Why Obama Picked Rick

For a good ten minutes, I puzzled over why President-elect Barack Obama would select an anti-gay conservative preacher, Rick Warrant, to give his invocation speech. Several reasons occurred to me.

Perhaps Obama wanted to distance himself from Bill Clinton, who began his presidency on a pro-gay note by loosening restrictions on gays in the military. That didn’t turn out well for Clinton, so Obama may be taking a different tack. Maybe Obama enjoyed the controversy over his last pastor, Jeremiah Wright, so much that he wanted another brouhaha. After all, that contretemps led Obama to give a moving and well-regarded speech on race in America; maybe we’ll get a gay rights speech this time. Or possibly the soon-to-be President wanted to prove that he could pander to conservatives as well as John McCain. Watch out: If Biden gets tired of the vice-presidency, maybe Sarah Palin will get her chance after all.

As awful as these possibilities are, I soon realized that there was a more logical explanation: Obama, Warren, and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich must have crafted a three-way deal! It’s simple, really:

(1) Blago has obviously promised Obama that he’ll appoint whoever Obama wants as Senator, if there’s anyone left who will accept an appointment from the tainted Governor…

(2) Obama, in turn, selected Warren to give the invocation…

(3) … and Warren, for his part, will give Blagojevich a no-show job at his Orange County mega-church. Blago gets to collect his loot, live in Southern California, and take sanctuary in the church if the feds try to haul him off to prison.

This is a smart strategy. It’s sophisticated and elegant, and it sure keeps everyone off balance, liberals and conservatives alike. No elementary quid pro quo for this Administration. Instead, welcome to the era of quid pro quo pro quid. Now that’s change we can believe in.

Video Games with Gay Content

If you’re a gay gamer (a gaymer), you might have wished from time to time to find a game or two with some gay/lesbian content. Lucky for you, someone has prepared a list of such games. That someone is a conservative, and evidently homophobic, investment advisory firm, but no matter—we appreciate the list.

The games they don’t like, but you might, for glbt reasons, are: “Army of Two,” “Bully,” “Fable 2,” “Grand Theft Auto IV,” “Mass Effect,” “Saints Row 2,” various “Sims 2” games, and “Valkyria Chronicles.” Of course, shop wisely—some of these may not be gay enough for your taste (and it’s even possible you might not like them for other reasons).

Rainbow Flags at Comic-Con

Note: This post is off topic.

The typical comic book cover features an assortment of superheroes and civilians, but one thing’s almost a constant: the guys are buffed and the women curvaceous (the aliens are too, in a way, unless they’re blobs). Add to that a rainbow of colors, and it’s obvious why comic book covers are so appealing.

But about those colors: sometimes they actually are a rainbow. That was certainly true at the Comic-Con 2008 booth of Prism Comics, a non-profit, all-volunteer group that promotes visibility for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered comic content and creators. The group’s been around since 2003, and although it sounds like a comic book publisher itself, it’s actually an educational and networking group – though they do published an informative annual guide to gay comics.

I wish I could tell you I sat down for an interview with two of the group’s leaders, but actually, we stood. With an estimated 125,000 attendees, there weren’t many places to sit in the exhibit hall. So, as people streamed by, occasionally photographing Board member Ted Abenheim (who was in costume), I chatted with Ted and president Roger Klorese, juggling my notebook, briefcase, and a bit of swag.

Although Prism’s “only” five years old, it’s an outgrowth of a group founded about 20 years ago, at the time of the first Comic-Con panel on gays and comics. The Comic-Con management has been supportive ever since, I learned, and this year there were four panels on glbt subjects, as well as a mixer, a party, and also a dinner organized by a Prism supporter, Aman Chaudhary.

As you might expect, Prism focuses some of its efforts on major players in the industry: DC and Marvel Comics, of course, and also Diamond Comics, the biggest distributor. Ted and Roger told me that Prism has good relations with these companies – you might say Diamond is a gay’s best friend – though the group is less connected to another key player, Dark Horse.

Among the group’s other programs are an annual award for queer comics and even a grant program for queer projects. The overall motivation for these efforts: glbt creators were “looking for a home,” said Roger. Adds Ted, “we want to let fans and retailers – everyone – know we’re there.” All in all, worthy goals and a great set of programs. Check out their website, and drop by their booth next Comic-Con.