1. National Review writer thinks it’s an insult to gays that figure skater Johnny Weir acts so effeminate… Maybe the best part of this story in TheBlaze is Quin Hillyer saying he needed a moment to clean himself up from the chocolate he’d been eating before continuing with the phone interview. Hillyer thinks it’s a shame that figure skating has the rep of not being a manly sport. He also thinks Weir ridiculously flaunts his sexuality. Does the writer think Weir’s makeup and dress call attention to Weir’s sex life? Hillyer replied: “Yes, I do.” Read here.
2. Not everyone digs Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) just because he’s been in Congress so long… In fact, Washington Examiner‘s Philip Klein thinks a person’s length of career is not necessarily something to celebrate — even if Dingell did come to Congress when “I Love Lucy” was still on TV. And even if it is 29 terms. See here.
3. “7 Things This Queer Man Wants Alec Baldwin To Know (an open letter)” — With a headline like that there’s a fighting chance it could be a fun read. And in this case, it is, despite there being a possibility of it being HuffPost clickbait. HuffPost’s Executive Editor of its “Gay Voices” section Noah Michelson lays out pretty blunt reasoning as to why Alec Baldwin should stop making scenes wherever he goes. Why would Baldwin follow that ridiculous advice? Still, Michelson makes some interesting points about why Baldwin should not call gays “cocksuckers” and “faggots” or refer to a transgender person as a “tranny” even though Stephen Colbert did it too. Throughout the story, Michelson gives Baldwin dual compliments and insults. It’s an interesting writing technique.
He writes… “I want to make it clear that I don’t — and never did — think you’re a homophobic bigot. I think you’re a narcissistic, easily provoked hothead who explodes into an unpredictable fireball of anger and disgust whenever you’re pushed or prodded (and this New York Magazine piece only further confirms that perception). I also think how you’ve handled a handful of situations is unfortunate, and the words you’ve reached for when you needed to vent your frustrations are unacceptable. You claim you never said “faggot,” and you know what? I’m going to give you that. Fine. You never said ‘faggot.’ But you still said ‘cocksucker,’ and that’s still a problem.” You may also need to read Michelson’s essay on Baldwin’s use of the word cocksucker, which he basically says is an insult to the act not to mention horribly homophonic. In that piece, he concluded by saying, “So let’s grow up, give it up and spend our energy sucking cock instead of talking about it. I promise it’s a lot more fun, and it’s much less likely that anyone will get hurt.” Read the full “7 things” here.
4. In which ex-Capitol Hill flack really does drop the f-bomb… And we’re not just talking “filibuster.” See TPM‘s writeup involving QGA’s Jim Manley by the pub’s senior congressional reporter Sahil Kapur here.