TRAILER:Walking Dead, Season 3

Queen Latifah At Long Beach Pride

Queen Latifah headlined Long Beach Pride yesterday where she seemed to officially come out. You decide.

Queen Latifah took the stage at this year's Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Festival in the Southern California city Saturday (May 19), and her highness was happy to be in the presence of “her people,” according to EUR Web. Inquiries into her sexual preference have long followed Latifah, and headlining the event— now in its 29th year—may have marked a coming-out of sorts for the mogul. “I've been waiting to do this for a long time,” she told the crowd.

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip description: "A leaked memo urges an about-face for anti-equality Republicans. A civil unions bill dies in Colorado, for now. But access to marriage expands in Rhode Island, and more new surveys confirm the ever-growing public support for equality."

FRC Needs Money To Stop Lying Gays

And your Hypocrisy Meter just exploded.

Liar Of The Day - Brad Dacus

"I know it’s at least over 80%, I believe it’s 80-85% success rate. These are people who leave the lifestyle, get married to people, have children, and enter heterosexual relationships. It’s a big mass of deception that they are trying to carry out at the expense of many hundreds of thousands or millions of youths who will be led down a path of death and destruction, unfortunately, if they get away with this. [snip] Of course parents want what’s best for their children, parents love their children, and parents know that the homosexual lifestyle gives for boys an average lifespan of the age of 40." - Pacific Justice Institute liar Brad Dacus, speaking on Christian radio about California's pending bill to ban "ex-gay" therapy for children.

Caption This

One Million Shrews: We Totally Caused JCPenney To Lose Millions Of Dollars

JCPenney has announced a $168M loss for the quarter that ended last month. Which is totally because of One Million Shrews and their campaign against Ellen DeGeneres.

"Sales have plummeted since J.C. Penney showed their new, bold marketing strategy, including pushing a lesbian spokesperson and same-sex couples in their advertising," Cole says, referring to the retailer's announcement earlier this year that openly homosexual entertainer Ellen DeGeneres will be their advertising spokesperson. "If they would stop pushing a deviant and unhealthy lifestyle and focus on product quality and value along with excellent customer service, their bottom line would not be suffering," Cole advises.

NYPD Sergeant Tells Man: My Dick Will Go In Your Mouth And Come Out Your Ear

The New York Post has shocking video of an NYPD sergeant verbally abusing a 21 year-old man later arrested for disorderly conduct.

Sgt. Charles followed the group into the nearby No. 1 Chinese Food restaurant, flanked by two plainclothes cops. “I have the long dick. You don’t,” the cop bragged. “Your pretty face — I like it very much. My dick will go in your mouth and come out your ear. Don’t fuck with me. All right?” After the target of his tirade insisted, “I didn’t do anything,” Charles retorted, “Listen to me. When you see me, you look the other way. Tell your boys, I don’t fuck around. All right?” “I’ll take my gun and put it up your ass and then I’ll call your mother afterwards. You understand that?” For good measure, the sergeant added: “And I’ll put your shit in your own mouth.” Charles added, “I’m here every fucking day. I don’t go home. I have no life. No kids. I do what I do."

The NYPD says they are investigating the incident and point out that the subject of the tirade has been arrested more than 20 times "including for petit larceny and weapons and pot possession." Sgt. Charles told the Post: “I’m just doing God’s work. You know I can’t comment. Have a blessed day.” Commenters at the above-linked story are defending the police. (Via Gothamist)

30 Days In Jail For Dharun Ravi

Noting his lack of a prior arrest record and the unlikeness that he will re-offend, today a New Jersey judged sentenced former Rutgers student Drarun Ravi to only 30 days in jail and probation in the case of the suicide of his gay roommate Tyler Clementi. More on the sentencing will follow shortly in this post.

UPDATE: The probation period is three years and includes 300 hours of community service. Ravi has also been fined $11,950 which is to be paid in monthly installments. Ravi will not be deported.

Garden State Equality

We have been public in taking a position of balance: We opposed throwing the book at Dharun Ravi. We have spoken out against giving him the maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and against deporting him. That would have been vengeance beyond punishment and beyond sending a message to the rest of society. But we have similarly rejected the other extreme that Ravi should have gotten no jail time at all, and today’s sentencing is closer to that extreme than the other. This was not merely a childhood prank gone awry. This was not a crime without bias.

CHRISTIAN LOVE: North Carolina Pastor Calls For Rounding Up "Queers" In An Electrified Pen & Letting Them Die

Towleroad blogger Andrew Belonsky has the quote from North Carolina's Pastor Charles L. Worley, who clearly wants some of the same attention recently given NC's Pastor Sean Harris:

"I figured a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers," he says in his sermon, delivered on May 13. "Build a great, big, large fence — 150 or 100 mile long — put all the lesbians in there... Do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can't get out… And you know what, in a few years, they'll die." Worley fails to understand that gay people are born, not made, and that there would just be more LGBT folk coming down the line."

Worley: 828-428-2518. Email: pastor@prbcnc.com.

God Is Going To Punish Home Depot

American Family Association tool Randy Sharp: "There's no question in my mind that [this warning] came directly from God."

Chinese Group Buys AMC Theatres

The nation's second-largest theater chain has been sold to a Chinese investment group. AMC Theatres has 5,048 screens in 347 locations across the U.S. and Canada. The AMC Empire 25 in Times Square is the nation's busiest theater.

A Chinese conglomerate has announced it will buy U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings for $2.6 billion to create the world's biggest movie theater operator. Dalian Wanda Group Co. said Monday it is willing to invest an additional $500 million to fund AMC's strategic and operating initiatives. Wanda said AMC's headquarters will remain in the Kansas City area and day-to-day operations will remain unchanged.

As I've mentioned here several times, I ran South Florida multiplexes for AMC from 1986-1993. It was the hardest job I've ever had, particularly when telling young management applicants: "You will work every Thanksgiving and every Christmas and will never have a weekend day off." But I still look back on that gig fondly. Mostly.

Headline Of The Day

SRSLY.

ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage For Foreigners

The city government of Buenos Aires has legalized same-sex marriage for tourists and non-residents. Via press release from Federación Argentina LGBT:

La Federación Argentina de Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales, y Trans hails the decision of the municipality of Buenos Aires to eliminate the administrative obstacles that prevented the marriage between two foreigners, a right guaranteed in Article 20 of the Constitution. Thus, the City of Buenos Aires has become the fourth district in the country to authorize such marriages after the provinces of Santa Fe (where Paraguayan activists Simón Cazal and Sergio López were married), Tierra del Fuego, and Buenos Aires. Australian activists Alex Greenwich and Victor Höld were just married this past Friday in the latter province.

Same-sex marriage became legal in all of Argentina in 2010.

CHICAGO: Three Occupy Activists Charged With Terrorist Plot At NATO Protests

Lawyers for the men say undercover police planted evidence as part of a campaign to discredit the Occupy movement.

Microsoft Re-Launches Social Network

It'll be bigger than Bing! Details.

TODAY: SiriusXM At 2:30 3:30PM

Today at 3:30pm I'll be on Michelangelo Signorile's SiriusXM show to talk about some of the latest LGBT-related news items. The gays are on channel 108 and you can listen live online if you sign up for a freebie account. What's on your mind this week?

Delaware AG Beau Biden: My Dad Spoke From The Heart And I Support Him

"My dad spoke from the heart. I'm incredibly proud of what he said. I'm even more proud of what the president said as it relates to making sure that this is a fundamental civil rights issue. It's a civil rights issue. It's something that people in my state, in Delaware, and everywhere I go are incredibly proud of the stance that the president has taken on a matter of equality. At a moment we're sending people to defend our nation – whether they be gay or straight – to not allow them to have the same rights that we all have on the home front just doesn't make sense." - Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, interviewed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

Lady Gaga Kisses Marge Simpson

I literally snorked at the final line.

Seen On Free Republic

Details.

TRAILER: Skyfall

Impromptu Donna Summer Tribute

West Side Rag reports: "At a street fair on Amsterdam Avenue today, two men broke out in an amazing dance in front of the former Blue Donkey Bar on 83rd Street to the song “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer, who passed away last week."

Father Tony weighs in: "Not so many years ago, two men would be arrested for doing this, even privately. Today, and here on the Upper West Side, the men watching cheered and women did not shield the eyes of their children. You'll love the move at the 1 minute mark!"

Leniency For Dharun Ravi?

The New York Times reports that a number of gay activists are arguing for leniency in the case of Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student who will be sentenced today for spying on his gay roommate Tyler Clementi, who leaped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after Ravi live-streamed his encounter with another man.

In an op-ed article in The Star-Ledger of Newark this month, Jim McGreevey, who resigned as New Jersey’s governor after declaring himself “a gay American,” argued that Mr. Ravi’s conviction “showed how far we have traveled from the hateful, homophobic past.” “The criminal justice system worked, this time for a gay victim,” Mr. McGreevey wrote. “But there was something disquieting about the prospect of retributive punishment being meted out on behalf of a gay young man.” [snip] Dan Savage, a gay columnist whose video campaign, “It Gets Better,” began in response to other suicides of gay teenagers just before Mr. Clementi, 18, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge, argued that simply locking up Mr. Ravi was a lost opportunity to talk about the other institutions and people “complicit” in Mr. Clementi’s death. “What was he told about being gay growing up, by his faith leaders, by the media, by the culture?” Mr. Savage said. “Ravi may have been the last person who made him feel unsafe and abused and worthless, but he couldn’t have been the first. “The rush to pin all the responsibility on Ravi and then wash our hands and walk away means we’re not going to learn the lessons of these kids.”

Why Conservatives Are Sweet

Pastors Ask Obama To Devolve

"A 50-year-old can only read about the struggles and protests of the civil rights era, but some of us who are older have the battle scars to prove it. And the rights we fought so hard to acquire did not include same-sex marriage. We ask President Obama to stand with the black church, on the Word of God and evolve again back to the common sense biblical view that marriage is the union of husband and wife." - Rev. Bill Owens of the Coalition of African-American Pastors.

In Your Chemise Lacoste

Smooth Sailing At Annapolis

The Baltimore Sun reports that since the repeal of DADT, life has gotten a lot easier for gay midshipmen at the Naval Academy.

Eight months after the repeal, midshipmen both gay and straight describe a quiet but significant transformation at the Naval Academy. Gay midshipmen are seeking recognition for a student club. Last month, for the first time, faculty members and staff attended an off-campus dinner that had been organized secretly every year by and for gay midshipmen. And Atwill and his boyfriend, classmate Nick Bonsall, planned to go together Saturday to the Ring Dance, a formal ball held each spring for third-year midshipmen. "It's been really great, actually," Bonsall, 20, of Middletown, Del., said of life at the academy since repeal. "Everyone has been really accepting of us."

(Tipped by JMG reader Tim)

Trans Beauty Queen Finishes In Top 12

Yesterday transgender Miss Universe contestant Jenna Talackova finished in Canada's top twelve.

The 6-foot-1 blonde bombshell was a crowd favorite as she strutted down the runway in the evening gown and swimwear portions of the competition. Talackova also seemed to be a favorite among her fellow contestants and was one of four women voted “Miss Congeniality.” The 23-year-old was originally disqualified from the competition because she was not a “naturally born female.” After threats of a lawsuit and public outcry, the Trump Organization, which owns the contest, announced Talackova would be allowed to compete. “I didn’t know that there would be this much controversy. I was just entering because, you know, I wanted to represent Canada. I think I’m a beautiful woman, inside and out, and I think I would have done the job,” Talckova told ABC News’ Barbara Walters during her fight to be reinstated into the competition.

A Vote For Romney Is A Vote For Satan

The latest from Voting For Satan.

Queens Internet Protest Sponsored By Internet Filtering Software Company

The New York Times gets to the heart of what some are calling the real reason behind yesterday's sold-out protest of the internet by Ultra Orthodox Jews.

The rally in Citi Field on Sunday was sponsored by a rabbinical group, Ichud Hakehillos Letohar Hamachane, that is linked to a software company that sells Internet filtering software to Orthodox Jews. Those in attendance were handed fliers that advertised services like a “kosher GPS App” for iPhone and Android phones, which helps users locate synagogues and kosher restaurants. Nat Levy, 25, who traveled from Lakewood, N.J., to attend, said he frequently surfed the Web at a cafe, overseen by a local rabbi, that filtered out certain types of online content and monitored which Web sites he visited.

Photo Of The Day - Ukraine Bashers

Via Daily Beast: "Svyatoslav Sheremet, head of Gay Forum of Ukraine, is beaten as he met with members of the media to inform them that a scheduled gay-pride parade was cancelled." (Tipped by JMG reader Birdie)

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

Robin Gibb Dies At 62

It's been a really shitty week for pop music.

Robin Gibb, one of three brothers who made up the disco group the Bee Gees behind "Saturday Night Fever" and other hits from the 1970s, died on Sunday, according to a statement on his website. He was 62. Gibb "passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," said the statement, which was attributed to his family. Diagnosed with colon and liver cancer, Gibbs had been in a coma as he battled pneumonia earlier this spring, representative Doug Wright said.

Robin had the lead on all my Bee Gees favorite.


SOLO HIT: Robin Gibb released a handful of solo singles to chart-topping success in other countries. In the U.S. one of the few that charted at all was 1984's gay club hit, Boys Do Fall In Love, which was huge in the bars that I was frequenting that year.

Dr. Who's On First

#1 This Week In 1976

Thirty-six years ago today, Donna Summer's Try Me, I Know We Can Make It was in its third and final week atop Record World's disco chart. (Billboard did not launch its own national Disco Action chart until later in 1976.) Clocking in at an epic eighteen minutes, this three-song medley from the aptly named Love Trilogy album was used as a defacto 12" cut by club DJs, although an edited 4:00 version was released to radio, where it petered out at #80 on Billboard's singles chart. Donna was still fresh off the smash global success of Love To Love You, Baby and the pop chart failure of Try Me had anti-disco critics gloatingly calling her a flash in the pan.

MORE TRIVIA: In 1977 this and the first single from Love Trilogy, Donna's cover of Barry Manilow's Could It Be Magic, were both included on the soundtrack for the creepy disco murder movie, Looking For Mr. Goodbar.
EVEN MORE TRIVIA: The female background singers on Try Me were former members of 1976 Eurovision winners Brotherhood Of Man.

Christine Quinn Got Married Yesterday

Yesterday New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn became the highest-profile legally married gay politician in the nation.

Quinn walked down the aisle in a cream-colored gown designed by New York-based Carolina Herrera, with a one-of-a-kind decorative hair comb by Lulu Frost, fashioned out of family heirlooms. Catullo wore a silk suit designed by Bronx native Ralph Lauren. Both women, whose moms died of cancer when they were teens, were escorted down the aisle by their tough-as-nails, blue-collar dads, both World War II veterans, Lawrence Quinn, 85, and Anthony Catullo, 86. Kim Catullo strode in to Bruce Springsteen’s “If I Should Fall Behind” followed by Christine Quinn, who entered to Beyoncé’s version of “Ave Maria.” The bridal party walked in to a mix version of “Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World” by the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. Before 275 guests that included Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer and at least 10 City Council members, the couple exchanged platinum wedding bands and eternity bands from Doyle & Doyle.

Several recent polls show Quinn easily winning the 2013 NYC mayoral race.

Email Of The Day - Sarah Steelman

"Hollywood already has two Senate seats in California. Now they’re trying to buy a third one here in Missouri. The Hollywood-liberal-elites are trying to hijack this Senate Seat — and that’s no exaggeration! You see, my Democrat opponent, Claire McCaskill has a series of liberal celebrities who are funding her campaign. Check this list out: Danny DeVito. Susan Sarandon. Kate Capshaw. Steven Spielberg. Every one of them has donated to my liberal opponent. She is going to keep raising enormous amounts of Hollywood money for the sole purpose of defeating me! I’m a no-compromise conservative woman. I’m a wife and a mother, and the former State Treasurer of Missouri. I serve on the board of the Missouri Club for Growth, and I’ve been endorsed by the Tea Party Express. In short, I’m exactly the type of woman that today's liberals can't stand." - Sarah Steelman, who needs money to stop communist movie stars.

SLIDESHOW: AIDS Walk New York

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and a galaxy of Broadway, Hollywood and television stars crowded the main stage in Central Park early this morning to help kick off the GMHC's 27th Annual AIDS Walk New York. Stars on hand included Wendy Williams, Grammy nominee Keri Hilson, NCIS: Los Angeles star Barrett Foa, Tony winner David Hyde Pierce, Glee's Dot Jones, designer Jason Wu, and Ugly Betty's Michael Urie, who played to the squealing fans in the front row by throwing HIS underwear in the face of good sport Nick Jonas.You can find all of that and much more in the slideshow below, plus lots of shots of the more than 45,000 walkers who jammed Central Park from end-to-end today. To date, AIDS Walk New York has raised more than $122 million for programs and services in the tri-state region. My personal thanks to GMHC Communications Director Dirk McCall for looking after me all morning. Full-screen photos are here.

Tired Old Queen At The Movies #101

1947's Out Of The Past, starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas.

MANILA: Christians Protest Lady Gaga

NAACP Endorses Marriage Equality

MAJOR news today. The board of directors of the NAACP has voted to officially endorse same-sex marriage. Reactions from other civil rights groups will be added to the bottom of this post as they arrive.

“The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure the political, social and economic equality of all people,” board chair Roslyn M. Brock said in a statement following passage of the resolution on Saturday. “We have and will oppose efforts to codify discrimination into law.”The chairman emeritus, Julian Bond, had already pledged his support earlier this week as part of a coalition of black leaders trying to tamp down speculation that Obama’s support of gay marriage would divide the black community.

The resolution and statement Saturday specifically noted that the group supports “civil marriage” for same sex couples, while respecting religious freedom -- something the president also mentioned when announcing his stance. “Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law,” NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said in the statement. “The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people.”

Here is the text of the resolution:

The NAACP Constitution affirmatively states our objective to ensure the “political, education, social and economic equality” of all people. Therefore, the NAACP has opposed and will continue to oppose any national, state, local policy or legislative initiative that seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law or to remove the Constitutional rights of LGBT citizens. We support marriage equality consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Further, we strongly affirm the religious freedoms of all people as protected by the First Amendment.

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force

This is truly a historic moment as the NAACP — the nation’s oldest civil rights organization — takes an official and unequivocal stand for marriage equality. As the country’s oldest national LGBT rights group, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force could not be more thrilled. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the NAACP working together on the many issues that affect all of our lives. Whether it be fair access to education and jobs, an end to voter suppression and racial profiling, the right to love and be who we are free of discrimination — these issues affect all of us, our families and our country. Today the NAACP did what it does so well — inspires and affirms our common humanity.

Freedom To Marry

The NAACP has long been the nation's conscience and champion for an America where all share equally in the promise of liberty and justice for all. Today the NAACP resoundingly affirmed that the freedom to marry is a civil right and family value that belongs to all of us, and that discriminatory barriers to marriage must fall. The toxic tactics of anti-gay groups like NOM to 'drive a wedge between blacks and gays' will be washed away in the wave of righteous affirmation.

Human Rights Campaign

We could not be more pleased with the NAACP’s history-making vote today – which is yet another example of the traction marriage equality continues to gain in every community. It’s time the shameful myth that the African-American community is somehow out of lockstep with the rest of the country on marriage equality is retired - once and for all. The facts and clear momentum toward marriage speak for themselves. NOM has pursued ugly racial politics seeking to divide people, but what is becoming crystal clear is that its strategy is not working. Americans from all walks of life are uniting to support love, commitment, and stronger families.

GLAAD

"For more than 103 years, the NAACP has been a leading advocate and a voice for members of marginalized communities. Today’s announcement represents their continued stance against the discrimination that LGBT families face. We applaud President Ben Jealous and the NAACP Board of Directors for their leadership on this issue," said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. "Across races, faith traditions, and political persuasions, a majority of our culture recognizes that denying gay couples the chance at happiness that comes with being married is unfair and un-American.”

National Black Justice Coalition

“As a Life Member of the NAACP, I am happy to see the organization join the President of the United States in ‘evolving’ and follow the powerful example of civil rights icons and Black voices like Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, Julian Bond, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and others who have said committed LGBT couples and families deserve the same protections as everyone else,” says Sharon Lettman-Hicks, NBJC Executive Director and CEO. “Family is the epicenter of Black life, community and culture. For Black LGBT people, its importance is just as great.”

Marriage Equality USA

"The NAACP has an unbroken history of standing up for civil rights for all Americans, right up through their stand against the discriminatory Amendment 1 in North Carolina, and now today’s historic vote affirming marriage equality for all loving and committed couples,” said Stuart Gaffney, MEUSA Media Director. “Standing together from coast-to-coast with allies such as the NAACP is what is going to make the dream of marriage equality for all loving and committed couples a reality.”

Afternoon View - Bethesda Fountain

Today's Racist Anti-Obama Ad

Blacks live in slums. Real white Americans are Boy Scouts.

Barry Walters On Donna Summer

"When Summer died from cancer yesterday at the age of 63, the straight world lost a superstar, but gays of my generation lost an emblem of our lives that we may never experience again, even at a time when everything is marketed more and more brazenly to us. We’ll probably never have another open secret like Summer again because a mystery like hers will either be answered forthwith or never allowed to occur.

"And maybe that’s good: At a time when even the President supports gay marriage, possibilities exist that we couldn’t have dreamed of when Summer recorded her first faked orgasm on behalf of our suppressed own. Given the choice between equal rights and second-class citizenry sweetened by beat-driven romance, we’ll still take our Constitutional prerogative, thankyouverymuch. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t mourn the shared sense of community Summer both helped made possible and embodied. Even outlaws remember their last dance." - Famed music critic Barry Walters, writing for Pop Dust.

Donna Summer, Me, And The First Days Of Disco.

NOTE: A few years ago I found out that Barry Walters, the esteemed Rolling Stone music critic I'd been following for twenty-five years was a regular JMG reader. THUD. Since then I've gotten to hang out with him at a couple of great dance parties. Definitely one of the cooler perks of this here website thingy.

CDC Tells Boomers: Get A Hep C Test

The Centers For Disease Control has issued a call for all "baby boomers" to get a one-time test for Hepatitis C.

One in 30 baby boomers – the generation born from 1945 through 1965 – has been infected with hepatitis C, and most don’t know it. Hepatitis C causes serious liver diseases including liver cancer, which is the fastest-rising cause of cancer-related deaths, and the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States. CDC believes this approach will address the largely preventable consequences of this disease, especially in light of newly available therapies that can cure up to 75 percent of infections. “With increasingly effective treatments now available, we can prevent tens of thousands of deaths from hepatitis C,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.

The CDC estimates that more than two million baby boomers are presently infected with Hep C, which is the leading cause of liver transplants.

Number One On Amazon

Poll Averages Unmoved By Marriage

Several national polls taken since Obama's "evolution" indicate that the race remains a statistical dead heat.

Birthers Never Give Up (Con't)

"First of all, I’m not playing to the birthers, I’m not a birther. I believe that the president was born in Hawaii, or at least I hope he was. Hawaii has a special provision in their law that allows other government officials from other states to request what’s called a verification in lieu of a certified copy of a birth certificate. So I’m not asking for the certified copy of the birth certificate at all. I was frankly expecting that they would very quickly and very simply say ‘yes.’ Eight weeks later, they haven’t. I can’t seem to get them to say yes." - Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, saying he may keep President Obama off his state's November ballot.

Russians In High Places

Just watching this makes my balls ache.

UPDATE: About the bridge.

The bridge to the Russky Island will be one of the world’s largest cable-stayed bridges, the 1104m long central span of which will establish a new record in the world bridge building practice. The bridge will also have the world's highest bridge towers and the longest cable stays.

Write-In Campaign

The latest con job from scamvangelist Bill Keller.

Ron Paul Can Still Win This Thing!

So sez hardcare Paul follower Adam Kokesh, who is telling Ron Paul delegates to disrupt the Republican Convention.

RELATED: Five years ago many of us panted for Kokesh during his anti-war protests at the U.S. Capitol. Kokesh was eventually separated from the military over his activism and he then ran for Congress unsuccessfully in 2010. Then came the cray-cray.

Two U.S. House Reps Seek To Reinstate Domestic Propaganda Program

Two members of the U.S. House, one from each party, are seeking to lift a decades-old ban on distributing pro-America propaganda campaigns within the United States. Congress passed bills in 1948 and again in 1987 to protect American audiences from disinformation campaigns created by the U.S. government for use overseas.

The bi-partisan amendment is sponsored by Rep. Mark Thornberry (R) from Texas and Rep. Adam Smith (D) from Washington State. In a little noticed press release earlier in the week — buried beneath the other high-profile issues in the $642 billion defense bill, including indefinite detention and a prohibition on gay marriage at military installations — Thornberry warned that the current law “ties the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.” The bill's supporters say the informational material used overseas to influence foreign audiences is too good to not use at home, and that new techniques are needed to help fight Al-Qaeda. Critics of the bill say there are ways to keep America safe without turning the massive information operations apparatus within the federal government against American citizens. [snip]

The new law would give sweeping powers to the State Department and Pentagon to push television, radio, newspaper, and social media onto the U.S. public. “It removes the protection for Americans,” says a Pentagon official who is concerned about the law. “It removes oversight from the people who want to put out this information. There are no checks and balances. No one knows if the information is accurate, partially accurate, or entirely false.” According to this official, “senior public affairs” officers within the Department of Defense want to “get rid” of Smith-Mundt and other restrictions because it prevents information activities designed to prop up unpopular policies—like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The House version of the defense authorization bill passed today. The Senate takes up their version of the bill shortly.

One Million Shrews Notices GAP Ad

I called this two weeks ago, but finally One Million Shrews have noticed that GAP ad.

In Los Angeles, CA, GAP has a billboard located downtown that reads: "GAP- BE BRIGHT- BE ONE" with two homosexual men pressed together under a shared t-shirt. They are hugging each other and facing the camera cheek-to-cheek. "BE ONE" is in large letters which emphasizes the same-sex relationship. You can see the actual billboard here. GAP Inc. Brands, including Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Athleta, does not deserve, nor will it get, money from conservative families across the country. Supporting GAP is not an option until they decide to remain neutral in the culture war. GAP needs to seriously consider how their immoral advertising affect the youth of our nation. Christians should urge for the removal of GAP's offensive billboard in Los Angeles and any other city where it is located. GAP will also need to cancel any plans to use the "Be One" ad campaign elsewhere including store-front posters, its website, and in print magazine ads.

Russian Activists Defy Law, Release Balloons On Day Against Homophobia

UDPATE: Commenters point out that things got ugly after the above clip was recorded.

Several gay rights activists have suffered injuries after being assaulted during and after a chaotic demonstration in St.Petersburg. Dozens gathered in a city center park to mark International Day Against Homophobia. City authorities had sanctioned the demonstration, and a police unit shielded participants as they chanted slogans and gave out balloons to passers-by. A larger crowd of anti-gay protesters, some wielding Orthodox crosses, repeatedly shouted death threats, and attempted to break the cordon. Eventually, one man struggled past the police and sprayed mace at one of the demonstrators, who lay prone for several minutes until paramedics arrived.

Afraid the police would not be able to keep the peace, the activists wrapped up the event within minutes. Police escorted the participants on to buses, but the convoy had only traveled several streets when a large group of shaven-headed men sporting football and neo-Nazi attire blocked their path. The assailants threw several smoke grenades at the buses, before rushing them. They broke the windows with rocks and clubs and climbed inside, punching and kicking the activists. Police officers intervened and the drivers managed to get away.

Douchebag Of The Day - Bill Donohue

"The people who go know they are not witnessing a wedding. I will be at a bar [on Saturday] watching the Preakness. The horses are a lot more fun - and it's real." - Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue, who wasn't fucking invited to NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn's totally legal and real wedding anyway.

MALAWI: New President Vows To Decriminalize Homosexuality

Sit down, there's good news from Africa.

President Joyce Banda has said she wants Malawi to overturn its ban on homosexual acts - the first African country to do so since 1994. Two Malawian men were sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2010 after saying they were getting married. Several Western leaders have recently said they would cut aid to countries which did not recognise gay rights. In her first state of the nation address to parliament, Mrs Banda said: "Some laws which were duly passed by the august house... will be repealed as a matter of urgency... these include the provisions regarding indecent practices and unnatural acts." The BBC's Raphael Tenthani in the main city, Blantyre, says the president has the support of a majority of MPs and so should be able to get parliament to overturn the law.

Religious groups are expected to loudly oppose Banda's plan.

Aussie Gay Pol Steps Up On National TV "I Know What My Family Is Worth"

Clip description: "Australian Finance Minister Penny Wong delivers a dignified and emotionally powerful response to Joe Hockey after a question about same-sex parenting on the ABC TV show Q&A. This happened live on TV and Twitter went mad."

Europe Marriage Map

With France to join shortly, it appears. Via Wikipedia.

Maryland OK's Gay Divorce

You can't yet get gay-married in Maryland, but you can get gay-divorced.

The Court of Appeals ruled 7-0 that couples who have a valid marriage from another state can divorce in Maryland. The case involved two women who were married in California and denied a divorce in 2010 by a Maryland judge. “A valid out-of-state same-sex marriage should be treated by Maryland courts as worthy of divorce, according to the applicable statues, reported cases, and court rules of this state,” the court concluded in a 21-page ruling. It said Maryland courts should withhold recognition of a valid foreign marriage only if that marriage is “repugnant” to state public policy. The court says the threshold is a high bar that has not been met in the case that it ruled on.

Yo Soy Mitt Romney

How do you say "flip-flop" in Spanish?

Email Of The Day - Mark Neumann

"My opponent is radical leftist Tammy Baldwin who was ranked the #1 most liberal Representative in Congress last year. She voted for ObamaCare but complained it didn’t go far enough! She openly pushes for a full government takeover of our health care system. She's been on the front lines of the effort to Recall Scott Walker. She eats, sleeps, and breathes radicalism. Now Tammy Baldwin wants a promotion to the U.S. Senate so she can have a bigger impact pushing her out-of-touch liberal views. We cannot let her get there." - Former Rep. Mark Neumann, who is battling openly lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by the retirement of Sen. Herb Kohl.

Support Tammy Baldwin for Senate.

AFA's Poll Of The Day

Details.

Obama Is Cheating On Black People

"The black community is in an adulterous relationship with President Obama. He is asking us to stray from the most basic tenets of Scripture – that marriage is an institution made by God for man and woman to become one and procreate. He's telling us it's fine to hold onto our beliefs but that it's also okay to accept his stance on a position that goes against that core belief. This is no different than a married person having a relationship with someone other than their spouse."- Pastor Harry Jackson, speaking to the Christian Post.

Jesus Of Siberia

France Promises Gay Marriage

France's new prime minister yesterday vowed to fulfill the promise of just-elected President Francois Hollande (above right) and implement full civil marriage equality for same-sex couples.

A communiqué issued by the office of the prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, who took office on 15 May, marked the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia yesterday with a pledge to put the president’s manifesto promise into law. It said: “On the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment against violence and discrimination perpetrated as a result of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Government is determined to challenge prejudice and to put an end to discrimination and violence. It will implement the commitment of the President of the Republic to the right to marriage and adoption to gay couples.”

How soon the process might begin is not yet known.

Kids Review Skrillex

Clip description:

Despite his trans-continental fame, multiple Grammy wins, and nearly perfect 'do, a lot of people still don't know what to make of Skrillex. With that in mind, we asked our panel of adorable tots, tykes, and toddlers to give us their honest opinion of "Bangarang," the prince of dubstep's wobbly banger.

(Tipped by JMG reader Matthew)

Public Offering

Internet Protest Sells Out Queens Stadium

Remember when I told you that Ultra Orthodox Jews had rented Citi Field for a massive anti-internet protest? Well, it's so sold out, they've had to also rent the nearby Arthur Ashe Stadium, home of the U.S. Open, as a satellite protest venue. The New York Times has more:

Speakers at the rally in Queens will not seek to ban the Internet, but rather to raise awareness about how, unmonitored, it poses a grave risk to the community, said Eytan Kobre, a spokesman for the organizers. The risk, he said, comes not only from pornography, but also from social media and the addictive pull of the Internet, which can limit human interaction, reading and study. “These are the same concerns that people across society — in academia, in psychology, parents, spouses — have about the Internet,” he said.

“But here is a community that is actually standing up and coming together and putting our money where our mouth is, to express a unified communal resolve to address the issues.” At both stadiums, only men are invited, because of the ultra-Orthodox practice of strict gender separation. The meeting will be broadcast live to audiences of women in schools and event halls in Borough Park and Flatbush in Brooklyn and in other ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, according to Hamodia, a newspaper serving the Orthodox.

RELATED: As he always does, Bill Donohue finds a reason to make himself the victim of something that has nothing to do with him.

Richard Branson Comes Out For Marriage

It never hurts to have a billionaire on your side.

RUSSIA: The Media Makes You Gay

According to a just-published poll, almost half of the people in Russia believe that gayness is acquired through exposure in the media.

“Forty-seven percent of the respondents said media and propaganda were the key factors contributing to development of a person’s non-traditional sexual orientation,” the pollster said in a press release issued Thursday. Among other vital factors that impact the development of homosexuality, respondents named the influence of friends and parents (35 and 33 percent, respectively). Only 16 percent said that negative experience of past relationships with people of the opposite sex brings about homosexuality. Same-sex relations were only decriminalized in Russia in 1993, and anti-gay sentiment remains strong among Russians, including the political establishment.

Solar Eclipse On Sunday

Visible on the west coast only.

NORTH CAROLINA: More Blacks Back Gay Marriage After Obama's Announcement

Public Policy Polling has published a fascinating result out of North Carolina, where support for gay marriage has surged among black voters such the president's announcement.

There's been a noticeable shift in the attitudes of African Americans in North Carolina toward rights for gay couples in the wake of President Obama's announcement last week that he supports gay marriage. Our final poll before the primary last week found only 20% of black voters in the state favoring gay marriage, with 63% opposed. Now 27% express support for gay marriage with 59% opposed, for an overall 11 point shift on the margin.

There's been a similar movement when it comes to the overall idea of providing gay couples legal rights in the form of either marriage or civil unions. Before the primary 44% of African Americans favored one of those with 51% opposed to any sort of legal recognition for same sex couples. Now 55% of blacks support either gay marriage or civil unions with only 39% against any sort of recognition. Obama's words look to be having an impact.

Great news!

Concerned Women Are Concernstipated That Muslims Are Dangerous To Convert

"It is well-known that strict Muslims advocate killing and desecration, so we, as educated Christians, must be aware of this and, as Jude cautions, 'save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.' Nurture this aggressive faith by passionately seeking after God through prayer and action. And notice the order: first and foremost, pray. Secondly, take action by educating yourself and refusing to be passive. We need to conquer through conviction, defend our morals, and lead by example.

"America was founded on Biblical principles. Our Founding Fathers built this country on aggressive thoughts and actions. They went up against a tyrannical government to gain freedom of religion and speech, which would not have been obtained without an aggressive faith. So rise up! Heed the call! Have an aggressive faith, and trust God to lead you. Remember, as Americans, we don’t negotiate with terrorists, and as Christians, we do not negotiate with those who seek to destroy what God has set apart. Our faith is a weapon! Use it!" - Alexandria Paolozzi, writing on the Concerned Women blog.

Anti-Abortion Activists Force "Conscience Protections" For Kansas Pharmacists

Kansas has become the fifth state to allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense emergency contraception. Focus On The Family cheers:

The Health Care Rights of Conscience Act prevents anyone from being forced to prescribe, distribute or administer drugs they “reasonably believe” could kill a preborn child. Supporters said the bill updates a 1969 law preventing people from being required to perform or participate in abortions. But since the advent of abortifacient drugs, an update was needed. “Before, it was just doctors and nurses and people who had conscience concerns because these things often happen in medical clinics and places like that,” said Robert Noland, executive director of the Kansas Family Policy Council. “But now it can be as simple as writing a prescription. And a pharmacist may not agree with these kinds of things.”

Kansas joins Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Dakota.

CALIFORNIA: Hate Group Calls For Skipping School On Harvey Milk Day

New From Minnesotans United

This is about Sunday's house parties.