From the NYT comes an interesting story about the fading patchwork of lesbian separatist communities across the country. The communities, most in rural areas from Oregon to Florida, have as few as two members; Alapine is one of the largest. Many have steadily lost residents over the decades as members have moved on or died. As the impulse to withdraw …

— Equus star Daniel Radcliffe had his caricature added to the walls of Sardi’s this week. The show closes on Feb. 8th. — Tom Wopat returns to the cast of Chicago on Feb. 16th. — Drag king stand-up comedian Murray Hill will host his annual Oscars party at Joe’s Pub on Feb.22nd. $15 advance, $20 at the door. — Freebie: …

Even though they got $5000 for their lost luggage and first class upgrades for the next year, some of the passengers of US Airways Flight 1459 think they should get first class upgrades for life. “I think if you survive a plane crash, being upgraded permanently is a good gesture too,” said Fred Berretta, 41, of Charlotte, NC, where the …

As I just Facebooked: “Joe ponders the futility of activism blogging when the top two searched items in years are ‘Aretha’s hat’ and ‘bacon explosion’.” Image via my pal Kitchenbeard.

Today Virginia lawmakers refused to allow a bill repealing that state’s ban on same-sex marriage to come to a vote. Lawmakers on the Privileges & Elections subcommittee in the Republican-controlled state House voted 7-1 to pass indefinitely on the initiative, meaning lawmakers would not take up the measure again this session. The measure, H.J. 657, would have repealed the Marshall-Newman …

Huffington Post is running a silly poll asking “Who’s The Hottest Congressional Freshman?” Among the candidates is openly gay Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO). Click the image if you’d like to vote.

Via Think Progress comes this graph showing who the cable news programs are going for commentary on Barack Obama’s stimulus package. In total, from 6 AM on Monday to 4 PM on Wednesday, the networks have hosted Republican lawmakers 51 times and Democratic lawmakers only 24 times. Surprisingly, Fox News came the closest to offering balance, hosting 8 Republicans and …

Congregations at six Ohio churches have agreed that their clergy will not sign marriage licenses until same-sex marriage is legal there. Clergy at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in Cleveland no longer will sign state marriage licenses until gay unions are legal in Ohio. That means heterosexual couples exchanging wedding vows at the 461-member church in the Tremont neighborhood …

“I’d like to see Obama naked. I think great leaders, charismatic leaders and men who are so confident and who have achieved so much, usually have big penises. I think there’s a correlation between the level of confidence, the level of the way a man can hold a room and the way he conducts himself in life, with his penis …

Barack Obama is reportedly leaning towards picking Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) to be Bill Richardson’s replacement as Secretary of Commerce. If Gregg is selected, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch would probably appoint a fellow Democrat to fill the empty Senate seat. Which means that IF Obama picks Gregg and IF Al Franken survives the latest recount and IF Lynch appoints …

Activists in Kansas are trying to get a bill adding sexual orientation and gender identity protections out of committee. “It’s clear that the time has come to extend the same protections from discrimination to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people that so many other Kansans already enjoy,” said Maggie Childs, of Lawrence, board chair of the Kansas Equality Coalition. The …

Facebook has stepped in and deleted Burger King’s Whopper promotion because it violated their rule about notifying people when you unfriend them. While many trivial actions do prompt Facebook to post an alert to all your friends — adding a photo, changing your relationship status, using Fandango to buy tickets to “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” — striking someone off your …

Two companies somehow doing OK these days are Amazon….. Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest Internet retailer, posted an 8.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit after promotions and discounts lured consumers to its Web site. Sales beat estimates, sending the shares up 13 percent. Net income climbed to $225 million, or 52 cents a share, from $207 million, or 48 cents, …

Rod Blagojevich and his hair brush were unanimously booted out of office yesterday by the Illinois senate in a 59-0 vote. Gov. Rod Blagojevich was thrown out of office Thursday without a single lawmaker coming to his defense, brought down by a government-for-sale scandal that stretched from Chicago to Capitol Hill and turned the foul-mouthed politician into a national punchline. …

A federal judge has ruled that donors to Proposition 8 will continue to have their names made public. “If there ever needs to be sunshine on a particular issue, it’s a ballot measure,” U.S. District Judge Morrison England said after a one-hour hearing in his Sacramento courtroom. A lawyer for the Prop. 8 campaign said it would ask an appeals …

In January 1977 Rose Royce took their debut single Car Wash, the theme from the blaxploitation movie of the same name, to #1 on the pop chart for one week. The single was written and produced by Motown’s legendary Norman Whitfield, who took Rose Royce with him when he jumped ship for MCA Records. Rose Royce scored three more Top …

Barack Obama signed his first bill today. The act extends the statute of limitations for workers that want to sue their employers for unequal pay. Mr. Obama was surrounded by a group of beaming lawmakers, most but not all of them Democrats, in the East Room of the White House as he affixed his signature to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair …

Sarah Palin is denying that she intends to run for president in 2012, but she’s just set up a political action committee…you know, just in case. Via US News’ Robert Schlesinger: Asked if her new political action committee was an early signal that she is running for president in 2012, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin replied: “No, not at all, not …

A straight and married Wall Street trader is suing his former employers, saying that they tormented him for his vegetarianism and told him that only homosexuals don’t eat meat. Ryan Pacifico is suing Calyon in the Americas, charging that his one-time boss at the French financial firm presided over a testosterone-fueled trading desk, where he was mocked for avoiding meat …

Yesterday Melissa Etheridge appeared on Michelangelo Signorile’s SiriusXM radio show to speak about her defense of Rick Warren. Etheridge responded to her critics by saying, “I am sorry if they felt like in any way I undermined them. I truly believe everyone has their perspective and position on this. I’m glad for the activists who say this is not right …