• In an interesting series of events, a West Point senior writes a thesis paper on how the military's anti-gay policies actually hurt the the armed forces they're meant to proect — and the U.S. Military gives him an award. [AP]

• In Connecticut, incumbent Joe Lieberman loses the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to newcomer Ned Lamont — though Lieberman promises to run for his seat anyhow, as an indepdendent. [NYT]

• In Philadelphia, a HIV awareness campaign ended abruptly when its message got mixed with one of stereotyping black violence. The ads urging young men to get tested for HIV – and feature "young African American men ... in the crosshairs of a gun with the tagline 'Have YOU been hit?'" – were pulled when the Black Gay Men's Leadership Council voiced concerns over the ads violent message. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

• In Iran, an underground gay magazine says "thank you" for the worldwide support of other GLBT organizations bringing attention to their push for equality. [Pink News]

• The rainbow flag waving outside a Kansas B&B comes back into the spotlight, with a local chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition planning to gather at the hotel to give the local gay community a voice. [Hutchinson News]

• In Israel, Jerusalem police have banned a demonstration in the city's centre, claiming World Pride organizers failed to limit the number of participants, supposedly for safety concerns. Demonstrators, however, are reportedly still set on holding the event. [Jerusalem Post]

• In Washington, state Medicaid officials are pushing to stop publicly funded sex-change operations. There are still two operations in the queue, and those will go ahead, and the state will remain paying for "hormone treatment and psychotherapy for low-income people diagnosed with gender-identity disorders." [Advocate]

• In Connecticut, the State Supreme Court has denied a request from the conservative Family Institute of Connecticut to get involved in a lawsuit between the state and gay couples looking for gay marriage rights. Connecticut is the second state to allow civil unions, but many advocates are pushing for full marriage rights. [AP]

• Also in Connecticut, it's the Democratic primary faceoff between Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont. If he loses, Lieberman has suggested he'll run for his U.S. Senate seat as an independent. Connecticut voters: find your polling location here. [NYT]

• In Iraq comes news that insurgents are targeting a new enemy: gay men and boys as young as 11. Reports abound of men murdered for being gay and of boys being sold as sex slaves into gangs — and in some cases, murdered. The murders, of course, fall under honor killings for Muslim families. The result? A influx of refugees in European countries. [The Observer]

• As WorldPride 2006 attendees continue to celebrate in Jerusalem, organizers are quick to express solidarity with gay Palestinians — with a demonstration taking place today. [Gay.com]

• Meanwhile, WorldPride continues to bring out the zealots, with Orthodox Jewish leaders again condemning the event for fear that turning Jersualem into a "homo city" it will bring God's wrath. [WDC Media]

• In Colorado, some 133,000 signatures are expected to be submitted by same-sex marriage foes, a move to increase pressure on voters in November who will decide on the matter at the ballot box. [Advocate]

• The United Nations is fingering the U.S. for not doing enough to protect its gay citizens. The report, released late last month, chides officials for not enacting protection laws for gays in the workplace and on the receiving end of violence. [NYB]

• After 21 years in prison, Robert Rosenkrantz is free. He left a Los Angeles jail on parole after serving a 17-year-to-life sentence for killing his best friend from high school — for telling Rosenkrantz he was gay. Judges had approved Rosenkrantz's parole appeals before but California's State Attorney General's office rebuffed his attempts. [ABC 7]

• As conservatives in Colorado beef up efforts to have the state define marriage as a union between a woman and a man – with a state constituional amendment expected to be submitted today – gay rights advocates are taking a different strategy, putting a bill supporting domestic partnerships on the ballot instead of just asking voters to strike down the other measure. [SF Chronicle]

• Connecticut's Joe Lieberman, fighting to save his U.S. Senate seat from challenger Ned Lamont, today makes a last stab at distancing himself from President Bush by criticizing him on his handling of Iraq and making sure you're aware he doesn't agree with the White House's position on stem cell research or a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. [AP]

• While some military leaders have worked hard to ensure their outfits are at least tolerant of gays, others haven't been so friendly. On the Navy's USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, homophobia runs rampant, with a video about the F-14 Tomcat (shown to reporters) depicting pilots – including the fighter squadron's commander – wearing T-shirts reading "I'm a Tomcat guy and you're a homo." While gay service men and women can be dismissed for publicly announcing their sexual orientation, harassment is supposedly prohibited. [Reuters]

• Montana Democrats aren't so interested in supporting gay marriage this time around, though their just-approved party platform calls for civil union support and "hate crime" status for crimes committed based on sexual orientation. [365 Gay]

• WorldPride 2006 kicks off this weekend in Jerusalem, despite vast efforts to have it shuttered or moved. Organizers prepare for a week of events, depsite the on-going attacks with Lebanon. [Pink News]

• Switching from California to New Mexico, three gay bashing suspects have been arrested and charged with hate crimes in the beating of an 18-year-old gay man. [Advocate]

• As Connecticut's Democratic race for U.S. Senate heats up, incumbent Joe Lieberman has decades of healthy relations with the gay community to back him against challenger Ned Lamont. [INW]

• The annual gay pride/AIDS event aimed at people of color in Queens, New York – Pride in the City – had its five year history put into jeopardy after park services officials tried to limit attendance at 1,500 (it usually reaches 5,000) and ban the live concert, supposedly an effort to curb littering and obstruction to beach goers. After plenty of media attention, the city officials relented somewhat: live music will be allowed, at a distance, but attendance will still be capped at a fraction of what's expected. [NYT]

• What's more surprising: That a Beatles album tops a British magazine's "top gay albums of all time" list, or that they managed to get people to write about it? [Contact Music]

• Who, exactly, actually buys those Now That's What I Call Music CDs? [Slate]

• Mel Gibson's camp responds to his DUI behavior, which has been the source of an alleged police-led cover-up. Wait, what cover-up? [TMZ, Deadline Hollywood, AP]

• It's one thing for fellow Democrats to turn their backs on Joe Lieberman. It's another thing for the New York Times. [Salon]

• Shouldn't there be a law protecting bloggers who choose to air the sexcapades with public officials? [Slate]

• Prince's soon-to-be-ex-wife Manuela Testolini Nelson won't just walk away with a fat divorce settlement — she'll have a fragrance deal lined up, too. [Canada National Post]

Sen. Joe Lieberman has reminded us again why he needs to get the boot from the Senate with a new retro cartoon ad that unveils his campaign's new strategy against challenger Ned Lamont. We call the strategy "Queer the Opposition," which is what the ad is doing by portraying Lamont as a little bear with a high-pitched voice wearing a pink Polo shirt (a "bear cub"?).

Ostensibly the point of the ad is to paint Lamont as a follower of Lowell Weicker, the former Senator who lost to Joe Lieberman in 1988, but the underlying message, which somehow comes across far clearer than the verbal one, is that Lamont is a sissy, and you shouldn't vote for sissies.

We urge all of our sissy readers to contact Joe Lieberman if you're as displeased with this ad as we are. You can call (860) 549-8463 or email him here.

Also, if you believe in progressive values, please consider donating money to Ned Lamont's campaign. His victory in November would be a big step towards setting the Democratic Party back on the right track.

Watch the campaign commercial after the jump.

[Read On ...]