Gay blogs are buzzing with outrage today over an Arlington, Texas church’s cancellation of the funeral of a gay man. The High Point Church cancelled the service, planned for Wednesday, after viewing memorial photos of the deceased hugging and kissing male friends. Towleroad reports: [Reverend Gary] Simons defended his decision to renege on the offer to his congregation on Sunday, …

“To gays and lesbians, flubbing the choice-vs.-nature question is like botching the answer to “What’s one plus one?” Note to [New Mexico Governor] Richardson’s current and former gay staffers and supporters: Do an intervention — and get him an Ambien — before he implodes again.” – Visible Vote ’08 panelist and Washington Post reporter Jonathan Capehart, commenting on Richardson’s contention …

NYC Mayor Michael “Not Running For President” Bloomberg will be touring the country this fall to raise money for the World Trade Center Memorial Fund. Purely by coincidence, the states he will visit happen to be the important early presidential primary states: South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin. Oh, and he also recently bought the following domains: Mike08.com, …

Dubya will announce later today that Karl “Voldemort” Rove will resign from his post at the end of this month. Rove told the Wall Street Journal that White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten told Bush administration officials that anybody who stayed past Labor Day would be expected to work out the remainder of the term. Once Rove leaves, Bush’s …

Merv Griffin, the quietly gay legendary talk show host, entrepreneur, and game show creator, died of prostate cancer this weekend. The creator of Jeopardy! and Wheel Of Fortune, Griffin made billions, occasionally landing on Forbes list of the world’s richest men. Married in 1958, divorcing 15 years and one son later, Griffin was well-known to be gay, although he kept …

The Beaux Arts exit from the Manhattan Bridge to Canal Street is closed during repairs to the lower roadway, allowing me to grab this shot. Based on Paris’ Porte St. Denis arch, it’s normally clogged with vehicles.

Blowoff was a smash, as always: great tunes, cool video effects, hot banners, and packed with friendly faces. Two highlights: Bob Mould spinning a great reworking of Bronksi Beat’s Smalltown Boy and Why, during which a hot thing named Jocelyn (pictured below) blew us away singing along so amazingly on the dance floor that my goosebumps had goosebumps. Somebody needs …

As you can see by his delighted expression, our little Eddie is never happier than when he is surrounded by giant hairy men. Pic taken last night at Titan’s Woof party.

Gov. Bill Richardson will appear on Michelangelo Signorile’s Sirius OutQ talk show today to recant last night’s “homosexuality is a choice” gaffe, which he has already repudiated to print media. Tune in at 4:25PM EST/ 1:25PM PST to hear Mr. Excitement say, “Let me be clear – I do not believe that sexual orientation or gender identity happen by choice,” …

The ACLU is suing JetBlue and the Transportation Safety Administration on behalf of a man who attempted to board a flight at JFK last year while wearing a t-shirt that read, “We Will Not Be Silent” in both English and Arabic script. Raed Jarrar was told by a TSA official that his shirt “made fellow passengers uncomfortable.” Jarrar say he …

Bob “Tea-room” Allen says he is not a racist or a criminal and will not resign his seat in the Florida legislature. His lawyer says that based on the arresting officer’s own report, it was the police who did the soliciting, not Allen. The police contend that Allen initiated the incident by entering the police officer’s stall and leaning on …

– Monty Python’s Spamalot had its 1000th performance yesterday. – Chazz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale opens for a limited run at the Walter Kerr Theatre beginning October 4th and running through February 2008. Tony winner Jerry Zaks (Six Degrees Of Separation, Guys And Dolls) will direct. The Walter Kerr most recently hosted Grey Gardens, which closed July 29th. -The revival …

I’m in DC for the weekend with Jerry, Eddie, and The Ex. Itinerary: cocktail parties, housewarming party, Blowoff, Titan, and oh, look – it just happens to be Bear Invasion Weekend. Isn’t that….convenient? Actually, we didn’t know about the bear thing when we planned the trip. True story!

Below are the complete video clips of each candidate’s segment in last night’s HRC/LOGO Visible Vote ’08. From top left to bottom right in order of their appearance: Obama, Edwards, Kucinich, Gravel, Richardson, Clinton. My live-blogged account of the forum is one post below.

8:30PM – Watch along with me and make your observations on this historic event. Although the show does not air on the West Coast until 9PM PST, West Coasters can stream the show live online. Quotes below are paraphrased. 9:00PM: Bit of an odd opening. Cut right to audience applause, no titles, no voiceover. Neil Patrick Harris in the audience. …

An article in today’s Newsday contends that Rudy Giuliani has “done more for gay rights than any candidate.” Twenty-five years ago, long before Rudy Giuliani became mayor of New York City, he made a decision that advanced the cause of gay rights nationally. As the Justice Department’s number three official in 1982, Giuliani authorized the hiring of the first openly …

Towleroad has the exclusive story about the launch of a traveling memorial to the LGBT victims of hate crimes. Scott Hall, longtime activist Frank Kameny, US. Representative Barney Frank and Amazing Race winner and activist Chip Arndt are spearheading the launch of Gay American Heroes, a national memorial to honor LGBT people murdered because of their sexual orientation or gender …

In the wake of last year’s event during which nine people were shot, San Francisco has “cancelled” the Castro’s massive annual Halloween event which typically draws over 500,000 to the gayborhood. Audrey Joseph, former owner of the now-razed dance emporium, Universe, now the head of the City Entertainment Commission, says, “There will be no party.” SF Supervisor Bevan Dufty: “It’s …

Mandisa, the 5th season American Idol contestant who was voted off the show shortly after she made anti-gay comments to the press, has landed on her feet. “True Beauty” (Sparrow), the first album by fifth season “American Idol” finalist Mandisa, enters the Top Christian Albums chart at No. 1. It’s the first debut album by a solo female artist to …

Asshat mayor of Fort Lauderdale Jim Naugle will be hosting a local talk radio show tomorrow morning on the Mitchell & Morley In The Morning show, which runs during the morning drive time, 6am – 9am EST. The right-wing WFTL also carries the Michael Savage, Bill O’Reilly, and Dr. Laura shows. Maybe the mayor is already gunning for a new …