Former SNL cast member and Air America host Al Franken easily won the Minnesota Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate yesterday. Franken will face incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in November. Al Franken is tremendous friend of the LGBT community and has spoken many times in support of ENDA and marriage equality. Let’s wish him well.

OK, so after the first couple of days of being bothered by dive-bombing bees in Berlin, I was thinking I’d come home and blog something like, “Now I know where all our bees have gone. They’re in Berlin.” Then on Sunday we were wandering around Alexanderplatz and decided to stop at a quite lovely looking bakery for something sweet. I …

This has got to be the lowest attack ad in history. Dan Savage deconstructs it thusly: “That scary black man running for president? He wants to fuck the shit out of your kids.” Obama’s campaign reacts to the ad: It is shameful and downright perverse for the McCain campaign to use a bill that was written to protect young children …

Something odd appears to be afoot at Andrew Sullivan’s blog. He typically posts numerous times a day, but nothing appeared on Monday. (Sullivan always advises his readers when he’s taking time off and has guest bloggers fill in.) Yesterday he posted a short note reassuring his readers that “nothing was wrong” only to follow it up with a cryptic quote …

After her admiring description of Sarah Palin blasted through the LGBT blogosphere today, Billie Jean King has issued a clarification. “Last Friday, reporter from the New York Observer asked me what I thought about Sarah Palin. I told her I thought Sarah Palin was honest and real. I believe that. But, that in no way should be viewed as an …

Sarah Palin’s church has endorsed an “ex-gay” conference to take place in Anchorage this weekend and PFLAG plans to be there to protest and to demand that Palin reject the “ex-gay” movement. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) today condemned a so-called “ex-gay” conference scheduled for Saturday in Anchorage. Love Won Out, which claims to “cure” lesbian …

Michelle Obama appeared on the season debut of Ellen Denegeres yesterday where she congratulated Ellen on her recent “big move”. In the second clip Ellen mentions having been married 24 days and deftly segues the conversation to the Obama marriage. It was a nice move and Michelle returns with a comment on why she thinks Ellen’s marriage will do well. …

It turns out the anti-gay Christers at the Focus On The Family-related California Family Council are a bunch of crooks. A look at their finances has revealed that almost all of their fundraising goes to pay the high salaries of their executives. From Justin McLachlan’s well-researched story: The money was supposed to go to support the California Family Council’s charitable …

Former three-term NYC mayor Ed Koch is so pissed off about Sarah Palin, he’s endorsing Barack Obama. “If the vice president were ever called on to lead the country, there is no question in my mind that the experience and demonstrated judgment of Joe Biden is superior to that of Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin is a plucky, exciting candidate, but …

The Sarah Palin action figure goes on sale today. Accessories include a pistol or Bible-grip hand, a tiara, and several dozen recorded lies. The company also sells some ridiculously buff John McCain, Barack Obama, and Eliot Spitzer dolls. I have a feeling some of you will get the Palin doll just to stick pins in it.

Coney Island’s Astroland, the nation’s most legendary boardwalk arcade, closed forever this weekend although some still hope that it will someday return. The Wonder Wheel and the world famous Cyclone roller coaster are landmarked and must remain where they are. The Astroland property is set to become a giant “destination” ocean side resort with luxury condos. Sigh. This year’s extraordinarily …

Here are the clips of Michelangelo Signorile’s interview with Sally Kern at the RNC last week. In the first clip, Signorile asks Kern to respond to the Log Cabin’s endorsement of McCain, and then Kern goes on to discuss the abomination of homosexuality, same sex marriage, as well as the Palin spawn. In the second clip, Kern expounds on the …

Last month a winning San Francisco softball team was disqualified from the gay softball World Series after a judge ruled that they had too many straight players. The rules stipulate that no more than two players on a team may be straight. D2, a team from San Francisco, beat the Atlanta Mudcats in the series to qualify for the A …

Keith Olbermann points out that Sarah Palin doesn’t understand that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were actually private companies and goes on to point out numerous other lies that Palin is telling over and over, including her claim that she opposed the “bridge to nowhere” and that she sold the government jet on eBay. (It was sold by a jet …

“Now we’re back to the experience. Remember how they were talking about how the experience for Hillary wasn’t necessary? Do you notice how they’re talking about experience again? I’m just cracking up. I’m just like, whatever! I think Palin’s great. I think she’s awesome. I think she’s honest, I think she’s real.” – Tennis legend Billie Jean King when asked …

The latest Gallup poll shows McCain taking a sharp upswing as Palin’s post-convention creepy fanclub of snake handlers continues to grow. But from Real Clear Politics, here’s their latest assessment of where the electoral college stands. Of course, these maps can vary widely depending on who’s doing the guessing.

Here are the boroughs of NYC as represented by the states which are closest in population. According to the 2000 US census: Bronx-1.332 million; Brooklyn-2.465 million; Manhattan-1.537 million; Queens-2.229 million; and Staten Island 443,728. I freekin’ love maps like this. (Via – Gothamist)

As you can see by the coffee table in our Berlin apartment, by yesterday it was apparent that it hadn’t been the most “cultural” of visits. Depends on how you define culture, I suppose. Embiggen at your own risk. NSFW.

We had an incredible lunch at a place called König in the Alexanderplatz neighborhood of Mitte, the centermost Berlin borough where most of the museums are. Then we rode to the top of the Fernsehturm, the Communist-era tv tower which is the tallest object in Germany. The view reveals the striking differences between the stark and ugly formerly East Berlin …