Some good news out of Florida, where the latest polls show Alex Sink improving to a toss-up with teabagger Rick Scott, whose hospital chain paid the largest federal fine in history for medicare fraud. Unsurprisingly, Scott is also the founder of an astroturf group lobbying for removing regulations on the hospital industry. If elected, Scott vows to block health care …

Andrew Sullivan calls this $3 item from the HRC “a new low.” Can’t say I disagree, but I’ve never missed an opportunity to mock those Lance Armstrong bracelets either.

Sean Bielat is trailing miles behind Rep. Barney Frank (10 to 25 points, depending on whose poll you believe), so today he takes a disco potshot at Frank via a woman in a fat suit.

The bedbug scare gets the Taiwanese news animation treatment. (Via – Gothamist)

A just-released poll reveals that 62% of Australians now support marriage equality. Australian Marriage Equality spokesperson Alex Greenwich and PFLAG national spokesperson Shelley Argent OAM called on both major parties to listen to the Australian people and allow a conscience vote on the issue. “Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott cannot ignore the majority of Australians who believe same-sex couples should …

A large majority of Americans, two-thirds in fact, believe that the way that churches treat gay people contributes to LGBT suicides. (This is probably self-apparent, to you.) Two out of three Americans believe gay people commit suicide at least partly because of messages coming out of churches and other places of worship, a survey released Thursday found. More than four …

(Source)

It’s a heartfelt, well-written, and sincerely delivered message. Let’s try to divorce this effort from “the other issue” and talk about what a message like this from the president of the United States might mean to a young queer kid. And once again, let’s thank Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller for what is easily the most successful and …

I think it’s time for a cage match!

I’m getting dozens of emails and tweets reporting that much of the central Castro business district has been evacuated due to a major gas leak. Some write to say that they can actually hear gas rushing out of a broken main line. A high pressure gas line has been ruptured by workers using a backhoe at 18th and Castro. Street …

In response to the murky legal waters currently swirling around DADT, the Pentagon has announced it is raising the rank of persons able to make the call to eject a gay or lesbian servicemember. Chris Geidner reports at Metro Weekly: Discharges under the military’s ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy will now take the approval of the service branch secretary, and …

Based on reader responses and the advice of JMG-ers in DC, we’ve decided to hold next Saturday’s DC reader meet-up at the Green Lantern, which is down an alley (Halloween! Spooky!) just off Thomas Circle near 1111 14th Street. (That’s the address the bar manager suggested is easiest to find from the street.) The Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally runs noon …

National Public Radio has fired host Juan Williams (who also does political commentary for Fox) after he said on the Bill O’Reilly Show that seeing Muslim-looking people on airplanes makes him nervous. And all of Teabagistan is going nuts. Williams, who is also an analyst for Fox News, told Fox today that he was not given a chance to defend …

“It happens every once in awhile at the federal level when the solicitor general, on behalf of the U.S., will confess error or decline to defend a law. I don’t know what is going through the [Obama] administration’s thought process on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ It would be appropriate for them to say ‘the law has been deemed unconstitutional, we …

America’s third parties: “Nothing sounds crazier than politicians discussing shit you actually care about.”

As I mentioned on Facebook a few days ago, I’m going to be a guest on Fox News’ Alan Colmes Show, but that appearance has been moved from 2PM today, to the same time next Thursday. As you may know, Colmes is the sole voice of sanity on Fox, but still…it’s Fox…so I’m taking garlic and stakes to the studio, …

Wonk Room provides the transcript: You know what, the Justice Department is required to defend the law of the land. Believe me, we wish there were another way because the President has been so clear. And I think there are many members of the gay community who actually understand this and who are working with us to try to put …