Pride Toronto Reverses Ruling Banning Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, American Family Association President Says Permitting Will Phillips To Serve As Pride Grand Marshall Akin To Child Abuse, Self-Hating And Suddenly Outed Lutheran Pastor Takes Vacation, Jake Gyllenhaal, Andy Roddick Rear View

Late Wednesday Pride Toronto reversed a decision to ban the phrase “Israeli Apartheid” from any and all Pride endorsed events, in effect banning the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, and will now request that each participant read, sign, and obey the City of Toronto’s Declaration of a Non-Discrimination Policy. Pride Toronto’s earlier ruling seemed contingent on threats made by the city and certain sponsors to withdraw funding and participation if the militant political group was not prohibited from marching the parade. Several purported prominent community honourees returned their Pride awards in protest, including the predictable bore Jane Farrow, who said that Pride Toronto “had hard decisions to make. They reviewed the reaction. They revisited their decision and they made a better decision. That’s called good leadership, that’s not backing down.” Others, like Avi Benlolo, the president of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies, offered a differing opinion. “We feel that Pride Toronto is no longer a representative of gay rights, but has now been unfortunately hijacked and become a vehicle for anti-Israel bashing and agitation,” he said.

Lunatic Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, coordinated an en mass e-mail protest against the Northwest Arkansas Pride celebrations, over three hundred e-mails sent to Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan asking that he withdraw the city’s support for the parade and other Pride events, the form letter reading “I am shocked to learn that the city of Fayetteville is issuing a proclamation in support of the homosexual activist group, Northwest Arkansas Pride.” Most the e-mails were sent from non-city residents. Wildmon meanwhile said that permitting 10 year old Will Phillips to serve as parade Grand Marshall was tantamount to child abuse. “It’s shameful that adults would abuse a brain-washed child in this way. He’s obviously just parroting the nonsense he’s been told by manipulative adults,” adding that the parade should be cancelled because “there is nothing about homosexual conduct to be proud of, and much to be ashamed of.”

Anti-gay Lutheran Pastor Tom Brock, who is, surprise, gay, has taken a leave of absence from his Minneapolis church after being outed by Lavender magazine. A reporter, undercover, posed a member of Faith in Action, a support group for men who struggle with same sex attraction. The Church stressed that Brock will return to preaching because by attending the group, which in effect believes that gay can be prayed away, he acted in accordance with the teachings of his faith. The story is complicated on two levels. First, any support group by definition functions successfully because of the supposed guarantee of members can remain anonymous, a guarantee that the magazine compromised. Second, and perhaps more importantly, Brock has no business maintaining a charade that is dangerous and does damage to men who believe his word is the word of the God.

Jake Gyllenhaal spotted Wednesday leaving the Beverly Hills office of his doctor; according to his driver Jake’s visits have been more frequent because of some mysterious malady.



Andy Roddick, in action Wednesday at Wimbledon, Roddick winning his first round match over Michael Llodra.