Barack Obama is to John McCain As ______ is to ______?

An amusing contest over at Daily Kos:

Barack Obama is to John McCain as _____ is to ________.

The winners were:

Barack Obama is John McCain as Jay-Z is to Vanilla Ice.

and

Barack Obama is to John McCain as Lando Calrissian is to [The] Emperor.

Personally, I think my Obama-McCain analogy is " Barack Obama is to John McCain as Superman is to Supertramp" but these are also pretty good:

Barack Obama is to John McCain as...

as a roller coaster is to a nap.
as Superman is to Grumpy Old Men.
as Today is to Yesterday.
as new hotness is to old and busted.
as Surprise birthday party is to a funeral.
as a Wii is to shuffleboard.
as expanding prosperity is to expanding prostate.
as the glass is half full to the glass is half empty.
as the Terminator is the to the Terminex guy.
as the Wire is to JAG.
as a PhD is to a GED.
as indoor plumbing is to a chamber pot.
as Michael Phelps is to Mike Wallace.
as superman is to Mr. Magoo.
as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is to Commander-in-Chief of the Arm Chair.

Barack Obama is to John McCain...

as a CAT scan is to bloodletting.
as the iPhone is to a tin can and string.
as Alec Baldwin is to Daniel Baldwin.
as Robin Hood is to a robber baron.
as orange juice is to metamucil.
as Groundhog Day is to Osmosis Jones.
as Sears is to Reobucks.
as Electric Mail ("e-mail") is to the pony express.
as Jet Blue is to the old union carbide.
as John F. Kennedy is to Richard M. Nixon.
as G.O.A.T. cheese is to musty, rotten old cheese.
as the next President is to the next runner up.
as Ronald Reagan in 1980 is to Ronald Reagan in 1988.
as Prozac is to Ambien.
as my new bicycle is to my jalopy.
as my favorite cousin is to my crazy uncle.
as "yes we can" is to "get off my lawn!"
as arugula is to cabbage.

What's yours?

BOOK REVIEW: Robert Charles Wilson's AXIS

Robert Charles Wilson's Axis (2007) is the sequel to 2005's Spin, (see MadProfessah's review) which was the winner of the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction novel, and one of my 2007 Chrismakwanzakkuh presents. It has recently been released in paperback.

For some reason it is quite difficult to blog about books soon after one has read them.

I have been meaning to put down my thoughts about this book for quite awhile. Unfortunately, my impressions are not as favorable towards Axis as they were towards Spin.

Necessarily, most of the characters that animated the story in Spin are not present in Axis, but the story does again revolve around the presence of a gigantic physical anomaly which affects the world.

However, in addition to demonstrating how society would react to another cataclysmic event, Wilson has also included a major storyline involving genetic engineering and communication with implacable alien intelligences.

The main problem I had with the book is that the main characters of Lise Adams and Turk Finley are really not compelling enough to sustain a reader's emotional connection, which reduces the overall impact of the novel as a whole despite the brilliance of the central concept.
Hopefully, the next (last?) book in the series, called Vortex will return to the nuanced characters of the first book without losing Wilson's trademark creativity.

GRADE: B.

What Music Barack Obama Listens To

The Chicago Tribune asked several politicians what was on their Ipods and this was Barack Obama's response:

Aretha Franklin, "Think"
U2, "City of Blinding Lights"
Rolling Stones, "Gimme Shelter"
Sheryl Crow, "The Book"
Bob Dylan, "Maggie's Farm"
Frank Sinatra, "You'd be so Easy to Love"
Nina Simone, "Sinnerman"
Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On"
Howlin Wolf, "Wang Dang Doodle"
John Coltrane, "Spiritual";

Huge Ratings For Obama Acceptance Speech

Apparently the overnight ratings are in for Barack Obama's acceptace speech in front of 80,000 people at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado and the numbers are huge:

Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday as an estimated 38 million viewers watched on television, setting a new record for convention viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Mr. Obama's speech -- a historic one given his status as the first African American nominee of a major political party -- reached significantly more viewers than the comparable addresses in 2004. Coverage of John Kerry's acceptance speech in 2004 had 24.4 million viewers; coverage of George W. Bush's convention speech that same year drew 27.5 million.

The audience estimate of 38.3 million means that Mr. Obama's speech reached more viewers than the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final "American Idol" or the Academy Awards this year, the Associated Press notes.

Furthermore, the four-night Democratic convention ranks as the most-watched convention of either party, Democratic or Republican, since Nielsen began measuring conventions in 1960.

Almost 24.5% of all televisions on at the time were tuned to television coverage of Obama's speech. It was the 5th most watched event in African-American households, in the last 11 years.

On 72nd Birthday, McCain Picks 44-Year-Old Former Beauty Queen For Veep

John McCain has picked current first-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate, the first woman to be on a Republican ticket, 24 years after it happened on a Democratic ticket. He is thus completely undermining his argument that 46-year-old Barack Obama is too young to be President, since he is picking someone 44-years-old (on his 72nd birthday!) to serve as his vice-presidential pick.

I now feel much better about our chances of the Democrats retaking the White House.

Barack Obama Accepts Historical Nomination

POLL: Prop 8 Losing 40-54% Of Likely Voters

A poll released today from the Public Policy Institute of California shows that voters are still equally divided on support for marriages for same-sex couples but are also rejecting amending the Constitution to remove that fundamental freedom.

A majority of likely voters, 54 percent, oppose Proposition 8, which would amend the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, compared to 40 percent who support it, according to the Public Policy Institute of California survey.

The result is similar to the findings of a survey released in July by the Field Poll, which found that 51 percent of likely California voters opposed Proposition 8 while 42 percent said they would vote for it.

[...]

The Public Policy Institute began asking voters how they feel about gay marriage in 2000, the year voters approved Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage but did not enshrine it in the Constitution. That year, the poll found 55 percent opposed to gay marriage and 38 percent in favor.

The poll released Wednesday found the state's likely voters are evenly split on the question—at 47 percent for and against—as they have been for the past three years.

As usual, there is a large partisan divide apparent in the poll, which has a margin of error +/- 3 percentage points. Democrats (66%) and Independents (59%) are opposed to Proposition 8, while Republicans (60%) support it.

Obama Becomes First Person Of Color To Win Presidential Nomination

Barack Obama became the first non-white person to head a major party's presidential ticket last night.

Obama Takes 6 Point Lead In Daily Tracking Poll

94% of Fortune 500 Companies Bar Sexual Orientation Bias

Joe.My.God has a very cool graphic up illustrating the 29 companies in the Fortune 500 that DO NOT ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The good news is that it means that Equality Forum has documented that over 94 percent of these companies do bar sexual orientation discrimination.

VIDEO: Trailer for "The Young and Evil"

I found this extended trailer at the very cool Black gay blog Living Out Loud with Darian for what looks like could be a very interesting (and controversial) short film called "The Young and Evil."

Lesbian Pioneer Del Martin Dies at Age 87

Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin (r)

87-year-old Del Martin, legally married wife of Phyllis Lyon died today less than three months after becoming the first same-sex couple to be married legally in California's history on June 16, 2008. Lyon and Martin had lived together for more than 55 years.

Equality California has an official obituary webpage for Del Martin which has many details of her activism and life and the National Center for Lesbian Rights is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to their No on Prop 8 fund.

NOAH'S ARC: JUMPING THE BROOM In Theaters Fri Oct 24

Wilson Cruz

Jensen Atwood

There are reports on the web that th release date for the upcoming Noah's Arc movie has ben set. Noah's Arc: Jumping The Broom will be released in movie theaters on Friday October 24th.

According to the IMDb page for the movie, Jensen Atwood who plays the incredibly attractive Wade (and Noah's on and off againlove interest) is NOT in the cast! Sadly, it appears as if hottie Wilson Cruz who plays HIV-positive doctor Junito will also not be appearing in the Noah's Arc movie.

Opponents of Prop 8 Double $1m Donation from Catholics

After reports of the Knights of Columbus one million dollar donation to the proponents of Proposition 8, Equality California sent out fundraising appeals. The good news is that donations flooded in and EQCA has made a TWO million dollar donation to NO ON PROP 8.

Dale Kelly Bankhead, Campaign manager for NO ON PROP 8, sent out this e-mail earlier today:

Last week, I told you about the Knights of Columbus donating $1 million to the Yes on 8 Campaign's efforts to eliminate the fundamental right to marriage for same sex couples. That's $10 million for our opponents before Labor Day in their attempt to eliminate the right for same sex couples to marry.

Well thanks to many of you and the support of our coalition partners Equality California and the ACLU, we were able to not only match the $1 million but double it, raising $2 million dollars in the last week to fight Prop 8. To each of you who helped make that possible, I am profoundly grateful. But we can't stop.

It is clear we are up against a well-organized and well-funded effort to hurt gay and lesbian families. If you haven't donated to fight Prop 8, please do so today!

https://secure.ga4.org/01/equalityforall/n972BUtYq7NDx?
Well, our opponents have now made their next move. We have just learned that they have made a multi-million dollar television ad buy in eight media markets across California. Not only that, they are going up on the air weeks earlier than most campaigns.

This is a critical time for our campaign. We must be able to respond. We must get our message out there as soon as possible. We have to compete on the television airwaves.

We need money now to buy the television ads that are so critical to winning campaigns in California. We simply cannot allow them to outspend us.
Please help us win the fight against Prop 8. Contribute to our campaign today!

http://www.NoOnProp8.com/contribute

After you've made a contribution, please forward this message to your friends and family. We can win if we all work together.
Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,
Dale Kelly Bankhead
Campaign Manager
No On 8, Equality For All

VIDEO: Funny Obama Ad

US OPEN 2008: Men's Top 10 Preview

Yesterday I posted my predictions for the Top 10 Women players at the 2008 US Open. Today is my prediction for the Top 10 Men.

1. Rafael Nadal, Spain. The new #1 player in the world comes into the final Grand Slam of the year having one of the all-time best years on tour, having won three ATP Masters Series titles, the French Open, Wimbledon and an Olympic Gold medal (singles). Nadal has a pretty good draw (except for a possible 4th Round match-up with Ivo Karlovic) and is clearly playing with confidence since he has only lost one match in a Grand Slam tournament all year long (to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open semifinals). Nadal has historically underperformed in New York, having lost in the quarterfinals the last two years. This year as long as he can get past Karlovic, James Blake and Andy Murray he should make his first US Open final. PREDICTION: Finalist.
2. Roger Federer, Switzerland. The once and future #1 player in the world has been having an incredibly disappointing year (for him) despite having been in two Grand Slam finals and winning an Olympic Gold medal (doubles). For the first time, since 2003 he has arrived in New York not as the #1 seed and this time he has Novak Djokovic in his half of the draw. Despite having won this tournament for the past four year in a row, he can not be considered the favorite, considering his performance this year and his difficult draw. (Radek Stepanek could be problematic in the early rounds.) I believe the tournament will be decided in the semifinal clash between Federer and Djokovic on Saturday September 6th and until we see how the Serbian and Swiss are playing in New York it's difficult to predict the winner of that showdown. PREDICTION: Semifinalist or Champion.
3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia. The third member of the triumvirate at the head of men's tennis is the only other player besides Nadal and Federer to have won a major title since May 2005. Although he lost (in a 3-set match) to Nadal in Beijing, I believe that if Djokovic or Federer gets to the final, they will be able to figure out a way to win. Really, Djokovic should have won the title last year, it was only through a series of unlucky breaks that he was down two sets instead of up two sets in his final against Federer, which ended soon afterwards. This year Djokovic has played some excellent matches against Nadal, losing a very close final at Queens and having his revenge in the Cincinnati semis. It is true Djokovic beat Federer at the Australian Open but we know now that was not Federer at his best although with his confidence shaken I think the Federer-Djokovic semifinal is currently too close to call, but I am confident that person will be the 2008 US Open Champion. PREDICTION: Semifinalist or Champion.
4. David Ferrer, Spain. Got to the semis last year by defeating a hobbled Nadal. Doubtful the incredibly fit Spaniard will be able to repeat that feat this year if he faces a much improved Andy Murray in the quarters. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
5. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia. The Russian is in a weak part of the draw but it doesn't take much to defeat him on hardcourts. It's doubtful he will be around long enough for a quarterfinal match-up with Federer--unfortunately for Federer. Possible replacements are Dmitry Tursunov, Jarko Tipsarevic and Richard Gasquet (or Tommy Haas). PREDICTION: 3rd Round.
6. Andy Murray, Great Britain. I think this US Open is a great opportunity for Murray to show that his first ATP Masters Series title (in Cincinatti over Djokovic) was no fluke and that he is coming into his own a bit later after his contemporaries Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils have made large noises at major tournaments. Murray wants to do more than make a large noise, he wants to win and some people think he can. I would be surprised to NOT see him deep into the second week. PREDICTION: Semifinalist.
7. David Nalbandian, Argentina. Oh, what can you say about an hombre like David? He's in Nadal's quarter but I'd be shocked if he gets through the gauntlet of Monfils, Paul-Henri Mathieu and James Blake. He is still one of the great ball-strikers in the game with impeccable timing, however his fitness (both mental and physical) are always annotated with a question mark. PREDICTION: 3rd or 4th Round.
8. Andy Roddick, U.S. Roddick is in Djokovic's quarter and Federer's semi. If (and its a big if!) he gets through some tricky first round matches (Fabrice Santoro, Ernest Gulbis and Andreas Seppi) he might make it to a quarterfinal blowout by Djokovic. But I doubt it. And so does he, and that's the problem. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
9. James Blake, U.S. Blake finally got another monkey off his back by defeating Federer in Beijing on a(nother) bad day for Federer. Has the skills and weapons to beat anyone else in the Top 10 on the right day, hopefully (for him) that could happen in a quarterfinal against Nadal but he'll have to go through another American player in Mardy Fish as well another Black player in Gael Monfils. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
10. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland. The other Top 10 player from Switzerland (and lympic Gold Medalist in doubles) is in the Ferrer/Murray quarter and will probably not prevent that match-up from occurring. If Murray loses early Wawrinka could be a shock semifinalist by beating Ferrer in the quarters. Yeah, right. PREDICTION: 4th Round.

Pro-Marriage Equality Print Ad Features CA NAACP Head

As part of the Let California Ring campaign

VIDEO: Michelle and the Obama Girls

My Letter to the Editor on Prop 8

Mad Professah wrote and sent the following letter to the editors of my local newspapers:

Although it seems early to be thinking of the November election in August, since this is a year in which we elect a president, we are forced to do so.

However, in addition to voting for Barack Obama for president, in California there are several important ballot propositions to cast an informed vote on.

Proposition 8 would amend the California Constitution to prevent a single class of people from accessing a fundamental freedom, the freedom to marry. Think about that. There are people out there who think that by a simple majority vote, the people of California should single out a group of people to deny them equal treatment under the law.

As a Black person in America who is aware (and proud of) the history of people who look like me I urge everyone to vote NO on this cynical (and disturbingly familiar) attempt to eliminate basic fairness.

Oh, by the way, I haven't told you what Proposition 8 is about. It's about prohibiting gay and lesbian couples from getting married. Regardless of how you feel about that issue, it's simply wrong and un-Californian to change the highest law in our land to treat people differently.

In the same election in which Californians will embrace the future by electing President Barack Obama and voting for change in our nation's government, let us not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Vote No on Prop 8.

What do you think? Now, go write your own!

US OPEN 2008: Women's Seeds Preview

Here are Mad Professah's predictions for the Top 10 seeds at the 2008 US Open:

1. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia. The past, current and future World #1 has not made it past the fourth round at the glitziest Slam in three previous attempts. In order to do equal her previous major performances this year she will have to get past the hottest player on the tour, Dinara Safina, (who Ivanovic defeated to win her first major title in Paris earlier this summer) as well as either Nathalie Dechy, Flavia Penetta or Nadia Petrova in the early rounds. However, I think that the Serbian's performance in New York will be closer to her London form than her Paris form. Fourth Round.
2. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia. The best player in the Top 10 never to have reached a Slam final had her major breakthrough in New York a mere two years ago by reaching the 2006 semis but despite having achieved numerical superiority over the rest of the field Jankovic still has not been able to get deeper in a major tournament than that. She has a pretty good draw this year, but Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Marion Bartoli and Vera Zvonareva will all be competing for that semifinal slot. I think Jankovic will make it that far, but not any further. Semifinalist.
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia. The 2004 Champion clearly has the game to win the title again but does she have the head (and the heart)? Sveta could make it to the semifinal against Jankovic or lose to a qualifier in the first round. I'll split the difference: Third Round.
4. Serena Williams, United States. The 8-time Grand Slam champion looked great in London until she lost to her big sister in the Wimbledon final and not so great in the hard court season or in Beijing. In New York the draw unfortunately has Serena in a quarterfinal match-up with Venus. Somehow I doubt that this clash will actually occur, I think that one of them will fail to make the fifth round. I'm just not sure which one it will be. Serena won this title in 1999 and 2002 and Venus won it 2000 and 2001 following Wimbledon wins in those years. I do think that Venus win makes Serena hungrier for another major title--but 2008 will not be that year. Fourth Round.
5. Elena Dementieva, Russia. Oh, Elena! The Beijing Gold Medalist has always done well on hard courts and in New York especially. This year she has a particularly friendly draw and should make it all the way to the final if she is able to make it past fellow Russians Anna Chakvetadze and Svetlana Kuznetsova, possibly the only other Russians who are more mentally fragile than she is. Finalist.
6. Dinara Safina, Russia. The hottest player on the tour somehow was unable to win the Gold Medal match against Dementieva due to a sudden return of pre-2008 form (14 double faults?!) but it is doubtful a similar lapse will happen at a major that the Safin family has previously won. In order to do so, Safina will have to go through the World #1 who beat her in Paris as well as a Williams sister--and that's just to get to a final against the person who denied her the Gold Medal. Champion.
7. Venus Williams, United States. The reigning Wimbledon champion reached the semifinals last year and then wilted against the eventual champion Justine Henin. This year she she finally defeated her sister at Wimbledon to win the title and I believe that she will get further in the tournament than her younger sister, although probably not any further than last year. Semifinalist.
8. Vera Zvonareva, Russia. Zvonareva has been playing well this year, winning a title. She's in Jankovic's quarter but I doubt she will make it past Bartoli, Lindsay Davenport or Jankovic herself. Fourth Round.
9. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland. Last year Aggie Radwanska surprised some by taking out the defending Champion Maria Sharapova in the third round. This year she is firmly ensconced in the Top 10 but unforunately she is likely to face Venus Williams in the fourth round. It's possible that Aggie might make it two consecutive US Opens with huge upsets, but I doubt it. Fourth Round.
10. Anna Chakvetadze, Russia. Last year Chakvetadze broke through to her first major semifinal and then played one of the most hideous matches of the year against Svetlana Kuznetsova for the right to lose the US Open final to Henin. After being horribly victimized by criminals in the 2007 off-season she has not been the same player since, but hopefully she will be able to regain some of her confidence by again playing well in New York. However, it is likely her tournament will be ended by another Russian, this time Dementieva on her way to the final weekend. Fourth Round.

San Jose Mercury News Opposes Prop 8

The San Jose Mercury News has editorialized against Proposition 8:

Of all the reasons people give for banning gay marriage - the purpose of Proposition 8 on the November ballot - the most difficult for us to fathom is that a marriage between two people of the same sex somehow diminishes the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.

Marriage is the most personal of commitments, and it already means different things to different couples. Some marry for love, others expediency. Some have children, others don't, or couldn't if they wanted to. There is no merit test; people marry despite histories of domestic violence, rape or child abuse. Why would couples determine the value of their own vows based on who else is allowed to take them?

[...]

All couples who exchange vows know, in their own hearts, the depth and spiritual meaning of their union. That is for them, not others, to determine. The law should not discriminate in marriage. And Californians should not amend their constitution to take away a human right it now confers. Vote no on Proposition 8.

Openly Gay Aussie Wins Diving Gold; Ignored By NBC

Openly gay Australian diver Matthew Mitcham scored an incredible upset at the Beijing Olympics and won the gold medal in the 10m platform diving event, preventing the Chinese from winning gold medals in all eight Olympic diving events. The 20-year-old was behind Chinese diver Zhou Luxin by over 30 points going into the final dive and was assured of at least silver. When the Chinese diver slightly messed up his entry, the door was opened slightly for an upset by the Australian, who nailed his dive, and edged Zhou by 4.8 points for the gold.

NBC covered the event but never mentioned or showed Mitcham's mother or partner. This slight has not gone unnoticed. NBC had previously aired coverage of Michael Phelps' mother and sisters in the stands as well as endless mentions of Kerri Walsh losing (and recovering) her wedding ring during beach volleyball competition.

Outsports.com has a great Youtube video of Mitcham talking to the media, flanked by his mom Vivienne and his partner Lachlan.

Mitcham was the only openly gay male athlete out of 10,078 athletes who competed in Beijing, according to Outsports, who said that there were 10 out athletes total at the start of the Games. During the games,

Obama-Biden 2008

Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.

Republican Louisiana Governor Allows Sexual Orientation Discrimination

This is just sick. Republican wunderkind Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana who John McCain allegedly is considering for his running mate, has decided to let an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in state employment issued by former Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco expire today. What's worse is that as he does so, he is intentionally lying about the legal implications of his actions:

The order - enacted by Blanco on Dec. 6, 2004 - bars state agencies and contractors from various sorts of harassment and discrimination by race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation or disabilities.

[...]

“The reason for allowing the order to lapse is that I don’t think it is necessary to create additional special categories or special rights,” Jindal said. State and federal law already prohibits discrimination, he said.

“We are firmly and strongly committed to fair treatment of all of our people and certainly don’t condone discrimination in any form,” Jindal said in an interview Wednesday.

Jindal is Louisiana's first non-white Governor and the nation's youngest. If sexual orientation discrimination was illegal in Louisiana then why has that state's legislature refused to enact legislation to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination? Why do you think the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act is even necessary?

I think it's significant that Jindal is using the language of "special categories or special rights" which is heterosexual supremacists code language for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

Of course he doesn't "condone discrimination" but he hasn't done anything (which is within his power) to prevent it from occurring. Even The Current Occupant has continued Bill Clinton's Executive Order which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in federal employment. Jindal is simply being intellectually dishonest, and he knows it.

Starting tomorrow, if you work for the state in Louisiana you can be fired without any legal recourse simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. And that's simply wrong.

EYE CANDY: U.S. Men's Gymnastic Team

Thanks to the fun site Hunk du Jour.com

VIDEO: Obama Attack Ad On Economy

Usain Bolt Wins Olympic 200m in World Record Time

Jamaican track and field phenom Usain Bolt won the 200 meter dash at the Beijing Olympics in world record time of 19.30secs, a few days after winning the 100m in a world record of 9.69secs. He becomes the first man to win the 100-200 double since the legendary Carl Lewis did it at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and the first to do so with world record times in both events.

In the 200m he broke Michael Johnson's 1996 Atlanta record of 19.32secs which many people had thought would last longer than a mere 12 years.

VIDEO: Obama Ad On McCain's SEVEN Houses

Serena Williams In Men's Fitness

Serena Williams, looking sultry, in a photo appearing in Men's Fitness. They name her one of the top 25 sexiest female athletes in the world (hat/tip Black Tennis Pro's.)

Mumbai's First Gay Pride Parade

The city of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) had its first gay pride parade this weekend, on August 18, 2008.

Oregon's DP Law Safe From November Repeal

A 3-member panel of the 9th Circuit has upheld a ruling rejecting a lawsuit which was attempting to force a ballot measure to repeal the Oregon Family Fairness Act on November 4th.

Mad Professah has been following this case closely because I'm interested in gay rights advances generally and the political actions by heterosexual supremacists, specifically.

Also, in Oregon, their state constitution has been amended by a previous ballot measure passed in November 2004 to prohibit same-sex marriage, so strong domestic partnerships are the only legal protection gay and lesbian couples are eligible for.

The Dark Knight Becomes 2nd Highest Grossing Film Of All Time

The Dark Knight has continued its record-breaking box-office performance by hitting $471 million, eclipsing Star Wars (1977) which has grossed $461 million for the #2 position on the all-time list, behind Titantic (1997) at $600.2 million.

It is unlikely that The Dark Knight will break Titantic's total, but it has a very good chance of breaking the $500 million barrier, according to most models. In fact, Warners Bros. is so happy about its 2008 box-office prospects it has moved one of its potential big hits, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (the sixth movie in the franchise) to July 2009 from its Thanksgiving 2008 release date. The final Harry Potter book will be split into two movies that will be released in late 2010 and 2011.

The Real McCain: Old Rich White Guy

Eye Candy: Rafael Nadal Is The New #1

Thanks to MadProfessah reader carter (and New York magazine), I have this picture of brand new World #1 Rafael Nadal of Spain for your edification.

Craig Hickman has more coverage of Nadal's ascension to #1.

As for me, I wil be looking forward to Roger Federer's ascension to number one sometime in 2009.

EQCA Responds To $1M Donation From Catholic Group

Geoff Kors of Equality California sent email to the organization's members about a 1 million donation from a Catholic organization called the Knights of Columbus to Protect Marriage, the main organization behind the Yes on Prop 8 campaign. Proposition 8 is the California November ballot measure that would amend the California constitution to prohibit gay and lesbian couples from getting married.

We learned today that the right-wing groups behind Proposition 8 received a $1 million contribution from the Knights of Columbus.

The Catholic fraternal organization based in Connecticut has also adopted a resolution calling for "legal and constitutional protection ... for the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

"We know what we're up against. Right-wing organizations that will stop at nothing to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. They want to target same-sex couples to be treated differently under the California Constitution, a document that was created to ensure our equality.

We need your help to stop them!

The NO on 8 campaign is about fairness. It's about equal protection under the law for all couples who wish to marry. While we have been working hard to bring in amazing contributions from many generous donors, our momentum must continue. We have to meet our opponents' contributions dollar for dollar to win in November.

That's why we need you to make a gift to NO on 8 - Equality California today. Help us stop these groups who aim to eliminate our right to marry. Contribute $1,000, $500, $200 or $50 now and help us stay one step ahead of our opposition.

Thank you for supporting the NO on 8 campaign and Equality California.

Besides, Equality California, you can also go directly to Equality for All / No on Prop 8 to help stop the campaign to deny the fundamental freedom to marry to thousands of couples in California.

Caribbean Athletes (Nearly) Sweep 100m Medals

Caribbean-born athletes are beginning to sweep the most prestigious track and field events at the Beijing Olympics. Usain Bolt of Jamaica set an Olympic and World record of 9.69s in the 100m dash, ahead of Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago (9.89s) and American Walter Dix was third in a person best of 9.93 seconds. Bolt, is a 6-foot-5-inch 21-year-old (lawd have mercy!) who just started running the 100 meter dash in 2008--his speciality is the 200 m dash. Former world record holder Jamaican Asafa Powell placed 5th with 9.95, behind Churandy Martina of the Netherland Antilles with 9.93. Another Jamaican, Michael Frater was 6th with 9.97, the first time 6 of the 8 competitors ran sub-10 second times in the Olympic gold medal100m final.

In the women's 100 meter final Jamaicans (Shelly-Ann Fraser, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart) swept the top 3 positions.

Brilliant Attack Ad Links McCain and Bush

Obama Raises $51m to Mcain's $27m in July

The July fundraising numbers are out and Barack Obama continues to kick John McCain's pale white butt!

From Politico.com:

McCain revealed Friday that he raised $27 million last month, his best month of the campaign.

The summer surge pushed Obama over the $400 million mark for what he's raised over the entire campaign, to $401 million. McCain has raised about $171 million, less than half as much.

Obama finished July with $68.5 million cash on hand, versus $21 million for McCain.

And there's more good news for Democrats, for the first time in years, the DNC outraised the RNC, $27.7 million to $26 million. However, the bad news is that the RNC has $75 million in cash on hand, while the DNC only has $28.5 million.

The real money race is between the DNC+Obama and RNC+McCain, which, in cash on hand numbers is $97 million for the Democrats to $96 million for the Republicans.

In the congressional races, the DCCC and DSCC are criushing their Republican House and Senate counterparts in fundraising. On to November!

Nadal and Dementieva win Singles Gold

Spain's Rafael Nadal won the gold medal match 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3 over Chile's Fernando Gonzalez with Serbia's Novak Djokovic won the bronze medal by defeating American James Blake.

Russia swept the women singles medals with Elena Dementieva (eight years after winning the silver medal in Sydney) by defeating Dinara Safina 3-6 7-5 6-3 (who double faulted 17 times). Vera Zvonareva won the bronze by defeating Li Na 6-0 7-5.

Williams Sisters Win Doubles Gold

African American sisters Venus and Serena Williams won their second Women's doubles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, eight years after winning in Sydney by defeating the Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2 6-0 on Sunday.

Federer and Wawrinka Win Doubles Gold

Swiss tennis players Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka celebrate after winning the Beijing Olympics Men's Doubles gold medal by defeating the Swedish team 6-3 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3.

John Morgan Wilson book signing in Weho today

An annnouncement from my favorite mystery writer, John Morgan Wilson:

The first Benjamin Justice mystery, Simple Justice, is about to reissued in trade paperback by Bold Strokes Books. There will be a 7:30 p.m. reading and brief Q&A at A Different Light Books in West Hollywood.

Simple Justice launched the Benjamin Justice series, which has won three Lambda Literary Awards for best gay men's mystery. Sinple Justice also won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from Mystery Writers of America for best first novel, the first "gay mystery" by an openly gay author ever to win the prestigious Edgar. The eighth novel in the series, Spider Season, will be published by St. Martin's Minotaur in early December.

Mad Professah will try to attend the book reading and try to get all my copies of the first seven books signed.

Madonna Turns 50

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born August 16, 1958.

Safina versus Li, Dementieva versus Zvonareva

Russia will win two of the three medals in Women's Singles at the Beijing Olympics.Russian Dinara Safina beat World #1 Jelena Jankovic 6-2 5-7 6-3 and will need to defeat Li Na for a chance to win the Gold Medal. In the other semi-final, Vera Zvonareva will face Elena Dementieva, insuring there will be at least one Russian (and most likely two) in the Gold Medal match.

MadProfessah's pick: Safina defeats Li, Dementieva defeats Zvonareva.

Federer Will Win Olympic Medal (in Doubles)

Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka defeated the top doubles team in the world, American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6(4) 6-4 to reach the Beijing Olympics Men's Doubles final, assuring that 12-time Grand Slam champion Federer will win his first Olympic medal, something Pete Sampras was never able to do.

The Swiss team will face the unlikely Swedish team of Thomas Johansson and Simon Aspelin in the Gold Medal match on Saturday, who defeated the excellent French team of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in the longest tennis match in Olympic history, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 19-17 in 4 hours, 46 minutes.

Gonzalez Clips Blake, Djokovic Chokes Against Nadal

Fernando Gonzalez of Chile defeated American James Blake 4-6 7-5 11-9 in a controversial match and Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeated Serbian Novak Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-4. Blake missed three match points but was most upset about the first point in the game where Gonzalez was serving 8-9 in the third set and a ball flew past the Chilean at the net and (in the television slow-motion replay) appears to clip his racquet before flying outof bounds. Blake lost the point, even after appealing to the umpire. In his post match press conference, Blake ripped into Gonzalez:

“Playing in the Olympics, in what’s supposed to be considered a gentleman’s sport, that’s a time to call it on yourself,” Blake said. “Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn’t call it.”

Gonzalez said he was uncertain whether the ball hit his racket.

“I didn’t feel anything,” Gonzalez said. “I mean, it’s just one point. There is an umpire. If I’m 100 percent sure about it, I mean, I will give it. But I’m not sure.”

Blake described Gonzalez as a great player who does everything in his power to win, “usually” within the rules.

Wowsa. I sort of am with Gonzalez on this one. There's lots of times when you're playing that you honestly can not tell if the ball has bounced twice, or even if the ball is in or out, which is why one needs external arbiters to make those calls. The umpire made the wrong call, but that happens. Even with that being said, I do think it is quite unusual for a player not to realize that a ball hit their racquet, though.

The Djokovic-Nadal match was excellent quality, with Nadal retreating to his circa 2006-2007 mega-spin style of play, which Djokovic handled easily and demolished him in the 6-1 middle set. In the third set, Djokovic started making more unforced errors, it was really a case of him losing the match, not Nadal winning it. Regardless, Nadal now is assured of winning his first Olympic medal, and for the second Olympics in a row, Fernando Gonzalez will win a medal in tennis. (He an partner Nicolas Massu won the doubles gold medal in Athens in 2004).

Obama Ad on McCain Economics

Venus, Serena, Safina, Dementieva, Jankovic All Reach Olympics Quarters

The following Women's Singles quarterfinal matches are all scheduled at the Beijing Olympics.

(7) WILLIAMS Venus (USA) vs LI Na (CHN)

(6) SAFINA Dinara (RUS) vs (2) JANKOVIC Jelena (SRB)

(4) WILLIAMS Serena (USA) vs (5) DEMENTIEVA Elena (RUS)

BAMMER Sybille (AUT) vs (9) ZVONAREVA Vera (RUS)

VOW TO VOTE NO ON PROP 8!

The following email is being circulated by the NO ON PROP 8 campaign:

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Poll numbers tell us that millions of people oppose this measure
that would eliminate freedom and equality for same sex couples. We need
100,000 of them to stand up for freedom today.

Please click http://noonprop8.com/home right now on and sign the Vow
to Vote No. And then please forward this e-mail to your address
book. And ask your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

WE CAN DO THIS! Don't let us down.

With 83 days to go, we need every voice for fairness and freedom to be counted.

Please take some time to add your email address to the list of those who Vow To Vote NO on Proposition 8.

Federer, Blake, Nadal and Djokovic Reach Olympic Quarterfinals

Roger Federer, James Blake, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all have reached the quarterfinals of the Olympic Tennis event in Men's Singles. Federer and Blake will meet in the quarterfinals, while Nadal and Djokovic could meet in the semifinals. Federer defeated Tomas Berdych 6-3 7-6(4), getting revenge for his 2004 loss to the Czech player, while the American defeated hot French player Gilles Simon 6-4 6-2. The other four players of the final eight quarterfinalists are Paul-Henri Mathieu and Fernando Gonzalez (in Blake and Federer's half) and Jurgen Melzer and Gael Monfils (in Nadal and Djokovic's half).

Smells like a Gold Medal showdown between Rafa and Raja on August 16th, to me.

CO-2: Openly Gay Man Wins Congressional Primary Election

Jared Polis (right) with partner Marlon Reis

What is going on in Colorado? They have selected a 33-year-old openly gay man to be the first non-incumbent openly gay person elected to Congress.


Milllionaire online card entrepeneur Jared Polis placed first in the Democratic primary of the 2nd Congressional district to replace U.S. Representative Mark Udall, who is likely to become the next U.S. Senator from Colorado. Polis spent upwards of $5.3 million to outspend multiple primary opponents, such as Joan Fitz-Gerald, a former Colorado State Senate president who was a strong straight legislative ally, and Will Shafroth, who had been endorsed by Denver's two major newspapers. Most of Colorado's LGBT activists (including its most famous Tim Gill) had previously endorsed Fitz-Gerald.

Polis is almost certain to be elected in a district that includes Boulder and has twice as many registered Democrats than Republicans (both of whom are outnumbered by Independents). He will become the first openly gay Congressperson in Colorado and the third openly gay member of Congress, joining Massachusetts' Barney Frank and Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin.