In my comments about A.M. Homes to friends I always suggest her short stories are more interesting and better written than her novels. This confirms my opinion.

I came out in the 1970s as a teenager and lived through it all. I feel extremely fortunate that I am HIV-, my history certainly did not tilt the scales in that direction. I lost many dear and wonderful friends, who made great contributions to my life and to the lives of many--important contributions to fields of science, medicine, and the arts. Now, I'm in a long-term monogamous relationship. Not out of fear, not out of an intense desire to settle down. I just found the right guy and wanted to spend my life with him. It's easy to judge what went before in the light of today's knowledge and through the lens of our current culture. But that is a mistake that keeps us from learning many important lessons. For me, being a gay man does set me apart in many ways. As gay men, we have additional history and additional culture, which we cannot deny. Just as we cannot deny the effects of our "mainstream" history and culture on our lives. I'd like to think the lessons we learn are about compassion and acceptance. Too many fought too long for what we have today and for a future filled with promise. Heterosexuality is the norm and, like it or not, we are "the other." Hence, it likely will continue to be difficult for many to come out. I look forward to reading Holleran's new book.

As a researcher, I'm surprised this type of research can be conducted without going through any kind of human subjects review panel.

I have only seen snippets of the Sopranos while in hotels. I've heard a lot about the show, of course. And I don't doubt its excellence. After reading about where the show is going, and being trained as a psychotherapist, I would predict Tony's son kills him. He already tried escaping his life (and his father's) by attempting to do away with himself. The only other way out for this kid is to do away with dad.

Funny, Senator McCain had no problem intervening on behalf of Charles Keating during the savings and loan meltdown.

Perhaps we need to start making this an election issue, people for rational security policy. Get congress to stop rolling over in the name of national security for any absurd action taken by TSA and start listening to their constituents.

I think this piece (and perhaps the election) confirms what most of the research on racism demonstrates (although I'm not an expert). That racism is based on generalizations about groups and not on experiences with an individual, who can be seen as an exception to "those people." Racism, and other forms of bigotry and systemic hate, is not about hating a person. It's about hating a group who possess a common characteristic.

The spirit of hope is hard to feel among the gays and lesbians who are not hearing, "Yes we can." We are hearing, "No you can't!"