“The cowboy is our very embodiment of male virtues. In offering us cowboys who are gay then, Brokeback Mountain commits heresy, but it is knowing heresy, matter-of-fact heresy. Nor is it the sex (what little there is) that makes it heretical. Rather, it’s the emotion, the fact that the movie dares you to deny these men their humanity. Or their love.”

“New York is jaded, but when you play Indianapolis, the women come out. One of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten came after a show I did in Lexington, Ky. A middle-aged woman came up behind me, whacked me hard on my back, and said, ‘Kate Clinton! You made me want to fuck again!’ It was fabulous.”

“Did we really need a gay TV network to give us reruns of watered-down Hollywood product or tame gaysploitation films that have been seen endlessly before, and are still seen regularly on other cable channels? Some of these films have only the tiniest or most ephemeral gay-related content. And you can hear language much bluer than that allowed on prudish Logo – and see more passionate gay lip-locks – nearly any day on HBO or one of the other major cable nets.”