http://disqus.com/by/WD08/enMon, 10 Sep 2012 00:28:02 -0000http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/09/but-were-they-gay-the-mystery-of-samesex-love-in-the-19th-century/262117/#comment-645587923<p>That's not what Brent Zenobia wrote, disqusplaya. And 19 of 20 people are not heterosexual. It's not a binary, either/or proposition when it comes to gay or straight. Much more like a spectrum of identity and desire. </p>WD08Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:28:02 -0000http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/09/but-were-they-gay-the-mystery-of-samesex-love-in-the-19th-century/262117/#comment-645581291<p> The question isn't "Was Lincoln gay (or bisexual)?" The question is: how do we know what anyone's sexual behavior was in the past? We don't There's a term for the assumption that all people in the past were heterosexual unless proven otherwise: heteronormativity. Lincoln's friendship with Speed was passionate to the point of obsessiveness. He also slept with his White House bodyguard, years later. People get defensive about beloved historical figures, like Lincoln and Jefferson. Remember when the DNA evidence came out, just after the Ellis biography said "no way, no how did Jefferson have sex and father children by Sally Hemings"? These were human beings, with the same desires and uncertainties we all deal with.<br>As for Whitman, just read his poetry and a biography other than that by David Reynolds, who is strong on Whitman in relation to culture, not so much on psychology. Whitman loved men physically and romantically, not women. He loved women as friends and sisters and mothers. He helped invent the idea of gay identity.</p>WD08Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:11:14 -0000http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/149652-celebrating-john-lennons-71st-birthday-with-seven-underrated-songs#comment-334399181<p>Top 7 underrated John Lennon songs:<br>"Bless You" from Walls and Bridges<br>"I Know (I Know)" from Mind Games<br>"Oh My Love" from Imagine<br>"Remember" from Plastic Ono Band<br>"Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey)" from The Beatles (the White Album)<br>"Good Morning Good Morning" from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band<br>"I'm Only Sleeping" from Revolver</p><p>You never hear these on oldies radio and they are seldom mentioned in proportion to their quality.<br></p>WD08Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:55:48 -0000http://washingtonindependent.com/9596/obama-rallies-bailout-in-wisconsin#comment-2790187<p>I was right up front at this rally and I can tell your readers that Senator Obama's speech wasn't "rushed" or "brittle." You have to keep in mind that speeches like this are not shown in their entirety on national television--at best, a passage or two make the news. He was speaking to the local audience, and he went over great. I don't know, Mr. Melber, if you're traveling with the campaign, and are getting to see the Senator speak day after day. If so, maybe you see that he speaks better on some days than others. That makes sense. But for residents of La Crosse, Wisconsin, who have never seen Senator Obama in person before, his speech was inspiring.</p>WD08Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:49:36 -0000