“You’ve got audiences cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don’t have health care and booing a service member in Iraq because they’re gay. That’s not reflective of who we are.“
— President Barack Obama, criticizing recent GOP presidential debates, speaking at a Sept. 25 campaign fundraiser. (Americablog.com, Sept. 26)
“The audience was 5,500 — huge, huge audience — and the boos on that gay soldier may have been two people, maybe three, out of 5,500.”
— Fox News host Bret Baier, moderator of the Sept. 22 GOP debate, arguing that the booing only sounded loud because of the “cavernous facility.” (TheHill.com, Sept. 26)
“I don’t know if any of you know this, but we lost a Little Monster. I wanted to dedicate this song to him tonight because he was really young. I wrote this record about how your identity’s all you’ve got when you’re in school…Jamey, I know you’re up there looking down on us. And you’re not a victim, you’re a lesson to all of us.”
— Pop star Lady Gaga, dedicating her performance of the song “Hair” at the iHeartRadio festival to Jamey Rodemeyer, a bullied gay 14-year-old who committed suicide Sept. 18. (CNN.com, Sept. 26)
Top photo: Comedian Wanda Sykes (Publicity photo)