GLR May June

BTW

mainstream press largely ignored the gay rumors, but Barney Frank had this to say: “Of course he should come out if they’re true. If they’re not true, he spent entirely too much time in the gym for a straight man.” What’s odd is how blasé Schock him- self seemed about the whole turn of events. He must secretly know that now that he’s famous, there’s a wide world of pop- culture celebrity out there—just ask Sarah Palin. Schock spon- sored zero bills in Congress, but those soft-core photo shoots for Men’s Health and the workout videos generated a huge follow- ing on Twitter and Instagram. So perhaps the whole Congress thing was just a kind of reality show for Schock with which to launch his media career. He’s got the looks for it, so why not? Prediction: Schock will come out as gay, which will only en- hance his marketability as a workout guru or fashionista or re- ality-show host on cable TV. Stay tuned! Gimme Shelter Bloggers and Facebookers tittered (and twit- tered) about an item in an Alaska newspaper, The Juneau Em- pire , running under the headline “Glory Hole Rededication” and picturing a priest announcing the relaunch of a Christian shelter for homeless men. The launchers were presumably un- aware of the double meaning, which earned them the epithets “naïve” and “clueless” in the blogosphere. In their defense, one could argue that the word “glory” had religious overtones long before it acquired its gay meaning, which is undoubtedly why it was chosen in the first place (it’s called camp). Of course, it’s always possible that these guys are actually winking their way to the tearoom; otherwise, it’s not entirely clear why Alaskan clergymen should be up on urban gay lingo.

A Star Is Born The time has come to bid farewell to Con- gressman Aaron Schock, the Illinois Republican who’s no stranger to this column due to his flamboyant personal style and his horrible voting record on GLBT issues. Schock abruptly re- signed from the House in March after various irregularities of a financial nature were disclosed. There were padded expense accounts and improper junkets, maybe a diverted campaign contribution or two, but nothing all that unusual for Washing- ton. Clearly what did Schock in was the way he’d decorated his

D.C. office to resemble a room on the BBC series Downton Abbey . Diverted funds can be concealed, but once the Down- ton office came to light—the story was broken by a Wash- ington Post reporter who man- aged to snap a few photos before Schock’s staff stepped in—reporters and oversight committees began to investi- gate his other extravagances (the exotic trips, the fancy cars), and the jig was up. The

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