White supremacist groups are claiming that Barack Obama’s candidacy is boosting their membership. Tom Prater, Florida spokesman for the white power group Euro and a member of the National Association for the Advancement of White People, says the Illinois senator’s success is a boon for his cause. “I’ve gotten more calls in the last two months about interest in our …

Conservative blowhard columnist Robert Novak has announced his retirement due to last week’s brain tumor diagnosis. Novak revealed his illness shortly after he committed a hit-and-run on an 86 year-old homeless pedestrian. Novak has been diagnosed with cancer at least three times. He underwent surgery in 2003 to remove a cancerous growth on his kidney and was under medical observation …

More jet fuel fallout: JetBlue Airways Corp. said Monday it will begin charging customers for pillows and blankets. The carrier has done away with the recycled blankets and pillows used on its flights, and will begin offering an “eco-friendly” travel blanket and pillow that can be purchased for $7 on flights longer than two hours. A JetBlue spokeswoman declined to …

California Attorney General Jerry Brown says that even if Proposition 8 is passed and gay marriage is overturned, existing gay marriages will likely remain valid. “I believe that marriages that have been entered into subsequent to the (May 15) Supreme Court opinion will be recognized by the California Supreme Court,” Brown told The Chronicle. Noting that Prop. 8 is silent …

Dr. Jeff snapped this on our way back from Central Park last Saturday afternoon. This town can sure feel empty on summer weekends.

Michelangelo Signorile has interviewed Carla Lewis, a transgender woman who was inside the Knoxville Unitarian Church when last week’s shooting happened. Signorile: This is a clip from my interview with Carla Lewis, who was inside the Tennessee Valley Universalist Unitarian Church when a gunman opened fire little over a week ago. She came on the program last week to take …

From online gambling site EasyOdds.com: Democrats:Evan Bayh: 11/4Joe Biden: 6-1Kathleen Sebelius: 7-1Hillary Clinton: 10-1Chris Dodd: 14-1Bill Richardson: 18-1Al Gore: 20-1 Republicans:Tim Pawlenty: 2-1Mitt Romney: 5-1Sarah Palin: 7-1Tom Ridge: 10-1Bobby Jindal: 12-1Charlie Crist: 12-1Mike Huckabee: 20-1 UPDATE: Bil Browning at the Bilerico Project makes a pretty good case that Obama will indeed pick Bayh on Wednesday.

West Village, Weehauken Street, 7PM Spanish Bear: You guys, I’ve got to show you the new tattoo I just got on my ass. Passerby: I hope it says “Wash Me.” Spanish Bear: [Several dozen angry words in Spanish] And again I regret taking German in high school.

“Mmmmmmmm. Anderson. He’s dreamy. Just dreamy. I’ve been a fan of his since season 1 of The Mole. I just thought he was so cool when he talked in this cool, low, secret-agent voice — ‘If you can accomplish this task…’ Listen, no one can tell anyone how big their steps should be or when they can take them. You …

You couldn’t get away from this story on the news this weekend, but it’s so cool, I’ve got mention it here. MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy. With Daniel Nocera’s and Matthew Kanan’s new catalyst, homeowners could use their solar panels during the day to power their home, while also using …

The Westboro Baptist Church was set on fire this weekend (only minor damage, pity) and the Crypt Keeper blames “fags and fag enablers.” Oh, and while the fire department put out the fire, church members picketed them. Seriously. These loonbags are the best thing to happen to gay rights, like, ever.

The right-wing has surged into the lead in the contest to raise money over the Proposition 8 battle. Proponents of Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage, raised about $3.7 million from Jan. 1 through June 30, according to state filings. In contrast, gay-rights activists who oppose the measure raised about $2.5 million through June 30. The …

I’ve read this weekend’s lengthy New York Times Magazine article on internet trolls three times now and I still don’t know what to think. (Did the reporter himself get trolled by his subjects?) In a way, I came away feeling like the troll nonsense we have to deal with in the LGBT blogosphere is waaaay less severe than the shit …

Yesterday around 6PM I was in a cab stopped at a light in the West Village, just about to cross 6th Avenue at 9th Street. Looked out the window and three feet away was Sen. Joe Lieberman and his wife getting into their car. He couldn’t open his car door until we moved, so he kinda gave us a look. …

Some outfit called the Center For An Urban Future has conducted what it’s calling the first ever count of all retail chain outlets in NYC. You’ll have to embiggen to see the chart. The chain with the most outlets in Manhattan is, unsurprisingly, Starbucks. Most in all five boroughs: Dunkin’ Donuts. The complete list (PDF) includes all chains that have …

Dr. Jeff grabbed this shot as we were crossing Lexington Avenue. Those overpasses connect the buildings of Hunter College.

The CDC says that due to better reporting and improved blood tests, they now estimate the annual number of new HIV infections in the United States to 40% higher than previously thought. The number of Americans infected by the AIDS virus each year is much higher than the government has been estimating, U.S. health officials reported Sunday, acknowledging that their …

The Farmboyz and I did one of our outer borough explorations today, venturing out into the wilds of far Queens. We usually take our bikes on the subway, but Farmboy C (above) blew a tire so we spent the afternoon hoofing around Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (site of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs), which today was hosting the 18th Annual …

What a weird last few days on teh interwebs, a regular triple play of nonsense. First Haloscan crashes, then Google locked thousands of bloggers out of their accounts, then on Friday afternoon any site with the Sitemeter script on it would no longer open in IE, affecting many thousands of sites. We got a heads-up from the CEO of JS-Kit, …