• Ruben Solorio has been arrested in connection with the 2005 murder of Arizona-based drag queen, Amancio Corrales. Hooray!

• Get the low down on Sao Paulo Pride parties. Be sure to send us a postcard. And a Brazilian.

• David Banda's the cutest of all Madonna's "stolen" African babies!

• Focus on The Family seems to think that New York state law defines marriage as "between a man and a woman". Good As You calls "bullshit".

• The United Kingdom's foremost expert on sex change operations, Dr. Russell Reid, has been found guilty of professional misconduct after rushing five patients into surgery without following proper procedure.

• Scream screenwriter and known homosexual Kevin Williamson has a new soap: Hidden Palms. AfterElton describes it as a blend between The OC and Desperate Housewives. Sounds juicy shitty interesting...

• It's Fleet Week and this sailor's looking for some action. Also, has a crush on his drill sergeant, no foresight (he included his picture).

• Some people may take offense at Best Week Ever calling this man a "scary tranny", but nothing else fits. Except, maybe, for Norman Bates.

It's Friday, reader. You know what that means - it's Queerty ReBUTTal time! Yay!

You guys did super with the comments. Really. Just super - lisp and all. While we have plenty of thoughts on your thoughts on our thoughts, we're switching it up these week. As you're well aware, we've just kicked off The Style Issue.

Before things go too far, however, we'd like to have a brief look back on some of our other issues and some of the bits that didn't make it. Take a look at some unpublished excerpts, after the jump.

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Rosie O'Donnell couldn't handle all the on-stage (and back-stage) battles at The View. ABC has announced that the lesbian comedienne will not be completing her contract, which was meant to expire on June 30th. President of daytime programming Brian Frons released a statement,

We had hoped that Rosie would be with us until the end of her contract three weeks from now, but Rosie has informed us that she would like an early leave. Therefore, we part ways, thank her for her tremendous contribution to The View and wish her well.

He went on to say, "She may be a loudmouth monster, but she kept our show in the news. We're all fucked."

Meanwhile, Barbara Walters - The View's mama and O'Donnell's original champion - told concerned citizens:

I brought Rosie to the show. Rosie contributed to one of our most exciting and successful years at The View. I am most appreciative. Our close and affectionate relationship will not change.

For her part, O'Donnell insists she loves her co-hosts, even Elisabeth Hasselbeck and enjoyed her time making headlines, making enemies and making dough.

Now, it's back to the unemployment line. And poor Hasselbeck can finally unclench her asshole!

Rosie O'Donnell Out at `The View' [SF Chronicle]

Catholics are waging war against Bill Maher, who recently took some time to not mourn Evangelical Reverend Jerry Falwell.

During his riotous oration on his HBO show, Real Time with Bill Maher, the 51-year old comedian suggested that gays may gain more rights if we just started a rear-ended religion and offered some clever excuses for gay sex:

We weren't having sex, officer, I was performing a very private Mass, here in my car. I was letting my rod and staff comfort him. Take this and eat of it, for this is my roommate Barry.

Hilarious, right? Not according to conservative media watchdog group, Media Research Center.

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• We're not sure what's funnier - the fact that a bird took a shit on President Bush or that ABC News actually used the word "poop".

• HX Media's Boston rag, In Newsweekly., found itself in the papers this week when associate publisher Bill Berggren's criminal past came back to haunt him. It seems Berggren has been arrested for a number of incidents and some questioned his role as leader for Boston's Pride Committee. Rather than cause a stink, Berggren stepped down voluntarily. And Berggren ain't the only one on Innews' stepping down. From Boston's Weekly Dig:

In the last few weeks, their masthead has gotten a lot lighter in its loafers—editor James Lopata has left the building, as have distributor Thomas Kilduff and associate editor Alexander Sliwinski... We hear grumbling in the streets, too, that their freelancers haven’t been paid in eons.

The blurb goes on to suggest euthanasia. Ouch.

• You know what would help the African continent's millions of AIDS patients? Doctors. Too bad there's a shortage.

• Jenny Bailey can now call herself the United Kingdom's first trannie mayor, thus crushing our life long dreams...

• South African hooker outs celebrities, media refuses to pass names along.

• Mitt Romney doesn't hate gays:

I oppose discrimination against gay people. I am not anti-gay. I know there are some Republicans, or some people in the country who are looking for someone who is anti-gay and that’s not me.

Wait, isn't trying to stomp gay marriage discriminatory?

Style's more than just fashion. It's more than just clothing, bags and all that other couture clutter. It's the details, the thoughts and the theories that go into the minutiae of our everyday existence.

Style's the painting you picked up at the flea market, technologically-advanced fabrics, an poet's sonnet, young designers, the way you crack a joke, the way you brush your teeth. Over the next few weeks we'll be exploring the ins and outs of what we feel are some of the most "stylish" people, places and things. But, never fear, we will be talking about fashion. You gotta look good, right?

One-half NelSon knows a thing of two about looking good. The New York artist and party promoter has made a career of it. NelSon's look didn't spring from some fashionista caldron. It's a plotted, polished piece of work that stems as much from a creative spirit as a need to communicate.

We wanted to pass his word along, so we asked Interview's Justin Conner to sit down with the one known as NelSon. Of course Conner had no trouble tracking NelSon down - those kids have been vamping it up together for years. And on this particular night, they found themselves at Mr. Black, where NelSon hosts a weekly Thursday party, "Feelings".

Get a feeling for NelSon's fashion philosophy, performative personality and stylish spirit, after the jump. We promise one-half NelSon will have your heart in a strong hold!!

(Oh, c'mon! We couldn't resist. That's our style. And we'll be flashing it tonight at "Feelings". No doubt we want to see yours.)

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Do queer singers have a responsibility to sing about queer things? According to Jake Shears and his Scissor Sisters, no. The American popsters recently sat down with Me-me-me to discuss the art of queering it up. Or, rather, not queering it up.

Debating whether or not the band's so-called queerness informs their music, Shears insists,

I think it’s shaped our aesthetic. There are no gay lyrics, it’s all totally coded. If you’re looking for a gay message, you totally have to dig.

He goes on,

I’m not interested in singing about gay people... I wanted the music to be accessible. I don’t want to appeal to just a tenth of the population.

The interviewer presses the issue, explaining that straight people identify with "straight" music, so it follows that gay people should be able to identify with 'gay" music. To this the openly gay Shears claims that being gay is but a mere part of his identity and admits that he finds queer-centric tunes to be a bit of a bore...

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• San Francisco's Department of Human Services has launched an ad campaign to recruit gay parents to adopt.

• Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle have clarified their report on the aforementioned ad campaign. The newspaper originally cited Family Research Council's Paul Cameron as an "expert" on the matter. They neglected, however, to mention that he's been debunked by the American Psychological Association and hates gay people. Oops!

• On that note: the APA formed a "task force" to review research on ex-gay conversion therapy. Oh, we're sorry - "therapeutic responses". APA president Dr. Sharon Stephens Brehm bursts with joy: "I am pleased to announce the initiation of this task force. Its work will be of significant value as it will help inform all mental health practitioners about appropriate and effective therapeutic responses to sexual orientation. I look forward to the group's report." That could be good for the children.

• National Runaway Switchboard has published a new brochure for gay teens, "Being Out, Being Safe". NRS director Maureen Blaha remarks, "Research shows that LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to exhibit the symptoms of major depression than heterosexual youth -- which may lead to a runaway episode". Be sure to pack a lunch!

• "Shirley Q. Liquor" - a black face drag comedienne - did an interview with Rollingstone. Jasmyne Cannick - a black sappho-journo - wrote a rebuttal. NSFC (Not safe for children).

• In other baby-related news, here's a baby playing with a cobra! No word on whether the parents are gay.

• Pictures of celebrities smoking pot. Grownup children!!

• Plague strikes Denver zoo! Do not take your kids there. They will die. And so will you... (In fact, don't go to Colorado at all.)

• Looking for a movie about 1980s Liverpool gay teens who venture into a magical trans bar? Well, look no further: The Fruit Machine's out on DVD. Now you can go to the Denver zoo.

Commercial Closet - the non-profit "non-watchdog" group dedicated to celebrating and chastising pro and anti-gay ads, respectively - has announced their nominees for the 2007 Images in Advertising Awards.

Among the nominees, concerned consumers will find ads from, yes, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs' bear-y friendly bear hug adverts, and the always gay friendly.

Meanwhile, Holiday Inn, NBC Universal and Sony Playstation have all been nominated for the dreaded "clean-up your act warning" - um - award.

The New York Post ran a blind item this morning in which they intimated that an anti gay-marriage Brooklyn-based politician has been shacking up in Manhattan with her lesbian partner.

Well, those insatiable political gossips over at BlogActive did some digging and found an advert in the Gay City News reading:

Please call Assemblywoman Helene E. Weinstein from Brooklyn, chair of the Committee on Judiciary and ask her why she refuses to sponsor the same sex marriage legislation. Please education her as to why our same sex relationships matter and our right to marry is a civil rights issue. She can be reached at her office: 718-648-4700.

This politically motivated advert - which also thanks marriage supporters, such as openly gay Senator Tom Duane - led BlogActive to assume Weinstein to be the Post's politician. And it turns out they may be right:

Numerous activists and political sources in calls and emails with BlogActive have confirmed that Weinstein is the Assemblywoman mentioned in the New York Post item.

Are we the only ones who find the prospect of a lying labia-lover refreshing? Seriously, we usually have to deal with all those cock suckers - this is a welcome change of pace.

It may strike some of you as queer that The Advocate chose actor TR Knight for the cover of their annual Pride issue. His may have been one of the most anticlimactic coming outs in homo history. The events leading up to the Grey’s Anatomy star’s October 19, 2006 People-hosted revelation were far too explosive to afford Knight a proper, prideful arena.

Co-star Isaiah Washington had an altercation with another Grey’s actor, Patrick Dempsey, reportedly shouting, “I'm not your little faggot like [redacted].” Tongues immediately started wagging and the media – including ourselves – began speculating as to whom Washington referred. More than a few fingers pointed at the initially timorous TR...

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A contentious queer novel has returned to the Rochester, New York's Webster School District's summer reading list.

Alex Sanchez's Rainbow Boys tells the story of teeny-bopper faglings coming into their out own. And, needless to say, the story caused a bit of a stir, but garnered even more praise.

The book's 2001 publication led School Library Journal to plead: "...Please, have the courage to make [Rainbow Boys] available to those who need it — it can open eyes and change lives." Regardless, Webster officials worried the text crossed a few too many lines, particularly lines of the sexual variety. Unsure of the explicit carnal content (not the homosexual overtones) they removed the book from its summer reading list, thus making it ineligible for the two essays due come September. The book would remain available in the library.

Sanchez, however, cried "censorship"...

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