(Pictured: "Diverse LA" newsroom crew and participants focusing on the LGBT Community on March 22, 2012. From left, David McFarland, Morris O'Kelly (Mo Kelly), Michelle Marzullo, Jorge Valencia, Jacob Rostovsky, Armando Hernandez, Mikael Miller and Oscar Ramirez, Mo's co-host. Not pictured is Jenny Pizer.)

The show featured myself as well as two other Point Foundation Scholars, Mikael Miller and Jacob Rostovsky, and Jorge Valencia, executive director of the Point Foundation, which is the nation's largest scholarship and mentoring organization for LGBTQ and ally students of merit. Also participating were Jennifer C. Pizer, Legal Director and Arnold D. Kassoy Senior Scholar of Law at the UCLA's Williams Institute and David McFarland, interim executive director of the Trevor Project, which is the nation's leading organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.

"Diverse LA" is a three week series hosted by Mo Kelly, "longtime radio producer and political commentator. O'Kelly reports, 'This is about Los Angeles hearing voices and viewpoints less often heard while also addressing communities historically underserved. 'Diverse LA' will highlight new personalities and newsmakers for the KTLK audience, but more importantly provide a platform for inclusive, substantive dialogue in the public square'" reports the blog Urban Insite. As his website reflects, the purpose of Mr. O'Kelly's discussions are, "to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain." His "inimitable" personality fosters open, honest communication with light-hearted sparring through tough issues.

In short, Mo Kelly is the antidote for the woes that have recently beset Clear Channel.

Kamora has been a champion for LGBT youth for years now. She has worked with youth, primarily with youth of color, in various capacities for over twenty years. Her letter intimately exposes the intersection of race and sexuality evoked by Morgan. It responds to the monetary fines recently levied on two basketball players Kobe Bryant and Joakim Noah -- to add that there is an underlying problem here that needs more than money thrown at it. Namely, the idea that race and sexuality are linked in important ways and that this should be the focus of the conversation we are having.

This conversation needs to become explicit and sustained. It is work that extends way past LGBT people but also towards the understanding that being LGBT and a person of color are not exclusive categories. Such conversations show both LGBT communities and communities of color where we must focus our attention. It is only in such intersectional work, and I mean work in every sense of the word, that we will move past incidents like this towards true understanding of each other.

Kamora has been on the front lines of that work for years now and people like Morgan, Bryant and Noah should walk a day in her shoes. Talk to the kids that they have so callously strewn away with comments about violent death and the implication that we faggots are weak. Instead, Tracy, Kobe, and Joakim and the others ahead of them who will too make similar mistakes should understand that being out on a day-to-day basis defines strength.

Though I think it's nice (nice, as my third grade teacher taught me means nothing and I use it in that way here) that in his apology Mr. Morgan stated that he doesn't "care if you love the same sex as long as you have the ability to love someone" and he would beat up anyone who is against it on a Manhattan or Brooklyn street corner. I think what is called for is an exit from this sort of masculine vibrato. Calling someone a faggot to reinforce masculine power, as we saw with Bryant and Noah, is a part of this problem.

Mr. Morgan said that what he was, "most sad about is the comments I made about kids and bullying. I would never want any young person to think that I wasn't on their side." If this is true, then you have a chance to tell these kids so--to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Here is your invitation:

Atom Egoyan's 2009 movie Chloe does just that.

The fight around Proposition 8, California's constitutional ban on marriage equality, which was voted into law in November 2008, has deep roots in San Diego.

I don't think I'm even gay any more. I mean I don't feel gay. I mean I live my life, I am out, I have great friends, I have a wonderful partner. I am just like everyone else. What does being gay mean then? In fact, does it say anything at all about me or my partner?

Quite steady in his professional job and nearing retirement, he and his partner have no children and they have had their share of ups and downs in terms of coming out and coming to accept themselves. While he was lamenting, I was thinking about this question. Really thinking hard about it because on many levels I agree, once you've done that hard work of coming out and coming to terms and you survive it in a somewhat intact way that hopefully allows you to have a productive, fulfilling life (whatever that means to you) then what does "being" gay, lesbian, or bisexual actually mean?

I do know that when I was living in San Francisco, had all of my great friends around who did not care who I was sleeping with, my family was cool and my job was cool, I also felt nonplussed about the fact that I am queer. Visiting with a friend of mine from high school this week, I was reminded of why being queer does matter. It matters in terms of your social network.

Make no mistake about it, NOM is not interested in helping people understand the real history of marriage and divorce, or of providing counseling or resources to people struggling with their relationship in this terrible recession--remember financial trouble is the leading cause of divorce? Nope. They are wandering around the country on a bus with their millions of H8 dollars spreading spiteful and fear-mongering messages about offering marriage to gay and lesbian couples.

These wing nuts are so out of touch that they use queer terms to describe their projects like calling people against marriage equality a "Rainbow Coalition" in their campy Gathering Storm ad against marriage equality. The reference to a group of diverse people gathered together under a rainbow (flag) is unmistakable! They also call this summer's tour the "2M4M" supposedly 2 million for marriage better known as 2 Men for Men (http://2m4m.org/)! It's so ironically ignorant it's funny **ahem** and sad.

Here I would like to recap and to remind everyone that the work is not over. As of April 27, 2010 only 73% of the population was counted in the current census. So over 27% are still out there, sitting amongst dusty piles of "I'll get to it" mail or already lining the bottom of a bird cage or trash basket. If we are at least 2% of the population or at most 10%, then there are many of us who haven't filled out this form yet.

As of May 1st census takers began going out to households who have not yet sent their census form in. If you haven't done it yet, please take the census. Answer your door or respond to an appointment card left by a census taker at your home. Sending in your Census form in is not recommended because if you haven't sent this in yet then a census taker is already on their way to you.

In this installment on "The Recession and LGBT Communities," I address the issue of information available in order to merely pose questions such as, "How are our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people faring in the recession?" The blog comments on my first entry in this series on the recession and LGBT communities introduced the thorny problem of researching LGBT persons and basically made the point that trying to understand the recession's impact on our communities is a necessary and complex task.

After the jump, I will discuss some of the research problems with all of this. If you are not interested in this go to the concluding section of this blog called: "This Is Not Sexy."

On the eve of President Obama's first State of the Union address, I thought it would be interesting to assess the State of the Union on LGBT issues. The Nation recently interviewed Tony Kushner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Angels In America, asking him to reflect on President Barack Obama's progress regarding LGBT issues one year into his administration. Clarissa León writes,

Kushner is inclined to be 'extremely patient' about seeing change from Obama and the administration. Instead, Kushner's lack of patience is directed towards the LGBT community and their predominant criticism of Obama's progress in his first year. Given Obama's inheritance--two wars; a crippling recession--Kushner '[extends] a tremendous amount of good faith in his direction.'

I agree resoundingly but, of course, not blindly. Below, I have assembled President Obama's track record on LGBT issues thus far. These are grouped below by the headings: Supportive Actions, Signals of Support, and Oppositional Cues. The listing at the very least underscores Mr. Kushner's assertion that, "Obama should get some credit for having a stronger progressive gay rights agenda than any other president." I give Obama loads of credit, while at the same time continuing to expect him to deliver, especially on trans and bisexual issues.

Here's her reasoning:

I was riding along in my car one fine afternoon wondering how all of this impacts LGBT people when the National Public Radio (NPR) show called "Marketplace" began. Since I am no economist, I always find the reporting on this show to be factual yet pithy, exactly how I like my economic information. Get to the point. Be entertaining. Speak my language. Good. Well, until they covered a story about how DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids) are handling the recession.

To Marketplace's credit, the most I've seen in the press or from LGBT organizations on the economic implosion is about the "disappointing fact" that the recession will put off moves towards marriage equality or other important policy concerns to the community. While all of these policies are important, no one actually addresses how our communities are doing nor why we may have particular concerns regarding the economy or what we can do to safeguard ourselves.

This was by far my favorite line in the movie Precious produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. Here I will join the flocks of the converted and preach to you about the effects of this movie and how you must see it. And see it in the theater to really feel it.

The movie is imbued with a magical queer realism as witnessed in Ma Vie En Rose (1997) with little Ludovic Fabre taking flight to escape an unbearable rigidly, gendered present. This sensibility seems strongly influenced by the film's unapologetically gay director, Lee Daniels.

The main character, Precious, is masterfully played by the young New Yorker Gabourey Sidibe. The massive, stoic solitude portrayed by Sidibe in the face of complete chaos was as heavy as anti-matter. She draws you in even if you don't want to look. For many of us, that subtext of escapism will be painfully familiar. Drag queens and glamor girls take note: the costumes are fabulous as Precious fugues to a Broadway-esque alternate reality when her grindingly deprived, sexist present becomes violently incomprehensible.

I was riding along in my car one fine afternoon wondering how all of this impacts LGBT people when the National Public Radio (NPR) show called "Marketplace" began. Since I am no economist, I always find the reporting on this show to be factual yet pithy, exactly how I like my economic information. Get to the point. Be entertaining. Speak my language. Good. Well, until they covered a story about how DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids) are handling the recession.

Here are twenty reasons you should go:

1. Go because you are worthy.
2. Go because we need each other.
3. Go because you will never forget this.
4. Go because this is the people's march.
5. Go because there is power in solidarity.
6. Go because you are empowered and dignified.
7. Go because now is always the time to demand our rights.
8. Go because showing up moves hearts and that is what this is about.
9. Go because we are building on our past into a lasting grassroots movement.
10. Go because you are young and old alike and we must learn from each other.
11. Go because representing ourselves teaches all our communities about ourselves.
12. Go because as single individuals we are small but standing together we are strong.
13. Go because we deserve equal protection on all matters of civil law in all 50 states.
14. Go because you are in America and we have the freedom of speech and assembly.
15. Go because your Congresspersons represent your state and your country (a twofer!).
16. Go because lobbying Congress works. Tell them to look you in your eyes and answer.
17. Go because you will meet folks from your local Congressional Action Team or learn to build one in your state.
18. Go because this is not being sponsored by a single corporation, organization, or brand.
19. Go because there is nothing like the synergy and energy created out of mass gatherings.
20. Go because you will meet others like you. You will understand that you are not alone.