News: Tyson Beckford, Maddow, Hate Groups, Indiana Marriage

· Bravo's Make Me A Supermodel returns for season two with supermodel and Rod 2.0 fave Tyson Beckford as host and "mentor" to the male models. Openly bisexual model model Jenny Shimizu joins the cast as a judge.

· Indiana: Legislators to introduce a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. "Chances of the amendment getting a vote in this session in both the House and Senate are slim, however. House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Indiana already has a law banning same-sex marriage. That law, he said, has 'been upheld by every judge that’s faced it.' "

· North Carolina's new Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan to deliver keynote address at Human Rights Campaign's Carolinas Gala.

· Gay jokes are not funny. After Ellen slams Saturday Night Live skit of Rachel Maddow interviewing recently impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his Senate pick Roland Burris on MSNBC.

"Rachel has clearly arrived on the public stage if SNL is spoofing her. But Abby Elliott's impersonation of Maddow wasn't very good, neither were the impressions of Burris and Blagojevich—although the impersonation of Blagojevich's hair made me laugh—and the skit was too long and too boring. The only thing the writers could come up with to make fun of Maddow is the fact that she's openly gay. I'll admit, I chuckled at the beginning—I can appreciate the occasional well-placed Ellen or Billy Jean King reference as much as the next person—but by the fourth or fifth gay joke ("I'm stuck here like a dutch boy with his thumb in a dike"), I wasn't laughing anymore" 

· Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones to judge Miss America Pageant.

· CNN: Business "booming" at the Seattle gay bars threatened with a ricin attack last week.

· Is the bad economy encouraging hate groups? WaPo reports federal agents and independent investigators have warned against "the problem since late September, when the nation's economic troubles widened, giving white supremacists a potent new source of discontent to exploit among potential recruits. The number of U.S. hate groups has increased since 2000 ... and in addition to the economic downturn, [they] cite rising immigration, demographic changes that predict whites will not be a majority within a few decades, and what some might see as "the final insult, 'a black man in the White House.' "

· Real World: Brooklyn's J.D. Ordonez tells HX there was no hot gay sex in the hot tub. "I can honestly say I’m the first gay cast member to not have sex in the Real World house. I dated someone briefly, but we were more friends than anything else, and we never had sex. I didn’t really have any love life."

· Episcopal Diocese of Colorado ends its "period of restraint" on ordaining gay priests. "Bishop Robert O'Neill ordained Mary Catherine Volland to the priesthood during a ceremony at St. John's Cathedral on Saturday. Volland, a longtime Colorado resident and partnered lesbian, had been a candidate for ordination in the Diocese of Minnesota. She will serve at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Denver. The bishop is now deciding the matter on a case-by-case basis."

Comments

[Mr. Gay Seattle XXXIII]

In Seattle there was a pub crawl. We were not gonna let some small minded person stop us from having a good time.

[CA]

Tyson and Cullen are WEARING those suits. Daddy! Daddy! Muah!

[Andy Niable]

As the Seattle Ricin letters get more scrutiny, some locals are suggesting evidence points to the perp being a disaffected queer. This story's just gonna get more interesting...

Thanks, Andy. I want to talk about that but not in a news bloc. If you see any good links (non-SLOG) please send my way. RM

[Junior]

I'm new here to this site and just want to say that I really appreciate this blogs and other black gay blogs. I'm new to the life,. I am 24 and newly out and am glad there is place where positive image of black gay men and black men are valued.

Cullen Jones and Tyson Beckford are two of my favorites. I loove me some chocolate.

Thank you everyone for letting me share. one

[FREELEO]

WOW. Love the new American Apparel Ad.

[Chris Cruz]

Freeleo, you and me both are loving that ad.

ROD ... how do you do it? I am very impressed with everything on the blog today. Stories and photos and your new advertisers. You are seriously putting brothas on the map, man.

[Viktor]

I think the economy and Obama is increasing the numbers of hate groups