News AggreGAYte for the Week of Aug. 23-27, 2010

EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the next few weeks, we'll be unveiling a few new Gay Place features and bloggers. The first is from my new intern, Rob Cohen. He submitted this as a "try-out" news aggregate, and I thought it too sweeet to waste. Enjoy! And look for this and other new features coming soon! ~kxm

News Nuggets From Rob

BED INTRUDER SONG Antione Dodson + Auto Tune The News

I for one can not get enough of this song. If you're not familiar with Antione Dodson, he rose to fame by holding an extremely flamboyant, ranting interview on the local news in Huntsville, AL, after a man attempted to rape his sister. The original news report became a hit online and so the meme rolled on.

There's a sort of make-fun-of-the-gay-guy-from-the-ghetto undercurrent to the videos popularity, but whether you're laughing at him or with him, the guy did a brave thing and isn't afraid to speak his mind and that's respectable.

"The Bed Intruder Song" is so popular it made its debut in the Billboard Top 100 this week at 89. Dodson is using his new-found fame to move his family out of the projects. Looks like someone just got their 15 minutes of fame extended a couple more weeks.

--------

DAUGHTER DENIED

I can't believe this ridiculous story! The daughter of a lesbian couple, married legally in Canada, was denied admission by a private school outside of Dallas. Jill and Tracy Harrison attempted to enroll their daughter Olivia at St. Vincent's Episcopal School in Bedford, but when they arrived at parents night and the staff realized Tracy was a women, Olivia was denied admission.

Check out the bullshit quote:

"It is clear that enrolling the child in a traditional Christian school, such as St. Vincent's School, would not foster her own personal values at home. And it might undermine the moral instruction of our clergy and teachers in the minds of our schools students and parents. Our prayers are with Olivia and her mother."

---------

HRC DROP TARGET, BEST BUY

The backlash against Target Corp. and Best Buy's questionable donations to anti-gay Minnesota state representative Tom Emmer continues with the Human Rights Campaign dropping the two companies from its annual Buying for Equality Guide, a guide to shopping with companies with gay-friendly track records.

This is great news, and I'm proud to say I participated in the boycott and returned a shirt in the name of equality!

-----

MISSISSIPPI TEEN

Another teenage lesbian is suing a Mississippi school district for good reason.

Man, what is up with these Missippipitos hating on lesbians?! This time it's after a lesbian student's photo and name were left out of the senior section of the yearbook due to a ridiculous policy banning females from wearing tuxedos in yearbook portraits.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of student Ceara Sturgis, contending the Copiah schools discriminated against her on the basis of sex and gender stereotypes.

-------

RICKY MARTIN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Does anybody really care about Ricky Martin anymore? [Yes. - editor] Is there any point to his upcoming autobiography out November 2?

Sounds like a very thin read. Even the title, Yo, which is "Me" in Spanish is boring. Though if you've been wanting the dish on his gay side, you'll want to check this out.