Rod 2.0:Beta

News: Supreme Court, Wall Street, HRC, Models, Arizona Marriage

· By a 5 to 4 ruling, the Supreme Court strikes down the District of Columbia's ban on handgun possession, and, for the first time in our nation's history, rules the Second Amendment guarantees an individual's right to own a gun for self-defense. The opinion on  D.C. v. Heller is written by by Justice Anton Scalia and is here. Jeralyn at Talk Left provides selected quotes from the opinion and discussion here and here. For the conservative reaction, Red State has analysis and discussion, as well as commentary by Mike Huckabee.

· Gay conservatives at the Log Cabin Republicans applaud the decision.  "Unfortunately, too many LGBT Americans still face the threat of anti-gay violence," says president Patrick Sammon. "We're happy the Supreme Court has affirmed the right for us to protect ourselves and our families from harm."

· Stocks plunge and oil soars to a record high. "The Dow slides about 360 points to a 21-month low as ... oil surged above $140 a barrel in New York trading, compounding fears that soaring inflation will hamper a global economy already on the ropes."

· Technology shares hammered "as investors reacted to a disappointing profit outlook from the maker of BlackBerry smartphone" Research in Motion.

· Arizona: "Gay marriage opponents lost a key battle when the senate rejected a proposed ballot measure to amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. With the measure failing by two votes, the lawmaker who proposed putting the proposal on the November ballot for voters to decide said he will try Friday to resurrect it."

· Survey: One in five gay men and lesbians in Britain suffer anti-gay attacks.

· Out.com's Model Citizen is Courtney, recently seen on Rod 2.0 in Paper's Obama-inspired fashion editorial. He prefers "briefs", not boxers, and "good sex, love, and trust."

· The fashionistas at Late Boots on DSquared's S/S 2009 collection. "This show included all the heavy hitters, the new school and the old. Supermodel Tyson Beckford leaded the pack showing that he still has it as the youngsters marvel at the possibility. All types of black hit the runway, showing that you can book a whole show and variety still stands."

· Poll: 59% of Californians, compared to 50% of Americans, "believe homosexuality should be accepted, not discouraged by society."

·  Over pride weekend in San Francisco, activists "plan to be on the streets during the festivities to inform people of the boycott and protest of the Human Rights Campaign's annual fundraising dinner in San Francisco next month, a major event that raises tens of thousands of dollars for the organization. ... The controversy stems from the HRC's decision last fall to support" the proposed version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in Congress that did not include the employment protections for the transgender. The trans-exclusive ENDA passed the House but has stalled in the Senate.

The Fashion of The Supremes at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Motown aficionados and fans of Mary Wilson and Diana Ross may want to take note: The beautiful and elegant performance costumes of The Supremes, one of the recording industry's most successful groups, are now on exhibit at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The Story of The Supremes from the Mary Wilson Collection is based on the collection of Mary Wilson. "On show are over fifty outfits that chart the changing image of the group, from their dresses in the early days as The Primettes, to the glamorous Hollywood designs worn at the height of their fame."

"It examines how the group was carefully styled by Berry Gordy and his Motown associates to appeal to the widest possible audience. ... The lavish outfits with beading and thousands of sequins could cost between one and two thousand dollars each in the 1960s, $13-26,000 at 2007 prices."

For those of us not lucky enough to be in London, there are some interactive extras online, including a section on styling The Supremes, designing your own Supremes album cover, and, a rich history of Detroit, Motown and the civil rights movement.

The costumes cover all The Supremes, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, as well as Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell, Lynda Lawrence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Green. All of these women were trend setters and divas in their own right.

Exhibition: The Story of The Supremes [V&A]

Profile at GayCities.com

The guys at GayCities.com, the gay travel and enetertainment web portal, interviewed me for their ongoing series on gay pride.  Comedian Kate Clinton, Dan Renzi, West Hollywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang, Steph & Alek from OhLaLa, and popular music blogger Arjan were also included in the series. It was very kind of them to include me.

Oh, and this is our birthday week and we'll be in Chicago for the next few weeks. If anyone wants to grab coffee or say hello over Pride or the Fourth, let me know.

Cross Thompson on Flickr

Many of you may recognize Cross Thompson from the Ebony Soul calendar. The fitness model and calendar boy man  is the focus of at least one photostream  on Flickr. There are about three dozen images here and it's a good place to start for your daily Cross fix. Obviously the photostream was culled from the net and the quality of some photos is not superb, but, it is what it is and Cross is always very pleasing to the eye.

For Sale: Racially Charged, Stuffed Monkey "Sock Obama" Toy

At the same time the nation prepares to nominate its first black presidential candidate, some celebrate the occasion with racially charged imagery reminiscent of the ugliest days of the Jim Crow era. Via Think Progress: A stuffed monkey toy called "The Sock Obama" that is now available online.

TheSockObama^TM is born and raised in the United States of America. He proudly stands 16" tall and displays his run for Presidential Candidate on his lapel.

TheSockObama^TM is made with high quality knit materials to capture the nostalgic look of the Sock Monkey that we all know and love. Staying true to his root, he is hand stuffed with just enough filling to give him a firm, but huggable feel. The removable suit jacket offers two looks for this future President - All Business or Hands On.

The historic significance of associating black people to monkeys should be obvious. For those who need a refresher course, take a look at these t-shirts sold by a Georgia bar owner that compares Barack Obama to Curious George. Oh, it's just another day in the "post-racial" United States of America ... 

Nate Adams Does Kelly Rowland

Here is the latest YouTube video from Nate Adams, the Noah's Arc hotness, actor, dancer, choreographer and Rod 2.0 crush object. For about 20 seconds, you are treated to a shirtless Nate as he frolicks across his bed and channels Kelly Rowland to lip sync "Love Again."  Love the song, love Nate Adams even more. Sigh.

News: New Jersey Family Leave, Jill Scott, Colorado, Andrés Duque

· New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) signs landmark legislation that mandates paid family leave for same-sex partners—making the state the second after California to have such a law.  "Workers can apply for up to six weeks off to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or a sick parent, child, spouse or partner, and collect up to two-thirds of their pay.  The new law explicitly includes married spouses, as well as civil union partners."

· Nova at Soulbounce with the latest on Jill Scott: " "Whenever You're Around" has been chosen as the third single from The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3. ... As of right now, there are no plans for a video to be shot, but in this day and age visuals are so important for a single's longevity and it would be nice to see Jill get her sexy on in a vid for this song."

· Colorado: The House gives initial "approval to a bill barring discrimination against lesbians and gays in housing and public accommodations." In May 2007, Gov. Bill Ritter signed a measure that bans workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

· No protection for LGBT employees in Wyoming. A federal appeals court overturns a lower court ruling in the case of a school district that discriminated against two former employees because they are lesbians.

· The BBC News profiles gay Latinos in the United States and talks to prominent activist and blogger Andrés Duque, who describes the mainstream gay community's fetishistic view of its Latino counterpart. "The only thing you see about Latinos in many of the gay magazines and guides here in New York is pictures of naked Latino boys or skimpy-clothed Latino boys," Andrés notes, adding he is disappointed by the lack of reporting "which actually talk about the gay Latino community beyond that sexual ideal".

· LGBT travel becomes extremely lucrative, bringing in an estimated $65 billion a year.

· After eight years, Florida finally passes anti-bullying legislation. The LGBT inclusive bill unanimously passed the state senate and the Sunshine State becomes the 36th state to pass anti-bullying law and only the second state to penalize schools that don't comply. Gov. Charlie Crist (R) is expected to sign the bill next week. "It’s a damn shame it has to be made into LAW before people realize that bullying kids who are LGBT is WRONG," says one reader at Queerty.

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 ...

·

Homoerotic Omarion Fan Fiction!

Not sure are you familiar with this one, but ThugFiction is a fan fiction site devoted to all things homoeriotic around basketball players, rappers and male R&B stars. It's a nice change of pace from the usual fan fic, which is more obsessed with the LOTR trilogy and NKOTB. One of our favorite stories is "Strip Search", which features R&B poptart Omarion caught with his pants down (literally) while, umm, entertaining himself in his car. Naturally, a police officer observes the suspicious activity and demands a strip search ...

If something like this got out he could never live it down. Defeated, Omarion started to strip. He unbuttoned his shirt and passed it to the officer. Next, he pulled of his t-shirt and white beater which exposed his muscles glistening with sweat in the summer heat. He dropped his jeans once again and also passed them to the officer. Nervously, he pulled off his boxers, fully exposing his naked body. “Take your shoes and socks off” said the officer. “Damn, why?” Omarion complained. The officer smirked “You could have some drugs or a weapon in your shoes too”. Omarion mumbled something under his breath then reached down and pulled off his shoes and socks. “Sit on the car” the officer ordered...

In the next paragraph, the story goes from NC-17 to rated XXX, so you might want to make sure there are no coworkers looking over your shoulder. Let's just say that apparently Omarion's much-discussed assets are becoming legendary.

Strip Search [ThugFiction]

More OMARION
More BOW WOW

Did You Read? ...
Confirmed: Omarion Wears "Tight" Slacks [R20]
Omarion: I Wear Tight Jeans to "Show Off My Figure" [R20]
Bow Wow and Omarion Walk Out of Lame Interview with BET's Toure [R20]
Bow Wow Flaunts It [R20]
Bow Wow: "Chemistry Between Me and Omarion" [R20]
Bow Wow and Omarion on Next Week's "Ugly Betty" [R20]
Rumors: Are Omarion and Bow Wow a "Duo"? [R20]
Details on the Gay Rapper [R20]
Bow Wow "Plays" Gay? [R20]
News: Gay Sex Ed, Bow Wow & Omarion [R20]
Omarion's Rodeo Drive Shopping Spree [R20]
Just Waiting for the Right Girl [R20]
Chris Brown: Live at the Roxy! [R20]

iTunes Canada Pulls Anti-Gay "Murder Music"

Another update on the campaign by Jamaican-based gay groups to call attention to the extreme anti-gay violence and homophobia in Jamaica. In response to a campaign led by Egale and Stop Murder Music, iTunes Canada has removed "several songs with anti-gay lyrics from its online store."

Xtra.ca reports: "The songs—by Jamaican dancehall artists Buju Banton, Elephant Man and TOK—contain lyrics that advocate the killing of gays. ... iTunes has also gone a step further by removing entire albums that contain the offending songs, not just the songs themselves. Elephant Man's track Log On contains the lyrics "Dance wi a dance and a bun out a freaky man" (Join our dance and let's burn out the queer man). The album of the same name can't be downloaded on iTunes, but all of Elephant Man's other albums are available."

Akim Larcher, founder of Stop Murder Music, says iTunes' is "raising the bar for other retailers and distributors to do the same." Also this week, the iconic Red Stripe brewing label "has withdrawn thousands of dollars" (euros) in sponsorship from the popular 'Reggae Sumfest' and 'Sting' reggae show" over concern that musicians are "glorifying violence."

iTunes Pulls Murder Music [Xtra]

More JAMAICA
More CRIME

Did You Read? ...
JA Gays Oppose Boycott Over "Murder Music" [R20]
Church: "Ludicrous" to Condemn Anti-Gay Violence [R20]
JA Gay Activist Attacked by Mob Seeks Asylum [R20]
JA Mob Attacks Two Gay Men [R20]
Angry Mob of 2,000 Jamaicans Attack Gays [R20]
Did Jamaican Cops "Rescue" Gays? [R20]
JA Leading Newspaper Demands Equal Rights [R20]
Justice, Jamaican Style [R20]
Bloodlust at UWI [R20]
"One Gay is Dead, What's the Difference?" [R20]
"Jamaica, Island of Hate" [R20]
Justice, Jamaican Style [R20]
Jamaican Newspaper Criticizes Anti-Gay Laws [R20]
"Gay Panic" Defense in Brutal Slaying [R20]
Who Killed Ambassador Peter King? [R20]
"Gay Panic" in Killing of Popular Priest [R20]
"Flaunting Sexual Preference May Incite Violence" [R20]