raising money through his hate tour of the American South featuring:

Reverend Donnie McClurkin who said he's "in a war with homosexuality",

Hezekiah Walker the anti-semitic Pentecostal pastor of Brooklyn mega-church the Love Fellowship Tabernacle,

and Mary Mary (a sister act duo) who have compared gays to murderers and prostitutes.

or

During his Senate run in Illinois in 2004, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is said to have declined to have his picture taken with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who was in the center of a national turmoil over his decision to allow same-sex marriage in the city.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday that the snub took place at a fund-raiser hosted by former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

"I gave a fund-raiser at (Obama's) request at the Waterfront restaurant," Brown told the Chronicle. "And he said to me, he would really appreciate it if he didn't get his photo taken with my mayor. He said he would really not like to have his picture taken with Gavin."

While the Obama campaign has denied the rumors, Newsom's staff has corroborated the event.

http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2008/02/07/1

PS the Newsom snub took place in 2004, Newsom's affair/drug use took place in 2007

Brazil's president has come out in favor of same-sex unions.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says that in Brazil, "there are men living with men, and women living with women" who "build a good life together." But a proposed law that would give all same-sex couples rights equal to those enjoyed by married heterosexuals has been stalled in Brazil's Congress for more than a decade.

Silva said in an interview aired late Wednesday night by the government-run TV Brasil that politicians who oppose same-sex unions and yet seek the votes of gay men and women during elections are "hypocrites."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/po/20080918/co_po/brazilspresidentdefendssamesexunions

why should the latest financial scandal surprise anyone?

WASHINGTON - Rep. Charles Rangel wrote six checks for about $10,800 in back taxes, and then penned an open letter to New Yorkers Friday, saying he has done nothing dishonorable and is the target of a GOP "guerrilla war."

Rangel, the dean of the New York congressional delegation, has faced a string of embarrassing revelations — he didn't pay taxes on rental income for a beach house in the Dominican Republic; he used three rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem, including one for a campaign office; he used his congressional stationery to drum up private donations to a college center named after him.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080920/ap_on_go_co/rangel_ethics_7

In what represents a marked shift from the Republican campaign rhetoric of 2004 -- where some George W. Bush advisors stoked anti-gay sentiment in an attempt to drive social conservatives to the polls -- Steve Schmidt, senior campaign strategist for the McCain campaign, stopped by a Log Cabin Republican luncheon Thursday to welcome the group to the convention.

“I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign’s respect to your organization and to your group,” said Schmidt, who many view as the new architect of the Republican Party. “Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party.”

In his brief remarks, Schmidt weaved in a personal anecdote about his lesbian sister and her relationship to him, his wife, and his children. “On a personal level, my sister and her partner are an important part of my life and our children’s life,” he said. “I admire your group and your organization and I encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe in because the day is going to come.”

This convention marks the first in history that Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBT rights organization, have been fully credentialed official guests of the GOP host committee, and Schmidt is not the only high-profile party figure to address the group. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, RNC treasurer Tim Morgan, and McCain political director Mike DuHaime – the first hire made by Schmidt after he took the helm in July – have all spoken at Log Cabin events this week.

http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid60725.asp

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The market storm that brought down Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., American International Group Inc. and other pillars of U.S. finance may have also blown holes in the portfolios of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Kerry and more than 50 other members of Congress.

Pelosi, in her most recent financial disclosure form, reported that her husband owned between $250,000 and $500,000 of stock in AIG, which ceded majority control to the U.S. government this week in exchange for $85 billion of loans.

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, disclosed that his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, had more than $2 million of AIG stock at the end of 2007, when shares were worth $58.30. AIG has fallen 85 percent this week to close yesterday at $2.69. The lawmakers' aides didn't respond to calls seeking comment.

Altogether, 56 senators and representatives had stakes in AIG, Lehman, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns Cos. or IndyMac Bancorp Inc. -- some of the biggest casualties of the market bloodbath -- according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aSEtGBXG0C0s&s=polyhoo

set up an oversight board and set limits on compensation for chief executives of financial institutions that would be rescued by the federal government.

Obama said any final package must ensure that taxpayers and homeowners were protected. He said it should include a global response and a commitment to broad regulatory reforms that would prevent another crisis.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080922/pl_nm/usa_politics_obama_dc;_ylt=AqJJ7w0nJECOoOL.TJIDPF2s0NUE

As usual, pretty words from Obama that don't mean a thing!