Gay City News interviews with Dave Noble, who left his post as public policy and government affairs director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, to join Obama's campaign. From the interview:

Asked specifically if Obama would reiterate his calls for action on key gay issues early in 2009, Noble was circumspect.

"I wouldn't speak for what bills he would push for in which months, and I believe there will be movement in Congress in the near future as well," he said. "With larger majorities, we will see a lot of progressive legislation on issues across the board."

. . . Obama, of course, is not a supporter of marriage for same-sex couples, but he has adopted an otherwise ambitious position that would give federal recognition to whatever legal rights and benefits couples enjoy in their home states. He also supports repeal of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. In a nation that does not even have a fair employment law, that's a tall order.

. . . Even as Noble talks about all these issues in his drive to crank up the gay vote in two weeks, he acknowledges the cynicism that often undermines LGBT confidence in the political process.

"I think it makes sense for some LGBT voters to be concerned," he said. "The fact that we are just passing ten years since Matthew Shepard's murder without a hate crimes bill is discouraging to lots of LGBT voters."

He was quick to add, however, that at no time during that decade did Democrats hold both the presidency and Congress, which will certainly be the case if Obama is elected.

Read the full interview at Gay City News.

Via The Huffington Post:

The ATF says it has broken up a plot to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and shoot or decapitate 102 black people in a Tennessee murder spree.

In court records unsealed Monday, agents said they disrupted plans to rob a gun store and target an unnamed but predominantly African-American high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads.

Updates forthcoming.

Slate has an interactive calculator to help you figure out just how important you really are:

With the election just a week away, both campaigns are making their final arguments to voters. The details differ, but the basic message is the same: This election is all about you. Far be it from us to shatter anyone's illusions.

In reality, this election is not about just any old average voter anymore—if it ever was in the first place. As the clock ticks down, both the Obama and McCain campaigns are making a final push to win over a very small slice of remaining swing voters.

Which raises the question: Are you a swing voter? Being undecided is not enough, in itself, for membership. In fact, very few Americans, at this late hour, still qualify for the club. Think you have what it takes? Slate's handy Swing Voter Calculator can help you figure out whether you make the cut.

So, head on over and see what kind of voter you really are.

Via Sport, a shirtless shot of Rafael Nadal, just in time for the Paris Masters. Nadal is assured of finishing the season as the number one player in the world no matter what happens between now and the end of the season.

And check out this week's Tennis Ad-in/Ad-Out by Jon Wertheim while you're at it.

Some NSFW shots (unrelated to the Sport photo shoot) of his famous nekkid butt after the jump.

Possible roles for David Axelrod in an Obama administration

A letter to the President-elect: "This is a sobering moment in American history. You begin with a good deal of popular support, but mandates must be replenished. I suggest you think of the Oval Office as a classroom, and explain to the American people what we need to accomplish and what it will require."

McCain out of ideas

McCain aides take a swipe at Palin: "She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," this McCain adviser said. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else. Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

Obama responds to McCain's Meet The Press interview

Via The Huffington Post, In next month's issue of The Advocate, Denis Leary defends the use of the word "fag:"

"What gives you the right to use the 'F-word?' " demands interviewer Brandon Voss. "I also have a chapter called, 'We'd Hate You Even If You Weren't Black,' " Leary shoots back. "I don't believe in the power of words. My parents came from Ireland, where the [C-word] is literally a word your mother and father would use to describe the weather or the car: 'That [C-word]ing car won't start!' And I come from a Catholic background where the nuns were always telling you, 'Don't do this, don't say this,' so any time anyone tells me I shouldn't say something, my reaction is, 'Why not?' "

The Advocate also takes Leary to task over a 2006 Elle interview where he was asked to name a man he'd sleep with if his life depended on it. "I'd shoot myself in the head," Leary answered. He tells Voss, "I'd have to have my wife dress up as a man. I never met him, but I always really loved Paul Newman - not only as an actor, but also the way he carried himself . . . So I guess I'd have to dress my wife up as Paul Newman."

Via DoorQ:

I wanted to take a moment to provide some meta information about not just our election struggle, but the ongoing, and probably eternal, conflict between various interest groups. Psychologist Jonathan Haidt has some insights into the factors at the core of that struggle.

Haidt studies morality and emotion in the context of culture. He asks: Why did humans evolve to have morals -- and why did we all evolve to have such different morals, to the point that our moral differences may make us deadly enemies? It's a question with deep repercussions in war and peace -- and in modern politics, where reasoned discourse has been replaced by partisan anger and cries of "You just don't get it!" Haidt asks, "Can't we all disagree more constructively?" He suggests we might build a more civil and productive discourse by understanding the moral psychology of those we disagree with, and committing to a more civil political process. He's also active in the study of positive psychology and human flourishing.

In this video, taken from the endlessly fascinating TED series of lectures, Haidt studies the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we're left, right or center. In this eye-opening talk, he pinpoints the moral values that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most.

And Haidt is surprisingly funny.

Don Draper's Guide to Picking Up Women (The hot guy from Mad Men)
Jerry Lewis likes to call people "fags."

Barack Obama offers Jennifer Hudson some kind words

Zac Efron tops . . . whatever he wants. But in this case, the box office. When, exactly, did he stop being a boy and start looking like a man?

The father of molecular gastronomy gives an interview

SF streetcar to be dedicated to Harvey Milk

Saving you from drowning in a sea of passwords -- a picture

This week's Tennis Ad-in/Ad-out column by Jon Wertheim

Dan Savage hosts HUMP! - the annual amateur porn festival.

Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard's mother, is honored with Cronkite award

I loved this article on the Antikythera machine, the 2000 year old computer.

I've been in love with this guy forever. Andres Segura. Model.

Click thumbnails to enlarge. Slightly NSFW pic after the jump.

The Week has a collection of links to articles from Frank Rich and Andrew Sullivan asking if America is post-racist.

Is America post-racist? No, it's not. No. As a person of Mexican ancestry who looks white in the winter months, I can't tell you how many times I've heard nasty comments from white people (who assume I'm white) about Mexicans. The last time was a few weeks ago when I went to the wedding reception of a friend and his new husband. They had just returned from California, and their families had thrown them something of a surprise celebration.

My friend, who is Filipino, married a wonderful man who happens to be white. When I chatted with my friend's new lawyer sister-in-law, who appeared thrilled that her gay brother had gotten married, she told me she was from San Antonio. I know nothing of San Antonio, except that it's in conservative Texas. She seemed like such a lovely and open-minded person, so I asked her what her city was like, if it was liberal like Austin or conservative like the rest of the state. She rolled her eyes and said, "Well, it could be more liberal, but those Mexicans are overrunning the entire city! You know how they breed."

Continued after the jump.

I looked at her and smiled and said, "Well, I say the browner the better! I'm Mexican, so I think it sounds just perfect!"

She froze in place and then cleared her throat, "Oh, you're, uh, Mexican? Well, um, good for you! Good for you!"

Here was a woman, educated, sophisticated, and, yes, she had been drinking, whose was in Manhattan to celebrate her gay brother's wedding to a Filipino man. And even there, even in the middle of the most liberal experience imaginable, racism slipped in. And then out.

That's the thing with racism these days. Since it's incredibly uncool to be racist, whether you're on the left or the right, the racism beats a retreat into the basement. But it rarely gets thrown out.

A one-off experience? No. This kind of thing has happened to me a dozen times in the past few years. I don't know how much basement racism will factor in to the voting next Tuesday, but it will be a factor.

In honor of Halloween, Scientific American tell us why and how we're afraid.

What's scarier, a deadly snake slithering across your path during a hike or watching a 1,000-point drop in the stock market? Although both may instill fear, researchers disagree over the nature and cause of this very powerful emotion.

"When you see the stock market fall 1,000 points, that's the same as seeing a snake," says Joseph LeDoux, professor of neuroscience and psychology the Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety based at New York University. "Fear is the response to the immediate stimuli. The empty feeling in your gut, the racing of your heart, palms sweating, the nervousness—that's your brain responding in a preprogrammed way to a very specific threat."

Does this mean that watching Elisabeth introduce Sarah Palin is like watching the stock market plunge a thousand points?

From G4's Moments in De-Evolution: "See what happens when frat dudes have too much time and booze on their hands." Unfortunately, it's not that kind of fun, but it does involve a urinal at the end. Safe for work.

CNN.com is reporting that the body of Jennifer Hudson's nephew has been found in the SUV that was reported missing from the Hudson household.

This is an unbelievably sad end to a horrible tragedy.

An even more rabid Elisabeth loses herself and her reason in an introduction at a rally for Sarah Palin in Tampa.

I really do think "True Blood" is the best thing going on TV today. It's just so . . . clever. And funny. (Warning: Potential Spoilers Below)

Music plays a big part in the world of "True Blood." All of the shows are named after songs. Last night's episode was titled "Fourth Man in the Fire" after Johnny Cash's song of the same name. It plays when Amy and Jason are sitting in the truck, waiting to get into Vampire Eddie's house.

One of my favorite moments last night was when Lafayette was working on gay Vamp Eddie, and the song "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles was playing in the background. How funny is that? The immortal gay vampire IS an eternal flame. Love it. (I tried to be offended by calling a gay character a "flame," but it just wasn't coming. It's just too funny.) One thing -- who is the fourth man in the fire? Is that Eddie since three vamps died (presumably) in last week's fire? Or is it Jason because he has gotten in over his head with his new psychotic silver-toting girlfriend? (She makes jewelry -- she made her own silver lariat. Does that mean that she made the silver lariat that was used on Vampire Bill? I think Amy is part of something a whole lot bigger, and I think Vamp Eddie might know about it. Remember when Amy, after tossing that silver hood on Vamp Eddie, screamed at Jason, "No names!" Crazy girl might just be around for a while . . . .)

Other favorite moments last night:

A seductive Vampire Eddie to a reluctant Lafayette: "I always look forward to Mondays. First, 'Heroes' and then you."

Bill to Eric about why he didn't return Eric's text messages: "I don't like using the number keys to type."

Also, check out a review (with spoilers) here.

The 60 Minutes examining the causes of the financial crisis helped me understand a litte bit better what's going on. (I apologize for the commercial at the beginning, but I thought it was worth it since the information given in the report is so helpful.)

The world's financial system teetered on the edge again last week, and anyone with more than a passing interest in their shrinking 401(k) knows it's because of a global credit crisis. It began with the collapse of the U.S. housing market and has been magnified worldwide by what Warren Buffet once called "financial weapons of mass destruction."

As Steve Kroft reports, essentially [derivatives] are side bets on the performance of the U.S. mortgage markets and the solvency on some of the biggest financial institutions in the world. It's a form of legalized gambling that allows you to wager on financial outcomes without ever having to actually buy the stocks and bonds and mortgages. It would have been illegal during most of the 20th century, but eight years ago Congress gave Wall Street an exemption and it has turned out to be a very bad idea.

Below, a 60 Minutes report from 1995 that predicted the financial meltdown. "07/23/95: Steve Kroft investigates what stock derivatives are and the dangers they pose to investors."

From the AP:

At least 64,000 people from all 50 states and more than 20 other countries have given money to support or oppose a ban on same-sex marriage in California, reflecting broad interest in a race that some consider second in national importance only to the presidential election.

Ten days before the vote on Proposition 8, campaign finance records show that total contributions for and against the measure have surpassed $60 million, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

That would be a record nationally for a ballot initiative based on a social rather than economic issue, campaign finance experts say. It also eclipses the combined total of $33 million spent in the 24 states where similar measures have been put to voters since 2004.

Wake Up With These:

Meet The Press 10/26/08:
John McCain, insight and analysis from Charlie Cook, Kelly O'Donnell, and Chuck Todd.

The New York Times:
NYT The Front Page, Monday 10-27-08

Slate "Wingtip Warriors:"
Wingtip Warriors: Why those "armies" of lawyers are our last, best hope for an honest Election Day, by Dahlia Lithwick

Audio player after the jump. Or click here to launch the player in a new window so you can browse while you listen. Or, head over to The Media Bar and listen there

Click below to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just pull hang out and watch them in The Media Bar next door.

Daily Song:
Elbow - One Day Like This (Live on Abbey Road)


Television:
"Lost" Season 5 preview. A crappy version leaked out accidentally over the weekend, so a reluctant ABC let a clean copy out.


Movies:
Superman IV fight scene. Kind of really great.


Politics:
With 8 days to go, it's a dance-off!




Music Video:
Robin Thicke performs "Magic" live on Loose Women (UK)

Click to jump to the full size players or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just hang out and watch them next door in The Media Bar.

Daily Song:
Elbow - One Day Like This (Live on Abbey Road)

Elbow -"One Day Like This" (Live on Abbey Road)

Television:
"Lost" Season 5 preview. A crappy version leaked out accidentally over the weekend, so a reluctant ABC let a clean copy out.
"Lost" Season 5 preview. A crappy version leaked out accidentally over the weekend, so a reluctant ABC let a clean copy out.

Movies:

Superman IV. Kind of really great.

Politics:

http://view.break.com/592648 - Watch more free videos
With 8 days to go, it's a dance-off!

Music Video:

Robin Thicke performs Magic live on Loose Women (UK)


Type rest of the post here