Rose's Cantina

Columnists like Margaret Wente are shouting from the editorial pages about the fact we have now have a person with a vagina in the Premier's office in Ontario. They point out that the provincial club of living dolls has grown to six and we'd better watch out. There are a bunch of new bitches in town, warn the wags. It's like the Dixie Chicks invaded the White House. Meh. As a long time journalist, I've covered my share of "firsts". First female rowing coach. First female cop. First female construction worker (I'm not kidding). I was sick of it back then and I'm sick of the whole business now. I've been around long enough to remember Iona Campagnolo, Judy Erola and Monique Begin at the federal level. Sure they weren't the top dogs but they were a tough bunch of old broads with hefty portfolios back in the Trudeau cabinet. And Joyce Fairbairn was running things behind the scenes. You could have asked Bert. (The nickname Joyce gave ...

When Anderson Cooper finally decided to tell the world that he was gay, most of us shrugged and uttered a"meh" or "who cares?" The reason was that his homosexuality was one of the worst kept secrets on the planet. There were pictures of Anderson all over the Internet taking romantic bike rides with a long time squeeze. The fact that Anderson's best friends were Andy Cohen, Kathy Griffin and Kelly Rippa -- the former a well-known outtie, the two latters renowned fag hags -- gave us even more clues. For the most part, we were on Anderson's side. It was a bit of a tricky move for Anderson. I mean, I can't imagine it going down well with the crusty old Morely Safer with whom he shared a chair on 60 Minutes. Not to mention the fallout which could occur when Anderson reported for CNN from one of the many ultra-macho hotspots around the globe where homosexuality is deemed an offence punishable by death. Trouble is, since Anderson has become an outtie, he ...

The visibility of gay and transgender people is a big part of the foundation for LGBT equality...Anderson Cooper made headlines for coming out, and today he goes back to being the same Anderson Cooper reporting the news. But for some young LGBT person in our country who is dealing with a hostile school environment, church community, or unwelcoming parents and family, Cooper is a powerful image that you should be loved and valued as a human being, and that image is important. Becky Garrison, Washington Post The July 2nd announcement by television personality Anderson Cooper that he was gay was applauded by everyone. There is no question that it was the right thing to do. His sexual orientation has been the subject of much discussion on the Internet and amongst the chattering classes. In fact, Anderson's pal Kathy Griffin wrote today in the Daily Beast that she got more questions from interviewers about whether Anderson was gay than she got about herself. Still, being a ...