I Didn't Say It ...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, on Ivanka’s role as Daddy’s Pet Girl:

“It may be shocking to some, but being someone’s daughter actually isn’t a career qualification. It hurts our diplomatic standing when the President phones it in & the world moves on. The US needs our President working the G20. Bringing a qualified diplomat couldn’t hurt either.”

Maybe next time keep the White House Spokesmodel, AKA Daughter Wife, at home and bring actual qualified people.

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Van Hansis, former As The World Turns star, on his career, and being part of the first gay male kiss on an American soap opera:

 “When you’re an actor, to get a recurring role a soap opera—that was kind of my first on-camera professional job—I was not in any place to turn anything down. Luke was such a rich character and such a wonderful experience I ended up having for five years. It was a blessing. Back when I started with Luke, and it being my first thing, a lot of people who were telling me, ‘Don’t come out publicly’ … back then, it was a different world, sort of. It was not like it is today, especially for an actor. If you come out gay, you’re only going to play gay for the rest of your life. [However] in retrospective, I wish I had come out earlier publicly, but I was out in my private life. Even to this day I keep my private life pretty private. I do social media, but I don’t do it a lot. I really try to choose what I put out there about my life because even though I have a public career, I am a private person. I want to stay that way.”

I think he paved the way for a lot of young men, and women, to come out, after seeing themselves on television for the first time. And while ‘ Luke’ came out in 2007, Hansis waited until 2014 to officially come out to his fans during an interview about “EastSiders.”

Still, it’s not when you come out, it’s that you come out.

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Judd Deere, White House Deputy Press Secretary, is gay and defending his boss:

“The left really wants to continue to push what I consider to be a disgusting message that LGBT Americans are threatened under this administration. It’s just a smear campaign. They’re going to say that I’m helping the enemy. That’s because I don’t agree with them 100% on all issues — they think that I’m in the wrong because I’m a Republican who also happens to be gay. They can get mad at me. I don’t go into a dark depression because somebody hates the person I work for, or wants to get upset at me because they think I’m crazy for working here, because it just doesn’t matter to me.”

Hey Judd, you traitorous ass-kissing, goose-stepping asshat.

He’s trying to ban trans Americans from military service; he’s denying trans Americans access to homeless shelters; he’s trying to make it legal for hospitals, doctors, nurses, and just about anyone, to deny service to LGBTQ Americans because God Hates Fags.

So, you go ahead and sell what’s left of your rotted black soul, but don’t come crying to any of us when you’re being forced back into the closet.

And, if I didn’t make it clear … Fuck.Off.

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Frank Bruni, speaking truth to power, and perhaps to Judd Deere, about _____ and the LGBTQ community:

“His treatment of gay people perfectly reveals the flabbiness of his convictions and his willingness to stand at odds with a majority of Americans if it pleases the smaller number who adore him. He’ll suffer our anger for their ardor. Decency and principle don’t enter into it.”

Which is one reason, of thousands, why I can’t understand an LGBTQ American supporting him. He doesn’t care about you.

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Alphonso David, the first civil rights lawyer and first person of color to serve as President of the Human Rights Campaign, [HRC]:

“I believe that together, we can harness the strength that’s inherent in our differences, to stand together in the face of fear and division. And that’s exactly what the Human Rights Campaign was built for. If we want to win full equality, that’s going to require us to come together, to dig deep, to be resilient, to embrace our differences, to tenaciously defend the most vulnerable among us, to fight with every ounce of determination we have. I promise you this, I will fight for each and every one of us. All I ask is that you join me, that you join the Human Rights Campaign in our fight for true equality. In unity, we will fight back and we will win.”

He sounds ready to fight for us, and we all know that the fight is far from over.

Welcome, Alphonso, and let’s get busy.

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I Didn't Say It ...

George Takei, Star Trek legend and LGBT rights activist, upon receiving the Vito Russo Award at GLAAD's New York media awards:

"[As] a closeted kid growing up in Los Angeles…all I saw of gays and lesbians in movies and television or heard on radio were caricatures of people who were mocked and laughed at, or pitied, or hated. The media stripped us of all humanity and made us into pathetic stereotypes. The media then was a soul-crushing monster. GLAAD took on this formidable beast with its media savvy, political acumen and the power of its advocacy and transformed the media into a powerful force for change. GLAAD inspired and galvanized others into action to join with in the great 21st century civil rights movement. … But as long as LGBT people can be fired from their job for simply being who they are, our work isn’t done yet. As long as young people are kicked out of their families just for being who they are, our work is not done yet. As long as people are be bullied into feeling that their lives are so hopeless that they are driven to self-destructive acts, our work is not done."

I remember those stereotypes, too, and we’ve come a long way since then, though there is still much to do, on TV and in ‘real’ life.

Bishop Gene Robinson, on his divorce from his husband, and partner, of twenty five years:

“My belief in marriage is undiminished by the reality of divorcing someone I have loved for a very long time, and will continue to love even as we separate. Love can endure, even if a marriage cannot.”

Sad news, indeed, but once again Bishop Robinson is an example, for every couple, gay and straight, that goes through a breakup.

Dwight Bullard, Democratic Florida state Senator, on an NRA-backed bill that would grant the right to carry concealed firearms during declared states of emergency:

"For me, as laughable as the amendment might seem, it's equally laughable that people who haven't gone through the proper training, the background check, the license to carry — we're saying because of a hurricane or flooding or sinkhole, these individuals have gone from gun owners to concealed carry permit holders. I'd argue a crisis is probably the last instance in which you want someone who is not a concealed permit holder to carry a weapon."

Amazing that Flori-duh has such a senator who isn't afraid to stand up to the NRA and the gun nuts.

Tom Coburn, Republican Senator from Oklahoma, on his state’s botched execution of Clayton Lockett who was slowly tortured to death for nearly an hour before dying:

"It's an unfortunate thing, but any time you're doing something with a body, things can go wrong."

It's "unfortunate" that a man is legally tortured to death by any state in this country.

Oh yeah, Coburn is also a doctor, talking about how anything can go wrong, and it’s kinda okay because it happens and what are you gonna do about it.

Howsabout ending the death penalty so we don’t become a country that tortures convicts before we kill them?

Shepard Smith, on that Gawker story that said he was demoted by the bosses at FoxNews because he’s gay and wanted to come out:

“News team- Good morning from Los Angeles. I came to Fox News 18 years ago because they agreed to hire me. I’ve stayed with Fox News because of my relationship with Roger Ailes. He’s my boss, my friend and my steadfast supporter both professionally and personally. Things you might read today are horseshit. As phony as 24-hour breaking news on The Plane Channel. Stand down. Big love. See y'all Monday. Unless breaking news changes everything."

Gawker stands by its story and Shepard is still demoted.

And still ALLEGEDLY gay.

Jason Priestley, of 90210, on former co-star Tori Spelling:

“I happened to be at home watching the local news one night, something I rarely got to do. Tori Spelling’s yard sale made the broadcast that night. I saw my very own wedding invitation on the screen. Apparently, it had gone for five bucks, including a personal autograph by Tori. She sold my wedding invitation to a stranger.”

That’s Tori, anything and everything in her life is up for sale, even her husband’s wandering penis and their televised attempts at therapy.

Matt Bomer, my Husband-In-My-Head, on his marriage to Simon Halls and their three children:

“It wasn’t anything I really endeavored to hide. But a lot of stuff I would do would be these fashion spreads where there’s one paragraph about you at the end. I don’t care about that at all. I’m completely happy and fulfilled in my personal life. [The ceremony] was very chill. Very small — only our nearest and dearest. There’s a security, a validity of knowing that it’s legal. It’s hard to put into words. It’s just a feeling, I guess — something about saying vows in front the people around you who love and support you. I think it was good for our family.”

I love him. That’s all.

Tucker Carlson, Fox News wingnut, suggesting that sexual harassment by teachers is fine as long as it's a female teacher and a male student:

"Here’s the bottom line: A 15-year-old boy is not a 15-year-old girl, and so – I got a lot of mail about this – every man understands this. A 15-year-old boy looks at this as, like, the greatest thing that ever happened, and I think for a 15-year-old girl it would be traumatic. That’s just real. I don’t know what to say – I don’t want that to be true but it is true. I’m not saying that all teachers should do lap dances at school. I’m just saying when a teacher gets so enthusiastic she breaks out into a lap dance, don’t send her to prison. That’s all I’m saying."

Further proof, as if we needed it, that the idiots at Fox News, from the top all the way down to the dregs of that network, are completely and utterly idiotic.

Van Hansis, EastSiders and As The World Turns star, on why he only recently came out publicly:

“I guess it was a combination of a lot of things—[As The World Turns] was my first job, it was a different time back then in regards to LGBT stories being told—I mean, the Luke story was groundbreaking at the time. Now, I think every remaining soap has a gay storyline. I was completely green, fresh out of college, and honestly, I was scared. … I’ve been out since I was sixteen, but when I first came to LA my agents were a bunch of Hollywood bro guys and I was afraid they wouldn’t be able to see me in straight roles. It’s a fear I still harbor, and it’s not necessarily paranoia. I met with a manager a couple of years back who told me I was “fey” and that I would need to “work on that” to be her client. On the flip side of things, I was once fired from a movie because I wasn’t “gay enough.”

Funny that, he’s too gay and maybe too straight.

Howsabout just going on his talent?

The Gays Go All the Way in Daytime

I could add my own two-cents, but I like Seltzer's cents.....sense....better.

from TheDailyBeast.com

As the World Turns took an unexpected turn this week and went where no soap opera—and few primetime shows—has dared: showing two post-coital men.

On June 1, 2007, the character of Noah Mayer made his first appearance on As the World Turns, the daytime drama that has aired daily since 1956. He was a military brat turned heartthrob, who quickly hooked up with a fellow intern at the local television station. She fell for him—and so did her openly gay best friend, Luke Snyder.

It took a while for Noah (played by Jake Silberman) to admit his own attraction to Luke (Van Hansis), who had come out the previous summer. On August 17, 2007, Noah and Luke shared a groundbreaking kiss—the first gay male kiss in the history of American daytime dramas. Overnight, the clip went viral and still stands as one of the most-viewed videos on YouTube. This Christmas, Noah presented Luke with a watch that was engraved, "Worth the wait."

Since that fateful exchange of spit, the characters have naturally faced countless obstacles. At first, their mutual friend was caught in the crossfire of Noah's sexual identity crisis. Noah had to come out to his homophobic father, who (after killing his wife) soon conned Luke and Noah on a fishing trip where he shot Luke, paralyzing him from the waist down. But since this is daytime, where characters are known to have seven lives, it wasn't a surprise when Luke walked again thanks to the devotion and optimism of Noah's steadfast support. Even more twisted: Noah briefly married an Iraqi refugee to keep her in the country after she claimed his father saved her family. Luke and Noah stole kisses but fear of being discovered by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency drove their otherwise openly gay rapport back into the 1950s.

As the months wore on, the sexual tension between Luke and Noah (affectionately dubbed Nuke and Loah) grew. They kissed increasingly frequently and with decreasingly little fanfare from blogs, but they never went all the way. They did talk about sex—and what their first time would be like—but it never came anywhere near their horizon. Like everything in their relationship, intimacy was shown through incredibly compelling dialogue.

The inseparable pair talked about everything. Their feelings were always expressed (thanks in large part to head writer Jean Passanante, who happens to be responsible for the only two other gay characters in soap history) if not physically acted on.

Luke and Noah's dynamic escalated on New Year's Eve, when the night finally seemed right. Except for one elephant in the room: Luke's step-grandfather, who had kissed him during Thanksgiving. To make a convoluted story short, Luke got drunk (not a good thing when you've had a kidney transplant, too) after seeing Noah console his ex-girlfriend, and then he kissed his step-grandfather. Of course, Noah was a witness and threw a punch to protect "his love." When Luke confessed to initiating the kiss, Noah walked out, leaving Luke alone to read a note written from Noah, which was meant to be read the next morning, when they would have been together in bed.

For fans, it appeared, as usual, as if Luke and Noah had gone a few steps forward and many more steps back. Sure, they would recover over time. Like most soap "supercouples," they were meant to be. I was prepared for the long haul of relationship rebuilding.

It's difficult to explain to non-viewers how earnest and well-drawn Luke and Noah's relationship is. It was a task I felt ready to tackle after mildly (okay, very) obsessively watching the program (and getting hooked on the other plot lines in the process) for nearly two years now.

This weekend, I intended this article to be called "Why Daytime's Main Gays Should Abstain." It was going to be an attempt to explain how this couple is revolutionizing the portrayal of gays on television. They have had their share of media attention—beginning with their first kiss, a conservative outcry, and including a brief write-up in the New York Times—but nothing seemed to get at the heart of the matter.

For me at least, what makes Luke and Noah unique in television—and especially daytime—is that by not jumping in bed together, they're defying a classic gay stereotype. Indeed, many critics and gay bloggers accused As the World Turns (and Proctor and Gamble's production company) of having a double standard, since straight characters are routinely promiscuous. In my view, the writers were holding the characters to a higher standard that should be applauded.

Who needs to see them shirtless between the sheets and read between the lines? As the World Turns is not The L Word or Queer as Folk. And for all its cliché, it's not as stereotypical as Will & Grace or Sex and the City when it comes to gay characters. Nor is it Brokeback Mountain.

As the World Turns seemed removed from that pressure—and in on the joke. This Christmas, for instance, Noah presented Luke with a watch that was engraved, "Worth the wait."

When I ran into stars of the show around New York City, I'd congratulate them for subtly making a difference. It seems as though more than gay-targeted programs, daytime shows have a special accessibility that allows them to win over hearts and minds. And they were (mostly) doing it via hearts and minds, not exposed nipples and wet chests.

Their epic relationship has lasted over a year. If that's forever in daytime (especially considering their collegiate age), it's an eternity in gay years—and, let's face it, that's a really long time to wait.

There is something to be said about a couple that shows its true colors (yes, Cyndi Lauper had a guest-spot during Pride Week) by their commitment, tenderness, sincerity, and loyalty in the face of so many odds, not because they wanted to get it on.

The more I watched As the World Turns, the less I actually wanted them to have sex.

So it came as a quite a shock, when on Monday's episode they rekindled their broken union by... having sex.

Without any warning or hysterics, the show took that unexpected turn and went where no daytime drama—and few primetime shows—has dared: Luke and Noah were shown post-coital, sheets ruffled.

And you know the best part? The person responsible for getting them back together after the fallout from Luke kissing his step-grandfather was his grandmother, the show's matriarch (played by Elizabeth Hubbard for the past 25 years), who was also the most understanding when Luke first came out.

So not only is this not your grandmother's soap, leave it to the grandmother-who-unwittingly-played-a-beard to get the boys back together.

She even delights in sharing their post-sex ice cream sundae.

Henry Seltzer is a homepage editor for The Daily Beast.