The Democrats’ ploy of attaching the federal hates crimes bill (the Matthew Shepard Act) as an amendment to a Department of Defense appropriations bill did not work because the Dems also attached an amendment requiring troops to pull out of Iraq by May 1, prompting Republicans to plan a filibuster on the item. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled …

Haloscan is having its quarterly meltdown. Comments appear to be posting OK, but the number count is not updating. My apologies. Hopefully this will be resolved soon, but in the meantime y’all will have to manually check each post for added comments.

At the corner of 8th Avenue and 14th Street, “where Chelsea meets the West Village”, is the Nickel Men’s Spa, your one-stop mani-pedi-facial-waxing angertwink superstore. The building is said to have been a “historic bank”, but I’ve never found out what it was.

What are you reading?.

New York Magazine is riffing on a survey released last year by the CDC that reports that the incidence of anal sex among heterosexuals has climbed by about 50% over the last 15 years, with 38% of women and 32% of men now saying that they occasionally indulge in backdoor shenangigans. The article, written by sex advice authors Em & …

Matt Foreman, Executive Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, spoke at yesterday’s Flush Naugle rally, where he issued a blistering call for Naugle to be “shunned” and “not allowed at any gathering where decent people are.” Local police estimated the crowd attending the rally at between 800-1000, staggering numbers, particularly for a town that has been been …

One of the most striking differences between living in San Francisco and New York is the panhandling situation. As any San Francisco resident or visitor will attest, you can hardly walk 100 feet down any city street without being aggressively begged for money. Friends and I once counted being asked for money eight times over four Market Street blocks. In …

Led by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the House Judiciary Committee just voted 22-17 in a decision that forces the full House to vote whether to hold White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former staff lawyer Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress for refusing to submit to subpoenas regarding the Alberto Gonzales scandal. The White House contends that all …

A common stunt to draw traffic to your site is to compile a list of something and proclaim it as the “100 Best” whatevers. “100 Best Albums Ever” seems to be the default list for magazine sites these days, and now a couple of critics from Time Magazine have compiled a list called the All-TIME 100 Albums. I find it …

Created in 1914 by French sculptor Jules-Alexis Coutan, the three statues that grace the top of Grand Central Terminal were the largest sculptural group of the time. Hercules (god of physical energy) and Minerva (goddess of moral energy) flank Mercury, the god of commerce. The giant eagle behind Mercury represents America. The entire piece stands 48 feet high. Mercury, whose …

“Oh God, I could never do that to a child. Can you imagine what it would be like, having your two dads coming to school speech days? And hearing those awful queeny rows while you are trying to get to sleep?” – Rupert Everett, telling London’s Daily Express that he does not support gay adoption. Everett, who claims that he …

Pulling a fast one on local activists and media, today Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle did not apologize for his anti-gay comments at his press conference, as had been expected, but instead launched an even more venomous attack on gays (video). Naugle said he only apologized for having “underestimated” the problem of gay public sex in the beachside resort town. …

“I have to speak my mind because as a gay man now I have a responsibility to. I sat back too long. When ACT-UP were going in and trying to change the face of AIDS awareness in America because nobody else was doing it, I sat back and did nothing.” – Elton John, expressing guilt over not having taken part …

The Indonesian state of Papua is planning to microchip some residents with HIV in a bid to prevent their transmitting the virus to others. Out of a population of 2.5M, 3000 residents are thought to be HIV positive. Papua is located on the western half of New Guinea. According to an Indonesian doctor assisting in the new law’s preparation, “Some …

If you are in Fort Lauderdale today, get on down to City Hall (at 100 N. Andrews Avenue) by 4pm for a massive Flush Naugle rally. DJ Julian Marsh will be spinning tunes to inspire the crowd beginning at 3:30 PM. Speakers will begin taking the stage at 4:30pm and there will be a “Power To The People” after party …

From the east side of Broadway & 53rd. To the left, the Broadway Theatre, current home of The Color Purple. To the right, the Ed Sullivan Theatre, home of the David Letterman Show.

Courtesy of Warner Home Video, this week’s Swag Tuesday prize is a 2-disc special edition DVD of 300, the sepia-drenched homoerotic Spartan muscle and gore fest that so fascinated the gay blogosphere earlier this year. Due out on July 31st , this special edition version contains 90 minutes of bonus material, including the intriguingly titled segment, “The Shocking Life of …

Tonight’s CNN/YouTube debate for the Democratic presidential candidates was fascinating. The format, which involved candidates responding to the YouTube’d video questions from the general public, was unique and effective. I’m betting we see more of these. Here are two clips of the candidates responding to questions about gay marriage and about religion-based discrimation against LGBT people. Chris Johnson has the …

Everybody knows parking is a nightmare in Manhattan. And yet that nightmare can provide a sublime sense of superiority to the vast majority of residents who don’t own cars -myself included – although I’m occasionally inconvenienced due to friends having to circle my block for an hour searching for a space. An interesting recent NY Times story mentions that new …

NYC Eagle, Sunday, 9pm Guy 1: So anyway, we had a really good weekend together. He’s totally perfect for me, except for- and I hate to say this – his apartment.Guy 2: Why? Is he a slob?Guy 1: Oh, no. Everything is spotless. You could eat off the floor.Guy 2: So the problem is……Guy 1: The problem is his place …