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| Quotes & Quips |
| Compiled By Jack Nichols
Brad's No Dumb Macho Hunk
Hollywood actor Brad Pitt tried to take the mickey out of critics who dubbed him a macho dumb hunk. The star of such hits as Seven donned a mini-skirt for a cover shoot for Rolling Stone magazine.
Pitt is angry at the portrayal of him as being all looks and macho attitude--despite the fact his latest movie, The Fight Club, plays up to that stereotype. It's about brutal bareknuckle fighters in the States. Daily Record & Sunday Mail, Scotland, October 8 Snakes & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails But we also live in a nation of sexual niches. One network decides to direct all its programming to girls, creating teenage soaps about sensitive young people who talk incessantly about their feelings. The competition comes back with an entire schedule devoted to what guys like, which turns out to be Steel Cage Death Matches. Gail Collins—"Pumped-Up Politics"—New York Times, October 5 Ronald Reagan's Diary
Boring enough to glaze the eyes, with its daily, dogged listing of events already printed in his
schedule. Not one sentence, not even the odd stray phrase, was colored with original observation…
Presidents and prime ministers, Nobel laureates, monks, hunks, farmers, princes, and refugees visited the Oval Office, saying nothing memorable, educating him in no way, leaving behind them no fragrance
of personality. It was the same at the Residence, and Camp David. His children came and went (their departures carefully noted). Movies were shown, always enjoyable; every smile was happy, every little girl cute, and at all social events 'a good time was had by all.'…Dutch remained a mystery to me, and worse still—dare I entertain such heresy, in the hushed and reverent precincts of his office?—an apparent airhead.
Edmund Morris---Official Reagan biographer in his newly released DUTCH. Geez, She Looks Like a Real Virgin to Me
Ron Mueck contributed a huge self-portrait that hilariously resembles
Giuliani. The museum has installed it in a gallery whose only other artwork
is the object of the Mayor's wrath—"The Holy Virgin Mary," by a thirty-one
year old British artist of Roman Catholic faith and Nigerian ancestry named
Chris Ofili.
In a show that offers plenty other targets for indignation, the Mayor picked wrong— as might anyone who hadn't actually seen the exhibition. Olifi's lightening rod canvas is gorgeous, sweet, and respectful of its subject, rendering her as a sternly hieratic African personage in petal-like blue robes. Peter Schjeldahl— "Those Nasty Brits"—The New Yorker—October 11 Popper Research A new study released at a meeting in Amsterdam indicates that inhalation of the sexual stimulant "results in increased bacterial growth in the lungs and livers of infected mice" and suppresses the ability of certain lymph nodes to respond to antigen-specific stimulation. Other immuno-suppressive problems were also noted. The Letter—Kentucky's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Newspaper 
Clinton's Gay Rights Record
I wish we could have done better, but we're a long way from where we were. President Bill Clinton—"Clinton Addresses Gay and Lesbian Equality Dinner"--GayToday, October 5 A Sexless Naturist Club Protests But David C. Allen, the club's owner, said the business has always been a safe and clean place for gay men to hang out. ''The thing is they are trying to say we are the seven deadly sins of gay life, but we want people to have an alternative they haven't had before,'' he said. Allen, who refers to The Safari Club as a ''naturist'' club, said patrons wore towels around their waists and didn't engage in sex. Tatsha Robertson— " City officials close gay club in South End"-- Boston Globe, October 8 Your Tax Dollars at Work
OU police Lt. Mel Gilroy said police installed a camera in a men's
bathroom in South Foundation Hall after a student complained about sexual
activity there.
Some OU students were upset, arguing the right to privacy of students using the bathroom was violated during the investigation. Diana Dillaber Murray—"2 Men accused of sexual activity in OU bathroom"—Oakland Press, October 6 Anti-Gay Mormonism's Innate Bigotry I remember very well when, as a Mormon lad in 1977, nobody could rightly explain to me why my church suddenly decided that men of African descent could hold the priesthood, nor could they explain very well to me why that power had been denied them before. I was referred to a pamphlet written by then-President Spencer Kimball, in which this "prophet" declared that God simply favored some of His children more than others. Guess who the neglected children were? Dean Estes— "Hatch View of Bigotry"—Letters—San Francisco Examiner, October 7 His Problem with 'Marriage'
You have undoubtedly noticed that I distinguished between marriage and
same-sex unions. I do so honestly, and as consistently as I support human
rights and gay rights. I believe marriage means joining a man and woman
as husband and wife; I do not believe that the debate about benefits
should founder on what we call unions. But I do believe we don't advance
the cause of fairness by ignoring the sacramental resonance that marriage
has in the religious life of a great many Americans. Put simply, I fear
that same sex families will fail the litmus test for its prosecution with
the use of the word marriage. Indeed, I'm convinced that if we insist on
using the word, we will never get it passed. So, I will not call gay
unions marriages, but I will respect them. And I will work to see that
same-sex couples receive the property, insurance, immigration, tax, and
inheritance rights enjoyed by married couples.
Bill Bradley—Speech to the Human Rights Campaign Dinner—Detroit, October 2 |
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