This past weekend marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York and, of course, Pride celebrations there and in Toronto, where I had a fantastic weekend until I was apparently food poisoned (the alleged restaurant will remain nameless, though old-school videogamers will know of its legend).

But getting back on the horse and turning back to Stonewall, there were two big events this week that highlighted just how far -- and how little -- gay couple have come since then:  first, a disturbing police attack on a Texas gay bar on that very anniversary and then, on Monday, a lavish cocktail party for LGBT activists at the White House in which Barack Obama reiterated all the campaign promises he's made.

If Obama was Madonna (we can dream, can't we?), this speech was his 'Ray of Light' -- a splendid performance that, had it come a decade earlier, would have been revolutionary in setting the trends rather than following them.  Even straight guy Keith Olbermann was unimpressed:

In the wake of that Texas raid, police officials defended their officers and advised gay people to "take a deep breath" before getting upset.  Sorry sir, but it's far far too late for that (just ask Obama!).  The genie, as they say, is out of the bottle (and she's fabulous!) but what form her spell will take is a topic I leave for tomorrow...

Today's post was going to be light and happy -- and dammit, I'll still give it a shot -- but what else can one say about the sad passing yesterday of 70s glamour icon Farrah Fawcett and then, by day's end, 80s music legend Michael Jackson?

Farrah's place in pop culture history is secure but Jackson's is more problematic, as people argue over his legacy.  Was he a genius?  Was he a pedophile?  Was he both?  While you'll be hearing his 80s classics non-stop this weekend, his 90s output was largely a cry for help:

Despite his towering achievements in pop music, Jackson was largely a tragic figure -- sick with too much fame right from childhood and a survivor of abuse.  It's grimly symbolic that he died on the eve of Pride, since I'm not sure he'd been left with any.  The "King of Pop" title, the grandiose megalomania, the messiah complex and, of course, the ongoing cosmetic plastic surgery -- all of it pointing to a gaping emptiness.

This is the opposite of Pride.  The whole point of Pride, one we sometimes have to strain to see past all the beer tents, perfect abs and designer sunglasses, is to love and accept whoever and whatever you are.

Divine understood that.  John Waters' favourite drag icon was going to kick off my original plan for today -- a series of Pride carols, the songs we play every year on our high holy holiday.  Here she comes:

It seems no one made a video for Carl Bean's classic but, as you give this Motown classic a spin, picture Michael Jackson at his most flamboyant.  We don't know what his sexuality was but this is a song he should've sung regardless:

Because ultimately, it all boils down to one simple statement:

So Happy Pride everybody!  Be good to yourselves and each other.  I leave you with out singer Jay Brannan's tribute to the King of Pop and then my own favourite Pride anthem -- a dream of a place I hope Michael has now found:

The new "Transformers" movie is a hit but star Megan Fox has upset the Canadian Free Press with her "mean-spirited" attack on the "white trash, hillbilly, anti-gay, super bible-beating people of Middle America."  Yikes, this might become a Perez-Hilton-sized scandal unless I defuse it here with a simple photo:

Ms. Fox, you see, has breasts.  Nice ones, in fact, and -- while I'm no anthropologist -- I have learned that conservative straight men really, really like them. 

Consider Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who abandoned his family and his job to spend days with his Argentinian girlfriend and (as described in his embarrassingly leaked email) her magnificent pair: 

"I love the curves of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of night’s light..."

Sexytime!!!  Now why is everyone making fun of this man who played hooky?  Because, once again, while it's none of our business if Sanford cheats on his wife, it is when he then covers for it by attacking Bill Clinton and voting against the civil rights of gay people:

Sex sells.  You know it, I know it, even Bill O'Reilly knows it, but what kills me is that conservatives still accuse gay people of debasing the culture while one of their beloved blue-chip-stock corporations and international purveyor of processed-meat sandwiches unloads an ad like this:

Now if you love camp like I do, this ad is gloriously tacky but you can't blame homosexuals for it (for one thing, that font is awful!) -- no, this is clearly the work of corporate straight guys who obviously and rightly like blowjobs even more than breasts.  But where's the moral outrage now?  Isn't Burger King cheapening the sanctity of traditional family dinners? 

No, you can't get people riled up about gay perverts while you're selling them BK BJs -- the public sees the disconnect.

And while the family values people like Sanford hate us, their corporate bretheren loooove our money!  After all, even in the glow of Megan Fox's headlights, the "Transformers" people still gave us what we like:

It's not just about chocolate & peanut butter anymore!  Examples include:

Sidney Crosby & the Stanley Cup:

The gay marriage debate & the wonder of flowcharts!

Dan Savage & righteous indignation

Dolce & Gabbana (already a great pair) & the wild west:

Pierre Fitch & photographer Joe Oppedisano:

Cher & Christina Aguilera in a musical

Creatures of the night &...umm...creatures of the night:

Pride celebrations & friendly Liberals (no, they do NOT automatically go together!)

Pride celebrations & comic books

There's a lot to celebrate this month -- go make a great new pairing of your own!

It seems everyone's had a shot at Perez Hilton this past day, following his scuffle with The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, his Twittering for help and his subsequent hissy fit on his website.  If a straight man punches a gay man for calling him a "faggot," is it a hate crime?

None of this should matter much to anyone else -- much less make national news -- but Hilton is one of the most famous gay men in North America.  He's very visible -- even more so when, well, black-eyed.  Like it or not, when he speaks, people pay attention -- even the ones with cum dribbling out of their mouths.

And visibility is what's it about. I'll take insufferable Perez any day over the people who wish he'd be silent, people like US politician John Eichelberger, who says gay people don't need equal rights because those in charge "allow them to exist."  Here's the gory details: