Evening View - Sssssteam Heat

Those weird middle-of-the-street venting pipes are blowing steam all over the Upper East Side. What are they doing, exactly?

Today On OutQ: Angels & Gassies

Today Michelangelo Signorile broadcasts his annual "Angels & Gassies" show on Sirius OutQ.

Michelangelo Signorile salutes the year’s heroes – and skewers the year’s villains – with his annual “Angels and Gassies” awards. For newbies: The “Gassies” are the hate-filled, dangerous gasbags, monsters, liars, cheats, war-mongers on the right. The “Angels” are those who fight them. It’s four hours of hilarious clips, cutting commentary, and nominations from listeners!

Mike asked me to be a "special presenter" this year, so tune in (2PM EST, 11AM PST) to hear my nomination. Mine is a "Gassie". Who do you think I picked? Get a free 3-day trial of Sirius here.
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HomoQuotable - James Stabile

"If I could, I would take back everything I’ve said. I’ve hurt a lot of people in the gay community, and I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart. I’m not here to get any attention. I’m here to say to people that I want to help prevent other young gay guys from experiencing what I experienced, because I don’t want them to be hurt, and I was hurt really badly." - James Stabile, who made national news when he claimed to instantly become "ex-gay" when a pastor touched him at a "purity seige" outside a Dallas gay bar. Stabile was later revealed to be bipolar and off his medication.

(Via - Dallas Voice.)

Broadway Friday

-Neil Patrick Harris, Gary Beach, Tituss Burgess, David Burtka, Charles Busch, Nancy Dussault, Malcolm Gets, Cheyenne Jackson, and Tastiskank (Kate Reinders and Sarah Litzsinger) will be among the performers of Broadway Backwards 3, to be held at the American Airlines Theatre on Monday, February 4. The concert will feature a diverse cast of male singers performing songs traditionally performed by female singers, and vice versa, with all proceeds benefiting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) Community Center in New York City.

- The revival of Gypsy starring Patti Lupone will begin previews at the St. James March 3, 2008, with an official opening March 27.

-The five-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone will close Dec. 30 at the Marquis Theatre following 674 performances and 32 previews. I saw it twice with the full original cast. Still the best thing I've seen on Broadway. BTW, Drowsy is the most successful Canadian show in Broadway history.

-Hairspray: The Musical received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Ensemble Cast. Unlike with the Golden Globes, no noms for Sweeney Todd.

- Dr. Seuss led last week's grosses at $1.5M, Wicked close behind at $1.4M.

-The League of American Theatres and Producers has changed their name to the Broadway League. According to the League, the change would more accurately represent a membership that includes not only producers and theater owners but general managers and other theater professionals.

Failed Ex-Gay Gunman: I Will Rain Columbine Down On The Christian World

More evidence about Matthew Murray has been released to the press:

DENVER -- Among the items taken from a search of gunman Matthew Murray's home was a picture of former New Life pastor Ted Haggard, according to police documents released Wednesday. Murray lived in the Englewood home in with his father, mother and brother. The family was very devout and the parents had home-schooled both children, neighbors said.

According to the police documents, officers confiscated a Beretta, ammunition, a pamphlet entitled "Fall of America," literature on Youth With A Mission, a Bible, a journal, a pistol, a homicide investigation manual, prescription pills, several hard drives, gun cases and boxes of ammunition.

In several online writings, posted weeks before the two deadly church shootings, Murray expressed his rage at organized religion and at Youth With A Mission, which had kicked him out of a missionary program for unspecified "health reasons."

Murray wrote that he would rain Columbine down on the Christian world. He came "armed to the teeth," as he promised, bringing an assault rifle, two handguns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition when he walked into New Life Church.

He also wrote that Haggard was his mother's favorite pastor and in a post about four hours before the shootings at New Life, he wrote that Christianity to him was "hate, abuse (sexual, physical, psychological, and emotional), hypocrisy, and lies."

You have to wonder how many other Matthew Murrays are being brewed right now.
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Instant Disco History #11: Disco Xmas

Reposted from last year....

No holiday has been more discofied than Xmas. Disco Jingle Bells. Disco Rudolph. Disco Shitty Gift Card From A Store I'd Never Shop In. Here's a few of my favorites.

Weather Girls - Dear Santa, Bring Me A Man This Christmas (Columbia Records, 1986) - I'd listen to Martha and (the sadly late) Izora sing the phone book, but actually this song is a pretty great take on their classic, It's Raining Men. Place him under my tree, Mr. C! (Download 6:26)

Holiday Express - Disco Santa (Casablanca Records 1983). The Village People classics YMCA and Macho Man get yuled up. N-O-E-L. How do you make an "N"? (Download 3:34)

Roller Disco Orchestra - Winter Wonderland (Hallmark Records 1986). Cheesy vocals for days, but this track has some nice orchestration, sharp horns and lovely strings too. (Download 3:29)

Charo - Mamacita, Donde Esta Santa Claus? (Salsoul Records 1978). It's not Xmas without Charo. Just isn't. When I lived in sweltering South Florida, I used to hear this ten times a day on Power 96. (Download 5:39)

Boney M - Feliz Navidad (Hansa Records 1986). I love Boney M. They are the only act to have two songs in England's all-time Top Ten singles. And one of those songs was a Xmas record. And this ain't it. Get out the crackers, here comes the cheese. (Download 2:22)

Salsoul Orchestra - Sleigh Ride (Salsoul Records 1976). A lovely loping little confection. (Download 3:04)

Salsoul Orchestra - Christmas Medley (Salsoul Records 1976). From 31 years ago, this is the original Xmas disco track and it is still considered by many to be the best. I've heard it two dozen times on the radio in the last two weeks. (Download 12:12)

NON-DISCO-RELATED 2007 UPDATE: A survey published last week listed the top five most-hated Xmas songs ever. Joining Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer and the Singing Dogs on the hate list is Barbra Streisand's gruesome take on Jingle Bells. Oy! That song once caused me to threaten to leap out of a car in the middle of I-95. Seriously, I think it causes cancer. Proceed accordingly. (Download 1:58)
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Top Ten Quotes Of 2007

Via the Yale Book Of Quotations, here's the top ten quotes from 2007.

10. "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history." - Jimmy Carter.

9. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." - Sen. Joe Biden, speaking about Barack Obama.

8. "(I have) a wide stance when going to the bathroom." - Sen. Larry Craig.

7. "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating." Sen. Harry Reid, speaking about Dick Cheney.

6. "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11." - Sen. Joe Biden, speaking about Rudy Giuliani.

5. "I don't recall." - Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

4. "That's some nappy-headed hos there." Don Imus.

3. "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country." - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

2. "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us." - Miss South Carolina.

1. "Don't tase me, bro!" - UF student Andrew Meyer.

You'll note that Joe Biden made the list twice.
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Larry Flynt on Giuliani And "Bitchy" Gays

"Let me ask you something. As mayor of New York, would you live in an apartment with three gay guys? I’m not gay. I don’t hate gays. But I don’t want to live in an apartment full of them. They’ll bitch and cry and all. That doesn’t bother Giuliani. It doesn’t bother Giuliani to put a dress on to do Saturday Night Live. I don’t trust him. I don’t think he’s electable." - Larry Flynt, telling Vanity Fair his opinion on gays and Rudy Giuliani.

I normally rather admire Flynt, but I could have done without this.

Cynthia McKinney Announces Bid

Former Democratic Rep Cynthia McKinney announces her Green Party candidacy. I think there's about six or seven Greens running at the moment. One of the last things McKinney did before losing her seat was to introduce a bill calling for Bush to be impeached.

Daily Grumble

Are all smoke detectors designed so that their batteries fail at 3am? After the beeping invaded my dreams (something about a truck backing up and I had to move my car, which I don't have one of), I had to get up and drag a ladder out so I could rip the thing down. Bother.

One-Handed Activism

In case you need to plan ahead, Saturday is the second annual Global Orgasm Day. The purpose, according to the site: "To effect positive change in the energy field of the Earth through the largest possible instantaneous surge of human biological, mental, and spiritual energy."
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Scalia On Gay Orgies

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gave a lecture in Scotland earlier this month and brought up a 2001 ruling by the European Court Of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The court had judged in favor of a Yorkshire man arrested in 1996 when police found him in possession of videotapes showing him taking part in an all-male orgy. According to the law at the time of his arrest, homosexual acts were legal only if no more than two people were present. Backed by UK gay rights group Stonewall, the man sued for breach of privacy and was awarded almost $50,000. Laws against private gay sex acts were subsequently overturned in the UK.

Scalia, who wrote the dissenting opinion on Lawrence v. Texas (which struck down sodomy laws in the U.S.) said of the Strasbourg ruling, "The court did not specify how many people had to be participating in the sexual conduct before it would cease to qualify as part of each one's 'private life'. Presumably it is some number between five and the number required to fill the Coliseum."

OK, Scalia is a tool, but that is funny.

(Via - Michael Petrelis.)

Ron Paul Takes Money From Hate Group

Republican candidate Ron Paul has accepted a $500 campaign donation from Don Black, founder and head of Stormfront, a white supremacist organization. A spokesman for Paul said, "If someone with small ideologies happens to contribute money to Ron, thinking he can influence Ron in any way, he's wasted his money. Ron is going to take the money and try to spread the message of freedom."

Black told the Palm Beach Post, "We know that he's not a white nationalist. He says he isn't and we believe him, but on the issues, there's only one choice."

So, do you take money from idiots because, as Ron Paul's spokesman said, "That's $500 less that this guy has to do whatever it is that he does." I wonder what Paul's rah-rah man thinks about this.

UPDATE: Here's Sullivan's take: "There are plenty of reasons to be perturbed when loons and hate-mongers support a candidacy. But this game of guilt-by-association can be played endlessly. I tend to place greater emphasis on loons and hate-mongers that candidates actively seek out. Pat Robertson is a loon and an anti-Semite and a vicious homophobe who blamed Americans for 9/11. Giuliani didn't receive some unsolicited money from him; he actually stood on a platform and embraced him. Why one standard for Paul and another for Giuliani? If Obama embraced Louis Farrakhan as a supporter, you think Goldfarb and Kirchick would be silent? They'd have a cow because it's unthinkable. But naked bigotry is more than thinkable in today's GOP: it's integral to it. What's the difference between Farrakhan and Robertson? I can't see any."

Open Thread Thursday

What city will you be in on Christmas? Traveling or staying home?
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Coulter Wants To See Hillary's Dead Body

Ann Coulter was on Fox News on Tuesday to say that she originally thought that Obama's recent surge in the polls was faked because the MSM was "bored" and trying to make the Democratic campaign into a "horse race." Coulter admitted to being surprised that Obama's rise in the polls was actual and that Clinton may be in trouble. Then:

Coulter: "But I won't believe it until we see the dead body."

Host John Gibson: "You don't mean that literally."

Coulter laughed and said nothing.

Gibson tried to cover for Coulter: "All right, you DON'T mean that literally. Can she lose the first two or three primaries and still emerge as the candidate?"

Coulter: "It's possible. I would love to see this national pestilence finished off once and for all. The primary would be great. If not, I'll take the general election."

RELATED: Coulter has also wished for the death of John Edwards.
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War On California's SB777 Continues

The Christofascists are really losing their shit over California's SB777, the law intended to stop discrimination against LGBT youth in public schools. Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law earlier this year.

From WingNutDaily:

HOMOSEXODUS!
Revealed: 'Gay' plans to target 2-year-olds
5th-grade students could be handed 'Coping With Sexual Orientation'

Children as young as two years of age are in the bull's-eye of coming changes in California's school curriculum, which "gay rights" advocates now admit will alter the very foundation of information presented to public school classrooms.

A list of school resources, sponsored by a homosexual-advocacy group called Safe Schools Coalition, suggests that for those who are only two years old, there's "Felicia's Favorite Story," which tells how she was "adopted by her two mothers."

The list also promotes a book called "Are You a Girl or a Boy?" by Karleen Jiminez, a resource for children ages 4-8 when advocating homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism and other alternative lifestyle choices. It's described as "A sweet book about a gender-different kid."

Other resources being promoted in light of California's adoption of SB 777 as state law include books authored by officials for Planned Parenthood and the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. One book, called "Tackling Gay Issues in School," is for kindergarten through grade 12, and offers a "rationale (for the inclusion of les/bi/gay/trans issues in school)." It features recommended "extracurricular" activities for classes.

The promotion of such materials has coincided with the recent admission by Equality California, a homosexual advocacy group that worked to have SB 777 passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, that the bill really does edit all school curricula in California.

For months while California lawmakers discussed Senate Bill 777, opponents worried about its usefulness in censoring public school curricula to include a pro-homosexual bias. Supporters, however, steadfastly maintained that it only clarified anti-discrimination laws already on the books. They still hold that stance, with statements this week from both Schwarzenegger's office and Equality California.

Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for the governor, insisted it is a "technical bill" intended to clarify anti-discriminations laws. "It simply takes anti-discrimination language used in other areas of [state law] such as employment and puts that in the education code," she said. And Ali Bay of Equality California told WND the new law "doesn't require that any specific curriculum be included in California's classrooms."

Technically it is correct that the law doesn't "require inclusion." But opponents say it does now ban anything that can be "perceived" as being discriminatory, up to and including references to "mom" and "dad" or "husband" and "wife."

"The terms 'mom and dad' or 'husband and wife' could promote discrimination against homosexuals if a same-sex couple is not also featured," said Meredith Turney, the legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute.

"Parents want the assurance that when their children go to school they will learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic – not social indoctrination regarding alternative sexual lifestyles. Now that SB 777 is law, schools will in fact become indoctrination centers for sexual experimentation," she said.

The new law demands, "No teacher shall give instruction nor shall any school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias because of a characteristic [including perceived gender.]"

And Karen England, a spokeswoman for Capital Resource who is a primary organizer behind the Save Our Kids plan to put the issue before voters and ask them to reject it, noted that even Equality California's own materials are assuring constituents the law will ban curriculum that fails to meet the pro-homosexual standard cited.

"All along, Capitol Resource Family Impact has maintained that the true agenda behind SB 777 is to infuse school curriculum with pro-homosexual, and other controversial lifestyles, propaganda. The proponents of the bill countered that this was not true and the law would merely 'streamline' anti-discrimination laws for schools. Based on our 20-year experience with the homosexual lobby, we know that a common tactic is to maintain innocence and then utilize vague language to push a radical agenda. We expected the same of SB 777 and we are already witnessing the same pattern," England said.

"Last week the sponsor of SB 777, homosexual rights group Equality California, released their 2007 legislative scorecard. The scorecard featured a description of the each of the bills the group sponsored or considered homosexual-friendly," she said.

"For the first time, the group admitted that SB 777 'prohibits curriculum that is discriminatorily biased against LGBT people.' Understand that the entire time the group was pushing this bill through the legislature, they vehemently denied that it would affect curriculum. After the bill had passed, they now reveal their true agenda," England said.

And the lovely Freepers roll in:

-"I offer a personal anecdote. I have a homosexual nephew. His tactic on his own nephew, aged three, started by educating him in his front yard to the fact that "snails have no sex." Then he bought the boy a toy vacuum cleaner. Eh, homos start recruiting early. Even in their own families."

-"Homosexuals target children because it's highly unlikely that 12 year old boys have AIDS."

-"I have pointed out to 8th graders that most fashion is designed by gay guys who like teenage boys. That's why the models are built like....teenage boys, and why the fashion styles don't work on the average girl. The "EEEW" factor goes up considerably when they realize I'm right..."

Of course, the easy answer is that if you want to teach your kids to hate, take them the fuck out of public school.

UPDATE: Rex Wockner points us to his October story on SB 777, in which he interviewed Geoff Kors, the head of Equality California:

"This bill takes existing law and puts it in every part of the Education Code," Kors said. "It simply makes it really clear for administrators and puts the categories directly into the code rather than referring you [elsewhere]. Nothing is being changed legally."

Kors said anti-gay activists "are always looking for the issue they can use to rile up their base and, with the same-sex marriage bill vetoed, this is what they're going after."

"They are absolutely making up things that this law ... does not do," he said. "We have had seven years to see what these protections did or did not do.

"The Legislature did not pass, and the Republican governor did not sign, a bill that prohibits saying there are mothers and fathers," Kors said. "And even if the right wing repeals this law, all these exact protections still exist, because they're in a law from 2000."

Orangina And A Brick Wall

How to fake an attack:

December 19, 2007 -- This Ivy Leaguer did a bang-up job giving himself a beating.

Francisco Nava, the Princeton junior who said he was attacked because of his conservative political leanings, only to confess that the wounds were self-inflicted, has revealed exactly how he gave himself a concussion, swollen jaw and cuts all over his face.

"He said he dragged his face across a brick wall to give himself the abrasions," Sherif Girgis, a Princeton senior who helped care for Nava after the attack, said yesterday. "He hit himself with an Orangina bottle several times," which caused the concussion.

He hit himself with the bottle so hard it broke, Girgis said. Nava also bashed his head against the brick wall.

"It's remarkable to me that someone can cause those kinds of face injuries to himself," said Nava's professor and confidant, Robert P. George. "One's natural instinct is to protect one's face above all. It seems one would have to have pretty grave psychological issues to do that.

"He seemed to be a kid who had it all together. It's so sad to see a Princeton career destroyed like this."

Vladmir Putin: Person Of The Year 2007

Russia president Vladimir Putin has been named Time Magazine's Person Of The Year.

Putin is not a boy scout. He is not a democrat in any way that the West would define it. He is not a paragon of free speech. He stands, above all, for stability—stability before freedom, stability before choice, stability in a country that has hardly seen it for a hundred years. Whether he becomes more like the man for whom his grandfather prepared blinis—who himself was twice TIME's Person of the Year—or like Peter the Great, the historical figure he most admires; whether he proves to be a reformer or an autocrat who takes Russia back to an era of repression—this we will know only over the next decade. At significant cost to the principles and ideas that free nations prize, he has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power. For that reason, Vladimir Putin is TIME's 2007 Person of the Year.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Go to Towleroad where Andy Towle has compiled a comprehensive look at what gays have had to deal with under Putin over the last year. As Andy put it in an email, it ain't pretty.
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Another Book We'll Never See

Britney Spears' mother's book on parenting (fo' realz) has been pulled "indefinitely" now that Britney's kid sis has been knocked-up at age 16.

Insert your new title in the comments.
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Where Will Law & Order Find New Stories?

Manhattan is headed for the lowest annual number of murders since records first began being kept in 1937. District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced that this year's 65 murders (so far) represent a 40% drop from last year alone.

When Morgenthau first became DA in 1975, there were 648 murders in Manhattan. With more time on their hands, Manhattan's 500 prosecutors have been able to focus more on white collar crime, aiming in particular at Wall Street's stock and banking swindlers.

The irony here is that that gentrification, one of the things that appears to be making Manhattan so much safer, is at the top of most people's list of complaints about the city, as they wring their hands bemoaning the loss of their gritty, dangerous town. (I'm one of those people, sometimes.) Manhattan can now be seen as little more than an 11 mile long floating luxury mall, but we've also got about 600 fewer chalk outlines every year. But even though the so-called "abortion benefit" to the crime rate has been debunked by some, I'm still buying that theory as part of the mix.

DC Pride To Be Run By Religious Group?

In what's being described as a first for the country, a non-profit group affliated with the Presbyterian Church is one of three organizations competing to take over Washington DC's Capital Pride, which puts on that city's gay pride events every year. The Whitman-Walker Clinic is the current controllig organization of Capital Pride.

From Lou Chibbaro in the Washington Blade:

The Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation, which Westminster Presbyterian Church created to spur economic development in low-income neighborhoods, joined the D.C. GLBT Community Center and a newly formed entity called Capital Pride Alliance in submitting competing proposals on Dec. 11 to Whitman-Walker to obtain the rights to produce the annual Pride events.

Whitman-Walker announced on Oct. 11 that it was “exploring options” to withdraw from its role as the producing agent and primary financial underwriter of Capital Pride. Chief executive officer Don Blanchon said the change would allow the Clinic to focus more on its “core mission” of providing health care services to the GLBT community and people with HIV and AIDS.

ReGina Newkirk, Whitman-Walker’s director of development and community relations, said this week that the Clinic will consider the proposals submitted by the three groups to determine whether a “successful transition” for Capital Pride was possible in the near future.

She said the Clinic is committed to retaining its role as chief fiscal agent and producer of Capital Pride for 2008 and 2009 if Clinic officials determine that a replacement group was not yet capable of producing and operating the Capital Pride events before that time.

Asked if the Clinic might relinquish control of Capital Pride before 2009, Newkirk said, “It could if it would allow for a successful transition, and again, the key word being successful.”

In 1983, Westminster became the first Presbyterian Church in the Washington area to openly minister to the gay and lesbian community, and the gay-friendly church boasts of being the founder of Food & Friends, D.C.’s highly acclaimed AIDS service organization.

If Whitman-Walker selects Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation to take over Capital Pride, it would mark the first known time that a religious-oriented entity would serve as the head of a Gay Pride festival and parade in a major U.S. city.

Opinions? Can even a very gay-friendly church properly administer a major Pride event like Washington DC's? I'm encouraged by their successful operation of Food & Friends, but sometimes people don't realize the staggering logistics of an event that draws hundreds of thousands of people.
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Bifid, Propitiary, Coriaceous

Thanks to my vocabulary-lovin' mother, last night I spent a couple of hours wasting time at FreeRice.com, where for every three correct word definitions you move up one level. Each wrong answer knocks you back a level. Supposedly there's a 50th level and no one can get past 48. I could only manage a brief stay at 45, but it was a glorious, shiny moment. Oh, and the site is some kind of fundraiser for world hunger.

Morning View - Chinatown Sweets

The Tai Pan Bakery in Chinatown is an overwhelming madhouse - people are shouting in Cantonese and you have to be alert or you'll miss your turn. But the pastries are great, if suspiciously inexpensive. Aaron and I got foamy mini chocolate layer cakes - 90 cents each.

Magic Johnson: Obama's A Rookie

I've been thinking that the Clinton campaign was going to answer the Obama-Oprah combo with an endorsement from a major black celeb of their own. Yesterday the Clintons toured with HIV+ former NBA star Magic Johnson, who compared Obama to a rookie basketball player, saying, "You don't want somebody in there that is young or a rookie at politics. We want somebody in there that knows what they're doing because this job is so huge." Now I guess Obama has to come back with Michael Jordan.

Seven Year Old Beaten For Pink Nail Polish

Disgusting story in Orlando:

A man was arrested on child abuse charges after he beat a 7-year-old boy with a belt because the child put pink fingernail polish on his own nails, according to Orange County sheriff's deputies.

Aundre Jermaine Hill, 25, was arrested on Saturday at about 5:19 p.m. after sheriff's deputies responded to a home in reference to a call saying that a boy was discovered with bruises on his body.

Orange County sheriff's deputies said the boy's mother was bathing him when she noticed the markings on the boy. Investigators said it appeared the boy was beaten with a belt and hands on his buttocks, arms, temple and legs. Hill was located, arrested and transported to the Orange County Jail. He later bonded out of jail.

It's not clear if this man is the child's father, but at least the mother did the right thing and called the cops immediately.

WWJE?

Who would Jesus endorse? Hilarious.

The City And County Of San Fran-Nanny

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to place a municipal tax on soda because it causes obesity and strains the public health system.

Newsom is asking his staff to draft a law that would tax large grocery stores for stocking Coke, Pepsi and other drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. A spokesman for the mayor says the details are still be worked out including the size of the fee. City officials say there's a direct link between sweet drinks and obesity, which puts a strain on the public health system. Any soda pop tax still must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.

What, no tax on Cheetos?
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Huckabee On Larry King: Takes On AIDS Comment, DADT, Creationism

Huckabee's comment on AIDS and DADT start about four minutes into the clip. Huckabee agreed to meet Ryan White's mother last week, but so far she hasn't heard from him. In the next segment of the show, Huckabee shillster Chuck Norris chimes in.

(Via - HRC Back Story.)

Princeton Student Faked Own Attack

Last week Francisco Nava, a conservative and anti-gay Princeton student, told police and campus officials that he'd been roughed up by "men in black ski masks" and received hate mail after writing a column in the student newspaper criticizing the school for giving out free condoms. Other members of Princeton's Anscombe Society, a conservative student organization, who have spoken out against premarital sex and same-sex marriage, said they received similar threats.

Turns out, Nava's injuries were self-inflicted and he was sending the threatening emails himself.

Mount Laurel, New Jersey) A Princeton University student who argued that his conservative views were not accepted on the campus confessed to fabricating an assault and sending threatening e-mail messages to himself and some friends who shared his views, authorities say.

Princeton Township police said that Francisco Nava was not immediately charged with any crime, but that the investigation was continuing.

Nava claimed to have been assaulted Friday by two men off campus, police said. But he later confessed that scrapes and scratches on his face were self-inflicted, and that the threats were his work, too, said Detective Sgt. Ernie Silagyi.

A spokeswoman for the Ivy League university said punishment, which could range from a warning to expulsion, was pending Monday.

"The university takes all matters related to the safety of its community members very seriously," said spokeswoman Lauren Robinson-Brown. "It's particularly concerning that a student would fabricate such matters."

Nava was turned in by his own friends after they noted inconsistencies in his stories. Another likely closet case, beating himself up about it. Literally.
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PhoboQuotable - Matt Barber

"The military is no place for such radical San Francisco-style social experimentation, especially during a time of war. It's been the Department of Defense's long-standing position that to allow open homosexual behavior and other immoral conduct harms unit cohesion and troop morale.

I know this to be true from personal experience. I served 12 years in the military. During basic training, one of my fellow recruits was sent home for soliciting sex from other male recruits. The incident was an enormous distraction from our task at hand, which was to learn how to be good soldiers. Instead, recruits were violated, complaints were filed, and our command was forced to conduct a thorough investigation. It was an incredible waste of time and resources, and it definitely harmed troop morale and unit cohesion.

If the bleeding-heart lefties over at CBS News and the SLDN really want to do something to support our troops and help the military, they should abandon their attempts to radically alter and undermine the armed forces, pipe down, put a cork in it and let our brave fighting men and women win this war on terror." - Matt Barber, spokeshater for the Concerned Women For America, responding to Sunday's 60 Minutes piece on Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Susan Leal Struck By Car

Susan Leal, the head of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the highest ranked lesbian in that city's government, was struck by a car and thrown 30 feet yesterday. Miraculously, Leal remained conscious and appears to have no broken bones or internal injuries.

Leal has been making headlines lately as rumors abound that Mayor Gavin Newsom has asked her to resign. Both Leal and Newsom (who appointed Leal in 2004) have been dodging questions about her possible resignation. Newsom was elected to a second term as mayor last month and critics are complaining about the dwindling number of gays in his administration.

Immediately upon the news of Leal's injury, the comments board at SFGate lit up with (mostly) jokey accusations that Newsom had a hand in the incident:

- "Wow, didn't know that Newsom would play this rough. Hope she is up and walking soon."
- "Just what did Gavin know and when did he know it?"
- "Newsom tried taking a page out of Ted Kennedy's book. But he got it wrong, he should of been behind the wheel."

Time Magazine: Top Ten Awkward Moments Of 2007

10. Facebook profile reveals Giuliani's daughter supports Obama.

9. Miss South Carolina talks about geography.

8. Sally Field gets bleeped during the Emmys.

7. Rosie calls out Elizabeth on The View.

6. Britney Spears sleep-clomps the MTV Awards.

5. Sen. David Vitter's name found on DC Madam's list.

4. David Hasselhoff's daughter films him hammered.

3. Alec Baldwin rips into his daughter via voicemail.

2. Paris Hilton cries in court.

1. Columbia president insults Iran's president from the stage.

As much as I try to ignore celebrity gossip, I must confess that I was aware of all of these stories.

Morning View - Buddha

Aaron and I stopped in at a Canal Street temple to say hey to Buddha. I'd never been in a Buddhist temple before, it very much reminded me of my visit to the Stonecutters temple in Chelsea, only this one had a gift shop.

Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of the author, this week's Swag Tuesday item is Fruit Cocktail, the new novel by Arthur Wooten. Fruit Cocktail is published by Alyson Books. Wooten has written for theater, film, and television. Fruit Cocktail is the sequel to On Picking Fruit, also published by Alyson. His short story, Stroke Of Luck is in their collection Best Gay Love Stories: New York City.

Hop on board for this delicious, freshly squeezed sequel to the acclaimed On Picking Fruit, where Curtis Jenkins once again braves the fickle dating scene in his continuing search for the perfect man. After writing the successful "101 Ways to Collide Into Your Gay Soul Mate", Curtis finds on his book tour that men - whether in Provincetown, Los Angeles, or somewhere in between - rarely wear their hearts on their biceps . . . unless it's a tattoo. Funny, unpredictable, and strangely moving, Fruit Cocktail is, like its feckless hero, ripe for the picking.

Enter to win Fruit Cocktail by commenting on this post. Only comment once and please remember to leave your email address. Publicists: if you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

New Jersey Kills Death Sentence

New Jersey, which has not executed a prisoner since 1963, officially abolished the death sentence today. The first state to ban capital punishment since the Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976, New Jersey joins 13 others states and the District of Columbia with their ban. Earlier this year a New Jersey study concluded that the cost of defending death penalty appeals made it unworthy of continuing, particularly as a largely empty, if symbolic, gesture.

Among the first to have their death sentences commuted in New Jersey is Jesse Timmendequas, whose 1994 murder and rape of 7 year-old Megan Kanka inspired "Megan's Law" legislation nationwide, which requires authorities to notify neighborhoods when a child predator has moved into the neighborhood.

Texas continues to far outstrip the rest of the nation with their number of executions. Over 400 have been put to death there since 1976, with the rest of the entire country executing about 700. No one was been executed in New York since 1963 and in 2004 the New York Court of Appeals ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.

Like most of you (I presume), I oppose the death penalty for a number of reasons - the way it is unfairly applied to non-whites, the questions regarding cases that pre-date DNA evidence, and so on. But also like most of you, I have emotional, not always entirely rational responses to particularly revolting crimes like that of Timmendequas. There have been a few times here in New York when I have wished a defendant could be tried in Texas. Sometimes I'm a bad progressive.

Manhattan Monday

- Manhattan's famed 2nd Avenue Deli has reopened - on Third Avenue. The restaurant family's patriach, Abe Lebewohl, was murdered in 1996 in a robbery that remains unsolved. His nephew Jeremy is the co-owner of the new location. I can personally vouch for their spectacular corned beef and pastrami sandwich.

- Cabbies are continuing to thwart the new credit card system which sent them on strike earlier this year. Three out of five cab rides I had this weekend had "out of order" signs on their machines.

- Central Park's annual bird count showed the highest number of species and individual birds ever. "The largest flocks spotted were white-throated sparrows, European starling, and herring gull. Large numbers of mallards ducks, house sparrows, and Canada goose were also spotted."

- Whole Foods ignited a craze this summer with their $15 "designer" reusable shopping bags. But why stop there? Stella McCartney is selling a grocery bag for $465 and Hermes has one for $960. This story is a few months old, but I mention it now because yesterday I saw a woman shopping the Food Emporium with her Chanel grocery bag stuffed with cabbage. Crazy.

- Bond No.9, a company "devoted to bottling the smells inspired by New York City," today released their new fragrance, "Andy Warhol's Silver Factory". Who wants to smell like a dead artist? The living ones can be bad enough. (I kid, I kid.)

- The feds raided Al Sharpton's Harlem office on Thursday, wielding subpeonas in their investigation of whether he lied on his 2004 application requesting federal matching funds for his presidential campaign. Sharpton says he's innocent of lying. Tawana!
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Explosion At News Corp Building

Several floors of the News Corp headquarters near Rockefeller Center have been evacuated after a chemical explosion on the 45th floor. Firefighters are reporting that "30 gallons of hazardous materials" may be the source of the explosion. There are no offices on the 45th floor, only machinery. The NY Post is on the 10th floor and Fox News is in the basement, appropriately enough. Only one injury is reported but Sixth Avenue is presently closed around the building.

Seriously, 30 gallons? Is this what Bill O'Reilly has been huffing?
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Sullivan Endorses Ron Paul

Andrew Sullivan has endorsed Ron Paul for the Republican nomination.

The great forgotten principles of the current Republican party are freedom and toleration. Paul's federalism, his deep suspicion of Washington power, his resistance to government spending, debt and inflation, his ability to grasp that not all human problems are soluble, least of all by government: these are principles that made me a conservative in the first place. No one in the current field articulates them as clearly and understands them as deeply as Paul. He is a man of faith who nonetheless sees a clear line between religion and politics. More than all this, he has somehow ignited a new movement of those who love freedom and want to rescue it from the do-gooding bromides of the left to the Christianist meddling of the right. The Paulites' enthusiasm for liberty, their unapologetic defense of core conservative principles, their awareness that in the new millennium, these principles of small government, self-reliance, cultural pluralism, and a humble foreign policy are more necessary than ever - no lover of liberty can stand by and not join them.

He's the real thing in a world of fakes and frauds. And in a primary campaign where the very future of conservatism is at stake, that cannot be ignored. In fact, it demands support.

Go Ron Paul!

I can't locate a specific post saying so, but I believe Sullivan is endorsing Barack Obama on the Democratic side.

RELATED: Yesterday Ron Paul raised over $5M in less than 24 hours in an internet fundraising drive called "the Money Bomb."
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A Festivus For The Rest Of Us

Staying on the ecumenical tip, the world's first Festivus Pole lot is doing business in Milwaukee. "I got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you're gonna hear about it." And after that, the feats of strength.

I Have A Personal Relationship With Him

(Via- By The Bayou.)

Lieberman Endorses McCain

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who calls himself an "Independent Democrat" has crossed the party aisles to endorse John McCain for president. One war hawk for another. No surprise here. Lieberman's support for the Iraq war cost him the support of the Democratic party in 2006, so he became an Independent and won anyway. Lieberman's endorsement is expected to greatly help McCain in New Hampshire's primary, where that state's unaffliated voters (who number 40% of the total) can vote in either party's primary.

The Cult Of Princesses

In the Nation, Barbara Ehrenreich writes about the cult of Disney's Princesses:

Disney likes to think of the Princesses as role models, but what a sorry bunch of wusses they are. Typically, they spend much of their time in captivity or a coma, waking up only when a Prince comes along and kisses them. The most striking exception is Mulan, who dresses as a boy to fight in the army, but--like the other Princess of color, Pocahontas--she lacks full Princess status and does not warrant a line of tiaras and gowns. Otherwise the Princesses have no ambitions and no marketable skills, although both Snow White and Cinderella are good at housecleaning.

And what could they aspire to, beyond landing a Prince? In Princessland, the only career ladder leads from baby-faced adolescence to a position as an evil enchantress, stepmother or witch. Snow White's wicked stepmother is consumed with envy for her stepdaughter's beauty; the sea witch Ursula covets Ariel's lovely voice; Cinderella's stepmother exploits the girl's cheap, uncomplaining, labor. No need for complicated witch-hunting techniques--pin-prickings and dunkings--in Princessland. All you have to look for is wrinkles.

My six-year old niece is obsessed with the Princesses. Uncle Joe, who was recently told he could never be considered a feminist, earned major points last year by delivering a particularly difficult to find Ariel. Another un-feminist failure on my part, I suppose.

Yes, She Is

Chelsea, Saturday, 1AM

At a Christmas party, several guys are loudly dishing a man standing ten feet away.

Guy 1: "Oh, please. She thinks she is the hottest thing. I mean, look at her shoes! Who is she kidding?"

Guy 2: "Would you STOP with the female pronouns already? HE is not a HER!"

From across the room, the gentleman in question shouts: "Oh, yes she IS!"
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Pride Agenda Provides Fodder To Giuliani Opponents

The Empire State Pride Agenda has commented on Rudy Giuliani's notable retreat from his previously vigorous support for LGBT rights by releasing a list of major accomplishments achieved during his two terms as NYC mayor.

Rudy Giuliani was Mayor of New York City from 1994 – 2001. During his time as Mayor, he worked with NYC’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to advance a number of important civil rights issues. While the LGBT community often differed with Mayor Giuliani, it also agreed with him in a number of critical areas and was able to work with him to achieve real gains that improved our lives and those of our families.

Not only did Giuliani show a willingness to engage in a dialogue with the LGBT community, he:

* took part in the annual NYC Pride March and held annual Pride celebrations at Gracie Mansion where he lived as Mayor

* established and funded a Hate Crimes Task Force in 2000 so the City could fully investigate and prosecute bias cases

* was one of the first Republicans in New York to publicly support a statewide and federal hate crimes bill that included violence motivated by anti-gay hatred

* supported the passage of a statewide sexual orientation non-discrimination bill

* maintained $1.5 million in funding in the City’s budget for the LGBT community center’s capital campaign

* made high-level appointments of openly LGBT people to his administration

* signed domestic partner legislation in 1998 that at the time was the strongest such bill of its kind in the nation

While as a candidate for President, Giuliani has distanced himself from most of his earlier positions on LGBT issues, the documents and video clips that follow portray the Rudy Giuliani that earned him the “pro-gay” label he still carries with him today in his race for the U.S. Presidency.

Go here to view the video clips referenced above. The Empire State Pride Agenda notes that they did not support or endorse Giuliani during either of his mayoral campaigns. Their list will surely prove valuable to Giuliani's Republican opponents as they race to the bottom to prove who is the most anti-gay.
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CBS Anchor To NYC Cop: You Dyke Bitch!

Alyica Lane, CBS news anchor for Philadelphia's KYW-TV, was arrested in Chelsea last night for calling a female cop a "dyke bitch" and then punching the cop in the face.

Reportedly, Lane and her boyfriend, radio disc jockey Chris Booker, got into a traffic altercation with a slow-moving unmarked police car. When the cops exited their vehicle to question Booker, Lane got out of her car to begin taking pictures. When the female cop told Lane to stand back, Lane shouted that she was a reporter, adding "I don't care that you're a cop - you dyke bitch!" That's when Lane allegedly slugged the female officer.

Lane was arrested and taken to the NYPD 10th Precinct where she was charged with assaulting an officer. The cop was treated at a hospital and released. Lane's lawyer claims she "absolutely" did not insult or assault anybody. The lawyer: "She was accosted by several individuals wearing plainclothes who violently grabbed her camera to prevent her from taking pictures of the altercation they were involved in." He said Lane "was shocked to learn that these people were police officers after the fact." Lane is currently free without bail.

It will be very interesting to see how CBS handles this. Assaulting a cop is a serious offense, but the "dyke bitch" aspect of the incident could be a career ender.
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