Rod 2.0:Beta #gay #news #lgbt #gaynews

Home Depot Dumps Bill O'Reilly

Via Americablog: The Home Depot responds to strong pressure and announces it will no longer advertise on The O'Reilly Factor hosted by Bill O'Reilly on Fox News. O'Reilly has consistently mocked gays and global warming—not a good fit for an environmentally conscious retailer committed to diversity.

Apparently, the advertising ban extends to O'Reilly's website—good idea since the Secret Service is investigating BillOReillydotcom after for threats made against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Last week, The Home Depot's major competitor, Lowe's, announced "the company’s advertising will no longer appear” on the The O’Reilly Factor.

Bias at NYS Human Rights?

Three veteran employees of the New York State Human Rights Division—responsible for enforcing the state's anti-bias laws—have filed federal lawsuits against the agency and charge a "pattern of discrimination that hurts women and blacks in favor of gay white men."

It's worth noting that the suit was filed by a black female employee and HRD Commissioner Kumiki Gibson is also a black woman. However, attorneys say the alleged preferential treatment for gay white men began after previous discrimination lawsuits were filed by older, white women.

The New York case is not unique. In 2005 and 2006, several black heterosexual employees of the New Jersey Civil Rights Division—also responsible for enforcing the state's anti-bias laws—sued the agency and charged management "discriminated against black and straight employees" and "unfairly" hired and promoted "whites, Latinos and gays ahead of them." The agency's director, J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, was described as gay, and, at the time, in a "romantic relationship" with a subordinate.

"Gay White Males Suit" [NY Post]

Some Background ...

Lawsuit at NJ Civil Rights Division [R20]

Poll: Clinton Leading Giuliani on National Security Issues

While some of the e-telligentsia and assorted talking heads continue to be fascinated by Sen. Hillary Clinton's wardrobe choices—including this odd and sexist rationalization by CNBC's John Harwood on NBC's Meet the Press—the voters have moved on.

The latest Rasmussen Poll finds "28% of American adults said that they would trust New York Senator Hillary Clinton the most on national security issues. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% named former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani."

This is not good news for the Republican Party, which has "historically dominated national security issues." It's even worse news for Giuliani, who is running a single issue campaign dominated by his rather circumspect anti-terrorism credentials and avoids any discussion of Iraq. Expect this gap to widen.

Best on National Security? [RR]
Defending Givhan's Cleavage Coverage [Media Matters]

Some Background ...

Clinton Doubles Lead, Attracts More Blacks [R20]
HRC and Logo to Host Presidential Debates [R20]
Giuliani Flip Flops on Civil Unions [R20]
News: Rudy and McCain Court Anti-Gays [R20]
Giuliani: Pro-Gay Views "Not the Issue" [R20]
News: Giuliani's Not-So-Secret Plan [R20]
Democrats Debate Homopohobia, Racism,HIV [R20]
Democratic Candidates Debate Gay Issues [R20]
Clinton Names Prominent Gay Supporters [R20]
Clinton, Edwards Oppose Surgeon General Nominee [R20]
Clinton Camp Targets Gay and Lesbian Donors [R20]
Obama Campaign Names Gay Supporters [R20]
Behind the Gay-Friendly Faces [Advocate]
The Advocate: Clinton vs Obama [R20]
Memo to Mr. Geffen: Get Over It [R20]
Hillary Big Brother "Ad" [R20]
Obama Strategist Behind Hillary Big Brother Ad [R20]
Clinton Launches LGBT Steering Committee [R20]

Will Demps (Temporarily?) Demoted

Yes, that's a look of disappointment on the very handsome face of Rod 2.0 crush object and all-around decent guy Will Demps. At the opening of training camp, the star safety of the New York Giants has been demoted to second unit.

"My track record speaks for itself," Demps said between practices. "It's real early yet, the second day."

In spring 2006, Demps signed a five-year, $15-million free-agent contract after four years with the Ravens. Last season was somewhat uneven—he was coming off knee surgery and performed better at the close of the season after some glaring mistakes. Many players were calling for his head and said he was "too pretty" to play football and more interested in his modeling career.

Despite his (hopefully temporary) new status on the depth chart, Will Demps kept his chin up and said he is a team player. "I'm not going to say anything against the guys who are there...We haven't played any games yet."

Arthur Staples Blog [Giants]

More Will Demps ...

The Hot 100 [R20]
Is He "Pretty Hot" or "Pretty Bad"? [R20]
Eye Black is the New Black [R20]
Happy Birthday Will! [R20]
News: Will Demps on Gays, Sharpton [R20]
In the Kitchen [R20]

News: Justice Roberts, UPS, Fred Thompson, Billie Holiday

· Developing. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has apparently suffered a seizure at his Maine vacation home which resulted in a fall and some injuries. "Sources close to the chief justice said Roberts suffered an unexplained seizure in 1993, soon after his first nomination to the D.C. circuit stalled in the Senate."

· What can brown do for you? After intensive lobbying from the office of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, United Parcel Service announces it will "offer health care benefits to all civil union partners of hourly employees in New Jersey who are covered under collectively bargained union plans." The Bilerico Project notes UPS "management and administrative employees were already" receiving such benefits and the firm company provides spousal benefits to same-sex couples in Massachusetts where same-sex marriage is legal.

· Mexico City's prison system will allow gay conjugal visits. Last fall the city began offering civil unions for gays.

· Republican quasi-slash-virtual presidential candidate Fred Thompson fails to attract major donors and "raised slightly more than $3 million in June, substantially less than some backers had hoped."

· Aria reviews Billie Holiday: Remixed & Reimagined: "Somewhat more loungey than its Nina Simone counterpart, but then that would seem to be more in keeping with Holiday's timelessly haunting style. In particular, DJ Logic's down-tempo re-touching of "Glad to Be Unhappy" evokes everything from sadness to sensuality. All of which is to say that Holiday's voice resonates within the human soul in the most of mundane and unexpected of ways."

· A look back at the week that was at Out.com's Popnography.

Republican Presidential Candidates Terrified of You Tube Debates, Numerous "Scheduling Conflicts"

CNN hopes to reschedule the planned CNN/You Tube Debate for the Republican presidential candidates. Although all nine Democratic candidates participated in the July 23rd CNN You Tube debate, as of last weekend, "just three Republican presidential candidates—Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and [former Wisconsin Governor] Tommy Thompson—have confirmed that they will participate in the Sept. 17 debate."

Over the weekend, reports surfaced that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney complained of a "heavy fund-raising schedule" and "aides to Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, said he had potential scheduling conflicts."

It's more likely the candidates want to distance themselves from the unconventional format, where the public asks questions via video. Romney has mocked the recent debates, telling reporters it could be demeaning for presidential candidates to “answer questions from a snowman,” a reference to a voter dressed as a snowman who submitted a question about global warming.

The Republican "brand" popularized by the nine, bland, middle-aged white guys competing for the GOP presidential nomination does not easily lend itself to the You Tube format. It's one thing for Anderson Cooper or Wolf Blitzer to ask a softball question on universal health care or gay rights. The standard Republican talking points will sound quite reasonable. It's another matter to actually see two grown men who are feeding their grandmother ask the same question on Alzheimer's and health care access. Or, for the mother of Michael Sandy, the black gay man slain in Brooklyn in an ugly gay bashing, to ask Giuliani and/or Romney to explain their theoretical aversion to federal hate crime protection.

2 Republicans Demur on a YouTube Debate [NYT]
CNN Calls Republicans’ Bluff [Think Progress]
GOP Candidates Resist YouTube Debate [USA Today]

You May Want to Read ...

Multiple Choice Mitt [NY Blade and Wash Blade]
Giuliani: Sorry, Only Millionaires Host My Rallies [R20]
Mitt Romney Explains the Obama-Osama Sign [R20]
Mitt Romney's "Play on Words" [R20]
Romney's "Do As I Say, No As I Do" on Porn [R20]
"Multiple Choice" Mitt [Rod 2.0]
Romney Latest: "I Am Not Anti-Gay" [R20]
Romney Panders to Far Right [R20]
Let the Gay Bashing Begin [R20]
For Gay Rights Before He Was Against It [R20]
McCain Flip-Flops on Gay Rights [R20]
Matthews and Newsweek: Mitt Romney is "Buff" [R20]
Romney's Latest: Gays in the Military [R20]
One Question for Mitt Romney [R20]
Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up? [R20]
Giuliani Flip Flops on Civil Unions [R20]
Matthews on Giuliani: The Country "Wants Fascism" [R20]
Rudy's "Testosterone Factor" [R20]
News: Rudy and McCain Court Anti-Gays [R20]
Giuliani: Pro-Gay Views "Not the Issue" [R20]
News: Giuliani's Not-So-Secret Plan [R20]
Romney Defends Flip-Flopping [R20]

Kanye West Responds to Gay Rumors From Has-Been Rapper

Singer, songwriter and producer of the moment Kanye West continues to impress. The Grammy Award-winning artist responds to that hateful rant by nominal rapper Beanie Sigel, whose lack of recent hits is a direct contrast to West's current success with fellow rapper-super-producer Pharrell Williams. You'll recall, Sigel criticized their fashion aesthetic and suggested both were gay, demanding the two "might as well come out the closet."

During a recent interview in New York City with Hot 97 DJ Angie Martinez, West panned Sigel's bitchy tirade. "It's so disrespectful," he says, noting that he is not gay and used the opportunity to once again address homophobia in rap music and across the hip-hop sub-culture.

Upset that Sigel—who is on the same record label as West, Roc-a-Fella—would go to the press rather than confront him privately, West concluded the interview with an appeal to Sigel, asking, "Why wouldn't you come to me and talk to me about it?"

Kanye West is such a class act. Beanie Sigel didn't approach him to discuss his problem because there was no problem. Kanye is among the most successful rap music producers ever. Beanie Sigel, in addition to being rather annoying, is the epitome of a has-been.

Kanye Denies Gay Rumors, Bashes Homophobia [Advocate]

Some Background ...
Has-Been Rapper Beanie Sigel Demands Kanye and Pharrell "Come Out of the Closet" [R20]
Live Earth Concert [R20]
Pharrell Williams at Diana Concert [R20]
John Legend & Cornel West vs Homophobia [R20]
News: iPhone, Pharrell Wiliams [R20]
John Legend & Cornel West vs Homophobia [R20]
Kanye on Gay Bashing [R20]
Kanye: "My Own Homophobia" [R20]
Hip-Hop and Homophobia [R20]
Kanye Trifecta [R20]
Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton [R20]
Environment: Pharrell Concert [R20]
Attention All Size Queens [R20]
Pharrell Sets the Record, umm, Straight [R20]
Milan Fashion Week: Emporio Armani [R20]
Pharrell Teams with Louis Vuitton [R20]
"Not a Sex Symbol" ? [R20]
"Taking the Homophobia Out of Hip-Hop [R20]
Busta: Gays Better Not "Touch It" [R20]
Busta's Homophobic VIBE [R20]

Mikhail Gobachev for Louis Vuitton

Following in the footsteps of über-hip fashionistas such as Pharrell Williams and Jennifer Lopez, Mikhail S. Gorbachev becomes the latest high-profile model for Louis Vuitton. The half-page ad featuring the last president of the Soviet Union appears in the September Vogue and was lensed by Annie Leibovitz.

Eric Wilson, one of the top fashion writers at The New York Times, previews the new promotional campaign by the luxury goods brand which hopes "to emphasize the company’s heritage in luggage and travel accessories." Other celebrities include "Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf cuddling in a hotel room, their bags not yet unpacked; Catherine Deneuve resting on a trunk in front of a steaming locomotive; and Mr. Gorbachev in the back of a car with a duffel bag on the seat next to him. Of the group, Mr. Gorbachev appears the least comfortable. He is holding on to a door handle, as if the bag contained polonium 210."

Not that former Soviet apparatchiks would know anything about transporting lethal radioactive isotopes, but, if they did, hopefully their luggage would be more functional.

Gorbachev Made Me Buy It [NYT]

Some Background ...

Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton [R20]

Rangel Opposed to Impeachment: "Cheney Would Be Even Worse!"

“In spite of what he said was pervasive corruption in the White House, Charlie Rangel, the dean of New York’s congressional delegation, said today he wouldn’t want President Bush impeached. 'God forbid!‘ he said.”

Rangel cites a very compelling reason:

“I would vote against impeachment of Bush too because the corruption of the Vice President Cheney would even be worse,” Rangel said.

However, constitutional experts say it is possible to consider a strategy to remove both the President and Vice-President. Former Reagan Justice Department official and prominent conservative attorney Bruce Fein explains to the editors of The San Francisco Chronicle how "George W. Bush’s foreign policies are making Americans less safe, and why the president and Vice President Dick Cheney should be impeached.”

Bush Should Be Ashamed [NY Daily News]
Conservative Bruce Fein: Impeachment [SF Chron]

Some Background ...

Bush Approval Ratings Sink Even Lower [R20]
Bush: No Prison for Libby [R20]
Worse President Ever? [R20]
Bush Approval Sinks to Record Low [R20]
Judge Rules Libby Cannot Remain Free [R20]
Rice on Libby: "He Served the Country Well" [R20]
Libby Sentenced to 30 Months [R20]

New York Times: Impeach Gonzales

The chorus becomes deafening.

Now it has become patently obvious Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been mentored by John Mitchell, Richard Nixon's attorney general who was convicted of various felonies relating to Watergate.

Last week, Gonzales contradicted himself—and other previous testimonies—and committed perjury during last week's testimony about attempts in 2004 to force a hospitalized Attorney General John Ashcroft to certify President George Bush's eavesdropping program. After repeated calls for the President to dump Gonzales, The New York Times says Congress must remove the cancer at the Justice Department:

As far as we can tell, there are three possible explanations for Mr. Gonzales’s talk about a dispute over other — unspecified — intelligence activities. One, he lied to Congress. Two, he used a bureaucratic dodge to mislead lawmakers and the public: the spying program was modified after Mr. Ashcroft refused to endorse it, which made it “different” from the one Mr. Bush has acknowledged. The third is that there was more wiretapping than has been disclosed, perhaps even purely domestic wiretapping, and Mr. Gonzales is helping Mr. Bush cover it up.

Democratic lawmakers are asking for a special prosecutor to look into Mr. Gonzales’s words and deeds. Solicitor General Paul Clement has a last chance to show that the Justice Department is still minimally functional by fulfilling that request.

If that does not happen, Congress should impeach Mr. Gonzales.

Here's another key indicator of Gonzales' radioactivity: On Sunday, "White House officials and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee" refused to appear on Fox News Sunday to defend Gonzales. “We had no takers,” said host Chris Wallace. Video at Think Progress.

Mr. Gonzales’s Never-Ending Story [NYT]
Conservatives Refuse To Publicly Defend Gonzales [TP]

The (Growing) File on Alberto Gonzales ...

Dems Vote to Restore Habeas Corpus [R20]
NYT to Bush: Dump Gonzales [R20]
Texas Bar Assn to Investigate AG Gonzales [R20]
Why is Justice "Investigating" Domestic Spying? [R20]
Rumsfeld's Worst Nightmare [R20]
Judgment at Nuremberg [R20]
Rumsfeld War Crimes [R20]
Powell Opposes Bush on Torture [R20]
Administration Spying on Gay Groups? [R20]