Opinion

The religious right spends millions of dollars each year promoting inflammatory depictions of unhealthy gay “lifestyles” as the norm for the LGBT community. But it appears that the creator of the world’s most envied straight lifestyle, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, lives a life of sexual dysfunction more gag-worthy than anything evangelical Christians can throw at us.

In her new memoir, former Playmate Izabella St. James reveals how Hefner, 84, treats his harem at that temple of traditional heterosexism known as the Playboy Mansion. For starters, she recounts the problem of Hef’s dogs:

It’s time for holiday cheers and jeers for the best and worst of 2010, along with some holiday wishes.

A warm glass of punch for Lady Gaga for her bold theatricality and the sense of belonging she gives to all of her “little monsters.” Alas, a curdled cup of eggnog to Gaga as well for the creep show “Alejandro,” which she publicly dedicated to the “gay community.” Great hook, Gaga, but fascist imagery, sex and violence in a crypt-like setting? Not exactly the images most of us want to be associated with.

As a result of the Nov. 2 election, Wisconsin will soon be taken over by Republicans. This change is not going to be good for multiple constituencies in the state, and certainly not for the LGBT community.  The last time the Republicans ran the Legislature they brought us the constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality. Their agenda would have been even more damaging without Jim Doyle as governor. But now, with Republicans preparing to control every single lever of power in state government, we should anticipate a major push backward on equality and many other key issues important to the LGBT community.

Most of the people elected to state office on Nov. 2 were not simply Republicans but extreme conservatives. In what is hardly a coincidence, the state’s top gay-hating group, the Wisconsin Family Council, endorsed many of the victorious. These winners were not endorsed by that group because they plan to be kind to the LGBT community.

In a November column, I mourned the results of the midterm elections and expressed despair about the prospects for progressive change. I wrote: “An end to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’? Don’t hold your breath.”

Oh, me of little faith!

It is with great relief and continued sorrow we share the results of the sentencing hearing of Andrew R. Olacirequi, convicted of second-degree reckless homicide in the May 7 killing of Chanel Larkin, a 26-year-old African-American transgender woman.

We extend our comfort and sympathy to Larkin’s family and her loved ones. We also offer compassion for Olacirequi and for his family, whose lives have also been deeply affected by this set of horrific events.

One challenge that we consistently hear about in Wisconsin is that we suffer from what is known as a “brain drain.”

Simply put, this is the loss of talented young and highly educated professionals to other states. With the coming takeover of state government by an extreme brand of conservatives, one has to wonder if the coming brain drain inside the Capitol will exacerbate the brain drain in the state as a whole.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I’ve been having a hell of a time finding something to be thankful for. Then Ricky Martin stepped back into the limelight.

Little does the dreamy pop star know what a godsend he has been to this jaded old lesbian.

After eight years of politically motivated mismanagement, Scott Walker is no longer the Milwaukee County executive. He left Milwaukee County in dire straits, with recently devalued bond ratings, constant structural deficits, crumbling infrastructure, a failing transit system and social services that were severely neglected.

Walker’s time as Milwaukee County executive was not only a problem for the public in general, but it was also problematic for the LGBT community. Walker repeatedly targeted the LGBT community to court his right-wing base. He stood in the way of offering benefits for the domestic partners of county workers, and he repeatedly cut funds for important work, such as that of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus recently threw his hat in the ring to replace Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele. It’s an interesting development, because Priebus was Steele’s right-hand man.

In his letter to RNC members announcing his candidacy, Priebus describes himself as both a fiscal and social conservative. He vows to promote the party’s formal platform if elected.

With the season to be gay in full swing, it’s time to make the holidays our own.

Twinkling stars, virgin births, couples traveling far and wide to be recognized by the state, no room for us at the inn – hey, our history and culture is embedded right there in the nativity narrative! Add a modern dollop of sugarplum fairies, dazzling light displays and group sing-a-longs and you have the fixings for a very gay yuletide.

It’s a sad day for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community when a member of our community exploits an ally just to make a buck.

Several weeks ago, Zach Patterson, a Junior at Beloit Memorial High School in Beloit went to the advisors of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance and showed them his “Marriage is so gay” T-shirt. He asked his advisors if they thought it would be OK for him to wear it in school. Because Beloit Memorial High School has been working hard to eradicate the use of “is so gay” as a derogatory phrase, Zach was informed that it might not be a good idea to wear the T-shirt at school.  But several weeks later he wore it anyway.