from the week of March 4 2007
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a summer evening in June 1992 when a little known environmental activist walked to the podium at Madison Square Garden to deliver one of the most poignant speeches of the Democratic Convention.
His name was Bob Hattoy, and what he told the world that night caused some viewers to cringe and others to cry with tears of joy. Bob Hattoy stood on the platform and announced that he was gay and HIV positive.
That was the first time I ever remember seeing Bob Hattoy. But for the next 3 years I saw a lot of him. Bob and I worked together in the Clinton White House, where he and I were two of the three openly gay staff members in the early days.
Bob had been around the block and knew the Clintons personally. I was young and new to the scene. Although we had vastly different styles, he was something of a mentor to me.
Bob was a good friend and colleague in the White House. We plotted together to plan the first ever meeting between a U.S. president and leaders of the gay and lesbian community. But Bob was the driving force.
He was a lightning rod in the West Wing. He was always putting his foot in his mouth and getting in trouble just for speaking the truth. He had a joke for every occasion and he always kept me in stitches when we chatted. After I left the White House, I would see Bob at various political functions, but I hadn't seen him in several years.
Then I got the news last night. Bob Hattoy had died. Bob the environmentalist, the gay rights activist, the White House staffer, the comedian, the mentor, the friend.
Bob will be missed.
Posted on March 5 2007, 1:52AM | Permalink
I will not be able to update the site this morning. I am working on a couple of deadlines. I plan to update the site sometime after 4 p.m. today.
Thanks for your support of the site and thanks for your patience.
Posted on March 6 2007, 11:40AM | Permalink
The past few weeks have been wonderfully productive but amazingly busy. So I'm sorry I wasn't able to update the site yesterday.
Today is another busy day so I'm starting early in the morning with this update. I will be out of the office all day today taping the first episode of the new season of "My Two Cents" for BET J.
If you've been watching the channel lately, you're probably tired of seeing me in the same old episodes over and over again. That's all supposed to change soon as the new season gets underway.
After a day in the studio I will heading to another studio tonight. I will be back on Paula Zahn Now tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on CNN. I don't know all the topics, but one of them is about a Florida city official who may lose his job because he wants to become a woman.
Of course, this is live television and anything can change, so stay tuned and check it out yourself. I believe this is my fifth time on the show this year. The show airs live tonight at 8.
Posted on March 7 2007, 1:17AM | Permalink
My mom seems to be having a loyalty problem. I called her last night after my appearance on the Paula Zahn show and she told me she missed it because she was watching American Idol instead.
I think she skipped it on purpose because she knew she could see it on the Internet the next day. So in case you missed it last night, here's the first of two clips from Paula Zahn Now. In this clip, we talk about forcing Dick Cheney to resign.
In this second clip, we talk about a Florida city manager who may be fired because he wants to become a woman.
Meanwhile, after watching American Idol on DVR last night, I don't blame my mom for missing my show. The girls were head and shoulders above the guys from the night before. Once again, Melinda Doolittle turned it. She and Lakisha Jones and Stephanie Edwards are all trying to win this thing.
Antonella Barba put in another below average performance, and now it's time for her to go home and become a celebrity media personality, which I'm sure she will be.
Posted on March 8 2007, 11:37AM | Permalink
Say goodbye to Jared Cotter, the crooner from New York who was voted off of American Idol last night.
Jared was not the strongest singer of the group, but he was not the weakest either, and he is, as Simon described him last night, "a good-looking guy." Check out his myspace page to find out more.
The surprising part is that Jared and Sundance got voted off while Sanjaya made it to the top 12. Sanjaya is an adorable young man with great hair, but he has not proven himself once since the audition rounds.
Also surprising is that Sabrina Sloan got voted off and Haley Scarnato made it to the top 12. Just the day before, Simon had pointed out that Haley was not memorable. I don't remember your name, he told her.
Not surprising is that Antonella got voted off. She's a very pretty girl but she's not in the same league as the female singers in the competition.
Brandon Rogers made it through to the finals too. But the best news is that Lakisha, Melinda and Stephanie all made it through to the finals. Congratulations to all.
Posted on March 9 2007, 10:06AM | Permalink