So Someone Said To Me That You Can Never Meet A Good Person Off The Internet. I Want To Prove Them Wrong.

Hoda, from Hoda and Kathie Lee fame, said she loves watching commencement speeches when she is feeling blue.  Me too, Hoda, me too...

13/1/14

Jason Collins : I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.

“The first relative I came out to was my aunt Teri, a superior court judge in San Francisco. Her reaction surprised me. “I’ve known you were gay for years,” she said. From that moment on I was comfortable in my own skin. In her presence I ignored my censor button for the first time. She gave me support. The relief I felt was a sweet release. Imagine you’re in the oven, baking. Some of us know and accept our sexuality right away and some need more time to cook. I should know — I baked for 33 years.

When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.

No one wants to live in fear. I’ve always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don’t sleep well. I never have. But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger and sleep a little more soundly. It takes an enormous amount of energy to guard such a big secret. I’ve endured years of misery and gone to enormous lengths to live a lie. I was certain that my world would fall apart if anyone knew. And yet when I acknowledged my sexuality I felt whole for the first time. I still had the same sense of humor, I still had the same mannerisms and my friends still had my back.

The most you can do is stand up for what you believe in. I’m much happier since coming out to my friends and family. Being genuine and honest makes me happy. Some people insist they’ve never met a gay person. But Three Degrees of Jason Collins dictates that no NBA player can claim that anymore. Pro basketball is a family. And pretty much every family I know has a brother, sister or cousin who’s gay. In the brotherhood of the NBA, I just happen to be the one who’s out.

Here’s the FULL 1D Day Show!

Julianne Moore as “Famous Works of Art” by Peter Linderbergh - for Harper’s Bazaar

Seated Woman With Bent Knee by Egon Schiele, La Grande Odalisque by Ingres, Saint Praxidis by Vermeer, The Cripple by John Currin, Les danseuses by Edgar Degas, Madame X by John Singer, Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer, Woman With a Fan by Modigliani, Man Crazy Nurse #3 by Richard Prince, Adele Bloch Bauer I by Gustav Klimt.

Remember a few months ago when Marine Captain Matthew Phelps proposed to his boyfriend, Ben Schock, inside the White House and he said yes?

Well, they tied the knot this past weekend!

I dare you not to fond at your computer screen while watching. 

What’s The Worst Thing You Could Say To A Congresswoman Who Lost Her Legs In Battle? Um, THIS.

  An IRS contractor hurt his foot playing football in military prep school. He never served in the actual military. Then one day, decades later, he used it to get preferred treatment in military contracts. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who lost both her legs and still could lose her arm from combat injuries, felt that this might just be a touch inappropriate. It gets amazing around 4:30.

You are awesome too, Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler's a member. Are you?  Make your membership gift by June 30 and it will be matched dollar for dollar.  Dear               You know who is awesome? Cecile Richards. She's the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She's smart, she's tough, and she's totally dedicated to fighting for women's health. And you know who else totally rules? Every single doctor and nurse and receptionist and volunteer who shows up at a Planned Parenthood health center to make sure that every person who walks through their door gets the care they need.  And when it comes to Planned Parenthood, there's one more group of people who are really, truly, no-kidding awesome: the members who give money and time to make it all possible. I should know. I'm one of them.  You should be, too. In fact, you should stop reading this email right now and click here to become a Planned Parenthood Federation of America member like me this very second. Helping Planned Parenthood help women is always a good thing, but right now it's even better because some very generous people will match your membership bucks (but only until June 30, so do it now).  You get these emails, you pay attention — you already know how important Planned Parenthood is. But now is an important time to give and become a member. Give a dollar right now, and it magically turns into two. Give $50, and that's a hundred dollars for Planned Parenthood. There's no better way to have an impact for women's health than being a Planned Parenthood member —and if you give now, you have twice the impact.  Admit it, that's pretty convincing. You know it's time to reach for that credit card and make your donation. But if you're still not sold, think back to the first time you went to a Planned Parenthood health center, scared or broke or confused or hopeful. Think about your friends, or your sister, or your daughter, son, niece, or nephew. Think about every person out there who has nowhere else to go, nobody else to count on, nobody but Planned Parenthood.  It's up to us to make sure Planned Parenthood is strong enough to protect their rights and their health. Especially because we are having a moment right now when people are trying to come up with new ways to make the lives of all the folks who rely on Planned Parenthood pretty difficult. What makes it possible for Planned Parenthood to make a real, irreplaceable difference for those folks are members like me — and hopefully you.  So why are you still reading? You should be click-click-clicking right here to become a member!  Thanks for reading this, thanks for joining or renewing, thanks for sticking with the incredible people at this incredible organization, and thanks for joining me in saying that Planned Parenthood is awesome!  Sincerely,  Amy Poehler