Confused GOP candidate Newt Gingrich surprised absolutely no one when he told gay voters to back Obama. According to the Des Moines Register, an Iowa gay asked the former U.S. House Speaker how he would support gay Americans if elected. more ›

Avowed racist Rep. Michele Bachmann, the GOP presidential candidate, signed an anti-Christian conservative pledge last week stating that among other things, according to the Telegraph, "African American children were more likely to grow up in stable families during the era of slavery than under President Barack Obama." One of countless Americans still furious over having a black man in the Oval Office, Bachmann, along with fellow candidate Rick Santorum, approved and agreed with the following statement. more ›

Sorry for the late notice, but we just got word: \head over to the Castro between 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. to celebrate Iowa's ruling in favor of equal rights. The official Celebration Rally in SF for Iowa Same-Sex Marriage Ruling say it'll be a seriously fun celebration honoring the Midwest. Rumor has it popcorn will be served -- which, we assume, is all they eat in Iowa -- so this could be the one day of the year many of you will get to digest carbohydrates. (Ack!) more ›

Iowa became the third state in the U.S. (and the first in the heartland!) to legalize gay marriage today.The Iowa State Supreme Court "upheld a lower court's ruling that found a state law restricting marriage to between a man and woman only violated Iowa's constitution." According to Richard Socarides, former adviser on gay rights during the Clinton administration, "It's a big win because, coming from Iowa, it represents the mainstreaming of gay marriage. And it shows that despite attempts stop gay marriage through right-wing ballot initiatives, like in California, the courts will continue to support the case for equal rights for gays." LGBT community will have to wait a few weeks before they can obtain marriage licenses. Way to go, Iowa. Hopefully, California will follow your lead (did we really just say that?) when the State Supreme Court makes its final ruling on Prop. 8. more ›

Barack's new SF HQ opens more ›

Image: BeyondChron more ›

Did she find a horse's head in her office chair the day before? Embattled Susan Leal, who's refused to bow to pressure from Gavin Newsom to resign her position as the general manager of the SF Public Utilities Commission, was hit by a car outside City Hall as she was leaving meetings just before noon today. She was rushed to the hospital, where they found she was okay, if a little shaken. more ›

Let's hope no oil tankers crash into the Bay Bridge this week -- Gavin's out of town again, this time bundled up for snow as he campaigns for Hillary Clinton in Iowa. Not quite as temperate in the middle of the country right now as it was in his last two vacation spots this month -- guess Gavin still owes the Clintons for backing him in 2003 against non-Democrat Matt Gonzalez, huh? more ›

-- King Corn (2007): Sounds like a tasty breakfast cereal, doesn't it? But in fact, it's a documentary about two college buddies who "plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most-productive, most-subsidized grain [corn] on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat--and how we farm." Screens tonight at 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 at the Red Vic; $5-8.50. more ›

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In some ways, we're kind of happy that we here in California have no say in any of the Presidential elections. Sure, it would be nice if our vote counted but at least we can turn on the TV without fear of being bombarded with that many campaign ads. We actually feel sorry for places like Ohio or Iowa and all those swing states for having to put up with all the attention they get during the elections. It's not fair they have to take the brunt of it. more ›

There's a move afoot to move up the date of the California Primary from June, where it is now, to February. The reason for it is because by the time California has it's primary, the whole thing has pretty much been settled. We've been in California for a long time and the only time we could remember having much in the way of a say in things was 2000 when thanks to the open primary rule, you could actually vote for McCain just to get your first chance of voting against Bush. more ›

Our occasional series on the District 6 Board of Supervisors election! This week's episode: Everybody Hates Varnish. Yesterday, we were wandering with some friends in SoMA trying to find a place to get some post-work libations. As we entered the Varnish art and wine bar on 77 Natoma Street, we noticed a sign in the window: DRAKE '06, www.drake2006.com. Could it be? Could it be another candidate running against Chris Daly? After we ran through two, maybe three, glasses of Varnish's fine red house wine and shamelessly eating all the tasty chex mix they offered, we staggered home, logged in, and can report the following information! Candidate Matt Drake is a former mechanical engineer turned lawyer. Man, everyone running against Chris Daly is a lawyer! Drake doesn't say where he's working now, but says he's never worked in government. Other than that, he's an enigma. We're piecing this together from his (kind of boring) website and blog, but it looks like Drake supports pretty much everything Newsom supports, wants to build more market-rate housing in the Mission, wants a Home Depot in Bayview, and wants them to berth the USS Iowa here. Also, he loves trees and wishes more people filmed movies in town. Drake's throwing a fundraiser next Thursday at Varnish if you want to stop by; your suggested minimum donation is $30. If you go, get the house wine; it was pretty tasty. more ›

t's time for American Football Spectacular's bowl preview! Assisted by red wine, our American college football consultant Doug "MC Fried Chicken" Mungin, and the sheer will to succeed, we push ever forward to bring you these scintillating projections. more ›

-The Mayor of San Jose, Ron Gonzales, was censured last week by the San Jose City Council for sheninigans involving a contract he negotiated with Norcal Waste Systems. The censure was the first in the city's 155 year history. Breaking with political tradition and going against every rule in the political book, Gonzales accepted responsibility for the censure and said that he "wholeheartedly'' accepted it, adding "it is my obligation to earn back that trust" that he lost over his actions. In calling for censure, however, the City Council also voted to end the independent investigation into the contract because they don't want to "wallow in our shortcomings.'' They also voted to take away some of the Mayor's powers and to consider booting him off several committees. more ›

Well, it's come to this. Remember the brouhaha over docking the USS Iowa at Fisherman's Wharf? It was DiFi's idea to send $3 million worth of pork our way. Nevermind pacifist sentiment, the Navy's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and the fact that floating military museums are a money-losing proposition -- everybody and their mother got on the Supes' case about turning the offer down. more ›

It’s the kind of thing that's supposed to be bang-bang: local congressperson gets congress to vote on the naming of local post office after local hero and congress votes yes because nobody really cares what a post office is named. It happens so frequently and so easily that nobody can remember when anybody last raised a stink. So congresswoman Barbara Lee tried to get the Berkeley Post office named after long-time councilwoman, activist, and Berkeley icon Maudelle Shirek, only to see it get denied. The reason? Because that Maudelle? She hates America. more ›

This is going to be a great day. First Tom DeLay gets indicted, and now this! The Examiner reports that Tom Ammiano and Chris Daly just got interviewed by the Daily Show!!!!! OMG! OMFG!!! OMFG!! You know in those segments how you always wonder, "who the heck would agree to be interviewed by Samantha Bee, anyways?" Well, now you know! Ammiano, a former stand-up comic, gamely answered all their questions about the gay-rights controversy over the USS Iowa and said he tried to be funny but that "they have total control over the camera." Ammiano also told his aides, "I think we're going to get punked." Daly, no doubt hardened by years and years of Matier and Ross mockery (and his own special archives category on SFist.com!), said, "I told them I didn't care if they made fun of me, as long as it's funny." (Oh man, Daly must hate us.) No word on when the segment's going to air -- but it's never too early to prepare! Your official SFist Daily Daly Show drinking game after the jump! (Sorry, Tom, it's Chris only.) more ›