Rod 2.0:Beta

Really? 50 Cent "Beards" with Gay Icon Bette Midler

And by "beard" of course we're referring to 50 Cent's butch, new facial hair. The campy gangsta rap superstar shows off his new beard ... and the fabulous Better Midler at last night's benefit for the Divine Miss M's New York Restoration Project.

The guest list included a who's who of gay fabulousity—such Andre Leon Talley and Tim Gunn, who probably approved of 50 Cent's Gucci shirt and belt. Oh and Dolly Parton, too. I'm loving this new look and crowd for Fiddy.

 

50 Cent and Bette collaborated on the development of a public garden in his childhood neighborhood in Jamaica, Queens. Bette Midler recently talked about going in the studio with Fiddy for another collaboration: To sing jazz duets. "It’ll be the little Jewish lady and the great big rapper. He’s such a doll. I love him. He’s gorgeous. I was hoping we’d sing songs from the Depression."

WHEN YOU JUMP, close-ups of 50 Cent's new beard, the menu and the invitation.

Right-Wing, Anti-Gay Palin Also Denies Global Warming is Manmade

More colorful details emerge on the extreme politics of Sarah Palin, the anti-gay, social conservative former small town Alaska mayor turned first term governor tapped for the number two spot on the Republican ticket. In an brand new interview released by Newsmax, the conservative news source, Palin was asked for her "take on global warming and how is it affecting our country."

"A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location," Palin says and adds, "I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made."

NASA, the National Academy of Sciences and the United Nations disagree. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is more than 90 percent certain that human activity was "very likely" the cause of global warming.

Jarid Manos, the environmental advocate and author of Ghetto Plainsman, adds that Palin is "no moderate environmentalist" and actually wrote an op-ed in The New York Times arguing that it was the "wrong move" to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act. When the Bush Administration announced its listing of the polar bear as a threatened species, Palin sided with corrupt, indicted and anti-gay Sen. Ted Stevens and filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the decision.

Why waste time debating Palin's experience. Do we even want someone this extreme one heartbeat away from John McCain's 72-year-old heart?

Palin Speaks About McCain, Abortion, Climate Change [Nx]

More GLOBAL WARMING

Some Background .... "
Stevens: Pipeline More Important Than Polar Bears [R20]
News: Polar Bears, John Edwards [R20]
News: Polar Bears, Florida Primary [R20]
"International Polar Year" Begins [R20]
Only 13 Percent of GOP Believe Warming [R20]
Cheney on Global Warming [R20]
Environment: Pharrell Concert, Exxon [R20]
Warming "Very Likely" Caused By Humans [R20]
White House Pressures Scientists [R20]
GOP Names Climate Skeptic to Committee [R20]

Obama Speaks to 200,000 in Berlin, Urges Joint Fight Against Terror

Berlin, Germany is the location of the largest crowd of Barack Obama's campaign, as the Democratic presidential candidate spoke to an estimated 200,000 people and summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as they conquered communism a generation ago.

Speaking not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the historic city, the Illinois senator said , "The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. "The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand."

Obama drew loud applause as he strode across a large podium erected at the base of the Victory Column in Tiergarten Park in the heart of Berlin. He referred repeatedly to the Berlin airlift, launched by the Allies 60 years ago when the Russians hoped to isolate the Western sector of the city, and drew loud applause by asking our European allies to fight against terrorism, radicalism, nuclear proliferation and global warming. "The burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden."

Full text after the jump.

Obama Uses Berlin Symbolism to Reunite Old Allies [CNN]
Obama Urges Germans to Work with US to Stop Terror [AP]

News: Demarco Majors, Marriage, Methodists, HIV, Kanye and Pharrell

· It's official. This fall, Californians will vote on the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry after "the state supreme court denied a legal challenge by gay and civil rights groups to remove a proposed amendment to ban marriage for gay and lesbian couples, Proposition 8, from the November ballot." The court’s vote was unanimous.

· Los Angeles Times: "Scores of United Methodist pastors in California are putting their careers on the line in an open revolt against religious edicts that forbid them to conduct weddings for gay and lesbian couples. ... Pastors have been emboldened by United Methodist assemblies in California that declared their support last month for the state Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning a ban on same-sex marriage."

· Everything you always wanted to know about basketball player Demarco Majors.

· 50 Cent to hook up with Val Kilmer.

· Politico profiles Lane Hudson, the political strategist and blogger who exposed former congressman and GOPerv Mark Foley.

· ABC News features a report on LGBT youth and discrimination in middle schools. The Washington Post published a similar story Monday, on Saro Harvey, a 15-year-old black gay teen, which you can also watch. To add some context to the precarious position of gay youth, Pride Agenda reports "a North Carolina anti-bullying bill is stalled due to its inclusion of LGBT students."

· HIV/AIDS research is slowing. Swiss pharma giant Roche announces it will suspend its "HIV research because none of its pending medicines represents a significant improvement over existing drugs" and reassign its HIV research scientists to other projects. One recent advancement in HIV research is the announcement by pathologists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston who believe they have found the Achilles Heel, the weakness that would keep the HIV virus from infecting new cells.

· Want a "RIM job"? Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion launches new career microsite. Pun intended. (via Queerclick)

· IBM Q2 profits jump 22%.

· The New England Blade: "Despite growing support for same-sex marriage in the United States as measured by several recent polls, black Americans remain steadfastly opposed to gay unions. According to research conducted by the National Black Justice Coalition and several other organizations, as many as two-thirds of black Americans are against gay marriage. Although the numbers vary by poll, research shows most blacks oppose both gay marriage and civil unions."

· Talk Left reports Rod 2.0 faves Pharrell Williams and Kanye West are among the hip-hop acts that will perform in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. Meanwhile, Pharrell and Kanye pushback against rumors on the internets that they employ ghost bloggers to publish their highly popular and frequently updated blogs. To squash the drama, Kanye publishes photos of himself at his computer and on his blog with some choice words (in all caps) for the haterz.

· New York Gov. David Paterson and the NAACP condemn the New Yorker's satirical cover depicting Barack and Michelle Obama.

· Intellectual Conservative, a right-wing blog that boasts "Extremism You Can Believe In," mocks Obama’s LGBT-inclusive policies and public mentions of gays and lesbians.

· Environmental Protection Agency says the value of an American life has decreased. Think Progress reports, "The EPA lowered its 'value of a statistical life' measure to $6.9 million in today’s dollars, which is 'a drop of nearly $1 million from just five years ago.' ... Critics say that the Bush administration is 'changing the value to avoid tougher [environmental] rules.' 'It’s hard to imagine that it has other than a political motivation,' said former senior EPA official Dan Esty."

Gore Speaks on Global Warming, Outlines Ambitious Energy Goal

Former Vice President Al Gore, the man who should be president right, delivers a major speech on global warming and challenges the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other environmentally-friendly and renewable energy sources within 10 years. It's an audacious and ambitious goal he hopes the next president, whoever he may be, will embrace. Gore compared his challenge to John F. Kennedy's 1961 pledge to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

"This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative,” the Nobel Prize-winning Democrat said at an energy conference. "It represents a challenge to all Americans, in every walk of life—to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen."

Gore says fellow Democrat Barack Obama and Republican rival John McCain are "way ahead" of most politicians in the fight against global climate change.

In January, the former veep came out in support of same sex marriage.

Gore Sets Energy Goal for Next President to Heed [AP]

More AL GORE

Some Background ...
Gore on Iraq: "My Heart Goes Out to All Those Who Have Lost Partners" [R20]
Right-Wing Attacks Gore After Oscar [R20]
Right-Wing Attack After Gore's Nobel [R20]
Live Earth Brings Global Awareness to Warming [R20]

Massive Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapsing in the Middle of Winter

An update on a story we first reported in March. This week, scientists report a massive Antarctic ice shelf "the size of Northern Ireland" is on the verge of disintegration. The situation is especially troubling because this is the middle of the Antarctic winter and the rapid disintegration is undoubtedly a consequence of global warming.

The European Space Agency says new satellite pictures show that the Wilkins shelf – the largest to be threatened so far – is "hanging by its last thread". Extending for approximately 5,600 square miles, it has been held in place by a thin ice bridge connecting it to an island, but this is now fracturing.

The shelf, which lies near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, had not been expected to collapse until the early 2020s. It provides further evidence that the planet is warming more quickly than predicted.

Scientists are stunned that it is continuing to melt in the depths of winter, and believe that warm water is welling up from the ocean to attack it from underneath. So far seven shelves on the peninsula have collapsed due to climate change.

The collapse of the entire ice shelf is now seen as "imminent."

On Friday, President George Bush left the G8 summit by quipping, "Goodbye from the world's greatest polluter!"

Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse 'Imminent' [Independent]
Scientists Surprised by Midwinter Collapse [Age]

More GLOBAL WARMING

Some Background ....
Western Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses, [R20]
News: Polar Bears, John Edwards [R20]
News: Polar Bears, Florida Primary [R20]
"International Polar Year" Begins [R20]
Only 13 Percent of GOP Believe Warming [R20]
Cheney on Global Warming [R20]
Environment: Pharrell Concert, Exxon [R20]
Warming "Very Likely" Caused By Humans [R20]
White House Pressures Scientists [R20]
GOP Names Climate Skeptic to Committee [R20]
NASA Says Global Warming "Not a Problem" [R20]

News: Gabrielle Union, Dobson, Hagee, Pharrell, Domestic Violence

· Two years ago in an interview with OUT, Gabrielle Union said, "You're nobody until someone says you're gay." The actress returns to the magazine to glam it up and share some advice with the boys.

· Should rabidly anti-gay demagogue James Dobson be recognized by the Radio Hall of Fame? Truth Wins Out launches petition drive to keep the hateful Focus on the Family founder out of the museum. "It is outrageous and insulting that James Dobson would be nominated for the Radio Hall of Fame," says TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen. "We believe that character counts and nominees should have careers based on honesty and integrity—not discrimination, distorting research and outright lying."

· Huffington Post: Lawyers for anti-gay evangelical Rev. John Hagee force YouTube to remove more than 120 videos of the controversial pastor.

· Pharrell Williams to undergo exotic tattoo removal procedure "that involves growing new skin."

· Cher laughs off rumors of a(nother) quickie wedding.

· Domestic violence and gay relationships, coast to coast. Los Angeles: City Council creates subcommittee "aimed at reducing incidents of domestic violence among same-sex couples [because ] often times police officers do not know what to do when they respond to a situation that involves violence between gay and lesbian partners." New York: Gay friendly Gov. David Paterson wants to expand domestic violence law to include dating relationships.

· Kenyan Anglican bishop threatens to quit the church over same-sex marriages. The Reverend Thomas Kogo believes gay rights activists are driven by ... "desire" for money and wealth. "God recognizes marriage between man and woman, and there is no way we will accept homosexuality and gay marriages. The Bible is very clear on the matter."

· A bidding war erupts over Ivorian footballer and Rod 2.0 fave Didier Drogba. "Despite continuing rumours that Didier Drogba will be heading to Milan this summer, Chelsea's new manager is "200%" sure the phenom will remain in England. Meanwhile .... "Marseilles fans have launched an appeal to raise £22m in order to buy" Drogba's contract.

· NTSB unsure of cause of recent problem with Obama's campaign plane but investigation does "not reveal any evidence of missing components, nor any evidence of tampering."

· White House caught suppressing data on global warming.

"In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), former White House official Jason Burnett revealed that Vice President Cheney’s office deleted portions of the testimony of Center for Disease Control Director Julie Gerberding, who testified last year about the consequences of climate change on public health. In a press conference yesterday, Boxer charged that White House spokesperson Dana Perino had 'lied' about the rationale behind the editing of the testimony: 'As I understand it, she said, the draft information did not comport with that, the science that was in the IPCC report. This was a lie. And we proved it before. We had in the last press conference we did on this.' "

Obama Plans Significant Outreach to Young Evangelicals and Catholics

Via Jeralyn at Talk Left: The Barack Obama campaign announces an aggressive faith-based strategy. David Brody at Christian Broadcasting Network reports the presumptive Democratic nominee plans to woo young evangelicals and Catholics via the Joshua Generation Project.

The name is based on the biblical story of how Joshua's generation led the Israelites into the Promised Land. A source close to the Obama campaign tells The Brody File the following:

"The Joshua Generation project will be the Obama campaign's outreach to young people of faith. There's unprecedented energy and excitement for Obama among young evangelicals and Catholics. The Joshua Generation project will tap into that excitement and provide young people of faith opportunities to stand up for their values and move the campaign forward."

Obama has often referred to himself as part of the "Joshua generation" of blacks who grew up in the post-civil rights era.

There are obvious benefits and liabilities to an faith-based strategy. On the upside, any project that yields additional voters is a plus. Obama has underperformed with Catholic voter and this helps gain traction in that demographic. If a pro-choice, pro-gay rights campaign is able to frame its message to young Catholics or evangelicals—see the November 2007 Obama interview on CBN and his remarks at a Texas rally—more power to him. Assuming the message is not modified. Also, as Rod 2.0 has previously reported, some evangelicals are moving away from single issue platforms and toward issues there are such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, Darfur, global warming and the Iraq War. These are issues where Democrats have the advantage.

On the other hand, the Obama campaign is already characterized by significant religious messaging and speechifying—too much, some say. The problems with Revs. Jeremiah Wright and James Meeks, as well as Father Michael Pfleger, drove significant numbers of white, church-going voters from Obama and toward Clinton. Obama's pastor problems will remain an issue, even more so in the general election, and, the primary exit polls in states such as Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky indicated many of those church-going voters probably will not be voting Democratic in the fall.

Obama Camp will Launch 'Joshua Generation Project' [CBN]

More OBAMA
More POLITICS

Some Background ...

"Christians" Opposed to Obama[R20]

Far-Right Not Interested in Disease[R20]

Far-Right Not Interested in Disease Pt 2 [R20]

"Pastor Warren, Would You Let a White Supremacist Speak at Your Church?" [R20]
Obama: Not "Very Christian" to Criticize Gays [R20]
Obama Buys Ads in Gay Newspapers in TX, OH [R20]
Obama: Hospital Visitation for Gay Couples is "Not a Special Privilege" [R20]
Right-Wing Townhall.com: "Obama Would Be First Gay President!" [R20]
Behind the Gay-Friendly Faces [The Advocate + PDF]
A Tale of Two Cities [The Advocate]
I Have a Dream ... Ticket [The Advocate]
Democratic Debate Addresses Homopohobia, Race [R20]
Obama Snubs Clinton at SOTU [R20]
The Advocate: Clinton vs Obama [R20]
Obama Addresses Homophobia and Anti-Semitism [R20]
HRC/Logo Forum: Obama Conference Call [R20]
HRC/Logo Forum: Morning After [R20]
Obama Meets the Press to Discuss Gays [R20]
Obama on McClurkin to "The Advocate" [R20]
Obama Resigns From Trinity [R20]
Obama "Outraged" by Wrights' "Ridiculous" "Rants" [R20]
NC Gov Endorses Clinton, NC/IN Polls Tightening [R20]
Wright at the National Press Club and Detroit NAACP [R20]
Wright on PBS: Obama "Says What He Has to Say as a Politician" [R20]
NC GOP Targets Dems with Obama/Wright Attack Ad [R20]
Teddy Endorsed Obama to Preserve JFK's Civil Rights "Legacy"? What Legacy? [HuffPo]
Obama's "A More Perfect Union" Speech [R20]
Obama and the Turban Non-Story [R20]
PA Debate: Meltdown and Morning After [R20]
"Bitter" Billionaire Fundraiser" [R20]
Obama Camp Provides Photo of Wright and Clinton [R20]
Obama to Make "Major" Speech on Race [R20]
Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Black LGBTs [R20]
McCain Aide Suspended, Circulating Wright Video [R20]

Earth Day 2008

Today is Earth Day and we'll update this post throughout the day. It would be interesting to hear in comments how some people are becoming more eco-friendly, or, inexpensive ways to go green. We're doing little things like shutting down computers and televisions overnight, buying the new (and weird looking) eco-light bulbs, and, taking clothing to the green dry cleaners. It's a little more expensive but worth it, plus, the counter staff is very cute.

· Ten things you can do for Earth Day.

· The Environmental Defense Fund releases a report "that suggests implementing a cap-and-trade program to cut greenhouse gas emissions would not slow the U.S. economy or cost jobs, contradicting a report released recently by a group of manufacturers that oppose a climate change bill.” The study finds "the economy would continue to grow at an average clip of 3 percent."

· Climate Progress calls out NBC News and Dateline NBC for this week's segment on the melting of Bolivian glaciers that elevates global warming denialists and suggests "not everyone agrees greenhouse gases are to blame for global warming." Yes, not "everyone", only the United Nations and thousands of the world's top climatologists ...

·

News: Pope, Simmie Williams, Lawrence King, Mario Lopez

More than 13,000 people crowd the South Lawn of the White House to greet Pope Benedict XVI and sing happy birthday. Across the street in Lafayette Square, the "papal visit drew a protest of about 200. With one demonstrator dressed as the pope, the crowd held signs criticizing celibacy and a large banner reading '100,000 sexually abused kids in the US.' "

· The protests come one day after the pontiff said he was "deeply ashamed" of the massive clergy sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church and will work to make sure pedophiles don't become priests.

· Uber-hottie Mario Lopez on Towleroad TV: I'm proud to be a gay icon.

· Bush outlines vague "proposal" to reduce growth of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Associated Press: The President "appears, in the view of congressional Democrats and environmentalists, as increasingly irrelevant in the climate debate both on the domestic and international stage."

· The reward is now $5,000 in the case of Simmie Williams, the 17-year-old black gay teen gunned down almost two months ago while dressed like a woman in a part of Fort Lauderdale known for transvestite prostitution. Police say "it appeared that Williams had been arguing with two men, both dressed in black. People nearby heard gunshots and saw the men run off."

· Across the country in California, more developments in the prosecution of the horrific murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King. "A coalition of 27 LGBT rights groups is calling on prosecutors to try 14-year-old Brandon McInerney in juvenile court, not as an adult." McInerney is charged with hate-crime and firearm-use enhancements in the the Feb. 12 fatal shooting.