Blog Title: Rod 2.0:Beta

Navy: There is "No Evidence to Suspect Hate Crime" in Torture and Killing of Black, Gay Sailor

And so it begins. Despite reporting anti-gay harassment for at least one year before his death, and ultimately being tortured and killed in a horrific manner, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service says the brutal killing of U.S. Navy Seaman August...

Choklate's "Sun's Out/Grown Folks"

In case you've had enough of the Lil Wayne/BET drama—or other sounds that unfortunately pass for music nowadays—move on to something for the "Grown Folks." "Sun's Out/Grown Folks" is the new track by Seattle-based Choklate (Twitter: @choklate) from her new...

Ted Olson and Judge Say Prop 8 Challenge Will Go to Supreme Court

Very encouraging developments to the federal challenge to Proposition 8 brought by high-profile attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies. The federal judge hearing the lawsuit seeking to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban says it will likely reach the U.S. Supreme...

WaPo's Kurtz: "Can Black Women Objectively Cover Michelle Obama?"

Washington Post columnist and media "reporter" Howard Kurtz continues to shock and awe with a lack of self-awareness in his latest column. Kurtz reports on the number of black female reporters following First Lady Michelle Obama and admits that "no...

Pretty Ricky's "Spectacular" Grinding Pays Off, "Tipsy" is a Hit

The non-stop "grind" pays off for Spectacular, the lead singer (and body) for Pretty Ricky. The R&B boyband was dropped by Atlantic Records in May and now announces they will not pursue another major label deal due to the success...

Congressman Wants Investigation into Murder of Black Gay Sailor

Very disturbing developments in the case of August Provost, the 29-year-old black gay sailor found dead at Camp Pendleton. A Southern California congressman confirms the deceased was gay and killed in a horrific manner, and is calling for congressional and...

Report: HHS Revises Caseload Data Due to HIV Travel Ban Rule

Politico publishes an interesting, behind-the-scenes report on the Obama Administration's decision to change HIV-related travel and immigration policy. The "Under the Radar" blog reports the Department of Health and Human Services "put forward and then retracted some scary-looking estimates of...

India Decriminalizes Homosexuality

An impromptu rally in the streets of Mumbai as gay rights activists and gays celebrate a groundbreaking ruling by the Delhi High Court that decriminalizes homosexuality The court repealed Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that treated consensual gay...

Naked Man on US Airways Flight Forces Pilot to Make Detour

In this morning's "wtf were they thinking?" news: A "mentally disturbed" New York City man strips naked, attempts to take a nap, and fights with the crew on a Los Angeles-bound US Airways jetliner. The outburst with 50-year-old Keith Wright...

Black Gay Sailor Killed at Camp Pendleton, Hate Crime Suspected

Very disturbing news from California: A 29-year-old sailor is found dead at Camp Pendleton and a "person of interest", a fellow servicemen, is being held in the homicide of the black gay man, the San Diego Union Tribune reports: The...

Roland Burris Comes Out Against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

This was probably buried under the all the pre-Pride hoopla and the recent tensions between gays and the White House: Roland Burris,(D-IL) the Senate's only black-member and the controversial replacement of President Barack Obama, comes out against the military's failed...

Judge Fast Tracks Olson and Boies Prop. 8 Challenge to Trial

An update on the federal challenge to Proposition 8 brought by Ted Olson and David Boies. A federal judge says he is disinclined to suspend California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, but is eager to fast track the case to...