Next week Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, who catapulted to national fame for her marathon filibuster of an anti-abortion bill, will formally announce to her bid to run for governor. Ms. Davis’s decision has the potential to turn the race to determine Gov. Rick Perry’s successor into a rare competitive showdown between long-suffering Texas Democrats and the Republican conservatives who …

Tea Party icon and former US House Rep. Allen West is leaving the right-wing PJ Media. According to some reports, West was fired after making an anti-Semitic remark to a staffer. Via Buzzfeed: In a message to staff, West wrote: “Shortly, I will be giving up my position as director of programming at Next Generation.TV to get back on the …

The petition was launched by “the Italian mother” of GLAAD vice president Rich Ferraro.

In case you missed it yesterday, here’s the back story.

Pogo is the stage name of Australian wunderkind Nick Bertke.

Police are seeking a suspect in the murder of noted equestrian Ross Reisner (above right), who was shot through the window of his Long Island home on Tuesday as he chatted with his partner of 24 years (above left). Ross Reisner, 50, and Kevin Murray were sitting on a leather couch in the living room at their house in Setauket, …

Via press release: New York-based LGBT activist group Jamaica Anti-Homophobia Stand halted Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller’s exit from a United Nations session at the Ford Foundation in New York today. Shouting “Gay rights are human rights!” and “Portia, shame on you!” the group of seven protestors greeted the PM as she began to exit the Ford Foundation offices on …

Another day, another Catholic priest arrested. From the Philadelphia Inquirer: District Attorney Seth Williams announced the arrest of Rev. Robert L. Brennan, 75, for allegedly raping an altar boy between 1998 and 2001, while he was assistant pastor at Resurrection of Our Lord parish in Rhawnhurst. The charges came about after a 26-year-old man reportedly encouraged by last year’s trial …

Translation via Reddit: “To us, it doesn’t matter with whom you do it, it only matters that you do it al dente.” (Tipped by JMG reader Jake) UPDATE: Garofalo is denying having made the image. 

“If this law doesn’t violate the IOC’s charter, then the charter is completely meaningless. The safety of millions of LGBT Russians and international travelers is at risk, and by all accounts the IOC has completed neglected its responsibility to Olympic athletes, sponsors and fans from around the world. The IOC and its new president, Thomas Bach, are putting the good …

Tech sites are buzzing today after some Google chat users found that their messages were going to the wrong people. CNN reports that some cube dwellers found themselves copied on the private chats of their bosses. Google has acknowledged a problem with its Talk service that misrouted messages from users to unintended recipients. At 10:30am EDT today, Google reported on …

Congratulations to @ABFalecbaldwin on his new show, the only program where the host has a court order to stay 500 feet away from cameramen. — Rep. Steve Stockman (@SteveWorks4You) September 26, 2013

Politico today has a scoop on anti-gay crackpot E.W. Jackson, who is running for lieutenant governor of Virginia. E.W. Jackson, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Virginia, was accused in 2006 of threatening the life of his daughter’s roommate, according to a Belmont, Mass., police report and a separate temporary restraining order filed in Middlesex County Court. Those two …

No @JoeLhota4Mayor you wouldn’t be 1st NYC Mayor with a beard in 100 yrs. Koch had #BessMyerson. #GoogleIt #votebeard pic.twitter.com/cBZuwxEa6Z — Karl Frisch (@KarlFrisch) September 26, 2013

Good As You blogger and anti-NOM crusader Jeremy Hooper and his husband are daddies! He writes: Savannah Rose Hooper-Shulman came into the world on 9/25/13 at 7:40PM CT. Baby is gorgeous and healthy; daddies are ecstatic! My husband and I are going to take a few days to enjoy this amazing new life. Regular updates will resume once I come …

In 2010 hundreds of Serbian riot police clashed with neo-Nazis at Belgrade Pride, resulting in over 200 arrests. The following year’s event was canceled over fears of the same and last year’s pride event was banned. This week neo-Nazis again threatened this year’s planned parade. At a September 24 press conference, an assortment of right-wing nationalist organizations, including the president …

I’m in Cleveland for four days as part of a press junket sponsored by Positively Cleveland, the marketing agency for the local convention and visitors bureau. We’re primarily here as part of Cleveland’s push for the Gay Games 2014, which runs next year from August 9th -16th and is expected to draw 11,000 athletes from around the world. There’s a …