Today’s show is all about Colin Powell’s death from complications associated with Covid, and his mixed legacy as an African-American trailblazer, who was the first Black US Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and National Security Adviser, who also had a few blots on his record, including his support for banning gays from […] The post Colin Powell’s mixed legacy appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

Today’s podcast is an interview with Dixon Osburn, an old friend and colleague who was one of the key players in the repeal of the US military’s ban on gay service members, the infamous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Dixon has a new book out about the history of DADT, “Mission Possible: The Story of […] The post The History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

In his captivating memoir, famed sex columnist Alexander Cheves details his childhood as the football-playing son of evangelical Christians, growing up on a farm and doing missionary work. There are the universal queer experiences of adolescent sexual experimentation, unrequited crushes, and the fear of being exposed. But those are the calm parts of the roller […] The post As wholesome as Folsom: Alexander Cheves’ kinky and brilliant memoir, My Love Is a Beast: Confessions appeared first ..read more

In today’s podcast, Cliff and I talk about Lindsey Graham having the vapors of the new omnibus LGBT rights legislation in Congress, then we talk about guns, the filibuster, immigration, and some concerns we have about Biden’s new tax bill — it just might hit the middle class, including you and me — and why […] The post Lindsey Graham (R-Hot Mess) appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

The deadly attack on three Asian-American-run massage parlors in Atlanta, killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women, has put the spotlight yet again on the rise in violence against Asian-Americans over the last year. Subscribe now The police say it’s still too early to know whether the Atlanta attack was racially-motivated, but regardless […] The post Asian-Americans pay the price for Trump’s hate appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

Rising Democratic star Congressman-elect Ritchie Torres (D-NY) joins us to talk about his recent election to Congress as the first African-American and Latino member of Congress to be openly-gay, his views on Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, the transition, the stimulus bill, and his legislative goals for 2021. He’s such an impressive guy. You […] The post Cong.-elect Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Trump, Biden and 2021 appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

There has never been an openly-gay (or transgender, for that matter) US Cabinet secretary. And it’s not clear that we’re getting one now. Why does it even matter? Read on. Over the past 30 years, gays have gone from being considered a federal workforce security risk — I passed the Foreign Service Exam in 1989 […] The post Will there ever be a gay Cabinet secretary? appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

Americans aren’t “hardened” to Coronavirus deaths. For most of us, the deaths were never real in the first place. Sure, if you lived in New York City, you probably knew people who got seriously ill, or worse. Still, even many New Yorkers went back to business as usual once the perceived threat had abated. But […] The post The Covid Pietà appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

My longtime friend and colleague, Dana Beyer, who is a trans woman, joins us to talk about all things transgender. Cliff and I approached this episode from the perspective that there are no dumb questions. Dana heartily agreed. So, hopefully, you’ll learn something new about an issue that’s increasingly in the news. We talk about […] The post Trans 101: An introduction to transgender issues, with guest Dana Beyer appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

Fordham Law Professor Jed Shugerman explains the Supreme Court's historic LGBT rights decision outlawing job discrimination against gay and trans people. The post Today’s landmark LGBT Supreme Court decision explained by Fordham Law Prof. Jed Shugerman appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more