Former mayor and current Washington DC City Councilman Marion Barry has come out in favor of gay marriage there. D.C. Council Member Marion Barry said that he would vote for a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the city, if such a measure is introduced. It’s the first time the former mayor has publicly revealed his position on a marriage bill. …

The Murray Hill Tunnel drops two lanes of Park Avenue traffic underground from 33rd Street to 41st Street, rising back to street level just in front of Grand Central. Built in 1834, it originally carried the New York and Harlem Railroad (now Metro-North) and years later, that company’s streetcar line. The tunnel was originally an “open cut”, but was roofed …

Now this is what I call generous. Barack Obama asked his finance committee this afternoon to help Senator Hillary Clinton retire her debt. On a conference call that lasted about 45 minutes Obama made a personal plea to his top donors, telling them he considered it a personal imperative now that Democrats are all “one big family,” a donor who …

Tech blogs like Gizmodo are all over this Japanese mobile phone company’s ad in which a monkey (long their official corporate mascot) appears as an Obama-like figure exhorting the crowds to “Change!” to their phone. Totally racist. Unless it isn’t. Maybe we shouldn’t expect a local Japanese ad campaign to be sensitive to America’s racism trigger points. Unless we should. …

The Orange County Register, the conservative voice of California’s most notoriously conservative county, has published an editorial in support of gay marriage. Our preference would be for the government not to be involved in marriage, the most fundamental of institutions in a civil society. Why two people who want to be married should be required to get a license from …

Under the headline “Gay Men Arrested For Gay Sex On Gay Island”, Radar Online’s Choire Sicha reports that for the last two weekends police have made unprecedented arrests for public sex in Fire Island’s famed Meatrack, the notoriously cruisy area between the towns of Cherry Grove and The Pines. On the last two consecutive weekends, gay men on Fire Island …

These “who’s the veep?” stories are coming fast and furious. Via Pink News: The highest-ranking female officer in the history of the United States Army is a contender for the Democratic party’s Vice Presidential nomination. Lieutenant General Claudia J Kennedy, a retired three star general, has publicly supported campaigns to end the ban on openly gay, bisexual or lesbian people …

“Re-enter your childhood, but imagine your first crush, first kiss, first date and first sexual encounter, all bereft of any hope of marriage as a destination for your feelings. Re-enter your first serious relationship, but think about it knowing that marrying the person is out of the question. “Imagine that in the law’s eyes you and your soul mate will …

Boy George has been denied a U.S. visa and will not be able to conduct his planned tour or his free concert for the NYC Department of Sanitation. His managers said in a statement Monday that the visa denial was not because of his past brush with the law in the U.S. but was because he is awaiting trial in …

The wingnut failures are coming almost daily lately. Save California, the right-wing group attempting to repeal California’s anti-bullying legislation, SB 777, has announced that they are giving up in order to concentrate on fighting gay marriage. Via California Catholic Daily: In a June 21 email to supporters, Karen England of the Save Our Kids Campaign, the organization pushing the initiative, …

McCain can pick ’em, can’t he? A top adviser to John McCain said another terrorist attack on U.S. soil would be a “big advantage” for the Republican presidential candidate, drawing a sharp rebuke Monday from both the presumed GOP nominee and Democrat Barack Obama. Charlie Black, already in the spotlight for his past lobbying work, is quoted in the upcoming …

Noted gays are urging the Obama campaign to back away from any consideration of former Sen. Sam Nunn as a potential running mate, pointing to his “No” vote in the 1996 ENDA battle (which lost by only one vote) and his 1993 orchestration of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Via MyDD: Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank told the Rothenberg Political Report, June …

Hilarious. From Sex Is For Fags, the “Abstinence-Only Education Program is produced by the US Dept. of Health & Human Services and the White House Office of Youth Purity.” I, [MY NAME], hereby pledge: 1. To stay massively cool by not having sex. Because only major losers have sex – which everyone knows is only for fags. 2. To never …

The Heinz Deli Mayo ad that I posted about last week has already been pulled in the UK due to complaints over the male kiss. Nigel Dickie, of Heinz UK, said: ‘It is our policy to listen to consumers. We recognise that some consumers raised concerns over the content of the ad and this prompted our decision to withdraw it. …

On the east side of the terminal is the Grand Central Market, where you can buy super-expensive chocolates, coffees, cheeses, seafood, etc. Popular with the tourists who think the authentic New York experience includes overpriced “exotic” food items.

Oh, happy day! New York State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Brunswick), long the greatest obstacle to getting LGBT rights advanced in the state, has announced that he will not seek reelection. Bruno’s decision will end a more than three-decade career that led him to become one of the most powerful men in state government, and the defacto leader of …

(Via – Andrew Sullivan)

Not to be outdone by the Union Square Pillow Fight, yesterday thousands of people crowded Times Square for the Bubble Battle. More pics and videos over at Gothamist and on Flickr. The pillow fight seems more fun, but at least there’s no cleanup from millions of bubbles.

Artist and JMG reader Steve MacIsaac sent me this neat drawing he did, which is taken from my first vidcast. Me like. No wrinkles! You may recall that I also got a nice drawing last year from Fuzzbelly. Check out some of MacIsaac’s great work here. (Possibly NSFW). I like the “Shirtlifter” series – those are filed under “comics”.