Top Vacation Spot for Closeted Men is...

So, where do closeted gay men go for vacation?

LA? New York?

Well, according to a recent poll by MissTravel.com, the answer is Chicago, Illinois?

Yep, Chi-town followed by Sydney, Australia. Two very opposite places.

Here's more:

A press release from the site claims that over 5,000 "male members seeking male travel companions" were initially polled to learn if they were out and the 41% "who were in fact closeted were then surveyed to discover their top destinations for discreet travel."

“With gay marriage recently being recognized by the state of Illinois, it is not surprising that many closeted men are flocking to The Windy City,” Brandon Wade, Founder & CEO of MissTravel.com, said in a statement. “Chicago offers a wide variety of gay­-friendly attractions that complement the midwestern values the city was founded on.” The press release for the survey also noted that Chicago "is a business hub, making it a plausible destination for prudent travel" and that "all cities that made the final cut were gay-­friendly destinations that also catered to a heterosexual audience."

I never thought of Chi-town, but hey, maybe the Windy city does something to closeted guys.

Foolishness Alert: KKK Fliers found in a Chicago Suburb

It's about to be 2014 and we still have to deal with this.

In Chicago, small plastic bags containing fliers of the KKK promoting a Neighborhood Watch in the suburban area.

The flyers say:

"You can sleep tonight knowing the Klan is awake! Are there troubles in your neighborhood? Contact the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan today!"

The full name of these freaks are the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. In these bags were pebbles, marbles, and candy canes.

The cops are looking into the distribution of these flyers.

source

Racism and Ignorance sets up shop in Boystown

Just the other day, I was informed by a couple readers about the drama in Boystown, a popular gay area in Chicago.

There has been several violent crimes in the neighborhood within the past month. Many of the residents are getting worried that the cause of the attacks are due the increased youth in the neighborhood. Many of the young minority LGBT folks go to the Center on Halsted because it provides a safe space and job training. 

But the residents are taking this to a new level, completely blaming the youth on the crimes. They even gone as far as creating a Facebook page called page called Take Back Boystown, which has some of the most racist and stupid statements ever.

Keith Ecker from Windy City Times, breaks it down:

For example, one fan of the page writes, "It's all of us innocent people that are being attacked by the blacks." Another echoes the words of many by placing blame on the Black GLBT youths that seek services at the Center on Halsted, posting that "We have a center full of 'kids' who don't live in the neighborhood just wandering around the streets because they lack the funds and/or age required to get into bars. So, what happens then? Well, I think we've all seen what happens..." 

This ignorance reflects a growing schism that has taken root in Chicago's gay community. On one side are the mainstream gays. We are those who are portrayed in the mass and GLBT media and serve as the target audience for Lady Gaga and Glee. Politicians court us, and businesses cater to us. On the other side are the disenfranchised gay Black youths. These young adults have no public platform. Many come from extraordinarily intolerant communities. Some are homeless. Few have much money to their names. For the mainstreams, it gets better. For the others, not so much. 

Have us gays really come so far as to have the "privilege" to look down on others with condescension? Have we achieved such "lofty" status as to completely trivialize the plights of others? I guess now that Ellen is the queen of daytime talk and Broadway isn't just for gays, we have the right to lump all Black people together as misfits and criminals. 

I understand that folks are scared and concerned. But if you read those statements you will see how fear has kicked up the foolishness and ignorance in these people. It's a shame to see this community fall apart at the seams. I hope they can come together and work this out before more damage is done.

In Chicago: Couples are Lining Up for Civil Unions

Lakeesha Harris and Jeanean Watkins are the first to get their license

This started last night as couples lined up Civil Unions


WATCH the first couple receive their Civil Union license

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will sign the Civil Union Bill Today

Please watch
 

The Appellate Court took Rahm Emanuel Off the Ballot... But there's Hope

Somebody won't let one of the sexy men in politics be great. Today, Rahm was taken off the ballot for Chicago's Mayor race.

Rahm Emanuel has been knocked off the mayoral ballot after an Illinois appellate court panel overturned a ruling in his residency case. 


The panel ruled that Emanuel did not meet the residency requirement for eligible candidates.
“We conclude that the candidate neither meets the the municipal code’s requirement that he have ‘resided’ in Chicago for the year preceding the election in which he seeks to participate nor falls within any exception to the requirement,” the court wrote in its decision.

Emanuel sounded a confident note when he addressed reporters around 1:30 p.m. at a Loop restaurant.
“I have no doubt that we will, in the end, prevail at this effort,” Emanuel said. “As my father always used to say, ‘Nothing is ever easy in life.’ Nothing is ever easy. This is just one turn in the road.”

But there may be so hope for my boo.

A prominent Illinois election lawyer who asked to remain anonymous because of his many political clients in Chicago, told the Huffington Post that there may be hope for Emanuel yet.

The Illinois Supreme Court, he said, "would certainly give the Appellate Court respect but I wouldn't say that they are constrained from reversing their decision."

That said, Monday's two-to-one ruling throwing Emanuel's name off the Chicago mayoral ballot was a major legal set back that dramatically complicated the former White House chief of staff's run for the post. Rather than seek a rehearing with the appellate court, the Illinois lawyer said he expected the Emanuel campaign to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court either Wednesday or as early as Tuesday. The Court will likely choose to take the case before the week was over.

"This is a matter of serious importance affecting essentially half of the state of Illinois just because of the population and impact of the economy," the lawyer said. "So you can expect the Supreme Court will act very quickly. The parties will simply recycle their briefs responding to the appellate court opinion."

source

Real Talk of the Week: IL Sen. Rickey Hendon

Rickey said what needed to be said this week at the Civil Union vote in Illinois...

Pics from Chicago

As I said before, I had a great time in Chicago.

Here are some pics from my conference.

Me and FreddyThis is my old college friend, Reuel.
It was so good to see him again.

This is my good friend, Jonathon from my Cornell days and later, USC.

Zach, me and Freddy

This is Josh and we taught a class together.
Good Times

I'm Leaving Chicago

Well, this is it. My professional conference is done and I'm leaving Chicago for my sunny and warm home in L.A.

It's been fun seeing old friends, hanging out and ruining my diet, but it was worth it.

I'll post pics on Thursday.

I'm in Chi-Town

I'm in Chicago for work, but I'll be blogging as usual.

Dave Burk gets to keep his Job

So that fool, Dave Burk, the teacher who said: 'How would you feel about your tax dollars going to pay some black fag in New York to take pictures of other black fags?', didn't get fired. Just a nice slap on the wrist.

A Geneva school teacher who admitted to making anti-gay remarks during class, will not be fired, the Daily Herald reports.

Instead, the veteran teacher will have a letter of reprimand placed in his permanent file, said his attorney, D.J. Tegeler.

"I'm disappointed and shocked," said Jordan Hunter, 17, an openly gay student who made the complaint to the school district last week. "I thought they would take it more seriously than they did. He's more than entitled to his views and opinions, but there's no reason he needs to express them in the classroom," Hunter said.

A mess, just mess.

source

Someone Lay Hands on Dave Burk

Folks are losing it, I tell you.

Dave Burk, a Geneva High School teacher in Chicago, had an odd and stupid moment.



During his lecture about tax money and the arts, he stated:

"How would you feel about your tax dollars going to pay some black fag in New York to take pictures of other black fags?"

Some folks were very upset about this and student, Jordan Hunter, reported Dave to the big wigs.

Here's more:

Burk's attorney, D.J. Tegeler, said Monday he was not personally aware of the terms Burk used to his classes, but that Burk apologizes for any offense.

"Mr. Burk is cooperating fully with both the principal, the dean of students and the school board," Tegeler said. "Mr. Burk's biggest problem is he does not want to intentionally offend anybody and if he did, he apologizes."

Tegeler said Burk will abide by any punishment the district picks. "We have no intention of fighting anything," Tegeler said.

What was going through his mind? Something must be going on in his personal life to shout out some foolishness like this.

source

My Favorite Song from Victor/Victoria

My cousin, Steven, and I would "perform" this song in my Grandmama's bedroom every time we saw this on HBO.

still love it