OBAMA, REALLY?

One day Obama is saying he wants to help the middle class. The next he's nominating the guy who helped crash our economy for the head of the Federal Reserve. What a crock of sh(t! And he's defending Summers appointment to House Democrats who don't want him? Wait, a democratic president defending his appointee against Democrats? Wouldn't that make Obama a republican? I'll bet you won't hear any Republicans against Summers' appointment.. "President Obama gave a forceful defense of Larry Summers during a meeting with House Democrats today—fueling speculation the the president may appoint Summers to chair the Fed. We can’t let that happen. Email the White House right now and tell President Obama not to appoint Larry Summers. According to various news reports, President Obama staunchly defended Summers after one congressman called Summers a “bad choice” during a meeting between the president and House Democrats. The thing is—Larry Summers would be a bad choice. He helped lead the charge to deregulate Wall Street in the 90s and he dismissed concerns about deregulation just before the 2008 crash that tanked the economy. Appointing him to head the Fed would be a huge mistake. Progressive backlash against the pick already forced the White House to delay their announcement. If we keep the pressure on, we can beat this nomination. Say no to Larry Summers at the Fed: Email the White House right now." Keep fighting, Michael Langenmayr Campaign Director, Daily Kos SIGN: DAILYKOS

CHER, I'M COMING FOR YA!

Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs *** No. 1 (1 week)***/Greatest Gainer "Woman's World" Cher Debut No. 43 "Take Me Up High" Lady Bunny Debut No. 45 "Take It Like A Man" Bleona Debut No. 46 "Guess What?" Cazwell & Luciana Debut No. 47 "Walking On Thin Ice 2013" Ono Debut No. 49 "Bubble Butt" Major Lazer Featuring Bruno Mars, Tyga MORE: BILLBOARD

AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

MUST SEE: 20 STEPS FROM STARDOM

At the strong suggestion of Dwayne Milan, I saw 20 Steps From Stardom last night. And I caught it with my former Pyramid/Florent cohort Ebony Jett, who lives in San Fran now. It's a documentary about the trials and tribulations of professional background singers, who finally take center stage in this moving film. Darlene Love, Lisa Fischer, Merry Clayton, Tata Vega and Judith Hill are featured along with the major artists who work with them: Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Mick Jagger and Luther Vandross. This film is a testament to the power of intelligent film-making: taking a behind the scenes position and elevating it to examine what makes these singers tick, what challenges they face and the dialogue they have in choosing between working steadily while making someone else sound better or going solo. Lisa Fischer had her own Grammy-winning hit How Can I Ease The Pain, yet chose to fade into the background because she doesn't want to put on sunglasses when hitting the streets or fool with a lot of the egotistical, game-playing that stars have to face. Like Lisa, several of the singers expressed that they were more interested in making quality music as part of a group than promoting themselves. You can tell that these girls aren't from the let's-put-out-a-record-because-we're-famous-despite-no-musical-talent Too Tardy For The Party school of thought. A touching and gutsy look into the changing music industry from the 1960s until now which I highly recommend. And they didn't skimp on music clearance, so they play many of the huge, back-up singer driven hits like Monster Mash, Sweet Home Alabama and Thriller so you can appreciate the singers' stories by hearing their great work right then and there.

CRUISE WITH LADY BUNION!

MORE INFO: MUSICINMOCEAN

GO, LADY BERNIE!

I know many of you thought I was ranting a bit much about my boredom with the royal baby. And I must admit, creating that petition to major news outlets to ask them to stop the incessant coverage was a bit much even for me. (Is Big Bad Bun the blabbermouth know-it-all admitting that she was wrong--or at least overboard on a subject?) I'm actually glad that the press died down fairly soon in non-tabloid journalism. (Is the queen of preachy gloom and doom actually being positive and...gulp...grateful now?) Well, occasionally common sense will penetrate even my massive wigs and into my thick skull. Bitches, don't get used to it! Then I watched this clip about who is opposing the minimum wage increase that Obama says he wants. It's big businesses like Walmart. Bernie Sanders explains how much stake a company Walmart has in keeping wages low so that it's profits remain astronomical. The combined wealth of the Walmart heirs equals more than 40 per cent of what the rest of the US makes combined. And the wages that the retail giant pays employees are so low that Walmart employees are all forced to be on welfare. That means that you and I are subsidizing the superstore by paying for it's workers' benefits every time we pay taxes. (And anyone who shops there directly subsidizes them, too.) The republicans want to abolish minimum wage and would gladly take advantage of unemployment to hire us for $3 an hour if they could. And many/most of Congress are bought by Walmart and other stores with similar agendas. Need I add that if their employees were making more they'd be spending more, and helping the entire economy? This is what kills me about the royal baby brouhaha. Our nation's founders were sick of the concept of a monarchy, and of a ruling class which reigned over everyone else. Now, though we like to spout off about equality for all and the American Dream, corruption has brought this very system we sought to leave in England back to us. Walmart pays the elected officials who are supposed to represent average americans to keep us poor while making a tremendous fortune. Look, if Walmart is providing a good product at a good price and they've become huge, then more power to them. That's the American Dream. But if they've achieved this by shafting their workers, that ain't gonna work. Ask yourselves if you'd rather have Walmart and similar giants pay it's workers a decent wage or if you'd like to continue as taxpayers footing the bill for their employees' Medicaid, housing subsidies and food stamps. And ask yourselves if the 4.4% unemployment rate and higher wages in Bernie Sanders' state of Vermont might be good for the rest of the country. I don't see how your answer could be no. Please check this short but very informative interview out. The president is actually trying to be progressive for a change. Help him and you'll help yourselves!

WORSHIP CAROL NOW!

YES!

IN TRANSGENDER NEWS

ALLANAH STARR'S STATUS UPDATE: Don't they say something similar in Iran? We'll kill you if you're gay, but the Quran says nothing about sex changes so they are fine. Muslims, Christians, sheesh! And they think we're the sick ones! EVANGELIST PAT ROBERTSON COMES OUT IN FAVOR OR TRANSSEXUALS, BUT NOT GAYS? MORE: LGBTNATION

THIS GIRL IS ON...

BEAUTIFUL!

INTERESTING TAKE ON WEINER FROM THE UK'S GUARDIAN

MICHAEL WOLF from THE GUARDIAN: "A great number of the New Yorkers who will or will not vote for Anthony Weiner, and, as well, many of the journalists and politicians so nonplused by his behavior, are online porn consumers, too. This has always been true about public and private morality. What you yourself do in private, you can, nevertheless, happily condemn a public figure for doing. It's a cover, collective disapproval. It's standard hypocrisy. All the more now. The internet, that revolution in auto eroticism, is built on mass prurience. Every modern person has a porn fascination if not compulsion. You'd have to have no curiosity to be otherwise. That's part of the reaction here: there but for the grace of God go I. We're projecting our own shame on Weiner." MORE: GUARDIAN

YES TO THIS WIG!

NOTES FROM S.F.

In San Francisco for a week working. I adore this city, which is among the prettiest in the country. A few new impressions. The Castro is definitely straighter. I'm not one of these "breeder"-hating gays--I actually love kids no matter how you cook them--but ya do kinda want the Castro in gay-@ss San Fran to be Queer Central. Kinda like you used to wish that Christopher Street would remain an oasis of all things homo. Oh well! I arrived yesterday as the Dore Alley festivities began. This was described to me as being what the Folsom Street Fair used to be--public nudity, raunch and gay sex. I didn't stop by, but milled around the Castro. Market still has the yummiest salad bar on earth. I didn't want to be too healthy, so I enjoyed it with a bottle of diet Dr. Pepper to cancel out any health benefits from the whole grains. I try no to use plastic shopping bags when possible, so I popped the bottle of soda into the pocket of my sweat pants. As some people stared at the bulge, I wondered if they thought I'd been "pumping" en route to the Dore Alley. This gave me a giggle. Bought something else at Walgreens and realized that I'd better stick this stuff in a bag. The cashier told me that would be 10 cents. OK, I didn't like hearing that. But I had to realize that even a dime IS an effective deterrent from using more plastic. Maybe Californians are more aware of this because that garbage island the size of Belgium that floats in the Pacific Ocean is nearer by to them than to the rest of the country. It costs more to recycle plastic bags than it does to manufacture them, so unless we do stop using them, we're creating more islands of non-biodegradable refuse filled with dead fish and birds. Less convenient? Yes. Necessary? Probably. Some parts of the country are more in tune with recycling than others. I've never understood why New Yorkers often order a cup of coffee and want it in a bag. A drink with a removable lid in a bag? I remember performing Texas and asking a club owner after I'd finished a bottle of water if this can was for recycling. He took the bottle and threw it in the can saying "This is Texas. It's the trash." He was a great guy full of charm, and on one level I had to laugh at his relish in disregarding anything as new-agey or enlightened as recycling. But if we don't voluntarily take steps as San Fran has done, is the time coming when we're all forced by law to wheel an earthenware crock of water and milk to and from the grocery store? Does an ounce of prevention ring a bell? Just a thought...A very long-winded, boring thought. But who doesn't like to spend a day off in one of their favorite cities typing on a screen?

NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR TAKE ME UP HIGH!

Available on iTunes, Amazon, etc.

GET OUT THE HANDKERCHIEF!

THERE ACTUALLY IS SOME...GOOD...NEWS!

MORE: CAVNEWS

COME ONE, COME ALL!

Anybody But Quinn Strategy Meeting--All invited! 8/1, 2013 at 7pm-8:30pm at ABQ Headquarters 39 Broadway Suite 1740. I'll be away for this but plan to attend others.

ANOTHER WINNER FRoM SIMON DOONAN

Simon Doonan for Slate.com on flashers, Anthony Weiner's sexts and why high heels are a turn-on: "Is it a power trip? Is the fact that a lady is hobbled by heels and cannot run away a caveman turn-on? Back when primordial blokes had to chase prospective dates for miles across the tundra, any immobility must have been a raging aphrodisiac. Is masochism at play? Those nasty, sharp, potentially scrotum-tearing heels seem like they could inflict sizzling amounts of pain. If a dude was into that stuff, then a spike heel would be like crack cocaine." READ THE REST: SLATE.COM

CHECK IT OUT!

Fun new song written by my friend Xavier Smith, sung by Mykal Kilgore (yes, it's a man) and music provided by the musicians behind the Daptones, Amy Winehouse and many more. Out soon on Tummy Touch Records. LISTEN: SOUNDCLOUD

FUN WITH WIENERS

"Dressed in a white shirt and yellow tie, Weiner arrived at a college near City Hall for a hearing about public housing. His press secretary had surprise cupcakes for members of the media. But they had a surprise for Weiner, too. Standing next to a New York Post photographer was a man dressed in a Zorro costume. The photographer deflected queries, saying the man was not doing interviews. But when Weiner emerged, Zorro approached. He said his name was Carlos Danger. He inquired of the candidate, “Why did you steal my name?” Weiner looked terrified." MORE: WaSHPO CREATE YOUR OWN CARLOS DANGER-STYLE NICKNAME: MINE WAS SALVATOR FURTIVE. http://mobile.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/low_concept/2013/07/carlos_danger_name_generator_use_our_widget_to_get_a_name_like_anthony_weiner.html NEWSCASTER DRAWS A PENIS TO DESCRIBE TRAFFIC PATTERNS

MORE: DAILYMAIL.COM

KOOKY GONG SHOW CLIP!

SO INSPIRING!

The 'female Schindler' who saved 2,500 Jewish children but died wishing she'd rescued more

A few months before she died, she said: "After World War II, it seemed that humanity understood something, and nothing like that would happen again.Humanity has understood nothing. Religious, tribal, national wars continue. The world continues to be in a sea of blood." But she added: "The world can be better if there's love, tolerance and humility." Irena Sendler MORE: DAILYMAIL

LA TO NYC IN 1 HOUR???

HURRY UP AND INSTALL THIS! AIR TRAVEL IS MONSTROUS AND THIS WOULD COST AROUND $100 AND BE MUCH SHORTER! Too bad I'll be dead before it's built!

MORE: LOSTATEMINOR

MORNING!

PLEASE SIGN IF YOU AGREE

Larry Summers has no business being chair of the Federal Reserve. Sign our petition telling President Obama not to appoint him. The last thing we need is a chair of the Federal Reserve that prioritizes Wall Street over the rest of us. If you aren’t familiar with Summers, he is notorious for dismissing concern over the lack of regulations in financial markets right before the crash in 2008. In fact, in the 1990's he led the charge to deregulate Wall Street in the first place. If that isn’t enough, Summers is also known for his offensive views that women are somehow less capable in science, technology, and economic fields. With women dominating institutions of higher education and taking a lead in the job market, we should have someone at the Federal Reserve who respects the important role women play in our economy and our society. Please, sign our petition and tell President Obama not to appoint Larry Summers as chair of the Federal Reserve. We can do better. Keep fighting, Sarah Burris, Daily Kos SIGN: DAILYKOS

LOOK OUT SAN FRANCISCO!

There's a new "girl" in town! This suspicious character with humongous wigs and a c#m hither look has been seen hanging out on street corners in anticipation of her gigs at Booty Call (djing with Juanita More on 8/31) and Some Thing (performing with David Glamamore on 8/1) and with Pollo Del Mar in Sacramento on 8/3. I don't know the name of this illustrator but I absolutely ADORE his work. Of course, I always look better after the sun goes down. What a treasure to get to spend a whole week in one of my favorite cities with my San Fran-sisters.

Here's an interview in the Bay Area Reporter! This bunny has bite. Famed drag queen Lady Bunny, who will blitz northern California next week to promote her new single, has never been shy about speaking her mind. And in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter this week, the legendary New York City nightlife fixture was vocal about her opinions on gay conservatives, Big Apple lesbian mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, and the rightful place of transgender people in LGBT history. "I wish there were more drag queens who did speak out because I think we often have a unique perspective," said Lady Bunny. She is in the "anyone but Quinn party" in terms of this year's New York City mayoral race and recently appeared at a fundraiser for candidate Bill de Blasio, the city's elected public advocate. She also spoke favorably of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner. "I think she is Bloomberg's bitch and was instrumental in securing his third term," said Lady Bunny of Quinn, the current city council speaker, referring to current Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "She is in with big real estate developers so New York is not for New Yorkers anymore." READ: EBAR

SUMMER CAMP FOR BOYS WHO WILL BE GIRLS ON SLATE.COM

MORE: SLATE.COM

MICHAEL LUCAS WEIGHS IN ON PrEP AND BEING HIV NEGATIVE ON OUT.COM

I often disagree with my friend Michael Lucas. But if the statistics he quotes are anywhere near correct and 58% of gay men aren't using condoms, I agree with him that something has definitely failed. I don't know enough about PrEp to advocate it's use and condoms are certainly cheaper than the $1,000 per month cost of the drug, so I'm curious to hear what folks more knowledgable about this than I have to say about it. But somebody needs to start saying something about this cuz it sounds like we are f#cking each other to death! I know that Michael's opinions are often unpopular, but he is a good friend of mine, so please steer clear of personal attacks on him. Well, I guess a few wouldn't hurt. Hee hee! But if this what people are up to and he's dares to suggest a solution, I don't mind listening. However, I am always wary of much that is offered by our wretched pharmaceutical industry. MICHAEL LUCAS: "In the past month, eight people I know have told me that they've tested positive for HIV. A couple of them had boyfriends who cheated on them. These friends, who didn't know about PrEP, are now unfortunately among the 50,000 Americans newly infected with HIV each year — one in four of whom is under 24 years old. Whether we want to admit it or not, safe-sex education has been an epic failure. In a recent national survey, the majority of gay men—58%—admitted to not using a condom the last time they had anal sex. Is PrEp better than condoms? Dr. Grant won't go that far, but here's what he did say in a phone conversation: "That actual use of PrEp is more effective than saying you'll use condoms and not using them. And that's often the choice people make." I'm know I'm not a public health expert, but I can't understand why we're not discussing, in a serious way, getting the most at-risk in our community on this medication immediately. With new and preventable HIV infections happening every hour, is the silence about PrEP among the safe-sex establishment not criminal? One more statistic: US News reports that if HIV infections among gay men continue to rise at current rates, more than half of college-aged gay men will have HIV by the age of 50. We desperately need a new approach to battling new infections." MORE: OUT.COM

I HEREBY ENDORSE ANTHONY WEINER!

So Anthony Weiner is addicted to showing his wiener. Speaking to you as a c@ck-loving slut, I'm hardly gonna complain if a guy with a big dick likes to pull it out, either online or off. OK, GURLS? He has the face of a weasel, so you can't blame "Carlos Danger" for wanting to launch his secret weapon. His wife seems to forgive him, so I think all the folks who aren't married to him need to get out of that couple's business. And how the hell are people so prudish all of a sudden? For the past 2 decades, no-talent whores like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardshian have become the nation's top stars after releasing full sex tapes. Weiner never even had the sex and his career is over? I laugh at your so-called morals. In our tabloid-driven world, the added exposure might even help him. Plus, the sexting never seemed to affect his decision-making. He was a firebrand in Congress. One of the few democrats who fought for the people with big, thick veins popping out of his throbbing--you've got dirty minds--NECK as he advocated for a single payer insurance plan. He's a true progressive who stood up to Obama and all of the other bought-and-sold democrats who crafted health care reform that's largely a gift to the insurance companies which they were supposedly trying to reform. My rent doesn't go up or down with Weiner's erections so if he's in the race, he's got my vote. As has any democratic candidate who can defeat Bloomberg's bitch, Christine Quinn. She's the real d(ck in this race.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

EVERYTHING GOES BETTER WITH GOLDEN GIRLS

SOUTHERN SUNSET

The seismic Brick by Dazz (as in dazz, dazz, disco jazz!) was one of the first three records I ever bought. Rufus's Rags To Rufus and the soundtrack to Oliver were the other two! This song was just an album cut and more on the jazzy side of disco, but it's so pretty!

!!!

I THINK THIS CRAP IS A HOAX!

TURDS IN SPACE!

MORE: IMGUR

PUTRID!

I knew that Monsanto has been policing and prosecuting farmers who don't sell their GMO version of corn--now that they own the copyright for the vegetable corn. (As if that should even be possible.) Now they've purchased the private army Blackwater--a company so reputable that it has to keep changing it's name. As more and more people around the world are realizing the dangers in GMOS--ties to leukemia just revealed this week--what is this unholy alliance planning? TO SHOVE CANCER-CAUSING FOODS DOWN OUR THROATS AT GUNPOINT? MORE: SOUTHWEB

TO THE TUNE OF NICK GILDER'S "SUMMER IN THE CITY"

Hot dump Summer in the city Back of my legs All dirty and sh(tty.

THE MASTER AT WORK

LADYBUNNY.NET IS GETTING A MAKEOVER

Hi! I know little about computer stuff, but my website is being re-done and it will take a few days for my blog to transfer all that data. So if you try to access the blog and it isn't working, please try back in a few days. Just changing formats to a more mobile-friendly format than my ancient yet beautiful flash site. --Bunion

SO ADORABLE!

From a facebook fan: "Hello Miss Bunny im Lakia im bout to be 12 and im a huge fan of all your outfits and Lady lessons on Drag U i really do love your voice it's so fun! and i did not understand the point of Lick it lolipop with Ru okay just saying BYE!!"

THEY CAN'T TAKE HER MAGIC!

BUN-BUN AND SHERRY VINE!

OUCH!

Judge Rules White Girl Will Be Tried As Black Adult

HERE'S TO THE ROYAL BRAT!

HMMMM.....

American gays are up in arms threatening boycotts of vodka and Olympics over Russia's anti-gay policies which have resulted in 2 men being beaten to death. I wonder why these feel no affinity for the hundreds of thousands innocent Iraqis who were murdered using our tax dollars? Maybe because they were so busy trying to join the military which shredded that country in their quest for equal rights? Or because there isn't a popular cocktail from Iraq? Or perhaps because the murder victims in Iraq have a darker skin color and different religion than those in Russia? Who knows? I guess a little compassion is better than none.

SPLASH IS CLOSING!?!

WOW! Splash is closing. Can't count the good times I've had there. I guess big clubs can't stay open with grindr. Not many big clubs left that aren't bottle service-oriented.

THAT'S CHO BUSINESS!

Excited to join Margaret Cho to record her podcast on Thursday! She's in town for consideration as a host of The View. Wouldn't she be fantastic? I don't really watch The View but I would! LISTEN: MARGARETCHO

BEYONCE'S BIGGEST FAN?

SYRIA-SLY?

While we were discussing Kate Middleton's baby, the US government was preparing for military excursions. Or as I like to call it, war. With 5 scenarios of US involvement--one includes thousands of troops and another costs up to a billion per MONTH??? Didn't we just re-elect Nobel "Peace" Prize winner/drone afficionado Obama because he was drawing down from the lengthy, costly wars we're sick of and can't afford because we're falling apart at here at home? Syria's in trouble? DETROIT'S IN TROUBLE, DAMMIT! MORE: FOXNEWS

BRAY THE GAY AWAY BY MIKE DIAMOND

This is by my friend Mike Diamond. We share a feeling that while gays deserve all the same rights straights have, we don't want to lose our own very rich culture and become a part of anyone else's. He's very funny. Sadly, 3/4 comments claim to not get it. Does this prove, as Mike suggests, that gays have lost their edge? "The closest I come to marriage is sleeping with other people's husbands. It's not that I'm incapable of forging a real, lasting relationship. Sometimes I even tell a trick my real name! But if I'm being totally honest, when it comes to gay marriage, I just don't care. I think marriage is a religious construct, monogamy is a fiction, and assimilation is for fools. Look at the culture around us: boring, bougie-ass, high-fructose-corn-syrup-loving, Prozac'd and Botoxed shopping zombies (aka "shombies"), consumerist cogs in the capitalist machine, all numbed by frozen pizzas and The Real Housewives of Amerikkka. You want to assimilate into that?" MORE: HUFFPO

MY 1ST PETITION!

I've never created a petition before. But I just saw my friend Ashton Cruz say that he had to turn off his TV for a week until the reportage of Kate Middleton's baby was born. I couldn't agree more. Here's my petition. Who knows? If enough people sign it, maybe they'll get the message. I've just seen Chris Matthews devote a ridiculous, special segment which concluded with "we have a new baby." No, someone in another country does so let their news handle it. Here's what the petition says: We are so sick of our news giving a ridiculous amount of coverage to the royal birth. In no way does it affect the average US citizen and this "news" event belongs on Entertainment Tonight, TMZ and other tabloids. US news is treating this as if it's some kind of major headline, though the person sitting on the UK throne isn't even ruling that country, much less ours. Focus on hard hitting journalists asking questions about things which matter to the average US citizen--like why neither major political party is able to create the jobs that we have desperately needed for more than a decade now. Showing glitzy footage of royals and a baby born into a life or wealth and palaces is a slap in the face to a country hard pressed to make ends meet, with our dreams of home ownership, affordable education and good-paying jobs in the dust. Whole cities are going bankrupt! America is supposed to cherish equality, which is the opposite of the notion of monarchy. Is this nationwide baby shower a shell game to prevent the news from focusing on issues which matter to us? Well, we're sick of it. Stick to the news, please. We can catch up with the royal family, the Kardashians and Jennifer Anniston's latest hairstyle in Star magazine. You guys need to start doing your job properly or we'll be forced to stop watching. SIGN: CHANGE.ORG

HARUMPH!

I don't see what the national uproar about Geraldo's pic is. (Of course, I don't see what the international uproar about dull-ass Kate's baby is, either.) The man is in shape and proud of it. I imagine that takes a lot of work--emphasis on "I imagine." Is it disturbing for us to see someone older thinking that they're sexy? As someone who prefers older latino men, I say more power to him! Just a thought as I enjoy my morning coffee and pick grey pubic hairs from my teeth.

SHE KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT SHADE!

I am a huge fan of Al Pillay and so glad "he" has his own youtube channel. You may remember her 80s dance track Pistol In My Pocket. Or his eye-popping role in the demented movie Eat The Rich. Always entertaining and very informative! I've missed his one man show every time I've been in London, but this video is the next best thing!

SOME GREAT UNDERGROUND HOUSE BY MICKEY DULANTO (FORMERLY OF BAR D'O)

BUMP AND MICX-STYLE WARS by Micxsession on Mixcloud

ONE OF BILL'S BEST!

A LITTLE PRESS NEVER HURT!

Bun-Bun joins Anna Wintour, Grandmaster Flash and more who were photographed for New York Mag's Partiers Of The Week! MORE: NYMAG.COM

ANOTHER GREAT READ FROM SIMON DOONAN

I just love his writing style! Is Europe Still Worth the Schlep? You can buy croissants at Costco. (by Simon Doonan) An excerpt: " However, Caprese salads aside, one cannot escape the fact that every year the list of reasons why you might wish to blow your wad on a European sojourn gets shorter, and the list of reasons why you might bag it, and consider your local options, gets longer. As I joined the line of knackered and cash-strapped returning U.S. citizens at JFK, I could not help but ask myself the following question: Now that you can Google Earth any place that takes your fancy, now that Europe is full of Gap and Starbucks, now that you can buy macarons and croissants at Costco, now that trash culture is global—even Austria has cheesy Real Housewives-style reality shows, so Europe no longer affords any escape—is it still worth the cost and kerfuffle of hauling one’s ass across the Atlantic?" MORE: SLATE.COM

80S MADNESS!

BUN-BUN ON FEAST OF FUN PODCAST

Always opinionated and outrageous– everybody loves the she-larious Lady Bunny for creating Wigstock, her raunchy parody song videos and her unabashed celebrity roasts. Now that Drag U has been cancelled, Lady Bunny has more free time for exciting projects, cleaning out her underwear drawer and releasing her new single “Take Me Up High” which just hit the top of Billboard’s Dance charts! Oooh! Today the queen of obscene, Lady Bunny, joins us to talk about her favorite types of music, why drag queens steal her material and RuPaul’s “prairie drag look” she wears at her soulmate George’s ranch in Wyoming. TUNE IN: FEASTOFFUN

PLEASE SIGN IF YOU AGREE

Did you know that in many states, if you walk into a Starbucks, you could be standing next to someone carrying a loaded gun? It's true. Starbucks lets people to carry firearms into their stores if state laws allow them to do so.

Starbucks’ stance on guns in its stores is at odds with other company policies it has put in place to protect customers' health and safety. For example, Starbucks recently enacted a ban on smoking within 25 feet of its stores, in areas where smoking would be otherwise legal. Starbucks also bans firearms from its corporate offices and prohibits employees from carrying guns in the interest of “workplace health, safety and security” -- even in states where laws would allow them to do so. Starbucks has the right to change their policy on guns; in fact, most of Starbucks' competitors ban guns from their stores. As moms, we're demanding action from Starbucks now. Join us and tell Starbucks that you want your coffee with gun sense! THE THUNDER ROLLS: Join our Thunderclap and tell Starbucks to get some gun sense! Sign up now and watch it roll across social media July 22: SIGN: THNDR.IT

SOPHIA LOREN (APPEARS TO BE STYLED AS BRITT EKLUND)

AN EXCELLENT QUESTION!

GREAT ARTICLE!

I'm glad that some people were comforted by Obama's heartening words on Trayvon Martin. It really is touching when a murderer of at least 176 innocent kids can take the time to mourn one death. It doesn't make any sense to take comfort from a murderer like our president speaking about the unfairness of a slain kid, but sense and connecting the dots aren't cornerstones of the Obama administration. Making stirring speeches which mean very little is. So we have to connect the dots for him and for our pitiful news media. If killing innocent kids like Trayvon is so wrong, then stop doing it yourself, Obama! Oh, but we don't like to think about those racially/religiously profiled kids in other countries because that's a little too tough for us to digest. Then we'd have to address our hatred of muslims and the fact that our tax dollars buy Obama drones to kill those innocent kids and thousands of adults.

From "Barack Obama could have been Abdulrahman al-Awlaki" "Some say Obama cries crocodile tears. No one can see inside his heart, but there are good arguments for that. The fact is, through the policies of his administration, Barack Obama has murdered thousands of innocent people. Hundreds of children are among that number. A study released last year by Stanford Law School and New York University’s School of Law looked at drone strikes in Pakistan and said “from June 2004 through mid-September 2012, available data indicate that drone strikes killed 2,562 – 3,325 people in Pakistan, of whom 474 – 881 were civilians, including 176 children.” That’s 176 human children who are dead because Barack Obama plays the role expected of him by the financial-military complex that paid for both his campaigns. That’s just the number on the books, in one country, in one period of time, killed by drones. It doesn’t enumerate this administration’s death toll in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia or anywhere. It doesn’t look at the people shot in the head with bullets or even killed by bombs dropped by planes that have pilots. George Zimmerman killed one boy and he’s one of the most hated men in the America. So is Dzohar Tsarnaev, suspected of killing three people and injuring many more in a terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon. But what do people hate Obama for? Conservatives hate him for his healthcare plan, their worry about increased gun laws and, in too many cases, the color of his skin. But every week I see evidence that Democrats still love Barack Obama. Let’s hope the era of liberal Obamadolotry is ending. Some people realized our president is a villain when Bradley Manning went to jail or when Edward Snowden joined him. Others got the message as cops beat unarmed protestors affiliated with the Occupy movement and Obama said nothing. Losing their jobs and homes to banksters awarded billions by Obama was the tipping point for some people. For certain people in the military who once supported Obama, participating in the carnage of US-government sponsored terrorism has changed their minds. Barack Obama is a confidence man. He’s just like a handsome cad who bilks an old widow out of her fortune. He knows the words and gestures to make people feel good, and hopeful, and alive again. But well-chosen words doesn’t erase a death toll. Sympathy for Trayvon Martin doesn’t bring Abdulrahman al-Awlaki or anyone else back to life." READ MORE: MORE: NINETYNINEPERCENTBOSTON

AMAZING PARISIENNE TRANSSEXUALS FROM 1950S

Stunning photographs by Swedish shutterbug Christer Stromholm. The boxy 1950s suits are not easy to pull off for us gurls! Some of this eye-make-up is divoon. There's a click-through link at the end to see the hole series.

MORE: BUZZFEED

NEW BRA CONVERTS TO GAS MASK

Perfect for after eating mexican food!

MORE: NERVE.COM

GOOD NEWS!

Cenk is absolutely right. We all hate Congress and call them ineffective, which they are. So they should be applauded for coming together to denounce the Obama administration for spying on us which they claim is both illegal and unconstitutional. As Cenk notes, it is VERY rare when both parties come together on the right side of an issue which isn't lowering taxes on the wealthy, starting a war, or any other cause that lobbyists have paid them to advocate. Congress is actually...gasp...going to bat for our rights. Shows how far off the rails Obama has gone.

BUN-BUN IN PORTLAND NEXT SATURDAY!

DISCO DEMENTIA

GREATEST ENTRANCE OF ALL TIME?

Please listen to the lyrics!

WATCH THIS WHORE NOW!

JOHN ROBERTS AND MARGARET CHO!

HORN-Y ALL NIGHT LONG

FOX NEWS GOOFED!

LINDA SIMPSON ON HUFFPO WITH HER DRAG EXPLOSION PHOTO EXHIBIT!

'Drag Explosion' Revives 80s And 90s Drag Queen Culture With A Vengeance (NSFW PHOTOS)

VIEW: HUFFPO This was a comment posted under Linda Simpson's photos of drag queens on Huffpo: "Drag queens are an embarrassment to Gay culture. They are the watermelon eating Blacks of our community. They are what parents feared when they first realized their kids were Gay. We are Gay men, not cartoons." If you're such big men, why are you whining when a drag queen gets a little ink? Because they act on urges that someone like you suppress?

INTERVIEW WITH PORTLAND'S PQ MONTHLY

You know you’re a legend if Rupaul says you’re one. There was a moment on this past season’s “Drag Race,” during Snatch Game, when runner-up Alaska Thunderfuck announced she’d be imitating Lady Bunny. Ru, naturally, cautioned her and pressed her — are you sure you can do it? Bunny is a legend, a very distinct personality, and those are some big heels to fill. While Alaska would never be mistaken for Bunny, she did an admirable job tackling her look and persona — enough so that she got the attention of the Lady in question. “I enjoyed both Ivy’s [last season’s ‘Ms. Congeniality’] and Alaska’s impersonations of me,” Lady Bunny says. “I think they both captured my demented essence — and they’re so much thinner, too!” Demented essence is a pretty apt description. But add to demented dashes of hilarious and witty. My friend Ryan and I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about and talking about drag queens — especially the legends — and Lady Bunny came up (again) after I watched “To Wong Foo” for the 20th time and simultaneously found out I’d be chatting with her for this edition of the gay newspaper (ahead of Bunny’s appearance at Blow Pony at the end of July). “Do you think she does lots of drugs?” I asked Ryan. “I doubt it,” he said. “She’s too quick and clever to be hopped up.” Add those, too: quick and clever. And while Lady Bunny is really known for her parody, raunchy comedy, movie cameos, and gravity-defying hair to the heavens, this time around she’s pulling a bit of a Madonna — and dabbling reinvention. On the heels of a pair of duets with Rupaul, Bunny is set to conquer the world — or at least the dance floors — with “Take Me Up High,” a hook-filled wonder, and her first solo release in almost a decade. “I wrote ‘Take Me Up’ high about my cholesterol,” Bunny says. “OK, I’m kidding. I write a lot of parody songs, which I’ll also be performing in Portland. So I’ve always dabbled in songwriting — whether it’s duets with Ru on his albums or something here or there on an occasional soundtrack. I waited forever to do this and now it’s time. The lyrics are classic summer party jam — nothing too heavy, just get out and dance. Dance like we used to when the music was better. Sorry, Rihanna.” MORE: PQMONTHLY

13 YEAR OLD BLACK KID BOY SHOT, GUNMAN MAY BE MENTALLY ILL

Whether the victims are black, male, young or whatever--take guns away from crazies! Trayvon, this kid who was just shot and Sandy Hook kids shouldn't be dying this much. If sickos like Zimmerman, this guy and Adam Lanza weren't able to have guns, this wouldn't be happening so much. Can you name any meaningful, nationwide reform that happened after Sandy Hook? It may be worse for blacks, and you can talk about whether there's more black on black crime or racial profiling or white-on-white crime like Sandy Hook, but how about stopping crime period? Should kids of any color be dying like this this much? Or are we going to continue to pander to nuts who insist that it's their freedom to arm themselves and gun down kids for whatever reason. How about the f#cking freedom for a kid in the USA to grow up without bullets in them? Of course, when you have Obama using drones to kill innocent kids with US citizenship in Yemen, it's kinda hard to say "Let's have less violence now." It's the US's biggest export. So I guess we're stuck with it at home. We're a nation of killers. Just accept it and keep dodging those bullets, kids! MORE: HUFFPO

MANDATORY EDUCATION A THING OF THE PAST?

Donnie and Marie Osmond's nephew: "A Republican state senator in Utah is calling for the end of mandatory education in the state. State Sen. Aaron Osmond (R-South Jordan) wrote on the state Senate blog Friday that mandatory education in the state has forced teachers and schools to take on parenting responsibilities. Prior to the mandate taking effect in 1890, he wrote, education was "an opportunity" and parents were more engaged. He also wrote that teachers were more respected. The Deseret News first reported Osmond's blog post on Tuesday." MORE: HUFFPO

BUN-BUN IN SYRACUSE FRIDAY NIGHT!

PREPARE TO DIE!

RUPAUL HAS A NEW SHOE LINE?

WATCH OUT! NEW LIST OF GAY MUSIC THE FROM GOD HATES FAGS CREW

There are multiple levels of Gay Music. Some bands are what we like to call Gateway Bands. They lure children in with Pop Grooves and Salacious Melodies leaving them wanting more. They’ll move on to more dangerous bands and the next thing you know you’ve got a homosexual for a child. We’ve taken the time to highlight the bands that are particularly Gay. Please take the time and dissect your child’s CD / iTunes catalog. If you find 3 or more of these bands in their collection it is time to take action. We Strongly recommend that you burn the CDs. Make sure your child is watching. Make sure they can feel the heat. It is crucial that the image remains emblazoned in their young minds. They need to know that if they continue to listen to these bands they may Burn eternally as well. Bands to watch out for Lady Gaga (tricks girls into lesbianism) Ween (Rainbow) Lil'Wayne P!nK (gay family) The Black Keys Coldplay SlipKnot (make-up) RadioHead Michael Jackson Justin Bieber (gay bullying) Boredoms School of Seven Bells (gay twins) Jason Mraz Jonas Brothers Rilo Kiley Death Cab for Cutie Sarah McLachlan George Strait Cold War Kids Toby Keith (cowboy) P-Diddy Black People Vampire Weekend King Crimson Kate Bush (kissed a girl) Bob Dylan Fleet Foxes Sigur Ros (nudists) Twisted Sister The Spores (endorse suicide) Scissor Sisters Turbonegro Rufus Wainwright Merzbau Ravi Shankar The Butchies (lizbians) Wilco Bjork (mb) Tech N9ne Ghostface Killah Bobby Conn Morton Subotnik Cole Porter The String Cheese Incident Eagles of Death Metal Polyphonic Spree The Faint Interpol Twisted Sister (jj) Tegan and Sara Erasure The Grateful Dead (drugs too) Le Tigre Marilyn Manson (dark gay) The Gossip The Magnetic Fields The Doors Phish Queen The Strokes Morrissey(?questionable?) Metallica Judas Priest The Village People The Secret Handshake The Rolling Stones David Bowie Frankie Goes to Hollywood Man or Astroman Richard Cheese Jay-Z Depeche Mode Kansas Ani DiFranco Fischerspooner John Mayer George Michael (texan) Angel Eyes The Indigo Girls Velvet Underground Madonna Elton John Barry Manilow Indigo Girls Melissa Etheridge Eminmen Nirvana Boy George Jon Brion The Killers Lou Reed Lil' Wayne Motorhead Jill Sobule Wilson Phillips DMX Wesley Willis Lisa Loeb Ted Nugent (loincloth) Dogstar Thirty Seconds to Mars Lil' Kim kd lang Frank Sinatra Hinder Nickleback Justus Kohncke Bob Mould Clay Aiken Arcade Fire Bright Eyes Corinne Bailey Rae Audioslave Red Hot Chili Peppers Panic at the Disco The Cure (makeup) Spin Doctors The Deers Lindsey Lohan The Smiths Beck Tom Waits The Cramps Cannibal Corpse Britney Spears(kissed Madonna) Perfect Sin The Queers NoFx(gay punk) Soup Dragons Elton John(really gay) MORE: LOVEGODSWAY

73 YEAR OLD SINGER ATTACKED BY WHITE FOR DEDICATING SONG TO TRAYVON MARTIN

MORE: MSN

YEP!

AN EDIBLE WIG!

PITIFUL!

On HBO's The Out List, I griped that conservative gays have often tried to subtract drag queens, transsexuals and street people from their important part in starting the gay rights movement at Stonewall. Well, they're still trying it! I guess the Stonewall participants who weren't invited to the dedication of this plaque aren't classy enough to hang with the politicians, Broadway producers and gay marriage advocates who were invited. Maybe the people who had the nerve to riot in the first place need to be whitewashed so that straights will be more likely to accept us. Maybe we can assimilate into boring straight culture so completely that we not only fight their stupid wars, get married and dance to their garbage pop, but we can actually progress to the point where dykes suck c@ck and fags eat p#ssy! Then we'll truly be equal! WE'LL BE EXACTLY THE SAME! I DON'T CARE! I LOVE IT! MORE: GAYCITYNEWS

VERY INFORMATIVE

An open letter to whites about the black community and the Trayvon Martin case by Matthew Simmermon-Gomes "I want white people to stop questioning my experience of racism, to stop defending every offender as ‘just doing his job’ or ‘just doing whatever.’ I want the excuses and the explanations to stop. I know where they come from. I know you feel accussed. I know you feel that you are not racist (after all, you have that black friend and your maternal grandmother is Chinese). I know you think I’m being too sensitive or too quick to judge (after all, he didn’t call me a nigger and you didn’t notice any racism and you would know). I know that you feel like affirmative action gives me a leg up because you work just as hard and where’s your quota? I know it’s easier to pretend that racism is a thing of the past because you can get by just fine doing that so why can’t I? But here’s the thing: it’s not about you. You are not the one who is slurred, you’re not the one who is refused service, and you’re certainly not the one who is shot in the street. It’s about us. I want you to acknowlegde that fact. To recognise that I experience racism." MORE: THEMOLINIST

WILL ERIC HOLDER STEP IN ON BEHALF OF CIVIL RIGHTS? YEAH, RIGHT!

I woke up to an email from Ben Jealous, the head of the NAACP, asking me to sign a petition urging Attorney General Eric Holder to have the Department Of Justice file civil rights charges against Zimmerman. What a joke! You want justice from Eric Holder? WHo said after Bush attacked Iraq for no reason that impeachment was "off the table" shortly after he took office? Who refused to prosecute Goldman Sachs for profiting from recommending that their clients make investments they knew would flop and even joked about the suckers in eternal emails? And who responds to criticism about the awful job he's doing with "You know, I'm African-American." The most criticized member of Obama's cabinet plays the race card and even accused his detractors of playing "Washington gotcha games"---so he's resorting to Sarah Palin's defense of her moronic blunders to the press? "Gotcha" is a pathetic trick to discredit your accusers without actually addressing any merit in their accusations. Wallstreetmortgagefraud.com: "This pathetic, manipulative, racist accusation is consistent with Holder's record as the executioner of the rule of law. Besides guns to Mexico and election law tampering, Holder has made the rule of law optional. Immigration, marijuana, and education are but some of his political interferences with enforcement of the law. His worst, however, is his utter failure to prosecute the rich and powerful Wall Street perpetrators of mortgage fraud.Time after time, now, DOJ has said there was nothing criminal about Wall Street mortgage fraud. This view parrots the President, who said two weeks after inauguration, and before any investigations, "Let's look forward, not backward.", and his declaration last week that Wall Street did nothing "...illegal, that's why we need new laws." That is simply rubbish." SO WE HAVE AN ATTORNEY-GENERAL WHO CONSISTENTLY LOOKS THE OTHER WAY AS CRIMES ARE COMMITTED BY POWERFUL PEOPLE. AND THE NAACP IS EXPECTING JUSTICE FROM HIM? DREAM ON! HE'S A WIMP APPOINTED BY OBAMA TO REFLECT OBAMA'S OWN WIMPY POSITIONS. That Obama quote "Let's look forward, not backward" means let's let crime and injustice go unpunished. I'd like to think, as the NAACP seems to, that a black attorney-general and president might stand strong on a case like Trayvon's, which clearly involves racial profiling. But unfortunately, these two wimps only stand strong on the behalf of the rich and powerful and when they are demolishing our civil rights and spying on us. For some reason, the "wimps" become very aggressive and effective in those cases. Why should we expect a fair legal system in Florida when Obama and Holder have turned justice in the whole country upside down?

JUST HEARD THE TRAYVON MARTIN VERDICT

Crying myself to sleep tonight. Imagine how Trayvon's parents must feel. People, we can not let kids continue to be gunned down by psychotic attackers who get off scot-free. I don't know if this is the result of a problem with our judicial system, the stand your ground law as interpreted in Florida, rampant racism in red states, money buying better lawyers, too many guns in the hands of unbalanced volunteer vigilantes who have an in with the police or what. Or maybe it's all of the above. But no matter how comples the problem is, we've got to do something about it. It might take a little more attention or involvement than we're used to giving. But it's well worth it. Tonight, there feels like there is more wrong with this country than there is right. And we MUST pull together and change that. Or live with this profound sadness.

DOES THIS MAN SEEM REASONABLE TO YOU?

Anyone calling in 46 times in 11 years about suspicious black people should be regarded as a crackpot and not be given a gun. I'm not saying that there was never a suspicious black person in Zimmerman's neighborhood. Hell, I was a teen who participated in suspicious behavior. But 46 calls about one race? This is the guy who you allow to be on neighborhood watch with a weapon? Here's three of of Zimmerman's "emergencies" that he called 911 about. I'm just glad he didn't shoot them, too. 43. Jan. 29, 2012 – 5:38 p.m. Type: TEL Subject: Disturbance Report: Children “running and playing in the street” 42. Dec. 10, 2011 – 5:29 p.m. Type: TEL Subject: Disturbance Report: “At the club house” … “Male subject [arrived on scene] that thought he was employed by” Zimmerman … “Subj is expected to get paid for serving food.” … Zimmerman “said that he didn’t wish him to serve at the [event]” … Zimmerman “hired someone else, subj sounded upset and wants to get paid” 36. April 22, 2011 – 7:09 p.m. Type: TEL Subject: Suspicious activity Report: Juvenile black male “apprx 7–9” years old, four feet tall “skinny build short blk hair” last seen wearing a blue t-shirt and blue shorts TRAYVONMARTINMURDERCASE: "In the past 11 years, George Zimmerman has made 46 calls reporting suspicious black people that he spotted in his neighborhood. One might think that George Zimmerman is either highly paranoid, lives in the worst neighborhood on the planet, or is guilty of racial profiling. You may listen to these 911 calls in the video below." MORE: TRAYVONMARTINMURDERCASE

TRULY OUTRAGEOUS!

Why is Texas governor Rick Perry so desperate to shutter all but 5 of Texas's abortion clinics? BECAUSE HIS SISTER OWNS THEM! So wealthy women can still get them but poor ones will pay much more for them. What a sweet deal--fool the fundamentalists AND make a tidy profit. Will Obama or anyone else make a strong statement denouncing this blatant corruption? HE CAN'T! He and almost everyone else in office has their own sweetheart financial deals to personally profit as we are screwed. And after getting screwed, we can't get an abortion when we get knocked up. (I only look pregnant, but I'm concerned for others.) MORE: DAILYKOS

DRAG BLUES!

DRAG-OONS: SOUND OFF! Most queens who wear false eyelashes swear by Duo's adhesive which has been on the market for years. Well, right after Max Factor's treasured heavy coverage Pan-Stik was taken off the market, now Duo has yanked their familiar white tubes and are now hawking some complete crap called Brush Strips which doesn't work at all. Am I the only one noticing this? I'm heading out to dj in a field and while I love to have my luxurious lashes fluttering seductively, one gust of wind is gonna knock them off thanks to Duo's supposed improvements. Guess we'll have to start ordering the old kind from Drugstore.com. Like we did Pan-Stick--before they discontinued it. It's getting harder to be a booger! But if something has worked for decades, don't replace it with an "improved" version which don't work!

GRRR!

I can't believe that Texas just passed an anti-abortion bill that will force all but 5 of the huge state's abortion clinics to close. The GOP campaigned on jobs, jobs, jobs but they've actually blocked Democrats' jobs bills and focused on abortion. The GOP realized in the last election that blacks and latinos want NOTHING to do with them so they alienate women, an even bigger group of voters? I guess Republican strategists are counting on the vote of the fundamentalist christians--the only group stupid enough to consistently mobilize against women's rights in 2013. Pitiful! Religious objections preventing equality to women, gays--I think the quickest path to equality is to scrap religion!

BEST SLOGAN EVER?

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS LADIES!

Guns are allowed in the Texas state legislature, but tampons aren't. So this clever gal has "armed" herself for battle with the idiotic forces which seek to shutter most of the state's abortion clinics. It's wonderful to see these Texas gals standing up for themselves!

FIERY WORDS FROM HARVEY FIERSTEIN

FROM FACEBOOK: Status Update By Harvey Fierstein It's time to start paying attention to what's going on in Russia in case you haven't yet. Putin has declared war on the gay community. He's made it illegal to promote homosexuality in theater, film, tv, print that in any way could be seen by youth. In other words anything gay is now pornography. He's outlawed the adopting of Russian children to any country that has legalized marriage equality. And now it is reported that his next law will remove the children of GLBT families from their homes. This will apply to biological children as well as formerly adopted ones. This is a horror. Not only for our community but even for straight families. Already divorced parents are threatening one another with blackmail to tell authorities that their ex is now gay just to control parental rights. Putin wants this attack against human rights to be his legacy. He believes he can get the backing of the Vatican as well as all other conservative religious leaders to join his cause. What can we do? Make his actions and his plans public. Shine the light of public opinion on this evil doer. Boycott the Winter Olympics in Russia. Believe me, Putin will use the Olympics as proof that the world backs up his action. There are only two ways to deal with a tyrant: Starve out the rat, or destroy him. So, my friends, do your research and then GET LOUD AGAINST PUTIN AND HIS ANTI-GAY POGROM. This is a very small world. Our brothers and sisters in Russia need us NOW!

TR-ANNIE, THE MUSICAL!

Your son'll come out tomorrow. Betcha he's a bottom And tomorrow...THERE'LL BE C#M!

LOVE KIDS, BUT ALSO ENJOY WALKING ON SIDEWALKS!

AS IF THESE MONSTER STROLLERS WEREN'T ENOUGH, NOW WILLIAMSBURG PARENTS HAVE BROUGHT THEIR WHOLE CRIB TO THE RESTAURANT! PUH-LEASE!

MORE: FREEWILLIAMSBURG

SOMEONE'S BEEN TO SEE DR. SEUSS!

AND THEN SOMEONE ELSE GOT INSPIRED/JEALOUS!

THE GOSPEL TRUTH!

I'M EXCITED!

MY SONG TAKE ME UP HIGH JUST CRACKED THE BOTTOM OF THE BILLBOARD DANCE CHART! Hey, it's a start and in good company with Cazwell Schmazwell and Avicii.

Breakouts for Hot Dance Club Play Rank Title Artist Label/Dist Label 1 Take Me Up High Lady Bunny Lybra 2 Guess What? Cazwell & Luciana Peace Bisquit 3 Bullet Train Static Revenger & Miss Palmer OneLove 4 Wake Me Up! Avicii PRMD/Island / IDJMG 5 Shadow Of The Sun Ikon & Exodus Featuring Sisely Treasure Audacious IIF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD IT, YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT HERE: APPLE.COM

INSANE!

ANOTHER REASON NOT TO GO TO WALMART--IF YOU NEEDED ONE

Man Threw His Semen at Wal-Mart Customer He Thought Was ‘Hot’ MORE: GAWKER.COM

HILARIOUS DRESS CODE FROM GAY SEX CLUB/DISCO THE MINE SHAFT: NYC 1976

AS IF WE NEED AN EXPLANATION OTHER THAN "I'M GREEDY"

Beyonce explains how she reconciles her campaign with diabetes factory Pepsi and Michelle Obama's fitness campaign: "Don't worry, my fans are way too dumb to put 2 and 2 together." KIDDING, sort of.... MORE: HUFFPO

FAREWELL, MANATUS!

Yucch! Manatus restaurant, a landmark greek diner on Bleeker Street, is losing it's lease and will soon become a Calvin Klein store. (Because we need more retail in a residential environment and I guess Calvin doesn't want to be outdone by Marc Jacobs' dominance of the area.) If you want a piece of gay history, run grab a bite there before it closes. It has literally been the scene of after hours craziness and the gayest brunches on earth!

OBAMA: WORSE THAN BUSH

Obama's drawing down wars abroad to save travel costs--while he wages war on us here at home with an increasingly militarized police force. So besides spying on us, here's what Obama's been doing to bolster the police state. I've quoted this article from the Huffingtonpost: 7 Ways The Obama Administration Has Accelerated Police Militarization by Radley Balko While attitudes towards marijuana soften, Obama's stepping up the war on drugs. With racial profiling, I wonder who this practice hurts the most? "Just two years into his presidency, Obama's administration had conducted about 150 such raids. The Bush administration conducted around 200 medical marijuana raids over eight years." Who cares if Fargo, ND doesn't need tanks at all ever? Hey, the war profiteers have to get paid somehow, don't they? Their contributions put him in office. "These grants have been used to purchase military-grade equipment in the name of fighting terrorism. The grants are going to cities and towns all over America, including to unlikely terrorist targets like Fargo, N.D.; Fond du Lac, Wis.; and Canyon County, Idaho. Once they have a new armored personnel carrier, or new high-powered weapons, most of these police agencies then put them to use in more routine police work -- usually drug raids." We're tough and we're mean and we're dumb. "The Obama administration has defended the use of aggressive, militaristic police actions in court. In the case Avina v. U.S., DEA agents pointed their guns at an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old during a drug raid on the wrong house. The agents had apparently mistaken the license plate of a suspected drug trafficker for the plate on a car owned by Thomas Avina. Obama's Justice Department argued in federal court that the lawsuit should be dismissed before being heard by a jury because the agents’ actions were not unreasonable." Just as Obama fought for the right to kill or detain American citizens w/o trial, the gov't can seize your property w/o one. "If the owner doesn't try to get his assets back, or if the court rules against him, asset forfeiture proceeds go to the police department that made the seizure. Critics say the policy creates perverse incentives for police to find drug connections that may not exist. But the policy has been lucrative for police agencies, and has been a huge contributor to the growth and use of SWAT teams to serve drug warrants. SWAT teams can be expensive to maintain. Instead of reserving them only for genuinely dangerous situations, asset forfeiture (along with Byrne grants) creates a strong incentive to send them on drug raids. A number of states have tried to curb forfeiture abuses by requiring that proceeds from seizures go to schools, or to a general fund. But under the Justice Department's equitable sharing program, a local police agency simply needs to ask the DEA for assistance with a raid. The operation then becomes federal, and is governed by federal law. The DOJ takes a cut of the assets, then sends a large percentage back to the local police agency, effectively getting around those state laws. Under Obama, forfeiture has flourished. According to a 2012 report from the General Accounting Office, the Justice Department's forfeiture fund swelled to $1.8 billion in 2011, the largest ever. That same year, equitable sharing payouts to local police agencies topped $445 million, also a record." Don't you love that the crooks in the Department of JUSTICE profits from property seizure and gives a cut to the cops who make the seizures? As we yank funding from police and fire departments nationwide. At what point does this stop being Bush's mess and start being Obama's? "Obama the candidate made some unusually frank and critical statements about the drug war, incarceration, and the criminal justice system. His drug czar then showed some rare insight into the dangers of war rhetoric when discussing domestic policing. Obama the president has been more of the same, and in some cases worse." MORE: HUFFPO

PLEASE SIGN IF YOU AGREE.

We secured historic victories at the Supreme Court two weeks ago. But the stain of inequality hasn't been fully lifted from our laws. The next big battle for fairness is starting right now, in the Senate. In 29 states, no state law protects workers from being called into a boss's office and getting handed a pink slip for no other reason than their sexual orientation. The same is true in 33 states for transgender employees. There's still no federal law to prevent this damaging discrimination. But we have a chance to change that. A key Senate committee just passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and now, the full Senate has a historic opportunity to tackle this issue once and for all – to pass the bill we've been pushing for years that would finally protect all LGBT Americans on the job. Tell your senators to help advance ENDA without delay! ENDA is more than just a key protection for LGBT people. It's the next major step on the long road to full equality. SIGN

DIALING FOR PEACE

Just called Nadler and got right through easy peasy. "The result of last month’s president election in Iran gives President Obama a potentially game-changing opportunity for diplomatic engagement to avoid yet another unnecessary war in the Middle East. Instead of electing a hardliner, the Iranian people elected Dr. Hassan Rouhani to become their next president – a man whose campaign included a pledge to “pursue a policy of reconciliation and peace,” and who has said he will ensure “constructive interaction with the outside world.” In response, a bipartisan pair of congressmen, Democrat David Price and Republican Charlie Dent, have come together to write a letter urging President Obama to seize this opportunity by reinvigorating our diplomatic efforts with Iran. You can read the full text of the letter below. These members of Congress have asked their colleagues to co-sign the letter. But as of this morning, your member of Congress, Jerrold Nadler, hadn’t signed on. Call Rep. Nadler and tell him to co-sign the Price-Dent letter supporting diplomacy with Iran. Click here for the number to call and a sample script. We need to get as many members of Congress to co-sign this letter as possible. A strong showing on this letter will help give President Obama political cover to pursue diplomacy. And the more signers, the more cover that gives the president. But we won’t maximize our opportunity to support diplomacy if those of us who care about this issue doesn’t pick up the phone and make a call. Too many members of Congress overwhelmingly hear from a minority of constituents who want us to go down a path that will inevitably lead to war. Those of us who care about stopping another absurd, unnecessary and costly war must speak out. Call Rep. Nadler and tell him to co-sign the Price-Dent letter supporting diplomacy with Iran. Click here for the number to call and a sample script." PLEASE CALL! CREDOACTION

TONIGHT!

Bun-Bun will chat in studio with Derek and Romaine on Sirius OutQ tonight at 8:20 EST. Free trial subscriptions available for those who don't subscribe. SIRIUSXM Then at 11:00EST ON BRAVO: Bunion will be the guest bartender on Watch What Happens Live with host Andy Cohen. The guests are Pattie Bieber (the Bieb's mom) and Kris Jenner (Northwest's granny)--what a crew!