Out In McAllen

NY Times Slams Obama For Being “New And Not Improved”

Here are a few lines of the story that’s gotten so much attention:

Senator Barack Obama stirred his legions of supporters, and raised our hopes, promising to change the old order of things. He spoke with passion about breaking out of the partisan mold of bickering and catering to special pleaders, promised to end President Bush’s abuses of power and subverting of the Constitution and disowned the big-money power brokers who have corrupted Washington politics.

Now there seems to be a new Barack Obama on the hustings. First, he broke his promise to try to keep both major parties within public-financing limits for the general election. His team explained that, saying he had a grass-roots-based model and that while he was forgoing public money, he also was eschewing gold-plated fund-raisers. These days he’s on a high-roller hunt.

You can find the rest of the piece here.

Google Launches “Lively”

Launched July 8, Google Lively is a web-based virtual environment similar to the virtual world Second Life. Users use avatars and up to 20 people can occupy a room and chat with one another. There’s a lot to do and if you’re into this stuff check it out.

Lively official site

Should Gays Thank Bush?

There’s an interesting discussion about the gay community and George Bush with writer David Benkof saying gays should thank Bush for allot of what he has done. Here’s a snippet:

It is unquestionable that George W. Bush has done more to fight HIV/AIDS than any president in American history, including Clinton. The people pushing Bush to fight the epidemic at home and abroad are overwhelmingly conservative Christians — the same people we keep hearing gay leaders tar as narrow-minded and bigoted. Well, those narrow-minded bigots (who never had the president’s ear during the Clinton administration) deserve far more credit for relieving suffering from HIV in this decade than gay men and lesbians did in the previous two decades combined.

Benkof also stresses Bush’s financial commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS - $3 billion, the nation’s largest investment for fighting the disease globally - as well as his installation of two gays in high-level administrative positions on the issue.

More here.

Depressed over lover’s death, gay sci-fi writer commits suicide.

Science fiction writer and poet Thomas Disch has committed suicide, authorities said. Disch died July 4 and his body was discovered July 5, according to the New York City Police Department. He was 68. The author of seminal science-fiction novels “Camp Concentration” and “334,” Disch had been openly gay since 1968.

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