Although I'm not sure how I feel having my relationship compared to women loving frogs and alien/astronaut love. It's a little too "Republican presidential candidate," if you know what I mean.

On the center column, bottom row of the collage are what clearly seem to be two men in tuxedos, standing before a group of people, could this be a wedding of the same-sex variety? I think so! Kudos to Google (which has a 100% score on HRC’ Corporate Equality Index) for this small nod to Equality.

After the jump, watch the full doodle.

Lisa Keen  |  Keen News Service
lisakeen@me.com

There were no LGBT-related questions during the Monday, Sept. 12 Republican presidential debate, even though the driving interest behind the debate was the Republican Party’s far right-wing.

The debate took place on the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, with the same eight candidates as the most recent debate on MSNBC. About half the questions were posed by CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer; the other half came from members of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party.

There was considerable sparring on such issues as the survival of Social Security, how to deal with illegal immigrants and whether the government can require vaccination for a sexually transmitted cancer.

There were a lot of boos: The audience at the Fairgrounds repeatedly booed U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas for saying the U.S. is threatened by terrorists because the U.S. occupies and bombs so many Muslim nations. Texas Gov. Rick Perry was booed for defending his state’s offer of in-state tuition breaks for immigrants who are not yet citizens.

But there was a lot of cheering, too, primarily when the Republican candidates placed the blame for anything on President Obama, including the recession and the deficit.

This was the fourth nationally televised debate among announced Republican presidential hopefuls since Aug. 11, when Fox News broadcast the first just prior to the Iowa straw poll.

And this was CNN’s second debate. Its first was one in which it turned the questioning over to right-wing activists who posed questions that asserted their anti-gay political views as accepted fact.

There was some anticipation that the members of the Tea Party, also known as the Taxed Enough Already party, would focus on controversial “social issues,” such as abortion and marriage for same-sex couples. That’s because the Tea Party has — despite its supposedly tax-focused identity — established itself as the far right wing of the party on social issues.

The next Republican presidential debate takes place Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. CST, and is sponsored by Fox News and Google in Orlando, along with the Florida Republican Party.

The debate will take the form of 2008’s infamous “YouTube debate” in which ordinary citizens submitted questions via YouTube.com and some of those were played back during the debate for candidates to answer. To submit a question for the Sept. 22 debate, go to YouTube.com/FoxNews.

As of the deadline, nearly all of the social issue questions proposed address the legalization of marijuana. But a couple of questions tackle LGBT-related issues.

One asks, “If our inalienable right as stated in our United States Declaration of Independence are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which are endowed to us by our Creator (God), isn’t the ban on gay marriage a violation of inalienable rights?”

Another question, directed to Michele Bachmann, asks, “You say that you are a small government conservative, yet you support big government on social issues. You want to ban all abortions, porn and gay rights. Isn’t that hypocritical and unelectable?”

Visitors to the website are asked to vote on questions they most hope will be asked and these votes will reportedly influence the decision of Fox News as to which questions to ask.

© 2011 by Keen News Service. All rights reserved.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 16, 2011.

The famously bisexual singer would have been 65. He died in November 1991 from AIDS-related pneumonia.

The video can be found at Google.com, but since you’re already here …

The above “Web Seer” (click to enlarge) from Hint.FM allows us to view the top Google Suggest results for the search queries “Is Rick Perry” and “Is Mitt Romney.”

“Gay” is the top result for “Is Rick Perry,” and “Mormon” is the top result for “Is Mitt Romney.” Try it for yourself at Google.com if you don’t believe us.

Of course, we know the answer to the Romney question is yes. As for Perry, well, not even Google can tell us that.

h/t: TechPresident

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAY

Rick Santorum turns 53 on Tuesday. The former Republican senator from Pennsylvania was a vocal opponent to LGBT issues. However, sex columnist and gay advocate Dan Savage turned the tables on him by coining his last name as a sexual term — and not a good one. It ended up Google bombing the politician and tops the list when searching his name.

………………….

THIS WEEK

Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Eris are aligned in Aries. Take care of yourself while remembering it’s not all about you. While the North Node is in Sagittarius trining this pile-up, philosophical discussions can help you get clear focus on needed lessons.

………………….

TAURUS Apr 20-May 20
Too much time alone is bad for your health. Some dark erotic adventure channels that energy toward your betterment and helps unlock self-destructive secrets so you are free of them.

GEMINI May 21-Jun 20
Host one hell of a party, but don’t set the house on fire. Map out the future with your partner. Your plans are extravagant, but your sweetheart will help you get a clear focus.

CANCER Jun 21-Jul 22
Focus more on work than your career. Quality and effectiveness speak better for you than aggressive self-promotion. Being noticed is inevitable. The question is: What will they see?

LEO Jul 23-Aug 22
The best arguments don’t depend on winning, but rather help you to understand broader perspectives. You can also learn a lot from the art, film and music of other cultures.

VIRGO Aug 23-Sep 22
Challenges at work aren’t severe as they seem. The lessons of childhood make a good starting point. Your partner, family and tribe can be more helpful than you expect.

LIBRA Sep 23-Oct 22
If there’s any doubt that your partner is on your side it is probably a problem in communications. Discuss your approaches to the tasks at hand. If it’s about love, solutions are in the bedroom.

SCORPIO Oct 23-Nov 21
Work problems build to a crisis that will make everything clearer, but there’s too much going on. It boils down to priorities. Tough choices could anger some friends; keep communications open.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22-Dec 20
Too many strategies are buzzing in your head. Rule No. 1: Be true to yourself. No. 2: Remember where you come from. Start there and you will succeed.

CAPRICORN Dec 21-Jan 19
Are you a storm tearing through or the eye of the hurricane? It’s easy to get sucked into the maelstrom thinking you can fix the problems. Find your inner peace and operate from there.

AQUARIUS Jan 20-Feb 18
Your tongue gets ahead of your brain. Reel it in, listen and think ahead before speaking. In all the babble that surrounds you, there are some brilliant ideas. Listen, discern and be inspired.

PISCES Feb 19-Mar 19
Know what you’re worth and what you can do. Both are probably a lot more than you realize. Focus and work; you will succeed! Having a plan helps, even if things never go as planned.

ARIES Mar 20-Apr 19
You’re filled with energy and charm to conquer most worlds. Even if world domination isn’t feasible, you’re clever enough to plot reasonable victories. New perspectives will help.

Jack Fertig can be reached at 415-864-8302 or Starjack.com

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 6, 2011.

Club Dallas
Has been exclusively serving gay men for more than 30 years. They are open 24 hours.
2616 Swiss Ave.
214-821-1990
TheClubs.com

LA Fitness
Has locations around the Metroplex. Their Oak Lawn facility is near Love Field.
4540 W. Mockingbird Lane
214-453-4899
LAFitness.com

Diesel Fitness
Located on the third floor of the Centrum in what was once the area’s most popular gym.
3102 Oak Lawn Ave., Ste. 300
214-219-6400
DieselFitness214.com

Gold’s Gym
Locations throughout the city with one location in Uptown. Not as popular as it once was since the chain’s owner made a major contribution to an anti-gay cause.
2425 McKinney Ave.
214-306-9000
GoldsGym.com

Trophy Fitness Club
Four locations in Dallas with one on Mockingbird Lane near Central Expressway and another in Uptown.
2812 Vine St., Ste. 300
214-999-2826
TrophyFitnessClub.com

Equinox
They’re located on Oak Lawn but call it their Highland Park location, so we’re not sure who they’re trying to attract or distract from membership.
4023 Oak Lawn Ave.
214-443-9009
Equinox.com

24 Hour Fitness
When you Google the Downtown location, this quote pops up: “Beware there are lots of bisexuals and perverts that go there.” Might be a reason to try this location … or a reason to call their management to get it changed.
700 N. Harwood St.
214-220-2423
24HourFitness.com

— David Taffet

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition Feb. 18, 2011.

This is part of the “I’m From Driftwood” series by Nathan Manske, the gay Texas native who just completed a four-month, 50-state tour collecting stories for the project. Check out this Google map that shows you where those who’ve shared their stories are from. To submit your own story, go here.

According to this graph based on Google Books, the culture war over gay rights reached its peak in the mid-to-late 1990s, and has been gradually waning ever since. In fact, as Beliefnet notes, all three of these wars peaked sometime during the 1990s, but while abortion and feminism have leveled off, homosexuality continues its descent.

Anyhow, as far as we can tell, none of the media outlets covering this story have provided examples of the ancient nude statue photos in question. So, in an effort to fulfill our role as the gay paper, we went looking for them ourselves.

While we can’t seem to find the exact edition of the book online, here’s what we came up with from another edition that’s posted on the Google Books site.