An Islamic cleric in Saudi Arabia has issued one of the most bizarre fatwas yet. Via Salon: As many of us know, women and men in Saudi Arabia must be careful not to mingle, as the insanely strict Islamic law bans mixing between the sexes who are not related. Recently, the Saudis have issued a fatwa that forces women who …

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) says that the president would probably have no problem with terrorists beating TSA agents, since he (Gohmert says) has no problem with terrorists evading the Gaza blockade.

More and more NYC restaurants are doing away with taking reservations, citing the costs of hiring reservationists and the membership fees paid to online table booking services. The easy button for many restaurateurs is OpenTable.com, which allows diners to make reservations 24/7 online. “The average restaurant spends $1,500 to $2,000 a month on OpenTable,” said Mr. Brown, of Ed’s Chowder …

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rep. Michele “Crazy Eyes” Bachmann, and other GOP politicians joined evangelical and Jewish leaders in Los Angeles on Monday to speak before about 5000 pro-Israel protesters angry about international reaction to the Gaza flotilla raid. Near the end of the below clip, peace activist David Pine is shouted down by the crowd and called a “traitor” for …

According to a Washington Blade piece just posted by Lou Chibarro, some longtime supporters of ADAP in Congress are reluctant to approve supplemental funding this year for fear of angering the Tea Party. The AIDS Drug Assistance Program keeps tens of thousands of people alive by providing them with free or low cost HIV medications. William Arnold, executive director of …

Copyranter dissects this ad from Dylan Fabric Dye: Twink gives Sugar Daddy puffy shirt with doily collar for Valentine’s Day. Sugar Daddy dyes shirt pink and re-gifts it to Twink for their anniversary. Look at Twink’s face, look at his hair. Look at the way Sugar Daddy is holding his champagne glass. Jam the stereotyping into that layout. You’ll have …

JMG reader David over at Wicked Gay Blog says he’s been tipped that Manhunt is about to launch a competitor to Grindr called “Assfinder.” SRSLY. Or at least, Assfinder is the working name until the product goes live.

New York City’s annual leather street festival, Folsom Street East, is next Sunday, June 20th. Inspired by San Francisco’s legendary Folsom Street Fair, FSE was founded in 1997 by former Gay Male S/M Activists (GMSMA) chair John Weis and a cohort of similarly-minded New York City leathermen. “I thought that having a fun day in the sun for the SM/leather …

The SF Weekly’s Lauren Smiley has turned in a fascinating (and sad) profile of several gay couples who’ve been separated due to our nation’s inequitable immigration laws. An excerpt: Now that Arizona’s “papers please” law has pushed immigration reform to Washington’s front burner, Democrats propose allowing “permanent partners” to be treated the same as spouses under immigration law. While 19 …

Last week I quoted Iowa Family Policy council head Chuck Hurley who said “blah blah something blah evil gays blah eternal hellfire blah God’s gentle love.” Etc. Today Hurley is burning in that special lake of shame reserved for politicians who get completely creamed at the polls. From One Iowa via press release: Pro-equality legislator Ako Abdul-Samad scored a decisive …

Via Business Insider, a startling look at the transformation of Shanghai in the space of a mere 20 years. Has any city in the world ever changed so rapidly and dramatically? Abu Dhabi, maybe? Meanwhile, here at home, Ground Zero remains a raw gaping wound upon the city almost nine years after 9/11.

“If equality of outcome and not equality of opportunity is the goal, we’ve got a serious problem with the national spelling bee. If a disparate outcome is prima facie evidence of racism, something is going to have to be done. An Indian-American has won it for the third year in a row, and overall, Indian-Americans have won the trophy eight …

A federal appeals court in Boston has denied NOM’s latest attempt to continue shielding their list of donors from Maine as is required by state election finance law. But it’s not over yet. The group, known by its initials “NOM” contributed nearly $2 million to last year’s successful campaign to overturn Maine’s gay marriage law. Opponents say NOM has failed …

Officials at the Empire State Building have turned down a request to light the building in honor of Mother Teresa. And Bill Donohue of the Catholic League is ever so pissed. New York City’s Empire State Building said ”yes” to Mariah Carey, dog shows, cancer charities — and even the 60th anniversary of communist China. But the landmark skyscraper’s owners …

It turn out that the Manhattan sidewalk “tourist lane” I told you about a few weeks ago was actually the work of pranksters Improv Everywhere. Of course. Posing as city workers, they even got people to abide by the lanes.

Sadly, birther loon Orly Taitz got fucking hammered yesterday in her bid to become California’s Secretary of State so that she could declare Barack Obama ineligible for the 2012 ballot. Taitz garnered only 25% of the vote, losing to 34 year-old former NFL player Damon Dunn, who had never voted until last year. But staying true to her mental illness, …

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina both won their California GOP primaries yesterday. Whitman will take on former Gov. Jerry Brown in November, Fiorina will challenge U.S. Senate veteran Barbara Boxer. Whitman spent a staggering $71M of her own money on her campaign, making Fiorina’s mere $5M personal outlay seem almost miserly. RELATED: California voters …

Openly gay GOP candidate Matthew Berry, who was backed by GOProud, lost his primary bid for Congress yesterday to newcomer Patrick Murray, who was backed by the Log Cabin Republicans. Via the Washington Blade: Matthew Berry, who’s gay and an attorney for the Federal Communications Commission, was seeking the Republican nomination to represent Virginia’s 8th congressional district, which comprises Arlington …