Gay speed-dating from LA Lords will help you find a spring-time sweetie.

The resurgence in popularity of libertarian values within the modern conservative movement has unintentionally resulted in the marginalization of social-conservative issues within the conservative movement, particularly on issues related to gay and lesbian Americans. Not surprisingly many anti-gay conservatives are concerned their foot hold on the Republican Party and conservative movement is slipping.

My cousin James was mysteriously absent from Christmas Eve dinner this past December. We would learn that he had surprised his girlfriend with a cavalcade of packed suitcases and two tickets to Rome, where he would ultimately propose to her in a romantic little cranny of the Coliseum. I overheard Aunt Lucille telling my mother all about it, my mouth full of kielbasa and a half-empty glass of homemade krupnik in my hand. I thought about the previous Christmas I had spent in Japan with Guillermo, how we had proposed to each other at the foot of Mount Fuji, and how we never even told anyone about it.

Lorie Zapf has made some indefensibly homophobic comments in 2006, but now claims that they do not reflect her true opinions. Is she fit for San Diego City Council?

I was fortunate enough to spend an evening out with Michael Chioldi, who takes the role of the late President Nixon in the Long Beach Opera’s production of Nixon in China. “It is going to be une spectacle” he told me over martinis at Paradise, conveying the enthusiasm you’d expect from a kid describing the most amazing christmas present he just bought for his mom. From the looks of the rehearsal I saw, I have no doubt that he’s right.

What do The Gossip, Grizzly Bear and now Vampire Weekend have in common? Well, yeah, since the latter’s keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij came out you would be correct if you said “they are all bands with out, gay members.” But the real answer I was looking for is that they are some of the highest-profile and most-loved indie bands playing in America today. And unless I am sorely out of the loop,hey have hardly been greeted with a loss of fans, dropped sponsorships or boycotts by the religious right. The earth beneath your local record store did not open and swallow passerbies with an assortment of writhing, pink tentacles. In fact, it would be pretty safe to say that no one really fucking cares.

With the recent attention and international backlash aimed at Uganda over the last few months, more and more Ugandan ex-patriots have come forward to fight against their government’s hateful policies. One such activist goes by the name Moses and you may recognize his voice from a clip like the one that played during an episode of The Rachel Maddow Show, which features a young man appearing at a press conference for an event protesting the National Prayer Breakfast with a bag over his head to protect his identity. Below, Moses shares more of his personal story with TNG.

My name, as in indicated on my birth certificate, is Zachary David Rosen. I usually introduce myself as Zack. Some of my closest friends and family will use the long version of my name on occasion. I spent a brief stint in college as “Z-Roz” and occasionally “ZDR.” But I guess sometime after I moved to DC it got changed, because now I frequently get addressed as “she,” “her,” “Mary, ” “Girl” or a million other feminine monikers that I don’t really understand.

The first movie Guillermo and I ever watched together was The Birds. We sat on folding chairs in his kitchen, long before it would ever be our kitchen. At the beginning, the main character (played by the epic Tippi Hedren) is in a pet shop buying lovebirds. I’d heard about these birds throughout my life, usually referring to me and a girl on the playground, but now realized I’d never actually seen what they look like. They’re multicolored, no taller than the average pigeon, and can only be sold in pairs. The shopkeeper tells Tippi what the French call them: les inséparables. And as she did, Guillermo took hold of my hand and smiled. I counted each tattoo going up his arm, and down the other, and the two I knew were inside his shirt on each shoulder. We each have exactly seven.

Dublin’s anachronistically styled rockabilly babe, Imelda May, kicks ass for a couple reasons. Most of them have to do with her snappy songs and rockabilly revival style, but she also reminds me a lot of Audrey Horne from Twin Peaks and anyone who thinks Audrey wasn’t the coolest girl on that show should just ride off with James Hurley and never be seen again.

But anyway — Imelda was nice enough to give us a couple minutes of her time when she was in DC yesterday opening for Jamie Cullum at the 930 Club. I haven’t watched The Oscars in years, but even if I did I would’ve gladly skipped for this one.