This is a major milestone for HIV research in my book. My hero, President Barack Obama said today that on Monday he plans to lift the 20-year-old ban on HIV positive people entering the United States. The ban should be lifted in 2010 after a 60 day waiting period.

No major international AIDS conference has been held in the U.S. since 1993, because HIV-positive activists and researchers cannot enter the country.

The ignorance and fear about HIV led to ban of people from entering the US who was considered positive. This kept out students, tourists, refugees, and children who could have been adopted. HIV was the only medical condition explicitly listed under immigration law as grounds for not entering the US.

The turning around of this ignorance will help other countries and people realize HIV should not be quarantined or discriminated against. These are humans who have HIV/AIDS and we really need to stop the harsh discrimination.

Obama also signed a bill today to extend the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program which started in 1990. Ryan White was a 13 year old teenager who caught the virus from a blood transfusion who turned into an AIDS activist but died at the age of 18. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS program will help provide medical care, meds, as well as support to half a million people who normally would not be able to afford or survive without it.

These steps today mark major milestones along with the Hate Crimes bill he signed this week. We are finally moving along in a positive way after years of hate and discrimination and hope we continue down this path of success for our health and future.

Where are you on Wednesday nights? For many people, the answer has become McKinley High. Fox’s Glee tells the stories of a high school vocal choir. This quirky mixture of social outcasts and popular kids has sung and danced its way into the hearts of viewers everywhere. At first glance, the characters can seem stereotypes, but well crafted personalities and relationships have created individuals we can love and despise. In a television world with only a few gay characters, most minor, Glee offers us a key character who is openly gay and features a gay couple as one of the few intact families mentioned.

While the glee club at McKinley high is a mishmash of minorities, one of the major characters on this show is a young man, Kurt Hummel played by 19 year old actor Chris Colfer. While, on the surface, Kurt is a stereotype in search of a day spa to recover from a face full of slushie and looking for knee length cardigans, he’s also won the football game for the school and stepped boldly out of the closet to his friends and single father. He’s bullied by the jocks, but willing to stand up for his friends. The episode all viewers will associate with Kurt boldly featured him singing Beyonce’s “Put a Ring on It,” complete with dance number as he won the big game for the football team. His father, dressed in flannel, cheers. His coming out is met with a quip about sensible pumps, a hug. Chris Colfer made us laugh and cry as Kurt triumphed for his school, bringing glory to all those who took too much crap in high school.

Critics have argued that Glee offers up discrimination. We see Kurt thrown into the dumpster, gay parents criticized for encouraging rebellion, and an expectation that an artistic father will produce a gay son. There’s no doubt at all that we see bullying, homophobia and discrimination in McKinley High. The jocks have to find themselves and learn that they were wrong as the gay kid brings the losing football team victory and they themselves sing and dance on the field to throw the other team off their game. Cheer coach Sue Sylvester is the clear villain of this show. Her comment about gay parents fits in with her suggestions that students be caned and her willing manipulation of students and staff.

High school wasn’t a picnic for most of us, gay or straight. It’s not for the kids in Glee either, as they deal with bullying, pregnancy, sexuality, friendship and competition.

In a saturated and sometimes boring late night TV market, Wanda Sykes’ new show, premiering November 7th, will offer a fresh take on current events as well as Wanda’s wit, style and personality. Airing on Saturday nights on Fox, the show will feature panel discussions with recurring personalities and lively discussion of topical issues. Sykes will leave the studio for field reports, adding variety to the late night comedy show. While the promos for Sykes’ new show joke about DVRs, you should be sure to set yours for a new, funny, and intelligent alternative to Saturday Night Live.

Named as one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 funniest people, Wanda Sykes has had a long career in films, television and stand-up comedy. The Wanda Sykes show will be her second weekly television appearance as she plays Barbara Baran (Barb) on the New Adventures of Old Christine on CBS. Other appearances include comedy specials on the Comedy Channel and HBO. Her second HBO stand up special premiers in October, 2009. Sykes spent five years working on the acclaimed Chris Rock show and has won Emmy awards for her work on the Chris Rock show and Inside the NFL.

While Wanda had been out privately for quite some time, she stepped out of the closet quite publicly at a Las Vegas Proposition 8 rally in November, 2008. Sykes and her partner were married in October of 2008 and welcomed twins in April of 2009. Even before she officially came out, Sykes included discussions of gay and lesbian issues, including gay marriage, in her stand up comedy routines. It seems likely that her new show will cover, among its topical issues, many of those relevant to the gay community as a whole.

Tune into the Wanda Sykes Show on Saturdays on Fox, starting November 7, 2009 at 11 PM Eastern. Find the current promos for the show at tvbythenumbers.com.

Gay bashings can happen anywhere, at any time. Unfortunately, safety isn’t assured even near home. In many states, hate crime laws do not provide protection on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender presentation. Oklahoma is one of those states. While federal hate crime legislation encompassing sexual orientation protections is pending, it didn’t come fast enough for one young man in the Midwest.

A young man in Tulsa, Brandon Patrick, suffered a vicious assault on the evening of October 18th as he walked from his home to visit a nearby friend. Three people, a woman in her 40s and a younger man and woman in their late teens or early twenties approached him, shouting homophobic insults. The verbal assault escalated into a beating after the individuals got into a maroon Ford Mustang and followed the victim. Physical injuries sustained in the attack included bruises, knife wounds and bite wounds. Three staples were required to close the wound on Mr. Patrick’s scalp and three stitches were needed for a stab wound on his knee.

Brandon Patrick fought back, defending himself against the assault once the man began punching him in the head. He continued to fight back and the three returned to their vehicle and fled. The three assailants are still at large; however, due to Oklahoma’s weak hate crime legislation, they will only be charged with felony assault.

News stories like this worry all of us, reminding us that caution, self defense and activism are all necessary. Know your surroundings, keep your cell phone close at hand, and watch out for yourself and your friends. You can find information on activism in Oklahoma, including information on hate crimes in Oklahoma at from Oklahomans for Equality at http://www.okeq.org/. Federal hate crime legislation, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act has passed the House of Representatives. Call your senator and encourage their support of this important piece of legislation.

What is really disturbing about this is that hate crimes for sexual orientation is not covered in Oklahoma’s hate crime law but that may soon change on the Federal level. Let’s hope these attackers get caught and justice is served.

Find more on this story at http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1009/670120.html and http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20091019_298_0_Whatsh4950&allcom=1.

Just as we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel here in the United States we are seeing more hate in the UK. London police have reported to the BBC that the homophobic crime rate has went up almost a quarter fold since last year. This is horrible to hear if you are going to London to visit or live there in one of the best cities in the world.

Ian Baynham, is an example of one horrific attack in Trafalgar Square who died just two weeks after the fatal homophobic act. This has thrust homophobic crimes into the public eye in London and hopefully will bring attention to more laws being passed to prevent more deaths.

This rise could be a positive sign according to the Metropolitan (MET) police in London because it means that more homophobic acts are being reported than before. Authorities claim that people were scared to report these attacks before and now they make sure its reported. That they have been way underreported over the years. This holds true everywhere though we need to report something even if we just happen to see an attack. The police should be notified and help put an end to the violence.

A study by Stonewall, conducted last year, showed one in five lesbians and gay men surveyed in London had experienced a homophobic hate incident in the previous three years.
It also found that three quarters of those experiencing such an incident did not report it to the police. In fact, seven in 10 people did not tell anyone else about it. This is disturbing.

President Obama has the Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill on his desk here in the U.S. Let’s hope this act flows over to the U.K. and they see the trend go backwards and let’s hope we do too. I have noticed more hate crimes here in the states lately.

RELATED:  This hate crime in Tulsa, OK earlier this month has still not received the media attention it deserves and the attackers have still not been caught.

One of the biggest issues facing the schools, from elementary through high school, is bullying. Unfortunately, much of this bullying is focused on issues of sexual and gender identity. The Supreme Court has ruled that schools are obligated to protect students from sexual harassment, and sexual bullying constitutes sexual harassment; however, many communities are not including sexual orientation or gender identity in their anti-bullying policies or legislation.

Several children have committed suicide due to bullying of this sort and almost 25% of students who have been taunted, teased or bullied because of being perceived as gay or lesbian have attempted suicide. Even more disturbingly, this type of bullying is most severe during the later elementary and middle school years. While the schools must address these issues and are working diligently to do so, the gay, lesbian and transgender community should do so as well. What can we do to help these kids and improve acceptance in the schools?

The gay community can assist with this critical issue in several ways. First, gay and lesbian centers across the country should be actively providing support to gay youth. Offer youth groups and make sure they are as accessible as possible to young people. Work with school Gay-Straight Alliance groups whenever possible to share knowledge and resources. A good social support system can reduce the risk of suicide among GLBTQ teens and reduce the impact of bullying.

Consider offering your support services to local school boards to share information about the struggles and challenges of gay and lesbian youth. You may even want to consider visiting the schools and providing information via an assembly or classroom presentations. Gay, lesbian and transgender youth are not the only ones victimized by this sort of daily torment. In fact, four heterosexual students report name calling and accusations of a sexual nature for every gay or lesbian student. Contact your school boards and legislators about the importance of anti bullying legislation that specifies sexual and gender identity protection.

Responding to harassment in the schools is more challenging if you are the one being bullied. Ignoring the bully, surrounding yourself with supportive friends and responding with humor can all be helpful strategies if you don’t feel like you are at physical or emotional risk. Know your school’s discipline policies and work within those policies and with the assistance of your parents, teachers and administrators to stop the bullying.

The latest gay bullying comes from Queens, New York where Jack Price, 49, had left a deli after buying cigarettes in College Point, when he received a number of antigay comments and was attacked. No matter whether you are young or old you have to be on the lookout for anti-gay remarks and slurs and be able to get away from attackers. We can only hope that Obama will keep his words spoken at the HRC Equality Dinner and sign into the Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill that will be on his desk soon. See safeschoolscoalition.org for more information on anti-gay bullying.

Lady Gaga spoke at the 2009 Equality March or as some call it the gay rights rally in Washington D.C. She opened up the speech saying she was humbled to stand here before us and that it is the single most important thing she has done in her career.. and that she loved Judy Garland. Thanked her generation… the young generation who is continuing to push this movement forward and close the gap and demand full equality for all. Lady Gaga wants this country to be free and not equal sometimes but for everyone all the time. She screamed out and asked if Obama was listening and did it quite dramatically. She screamed loud to alert people that this is needed and it is needed now. An urgent call for action!!

To Barney Frank – we are putting more than pressure on this grass and this grass is ours. We will come away today and continue this war in our backyards to our local politicians said Gaga. Barney Frank basically said we were wasting our time marching in Washington and not putting more time into going directly to the politicians involved but I think he was wrong this time. Barney Frank was seen in the Castro district in San Francisco over the weekend and I am sure he will change his tune once he knew all that went down in D.C. this weekend.

Lady Gaga also called her gays beautiful fans and refused to accept any homophobe lyrics and actions in the music industry that has become filled up with hate over the years. She then ended the speech to bless God and to bless the Gays. Amazing speech from Lady gaga.

This of course is after her brilliant piano performance with the John Lennon song “Imagine” where President Barrack Obama “Opened up for Lady Gaga”, at least he said that in his speech. Lady Gaga came on stage and performed a newly written version of the song she made for the HRC Dinner and it made references to equality and even to Matthew Shepard who was murdered from a hate crime while his mother Judy Shepard was there in the audience.

2009 marked one of the best years I have ever seen for gay rights following President Obama’s speech saying he would sign the hate crime into law and saying he would soon get rid of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DOMA). Obama’s speech also made references to Matthew Shepard and told a great story about 60 years ago with the beginning of Pflag and the story behind it. It was a speech that I could watch a million times. He also promised to get the HIV/AIDS infected people visiting this country the approval to come inside and visit friends and relatives or for even business reasons in which they cannot get in our country now.

This is a great time to be a true American and love and embrace each other more than before and fight for our equality because it will come and come within the next few years.

Academy Award Winner and Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black Speaks At The LGBT National Equality March in Washington, DC on October 10th. We are excited to see him here at the gay rights rally and made one of many great speeches that should stick in our brains and motivate us to all be activists for love and equality. Here is the video of Dustin Lance black at the rally on Sunday-

Just when you thought we would quit hearing news from Alaska the ice is melting more and more not far from the Palin Household.  The father of Sarah Palin’s grandson, Levi Johnston, 19,  is said to be working out 6 times a week, pumping up, and cutting carbs to prepare for a revealing shoot from the magazine.  We are not sure where exactly they plan to take pictures but we are sure it will be a juicy photo-op we only dream for when it comes to male celebrities. If you want to call him a male celebrity.

Recently the 19 year old was seen on the red carpet with Kathy Griffin during the Teen Choice Awards and Kathy made some jokes a few weeks later on Bill Maher saying she felt some kicking in her stomach.  Levi Johnston is also featured in some nut commercials where they say he is now using “protection” wearing an Alaska shirt.  But seeing him in the bare may be something we did not expect from him.  You know this will be one hot selling playgirl magazine because we love seeing ex or current hockey players or any type of college-aged boys in the buff and spread wide.

Kathy must have had a good influence on the still teenager.  A “Good” influence.  As for Sarah Palin it probably just adds more publicity for her upcoming book “Going Rogue” which comes out in a few weeks and is topping Amazon’s Best seller list for pre-orders.  I bet it helps Kathy’s book sales out as well.

Wasn’t it Marky Mark that posed for Playgirl years ago.  I sure wanted a copy of that!  I thought Levi Johnston was hot the first time I saw him at the RNC but now he has sort of lost some of that.  Maybe after he cleans up some from working out and tones it up he will be ready for the big time and hopefully he does not disappoint us with something small!

It is a battle of the divas and this diva has won again.  Barbra Streisand (Babs) scored her 9th number one album on the United States pop charts Wednesday according to Billboard Magazine.  With the days of Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Lil’ Wayne, and the Black Eyed Peas who would have thought that Barbra Streisand a jazz adult contemporary singer could get to the top spot and beat everyone out.

This shocked the music industry today because they expected Mariah Carey “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” or Paramore “Brand New Eyes” to hit #1 for next weeks edition but instead Babs took the spot.  How did this happen?  Could it be all the mean comments coming from Bill O’Reilly to her on his Pin Head game he plays nightly or could it be that we are turning back to real talent instead of just artists promoting themselves on talk shows.  Although she did just promote her album to a tiny NYC Jazz club she played at in the 60′s in front of President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (not a bad way to get your album off to a big start).

The strong sales came from non-traditional outlets such as Starbucks and QVC’s home shopping network for Streisand.  She now extends her lead as the female act with the most number one releases on the Billboard 200 charts.  At age 67, she is also the first artist to top the chart in 5 consecutive decades.  She has not topped the chard since 1997 with “Higher Ground” and that sold more copies at 207,000.

Mariah Carey has a great new CD with an amazing remake and the Obsessed song we love so much.  I am even shocked she did not hit the #2 spot and get more sales than Paramore.  Judging from sales in the UK it was Madonna who won the battle beating out Paramore to the #1 spot the first week.  Mariah has been all over the Today show and other shows promoting her album and only sold 52,000 more copies than her 2001 “Glitter” flop.

When you look at the numbers Streisand only sold 180,000 copies compared to 168,000 from Mariah Carey and 175,000 from Paramore.  So they were definitely close and it was not a knock down drag out and considering record sales were down from 2008 this time last year you can tell money is tight from the recession.  I wonder how many pirated copies are downloaded for free of each artist.

Madonna did not underperform because her album is a two-set cd which is more expensive than any of the above.  Celebration came on at number 7 with little promotion but maybe it will get more sales now that she appeared on Saturday Night Live.  I did not see Madonna mention her new album.  She appeared on the MTV VMA’s but did not perform instead she did the very unselfish tribute to Michael Jackson.  I just think many could not afford the two-cd set from Celebration and opted for the cheaper albums on sale this week.  I will be enjoying the DVD of all of her videos over the years she also put out and her new Celebration CD – especially the Lil’ Wayne revolver song ‘Revolver’.  This is Madonna’s final record with Warner Music Group and she will launch a new re-invention with Live Nation in the coming years.

Babs we are happy for you!  It looks like the Liberals won for sure on this one.