Buddy Beaverhausen's Weekly Diva Report 2/27/14

Greetings, diva worshippers! And what is a diva, exactly, by my standards? Well, I like Urban Dictionary's definition best: adj. pronounced (DEE-VAH)- 1. to describe a person who exudes great style and personality with confidence and expresses their own style and not letting others influence who they are or want to be. 2. A person whose character makes them stands out from the rest. 3. Noun; a person's title in a group of friends or in society that is popular or famous and who many people try to copy. 4. A person who tries to achieve what they want and who do not let people get in their way, and doing so with style and class. Ex. 1. Yeah girl my friend is such a diva. 2. That boy can sure act like a diva sometimes.

Get it? Got it? Good. Because here we go with our divalicious update for the week.

First off, I just want to say Happy Birthday to the late, great Elizabeth Taylor. Accepting a GLAAD Award in 2000, she told the audience, "There is no gay agenda. It's a human agenda!" We love and salute the divine Liz, one of our favorite divas of the silver screen.

Rumor is rife that Liza might be involved in the upcoming (Sunday, Feb. 2) Oscar tribute to The Wizard of Oz. I hope this is true. Bette and Liza on the same Academy Awards ceremony? How fabulous would that be!

Talking about the Oscars, Yahoo blabbed last week:

If [the] engraved nameplate is any indication, this year's Oscar winner for Best Actor will be Leonardo DiCaprio for "The Wolf of Wall Street." Yes, Twitter is currently abuzz with the release of a CNN screencap that reveals the nameplate, that supposedly reveals a great big Oscar spoiler a full 20 days before the actual ceremony.

However, Yahoo goes on further to explain: If true, this would be a gaffe of, um, titanic proportions for the ultra-secretive Academy. And it would give everyone a freebie on their Oscar pools. But no, this is not a supreme spoiler. In fact, final voting for the Oscars hasn't even started yet. Balloting commences on Friday and closes on Feb. 25. So while Leo might indeed be a frontrunner (don't tell Chiwetel Ejiofor), it doesn't mean he's already locked up the prize. So how to explain the nameplate? As of 2010, the Academy creates engraved nameplates for every Oscar nominee, with the winners being given their nameplates at the Governor's Ball on Oscar night.

Kylie Minogue's new album, Kiss Me Once, doesn't drop until April Fool's Day in the US but her single,  "Into the Blue" (with club remixes) is out now. Fabulous! 

Is Jan Brewer a diva? Not, in my opinion described above. The craggy-faced Governor of AZ fits more into an alternative definition provided by Urban Dictionary, witch ~ I mean, which ~ is:

a bitchy woman that must have her way exactly, or no way at all. often rude and belittles people, believes that everyone is beneath her and thinks that she is so much more loved than what she really is. selfish, spoiled, and overly dramatic.

About an hour after reading my post at Queens Our City Radio, Jan vetoed the state's proposed anti-gay legislature. http://queens.ourcityradio.com/stations/americana-news/view-ny-current-az-problem Coincidence? Or not? Consequently but typically, the Teabaggers went ballistic after Brewer's decision. Famed gay blogger Perez Hilton posted on his blog: "Thankfully, mercifully, Governor Jan Brewer has come to her senses." Meanwhile, Jon Stewart said, on The Daily Show, "This is where you are now, Arizona. You've made yourselves too homophobic and dickish for professional football." Ouch!

And that wraps up our diva dish for the week. More blab and gab next time and, meanwhile, cultivate your inner divas in case you haven't already.

In closing, I leave you with the divas' theme song:

Thankfully, mercifully, Governor Jan Brewer has come to her senses — just moments ago she VETOED that horrible, hateful bill instead of signing it into law! - See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-02-26-arizona-governor-jan-brewer-vetoes-anti-gay-bill-senate-bill-1062#sthash.tMaVbAw6.dpuf

Thankfully, mercifully, Governor Jan Brewer has come to her senses — just moments ago she VETOED that horrible, hateful bill instead of signing it into law! - See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-02-26-arizona-governor-jan-brewer-vetoes-anti-gay-bill-senate-bill-1062#sthash.tMaVbAw6.dpuf

Thankfully, mercifully, Governor Jan Brewer has come to her senses — just moments ago she VETOED that horrible, hateful bill instead of signing it into law! - See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-02-26-arizona-governor-jan-brewer-vetoes-anti-gay-bill-senate-bill-1062#sthash.tMaVbAw6.dpuf

Go West? The Arizona Issue ~ Part Two

Merv Koehle lived in Arizona in the 1980s, moved back east, then returned with his wife, Tracey, in the 2000s. He explained, "In 1990, the '93 Super Bowl XXVII was originally scheduled to take place in Arizona. However, the Governor at that time, Evan Mecham, cancelled the Martin Luther King Day holiday ["saying that King did not deserve a holiday," according to Wikipedia, "and that black supporters of the law should have been more concerned about getting jobs."]. The NFL consequently pulled out of Arizona and moved Super Bowl XXVII to Pasadena."

Super Bowl XLIX is currently slated for the University of Phoenix in Glendale in 2015. Jan ("The Wicked Witch of the West") Brewer, described by people I know as "bat shit crazy," should decide where she stands on this matter cautiously. She has already expressed sympathy for the so-called "religious freedom" argument the bill uses as an excuse for hatred, discrimination and obstructionism.

I was wondering what people outside the United States think about this very un-American activity of attempted segregation. So, I asked international dance-music diva, children-and-animal-rights activist and friend, Karin Nagi, to share with us her view from Holland.

"I think it is a disgrace that we still have the prejudice outbursts. Don't care what country," Karin replied, frankly. "We are all human beings and have the right to live in peace and harmony on our beautiful Mother Earth. I will never accept any negative remark against about gender, color, nationality or religion. I will fight till my last day for every living being. Justice for all!"

Finally, I asked another dancefloor diva (whose new club tune, "Dominate My Love," is now available on-line) and friend, Amber Dirks, to weigh in on the matter as she and her family reside in Arizona. Here's what Amber told me:

"I feel using religion to try to mask the true reasoning behind this bill -- which is to allow for discrimination -- is unconstitutional. It's truly not only about the LGBT community, while a major part of the hate laced law is, it's about anyone with a business who will be allowed to pass judgements on people for whatever reasoning they deem fit and hide behind religion as the cause. It's a coward's way of trying to get around the law.... 

"This bill is encouraging business owners the right of refusal [to serve anyone] for any reasons. I.e., I walk into a business wearing purple, they can say that color [purple] is against their religion and, for that reason, they can have the right to refuse service! This law will also allow for assumptions beyond a reasonable doubt and this law will protect these business owners to make their assumptions. 

"Arizona is known for trying to make statements against people's rights and it's time for people to stand up against what's wrong, and this is ethically and Biblically wrong!! Last I heard, God is the only power to pass judgements, not man...! Maybe those businesses that oppose this pro-discrimination law should be given the right of refusal of servicing those members of congress, state legislators, etc. that voted to pass this into legislation, and these businesses should be covered by the "Bullying Law" and "Harassment Law" since they are bullying and harassing groups of people... whether gay, straight, orange, yellow, black, brown, clothing choice, shoe choice, car choice, etc. This is 'Unethical', 'Unconstitutional', 'Inhumane', 'Unfathomable' and completely 'Discriminatory' which is against our [nation's] laws and they are using religion to justify this injustice!"

"Arizona's right-to-discriminate bill is drawing fire from Apple, American Airlines, Marriott Hotels, the NFL, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, and both of the state's Republican senators," The Rachel Maddow Show posted on-line today. "So what is Gov. Jan Brewer... going to do?" 

Jan, we've got the divas on our side, honey. Get a clue.

Go West? The Arizona Issue ~ Part One

Last Friday, CNN revealed: "Arizona's Legislature has passed a controversial bill that would allow business owners, as long as they assert their religious beliefs, to deny service to gay and lesbian customers.

"The bill, which the state House of Representatives passed by a 33-27 vote Thursday, now goes to Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican and onetime small business owner who vetoed similar legislation last year but has expressed the right of business owners to deny service."

This legislation would certainly be challenged at the federal level but, meanwhile, it has raised quite a bit of ire, not only among Arizona's LGBT community but among the state's business community. Today, it was reported that a few supporters of this discriminatory hate bill are already back-peddling away from it and Senator John McCain Tweeted: “I hope Governor Brewer will veto [the bill]”.

Huffington Post reported on February 25 that Marriott Hotels and American Airlines sent letters to Arizona Brewer requesting she veto the pending legislation.

"George Takei fired a virtual photon torpedo Friday at Arizona in a scathing letter addressing legislative passage of an anti LGBT law allowing for discrimination in services," wrote Raw Story last week.

"This 'turn away the gay' bill enshrines discrimination into the law," Takei wrote on his blog. "Your taxi drivers can refuse to carry us. Your hotels can refuse to house us. And your restaurants can refuse to serve us. … You’re willing to ostracize and marginalize LGBT people to score political points with the extreme right of the Republican Party. You say this bill protects ‘religious freedom,’ but no one is fooled. When I was younger, people used ‘God’s Will’ as a reason to keep the races separate, too. Make no mistake, this is the new segregation, yours is a Jim Crow law, and you are about to make yourself ground zero."

"Takei notes in his letter that his husband Brad Altman and he have strong ties to Arizona. Altman was born in Phoenix, and the couple vacation in Show Low," Raw Story notes. "Governor Jan Brewer’s signature stands between the bill and its enactment. Brewer has yet to comment on her intentions.

"If  [Governor Jan] Brewer signs the bill, make no mistake. We will not come. We will not spend. And we will urge everyone we know–from large corporations to small families on vacation–to boycott. Because you don’t deserve our dollars. Not one red cent,” Takei insisted.

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen, investigative cub reporter, decided to ask Tracey and Merv Koehle, close friends who moved from Connecticut to the greater Phoenix area, only to move back again after a few years way out west, to share their thoughts on the controversy.

"I see the recent attempt at legislation just one in a line of others that passed in Arizona and that I find regressive," said Tracey. "Like carrying unconcealed guns into establishments such as bars. Hearing about this new proposed legislation confirmed my feelings that our moving back to Connecticut was the best option for us."

"I loved Arizona because it was such a beautiful state in terms of the natural landscape," she added, "but we found the governing sources are too conservative and too heavily influenced by the fundamentalist, right-wing 'religious' element."

[Continued in Part 2]