Health insurance companies are adopting a new pricing model which forces people taking expensive medications to pay up to 33% of the cost, rather than the typically low co-pay. With the new pricing system, insurers abandoned the traditional arrangement that has patients pay a fixed amount, like $10, $20 or $30 for a prescription, no matter what the drug’s actual …

Bill Richardson has explained his decision to endorse Barack Obama, saying that the Clinton campaign’s clumsy efforts to woo him to their side “really ticked me off.” Before he endorsed Barack Obama, before he drew the wrath of the Clintons and was likened to Judas, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson nearly endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president. But Richardson hesitated, …

Yesterday afternoon, after a nice brunch down in the Bowery with Little David and visiting Chicago blogger Jake and his humpy fiancé, we wandered up to Union Square and ran into an anti-Olympics protest. I walked around to take pictures of the protesters with their signs, but aside from the woman below (I think she’s a nun), most didn’t want …

Embiggens nicely.

Hundreds of sadly self-deluded people attended an “ex-gay” conference near San Jose, California this weekend. A traveling national conference billed as an event “to provide help for those struggling – and those whose loved ones struggle – with unwanted same-sex attractions,” drew about 700 people to a Mountain View church on Saturday. The gathering at the evangelical Christian church, Abundant …

Download Me by Italian techno duo XP8 should kickstart your week quite nicely. From their bio on LastFM: XP8 is Marco Visconti and Marko Resurreccion. The band, started in 2001 as a trio including previous singer Paul Toohill and based in Rome, Italy , composes an airy blend of EBM, electronica, techno and trance, bringing their various visions and talents …

We are fully sprunged today in NYC and the Upper East Side is bustling with people in shorts. Not much of a winter, was it? Just a few days of meager snow and a couple of bitterly cold weekends. Meh. The little girls up the block have got their lemonade stand back in business, raising money for “Bring A Baby …

Ten seconds after I change the pillowcase, she’s back on it. This is why I wake up with a mouth full of hair every morning. Just like at Lazy Bear.

After nosing around on some techie forums, I’ve learned that the Red Lasso videos I’ve been embedding have been causing a lot of sites to lock up. Therefore, I’ve removed those videos and reduced the numbers of days’ posts on the main page from ten to five. JMG should load for you now in 10 seconds or less*. Heh. “Load.” …

Well, this is a suh-weet way to end the week! Speaking to the annual Log Cabin Republicans convention in San Diego, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that if the current initiative to ban gay marriage in California makes it to the November ballot, he will fight against its passage. Gay journalist Rex Wockner quotes Schwarzenegger as saying: “Well, first of all, …

On the Boycott Absolut site they are linking to the Americans For Legal Immigration who say: History was made today when American made SKYY Vodka sent out a press release proudly supporting the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and criticizing Absolut for their offensive advertising in Mexico. “This is the first time we have ever seen an American brand stand up, …

The American Family Association, fresh off their Ford boycott, is now turning their guns on the gay and straight porn that Marriott Hotels offers on its pay-per-view system. The AFA, based in Tupelo, said 47 “pro-family leaders” have signed a letter asking chain’s chief executive, J.W. Marriott Jr., for a meeting to discuss their concerns. Marriott was told that stopping …

[ABOVE: San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders (left) with Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Sammon. Photo by Rex Wockner.] Gay journalist Rex Wockner attended the Log Cabin Republicans’ annual convention in San Diego yesterday, where Mayor Jerry Sanders gave the welcoming remarks. (You may recall Sanders’ very moving change of heart on gay marriage last year.) Wockner spoke with LCR President …

Bears and chubby chasers have a new reason to watch baseball. The Manatees are the Florida Marlins’ new 16-man “plus size” cheerleading troupe. FIFTEEN men auditioned. Fifteen made the cut. Few could tell an eight-count from a pivot turn, but no matter: Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for the Manatees, Major League Baseball’s first all-male, plus-size dance troupe. When …

JMG reader Chris found this Hanes creative on Ads of The World. The tagline: “Because the world gives you enough labels.” The name of the campaign: “Lipstick”. The ad was created by the Bombay division of McCann Erickson. Strangely compelling image. Is that a dildo? Anybody seen this in American press? I can’t imagine even the gay press allowing the …

A White House-issued photo of Vice President Dick Cheney fly-fishing in Idaho has the blogosphere buzzing over the reflection in Cheney’s sunglasses. Is it a naked woman? The White House says it’s the VP’s hand. The top four votes in an AOL poll: naked woman, alien overlord, not Dick Cheney, photoshopping trick.

According to this week’s poll, John McCain is now tied with both Obama and Clinton. Republican Sen. John McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama’s 10-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released Thursday. The survey showed the extended Democratic primary campaign creating divisions among supporters of Obama …

Maine’s wingnuts not only want to pass a ban on gay marriage, they want to roll back all gay rights laws. The Christian Civic League has until January to raise 55,000 signatures to get their referendum placed on the 2009 ballot. Here’s the proposed intiative from Mike Heath (left), Executive Director of the Christian Civic League: Proposed: “Do you want …

I found this Star Wars ad on a phone booth in Chelsea. I suppose some could view it as anti-gay in the “getting called a girl’s name will make you a killer” sort of way, but I have to wonder if the ad wasn’t deliberately placed in the gayborhood as an in-joke amongst queers. I suspect the latter.

Food Emporium, 1st & 72nd, 7pm I’m standing in the bread aisle when a package of hot dogs comes flying past me and slams into the display, making me jump. Seething Man: Why the FUCK do they sell hot dogs when they don’t sell BUNS?!? Joe (piquantly): Why the fuck do they sell light bulbs when they don’t sell lamps? …