Blog Title: Rod 2.0:Beta

Surprise! Anti-Gay Sen. Mel Martinez Will Not Seek Re-Election

The hits keep coming for the scandal-plagued, increasingly irrelevant Republican Party. Now comes word that Mel Martinez—Flordia's rabidly right-wing anti-gay senator, a Bush clone and the former RNC chairman—is resigning "to spend more time with his family." Martinez, who has...

Charlene Cothran Debuts "Ex-Gay" Ministry, Needs Donations to "Prevent Homosexuality In Youth"

Happy holidays from Charlene Cothran! The "ex-gay" (or is it merely celibate?) and former lesbian publisher of Venus Magazine, once the leading black-oriented lesbian magazine in the nation, now has officially crossed to the dark side by announcing the creation...

Rod 2.0 in The Wall Street Journal: "Longtime Allies Move to Heal Rifts After Gay-Marriage Fight"

What a compliment. Tamara Audi at the Wall Street Journal interviewed me for her piece "Longtime Allies Move to Heal Rifts After Gay-Marriage Fight" (PDF) on the post-Prop 8 fence building between gay rights groups and black and Latino activists....

HX's Holiday "Desires" by Thomas Synnamon and Kirk Shannon-Butts

If something tall, dark and handsome is on your Christmas shopping list, well, you'd better stand in line. HX features "Desire", an upscale holiday gift giving guide lensed by beefcake photographer extraordinaire Thomas Synnamon and produced by fashion editor Out...

Will Gay Marriage Activists in DC Reach Out to Black Voters?

This sounds very familiar. The Washington Blade reports black gay activists in our nation's capitol "caution" activists who are determined to bring a marriage bill to Mayor Adrian Fenty's desk by the spring. The reason? Same-sex marriage activists "have not...

Birmingham's Anti-Gay Mayor Charged with Bribery, Money Laundering, Corruption ...

And it couldn't happen to a better person. Larry Langford, the black anti-gay social conservative mayor of Birmingham who recently refused to issue a parade permit for gay pride, has been arrested on federal charges of bribery and money laundering....

A First: Openly Gay Marchers at Haiti HIV/AIDS Rally

This is a first in Haiti. On the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, about one dozen men in T-shirts declaring "I am gay" and "I am living with HIV/AIDS" proudly "marched with hundreds of other demonstrators" through a Haitian...

The Advocate: "Blackout on Proposition 8"

Our new piece in the Dec. 16 issue of The Advocate. If you have a print issue, it's on pages 32 and 33 and accompanies Michael Joseph Gross' cover story "Gay is the New Black." Although most of California’s black...

Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death in Shopping Stampede

This gives a new definition to "shopping until you drop." A Long Island Wal-Mart employee is killed after an "out-of-control" mob of thousands of deranged shoppers smashed through a door and trampled him. The Daily News has excellent play-by-play and...

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully everyone is safe and having a great time. I'm taking a day or two off to enjoy the holiday with friends and family. Light posting over the weekend and regular schedule resumes Monday.Oh and if anyone is...

Will An Openly Gay Black Man Become Obama's AIDS "Czar"?

For the second time in as many weeks, HIV/AIDS advocates are calling on President-elect Barack Obama to develop a comprehensive approach to domestic HIV/AIDS policy. The groups want increased federal funding for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and research "and a departure...

Wendell Lissimore Does Gucci in Russian "GQ Style"

If you can score a copy of the phone book-sized fall/winter Russian GQ Style you might be surprised to see model of the moment Wendell Lissimore—recently seen without clothing—has a full page in this killer black and white editorial. The...