The Human Rights Campaign, one of America's most strident gay-civil-rights orgs, cordially invites you to lay down $195 (or just $125 with student ID -- those lucky kids, what a steal!) for the "HRC Gala Dinner Kick-Off Event," (or HGDKOE) April 20th at 6:30 P.M. at the Clift Hotel (with rooms starting around $200/night). Sigh. Only the HRC can self-parody more effectively than Gay Shame.

The HGDKOE isn't even a for-real event; it's a planning meeting for an even BIGGER event in July. April's $200 meeting promises an opportunity to "hear about speakers, honorees, and ... an update on the work HRC is doing nationally as well as in California." We can't wait to hear about that, since it appears that the HRC is doing virtually nothing in San Francisco, aside from a monthly booze night at slimey-trendy Lime.

The HRC does contribute a significant amount of money to Equality California, and EQCA is tremendously busy all over the state. Which makes us wonder ... why are we paying $200 a plate to the HRC, when it's EqCa that's doing all the work?

Anyway, we can't wait to save up enough to make a down payment on tickets to the HGDKOE. Hopefully, there'll be some discussion about fighting the awful, untrue stereotype that homogays tend to spend money carelessly.