Super Tuesday is now just days away. A few states’ primaries have already passed. Have you made your decision yet? Sadly, I haven’t.  I have pondered, considered, mused and fumed. I simply do not like the available options, particularly in terms of the issues that matter most in my daily life. I will try, over the next days in my own head, to balance out the candidates’ views and choose the best of the available options as far as the Democratic primaries go.  With that, here is my breakdown on the issues that matter to the gay community. The best source for information I’ve found? The candidates themselves, in the Human Rights Campaign survey they each filled out earlier this year. These responses have been conveniently broken down here (which basically tells you the current Democratic frontrunners Obama and Hillary agree with most the gay issues).

Obviously, we all know which issue is getting the press. Marriage rights are big news in our community, and rightly so. None of the forerunners for the Democratic nomination support marriage rights; however, both have voiced support for civil unions in clear and broad terms. Edwards, too, has voiced wide ranging support for civil unions. In all cases, they include medical rights, health insurance, employer benefits and the rights and responsibilities that go along with marriage in their definition of civil unions. Edwards and Obama have publicly stated that they would support the full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, while Clinton supports only a partial repeal.

Other family-focused issues are also important within our community. Adoption rights, immigration rights and more affect the daily lives of many gay Americans. Clinton, Obama and Edwards have all voiced support for these issues as they impact our community. All three candidates have reached out to the gay community in a way we have not seen before. While it may not be adequate or enough, it is an improvement.

While the family-centered issues may be in the news, many other issues also impact our lives, sometimes in far more difficult ways. All of the candidates in the Democratic primary support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the repeal of the don’t ask, don’t tell policy in the US military and strongly worded hate crime legislation. All three candidates actively support HIV funding, prevention and research

It quickly becomes clear that the differences may be fairly minimal for our community. We are left to make our choice on details, emotion, and personality. We are left to consider who is the most likely to win the general election, and who fits all the other criteria we each deem important. I think I’ve made my choice. Have you made your decision for Super Tuesday?

HIV funding, both on a national and international scale, is a significant issue to many of us within the queer community. Sadly, far too many of us have been personally touched by this. While even the current administration has increased the budget for funding health care, housing and cash assistance, and prevention, there are many problems with the current funding strategies, both within the US and outside its borders.How does funding play out in your neighborhood and your community? First, the good news: funding has increased from 2006 to 2007, in nearly every budget area, from providing for health care to housing and cash assistance. Unfortunately, there is somewhat more bad news than good. Funding is not adequate to provide for even the basic needs created by this epidemic, with long waitlists for medications, struggles with Medicaid payments for health care providers and more. Moreover, again the current administration’s emphasis on abstinence only sex education, which fails both straight and queer young people,  has left some youth without the prevention information that they critically need. Some 50% of new infections are diagnosed in people under 25, and new CDC testing recommendations for routine HIV testing are likely to stretch an already tight budget even further.

The US is responsible for a significant portion of the international funding, under the heading of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). US funding, currently in the amount of 3.9 billion dollars earmarked for international HIV funding, comes with some strings attached. The most worrisome of these is a requirement that some 33% of funding go to abstinence only resources. This is, without a doubt, one of the most significant flaws in the overall plan for international funding a response to this crisis, as well as one of the major problems with funding for prevention programs in the US as well.

Need more information?

• Kff.org/hivaids/7029.cfm offers breakdowns of US budget funding for HIV in 2007 and prior years.
• Gmhc.org/policy/federal/pres_report.pdf will give you a look at where the current presidential candidates stand on funding issues.
• Whitehouse.gov/infocus/hivaids offers more information on PEPFAR.
• Avert.org/aidsmoney.htm provides a practical breakdown of funding for the international HIV crisis.
• Apa.org/releases/sexeducation.html details the flaws in abstinence only sex education with regard to prevention efforts.

If you want to help, consider consulting your local organizations that assist those in your community with HIV or AIDS. Many of the community based grassroots organizations in our communities need help, not only in terms of funding, but also are on the lookout for willing volunteers. While no one of us can end the crisis on an international scale, we can work locally in prevention and advocacy.

Organizations I was not impressed with are the AIDS Healthcare Foundation who are currently threatening litigation against the porn industry for not making condoms mandatory.  I do not think litigation nor the loss of another right such as the choice of condoms is the way to go.  I feel that emphasis needs to be put on an organization to put their support out there for HIV infected individuals and raise money for these people and for a cure and a vaccine.  We need mostly a cure or a vaccine or better HIV meds in the pipeline and we should put our money into these types of organizations instead.

Born Richard Allen Lehmkuhl, Reichen is best know for winning season four of the US game show ‘Amazing Race’ with his then partner Chip Arndt. He is, basically, what you would call an all American hunk. He’s been in the Air Force where he rose to the rank of Captain before leaving and has since been an advocate of gay rights in the military. After leaving the Air Force and before becoming famous for Amazing Race he worked as a physics teacher and flight instructor, so this gorgeous bodied god also has a brain. And who says you can’t have everything? Reichen has.But it’s as a model that we’re interested in him and, in 2005 and 2006 he brought out nude and semi-nude calendars. Now he has his own website “Reichen.us” and it is this that I am going to look at next.

On the home page here you can find links to all areas of the site plus external links to his MySpace page and his fans’ forum, so you can get fully personal with him on several levels. The site shifts nicely from page to page, the forum opens in a new window and you will have to register for free to join in with it.

Also on his personal site there is some background information about him in his biography which also carries a great portrait of his gorgeous face and then there is a photo gallery. The ten or so pics here are not the sexy kind; they are snaps from his personal life so you can see him with his friends. You will also find a link to where you can buy his book ‘Here’s what we’ll say’ in which he chronicles his life and times as a gay man in the US Air Force Academy. You come away from the site getting the impression that here is a guy who became famous through TV but used that fame to the advantage of others. Which can only be a good thing and I am sure that it is for this work that he would like to be known, rather than for his relationship with pop singer Lance Bass (‘N Sync), though that is a big part of his life too.

Having had a quick look around his site I wanted to see if I could find you anything more erotic and so did another search on the net. There are some nice topless shots and a couple of him in underwear to be found on mostbeautifulman.com where the page on which he is featured also links to nine images and a gossip blog with pics of him and other famous and beautiful stars.

Narrowing my search to images only I came across misterworld.blogspot.com where I found a nude shot, profile though so a bit of a tease and techstickle where there were some other erotic (but not completely revealing) shots of him and he certainly is a hunk. He’s got a great body, a great smile and the more I see of him the more I like him. And apparently you can see even more of him on Dante’s Cove, which is not TV show I’ve seen before so I hope this isn’t old news. Also, check elquemon.blogspot.com for some more information about this topic.

So is he a male pin up? A celebrity? A campaigner for equal rights in the forces? What exactly is Reichen Lehmkuhl? You will have to work that one out for yourself. I think he is something of a mix of all of those things and then some more on top. He’s got that rare combination of good looks and a good heart and that’s enough to convert me from a researcher into a fan.

I am really saddened and shocked to hear of the death of Heath Ledger especially at such a young age of 28.  Brokeback Mountain was one of my favorite all time movies.  Heath was picky about his scripts that he took part in… he turned down many teen movies and always went for the scripts he believed in.

It is such a shame that the media keeps making it sound like Heath Ledger may have committed suicide.  My search on google news I see headline after headline seizing on the fact that he was taking prescription drugs and sleeping pills.  I am leaning more towards the fact that sometimes you keep taking sleeping pills on accident because you may build tolerance to them and feel that they do not keep you asleep.  I have heard of several deaths that are related to sleeping pills in the last year and wonder if they are the devil.  But they are so nice to have when you have insomnia like I do.  So I do not really know what to believe.

I think that he may have been tired and could not fall asleep and may have tried everything possible to sleep.  Just like we all do.  That does not in any way mean someone tried to commit suicide… it means they were trying to fall asleep!  Screw these idiots who sit there and judge someone because they have sleeping pills near their bed.  Nancy Grace and all the talking heads should quit trying to make this something that it is not.  This certainly is not anything like we had with Kirk Cobain who overdosed on Heroin.

They called yesterday the most depressing day of the year but I think today could have been that day.  The U.S. stock market has been falling like the icebergs into the ocean (and the American Dollar), the Democrats are fighting like they are in different parties and possibly hurting a chance of winning against the Neo-cons, and there just seems to be more and more depressing news out of Hollywood.

The stupid paparrazi will just not leave poor Britney alone so I guess she will commit suicide soon because that is what these jerks want.  They tried it with Mariah Carey but she eventually came back and they tried it with Princess Diana and they had their way.

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I figured since it was a time for new years resolutions and being somewhat healthier we could dive into energy drinks. The media has long hated energy drinks when mixed with alcohol and some laws have even been passed.

So what is all the media hype about Red Bull and Vodka? Well there are rumors out that it goes in your bloodstream faster than other drinks because it’s carbonated or the ingredients in the drink make you drunk faster. But what about the other carbonated drinks such as rum and coke, seven and soda, and the list goes on.

Energy drinks and alcohol. Some recent entries in the energy drink market contain alcohol. But whether purchased as an all-in-one product or with alcohol added separately, it’s important to note that there are particular dangers to imbibing spiked energy drinks since they contain both stimulants and a depressant (the alcohol). The stimulants mask the fatigue that normally serves to signal that you’ve had too much to drink and it’s time to quit. They may also reduce perceived impairment, and lead inexperienced kids (adults too, for that matter) to believe that they are more sober than they actually are. That can lead to poor judgment… and sometimes serious accidents. The fact that these substances are combined can also affect how they are metabolized, leading to the potential for serious medical problems when done in excess, and/or by people who are vulnerable, including those on prescription or OTC medications. -from BottomLine Secrets Health Newsletter

Is Sugar Free Red Bull healthier than regular Red Bull?
No. The regular Red Bull has real sugar as opposed to the sugar substitute (chemicals) you get in “sugar free.”

Where did Red Bull come from?
Red Bull was the first energy drink of its kind especially in the club scene which was derived from an exotic drink in Thailand. Krating Daeng, the foundation of Red Bull, has been one of the top-selling drinks in Thailand since the ‘70s. Two entrepreneurs took this local favorite with a barely pronounceable name, changed it to Red Bull, tweaked the recipe for European tastes, and now have branded it as the world’s original energy drink. This drink has become so popular that you see companies such as Pepsi and Coke creating Monster and RockStar.