Gay.com Update: Storm Impact on Southern Decadence

As Hurricane Gustav continues to gain momentum, folks are naturally wondering if the storm will have any impact on Southern Decadence, one of the largest gay events of the year.

This was just posted on the Southern Decadence Web site:

LATEST UPDATE: AUGUST 31, 2008~2:45pm
All remaining SOUTHERN DECADENCE events have been cancelled.
A mandatory evacuation is now in effect.

Only two clubs remain open including  JohnPaul's, 940 Elysian Fields Avenue, and the Phoenix, 941 Elysian Fields. They're serving ice cold cocktails and beer.

Hot commodity: Levi dives into politics!

Levi Kreiss is an extremely talented singer, songwriter and actor and the epitome of a Hot commodity!

Levi's very opinionated and didn't pull any punches when answering the following political questions. You'll also not want to miss his latest video at the bottom of the post!

Obama + Biden ain't Osama bin Laden, ya nutjobs

(Getty Images) OK, it IS true that, pre-coffee this morning, I glanced at an Obama/Biden headline and groggily processed it as "Osama bin Laden."

And yeah, it did cross my mind to wonder how extensively the Democratic presidential candidate's team had polled, workshopped, and tested the idea of any similarity between the names.

Biden Gets The Nod

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In what was the most desperate act in a seemingly never-ending series of desperate acts, Senator Barack Obama selected Senator Joe Biden of Delaware as his running mate early Saturday morning.The word from high came in the form of text message and ended several days of foreplay between Obama, the media and his followers.

The media shot their load early when they broke the story that the secret service had been dispatched to Biden’s home late Friday night. The AP confirmed shortly afterwards that Joe was in fact the man.

Happy Labor Day to you, too, Bobby

(Getty Images) Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal won't renew his predecessor's executive order banning workplace discrimination against gay men and lesbians, he announced just days before his big moment at the Republican National Convention.

Jindal's star is rising fast in the GOP, and he is touted by some as a potential running mate for Sen. John McCain.

Study: Gaydar exists!

(Getty Images) Gay or straight -- are you able to tell? Did NPH ever trip your gaydar?

A recent study divided male and female students, both gay and straight, and showed them personal ads and Facebook profiles of 90 guys.

The findings? It only took 50 milliseconds (1/20 of a second) for the subjects  to say whether the men were gay or straight ... and they were accurate 55 to 70 percent of the time -- way more than chance.

The study was led by grad student Nicholas Rule, who researches people's reactions to  facial features and expressions, and published in July's Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 

No word on whether or not researchers found the 'dar of the gay subjects was more accurate than those of the straight subjects.

What do you think? Does everyone have gaydar? Only gay people? Only certain very observant people? Or is it a myth?

Story via Towleroad

Hot topic! McCain in bed with Manhunt?

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UPDATED! The blogosphere is buzzing with the news that gay sex site Manhunt.net's cofounder Jonathan Crutchley has stepped down as chairman of the company after it became known he contributed the maximum possible amount ($2,300) to John McCain's presidential campaign.

Towleroad and Huffington Post blogger Andy Towle pointed out August 14 that Crutchley confirmed his contribution and defended his "Massachusetts Republican" political stance on August 10, 2008, in the comments section of a 2007 interview on Online Personals Watch. (It doesn't appear the comment is showing up currently.)

UPDATE! Crutchley has stepped down as chairman of Manhunt on August 15. Here's an excerpt from the statement to Manhunt members by co-founder Larry Basile (you can read the whole thing in the comments below, too):

"It should be known that Jonathan Crutchley's donation to McCain left the entire Board in disbelief. I am disappointed that we have lost some customers, and I understand the anger. It is too bad for the web site if we lose customers, but PLEASE never refer to me as a Republican. I consider it an offense.

"Earlier today, at the request of the Board, Jonathan has stepped down as Chairman. Sincerely, Larry Basile."

That's some quick damage control ... and, I'm presuming, a lot of angry gay customers.

According to Towle, Crutchley's original comment said:

"Welcome to the age of the internet, where everyone’s private life becomes public. Yes, my contribution to John McCain’s campaign for president was listed on the Huffington Post. I believe McCain will be a better commander-in-chief than Obama, who also opposes gay marriage. If we have an experienced, seasoned person defending the country in this dangerous age, we will be able to argue about the gay agenda later. Yes, I am a Massachusetts Republican, which is about the same as being an Alabama Democrat. But don’t call me a 'liberal.' That's an insult."

Was the Manhunt board right to ask Crutchley to step down, or should an individual be able to contribute however he wants as long as it's a personal donation?

To me, the craziest part of Crutchley's original comment is the cavalier attitude toward online privacy. Does everyone's private life become public on Manhunt.net?