CA AIDS Service Organizations Applaud Easier Access To Truvada For HIV Prevention With HIV-Negative Gay Men

For Immediate Release
Friday, April 18, 2014

Phil Curtis
213.201.1623
pcurtis@apla.org

Gil Diaz
323-993-7604
gdiaz@lagaycenter.org

Anne Donnelly
415.558.8669x208
adonnelly@projectinform.org

California Improves Access to HIV Prevention Pill
Important new tool in fighting AIDS, Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
may be up to 99% effective in preventing new infections

Three leading California AIDS organizations -- AIDS Project Los Angeles, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and Project Inform in San Francisco -- today applauded California’s Medi-Cal program for easing access to a well-established AIDS medication that has been proven to prevent HIV infection in at risk individuals.

The action lifts a requirement that doctors complete an authorization request when prescribing PrEP for HIV negative individuals.  PrEP is the brand drug Truvada, an AIDS drug manufactured by Gilead Sciences in Foster City, CA.  The action is effective immediately and will be published in Medi-Cal’s June Provider Bulletin.

Many in the HIV/AIDS community consider PrEP a groundbreaking HIV prevention tool.  The authorization request is considered an obstacle for both doctors and patients. With Medi-Cal’s action, doctors will now be able to prescribe the drug for men and women who test HIV negative and indicate that they are “at risk” of infection through HIV exposure.

“The Medi-Cal ruling is a game changer in HIV prevention,” said AIDS Project Los Angeles Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. “Appropriate access to PrEP through Medi-Cal provides us with another intervention – along with safer sex and condom use – to reduce the number of new HIV infections.”

“Medi-Cal’s action also brings an element of health equity to the program’s low-income beneficiaries,” Thompson said. “Private insurance plans have been covering PrEP for some time, often without prior authorization.”

"Project Inform and other organizations working directly with people at risk of acquiring HIV have conjectured that the slow uptake of PrEP may be more attributable to clinicians' reluctance to provide sexual health services of this type than to patients' lack of knowledge of PrEP or willingness to take it,” said Project Inform’s Executive Director Dana Van Gorder. “Lifting the TAR removes a potential obstacle that may have contributed to providers’ reluctance to prescribe PrEP."

Research modeling shows Truvada may be up to 99 percent effective in preventing new infections, depending on adherence and whether the drug is used in conjunction with safer sex counseling, provision of condoms and other prevention services.

“By making it easier for people at-risk of HIV infection to get access to medicine that has been proven to prevent HIV infection, California has set an important precedent for the rest of the nation,” said L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Chief of Staff Darrel Cummings. “This collaboration between Medi-Cal and community advocates will move California closer to the comprehensive response that is needed to help end the HIV epidemic.”

The policy change resulted from discussions with Medi-Cal’s Pharmacy Policy Branch Chief, Mike Wofford, his staff and representatives from APLA, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and Project Inform. The discussions focused on provider knowledge of PrEP, possible side effects associated with long-term use of Truvada, and community acceptance of the intervention.

Previously, Medi-Cal patients asking for Truvada could have been asked to meet several conditions outlined in the TAR for “high risk” individuals. Some of these conditions could have required the provision of condoms and monthly HIV testing – not necessarily real world conditions.

“There is a reason the AIDS community is talking about ending the epidemic,” Thompson said.  “We have three successful medical interventions to reduce new infections, including PrEP. What we need now is broad community and provider education on these interventions to increase acceptance and utilization.”

The three interventions include: PrEP for at risk HIV negative individuals, post-exposure prophylaxis or PEP for people who know or suspect they have been exposed to HIV, and HIV anti-retroviral treatment as prevention (TasP) for those living with HIV (HIV/AIDS drugs can bring viral load -- the amount of virus in the body -- down to undetectable levels in people who are HIV positive, reducing the likelihood that they will be able to transmit the virus to sexual partners).

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2014 MONTE CARLO: Ferrer Hands Nadal A Rare Clay Defeat!

David Ferrer scored a stunning upset at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters today when he beat 8-time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets 7-6(1) 6-4 in the quarterfinals. This was  a surprise because Nadal rarely loses on clay, and defeated Ferrer in the men's final of Roland Garros last year. Nadal had lead their head-to-head 21-5 and had not lost on clay to Ferrer since 2004.

Nadal had won the ATP Monte Carlo Masters an unprecedented 8 consecutive years (2005-2012) but lost in the final to Novak Djokovic last year.

The semifinals will be Roger Federer versus Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka versus David Ferrer. Federer leads Djokovic 17-16 in their overall head-to-head but the two are tied 3-all in their clay court matches. My prediction would be a Djokovic-Ferrer final, but I would not be surprised to see a Djokovic-Wawrinka final instead, since I imagine his win over Nadal was very emotional for Ferrer. An All-Swiss final would be my druthers!

POLL: Is Obama "Black" Or "Mixed-Race"? Majority Of Americans Pick The Latter...

A new poll from the Pew Research Center called "The Next America" dives deep into the future demographics of America and reveals how American's views on race an racial identity have changed and are continuing to change.

For example, a majority of respondents (52%) to a poll when asked about the racial identity of President Barack Obama in 2009 said that they think of him as "Mostly Mixed Race" while only 27% said they thought of him as "Mostly Black."

Notably, these results differed by the racial identification of the respondents. Black people said that Obama was Black by the rate of 55% to 34% who said he was mixed. The group that was the least likely to call Obama "Black" was Hispanics!

The report also shows what America will look like in coming decades, with the majority of Americans expected to be from non-White racial groups around 2040.

What do you think, is the President Black or Mixed-Race? Is there some reason he can't be both? (That would be my answer.)

Hat/tip to Huffington Post Politics

QUEER QUOTE: New Yorker Reveals Why Obama Endorsed Marriage Equality In May 2012

The New Yorker has an interesting blog post up about Jo Becker' new book, Forcing the Spring: Inside the Fight for Marriage Equality which is a behind-the-scenes account of the fight for marriage equality in California from 2009-2013 by the superlawyer team of Ted Olson and David Boies.

There are some interesting quotes from principal players like Michelle Obama, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. In fact, more is reveealed about the role that Ken Mehlman, Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign manager, played in crafting the president's words when Barack Obama endorsed marriage equality in may 2012. This excerpt is today's Queer Quote:

Becker makes it clear that both Obama and his team were deeply conflicted about whether he should announce his support for gay marriage before the 2012 election, to the point where its unresolved, internal debate had resulted in a kind of paralysis. “His political advisers were worried that his endorsement could splinter the coalition needed to win a second term,” Becker writes. In the excerpt, Chad Griffin, the head of a group fighting Prop. 8, recounts a conversation that he had with First Lady Michelle Obama, during the summer of 2011: “Her message, he told his team, was clear: ‘Hang in there with us, and we’ll be with you after the election.’” 

Even though Axelrod says that Obama “has never been comfortable” opposing same-sex marriage, it was not until Biden made some unscripted remarks in support of gay marriage on “Meet the Press,” in early May, 2012, that the President decided that he could no longer stay quiet, no longer occupy a permanent middle ground. His perpetual state of evolution on the issue was an untenable construct that he had maintained perhaps longer than was politically prudent. Biden’s surprise TV remarks were inspired by an emotional question-and-answer exchange that Biden had at an event in Los Angeles, at the home of a gay couple with two children, several days before the interview. Afterward, according to Becker, Valerie Jarrett was furious—even though she supported the President’s new position—and accused Biden of being disloyal for upstaging the President. 

But for Michelle Obama, Becker writes, the whole Biden incident was a “blessing in disguise”: she recounts to aides that she told her husband, “Enjoy the day,” just before his interview with Roberts. “You are free.” 

The President didn’t see it exactly that way, and was careful to couch his views in personal terms—as he has been advised to do by none other than Ken Mehlman, the former Republican National Committee Chairman and President George W. Bush’s political director, who was also working on the Prop. 8 case after having come out as gay. Obama ended up giving what Becker calls a “carefully calibrated and incremental endorsement,” saying in the interview: “I continue to believe that this is an issue that is going to be worked out at the local level, because historically this has not been a federal issue, what’s recognized as a marriage.” While the President’s statement proved hugely beneficial to the marriage-equality movement generally, his caveat ended up being a central element in the brief filed by the supporters of Prop. 8: their point was that even the President of the United States believed that people of good will could feel differently about same-sex marriage—that is, that it was not a simple matter of anti-gay discrimination—and that it was a state question, rather than a federal one.

The piece notes that when the President endorsed marriage equality back in May 2012 there were only 6 states where marriage equality was legal at the time and now there are 17 with 5 states with marriage equality bans that have been struck down by federal judges on hold bending appeals.

Game of Thrones (S4E02) : "The Lion and the Rose"

Episode 2 of Season 4 of Game of Thrones is titled "The Lion and The Rose." It aired last Sunday and happily I was able to see it live, and even warned my readers that you might want to tune in as well. Similar to "The Rains of Castamere" (S3E09) from last season, which also featured an important wedding, "The Lion and the Rose" is one of the most memorable scenes in the entire series of books and becomes another example of must-see television, in fact some of the most gripping and affecting television scenes in living memory.

Many others observers have already posted their thoughts on this episode, with most expressing delight at what transpired. Generally, I have been using these posts to describe my reactions to the show and have been doing so in a way that is not spoiler free so I see no reason to start now!

"The Lion and the Rose" features the event fans of the book call "The Purple Wedding," which is something of a play on  the phrase "The Red Wedding," which is what the slaughter of the Starks is known as in the books. At the Purple Wedding, King Joffrey Baratheon, one of the key villains in the story is dispatched at his own wedding, clearly poisoned by persons unknown.

Recap
S4E02 begins with a horrendous scene where Ramsay is literally treating a woman as prey by hunting her with vicious, ravenous dogs with Reek (formerly Theon) in tow. We also get to spend
time with Bran, the Reeds and Hodor. Bran's scene is especially enlightening because we see that as soon as he touches a weirwood he has visions of the past, the future and the present (events happening very far away). Additionally, there were important scenes between Shae and Tyrion (where he finally was forced to humiliate the woman he loved in order to save her life), Cersei and Brienne (where in a few short seconds Cersei was able to get Brienne to realize that her feelings towards Jaime may be more than simply chivalrous) and Loras and Jaime (who had a very amusing pissing match over Cersei, whom one of them is engaged to marry but does not love while the other loves but is unable to marry). The other events that happened in this episode occurred at Dragonstone, where Stannis Baratheon (one of the Five Kings in the original "War of the Five Kings" from Seasons 1-3 of the show) is going along with Lady Melissandre's acts of burning people t the stake if they fail to renounce their religious beliefs in the seven gods instead of following her Lord of Light, R'hllor.

The Lion and the Rose refers to the sigils (symbols) of the great Houses being joined together by the marriage of Joffrey Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell. The Lannister sigil is a Golden Lion (on red background) and the Tyrell sigil is a Golden Rose (on a green background).

Highlights
There were many highlights of this episode

• Ding Dong The Witch King Is Dead! Joffrey's death scene was astonishing. For people who had not read the books and did not see it coming it must have been a horrendous (albeit welcome) surprise to witness King Joffrey's demise, on his wedding day no less.
• Family Drama. The tension between Joffrey and his uncle Tyrion was exquisite and excruciating at the same time. The Lannisters are one of the most dysfunctional families of all time. It is no surprise that as soon as Cersei sees her son take his last breath in her arms, she immediately turns her grief and rage towards the person she most hates in the world, who happens to be her brother Tyrion.
• Spare No Quarter. The production design was truly impressive. After all, what is more elaborate than a royal wedding? The actual wedding took place in the show's greatest set: the Sept of Baelor and the scale of the post wedding festivities was truly awe-inspiring.

Lowlights
Nothing is perfect; even this classic episode had some  flaws.  The only one I think worth mentioning is:

• It Reeks. The entire thread between Ramsay and Reek/Theon is entirely distasteful. At least it has evolved from straight-up "torture-porn" from Season 3 to merely over-the-top and disgusting

Grade: 10/10 (A).
Overall,  S4E02 was one of the most cathartic episodes of television of all time. After three full seasons  of hating Joffrey Baratheon the audience finally was able to see him get his comeuppance and it was well worth it!

India High Court Recognizes Third Gender (Neither Male Nor Female)

Good news from India. A few months after the High Court upheld that country's archaic sodomy law, the court has now ruled that transgender citizens of India must be recognized as a separate third gender.

Reuters reports:

"Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue," the Supreme Court's two-judge bench said in its ruling. 

"Transgenders are also citizens of India. The spirit of the constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste, religion or gender."
A person who is transgender does not identify with the gender stated on their birth certificate. 

The court ruling - which came after hearing a petition filed by a group of transgenders demanding equal rights - recognized the community as a marginalized group and directed authorities to implement policies to improve their socio-economic status. 

The petitioners' lawyers said that this would mean that all identity documents, including a birth certificate, passport and driving license would recognize the third gender, along with male and female. 

The government will also have to allocate a certain percentage of public sector jobs, seats in schools and colleges to third gender applicants, said lawyer Sanjeev Bhatnagar. 

Due to their lack of access to jobs and education, many male-to-female transgenders - also known as "hijras" - are forced to work as sex workers or move around in organized groups begging or demanding money.

As Joe.My.God points out, India is the third country, after Nepal (2009) and Bangladesh (2013). Germany has become the first European country to recognize "undetermined" as the gender of new born children, but this policy is more about intersexuals than transgender individuals.

QUEER QUOTE: VA AG Files Brief Arguing His State's Marriage Law Is Unconstitutional

The Democratic Attorney General of Virginia, Mark Herring, has made good on his statement that he did not think that his state's marriage law could survive constitutional scrutiny has filed a brief before a federal appellate court articulating this argument in no uncertain terms.

The following excerpt from the state's brief in Bostic v. Rainey filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is today's Queer Quote:

The ban cannot satisfy the rational-basis test, let alone more demanding scrutiny. McQuigg’s claim that the purpose of marriage is to channel couples into a procreative relationship for the benefit of children is belied by controlling Supreme Court authority that marriage protects those choosing not to procreate and those who are unable to. And the Clerks’ argument fails the rational-basis test because it is irrational to think that prohibiting gay people from marrying will make heterosexual couples more like to marry and have children.  

The Clerks’ position cannot be reconciled with the Supreme Court’s three decisions to date protecting the rights of gay people. Those decisions, among others, also show why the Supreme Court’s one-sentence dismissal in Baker v. Nelson, in 1972, cannot be read to trivialize the issue presented here.  

The Clerk’s slippery-slope arguments are the same ones used to oppose interracial marriage in 1967; they are no more persuasive today than then. And just as in 1967, the Court should not wait to protect the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights simply because political trends suggest that the public increasingly supports marriage equality.

Hat/tip to Equality on Trial 

My Favorite Sci-Fi Books "The Expanse" Will Become a SyFy TV Series!

Amazing news this week about a future television show! My favorite science fiction series is The Expanse by James S.A. Corey. He is the author responsible for the books Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War and Abaddon's Gate. The fourth book in the series, called Cibola Burn, comes out
this June.

The books are hard-core space opera thrillers with aliens, battles between vehicles in space, humans living in varying gravities throughout the solar system. One review of the first book said "As close as you'll get to a Hollywood blockbuster in book form" so it is interesting that word comes this week that SyFy has announced that it is ordering a  full10-episode first season (not just a pilot) of a television adaptation of The Expanse.

Entertainment Weekly reports:

Syfy has given a direct-to-series order to an exciting-sounding new project based on an acclaimed sci-fi book series. The cable network has ordered 10 episodes of The Expanse, from Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man) and Alcon Television Group. The project has been described by industry insiders as “Game of Thrones in space” — not so much because of the specifics of the plot, but because it tells a dramatic sprawling grown-up story within a popular fantasy genre that’s based on a respected series of novels.  

The logline: “A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.”

The Expanse is based on a series of books by James S.A. Corey. The most well-known title is probably the first in the series, Leviathan Wakes, which has been praised for reinventing and updating the old-school Star Wars/Firefly-style space opera. Syfy won a bidding war with another content producer to acquire the project. 

Syfy president Dave Howe promised, “The Expanse is epic in scale and scope and promises to be Syfy’s most ambitious series to date. Bringing this coveted book franchise to television with our partners at Alcon and the Sean Daniel Company is a giant win for Syfy, reinforcing our overall strategy to produce bold, provocative and compelling sci-fi fantasy stories. The Expanse joins a killer line-up of high-concept, high quality series, along with recently announced original projects Ascension, 12 Monkeys, the renewal of Helix, and the soon to premiere Dominion.

There's still a lot that needs to go write to make a show that will be as significant as Game of Thrones is for HBO out of The Expanse. The source material is excellent, so if they found people to make an excellent show of Battlestar Galactica, hopefully they can do as good a job here. 

To me it's personally exciting because soon more people will know about these fantastic books, and perhaps space-opera science fiction will get more respect as a cultural product.

Eye Candy: Rodney Razor

Rodney Razor is a 30-year-old bodybuilder from South Bend, Indiana. According to his Model Mayhem profile he is 6 feet all and weighs 195 pounds. He has won multiple professional bodybuilding competitions. He has his own website, RodneyRazor.com and is active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The pictures above were taken by talented photographer Pat Lee

Game Of Thrones Renewed For Season 5 and 6!

Tonight the second episode of Season 4, "The Lion and the Rose" (S4E02) airs on HBO. It should not be missed! But as we're waiting for that to come here comes some even better news: HBO has renewed Game of Thrones for Seasons 5 and 6 after seeing the very healthy ratings of episode 1 (S4E01) "Two Swords" (which I reviewed yesterday).

From the HBO press release:

HBO RENEWS GAME OF THRONES FOR FIFTH AND SIXTH SEASONSSeason Four Debut Scores Highest Viewership Yet            LOS ANGELES, April 8, 2014 – HBO has renewed GAME OF THRONES for a fifth and sixth season, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.“GAME OF THRONES is a phenomenon like no other,” noted Lombardo. “David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with their talented collaborators, continue to surpass themselves, and we look forward to more of their dazzling storytelling.” 

   Based on the bestselling fantasy book series by George R.R. Martin, GAME OF THRONES is an epic story of treachery and nobility set on the continent of Westeros, where summers and winters can last years, and only the lust for power is eternal. The Emmy^®- and Golden Globe-winning series launched its ten-episode fourth season Sunday, April 6 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, with other episodes debuting subsequent Sundays at the same time. 

Cast regulars for the fourth season of GAME OF THRONES include: Emmy^® and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Charles Dance, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Kit Harington, Diana Rigg, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Alfie Allen, Jerome Flynn, Conleth Hill, John Bradley, Gwendoline Christie, Liam Cunningham, Stephen Dillane, Natalie Dormer, Iain Glen, Kristofer Hivju, Sibel Kekilli, Rose Leslie, Rory McCann, Michael McElhatton, Iwan Rheonand Carice van Houten. 

Among the early critical praise for the fourth season, the Los Angeles Times called GAME OF THRONES “the Best Television Show Ever,” adding that “no other series comes close,” and “television just doesn’t get any better than this,” while Newsday hailed the series as “still TV’s best,” awarding the show an A+. The Hollywood Reporterobserved, “The consistency of excellence in GAME OF THRONES is truly something to behold,” and the San Francisco Chronicle described it as “great and addictive.” 

The season four premiere of GAME OF THRONES on Sunday, April 6 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) was watched by an average of 6.6 million viewers, making it HBO’s most-watched program since the finale of “The Sopranos” in 2007 (11.9 million viewers). The premiere improved 52% over last season’s premiere and 23% over last season’s finale. GAME OF THRONES added an additional 1.6 million viewers from the 11:00 p.m. and1:00 a.m. replays, for a gross audience of 8.2 million viewers for the night. Season three of the series had an average gross audience of 14.4 million viewers per episode. 

Season four credits: The executive producers of GAME OF THRONES are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin; producers, Chris Newman and Greg Spence.

Hat/tip to Winter Is Coming!

WATCH: Trailer for X-Men: Days Of Future Past

The trailer for the latest entry in the X-Men franchise is out. The movie is called X-Men: Days of Fture Past  and one that I am actually interested in seeing, thanks to its stunning cast and the fact it is being directed by Bryan Singer, the openly gay creator of the first two X-Men films.

The movie is released on May 23, 2014!

There Are Only 5 States Whose Marriage Equality Bans Are Not (Currently) Being Challenged In Court

This is an interesting factoid. There are currently only 5 states where bans on same-sex marriage are NOT currently being challenged in court (North dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Georgia, and Montana). There are 17 states that have marriage equality right now. There are 30 states with more than 65 lawsuits (44 of which are federal cases) pending against their bans on same-sex marriage, according to Lambda Legal, reports the Washington Post:

Heterosexual-only marriage is safe in just five states, for now at least.   

Gay marriage is now legal in 17 states and bans are being challenged in 30, according to the latest count from Lambda Legal, a pro-gay marriage organization. (Hawaii and Illinois allow gay marriage, but legal technicalities  to aspects of their laws are still being ironed out in the courts.) The five states with bans on gay marriage that stand unchallenged are: Alaska, Georgia, Montana, North Dakota  and South Dakota.  

The five unchallenged state gay marriage bans may not stand for long. Already, a South Dakota couple has plans to challenge their state ban. And  the Supreme Court could soon weigh in.

It's unlikely the Supreme Court will really weigh in on the marriage equality question before the end of the 2014-15 term, and that's only if one of the appellate cases (the first of which was heard on Thursday in Denver before the 10th U.S. Circuit) rockets to their docket before the end of this year, which certainly is possible.

I think the 5 states that currently do not have marriage equality lawsuits says more about the lack of
organized LGBT infrastructure in those states than whether there are people who would benefit if those bans were also removed.

Game of Thrones (S4E01): "Two Swords"

Episode 1 of Season 4 of Game of Thrones is titled "Two Swords." It aired last Sunday while I was in Washington, D.C. for a business trip so I didn't get to see the episode until Wednesday night and since I was out of town I was extra busy at work for the rest of the week when I returned. So it has taken me this long to blog about my thoughts about the return of my favorite television show for its fourth season. Many others have already posted their thoughts, with this episode universally getting high marks as the best "first" episode of the show's first four seasons. I will endeavor to be more disciplined in blogging my thoughts about the other nine remaining episodes of this season, starting with tomorrow's "The Lion and the Rose."

Recap
S4E01 is titled "Two Swords" and the episode is framed by our view of two swords of great significance to the story. The first sword we see is the destruction of the Stark clan's famous sword "Ice" being melted down for its priceless Valyrian steel by Tywin Lannister, sealing what he thinks is the ultimate victory of The Lion over The Wolf. The last sword we see is Arya Stark regaining her weapon "Needle" after a murderous and bloody fight in a tavern somewhere in the Riverlands with The Hound, who is ostensibly her kidnaper but also appears to be becoming a kind of substitute father figure, or at the very least someone whose behavior she is starting to emulate.

In between these two important scenes, we become reacquainted with most of the major characters in this vast cast, from Cersei and Jaime Lannister (siblings and incestuous lovers), Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Lannister nee Stark, Joffrey Barratheon and his fiancee Margaery Tyrell, her grandmother Lady Olenna Tyrell and Brienne of Tarth. In the North by the Wall we see Jon Snow and his friend Samwell Tarly and the Wildings Ygritte and Tormund Giantsbane with a gathering of cannibalistic mountain dudes called Thenns. Far off on the continent of Essos we see Dany Targaryen with her army of eunuchs and now pony-sized dragons trying to fend off the flirtations of Daario Naharis.

The most important event which happens in this episode is the introduction of a new character, Ser Oberyn Martell, who we learn through some artful exposition masquerading as typical dialogue, is the second son of the King of Highgarden (the Royal Seat of Dorne, one of the seven Kingdoms of Westeros). Oberyn is introduced interviewing potential bedmates for him and his paramour at Littlefinger's whorehouse and his bisexuality is revealed quite matter-of-factly. Another important aspect of Oberyn, his all-consuming hatred of Lannisters, especially Tywin Lannister is also demonstrated in the brothel when he verbally spars and tortures to unnamed Lannisters. The Lannister second son (Tyrion) and the Martell second son (Oberyn) have an important meeting that clarifies how they will relate to each other in the future.

Highlights
There were many highlights of this episode

• Jaime's Got A New Look. Jaime Lannister is beginning to cope with the reality of having his dominant right hand removed, and he has a gold prosthetic attached. However, the highlight is really his new haircut, which makes Nikolai Coster-Waldau look even hotter.
• Oh Oberyn! As people who have read the books know, Oberyn Martell is a very important figure, especially to Tyrion, and it is exciting to see him on stage. It's funny that Bronn (and others) joke about the curious sexual habits of Dornishmen (How many Dornishmen does it take to f*** a goat?) in the same episode we see the Dornish Prince basically buy a male and female whore for his entertainment.
• The Hound Is Hungry. The droll way that Sandor Clegane (The Hound) provokes the idiot in the tavern by telling him that he wants him to bring him a chicken (then two chickens) was scary and funny at the same time. 
• Tywin Is A Bad Daddy. Charles Dance is doing Emmy-award winning work on this show but has yet to be recognized. His last line to Jaime "A one-handed man with no family needs all the help he can get" could be interpreted as a critique of Jaime's curious bachelorhood at age 40 and as a disinheritance.
• There Be Dragons! The special effects on the dragons are incredible. In the short scene we see that they will snap at each other and their "mother" when distracted by food. After all, they are wild animals. But they look incredible.

Lowlights
Not very many low-lights in this episode.  The only one I think worth mentioning is:

• New Daario SameAs The Old Daario. Daario is supposed to be one of the most handsome men on the continent of Essos and incredibly attractive to Dany. Even though they have now re-cast the character, it seems to me that they still have not quite successfully embodied the character as I remember it from the books.

Grade: 8/10 (B).
Overall, I thought S4E01 was pretty good start to Season 4, which may even surpass Season 3 for epic moments that occur in the ongoing adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.

Celebrity Friday: Derrick Gordon Becomes 1st Out Gay NCAA Basketball Player

Derrick Gordon became the first NCAA Division 1 player to come out as an openly gay man this week.

ESPN reports:

Derrick Gordon, a sophomore starter for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team, stepped forward Wednesday as the first openly gay player in Division I men's college basketball, sharing his story with ESPN and Outsports. 

The 22-year-old shooting guard came out to his family, coaches and teammates in just a few days at the beginning of April. That's when he also decided to publicly acknowledge his sexuality. 

"I just didn't want to hide anymore, in any way," Gordon told ESPN. "I didn't want to have to lie or sneak. I've been waiting and watching for the last few months, wondering when a Division I player would come out, and finally I just said, 'Why not me?'"

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

White House Issues Press Advisory on Harvey Milk Forever Stamp

From the White House:

WASHINGTON — The official first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp will take place at the White House May 22.
  Harvey Milk was a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk’s achievements gave hope and confidence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. Milk believed that government should represent all citizens, ensuring equality and providing needed services.
 His remarkable career was tragically cut short nearly a year after he took office, when he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated.In 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
May 22 is Harvey Milk Day in California.The stamp image will be previewed at a later date and a public dedication ceremony will take place in San Francisco May 28. Additional details will be forthcoming.

Hat/tip to Bay Area Reporter 

Openly Gay Robert Garcia Takes Lead In Long Beach Mayoral Election

Municipal elections in Long Beach occurred yesterday and the results were somewhat surprising. The front runner, Bonnie Lowenthal, finished 3rd, missing the run-off. The top candidate was also the youngest, 36-year-old Robert Garcia, who happens to be openly gay. Damon Dunn, who placed second is only two years older, African-American and would be the city's first Black mayor if he wins the run-off.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports on the political earthquake that hit Long beach yesterday:

According to unofficial vote totals, Garcia, the 1st District councilman, had 25.4 percent of the vote, far short of the 50 percent mark required to win outright. Dunn had 22.3 percent. 

In third was Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, who received 19.6 percent of the vote. The result is the first election loss for a Lowenthal since Rep. Alan Lowenthal won election to City Council in 1992. 

Finishing the top five was 6th District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, with 15.5 percent of the vote, and Long Beach City College Trustee Doug Otto, at 13.6 percent. None of the remaining five candidates reached 3 percent.

The run-off will be June 3rd, the date of the statewide primary election. Dunn raised the largest amount of money and appears to be aligned with the city's business interests while Garcia was endorsed by the outgoing Mayor, Bob Foster.

WATCH: New Ad Featuring Mormon Couple Promotes Marriage Equality In Utah

The Utah Unites campaign is starting to air the ad shown above in the Beehive state as part of the campaign to win marriage equality in one of the most conservative states in the country and one in which tthe state's ban on marriage equality has been struck down by a federal judge.

The 10th U.S. Circuit will hear oral arguments in the state's appeal of Kitchen v. Herbert tomorrow.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Davis Cup Semifinals Set: Switzerland v Italy, France v Czech Republic

The big news in the tennis world this weekend was the result of the Davis Cup quarterfinal ties which for the most part proceeded as I predicted when it was announced: Switzerland beat Kazakhstan 3-2 (a close result even though the Swiss team had two Top 5 players and the Kazakh team has no one in the Top 50), Italy (surprisingly) beat Great Britain 3-2, defending champion Czech Republic beat Japan 5-0 and France beat Germany 3-2.

Switzerland will face Italy and France will face the Czech Republic. I predict a Switzerland versus France showdown if Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils remain healthy.

SCOTUS Denies Cert In Important Anti-LGBT Rights Case

Good news out of the United States Supreme Court today! The high court decided not to hear arguments in the case of Elane Photography v. Willock where the New Mexico State Supreme Court had ruled that the denial of photographic services  to a same-sex couple who wanted their commitment ceremony  by a private firm violated the state's anti-discrimination ordinance. The private company who denied the services appealed the unanimous state Supreme Court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying  that being forced to photograph the same-sex commitment ceremony violated their religious beliefs and should trump the public accommodations section of New Mexico's human rights law.

Slate reports and analyzes this case:

"The court has: A) reaffirmed the status quo [the justices still haven't stated that religious objections can be used to override anti-discrimination laws], and B) relieved gay rights activists, who dearly hoped the court would stay away from this case. It's just too messy. By my count, it involves at least four separate issues: Hybrid rights [i.e., free speech rights combined with free exercise rights]; compelled speech; photography-as-speech; and a religious objection to anti-discrimination statutes. It's just too much for one case."

LGBT groups are definitely happy that SCOTUS took a pass on this case, because the question of whether religious freedom can trump anti-discrimination statutes has still not been addressed by the high court. And with the Court currently considering whether corporations have religious freedom exercise
rights which exempt them from Obamacare provisions, this a question people in favor of LGBT equality are not confident would turn out the way we want.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

EYE CANDY: Matt Cook

Matt Cook is a Wilhelmina model, who according to his Facebook page, attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles but now lives in New York City. He has well over 100,000 followers on Instagram. I don't have the usual physical statistics on Matt, except the fact that he is 6'3", wears a size 12.5 size shoe and has 29.5" waist. If any reader know Matt's age, let me know.

Regardless of how old he is, he is a hella phyne!

QUEER QUOTE: Mormon Big Wig Releases Non-Apocalyptic Statement On Marriage Equality

Neil M. Andersen is a member of the hierarchy in the Mormon Church so it is a big deal when he issues  a statement reiterating his religion's opposition to marriage equality which does not have apocalyptic (or homophobic) undertones. At the annual LDC meeting in Salt Lake City, the meme of the Quorum of the 12, the Church's highest body, said:

"While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not. He designated the purpose of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adults, to more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared and nurtured."

Some may quibble with my characterization that today's Queer Quote is not homophobic, but compared to previous statements from Mormon leaders about homosexuality, this is very mild indeed. Previously, another Quorum of the 12 Member said that human laws can not "make moral what God has declared immoral."

The reason why this statement is a step forward is because it doesn't claim that the church's position on marriage or morality has to be the state's position on those issue for everyone. So, in that way,it is a step forward to acknowledging they have lost the cultural war and will only be making policy for adherents, not the rest of us. That's a good thing!

Season 4 of Game Of Thrones Is Tonight!

Season 4 of HBO's Game of Thrones, my favorite television show returns to the airwaves tonight! Unfortunately, I am on a business trip so away from my home screen, but thanks to the technological miracle of HBOGO, I may be able to see the first episode on my laptop and post my reactions in the next few days. 

As I did for Season 3, I intend to blog every episode of Season 4. What are YOU looking forward to?

Arrived In DC with cherry blossoms near peak

These are actually magnolia trees at Reagan National Airport, but they get the point across. Spring in DC is a bit brisk. Glad I brought my coat.

10th U.S. Circuit Panel Hears Marriage Equality Oral Argument Next Week

Next week, oral arguments before a 3-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the marriage equality case of Kitchen v Herbert will occur, starting on Thursday April 10th. Exactly one week later, the 10th Circuit (a different 3-judge panel) will hear the appeal of the federal district court ruling that struck down Oklahoma's ban on marriage equality. This is the first hearing of the nine pending cases being heard before five, count 'em five federal appellate courts on marriage equality in the next few weeks.

HRC summarizes:

The Tenth Circuit is one of five federal appeals courts that will preside over nine marriage equality cases in the coming weeks and months. Other cases that will go before circuit courts include: Sevcik v. Sandoval of Nevada in the Ninth Circuit, DeLeon v. Perry out of Texas in the Fifth Circuit, Bostic v. Rainey of Virginia out of the Fourth Circuit, and four cases out of the Sixth Circuit - Tanco v. Haslam of Tennessee, Bourke vs. Beshear of Kentucky, Obergefell v. Kasich of Ohio, and DeBoer v. Snyder of Michigan. The Sixth Circuit holds the distinction of being the only federal appeals court to date that will consider marriage cases from all states within its jurisdiction.

The oral argument next week is important because it is the first time an appellate court is hearing a marriage equality case following last year's Supreme Court case in Windsor.

Celebrity Friday: British Olympian Swimmer Tom Daley Comes Out As Gay

As many people predicted when Tom Daley came out as bisexual last year, the 19-year-old British Olympian swimmer has recently revealed that he is actually gay.

Pink News reports:

Five months after claiming he still fancied girls, Tom Daley says he’s a gay man now. 

Speaking on ITV2′s Celebrity Juice the 19-year-old Olympic medalist also said his relationship with Oscar winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, 39, is “all good”.

This is not to say that there are not people who are actually bisexual, because I am convinced such people exist. Sexual orientation is a fluid phenomenon that exists on a spectrum. This does NOT mean that it a malleable aspect of one's identity or that being gay is  "choice." The only choice is whether people will acknowledge (to themselves, and to others) that they are gay.

Black Boy Gets Accepted To Every Ivy League School!

This is a great story that I hope gets more coverage! It's college acceptance time and one kid from Long Island got accepted to every single member of the Ivy League: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, University of Penn, Dartmouth and Brown. His name is Kwasi Enin and he is the 17-year-old son of immigrants from the African country of Ghana. Yes, people, this smart kid is black!

CBS reports:

Kwasi Enin has until May 1 to decide on a school. He said he is leaning toward Yale, where he will likely study the medical field – specifically to become a cardiologist. 

“I’m trying to major in either biology, neuroscience or, if I go to Yale, biomedical engineering,” he said.  

With that said, Enin does admit to having a guilty pleasure.

“Video games,” he said. 

For someone to accomplish the all but unattainable at 17 years old, Enin hopes to continue a strict regimen – with a possible future of changing the world as Dr. Kwasi Enin.

So there ya go, sometimes there are good news stories in the news!

2014 CHARLESTON: Serena Upset By World #78 Cepelova

Just a few days after winning her 7th title in her "hometown tournament" at the Sony Open, Serena Williams suffered a shock loss to World #78 Jana Cepelova in the 2nd round (her first match) at the 2014 Family Circle Cup. Despite being the 2-time defending champion, Serena lost 4-6 4-6 (and initially trailed 0-5 in the first set before rallying) and never looked herself against an opponent she had never played before. It was her first loss on clay in 28 matches, as she is also the defending Roland Garros champion.

Sports Illustrated reports

Williams, the two-time defending champion, chalked up her poor form to the cumulative effect of two incredible years of nearly nonstop play. Since the start of 2012, Williams has played 149 matches and won 20 titles, including 12 in the last 12 months. That’s an unprecedented amount of play for the 32-year-old Williams, who was known for keeping a fairly limited schedule in her younger years, but increased her workload after she started working with coach Patrick Mouratoglou following the French Open loss two years ago. 

“I’m really just dead,” Williams said. “I need some weeks off where I don’t think about tennis and kind of regroup. I’ve had a long couple of years, and I’m really a little fatigued.”

Let's hope Serena takes some time off and come back refreshed for the Madrid-Rome swing lead-up to Paris!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Mississippi Adds "In God We Trust" To State Seal

The Mississippi state legislature passed a measure late Tuesday that proponents refer to as a "religious freedom restoration act" but that among other things, would add the words "In God We Trust" to the State Seal and clarify that "sincerely held religious belief " can trump non-discrimination laws, the same kind of law that Governor Jan Brewer vetoed earlier this year.

The ACLU still opposes the legislation:

“Even though the Mississippi legislature removed some of the egregious language from Arizona’s infamous SB 1062, we are disappointed that it passed this unnecessary law and ignored the national, public outcry against laws of this nature,” said Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel with the ACLU.

Why is it that people who are religious believe they need to have "special rights" that people who do not believe in God do not have?

Tennis Tuesday: Federer Back To World #4, Murray Down To #8

The new ATP rankings have continued good news for Roger Federer, who rejoined the Top 4 even though he lost in the quarterfinals of the Miami masters 1000 tournament to Kei Nishikori, who rose to #18. Tomas Berdych is up to a career-high World #5 and John Isner is up to World #9 now that Richard Gasquet has fallen out of the Top 10. Milos Raonic is now in the Top 10 and close behind him is Grigor Dimitrov at World #15. Raonic, Dimitrov and Nishikori are all part of the next generation of tennis players who are expected to dominate in the next 3-5 years after the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era ends. Andy Murray falls to World #8 in the latest ratings.

On the women's side Maria Sharapova falls to #9 and has a lot of points to defend in the upcoming clay court season. My two favorite lefties, Petra Kvitova and Angie Kerber rose 2 spots each to World #6 and #7 respectively. Amazingly, Vika Azarenka is still at World #4 despite an injury which would have her out for a few more weeks.

GRAPHIC: LGBT Workplace Equality Across The United States

The map of where state law protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is shown in the above graphic provided by Lambda Legal.

All government employees are protected by the U.S. Constitution against irrational discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, some measure of protection already exists under Title VII based on gender, which has been held to include gender identity and expression. The U.s. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several courts have interpreted Title VII to protect transgender employees, and the EEOC has interpreted Title VII to cover sexual orientation discrimination. The Supreme Court has held that the EEOC's interpretation of Title VII are entitled to "great deference."

Maryland will be joining the states that have gender identity discrimination in a few days when Governor Martin O'Malley signs SB 212 into law. The measure passed the Maryland legislature last week and waits the Governor's signature.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God