4082. For information about issues important to Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, you might visit this website. Paul Rieckhoff, the founder of the “Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America,” is hot stuff. And, I mean literally … hot stuff. Consider this an open thread to discuss your plans for Memorial Day and the rest of the week. — Aaron.

Do you know why a pressure cooker — despite urban legends to the contrary– is not likely to ever actually explode? It has a safety valve. (I guess device malfunction might cause otherwise.) What kind of things do you do to keep the pressures of modern life from bringing you to the bursting point? What kind of measures do you …

Someone in the blog comments yesterday mentioned this story by Joe as a favorite. “I’m resting!” My favorite Joe. My. God. story, though, is one that he has not yet posted, but read to a crowd at the final WYSIWYG last year. Titled “Hanky Codes,” it involved, in typical Joe fashion, a leatherman wearing so much gear “that he looked …

Dad has some other obligations that require him to step away from blogging for a bit. You know what kids do when their parents aren’t home, right? Time to raid Mom and Dad’s liquor cabinet. Erm. In other words, I am going to have the Alexander Haig moment I’ve been waiting for all my life. I’ve been reading Joe’s blog …

Gentle readers, I’m going to take a short blog vacation as I’ve been under the weather for the last couple of weeks, leaving me very stressed and unfocused, causing my job performance to suffer during a critical time of the year for us. I think a few days of unpluggedness from this here website thingy might be just the tonic. …

Disgraced former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey told the judge presiding over his divorce trial that he can’t pay alimony because he’s broke and owes his boyfriend $250K. Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey yesterday said he owes a quarter-million dollars to his boyfriend, but wants to pay child support for the daughter he has with his estranged wife, as well …

Now, American: American Airlines said Wednesday that it would soon start charging passengers $15 to check their first bag each way, or $30 round-trip, if they are flying on a discounted fare. The airline’s new policy — to take effect June 15 — comes only two weeks after many major carriers, including American, began charging $25 each way for checking …

From the Campaign To Save Children and Families: ACTION: If your county approved Prop. 22, please call your county clerk immediately. Urge him or her not to issue marriage licenses to anyone but a man and a woman. Urge your county clerk to: “Do what’s right, maintain public order, uphold the marriage statutes, and respect the democratic process by NOT …

Donna Summer performed on last night’s final of American Idol, singing her new single Stamp Your Feet and Last Dance. Oh, and David Cook won.

Pier 40 is part parking garage, part boat slips, and also hosts Courtyard Fields – several acres of baseball and soccer fields on two levels.

An encouraging first: A US federal court of appeal has reinstated a lawsuit by a decorated Air Force nurse who is suing after she was discharged for being a lesbian. Major Margaret Witt’s case is the first time a court has not automatically backed the US military’s argument that gays hurt morale and operations as a good enough reason for …

What’s your favorite foreign language movie?

Food Emporium, 1st Avenue, Tuesday, 10PM The grocery list that somebody had left in the bottom of my cart said: 1. parm cheese2. scallions3. almonds4. OJ5. half n half And in a different color pen at the bottom, this had been added: 6. the love of a TRUE man. It was crossed out in the original pen.

Via the Palm Beach Post: A judge has reopened a case involving the Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School, allowing students to challenge the school’s refusal to allow the club to meet on campus. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore dismissed the case last month, saying the club’s founder, Yasmin Gonzalez, no longer was affected by the school’s decision because …

I think they were trying to protest his anti-Kremlin speech. Or something.

Here come the brides. And the grooms. Los Angeles County will be ready to meet the increased demand for civil marriage ceremonies and license applications on June 16, when the recent state Supreme Court ruling overturning a same-sex marriage ban will take effect, acting County Clerk Dean Logan said Tuesday. “Our staff is busy going about the process of preparing …

More fuel for the Matthew Shepard Act, sadly. A report released Tuesday shows that violent attacks on members of the LGBT community nationwide grew by 24 percent in 2007 over the previous year. The 78-page report was prepared by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs with input from more than 30 of its members across the U.S. The number of …

History was made yesterday when Portland, Oregon elected openly gay Commissioner Sam Adams, 44, as their new mayor, making Portland the largest American city ever to be helmed by an out gay man. “I’m running not to be a gay mayor, but a great mayor,” he said after delivering his victory speech. “But I’m very cognizant, very aware that I’m …

Two weeks after his drunk driving arrest revealed his double life with a longtime mistress and their “love child”, anti-gay “family values” blowhard Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island) announced that he will give up his reelection campaign Fossella said in a statement on his Web site Tuesday that the choice was a difficult one, based on a need to balance …