We have no history in L.A. The oldest thing we've got is Zsa Zsa Gabor. —Singer Lorna Luft ( pictured ) , Judy Garland's daughter
'Trapped in an archaic black-and-white newsreel, the G.O.P. looks more like a nostalgic relic than a national political party in contemporary America. A cultural sea change has passed it by. The 2008 primary campaign has been so fast and furious that we haven't paused to register just how spectacular that change is. All the fretful debate about whether voters would turn out for a candidate who is a black or a woman seems a century ago. Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama vanquished the Democratic field, including a presidential-looking Southern white man with an enthusiastic following, John Edwards. What was only months ago an exotic political experiment is now almost ho-hum.' — Columnist Frank Rich, The New York Times, Feb 17.
'I don't know this for a fact but I would bet my life that this is what happened: They went to [ U.S. Rep. ] Barney Frank and said, 'What do we need to pass ENDA?' Rep. Frank, who has always been pretty squeamish on the trans issue—and I guess I can say these things because I am leaving my job—you know, said, 'Look, the best way to pass ENDA, and the easiest way is to: Let's take out gender identity.' And I don't think the [ House ] speaker's people thought this through—didn't think it through—and then they said, 'OK, let's do it.'' — Outgoing National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman discussing last year's GLBT-community war over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, on The Michelangelo Signorile Show on Sirius Satellite Radio's OutQ channel, Feb. 12.
''Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' as articulated, as I worked it out with Colin Powell, who was then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meant literally that—that people would be free to live their lives. As long as they didn't go march in gay rights parades or go to gay bars in uniform—in uniform—and talk about it on duty, they would be all right. Now, as soon as he [ Powell ] left, the anti-gay forces then in the military started using it as an excuse to kick people out.' — Former President Bill Clinton on the campaign trail for his wife, Jan. 18.
' [ In ] the late '70s and '80s, I had gay boyfriends. I had sexual relationships with guys who had never been with a woman, and have never been with a woman since. See, in those times you didn't have to define yourself. People weren't demanding constantly that you say what your label was, so it didn't seem like such a big deal, and it wasn't so shocking.' — Actress Susan Sarandon to PlanetOut.com, Feb. 13.
' [ H ] uman sexuality is much more complex, diverse and blurred than the traditional simplistic binary image of hetero and homo, so loved by straight moralists and—more significantly—by many lesbians and gay men. ... In a future non-homophobic society, more people are likely to have gay sex but less people will identify as gay. This is because the absence of homophobia makes the need to assert and affirm gayness redundant.' — Leading British gay activist Peter Tatchell writing for The Guardian, Feb. 14.
'Yes, yeah, I would consider Oprah a friend—Oprah and Gayle, both are just terrific women.' — Michelle Obama, wife of presidential candidate Barack Obama, on CNN's Larry King Live, Feb. 11.
' [ 'Mandy' was ] the beginning of a part of my life that I never expected. I did not go after a hit single; I never even listened to the pop radio. It wasn't challenging to me, a bunch of bubble gum stuff. [ Record mogul ] Clive Davis said, 'All you need is a hit single and your career could take off.' Clive Davis [ sends ] me this demo called 'Brandy.' [ He ] said, 'Listen to it, and if you can do an arrangement and production, the right one, it could be a No. 1 record for you.' I listened to it, I didn't care about it. I was the songwriter, I didn't want to do anybody else's song. But I love arranging and rearranging songs, and I did a pop-rock demo. Clive didn't like it. I took him to the studio and said, 'Let me just play it for you slower.' I slowed it down ... and he said, 'That's it, do that.' I sang it and played it once, and that's the record.' — Barry Manilow to the Washington Post, Feb. 11. The song was renamed 'Mandy' to avoid confusion with the Looking Glass hit 'Brandy ( You're a Fine Girl ) .'
'I'm really lucky to be able to come over here [ to the UK ] , have a career and be accepted. And I love the history over here. We have no history in L.A. The oldest thing we've got is Zsa Zsa Gabor.' — Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's daughter, to London's Pink Paper, Jan. 24.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
