what our lawmakers recent refusal to even discuss, via filibustering, signaled that they want: to arm crazies without questioning who is purchasing weapons. But if the brothers bombed the Boston marathon to express their solidarity with Chechnya, their muslim homeland in Russia, we should probably go ahead and attack Chechnya right now before we even interrogate Dzhokhar. Even though the link between the brother bombers and any Chechen causes has yet to be made, why not preemptively invade the region? We attacked Iraq for less of a reason, killed a million people and destroyed that country in an 8 year occupation. The Czech Republic's ambassador to the US was forced to issue a statement stressing that Chechnya and the Czech Republic are not the same place after angry Americans were sending angry tweets to the wrong country. And the ambassador has every right to worry, since dumb, mean and vengeful Americans attacked the wrong country when we were tricked into the Iraq war. It's the American way: murder first, ask questions later.

24 HOURS TO SIGN AND TRULY CELEBRATE EARTH DAY

After being reelected, Obama claimed that addressing climate change was one of his 3 top priorities. Yet he's considering approving the Keystone XL which will hurt the environment. He's talking out both sides of his mouth again. Tomorrow's Earth Day. If you don't care about the earth, please vacate it now so that some people with sense can continue to live here. The vote is tomorrow and I can't think of a better way to celebrate Earth Day than by respecting the earth. If you aren't a friend of the earth, you're it's enemy. There are 24 hours left to submit your comment to President Obama telling him to cancel the dirty, dangerous Keystone XL pipeline once and for all. There’s not much time left, please submit your comment now. We’re working furiously with our partners to make sure that we get over 1 million comments against the pipeline by tomorrow’s Earth Day deadline. This is your last chance to submit your official comment. Right now we have over to 968,000 public comments that have been submitted to the government. Please add your name to this list now and tell President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. The case against the Keystone XL pipeline could not be clearer. The pipeline would to be catastrophic for the climate, ranchers in the Midwest and communities on the Gulf Coast. Building the pipeline would risk the future of our planet for no more than 35 permanent jobs. So it’s up to you and me, together, to stop it. Please join me in writing to President Obama and saying NO to this dirty and dangerous pipeline. SIGN/COMMENT: DEMOCRACYINACTION

THIS IS WHAT I CALL ACTING!

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE, PLEASE

3 dead from bombs in Boston and the whole city is on lockdown. Daily gun deaths nationwide including the grisly Sandy Hook which we were all so upset by that we vowed to enact meaningful gun law reform to curb it? We can't even pass the background checks that 91% of us want. Something is very wrong here. And of course our own pitiful media is too out of whack that we have to turn to a UK publication for some much-needed context and clarity. "The thriving metropolis of Boston was turned into a ghost town on Friday. Nearly a million Bostonians were asked to stay in their homes – and willingly complied. Schools were closed; business shuttered; trains, subways and roads were empty; usually busy streets eerily resembled a post-apocalyptic movie set; even baseball games and cultural events were cancelled – all in response to a 19-year-old fugitive, who was on foot and clearly identified by the news media. The actions allegedly committed by the Boston marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, were heinous. Four people dead and more than 100 wounded, some with shredded and amputated limbs. But Londoners, who endured IRA terror for years, might be forgiven for thinking that America over-reacted just a tad to the goings-on in Boston. They're right – and then some. What we saw was a collective freak-out like few that we've seen previously in the United States. It was yet another depressing reminder that more than 11 years after 9/11 Americans still allow themselves to be easily and willingly cowed by the "threat" of terrorism. After all, it's not as if this is the first time that homicidal killers have been on the loose in a major American city. In 2002, Washington DC was terrorised by two roving snipers, who randomly shot and killed 10 people. In February, a disgruntled police officer, Christopher Dorner, murdered four people over several days in Los Angeles. In neither case was LA or DC put on lockdown mode, perhaps because neither of these sprees was branded with that magically evocative and seemingly terrifying word for Americans, terrorism. To be sure, public officials in Boston appeared to be acting out of an abundance of caution. And it's appropriate for Boston residents to be asked to take precautions or keep their eyes open. But by letting one fugitive terrorist shut down a major American city, Boston not only bowed to outsize and irrational fears, but sent a dangerous message to every would-be terrorist – if you want to wreak havoc in the United States, intimidate its population and disrupt public order, here's your instruction booklet. Putting aside the economic and psychological cost, the lockdown also prevented an early capture of the alleged bomber, who was discovered after Bostonians were given the all clear and a Watertown man wandered into his backyard for a cigarette and found a bleeding terrorist on his boat. In some regards, there is a positive spin on this – it's a reflection of how little Americans have to worry about terrorism. A population such as London during the IRA bombings or Israel during the second intifada or Baghdad, pretty much every day, becomes inured to random political violence. Americans who have such little experience of terrorism, relatively speaking, are more primed to overreact – and assume the absolute worst when it comes to the threat of a terror attack. It is as if somehow in the American imagination, every terrorist is a not just a mortal threat, but is a deadly combination of Jason Bourne and James Bond. If only Americans reacted the same way to the actual threats that exist in their country. There's something quite fitting and ironic about the fact that the Boston freak-out happened in the same week the Senate blocked consideration of a gun control bill that would have strengthened background checks for potential buyers. Even though this reform is supported by more than 90% of Americans, and even though 56 out of 100 senators voted in favour of it, the Republican minority prevented even a vote from being held on the bill because it would have allegedly violated the second amendment rights of "law-abiding Americans". So for those of you keeping score at home – locking down an American city: a proper reaction to the threat from one terrorist. A background check to prevent criminals or those with mental illness from purchasing guns: a dastardly attack on civil liberties. All of this would be almost darkly comic if not for the fact that more Americans will die needlessly as a result. Already, more than 30,000 Americans die in gun violence every year (compared to the 17 who died last year in terrorist attacks). What makes US gun violence so particularly horrifying is how routine and mundane it has become. After the massacre of 20 kindergartners in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, millions of Americans began to take greater notice of the threat from gun violence. Yet since then, the daily carnage that guns produce has continued unabated and often unnoticed. The same day of the marathon bombing in Boston, 11 Americans were murdered by guns. The pregnant Breshauna Jackson was killed in Dallas, allegedly by her boyfriend. In Richmond, California, James Tucker III was shot and killed while riding his bicycle – assailants unknown. Nigel Hardy, a 13-year-old boy in Palmdale, California, who was being bullied in school, took his own life. He used the gun that his father kept at home. And in Brooklyn, New York, an off-duty police officer used her department-issued Glock 9mm handgun to kill herself, her boyfriend and her one-year old child. At the same time that investigators were in the midst of a high-profile manhunt for the marathon bombers that ended on Friday evening, 38 more Americans – with little fanfare – died from gun violence. One was a 22-year old resident of Boston. They are a tiny percentage of the 3,531 Americans killed by guns in the past four months – a total that surpasses the number of Americans who died on 9/11 and is one fewer than the number of US soldiers who lost their lives in combat operations in Iraq. Yet, none of this daily violence was considered urgent enough to motivate Congress to impose a mild, commonsense restriction on gun purchasers. It's not just firearms that produce such legislative inaction. Last week, a fertiliser plant in West, Texas, which hasn't been inspected by federal regulators since 1985, exploded, killing 14 people and injuring countless others. Yet many Republicans want to cut further the funding for the agency (OSHA) that is responsible for such reviews. The vast majority of Americans die from one of four ailments – cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease – and yet Republicans have held three dozen votes to repeal Obamacare, which expands healthcare coverage to 30 million Americans. It is a surreal and difficult-to-explain dynamic. Americans seemingly place an inordinate fear on violence that is random and unexplainable and can be blamed on "others" – jihadists, terrorists, evil-doers etc. But the lurking dangers all around us – the guns, our unhealthy diets, the workplaces that kill 14 Americans every single day – these are just accepted as part of life, the price of freedom, if you will. And so the violence goes, with more Americans dying preventable deaths. But hey, look on the bright side – we got those sons of bitches who blew up the marathon." MORE: GUARDIAN

WERD!

POWERFUL AD!

CUTE ALASKA AND SHARON NEEDLES VID

It's amazing to see how visually stimulating you can make a video with some still pics nowadays! Also, a new video from Willam, whose This Boy Is A Bottom has over 6 million hits. When Detox and Vicky Vox last joined him to perform it at Hot Mess, Willam was off to Dubai to perform. Now tell me, how many queens get booked in Dubai? Because I haven't seen a lot of Drag Race and don't know the song which this new video parodies, I admit that I don't quite get it. But it looks great!

DOES ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER THIS?

A dj friend posted it on Facebook and I remember dancing to it in the 80s, but could never have named it. The song manages to be art-rock and disco with a playful new wave attitude. Reminds me a little of Chaz Jankel's Pleased To Meet You.

HAD ENOUGH YET?

LIFE-LONG DEMOCRAT HERE. TOTALLY DISGUSTED WITH MY PARTY. TIME TO BREAK AWAY FROM THE DEMOCRATS IF THEY'RE THIS PITIFUL. AND THEY ARE! This won't just affect gun laws but every legislation that would benefit the people and not corporations. "So because the Democrats were too wimpy to require a simple majority vote on most legislation, 60 is once again the new 50. Given that small Republican states have equal senate representation to big Democratic states, this makes passage of many bills that the majority of the US population supports often impossible to achieve. It's minority rule, and the Dems keep backing down on changing the filibuster rules." MORE: TRUTH-OUT.ORG

EXQUISITE!

OH, DONALD!

QUINN'S LEAD IS DIPPING IN POLLS

NY TIMES: Before Ms. Quinn arrived, Mr. de Blasio responded to a question about the Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy: “I know Speaker Quinn has chosen not to be with us yet,” then criticized her support of the current police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly. “Unlike Speaker Quinn, I think we need a new police commissioner,” said Mr. de Blasio, the public advocate. Later, he said that “we have Speaker Quinn to thank” for Mr. Bloomberg’s third term and twice accused her of being the preferred candidate of the real estate industry – a damning aspersion in a crowd of public housing tenants. In the closing statements, after Ms. Quinn had noted her past as a tenant organizer, Mr. de Blasio said: “I’ve got to have a moment of truth here. Maybe 20 years ago, Speaker Quinn, you were a tenant organizer. But here, in 2013, you are the real estate community’s best friend.” Ms. Quinn has received about $1.3 million from real estate industry donors, significantly more than any other candidate.Before Ms. Quinn arrived, Mr. de Blasio responded to a question about the Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy: “I know Speaker Quinn has chosen not to be with us yet,” then criticized her support of the current police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly. “Unlike Speaker Quinn, I think we need a new police commissioner,” said Mr. de Blasio, the public advocate. Later, he said that “we have Speaker Quinn to thank” for Mr. Bloomberg’s third term and twice accused her of being the preferred candidate of the real estate industry – a damning aspersion in a crowd of public housing tenants. In the closing statements, after Ms. Quinn had noted her past as a tenant organizer, Mr. de Blasio said: “I’ve got to have a moment of truth here. Maybe 20 years ago, Speaker Quinn, you were a tenant organizer. But here, in 2013, you are the real estate community’s best friend.” Ms. Quinn has received about $1.3 million from real estate industry donors, significantly more than any other candidate. MORE: CITYROOM

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BY MY FRIEND DIVINE GRACE

This poor mouse fell down a well in Peoria. Several children looked down and discovered that there was a cat at the bottom of the well. Jesus made it protect the mouse until Peorian villagers could bring it out and find it a Christian home...See More This poor mouse fell down a well in Peoria. Several children looked down and discovered that there was a cat at the bottom of the well. Jesus made it protect the mouse until Peorian villagers could bring it out and find it a Christian home. Share if you think this cat isn't devouring this dead mouse and that we should all get along, because if it's a picture with a caption on Facebook, the story is completely true. Good people will share this, but many will ignore it because they hate Jesus and are going to spend eternity writhing in the flames of Hell.

JACKIE BEAT CAMEO IN "ENCINO WOMAN"

I GOT SOMETHIN' TO TELL YOU

The good news: Whoopi Goldberg has made a movie about the incredible comedienne Moms Mabley and it's at the Tribeca Film Festival. The other good news: HBO has bought it so you don't have to browse the confusing and annoying Tribeca Film Festival's website with special screenings for American Express cardholders only. (I have an Amex but this is just gross, not special.) The bad news: I don't have HBO so I had to buy a $19.50 ticket from the rotten Eventbrite.com which has the nerve to ask me if I want to donate to the Tribeca Film Festival before I can make the overpriced purchase for a movie which had better be good. Actually, I know it it'll be a riot but enough with the gouging already. SYNOPSIS: Comedy pioneer Moms Mabley, often referred to as “the funniest woman in the world,” comes to life again, complete with rolling laughter and measured eloquence, in Whoopi Goldberg’s directorial debut. This astute first documentary feature showcases Mabley’s talent and pays homage to a woman whose relevance still resonates today. A role model for Whoopi Goldberg herself, Mabley’s legacy is defined through rich found footage and interviews with some of the world’s best comedians, including Bill Cosby, Kathy Griffin and Eddie Murphy. They show how Mabley paved the way for female comedians and performers everywhere with her boundary-pushing stand-up routines and innate ability to transcend racism, sexism and ageism. The documentary dives whole-heartedly into Mabley’s comedy, political and social and still hilarious. A passion project for Goldberg, it celebrates Mabley’s historical significance and profound influence as a performer vastly ahead of her time. TRIBECAFILM

LADY SINGS THE BOOZE

MargOH! Channing is back with an all new show aptly titled "MargOH! Sings the Booze" May 11 7:30PM $5 at Dixon Place Lounge, 161A Chrystie Street.

NEW DAFT PUNK WITH CHIC'S NILE RODGERS ON GUITAR!

Pharrell Williams on vocals. I love it! It's a lot more musical than some of these whipped danced tracks like Gangnam Style and Harlem Shake.

ADDAMS' FAMILY HARLEM SHAKE

HEE HEE!

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS INDEED

Strange Bedfellows: While Urging Gun Laws at Home, Obama Joins NRA to Weaken U.N. Arms Trade Treaty IS OBAMA AN ALLY OF THE NRA INTERNATIONALLY WHILE FIGHTING THEM AT HOME? I GUESS THE ARMS TRADE/DEFENSE CONTRACTORS MAKE SO MUCH MONEY THAT THEY CAN'T BE STOPPED. JUST LIKE OIL AND MONSANTO. OUR ECONOMY WOULD REALLY FALL APART IF WE REGULATED ONE OF OUR BIGGEST EXPORTS: WEAPONS AND WAR. AMY GOODMAN: That was NRA chief Wayne LaPierre last July. But it was the U.S. government—interesting, strange bedfellows here, the NRA and the Obama administration—it was the Obama administration that, at the last minute, ended these talks last July. You had the head of Amnesty International saying, "This was [a] stunning cowardice [act] by the Obama administration, which at the last minute did an about-face and scuttled progress toward a global arms treaty," so that people, especially the activists, couldn’t even organize, because it happened at the very end. So, NRA and Obama together, when here at home they seem like they have their sights set on each other. ANDREW FEINSTEIN: Let me make an initial point, and that is that the NRA has peddled untruths about this international arms trade treaty since the beginning. It is suggested that it would in some way impact on their ability internally within the United States to bear arms, which is an absolute nonsense. So, not only are they strange bedfellows on the international stage, but even what is happening domestically should be put in its place by the Obama administration itself domestically. But it has used the NRA, effectively, and I think for domestic political reasons in the lead-up to an election, to prevent the passage of the treaty. And, yes, it was done in an enormously cynical way at the tail end of the negotiations that led activist groups and civil society in an impossible position. And even in the current negotiations, the United States has attempted to weaken the treaty in a whole range of ways, some of which, unfortunately, have come to fruition. And I think one has to bear in mind that there are massive interest groups here: the NRA plus the large defense contractors in the United States and around the world, who want to see as weak an arms trade treaty as possible, if there has to be one at all. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, of course, this is in the context of our nation being by far the largest merchant of weapons in the world, dwarfing any other country in the world in terms of exporting of weapons of destruction around the—around the globe. ANDREW FEINSTEIN: The United States sells and buys almost as much weaponry as the rest of the world combined. So what happens in the United States is absolutely crucial to the future of arms control in the entire world.

THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

After Sandy Hook, the NRA head gave such a crazy speech that even Fox made disparaging remarks about him. The news was buzzing for days that the NRA was a now paper tiger which no longer had that kind of influence and that hardly any of the candidates that the NRA backed won in the last election. Graphs on MSNBC demonstrated how the NRA campaign contributions got a paltry 1% return on their campaign contributions. So what's the missing piece of this puzzle? In 2-3 months, how did they suddenly become powerful, influential and scary enough to make senators filibuster background checks AGAIN? They were a paper tiger/laughing stock a few months ago. What's the missing piece of this puzzle? Is it the $ from gun manufacturers that's behind the NRA that's making the senators jump? Because even NRA members overwhelmingly want background checks. I don't get it.

CISPA PASSED THE HOUSE! GRRRR!

FROM FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE.COM: It’s time to get pissed. The U.S. law that would turn Google, Facebook, and Twitter into legally immune government spies just passed the House. This bill affects everyone -- not just U.S. citizens. Anyone with a Facebook account could now have their data shipped directly to the U.S. government. That's why Internet users overwhelmingly oppose this bill. Over 1.5 million people signed petitions against it. But Congress didn’t listen. Does this remind you of something? Yep, this is the exact position we were in with SOPA last year. Then the Internet rose up and we made history with the SOPA strike. This spring, we’re going to organize the largest online privacy protest in history to make sure that CISPA goes the same route as SOPA and doesn’t become the law that breaks the 4th Amendment. Are you in? CISPA threatens our most basic rights. Privacy is important not just for our security but for our rights to freedom of expression. The giant tech companies that stood with Internet users against SOPA are not going to help us this time (but some of the large sites like Mozilla, Imgur, and Reddit are all against CISPA and we love them). Only a massive grassroots outcry will stop this bill. We’re starting to build the tools. But we need your help. Can you share the flyer below on social media? And tell everyone you know to sign up to join the protest?

I ADORE THIS NUT!

Carol says she would be honored to have Johnny portray her in a bio-pic. The fact that he is a man, doesn’t phase her at all, she can’t recall having ever seen anyone imitate her who didn’t have five o’clock shadow.” But I think Johnny's too pretty to play Carol. How about Pandorra Box? RUMORFIX

PLEASE SPEAK OUT!

For the first time in their 120 year history, the Sierra Club used civil disobedience to denounce the Keystone pipeline, along with actress Daryl Hannah. Yet Obama is still "considering" it. Considering how rarely he has stood his ground and how deep the oil industry's pockets are, it's unlikely that he'll stand strong on this. Our only hope is if he hears from us. Ask the people of Mayflower, Arkansas how fun it was when an Exxon pipe broke and spilled 200,000 gallons of oil into the town. Even Texas oil man George W. Bush said that we're addicted to oil. And Obama has made climate change one of his top 3 priorities in his second term. Yet this pipeline would spell "game over" for the planet if you believe many environmentalists. Your voice is important and together, we have more power than we know to speak out against this awful idea. Here's more info on it from Sumofus.org. The pipeline may even raise gas prices??? No one wins except oil companies and corrupt politicians in this dirty game. We’ve got less than a week to tell President Obama and the State Department to stop the planet-killing Keystone XL pipeline. The last day to submit comments on the pipeline proposal is April 22, Earth Day. That’s this Monday. And in the last few days, we’re joining partners across the movement in a “comment sprint,” in hopes of reaching a total of 1 million comments opposing the pipeline. At this point, we don’t need to explain why the Keystone XL would be a disaster for this country and the world. Thanks to NASA’s recently-retired top climate scientist James Hansen, you know that tapping dirty Canadian tar sands reserves would spell “game over” for the planet. Thanks to the bravery of Tar Sands Blockade activists, you know that sections of the pipeline already have cracks in them. Thanks to Exxon’s negligence in Arkansas, you’ve seen what a tar sands spill in an American community looks like. We’re counting on you: Click here to tell the State Department and President Obama to block the climate-and community-destroying Keystone XL pipeline. The arguments for building the pipeline have bordered on the ridiculous. Despite an argument that the Keystone will help the economy, the State Department admits that the project will create a grand total of 35 permanent jobs. Meanwhile, the oil spills that are bound to follow it could wipe out the livelihoods of farmers, fishermen, and ranchers along the pipeline route, threatening our food supply. The pipeline is even projected to raise gas prices since it will make it easier to export oil from North America. There’s just one reason to build this pipeline: to line the pockets of Big Oil. Oil giants like Exxon and TransCanada have already sunk billions into tar sands extraction, and Keystone pipeline is key to making the operation profitable. Without it, a lot of Canada’s toxic tar sands might stay in the ground. That will be bad news for oil companies, but a huge victory for the climate. The State Department’s review of the Keystone pipeline has been a complete joke. The official environmental impact study didn’t even consider the project’s climate impact. That’s not too surprising when you realize that the report was written by a contractor on the payroll of TransCanada, the oil giant that’s building Keystone. So we need to try a different approach. By showing the administration the breadth of opposition to the pipeline, we can remind them of the political cost of approving it. That’s why we want to hit 1 million signatures, and that’s why every single member of the SumOfUs.org community counts. So what are you waiting for? Submit your comment opposing Keystone XL now. SIGN/COMMENT: SUMOFUS.ORG

THOSE KOOKY CANADIANS!

GROSS!

Although Congress couldn't get a backgrounds check law through even after Sandy Hook, look at what our fine lawmakers could get through and which Obama signed into law on Monday. They snuck this through "blindingly fast" in 30 seconds after it was proposed by Eric Cantor. You know why THAT legislation was passed so quickly? This law makes it harder for members of Congress to get caught doing illegal insider trading. That way, they can stay above the law and get richer more easily with less oversight on questionable insider investments. And they do need a lot of money so that their kids, members of the ruling class which I though was a contrary notion to democracy, can attend expensive schools while legislators send ordinary working families' kids into pointless wars. This just signed on Monday STOCK ACT reverses a law NPR calls popular. Congress is stocking their own coffers while gun laws can't even get a vote. Obama is equally guilty for signing this. NPR: But on Monday, when the president signed a bill reversing big pieces of the law, the emailed announcement was one sentence long. There was no fanfare last week either, when the Senate and then the House passed the bill in largely empty chambers using a fast-track procedure known as unanimous consent. In the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., shepherded the bill through. It was Friday afternoon at 12:52. Many members had already left for the weekend or were on their way out. The whole process took only 30 seconds. There was no debate. "There weren't too many members of Congress who were aware of this legislation," says Craig Holman, the government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen. "And I suspect very, very few understood what a sweeping radical change it is to the STOCK Act." MORE: NPR

HEE HEE!

BLASTS FROM THE PAST

Great ad, great song! Diahann Carroll in a 1978 Star Wars Xmas Special??? CAMPY! Some of the Drag Race Girls lip-synched for their lives to Yma Sumac's Malambo #1. Guess who did it first? (Actually, it was also done by Adora in South Beach and Pefidia in NYC before me.)

PLACENTA AS FERTILIZER?

MEET DOROTHY SQUIRES!

This thing is like Shirley Bassey on Special K. At :36 seconds she does a brilliant move that looks like she's about to snatch off her own wig. As if anyone would buy a wig like that! Major!

IN THE HEADLINES...

DEAD ON! NYC losing it's flavor thanks to greed. Small performance venues closing in droves. And Subway "sandwich" shops replacing them! "When an arts venue closes its doors, everyone suffers: artists, spectators and students are displaced; restaurants and other nearby small businesses lose foot traffic; realtors have one less cultural hotspot with which to attract buyers and tenants; schools lose an educational partner and a source of internships, and the city loses a tourist draw. Arts venues and their audiences play a significant role in our city’s nightlife, tourism and real-estate industries. It’s ironic that the rising rents and property values that threaten many arts organizations are partly a result of the buzz and excitement those arts venues generate." MORE: NYPOST GAWKER: Texas Teacher Denies Fondling First-Grader, Says She’s Too Racist to Molest a Black Student MORE ON THIS WHORE: GAWKER.COM INTERNET SENSATION SWEET BROWN CHANGES HER TUNE:

ONE OF THE NUTTIEST DANCE SONGS EVER!

It's japanese, it's orchestral, yet it's funky enough to be a break-dancing anthem still used on the street of NYC.

GOIN' BACK TO MY ROOTS!

LAKE WYLIE, SC--HERE I COME! This Friday!

GOOFED!

ROTTEN NEWS

Huffpo: Background checks "on the brink of collapse." 91% of Americans want background checks on gun sales, but thanks to our corrupt lawmakers from both parties, we can't have them. Our system is broken if our elected officials bow to bribes before they enact laws most of us want. This is a national disgrace. We'll get nothing with crooks running the show. I'd like to see the senators who won't vote for background checks to be forced to explain their positions to families of Sandy Hook victims. And the democrats need to eject the senators who won't vote for checks if they want to remain a credible party. I guess republicans have now totally given up on credible. Give 91% of the people what 91% of the people want, fer chrissakes!

MY THOUGHTS ON TODAY'S BOSTON BOMBING

President Obama has said that whoever is responsible for the bombs in Boston will be found and held accountable. Then LOOK IN THE MIRROR ALONG WITH GEORGE BUSH! Do you have any idea how much and for how long America has screwed up people's lives all over the world and for how long and how many of them will seek revenge on our shores? We've just drawn down from a long war in Iraq that most Americans now say we never should of fought since it was based on lies. Whoopsie! We lament the 4,400 troops we lost there, but hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis were killed for no reason. Because we all bought lies about yellowcake uranium and weapons of mass destruction. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who never attacked us lay dead as a result of our mistake and this doesn't bother us? Why? Because they have a different skin color and religion? Equally huge numbers of Iraqis have been displaced from their homes and the ones who do return find their country in shambles. Wouldn't you want revenge against the US if that were you? How about Obama's practice of killing people with drones and then coming back with another drone to shoot down those present at the funeral for the first group we had shot down?!!! We are creating future generations of terrorists to attack us--that's a consequence of war. I'm seeing a lot of bragging on the news about how Bostonians are tough and how regardless of political party, Americans pull together in a crisis. I hope that's true and it was heroic for rescuers to run into clouds of smoke to find more injured. So where is this GIANT disconnect between the caring Americans who are so together as rescue response agents and the majority of Americans who care more about Kim Kardashian and American Idol than about the thousands of bombs we drop on other countries? Why do the casualties only concern us when Americans die--while our tax dollars pay for our troops to wipe out hundreds of thousands around in the middle east? Where were the heroic saviors today when the US was indiscriminately murdering thousands--in fact, they were paying for that destruction with their tax dollars as we all were. The bombings we're responsible for in Iraq alone makes this Boston event look like the tiny skirmish that it is. And do we even have any idea what Obama is currently doing in the rest of the world? I'm sorry for the victims in Boston, but I'm even sorrier that the American people are going to have to reap what they sow as long as their leaders are the biggest terrorists on the planet. It's too soon to know who was behind the attacks in Boston. But unless we can convince our leaders to avoid wars unless absolutely necessary, there will be plenty more people plotting against us. As one reporter put it, it's surprising that we haven't had more attacks in the US. So while I'm glad we had an organized crisis response to this possible/probable act of terrorism in Boston, we wouldn't need to focus so much on responses to enemies which we'd never created. An ounce of prevention...

MORE GOOD NEWS!

"The inheritance of US heiress Paris Hilton looks set to shrink dramatically after her grandfather announced plans to give most of his fortune to charity. Hotel magnate Barron Hilton, 80, will donate 97% of his $2.3bn (£1.2bn; 1.6bn euros) fortune to the Conrad N Hilton Foundation, set up by his father. The funds come from the $20bn sale of Hilton Hotels to The Blackstone Group. Reports have said that Mr Hilton is embarrassed by the behaviour of his granddaughter." MORE: BBC

PEE SHY?

LOVE THIS COMMERCIAL!

ONE OF THE CRAZIEST VIDEOS I'VE SEEN!

HEE HEE!