News: Sarah Palin, Penguins, Ralph Reed, Cleveland, Kidneys, MP3s

Palin hints at independent conservative movement, to remain on national scene. Also, Son Track not a Republican.

Gay SF Zoo penguin pulls an Anne Heche.

Real Housewives of New York holding out for six figures. Kelly Bensimon to return.

Ralph Reed aims to rejuvenate Christian Coalition: “Even though I’ve been doing other things, this is kind of like Steve Jobs returning to Apple.You have to reinvent it. It’s the political analog to the iPod and the iPhone. It would be cool. It would be transformative. It would transform our politics and bring younger people to our ranks. All of those are critical imperatives.”

Barney Frank cool in the pool.

Ryan Reynolds to star as Green Lantern in feature film.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference threatens to fire Los Angeles leader over support for same-sex marriage: "The Rev. Eric P. Lee, president of the local SCLC chapter for two years, became an outspoken advocate of same-sex marriage during the recent campaign against Proposition 8, an amendment to the state Constitution that banned such unions. The SCLC national board notified Lee on May 27 that he would have to attend a hearing at its Atlanta headquarters on June 4 to explain his stance on same-sex marriage. If he did not show up, they said, they would suspend and fire him."

F*CK!: Swearing helps reduce pain.

Lateisha Green murder trial set to begin in Syracuse. New York to use hate crimes law.

Music industry sees collapse in illegal file-sharing: "The survey of 1,000 fans also shows that many14 to 18 year olds are now streaming music regularly online using services such as YouTube and Spotify. At the same time less than a third of teenagers are now illegally downloading music, the survey suggests."

Male model fix: Chris Cuba.

Brad Pitt and Anglelina Jolie house-hunting at swank NYC upper east side "fortress".

Robert Pattinson offers a flash of the pubes.

Mental: Comedian Eddie Sarfaty coming to NYC.

Levi Johnston: Palin quit for the money.

Margaret Cho returns to TV in Drop Dead Diva: Cho plays the sidekick to a recently deceased model trapped in an overweight brainiac's body. "I thought that it was a really interesting idea, because I think that a certain kind of beauty is valued more than other kinds, and that's a really harmful thing. To take a script that questions that beauty ideal and challenges it is very important. It's really close to what I do in stand-up, talking about body issues and beauty in an intelligent, funny and provocative way."

Cleveland keen on capturing 2014 Gay Games.

Wanted: living kidney donors.

Anchor mocks Mariah Carey's performance of "I'll Be There" at Jackson funeral. The Westboro Baptist Chuch performs "Beat It".

Law Dork on Olson-Boies "Turf War"

Chris Geidner at Law Dork has an exclusive read on that explosive letter from American Foundation for Equal Rights that was obtained by Towleroad yesterday, along with some reactions from the letter's recipients.

Geidner notes that Chad Griffin's letter makes clear that "far from being blindsided by the Perry lawsuit—the LGBT legal organizations were well aware of and chose not to participate in the filing of this lawsuit."

Regarding Griffin's point that the groups seeking to intervene had earlier opposed AFER's efforts and so would not be effective in litigating, James Esseks, co-director of the ACLU LGBT Rights Project, says, "People can disagree about when and whether to jump into the pool, but once you do it makes sense to swim as hard as possible to get to the other side...We're all in the pool; it's not just those plaintiffs."

Highlights of Law Dork's take:

"This is, in part, a turf fight, and there is no denying it. But it is a legitimate turf fight. These three groups and their boards have been involved in dozens of lawsuits relating to marriage equality. They have, for the most part, been well-planned and carefully strategized cases that have resulted in great forward movement in a relatively short time...

"The lawyers for the proposed intervenors might be coming late to the party, but the reality is that the groups they are representing have the right to seek intervention in the case and to have counsel of their choosing in such an intervention effort...

"In light of the very diversity of the LGBT community that the proposed intervenors claim to represent, this intra-LGBT fight might have been inevitable. Regardless, though, here's to hoping that everyone sits down in the coming days and weeks and figures out the best way to move forward with this case to help advance equality for all the Californians and LGBT people across the country who are watching this lawsuit with bated breath."

Left, Right, Left: Espada Back to the Democrats

New York State Senator Pedro Espada—who helped engineer a coup to flip control of the Senate from Democratic to Republican hands—is apparently ready to switch back to the Democrats now that he has a "handshake deal" to be Majority Leader.

The double-double-cross comes after New York Governor David Paterson's bold move to appoint Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor, a power that Senate Republicans (and a judge) don't believe Paterson has in the first place.

The fate of a host of issues hangs in the balance, including a bill to bring marriage equality to New York.

P.S. It may (or may not) help the marriage-equality cause, but...who would trust a handshake deal with this shady character?

UPDATE: A deal has been reached in the New York Senate. Should be a wild ride.

Pushback from Olson-Boies as LGBT Groups File to Intervene

According to a press release, the LGBT groups Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU LGBT Project have filed a motion asking that the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to allow Our Family Coalition, Lavender Seniors of the East Bay and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to intervene in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the Olson-Boies federal suit (filed as American Foundation for Equal Rights) designed to put the question of marriage equality before the United States Supreme Court as soon as possible.

Earlier, Lambda Legal and others issued a warning that "ill-timed lawsuits could set the fight for marriage back."

"These groups wish to illustrate for the court the diverse needs of their members and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community generally to provide the full factual record," said Jennifer C. Pizer, National Marriage Project Director for Lambda Legal. Lambda Legal, NCLR and ACLU had previously filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case June 26.

But Towleroad has obtained a copy of a letter (full letter after the jump) from Chad H. Griffin, Board President of American Foundation for Equal Rights, to the LGBT groups urging the following:

"On behalf of the plaintiffs and our board, donors and supporters, I am writing to ask that you not intervene in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

"Given our willingness to collaborate with you, and your efforts to undercut this case, we were surprised and disappointed when we became aware of your desire to intervene.

"You have unrelentingly and unequivocally acted to undermine this case even before it was filed. In light of that, it is inconceivable that you would zealously and effectively litigate this case if you were successful in intervening. Therefore, we will vigorously oppose any motion to intervene."

The letter is tough stuff, laundry-listing the LGBT groups' unhelpful soundbytes and actions, and goes on to list the Foundation's efforts to "stand together, shoulder to shoulder, in this battle."

Despite the obvious rift, Griffin writes that the Foundation remains "willing to work closely with you at all stages of this case and welcome your continued participation in the district court proceedings as an amicus curiae. But we cannot and will not support your motion to intervene."

The argument for the Johnny-come-lately LGBT groups butting out is more persuasive than just a me-first, knee-jerk reaction:

"As a result of your intervention, we could be mired in procedurally convoluted pre-trial maneuvering for years—while and gay and lesbian individuals in California continue to suffer the daily indignity of being denied their federal constitutional right to marry the person of their choosing."

It would appear Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU LGBT Project are either realizing the case might actually be successful and therefore want to ride its coattails for credit and relevancy, or—depending on your capacity for cynicism—are intentionally dragging down a suit from a rival group working for the same cause.

Blogimonde: PopMuse and Bloghungry Become Bloggy Baby Daddies.

Los Angeles blogger husbands Popmuse and Bloghungry announced today the birth of their first child.

We join the two longtime-friends of Towleroad in welcoming Lily to the village, and congratulate the couple on their recent anniversary celebration of 5 years together. There was also an official marriage ceremony in the last days before last November's election, and the couple has supported No on 8 and other efforts to overturn Proposition 8, which took away the right of Californians to marry legally.

Clearly, Lily is unlikely to want for love, strength, delicious food, the latest remixes, and companionship (there is, of course canine, Carrie Fisher), but rest assured of the support and love that's out there for the whole family.

Sometimes it does take a village, people.

Marriage-Equality Foes Reach Signature Goal in Maine

Via Leave it to Seaver: Stand for Marriage Maine—dedicated to ending marriage equality in the state—has collected approximately 55,087 signatures toward putting a People's Veto of the same-sex marriage bill (signed into law by Governor John Baldacci in May) on the ballot this November. The signatures must still be validated, which might be difficult considering the rumors of bait-and-switch tactics in gathering them.

The little girl with the "ha ha, I'ma take away your rights" grin and pose is from the Web site for Stand for Marriage Maine. Let's wipe that smile off her face and defeat the measure if it comes to a vote, Mainers.