David Jon Acosta refuses to be referred to as a "fashion designer," which is certainly queer for someone who spent their life savings starting a t-shirt company, Gold Saturn. Acosta explains, "I don't consider myself a fashion designer. I love fashion, yes, but I'm not into construction. I don't like to sew. I like graphic design, so I put my two loves together. I consider myself a graphic designer, because it's the graphic that makes the shirt special."

And judging by the graphics, you can be sure there's more to the story…

CONTINUED »

Miami's pollsters sure are sneaky - and that's a good thing!

The Florida city's January 29th ballot will contain a little publicized bill called the "Citizens' Bill of Rights". In addition to aesthetic concerns - like clean air - the measure also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Since hearing the news, right wing activists are pledging to vote against it, reports the Miami Herald. Such a reaction isn't surprising, nor is gay activist Ron Brenesky's reaction: "I'm shocked. I commend the city for trying to do this. I commend the spirit, but not the method. We should have been aware. At least we would have gotten our people out to vote."

Certainly voters deserve to know - and should know - exactly how their vote will effect local politics, the relative secrecy around the Bill may actually be a strength.

Imagine if the social conservatives had caught wind of the queer aspects earlier - they would rally as if their little lives depended on defeating the measure. At least this way our proverbial enemies can't get their shit together in time to quash potential equality!

• Amy Winehouse popped into her husband Blake's court hearing today. As you can see, the singer went through loads of trouble getting gussied up. Sort of…

• The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld digs into South Carolina's pre-primary policy.

• The Democratic National Committee included trans delegates during 2004's convention. So where are the trannies during this race?

• Laura Kiritsy probes Florida's potential gay nuptial ban.

• Jack Mackenroth needs your help!

CONTINUED »

Phillip Bleicher and his legal team waste no time.

They're already working on a lawsuit against Miami Florida, where city officials ruled Bleicher must relocate his porn palace.

CONTINUED »

Bad news for porn lovers. Porn impresario Phillip Bleicher and his company, Flava Works, have been ordered to shut down his Miami operation. Bleicher, who Jasmyne Cannick recently declared cold war upon, had been using a residential house to run one of his websites, but apparently it didn't live up to the city's "codes."

After 10 hours of listening to evidence and arguments, Miami's Code Enforcement Board ruled late Monday that Phillip Bleicher's Flava Works, an Internet porn production and distribution company, is illegally running an adult entertainment business out of a single-family home at 503 NE 27th St. — zoned for residential use — and ordered that those operations cease.
…
The website is CocoDorm.com, where visitors can, for a fee, watch live video streams from the Edgewater house, where chiseled young males are paid $1,200, plus room, board and meals, to live in the two-story home for a month and have sex with each other on schedule.

Don't worry, though, the boys may not be working the streets. Bleicher plans to appeal. His lawyer insists the company's protected by the first amendment and vows to fight. "We're not going to put our tail between our legs…"

No punchline required.

(Image note: Some of you will notice we changed this story's image. Bleicher objected to our using any likeness to his magazine, Flava Life. We thought it was great publicity, although we think this picture's far more appropriate.)

Jasmyne Cannick has a war of words on her hands.

Flavaworks' porn producer Phillip Bleicher filed a $250,000 lawsuit against the sappho-journo and other gay bloggers after they wrote about his run in with Chicago's Department of Health, a phony charity and an investigation down Miami way.

According to Cannick, Bleicher packed up his Chicago-based company, which operates Cocoboyz, Thugboy and PapiCock, and moved the crew to Miami after getting busted for unsafe sexual practices. Bleicher says that's bullshit and wants Cannick to pay.

CONTINUED »

Something tell us Miami mayoral candidate Bill Smatt won't be getting the gay vote.

CONTINUED »

Sounds disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley has had some time to think since checking himself into rehab last month. If you don't recall (or have been in a coma), Foley whisked himself off to get help for his alleged alchohol problem after some troubling emails between him and former Congressional pages came to the surface of the swamp-land known as Washington.

While Foley's announcement that he liked boys surprised some, and the next one that he adored the hooch shocked his colleagues (many of whom have publicly questioned his so-called addiction) his next bombshell may have been the biggest yet: he had been molested by a clergyman.

What? A drunken homo Congressman was molested by a man of the cloth?

Disturbing, yes, but not least of all to the Archdioscese of Miami, under whom Foley practiced when a lad. In the days following the big news, the Archdioscese asked Foley to name his abuser. Foley, in the dry heaves of withdrawal, no doubt, remained mum.

Now, as the House Ethics Committee investigation heats up in Washington and GOPers are outed by the second, Foley's decided to name the boy-loving priest. The Palm Beach Post reports: "At a news conference Tuesday, Foley's civil attorney, Gerald Richman, said Foley has decided to identify the priest, who is still living."

Goodness gracious, this is more sordid/contrived than Dynasty.

•Italy’s current Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will most likely face Romano Prodi in next year’s elections. Prodi has now revealed that, if elected, he would legalize same-sex marriage in a country wherein every home hangs a life-size portrait of the Pope. We might just consider moving to Milan to vote for our man Prodi. If he loses, we can always go shopping for shoes.

•Make your voice heard! Tell California's one time gay-for-pay boy toy, um, we mean, Governor not to veto that state's same-sex marriage bill.

•Madge's movie curse has now officially infected her husband. We thought Swept Away was bad, but critics are slamming Guy Ritchie's new film, Revolver. This might finally force him to come to terms with the only thing we've ever believed him to be: Madonna's bitch.

•Thank God. Cheeseheads get their Naked Boys Singing back.

•92% of Fortune 500 companies protect their gay and lesbian employees from discrimination. The heads of the remaining 8% are currently living in the 19th Century endorsing child labor and forcing their “coloreds” to pick cotton out on their plantation.

•Is South Beach dangerous for gays? Not with our new hero Super-Shaq!

We at Queerty love Shaquille O'Neal. He's just so damn versatile. He plays pro basketball, portrayed a construction worker-like superhero in the atrocity that was Steel, and he's now training to be a police officer. That's one Native-American headdress away from being an honorary member of the Village People. But the role he's taking most seriously these days is that of the law. Shaq recently played an important role in catching some gay bashers in Florida.

"(Shaq) was driving on South Beach around 3 a.m. Sunday. He saw a passenger in a car yell anti-gay slurs at the couple, who were walking," said Bobby Hernandez, a spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department.

"The man then got out of the car and threw a bottle, hitting one of the pedestrians, who was not seriously hurt. The man got back in the car, which sped off. O’Neal followed, flagging down an officer who made an arrest," Hernandez said.

Our biggest question about this whole incident: What was Shaq doing in gay South Beach at 3 AM? We like to think he was playing cop to some bottom's robber.

"For this incident I don't want to be credited as an individual who does police work," O'Neal said in a statement. "I want to be credited as a Miami Beach police officer."

Shaq, you’re our hero and we'll gladly credit you as whichever way you want, just promise to spare us Steel 2.