After over a decade of fierce resistance from Bush and his fellow Republicans, today President Obama signed the first ever federal legislation mandating the inclusion of sexual orientation in all hate crimes statutes. Shortly after midnight on October 7, 1998, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson in a bar. McKinney and Henderson offered Shepard a ride in their car. Subsequently, Shepard was robbed, pistol whipped, tortured, tied to a fence in a remote, rural area in Laramie, Wyoming, and left to die. Still tied to the fence, Shepard was discovered 18 hours later by Aaron Kreifels, who initially mistook Shepard for a scarecrow. At the time of discovery, Shepard was still alive, but in a coma.Shepard suffered fractures to the back of his head and in front of his right ear. He had severe brain stem damage, which affected his body’s ability to regulate heart rate, body temperature and other vital functions. There were also about a dozen small lacerations around his head, face and neck. His injuries were deemed too severe for surgeons to operate. Shepard never regained consciousness and remained on full life support. He was pronounced dead at 12:53 A.M. on October 12, 1998, at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins. Police arrested McKinney and Henderson shortly thereafter, finding the bloody gun as well as the victim’s shoes and wallet in their truck.
Championed by Shepard’s surviving mother and father, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act has been debated within the Congress, Senate, and Presidency for over a decade. Even though thousands of gay men and women are victims of violence because of their sexual orientation every year, Republicans denounced the bill and implied the Act gave gay and lesbian victims of hate crimes “special rights.” I personally wrote letters to my then Republican Congressman Tom Feeney begging him to pass this important legislation. Each time, I received a reply thanking me for sending my letter but he would not be supporting “special rights” for gays and lesbians. To show just how much has changed, in a resounding defeat, Democratic Congresswomen Suzanne Kosmas replaced the corrupt Republican. The reply I received from her said she resoundingly supported the legislation and believed strongly that when any class of persons is targeted with violence, the response should be swift and provide the most severe punishment permitted by law. It’s a refreshing change to see intelligence, empathy, and understanding slowly begin to erode the ignorance, stupidity, and idiocy we’ve all had to endure for the past several years. Thank-you President Obama. We are all grateful that you have signed this vital bill into law. The thousands of gay men and women who have been victims of hate crimes can now have the justice they have been sorely missing.
It looks like the buzz isn’t ready to die just yet. After a very successful remake and prequel to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Platinum Dunes apparently has dropped their licensure holding on the rights to the series. Lionsgate just signed with rights-holder and original TCM writer Kim Henkel to bring the cannibalistic and chainsaw-wielding terror Leatherface back to the silverscreen. Both the remake and prequel were very well done. Let’s hope the new owners continue to make the series quality. Some of the remarks from producer Mark Burg conjures some skepticism on that point: “What we’re going to do with it is bring it to 2010. Make it current day and come up with a new story that takes some of the basic plot points, if you will, and make it a current day movie. I don’t want to make another Chainsaw in the ’70s, that doesn’t thrill me. I haven’t seen first draft yet, but we’re working on it.” Burg says numerous directors have expressed interest in making the film. It will also be made for a new dimension; the new Massacre will take place in 3-D. Let’s hope this doesn’t signal a cheesy teen-slasher waste of celluloid…
Casting is nearly complete for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s up-coming sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom: Love Never Dies is scheduled to open at London’s Adelphi Theater on February 20, 2010 and then on Broadway in November of 2010. Today, Playbill announced Joseph Millson and Liz Robertson will join the previously announced Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess and Summer Strallen as principal cast. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s follow-up to The Phantom of the Opera begins its official opening March 9, 2010. Millson will play Raoul, who is now married to Christine in the new story, set in Coney Island ten years on from where Phantom ended.For more information on The Phantom: Love Never Dies, visit the Official Site: 
The UCF Knights Football team is making preparations for what could be the most exciting game of their season. The Knights host the #9 University of Miami Hurricanes this Saturday. UCF’s squad took Monday-Wednesday off last week to heal and get some much needed rest. Practice resumed Thursday. The Knights (3-2; 1-2 CUSA) are coming off a strong 32-14 victory against Conference USA foes the Memphis Tigers on 10/4 while the ‘Canes (4-1; 2-1 ACC) crushed I-AA FAMU 48-16 last Saturday. Although the Knights are the definite underdog, the 58,000-seat sold-out stadium will provide some deafening crowd noise that should help give the Knights’ defense some help. Miami won’t be alone, however. UM sold all 10,000 of their ticket allotment. This marks the second matchup between the teams. Miami narrowly defeated UCF last season 20-14 in Miami. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm at UCF’s Brighthouse Networks Stadium and the game is being nationally televised on CBS. The Colleges of Nursing and Health & Public Affairs will hold their Tailgate Party outside the Fairwinds Alumni Center from 2:00pm-6:30pm. Come support the Knights to victory against the Miami Hurricanes! GO KNIGHTS!!! BLACK & GOLD!!!
