On the same day that New Hampshire said NO to gay marriage in that state, in the same week he was featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly with a banner headline proclaiming him "the most exciting American Idol contestant in years"  AND a footnote, still on the cover, mind you, defending the magazine's position even in light of the fact that "...he might be GAY...", Adam Lambert placed SECOND to mild, vanilla everyboy, Kris Allen, in the AI final . And here we go again : America has a big, big problem that's not going away.  For all the self-congratulatory goodwill we've been feeling in the days since electing a biracial President, you would think we in this country have been solving racial crises right and left.  Look how far we've come, we say to each other and to the world.  Look how enlightened we are! 

And we have earned the right to feel some pride in the election of this graceful, brilliant, poised leader.  But we are still facing a human rights crisis in every corner of our country that affects every socioeconomic group and every political philosophy...and of course, I'm talking about our treatment of  gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender Americans.  What's worse is that the people fueling the fires of this extreme prejudice feel no shame in doing so; if anything, they feel justified and righteous while harboring the same kind of hatred for homosexuality that the Nazis felt for Jews.  The persecution of this group of people by the "righteous", who believe they walk the path of God's commands, is bad enough that I can certainly imagine that without the strictest of hate-crime legislation and constant vigilance on the part of law enforcement, oh yes, the religious right would indeed condemn all gay people to some version of armed forced labor camps...and they'd feel good about it.

Even that bastion of liberal moral decline, Hollywood, is far from exempt from this insidious bigotry.  The most egregious example I can think of is the 2006 Academy Award for Best Picture.  The film that won?  "Crash", written & directed by Paul Haggis, whose "Million Dollar Baby" just knocked me out with its emotional beauty.  But "Crash"?  Disjointed, plot points you could see coming from miles away, and just trying way too hard too be a Big Statement Picture.  No, that was definitely not the Best Picture that year---the Oscar for Best Director went to Ang Lee for directing the absolute best picture that year:  "Brokeback Mountain."  Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams were all deservedly nominated in the acting categories; none won.  And seriously...when "Crash" was read off the card as the night's ultimate winner, you could hear the stunned audience's collective gasp.  And the first thought in my mind was yep, can't have a movie about faggots taking the big prize.  Consider the voting bloc that is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences:  many senior citizen members, many observant Jews, many Catholics, a smattering of obscenely wealthy Arabs...these people, as disparate as their religions may be, all have that one thing in common: no gays representing MY industry.  Homosexuality is fine if you're a clothing designer, art director, hairstylist, makeup artist, etc...but as a theme for a film that will be listed for all history as the best Hollywood had to offer in 2006?  No thanks.

So, Adam Lambert, you were positively stellar.  I saw you perform only twice, but I read about you, and I think you're awesome.  Losing wasn't your fault; it was ours.  With special help from Entertainment Weekly and the pen of Mark Harris, who may as well have outed you.

Note: I resisted the temptation to write (in depth) about Fred Phelps and his infamous Westover Baptist Church zombie/lunatics, who are dispatched to the funerals of as many U.S. service members killed in action as possible, just so they can hold giant signs outside the funeral home/church saying GOD HATES FAGS.  If you've never heard of him, you are one lucky human being, and congratulations.  But you must be wondering what slain soldiers have to do with gay people...and the explanation is SO crazy and SO ridiculous, I just can't do it. Not today.  But living where we do (Fort Hood is 10 miles down the highway), there are a lot of funerals in and around central Texas, so Perry joined the Patriot Guard because of the high volume.  Fortunately, he and the rest of the Guard have encountered the lunatics only twice.  FYI--The Patriot Guard is an all-volunteer squad of people who own Harleys and respect the service and sacrifice of our fallen Soldiers and Marines, and they form a human shield between the families of the deceased and the lunatics, so the families don't have to see the signs.  And when the lunatics get loud, which they do when frustrated, the Guard rev up their bikes, drowning out any & all sounds emitted by the lunatic picketers.  There are PG's almost everywhere, and they attend any military funeral at the family's request.  Just Google them if you or someone you know may need them.