Slow news day, so let’s re-cap the week and then listen to music.

The Log Cabin Republicans have defeated Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, at least for a minute, and they’re sort of making GOProud look irrelevant in the process, in my opinion.  Shirley Phelps-Roper gonna set fahr to thangs no matter wut.  There’s something in the water in Montana making all their teabaggers go anti-gay on Facebook.  The most epic Republican politician since Ronald Reagan cried and wailed about how much he wants to be the Stark County treasurer in Ohio.  Michele Bachmann has forty acres and a mule for each homosexual.  Iowa is still standing, despite the gay marriage.  The American Family Association got laughed out of court in Michigan.  Alleged kidnapper and unfit mother Lisa Miller is probably in Ecuador.  Gay Republican Steve May is a total dirtbag.  Pretend prophet Cindy Jacobs will help you wash that lesbianism right out of your hair.  Rick Santorum can’t seem to escape the fact that his last name means something really icky.  My friends went to New Orleans and found some entertaining anti-gay Christian protesters down there.  And Mike Heath, formerly of the Christian Civic League of Maine is sadly, and strangely, irrelevant now, and has resorted to posting pictures of Glocks to make himself feel manly.

Also, Truth Wins Out sadly said goodbye to actor and board member Glenn Shadix, who passed away this week.

As for music this week, I think it was about two weekends ago when I literally, out of nowhere, listened to Nina Simone, and nothing but Nina Simone, for about forty-eight hours. I needed it. I still remember being a freshman in high school, when a friend handed me a Nina Simone CD, the debut from Portishead, and Fugees’ The Score, and simply said, “these are things you need in your life.” She was correct. The first song I ever heard was “I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl,” which remains one of my very favorites. A close second is “Love Me Or Leave Me.” So we’ll listen to those, then hit shuffle on the iTunes machine, and see where we end up.

1. Tori Amos – “Beauty Queen/Horses”
2. Prana – “The Dream”
3. Phoebe Killdeer & The Short Straws – “Let Me”
4. jj – “My Love”
5. Das Racist – “One Dollar Can” [this is actually an ode to Arizona Iced Tea, no lie]
6. Toad the Wet Sprocket – “All I Want”
7. Primary 1 – “Clicks Like That”
8. Tricky – “My Evil Is Strong”
9. Beck – “Readymade”
10. Xiu Xiu – “Dear God, I Hate Myself”

You can, by the way, download the Das Racist mixtape completely legally and for free here, and let me assure you that if you like really freaking smart Hip-Hop type things, you will enjoy.