Free Republic

Whether it was a flip-flop, or an evolution, or a change of view, President Obama is the first sitting president to endorse same-sex marriage. Coincidentally, the same week the president announced this change, Cyndi Lauper, one of the biggest activists for gay and lesbian rights in the entertainment community was in town. Lauper came to D.C. to receive an award for her work to end LGBT -- lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender -- youth homelessness. Hearing the president's support for same-sex marriage, she said, felt extraordinary. "I've never been so proud of a president before, I'm so proud to be...

Cyndi Lauper fluffed her performance of the US national anthem this weekend, as part of a 9/11 memorial at the US Open. The 58-year-old singer was performing The Star-Spangled Banner following a moment of silence for victims of the terrorist attacks in the US – but failed to sing the words correctly. "O'er the ramparts we watched," Lauper sang, "as our flag was still streaming." While this sounds perfectly plausible, the real lyrics use more complicated grammar – and a fancier adverb: "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming."

Recording artist Cindi Lauper performs during the closing ceremony of the Gay Games VII at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) (July 22, 2006)