<> The release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince will be pushed back until Summer 2009.

<> Jared Polis wins the Democratic primary in Colorado's 2nd district for the U.S. House beating out former state senator Joan Fitz-Gerald while running as an openly gay man. The heavily democratic district almost certainly means he'll be going to Washington this fall.

<> Michael Phelps continues to rack up gold medals - currently has 6 gold medals from the 2008 Olympics. Consumes 11,000 calories per day. Gets a nap in the afternoon?

<> Isaac Hayes - voice of South Park's Chef - dies at age 65. Bernie Mac dies at age 50 of pneumonia complications.

<> Edwards the cheater? Relentless media keeps spinning the story over and over and over. Alan Colmes snaps during Edwards panel.

<> Manhunt.net Co-Founder Jonathan Crutchley contributes $2300 to the McCain campaign. After days of intense membership cancellations Crutchley was asked to step down as Chairman of the Board.

<> Hillary Clinton will be nominated and have her name announced during the role call at the Democratic Convention in Denver. Marc Ambinder reports that Obama/Clinton tensions are fabricated - mostly by the Republican National Committee.

AND THE LATEST CAMPAIGN ADS OF THE WEEK:

Last week John McCain released his attack ad on Barack Obama where he compared his celebrity status to that of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Now, Paris has her very own rebuttal.

Paris' mother, Kathy Hilton, criticized the McCain campaign for their "Celebrity" ad. She says, "It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States."

It may be just me but I am baffled at how terrible the McCain campaign has been these last several weeks. I used to just not like John McCain because I thought he was a pretend "maverick" that sucked on most of the issues that I care about. Now, I've grown so disgusted by him that seeing him makes me puke a little in my mouth. Does this guy even have any policies?

Which brings me to the McCain camps last two attack ads on Barack Obama. First we had the Britney Spears/Paris Hilton ad that praised Obama for being the worlds biggest celebrity and chided him for not supporting off shore drilling. Now "Juvenile" McCain has released another web ad that compares Obama to Moses.

I can't begin to tell you how absolutely angry this whole political process has made me. I am pissed that virtually every outlet in the MSM (that's mainstream media, btw) has given John "Juvenile" McCain the easy ride. How come Obama gets called presumptuous for doing what EVERY single candidate before him has done? He starts planning for a White House transition - which Bush & Kerry both did in 2004 at this time - and he's not congratulated for being prepared he's called arrogant and presumptuous. I might be going out on a limb here but might that be because he's a relatively young, black man? And for those of you "conservatives" that might be reading this blog and think - "See those liberals all think everyone is racist!" - step back and look at how this has played out against Barack thus far.

They question his patriotism, they question the validity of his birth certificate, they call him Muslim (not in an attempt to classify his religion but to associate him with "those" types of Muslims), they call him elitist, they call him presumptuous, they call him "the chosen one".

How can anyone come to any other conclusion? Perhaps after 8 years of Bush we've grown accustomed to setting the bar really, really low and anything above that is considered arrogant, elitist or presumptuous.

Anyways, it's been disappointing to not see a higher caliber out of this election. And, while these McCain ads are humorous (mostly because they are terrible) it's a shame that the candidates McCain campaign is not talking about issues that actually matter. Like the economy, health care, and the war.

Does Barack Obama have a secret life of being a male model? We know he was a community organizer on Chicago's southside but I'm not so sure that he wasn't also a model.

It's hard to tell, isn't it?

Senator Barack Obama has decided to forgo public financing of his Presidential campaign. Already John McCain is trying to use this decision to his advantage by calling Obama a 'flip-flopper'. The truth is John McCain refused to participate by conditions to be negotiated by both sides. McCain - like many other Republicans before him - will allow "independent" 527's to raise millions of dollars to run smear campaigns against Obama.

Obama has already asked 527's and PAC's to instead send donors to his campaign and has been successful at putting the brakes on many independent efforts - McCain doesn't wield that same power.

That is one of the reasons that Obama has decided to side with another type of public financing - that of millions of Americans giving what they can. He doesn't accept money from lobbyists or special interest PAC's.

You can hear him in his own words below talking about his decision.

One of the hot button issues for the past few years that continues to come up from people on all points of the political spectrum is healthcare. And more specifically, healthcare reform.

Many of the presidential candidates have dedicated significant airtime to talking about the issue. Well, of course, except John McCain who says we don't have a problem at all.

BUT, that's not why I'm posting.

So, I just got back from Walgreens where my partner picked up some prescriptions. Last month when he picked up some prescriptions it cost him $245 on my insurance. (My employer has domestic partner benefits so I was glad to get him on my insurance - though my insurance sucks.) Well, his new insurance kicked in so with his new insurance he only paid...

Ok, guess how much he paid? Last month he paid $245 with my insurance. Did he pay $430, maybe $100, or $50.

NOPE. He paid $2! Just $1 as a co-pay per prescription.

Now how does the same prescription cost $245 one month and then $2 the next month. That is seriously flawed.

Sen. Barack Obama recently pledged to prioritize healthcare in his first 100 days - if elected President this November.

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I GOT A CRUSH ON GIULIANI: Taking a page from Obama Girl - the Venetian Princess brings us her version of "Crush." The video is a collaboration with the talented JackDanyells who came up with the concept.

I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON FRED THOMPSON'S POLITICS: Written and recorded by James Kole.

I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON HILARY DUFF: So it's a bit outside of politics here - barely - but this video by the adorable Scott Cain is immensely enjoyable.

I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON OBAMA: From the girl that started it all here is Obama Girl's video starring Amber Lee Ettinger.

PLANETOUT GOING BELLY-UP?
PlanetOut Inc. has recently announced they will close their international offices in London and Buenos Aires. "While we plan to continue serving our global audience, we made this decision to streamline our business operations and reduce expenses," said Karen Magee, chief executive officer, PlanetOut Inc. PlanetOut was saved from bankruptcy by the Microsoft Mogul, Bill Gates, when his company, Cascade Investment LLC, invested $26.2 million in the struggling company. PlanetOut also owns The Advocate, Out, and Gay.com - among others.

MILWAUKEE BLACK GAY PRIDE
The organizers of Milwaukee's Black Gay Pride recently announced that Jennifer Holiday will be their national entertainer. The festival is put on by Charles "D" Productions and will run from August 12-19, 2007.

MINNEAPOLIS TO GET LGBT CENTER?
OutFront Minnesota is currently in discussions with Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman about the possibility of developing a LGBT community center on property known as the "meter farm" at 15th and Nicollet Avenue South. OutFront Minnesota is the state-wide LGBT equality organization but does not have a "community center" location in Minnesota.

"WE'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY": GAY PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
On August 9th the U.S. Presidential candidates will face-off in the first-ever Gay Presidential Debate. The debate will take place in Los Angeles and is being organized by LOGO and the Human Rights Campaign. The debate originally excluded Sen. Mike Gravel because he hadn't raised enough money but now Sen. Gravel will be included - among Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich and Bill Richardson - and the debate will be expanded to 90 minutes.