Lance Bass and Lacey Scwhimmer (Photo: Kelsey McNeal/ABC)

Following this assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Above, Lance Bass wows the crowd with his and Lacey's spotlight dance during last night's group number. All three judges agreed that Lance and Lacey were the stars of the routine, and we'll find out tonight if it combined with his barefoot samba will put him through to next week.

• In related news, happy birthday to gay-fave Kathy Griffin, who just last night cheered on gay BFF Lance on Dancing With the Stars and will no doubt celebrate tonight with some Clay Aiken-related cake.

• Questionably-named radio host Lars Larson ran a fake political ad calling gay politician Barney Frank "Barney Fag" ... which is particularly unoriginal considering that the name was coined years ago by Fred Fagstone. (I mean really, seriously?!)

• Above, from 365Gay: Could the gay vote be the swing vote in today's election?

• Our condolences go out to the family of Barack Obama, whose grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, passed away yesterday at age 87. The family plans to have a small, private ceremony to honor her.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Over the weekend, Tina Fey did a hilarious send up of Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. And SNL hasn't been the only one poking fun at the Alaska Governor who has foreign policy experience because she can "see Russia from Alaska." But Palin's nomination and McCain's campaign aren't very funny if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. 

Last week Palin was interviewed by ABC's Charlie Gibson and one of the questions Gibson asked touched on gay issues. Here was the exchange:

GIBSON: Homosexuality, genetic or learned?

PALIN: Oh, I don’t — I don’t know, but I’m not one to judge and, you know, I’m from a family and from a community with many, many members of many diverse backgrounds and I’m not going to judge someone on whether they believe that homosexuality is a choice or genetic. I’m not going to judge them.

There are a whole litany of issues with that exchange starting with Gibson's question which is, frankly, stupid. This is the one question he asks her about gay issues? Nothing about same-sex marriage or gay adoption? Most legitimate scientists agree that being gay is at the very least significantly influenced by biology with some sociological components also possibly occurring. Call me crazy, but something tells me that a woman who is open to teaching creationism in public schools probably hasn't kept up on the latest scientific literature concerning homosexuality.

Thanks for the wastd opportunity, Charlie. 

Sarah Palin being interviewed by Charlie Gibson

So what might Palin actually do when it comes to gay issues if she gained the top spot? Well, apparently she won't "judge", especially not those who believe that "homosexuality is genetic or a choice". Call me super cynical, but I can't help but notice she doesn't actually say she doesn't judge gays and lesbians.

More importantly, what of Palin's actual actions while in office thus far? The folks over at gay rightwing blog GayPatriot tout the fact that as governor, Palin vetoed a bill that would have denied equal benefits to the same-sex partners of state workers, something the court said the state couldn't do. So did Palin veto the bill because she thinks gays should have benefits in the work place? Yeah, and I'm a moose.

In fact, the only reason Palin signed the veto (on which her Republican predecessor Governor Frank Murkowski had refused to act after calling the court's ruling against discrimination "shameful") was because the state attorney general told her doing otherwise would be unconstitutional. Said Palin at the time, "Signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office." In fact, Palin later issued a statement saying "The governor's veto does not signal any change or modification to her disagreement with the action and order by the Alaska Supreme Court. It is the governor's intention to work with the Legislature and to give the people of Alaska an opportunity to express their wishes and intentions whether these benefits should continue."

Because that's what non-judgmental folks like Palin do -- put the rights of a minority up for a public vote. 

What? You were expecting something from her about wanting to treat those Alaskans of "many diverse backgrounds" with some semblance of equality. R-i-i-i-ght. And I've got a bridge to nowhere to sell you. Indeed, Palin promptly signed a bill allowing state legislators to hold a special session just so they could craft a bill to get around the court's ruling. (But the GayPatriot folks say her actions show we should trust her because she follows the law. I call this "spinning" or simply delusional.)

Photo credit: AFP/Robyn Beck

Watching the Republicans scramble over the weekend to figure out how to handle Hurricane Gustav's Louisiana landfall (which canceled New Orlean's Southern Decadence party) was certainly ironic, no? (With some Republican operatives actually viewing this disaster as an "opportunity" for John McCain, who reportedly considered delivering his acceptance speech from the disaster area. Classy....) After all, it was just last week on James Dobson's Focus on the Family website that one of his minions posted a video urging all "Christians" to pray for a biblical deluge to drench Obama's acceptance speech in Denver last week.

This is hardly a first for these "Christians" of course. It was McCain supporter John Hagee who said Katrina was "the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans," which was way too tolerant of us 'mos. And we all remember how, according to Jerry Falwell, God lifted his veil of protection over the United States during 9/11 because of "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays." And Pat Robertson once warned Orlando would suffer "earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor" because the city allowed a few gay-pride flags to fly.

Oy double vey, right? So while I would never take joy in a national disaster or believe it was sent by God to punish anyone (or view it as photo op for my campaign), I certainly hope the irony of Gustav washing out Day 1 of the Republican's convention (not to mention dredging up memories of George Bush's disastrous handling of Katrina) will cause a few of those attending McCain's annointment to actually stop and think about the horribly offensive and outrageous things some of their brethren say about their fellow human beings.

After all, if God really is sending a message via the weather it certainly doesn't seem to be intended for Obama.  

Photo credit Getty Images/Win McNamee

Raise your hand if you thought there was a chance in hell Barack Obama was going to discuss same-sex marriage during his speech tonight accepting the Democratic nomination for president of the United States of America. Anyone? Anyone?

I sure as hell wasn't.

Face it, no matter how much progress we've made on gay rights, it's still an issue that that many in the Republican party have hammered the Democrats with over the years and that many Democrats prefer to discuss behind closed doors and off-camera. And as Dennis noted in the BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER! this convention hasn't been terribly lavender-hued (or at least what we've seen on television hasn't).

So I was pretty much stunned that while giving the speech that could very well make or break his run for the presidency, Barack actually brought up the issue. Said Barack:

I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination.

Notice he didn't say he supports same-sex marriage. In fact, Barack doesn't (though he does support granting same-sex couples virtually all of the rights that come with marriage). Nonetheless, the fact that he acknowledged our existence, the fact that we are discriminated against and suffer grave injustice, not to mention the fact the he used the word "love" took me by complete surprise. And while I disagree with him on same-sex issue, clearly we are going to gain far more protection under an Obama presidency than a McCain one. In fact, I suspect the only way we're going to hear about gay issues during the Republican convention next week in Minneapolis is when they are cited as proof of the moral decline of America and the threat we pose to America.

So what does the AE crowd have to say about the speech?

Is John McCain good for women? That's the question Jennifer Vanasco and Jon Mallow ask this week on The Gay Agenda. We already know he's bad for gays, but the media has gone crazy lately over the idea that Hillary's female supporters are going over to The Republican Side.

But is that true? And if they are, who are they? And if they are, should they?

Check it all out after the break!

Dear Supporters,

Today I announce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage….particularly marriage between two passionate females.

Alas, the thing turned out to be a joke. McCain’s MySpace page was using a template designer’s work without giving proper credit or payment and was actually displaying an image hosted on the disgruntled template designer’s server! Mike Davidson, the template designer, simply swapped out the image on his server to show the pro-gay marriage announcement on the McCain page.

Serves McCain right. And honestly, what the hell is a seventy-year-old man doing with a MySpace profile in the first place? It is downright undignified. If he wants to connect with younger audiences, surely there are less pathetic ways to do it than trolling for “friends” on MySpace. It’s sorta creepy. McCain should do what all the other seventy-year-old men on MySpace are doing – which is lie about their age and use Ashton Kutcher’s photo.