Florida Agenda

Obama Administration, Justice Department Support Equal Benefits for Gay Armed Forces Couples 

The Obama administration announced last week that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of laws that prevent samesex spouses in the U.S. armed services from receiving marriage benefits, including such rights as survivor benefits, burial in military cemeteries, and military hospital visitations. Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., in a letter to the Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), announced that the Justice Department believes, like the plaintiffs in a Massachusetts suit contesting these laws, that they are unconstitutional. The statutes also include those that govern veterans’ benefits and portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

“The legislative record of these provisions contains no rationale for providing veterans’ benefits to opposite-sex spouses of veterans but not to legally married same-sex spouses of veterans,” the attorney general wrote. “Neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Veterans Affairs identified any justifications for that distinction that could warrant treating these provisions differently from” DOMA. Last year, Holder announced that the Obama administration will no longer defend portions of DOMA that ban federal recognition of marriage equality that are recognized at the state level. Boehner and Republican leaders criticized the action, saying that the Justice Department has a responsibility to defend federal laws.

Outed AZ “Border Hawk” Sheriff Resigns from Romney Camp

FLORENCE, AZ – Pinal County (Arizona) Sheriff Paul Babeu resigned this week from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s state campaign committee amid allegations of misconduct made against the sheriff by a man with whom he formerly had a relationship. At a press conference on Saturday, Babeu promised to continue his own campaign for the GOP nomination in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District. He denied allegations that he had threatened the man—known only as “Jose”–a former campaign volunteer and immigrant, with deportation if the details of their past relationship were revealed. “I’m here to say that all the allegations…were untrue–except for the instance that refers to me as gay,” Babeu stated. “That’s the truth– I am gay.”

The state’s 4th Congressional District is comprised primarily of conservative Republican voters. The unmarried Babeu, a first-term sheriff, gained national attention because of his strong opposition to illegal immigration. He is locked in a three-way primary race for the congressional seat, and said the accusations are an attempt to hurt his political career. Babeu told the threedozen uniformed officers who were present on Saturday that his relationship with Jose ended sometime before September, and that the man, who ran his campaign website and Twitter account, posted derogatory information online beginning after their breakup.

Whitney Houston Scheduled to Promote Anti-Bullying Campaign on Night of Her Death

On the night of her death last week, Whitney Houston was scheduled to take part in an antibullying campaign that hopes to end homophobic abuse with the assistance of celebrities.

US Weekly reported this week that the late performer was due to be photographed on the night of Feb. 10 for the “Stop Bullying Now: Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil” campaign. Houston gave the campaign permission for her image to be used. The campaign’s mission is to end bullying based on color, sexual orientation, and weight, with the help of celebrity endorsement.

“Stop Bullying Now” is run by Houston’s friend, entertainment consultant Raffles van Exel. In a press release to announce the campaign, van Exel recently wrote “We, as celebrities, have a unique opportunity to show children and teenagers that WE DO CARE, and that THEY have the POWER to stand up for themselves.”

Gay Combat Vet. Dan Choi Joins ‘Occupy’

Former Iraq War veteran Dan Choi, whose coming-out pronouncement helped end the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, attended an “Occupy Delaware” event this week, praising the movement’s members and offering a poem of his own composition to encourage protesters to continue their fight for inclusiveness.

Addressing participants at the “Tent-Raising and Rally” on Saturday, Choi, a former U.S. Army lieutenant who was discharged after he announced he is gay, said: “On this very special day, I wrote a poem- -about tents. So, this is an ode to our tent.” He then read to the approximately 100 people assembled: “Tents usually keep heat inside. But our fire has spread all around this country. A tent is usually a place where we can hide. But what we are doing in these tents is exposing the reality of our country and our economy.”

Jury Selection Begins in NJ Webcam Suicide Case

Jury selection began this week in the trial of a former Rutgers University student who is charged with employing a webcam to spy on his gay roommate’s intimate encounter with another man. The trial could reveal some heretofore unknown facts, including the name of the unidentified man in the video. The roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide in 2010, just days after the alleged spying occurred.

Dharun Ravi, the suspect, is not charged with the death of Clementi, 20. Instead, Ravi is charged with bias intimidation, a hate crime that is punishable by 10 years in prison. Ravi, 19, is also charged with invasion of privacy, as well as tampering with evidence and witness tampering. That doesn’t mean the suicide won’t be on the minds of jurors: trial Judge Glenn Berman told prospective jurors last week that Clementi had killed himself.

The other man depicted in the video—who has been publicly identified only as “M.B.”—may be brought to testify, which could become key to conviction or exoneration. Attorneys for both sides argued over publicly identifying “M.B,” with Judge Berman eventually ruling that lawyers for Ravi could, indeed, reveal his identity. Should the man testify, it is expected that his full name will be used.

The crime with which Ravi is charged occurred in September 2010, a few weeks after Clementi and Ravi, newlyassigned roommates, moved into their dorm room at Rutgers.

Clementi is alleged to have asked Ravi to leave their dorm room so that Clementi could have privacy when a friend of his stopped over to their room. Investigators say that Ravi used his computer’s webcam to spy on Clementi. Ravi posted a Twitter message: “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay [sic].”

Two nights later, authorities allege that Ravi attempted to do the same thing when Clementi asked him to stay away from the room. The next day, Clementi killed himself. He jumped from the George Washington Bridge, after writing a short Facebook status update: “Jumping off the gw bridge, sorry.”

By Jarrett Terrill

“Little white boys in Indiana don’t sing Whitney Houston songs… They play kickball.” That is something I likely heard in the 3rd grade when one of my all time favorite celebrities landed on my radar with the insanely bubbly (and GAY) video for “How Will I Know.”  How would I know, indeed.

Over the years, Houston would fade in and out of the present tense until just this last Saturday night where she burst full throttle into the omni-present tense and onto the tip of everyone’s tongue.

It was heartbreaking to say the very least – soul crushing, in fact.

I won’t antagonize her during this long awaited and well-deserved restful sleep with my opinions about her personal decisions and recreational activities. Those are concepts for the living to struggle with.  What I will address is the enduring spirit, which has been released, phoenix-like, from the heavy bondage of public opinion and crass tabloid journalism.

Don’t expect Whitney Houston to  get the “Michael Jackson treatment” much longer in today’s media.  She’s  no mystery to most of us.  She’s  every woman.

Like most Americans, Whitney had financial problems. Related to those, she had family problems.  Beyond her struggles with independence from her parents and her feisty rebellious marriage to Bobby Brown was an uphill battle with addiction that would end in a kind of truce with Whitney waving a white flag.

None of these descriptors should have been shameful to the songstress who was admittedly a “Queen of the Night.”  Neither should they shame the countless other Americans who struggle with the exact same problems even in broad daylight.

Sadly, Whitney DID feel deep shame.  I could see it on her face.  I wanted to burst into Whitney’s living room and save her from the wrath of Diane Sawyer on that fateful December evening in 2002 when she was being interrogated, not interviewed.

Since that point, the very concept of a “celebrity interview” has changed.  Certainly, Houston herself never rebounded after Sawyer’s awkwardly aggressive profile.  Even in 2010, Caroline Sullivan wrote in the UK’s Guardian newspaper that the media, “[most] of whom were not even there,” were blindly trashing Houston’s UK tour as “the worst thing they’d ever seen.”

Celebrities are now easy prey for sensationalist reporters and counter-intuitively, our politicians are given the benefit of the doubt.  There was a time, during the George H.W. Bush Administration, where this would not have happened to Houston.  Whitney Houston brought our nation together with a performance of our National Anthem (during the Persian Gulf war). It likely still brings tears to the eyes of many who remember the performance itself, as well as to those who associate it with September 11th 2001–since it was re-released afterward and Houston donated 100% of her royalties to first responders, victims and their families.

Fast forward to a few wars later and Houston was once again used to rally everyone under a common cause: distraction.  Houston tried her best to roll with the punches and aside from drugs, she took solace in new clothes, new hair and new friendships. She and George Michael made a quirky yet classy video together, set in a dark nightclub. It wasn’t exactly the biggest hit but it was a fun little tongue-in-cheek track that marked the beginning of the new Whitney. The Whitney who let it all hang out.

Human Whitney.

The Whitney Houston who lay under water in the bathtub of her suite at the final hour before Grammy Night was the Whitney who would probably have been further humiliated and taunted by the press, her family, her husband and her own inability to be what everyone expected of her. Jennifer Hudson, who is now also far more familiar with pain and humanity than she would like to be, graciously gave this particular Whitney a befitting farewell at the Grammy’s with her own performance of “I will Always Love You.”

The other Whitney – the Whitney who laughs, fights, sings and knows how to have a good time is still with us.  This is the Whitney that gave Bobby Brown some semblance of sex appeal (he’s still not right but it’s ok).

She’s not perfect but she’s damn close –with the Billboard top selling single of all time, praise and accolades from other superstars across the spectrum (Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, Simon Cowell), at least a whole page of her own in every karaoke book from here to Tokyo, and near constant rotation with DJ’s throughout gay clubland.

I love the Whitney she left in our care. She’s messy and aggressive but she’s also inspiring and legendary.  She may have been an “unfit mother” in some people’s estimation – but she’s our child forever now. Let her laughter remind us of how we used to be.

Sony (Almost) Cashes in on Singer’s Death Party Doesn’t Stop for Whitney’s Colleagues

In what is being viewed as a major PR gaff and money grab, Sony Music has officially apologized for raising the price on two Whitney Houston albums during the first hour after the legendary singer’s death.  Calling the price hike “unintentional,” the label issued a statement saying, “Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mispriced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused.”

By coincidence—or maybe not– the two albums struck by the pricing mishap, Ultimate Collection and Greatest Hits, were Houston’s compilation discs, the two most likely to be purchased by nostalgic or mourning fans. Ultimate Collection jumped 60 percent above its regular list price (from $7.85 to $12.50), while the Greatest Hits album saw a 25 percent increase in its cost (from $12.50 to $15.67).

The record company was already under fire for “insensitivity” over the fact that its Chief Creative Officer, Clive Davis, went ahead with his planned pre-Grammy party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, site of Huston’s demise, mere hours after her death. Davis is expected to attend the singer’s funeral, to take place in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday at the New Hope Baptist Church, where the icon first performed as a child.

While Houston’s ex-husband, singer Bobby Brown, has been reportedly banned from attending the funeral, va roster of other celebrities are said to  be among the guest list of 1,500 who will attend. Among them: gospel singer Marvin Winans (who will give the  eulogy), Houston’s godmother  Aretha Franklin (who will perform), Houston’s cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, singer Chaka Khan, and  the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The shock of learning the news of her mother’s sudden death proved too traumatic for Bobbi Kristina Brown, who was hospitalized last weekend at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In a sad coincidence  to the death of her mother, entertainer Whitney Houston, the teenager was staying at the Beverly Hills Hilton, the same hotel in which Houston was found dead on Feb. 11.

Bobbi Kristina was in the hotel lobby when she learned of her mother’s death at  3:55 p.m. (PST). Police officers on the scene refused to allow the teenager into her mother’s suite, and, according to People magazine, Houston’s daughter had a “complete breakdown.” Bobbi Kristina was treated in the hospital for a stress-induced panic attack and later released.

Her father, singer Bobby Brown, issued a statement that read, in part, “My daughter did visit with doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She has been released and is presently with my family including her siblings. Obviously  the death of her mother is affecting her. However we will get through this tragedy as a family.”