"I don't know if he's gay or not, but I admit I did say if he's not gay he spends an awful lot of time in the gym. I don't know a lot of straight guys who go to the gym and parade around with their shirts off."Barney Frank shares his impressions on Aaron Schock. And there may be something to thatwe do love a parade!
As a proud Bostonian, I have followed the fracas between the organizers of our Saint Patrick's Day Parade and various gay groups for many years. It wasn't until I sat down to research this story that I realized this issue has been dragging on for more than 20 years. So much time, money and effort has been spent fighting a group of people who simply want to march in a parade. Yes, Boston may be a very progressive cityit's the birthplace of gay marriage in the United States, to say nothing of statewide health care ( under a Republican governor ), but it's also a city set in its ways with traditions that people hold onto with a death grip.
The parade, which the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council organized, fought the inclusion of gay groups, feeling their presence would politicize an event designed to be solely celebratory. When this first arose in 1995, the mayor of Bostonwho usually walked in the paradeboycotted it. The fight went all the way to the Supreme Courta fight the organizers actually won. But it was a hollow victory. No Boston mayor has participated since ... until this year.
For the first time, two gay groups ( Boston Pride and OutVets ) took their places amongst roughly 100 other organizations. While OutVets had been invited in the past, Boston Pride's participation was an error. The parade organizers thought they were a part of Boston Strong, and didn't know it was a gay-pride group. But it was too late to rescind the invitation. Alas, the day was not without controversy. Before the parade, the group passed inspection, which included their two allowed rainbow banners featuring a pot of gold and leprechaunsbecause who doesn't like leprechauns? Unfortunately, about a dozen members of the contingency allegedly spontaneously brandished "rainbow umbrellas" during the paradedespite the fact that it wasn't raining and the parade rules state that umbrellas are not allowed. This may have ruined it for future yearsto say nothing of seven years' bad luck!
Speaking of scandals, the boys at Dolce & Gabbana sure stepped into it, didn't they? It all started when Stefano Gabbana told Panorama magazine, "No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed." Domenico Dolce spoke out specifically against artificial insemination and surrogates, calling the result "synthetic children". In fairness, the interview was in a Spanish language magazine, and I'm sure the men were speaking in Italian, and I'm translating it into English. But it should be noted that these comments are not much different than things the designers have been saying for over a decade.
Andy Cohen announced on Watch What Happens Live that he was auctioning off his favorite suit ( size 40R ) and donating the proceeds to the Family Equality Council, which supports LGBT Families. "Even though I love this suit, it wouldn't be fun for me to wear it again," he said. "But it will be so much fun for me to have you wear it, knowing we were able to support an amazing cause while also screwing Dolce & Gabbana out of at least one sale." Bravo.
Speaking of Andy Cohen, last week he had Anderson Cooper on his show and they played a little game where Anderson was blindfolded ( not his first time, I'm sure ) and had to guess certain locations based on vocal clues. In explaining the game, Cohen quipped, "We're about to send him around the world. Maybe he'll go to 'The Land of 10,000 Bottoms'!" While I'm looking that up in my atlas, you can check out the video on BillyMasters.com .
I cannot take full credit for Aaron Schock resigning. Exactly what prompted the 33-year-old Republican to leave the House of Representatives is still a mysterybut one that I expect will be solved soon. Meghan McCain says that Schock's downfall was "ultimately flaming out"truer words were never spoken. Resigning must have been a last-minute decision. Just last week, he was accused of spending $5K on a replica of President Obama's podium, which is known as "The Falcon."
This adds to the previous scandals about his Downton Abbey office, taking his "personal photographer" on official trips, to say nothing of lingering questions about his sexuality and his penchant for quoting Taylor Swift lyrics. Aaron's dad, Dr. Schock, said, "Aaron wears stylish clothing and yet he's not gay ... and he's not married and he's not running around with women. Everyone's throwing up their arms because they can't figure out Aaron." Oh, I think we can. Eclipsing the other issues are allegations of sketchy real-estate deals with supporters. The FBI has launched an investigation and plans to bring him before a grand jury. Dr. Schock was prophetic when he summed it up this way: "Two years from now he'll be successful, if he's not in jail."
In some sad news, Liza Minnelli is back in rehab. Her representative said, "Liza has valiantly battled substance abuse over the years and whenever she has needed to seek treatment, she has done so. She is currently making excellent progress at an undisclosed facility." On the positive side, she's been in rehab so many times, her next stay is free!
When Aaron Schock is in any way connected with Falcon, it's time to end yet another column. Before ending, I want to acknowledge the passing of Jack E. Jett and Cashetta. Jett started out as a male model and later segued into working with various celebrities. ( I met him through Belinda Carlisle. ) He eventually carved out a niche for himself in the entertainment industry and was a pioneer as one of the first openly gay hosts on TV and, more recently, radio.
Cashetta ( aka Scott Weston ) was a larger-than-life drag performer who sang and even did magic. Over the past two years, she made a huge changeshe lost the weight, got healthy and even became a Zumba instructor. And then, poof, she's dead, once again proving something I've always believedexercise will kill ya! You won't have to exert much energy to check out www.BillyMasters.com, the site that makes you break a sweat. If you have a question for me, send it along to Billy@BillyMasters.com, and I promise to get back to you before someone reveals that Dolce & Gabbana are using synthetic materials. So, until next time, remember one man's filth is another man's bible.