HYPOCRISY ABOUNDS WITH SAN DIAGO HOTEL OWNER

San Diego hotelier and developer Doug Manchester was a very early financial supporter of Proposition 8. His $125,000 donation was a key factor in moving Prop 8 forward and sparked an on-going boycott of his hotels.

His reasoning in making such a large personal donation was, according to a New York Times interview at the time, because of “my Catholic faith and longtime affiliation with the Catholic Church.”

Of course we all know that the Catholic Church was one of the biggest and most aggressive forces behind Prop 8, second only to the extraordinary involvement of the Mormon Church. We also know that both religions are virulently homophobic, calling gays and gay marriages immoral and even an abomination against God.

They believe, and by logical extension so too does Doug Manchester, that gay marriage is evil and a direct threat to the very institution of marriage itself. They also believe that heterosexual divorce is just as immoral and just as much an abomination as same-sex marriage and therefore prohibit that as well.

Apparently Manchester's morality and commitment to his religion seems to be based solely on his own personal interests. Like most of the publicly avowed true believers, if there's a conflict between what he wants and what the Church will allow, then of course personal desire will instantly trump religious beliefs.

And here's the glaring hypocrisy of Douglas Manchester. After 43 years of marriage to Elizabeth Manchester, Doug decided that he was tired of it and simply moved out. This was in October of 2008 and was followed by Doug immediately filing for divorce and pushing very hard for a quick settlement of their multimillion dollar estate.

This is where it became a sad imitation of a bad soap opera. Obviously knowing the kind of man she was married too, Elizabeth hired her own lawyers as well as forensic accountants to fully assess Doug’s assets. From there, things devolved very quickly.

Doug apparently began shifting his finances around to make it harder to fully assess his worth. And, despicably, stripped their joint bank account and even stole an 8.2 million dollar tax refund check made out to both of them and deposited it his own private bank account in an attempt to force Elizabeth to agree to his terms.

This is one of those ugly divorces that is probably going to take a few more years to settle. But the actions of Doug Manchester throughout all of this ordeal has certainly spotlighted his true persona. For a man who tried to paint himself as a true and devout Christian when he gave $125,000 to defeat gay marriage in the name of protecting the institution of heterosexual marriage, he has clearly shown himself to be a crass hypocrite - completely dishonest, devious and wholly immoral.

This, to me, is the kind of person who is supporting and funding the fights against anything and everything that might, even remotely, benefit the LGBT community.

How long is it going to take the honest, rank and file religious believers to finally see the ugly, carnivorous wolves beneath the sheep's clothing?

DANIEL RADCLIFFE MAKES SIZABLE DONATION TO THE TREVOR PROJECT

Actor Daniel Radcliffe, a staunch supporter of the LGBT community and causes, made a sizable donation to The Trevor Project here in this country.

This non-profit organization was founded in 1998 by three filmmakers whose film 'Trevor,' about a gay teenager who attempts suicide, received an Oscar in 2004.

The Project works to prevent crises and suicides among LGBTQ youth through school workshops, educational materials, online resources and advocacy. It also maintains a free Trevor helpline which organisers say has received hundreds of thousands of calls since it began with calls increasing more than 300 per cent in just this past year.

Radcliffe is best known as Harry Potter in the wildly successful film series of the same name. He has also received critical acclaim for his sensitive and powerful performances as the troubled youth in both the London and New York productions of "Equus."

Although he maintains that he is not gay, he recently said that the gay rumours about him are "awesome." He strongly condemns homophobia and said in a statement quoted at pinknews.co.uk:

"I am very pleased to begin my support of The Trevor Project, which saves lives every day through its critical work.

It's extremely distressing to consider that in 2009 suicide is a top three killer of young people, and it's truly devastating to learn that LGBTQ youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

I deeply hope my support can raise the organisation's visibility so even more despondent youth become aware of the Trevor helpline's highly trained counsellors and Trevor's many other resources.

It's vitally important that young people understand they are not alone and, perhaps even more important, that their young lives have real value."

Charles Robbins, executive director and chief executive officer of The Trevor Project said:

“We’re incredibly grateful to Daniel for his truly inspiring and historic generosity and support. He is setting a meaningful example for millions of young people around the world by embracing diversity and demonstrating that he cares deeply about the well-being of LGBTQ youth.”

This 20 year old certainly deserves all the praise and admiration he's received since starting his acting career at the ripe old age of 10 as the young David Copperfield in the 1999 film David Copperfield.

Whether or not he is or isn't gay really doesn't matter. Who he has shown himself to be is an extraordinary young man who is filled with a burning compassion for the world around him. For that, he should be incredibly proud!

RESULTS OF ONE RAINBOW LOUNGE INVESTIGATION NOW IN

The highly anticipated results of one of the investigations into the Fort Worth, Texas Rainbow Lounge raid that resulted in the hospitalization of one patron with serious head injuries, were just released this past week.

The investigation was conducted by the internal affairs division of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). It found that two TABC agents and a supervising Sergeant committed a total on 19 policy violations while conducting their now infamous raid against the Rainbow Lounge.

According to the official media blog of the LGBT Dallas Voice, Agent Christopher Aller committed eight violations, Agent trainee Jason Chapman committed seven violations and Sgt. Terry Parsons committed four violations.

Violations committed by the two agents include participating in a joint operation with Fort Worth police without approval from a supervisor; failing to submit a complaint card against the Rainbow Lounge; conducting bar inspections in unapproved attire; failing to follow bar inspection procedures; failing to report the use of force and injuries involving Chad Gibson, a Rainbow Lounge patron who sustained serious head injuries; and disrupting business during a bar inspection.

The violations committed by Parsons, who was not at the scene of the raid and has since reportedly retired from the agency, involve failing to take appropriate action against Aller and Chapman; failing to ensure Aller and Chapman filed the necessary reports; and failing to notify the sergeant’s supervisors of the raid.

Disciplinary action is pending because the three TABC employees have the right to file a written response to the report within five working days.

Fortunately, their problems won't end there because the TABC is also conducting a second investigation (still underway) into the use of force during the raid. It will take into account statements by TABC employees, Fort Worth police officers, other eyewitnesses and specialized expert witnesses. Because of the complexity and seriousness of this kind of investigation and because the force that was used resulted in serious head injuries for patron Chad Gibson, it will take longer to complete.

The Dallas Voice blog posted a verbatim copy of the actual report. If you want to check that out, go to: Dallas Voice

Thanks to the immediate and overwhelming response from the Ft. Worth community and the LGBT community throughout the country and around the world, this was one police harassment incident that was impossible to sweep under the rug. And yes, some of them did try to do just that in the very beginning - before the worldwide media descended on them.

Of course, I'll keep you posted as soon as the results from the second investigation are released.