Pinko Magazine Member since June 19, 2008

Even though I'm inclined to believe that only a benevolent dictator can stop our slide into rising seas, there is a critical energy/global warming bill up for a vote today. It's far from perfect but if you are inclined to think - as I am - that it's a foot in the door for important policy changes and that it's a foundation for something better, you should make a quick call to your Representative people. Here's how.

LeBron James and gay politics; a few resources to make sense of healthcare reform; more Fox News antics; remaking Paris and more.

Watch this whole video - it’s short and pretty remarkable. A 20-year old intern for the advocacy organization Public Citizen set up an offshore Panamanian tax haven. Public Citizen produced the video as a serious debate over the pending Panama free trade agreement begins to heat up in Congress. Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) is leading a coalition of House Democrats in an effort to slow the Obama administration in case it plans to move forward on the agreement.

One of the most interesting side-effects of climate change as a political issue is the proliferation of goods springing up that are “green” and all-natural. The “LOHAS” (lifestyles of health and sustainability) market is huge, and companies like Loomstate are mainstreaming organic clothing. Underwear is no exception, as a range of natural briefs are up for grabs. Almost all of them feature organic cotton or bamboo and non-toxic dyes. Some of them look good; some are pretty doomed. Since I’m gay, I thought we’d go entirely with a slideshow featuring men, as an overview of the best and worst in organic briefs. Unlike our “daily briefs,” these photos are all full size so you are free to “enjoy PinkoMag.com” in whatever godless, disgusting way you like. Yes, Paul, we’re looking at you.
Anyway here goes! Our second slideshow ever! Remember to click fullscreen for the best experience.
SLIDESHOW: Best and worst organic mens briefs.
View more presentations from Ben Wyskida.

Like we said... nothing to do with Miss California.
We are waiting for a couple of new pieces from our contributors, including an organic beer piece that we’ve literally been promising for years. Anyway, Ben just sent me an email and told me to stall, so in the meantime, here are five items that we thought deserved your attention.
1) The History Chanel is stepping away from its typical fair and airing 16 new programs including The Naturalized,  a special from Jon Stewart’s Busboy Productions. According to broadcastingcable.com the show will follow 8 people as they navigate their way through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Busboy is known for producing The Colbert Report and Important Things with Demetri Martin. It’ll be interesting to see how they treat the material. Also, we hope it somehow becomes a platform to make Jim Cramer look like an asshole. You have to write what you know, right?
2) Speaking of documentaries and, ahem, assholes… Conservative politicians like our good friend “Crarry Laig” are the subject of a new film by This Film Is Not Yet Rated’s Kirby Dick. The film, which looks to out gay politicians who support anti-gay legislation, got a bit of free publicity this week when NPR spiked their review. The reason? NPR’s review made mention of the people featured in the film, which they deamed to be a violation of their privacy. Well Duh! You could have gotten that much from the poster. In a related note Charlie Crist is skipping a gubnatorial reelection bid to run for Senate. Either he is looking to make a run for president in 2012, or he is looking to get in on the hot beltway action. Nudge nudge wink wink.
Here is the trailer. Apparently people with blurry faces are all gay.

3) In Vauban, Germany 70 percent of families do not own cars. The reason? No street parking, driveways or garages. It is ok to own a car, but you have to park it in one of two garages on the outskirts of town. And besides, the streets are car-free

One of the most interesting side-effects of climate change as a political issue is the proliferation of goods springing up that are “green” and all-natural. The “LOHAS” (lifestyles of health and sustainability) market is huge, and companies like Loomstate are mainstreaming organic clothing. Underwear is no exception, as a range of natural briefs are up for grabs. Almost all of them feature organic cotton or bamboo and non-toxic dyes. Some of them look good; some are pretty doomed. Since I’m gay, I thought we’d go entirely with a slideshow featuring men, as an overview of the best and worst in organic briefs. Unlike our “daily briefs,” these photos are all full size so you are free to “enjoy PinkoMag.com” in whatever godless, disgusting way you like. Yes, Paul, we’re looking at you.
Anyway here goes! Our second slideshow ever! Remember to click fullscreen for the best experience.
SLIDESHOW: Best and worst organic mens briefs.
View more presentations from Ben Wyskida.

We spent a lot of time on political strategy here at Pinko - the smart moves and the ridiculous ways Republicans embarrass themselves more and more each day. It was a pretty wild week in politics - from party changing and another round of Palin pregnancy pandemic to a ridiculous dijon dustup. For our what’s hot/what’s not list this weekend, we  review some of the biggest political do’s and don’ts from the week that was. To the list!


Gay Marry It
This photo from that Lower Manhattan flyover. It’s actually really nice. Good photo op! Do more of that! 
Abort It
Oh  right. Actually wait, don’t do that. The Lower Manhattan flyover made everyone think 9-11 was happening again; that’s bad. The responsible White House official quit on Friday. 
Gay Marry It
Sarah Palin’s plummeting poll numbers. After months of focusing on her national ambitions, Alaska voters have started to question her commitment to the state. Keep doing that Sarah. 
Abort It
Memo to Bristol Palin: Preaching “abstinence is the only way” is probably an unfortunate choice? Also is there any doubt that Greta Van Susteren of Fox News is totally doing the first dude? Don’t do it Greta! 
Gay Marry It
Well fuck. Former Bush Spokesperson Dana Perino is right about this one: Democrats, the media and environmentalists should be protesting President Obama’s decision about polar bears and the Endangered Species Act just as hard as we did when President Bush made the same decision. The only saving grace here is that maybe Dana Perino will google herself and see that we “gay married” her. (Sidenote: Perino is now on staff at infamous PR magnate Mark Penn’s firm Burson-Marsteller. We advocated waterboarding Penn in a highly regarded six people read it feature last Spring.) 
Abort It
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. This week Salazar (a) upheld the aforementioned last-minute Bush Administration rulings on the Endangered Species Act, (b) authorized environmentally destru

Socialism is real, and it might just ruin your vacation! The Public Service Administration brings you an important message about the socialist threat to your next vacation.

The Canvass is a quick weekly roundup of  jobs, ideas, campaigns and web-redesigns-gone-wrong from the non-profit/activist world. A love-letter to beleaguered non-profit crusaders, the Canvass will also feature gossip about international aid worker debauchery and blind items about D-list celebrities who drink too much at benefits.
Well this is pretty wild. Of all the non-profits I’ve come across, “activist dogwalking” is a first. They aren’t new - here is a New York Times profile from 2003 - but they’re hiring: the “Dogwalking for Rainforests Petservice Collective” is looking urgently for an activist dogwalker. Profits are 70/30 walker, with the 30 going to support a range of  social justice groups.
Pros? It’s a logical extension of the doing-right by doing-well model. We should have progressive, politically-responsible options (Credo Mobile for phones, Better World Club, branding notwithstanding, for car service, etc.) and dog-walking is no different. I bet it’s a great way to meet like-minded people, and if the pay is good than it beats the hell out of canvassing. Why flack on a corner for the Human Rights Campaign when you can walk an awesome puppy?
Cons? Misspelling Gramercy; also the terrifying implications of these two sentences: “Carry a mug with you for your drink or what have you. Do not use any clients purchased baggies for dog poop.”
PinkoBen was in a “collective” once, in Philadelphia, so I cringe at the word. My experience involved some racy low-fi video, an open letter, two community meetings, failure to achieve consensus, a Western Massachusetts smackdown and much “calling out.” Eventually a team of radical lesbian lawyers had to sort it all out. Still, “Dogwalkers for Rainforests” seems like a worthy enterprise. If we could afford to (a) have a dog, and (b) live in lower Manhattan, than Dogwalkers for Rainforests could totally walk that dog and scoop its feces into a coffee mug and then donate it for social ju

Landline TV takes us inside the gritty world of beltway politics with this hard look at the complex lives of President Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Joe Biden and… um, Turtle.
Here is the pilot episode of Obamtourage.

Wow. Is this the best the Republican Senatorial Committee can do? Turn Kansas Senator Pat Roberts into some kind of weird hero? As PinkoSandy pointed out, all these states know how to keep people in prison and the military certainly knows how to keep people in prison. They also included Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr on this list, a child soldier captured on the battle field and hardly a master-mind terrorist to plot a dastardly escape and terrorist bombing in Kansas City. You tell ‘em Pat.

I guess when you’re the Prince of Wales it’s easy to get some heavy hitters for your ad. I have to say I think that Prince Charles really cares about this stuff; also I enjoyed the Wills and Harry cameo, receding hairlines notwithstanding. This is well done:

Since Thursday’s stunning announcement that Supreme Court Justice David Souter was stepping down to return to his “lifelong bachelor lifestyle in New Hampshire,” (how did we miss that story?) pundits and legal scholars have been looking to President Obama’s record for any hint of what kind of justice he may appoint to the highest court in the land. Will he name an “activist-judge” who will also perfom abortions from the bench? A strict constitutionalist? A stunning, “swing for the fences” pick, like naming Hillary Clinton Secretary of State?
Rather than parsing Barack Obama’s history as a legal scholar, it may be instructive to go back to the one tactical move that didn’t pan out in his first hundred days: Naming sexpot hair-daddy Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN as his Surgeon General. Clearly Obama wants more than great minds and experience in high office. He wants people that have been on television. While the pundits throw out their ideas, here is our look at the top thirteen celebrity and television judges that President Obama may be considering for the Supreme Court Vacancy.
NOTE: WATCH THIS SHIT IN “FULL SCREEN” MODE! It’s much better. Just click the funny screen icon second from the right.
Top Thirteen Television Judges Barack Obama Should Name to the Supreme Court
View more presentations from Ben Wyskida.

Who did we miss? Leave a comment!

It was so wild almost dying this week! We know, we know, 13,000 people actually already die of the flu every year. But this one was started by MEXICANS and also it almost killed President Obama (could you imagine?) so it was a very big deal. The new theory is that the swine flu is less serious than originally feared: some of the assumed swine flu deaths Mexico actually came from  natural causes (i.e. living in Mexico) and doctors now believe that swine flu is going away for the summer, but will be back to kill us all next Winter. Sleep tight. Anyway, swine flu was the highlight of a wild week in politics: from President Obama’s 100th day and Senator Arlen Specter’s partisan shuffle to the Supreme Court. Back from a week hiatus, we’re here to deliver the best and worst of the week that was. To the list!

Gay Marry It
Tamiflu, purell, soy protein.
Abort It
Confined spaces, sneezing, coughing, high school students from Queens, Miss Piggy, Mexicans, the side-eye my co-worker shot me when I spit into the trashcan at work.
Gay Marry It
Eating pork belly in the face of imminent death and global panic.
Abort It
Killing every pig in Eqypt. I didn’t know they had pigs in Egypt, but swine flu is not a reason to kill every last one of them, especially since Egypt has exactly zero reported cases of swine flu. Also a helpful suggestion? “Killing (pigs) is not a solution, otherwise, we should kill the people, because the virus spreads through them,” wrote Abdullah Kamal of the daily Rose El-Youssef.
Gay Marry It
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for not panicking: The swine flu is “a minor annoyance,” he told reporters.
Abort It
Vice President Joe Biden for freaking out. Listen: President Obama made his name by being “no drama.” So don’t tell people to stay off the subway, the airlines and all confined public spaces! While we’re at it, also don’t fly an airliner tailed by military jets at low altitude over Lower Manhattan on an ominously warm, blue

A (surprisingly slick, Current/MTV-style) video from the White House today about green jobs, featuring our old friend Van Jones doing his best Serena Altschul.

Seriously.

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

Fuck Meghan McCain. Not only is Cher an actual gay icon, but she was all over auto-tune a full decade before T-Pain. This is how it’s done kids.

The weekly Youtube address:

Thanks Nancy!

What a fuckbag. Good summary from Media Matters: