Impressions....by David Mixner

-In a Public Opinion Poll taken in Russia, 4% of the public believe members of the LGBT community should be "exterminated!" Another amazing 39% want gays forcibly cured or put in isolation away from the rest of society. Wow, that leaves me breathless. And not wanting to visit Russia anytime soon! (via "The Advocate")

-And in jolly old England, some fringe Islamic weekend education classes that involve about 5,000 children are teaching that homosexuals must be killed. According to PinkNews.com the teachers and text books differ on punishment and can't decide between stoning to death, thrown off a cliff or burned alive. At least we have a choice...

-This is an entertainment perfect storm. It just doesn't get any better than the announcement that Daniel Day-Lewis (photograph) will play Abe Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln." That is brilliant casting and then to make it better our own genius playwright Tony Kushner will be doing the screenplay from the book "Team Of Rivals" by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Kushner has been working on the screenplay for years as it was impossibly long -- at some reports close to 200 pages! There was an informal reading of an early version a while back with Sally Field giving what many present said was an absolutely breathtaking performance as Mary Todd Lincoln. I am counting the hours until this film comes to the silver screen.

-The Huffington Post reports that unless there are drastic changes, tigers will be extinct in about a dozen years. Already three species of the noble animal have disappeared in our lifetime.

-Speaking of tigers, National Geographic reports that a rare South China tiger raised in South Africa will be returned to the wild in China! It is a unique program and everyone is holding their breath to see if it works since there are only about twenty left.

-The latest Quinnipiac University Poll shows that President Obama beats grizzly mom Sarah Palin by 13%. But is basically in a statistical tie with both Romney and Huckabee. Romney leads by 1% and Huckabee trails by 2%.

-Our davidmixner.com poll shows that if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton runs for President in 2012, that 72% of our readers would vote for her while only 20% choose President Obama. Fortunately for the President, Politico.com reports that the Secretary of State is making it clear that she has no intention of ever running for President again.

-Now this sounds like fun to me! The basketball team, the Los Angeles Clippers, is having 'gay night' at their February 2nd game! Outsports.com is reporting it will be called "Equality Night With The Clippers." And to make it a better night, the Clippers will be playing the Chicago Bulls.

-San Francisco found out this week they are getting a real gift this coming year. My dear friend and former GLAAD CEO, Neil Giuliano (photograph)has agreed to take the helm of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. They could have not picked anyone better. More importantly, it gives me yet one more reason to visit the City by the Bay.

-The Independent reports on "The Magnificent Seven Global Wildlife Highlights." They provide lots of wonderful choices to visit wildlife from the Finland Forests to Brazil's tropical waterways at Pantanal.

-Angus Reid Polling reports in a new poll that 48% of Americans disapprove of the new healthcare law and only 36% are happy with it.

-As you travel this holiday, keep in mind the 'top ten worst weather airports' in the United States. The list was organized by weather.com and some of the airports will surprise you.

-50% of all Americans now believe that their nation should not be in Afghanistan and only 44% support the war. According to Quinnipiac this is the first time in their polling that a majority oppose the war in Afghanistan.

-GayPolitics.com is reporting that there is a good chance that marriage equality will pass in Maryland this coming session of the legislature. Openly gay Maryland State Senator Richard Madaleno says that on a scale of 1 to 10 that the chances are in the six, seven or eight range. I will take those odds these days.

-Manhattan's Brian Ellner has been appointed by Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo to the education transition team. Congrats, Brian!

-Be sure to go to Boston.com's Big Picture and see the submissions to the National Geographic for the annual photograph contest which ends on November 30th. You can also rate them by clicking here.

-The celebrities continue to love The Glass House Tavern with actors T.R, Knight, Judith Light (photograph), Keith Nobbs, Evan Handler and True Blood's hot Sam Merlotte coming to break bread.

-Good news for Dems in the 2012 election because President George W Bush says that his brother Jeb will absolutely not run for the Republican nomination.

-Gill Action resident political guru, Bill Smith, has written a spectacular OpEd piece for The Advocate. In the very first line of "Get Busy Winning" Smith had me. He writes, "One of my favorite truths about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is our ability to find opportunities to triumph." Be sure to read it all.

-Another outstanding OpEd in The Advocate is radio host Michelangelo Signorile's "The Bully Pulpit." This is a must read.

-In a very close race, Oakland has elected Victoria Kolakowski. She will be the first transgender person ever in our nation's history to be elected a trial judge. Brava, Judge, you make us all proud.

-CoFounder and board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Kristina Schake, has been appointed as Special Assistant to the President and Communications Director to First Lady Michelle Obama.

-Winston Churchill's Daimler is up for Auction on December 4th. It is expected to be sold for as much as $400,000. This car is one of only eight built and it is believed to be the only one left. It is a beauty.

-Rahm Emanuel is comfortably leading the latest polls to be Mayor of Chicago according to Taegan Goddard's Political Wire. The poll shows the former White House COS at 36%. Three African-American candidates have split that vote but the three's total comes to 34%. Hmmmm.....

-Being just elected to Congress on an anti-healthcare platform, Republican Dr. Andy Harris from Maryland was very upset. Seems as though his taxpayer-funded elaborate health insurance doesn't go into effect until February 1. He is pitching a fit!

-CNN ran a story of Jeff Chang's new photograph exhibit called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" at the Kaycee Olsen Gallery. He also has a book with the images of active duty LGBT soldiers with the same name. Watch the CNN report!

History on Film: The Famous Ohio State vs University Of Michigan Blizzard Game!

Over Thanksgiving weekend in 1950, one of the worse blizzards crossed the nation. The day before the famous traditional Ohio State vs. University of Michigan game, Columbus was experienced a full fledged blizzard. By the time the players hit the field there was 9 inches of snow, the temperature was at zero and the winds were howling at 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph! This is believed to the worse weather of any football game in history. Amazingly over 50,000 fans braved the storm to see the game which was won by Michigan 9 to 3! As reported, " OSU officials did not even bother to take tickets so any spectator crazy enough to brave the weather elements could walk right in." Enjoy these film excerpts from the famous 'blizzard bowl'.

Hurricane Season 2010: Dodging the Bullet!

The United States had amazing luck this year when it came to hurricanes. While we had a huge number of storms in the Atlantic and Gulf, we managed to dodge the bullet. Despite 2010 living up to its predictions of a huge year for numbers of hurricanes, no major, or even minor, hurricanes made landfall in the United States.

This was the third busiest hurricane season on record with 19 named storms and 12 of them became hurricanes. Of those, five were major huge hurricanes. Weather.com has an interesting review of the season:..

No hurricanes made landfall along the Florida peninsula and East Coast. This marks the fifth year in a row with no hurricane landfalls along this portion of the U.S. coastline. This is the first time since reliable U.S. records began in 1878 that no hurricanes have made landfall along the Florida peninsula and East Coast in a five-year period.

This is the first time in recorded history that as many as 12 hurricanes have occurred in the Atlantic basin without a U.S. landfall. Prior to that record, at least two hurricanes made landfall in the United States when a minimum of 10 hurricanes occurred in the Atlantic basin.

No major hurricanes made U.S. landfall this year. Following seven major hurricane landfalls in 2004-2005, the nation has not witnessed a major hurricane landfall in the past five seasons. The five consecutive years between 1901-1905 and 1910-1914 have been the only other consecutive five-year periods with no major U.S. hurricane landfalls.

Only one tropical storm made U.S. landfall this year (Bonnie). We have not had a hurricane landfall since Hurricane Ike in 2008. The last time that the United States went two years in a row with no hurricane landfalls was 2000-2001.

Only three tropical storms have made landfall over the past two years. The last time that three or fewer tropical cyclones made landfall in any consecutive two-year period was 1990-1991.

 

History On Film: Hurricane Hazel 1954

  

Many books have been written about the great New England Hurricane of 1938 but few about the strongest storm ever to hit so far north. Hurricane Hazel came ashore on the North Carolina coast on October 14, 1954. This Cat 4 storm set up all sorts of records and many of them still stand today. The storm maintained its hurricane status from North Carolina into Canada which is still unprecedented for an inland storm. When making landfall, the storm had wind gusts up to 150 mph.

Washington, DC (94 mph), Philadelphia (98 mph) and New York City (113 mph) set their record wind gusts of all time that still stand today. An astounding wind gust of 100 mph was recorded on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in New York!

The storm killed over 1,200 people in Haiti, Bahamas, US and Canada and cost over $3 billion dollars in damage in 2008 dollars.

For me personally, I was eight years old and we knew a 'bad storm' was coming on the farm in southern New Jersey. We spent the day tying down everything we could and getting farm equipment for Mr. Seabrook into safety. That night the winds howled (88 mph) and trees fell all around our home. The family down the road thought their house was going to blow away and came to see refuge in ours. We all huddled in the 'front room' hoping to make it through Hazel.

The next morning buildings were severely damaged all around the countryside and it seemed as though nearly every tree had been blown down.

Impressions........by David Mixner

-The Irish Times reports that over 2/3 of the good citizens of the Emerald Isle support marriage equality. Makes you wonder why we still can't march in their damn St. Patrick's Day parade here in New York City doesn't it? The refusal to allow the LGBT community to march in this day and age is just a disgrace for the Irish.

-A brand new AP/ National Constitution Center Poll shows that 52% of Americans still support the Federal Government granting marriage equality.  That is the second poll to show us above 50% nationwide. 

-New York got hit by two tornados and a microburst on Thursday night. The winds were from 80 mph to 100 mph and lasted about three to five minutes. The entire city came to a standstill with nearly a 1,000 trees fallen, rail lines blocked and a massive traffic jam. One has to wonder what a simple Cat 1 hurricane hitting the Big Apple with sustained winds of 90 mph for six hours would do to the city. It ain't gonna be pretty is it?

-The German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle married his partner Michael Mronz in Germany. Can you imagine a Cabinet member doing that in the United States? Hope our State Department sent them good wishes and a decent gift.

-In the Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos, Republican Rand Paul is leading Democrat Jack Conway by 7 points in the race for the open Kentucky Senate seat.

-Congrats to fellow blogger Joe Jervis of JoeMyGod.com and my dear friend Mitchell Gold. Both are being honored by the Ali Forney Center here in New York. Out actor Denis O'Hare is hosting the event. Both of these fine men deserve this honor. The "Place at the Table" dinner will be on October 7th.

-Sign of the times, there were 2 inches of snow in Wibaux, Montana this week. Oh my God, winter is approaching fast!

-Might be a chill in the air in Connecticut these days as Republican Linda McMahon rapidly closes in on Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who once had a huge lead. The latest Quinnipiac Poll has him leading the wrestling impresario by only 6 points.

 -However the news is getting better in the Pacific Northwest as incumbent Democratic Senator Patti Murray appears to be pulling away from her Republican opposition. In the latest Elway Poll she leads Dino Rossi by 9%. Each week the liberal senator's lead has been growing.

-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) reported over 200,000 clicks to their site after Lady Gaga started her campaign for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Never underestimate the power of celebrity. And, gotta say, love her outfits! Isn't it interesting that 24-year-old Lady Gaga is doing more to end DADT than our President? What is wrong with this picture?

-Speaking of celebrity, it was another good week for The Glass House Tavern. Legendary Jazz sax player Dave Koz (photograph)was having lunch discussing his new album coming out "Hello Tomorrow." Dave actually sings on one of the songs. Having dinner with Bob Shrum and Marylouise Oates was Sarah Brown who has a major new book coming out in the spring about her years at Number 10 Downing Street. Did you know she is one of the most "tweeted' persons in the United Kingdom?

-In the 'did you know? department', in 1919 a huge tank of molasses exploded in Boston and created a 25 foot wave of molasses moving at 35mph. The wave of goo swept 21 people to their death. Now that is a sweet fact of history isn't it?

-Our very own Sebastian Junger, handsome Michael Luongo is running a powerful four part series in the Gay City News about being LGBT person in Iraq. You must read this series. Click here for Part One and here for Part Two.

-The inimitable Charles Busch is back on the stage in "The Divine Sister" directed by Carl Andress. How lucky can we get? Now in previews at the SoHo Playhouse. Click here to get your tickets.

-The Huffington Post points out that the Montana Republican Party still has in its State Party Platform a pledge to make homosexuality illegal. Wonder how much time in the slammer they had in mind for us?

-While we are still hanging around The Huffington Post, they printed the ten most homoerotic pictures of politicians. Scarily enough, George Bush was first with this one here. Click here to see the entire list.

-Thank God, fearless incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer is letting it rip against anti-marriage Republican CEO Carly Fiorina in the race for Senate. Seems the good old CEO laid off 30,000 workers and then tripled her own salary. She got a nice one million dollar yacht with the money. Isn't she special? Take a look at Barbara's very fine ad.

Luxist.com reports that a bit of Hollywood history is up for sale. The estate that actress Marion Davies purchased for news tycoon William Randolph Hearst for $120,000 is now for sale for a bargain basement price of $95 million. It evidently is a fixer upper! Check out the magnificent pictures by clicking here.

A recent Gallup Poll showed that 58% of Americans are interested in a third party and would vote for one. You know that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has to be reading that poll!

-75% of my readers in last week's davidmixner.com poll feel the country is going in the wrong direction. That is not a good figure for incumbents in the upcoming elections.

-My favorite site, Boston.com's Big Picture just did a series of photographs released by NASA. Here are a few to whet your appetite but go to the site and see the rest.

Think U.S. Has Dodged The Bullet This Hurricane Season? Wrong.

My friends have not missed an opportunity to point out that not one serious hurricane has hit the mainland United States. While some heavy rain laden tropical storms has made their presence known in Texas, all of the major Cape Verde Hurricanes have turned out to sea. Not sure if my friends are informing me that we are safe or gloating over the early season predictions. Either way, they are wrong.

Weather systems have been in place that has push major nasty hurricanes such as Earl and Igor away from the mainland. However, the last weeks of September and through early November, the patterns are in the process of changing. In addition, La Nina has grown much stronger than expected and the hurricane season will be unusually late this year. We are already up to the name Karl and I expect we will hit at least Richard and maybe even a Hurricane Thomas!

Hurricane expert AccuWeather's.com Joe Bastardi says:

"A switch from an El Nino to La Nina pattern is notorious for a jam-packed late hurricane season."

As a result, people in the coastal U.S., especially along the Gulf of Mexico, should not let their guard down. There is an imbalance in the atmosphere, and much more energy has yet to be released."

Incidentally, at least one computer model insists a potent hurricane will form in the western Caribbean or the southern Gulf of Mexico before the end of September."

Hurricanes: Just How Big Is Hurricane Igor?

The Weather Channel completed a graphic depicting how massive in size Hurricane Igor really is. Already it had winds up to 155 mph but what was overlooked is it huge circulation. The Channel imposed Igor on a map of the Eastern United States. Take a look at this one!

Impressions ..........by David Mixner

-Get ready for the Republic of Texas and Austin being a national capitol! Listen to this figure, 21% of Texas Republicans want to secede from the Union. According to Public Policy Polling, Democratic gubernatorial Candidate Bill White leads among voters who want to be Americans by 51% to 42%. But Republican Rick Perry leads among secessionists by a whopping 69% to 18%. My God, are we going to have "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You" as a national anthem?

-EXCLUSIVE: Word is just in from unnamed sources that a just released private poll shows that 80% of New Yorkers want Texas to secede!

-Speaking of the Republic of Texas, the same poll had Newt Gingrich leading in the 2012 race for Republican delegates within the state. Gingrich has 23% and he is closely followed by Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin with 19% each. Poor "little rich boy' Mitt Romney is fourth at 17%.

-Talented actor and all-around amazing man, Alan Cumming, will be honored by the Point Foundation in Los Angeles on September 25. He will receive the "Courage Award." Alan has agreed to be a mentor for a Point Foundation scholar!

- In a tough hitting editorial, The Los Angeles Times takes President Obama to task over HIV/AIDS. In the editorial, "Obama's Funding To Fight AIDS Is Weak", the editors say that "suggested funding cut to the Global Fund is appalling."

-In the latest davidmixner.com poll, only 57% of our readers said they were ready to support President Obama in 2012. 9% would vote for the Republicans, 12% would vote for the Green Party and 17% would vote for none of them. In 2008, the President got near 80% of the LGBT vote so this is quite a drop.

-The Quinnipiac University Poll has some surprising results. By a margin of 7%, Americans feel that we are following the right policy in Afghanistan. The same voters said by 59% to 29% that Afghanistan is not another Vietnam.

-Well the climatological summer is over and it is fourth hottest summer in the history of the United States. Dr. Jeff Masters of WeatherUnderground says ten states had the hottest summer in their history. You can count New York City as among those that had the hottest summer ever.

-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel came in 5th in the race for Mayor in Chicago in the latest Chicago Sun-Times Poll. He garnered a whopping 7% in the poll. Mayor Richard Daley says he will make no endorsement in this race.

-via AfterElton.com comes this hysterical video of Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall literally laughing so hard they are crying. I joined them as I watched it.

-Are we going to wake up tomorrow morning and find out that the Republicans have nominated another looney bird for Senate in Delaware? According to Public Policy Polling we just might have to deal with it.

-If you want a first rate legal analysis of the recent Federal Court "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ruling head over to Towleroad.com. Their legal expert Ari Ezra Waldman has once again laid it all out for us in easy terms to understand. I am such a fan of his legal column.

-The Jewish Journal is reporting that California Republican Senate candidate Carley Fiorina is being asked to apologize to the Jewish community. Seems as the former Hewlett-Packard CEO sold her products to Iran through a "distributor."

-The latest Public Strategies Poll show Democratic Denver John Hickenlooper leading his Republican opposition by over 20%. The race for US Senate is much tougher for Democrats with incumbent Senator Michael Bennet in a dead heat with Republican Tea Party candidate Ken Buck.

-Busy week at my hangout, The Glass House Tavern. The cast of the "Pitman Painters" was up against the bar after rehearsals for their new play at the MTC. Also seen in the last couple of weeks were cast members from "West Side Story" and "Rock of Ages."  Judith Light and Keith Nobbs (Photograph) from the upcoming hit "Lombardi" were sitting with Michael Urie.

-The latest poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal also shows a dead heat in the race for United States Senate. Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid is barely holding on against Republican wacko Sharron Angle.

-The African Wildlife Foundation is involved in attempting to finally develop Mozambique's huge Banhine National Park. One of the world's unknown treasures, the National Park has over 2,700 miles of land within its boundaries. Read about it here.

-Ok, I have to throw this in the mix today! President Lyndon Johnson's nickname for his penis was "Jumbo." Guess it pays to advertise!

-In love with Prince Poppycock on "America's Got Talent" but you have to hand it to the winner of the 2009 "Australia's Got Talent". Fifteen year old opera singer Mark Vincent's music is simply stunning. This version of "Hallelujah" should convince you.

Hurricane Earl: Video of Jim Cantore from Middle Of Storm

Like millions of other Americans, men and women, I have been a fan of the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore. The handsome and intelligent reporter has been in the center of Hurricanes since 1989. He has covered the major hurricanes of our time including Hurricanes Ike, Gustav, Katrina, Rita, Andrew, Floyd and Mitch. This video is classic Cantore.

Hurricane Earl: Now Has 145 Mile Winds and 50 Foot High Waves; Take Aims At Cape and Long Island

With size and strength equality devastating Hurricane Ike, the first hurricane to threaten the East Coast in two decades just gets bigger and bigger. Overnight Hurricane Earl has grown both in size and wind speed. Buoys are measuring waves near 50 feet high. If the center hits land the storm surge will be a 4 out of a top of 5!  The hurricane seems to be moving slightly more to the West and putting more people at risk.

As of this morning, P-Town on the Cape is likely to experience significant wind, surge and flooding. Fire Island has been place in the warning area for the first time. New York City could be receiving up to 60 mph wind guests tomorrow and significant rain. The heavy winds will also continue into Saturday morning from the West. Every one from North Carolina to Maine should be every couple of hours be checking this storm. Just a 100 or less shift to the West could mean major devastation.

Adding to our problems on the East Coast, Tropical Storm Gaston is likely to become a major hurricane and follow a very similiar path as Earl's.