Saturday, April 18, 2009

Saturday In The Park

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She's A Patriot!

(Via - Pam's House Blend)

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Special Swag Saturday

Courtesy of Penetration Inc, today we have a special Saturday swag giveaway - the new album from openly gay rock legend Bob Mould, Life And Times, which is now available nationwide.
30 years since the formation of Husker Du and 20 years since their explosive demise and the subsequent release of his first lauded solo effort Workbook - called a "masterpiece" by critics- Bob Mould is marking anniversaries with an album filled with self-reflection and an unflinching examination of the world around him. Standouts like "Wasted World" and "I'm Sorry Baby, But You Can't Stand in My Light Anymore" highlight an artist completing a cycle decades in the making, his talent undiminished, his perspective acute.

Bob Mould is one of the most influential musicians of the alternative rock era, first for his early work with post-punks Husker Du, followed by the college rock-defining pop of Sugar and finally for his solo albums, notably his first, Workbook, which quieted Mould s previous ire to reveal his fine songwriting in a new light and allowed an introspective glimpse into the inner workings of an evolving artist. With Life and Times, Mould comes full circle, reclaiming his indie songwriting mantle from the generation of musicians he inspired.
We have five copies to give away. Enter to win your copy of Life And Times by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your comment. Entries close at midnight Sunday, west coast time. Publicists: If you're interested in participating in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

RELATED: If you're heading to Coachella today, the Bob Mould Band (featuring Rich Morel) plays the Gobi stage at 2:30pm!

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Colbert On NOM


NOM responds: “I’ve always thought Stephen Colbert was a double-agent, pretending to pretend to be a conservative, to pull one over Hollywood. Now I’m sure," said Maggie Gallagher, President of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). “Thank you Stephen for playing our ad in full on national television—for free. HRC eat your heart out. Plus we all had a great chuckle, too!" said Brian Brown, NOM’s Executive Director. "Where can I make a donation to the National Organization for Colbert?"

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Friday, April 17, 2009

Listen My Homos And You Shall Hear

Tomorrow Californians Against Hate will be launch a six-state online ad campaign in the Northeast to let everybody know that NOM, the National Organization for Marriage, is a front group for the Mormon Church. Banners ads will appear on the capital city hometown papers of states currently in play for marriage equality: NY, NJ, DE, ME, NH, and RI.
Designed to counter the commercial released last week by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) “A Gathering Storm,” Californians Against Hate will launch its own advertising campaign beginning tomorrow in: New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island and Maine. “We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) established the National Organization for Marriage as its front group in order to qualify Proposition 8 for ballot last year in California,” said Fred Karger, Founder of Californians Against Hate. “After spending several million dollars in California, NOM recently moved into 7 Northeast States considering marriage equality.

They lost in Vermont on April 7th, when the Legislature voted to override Governor Jim Douglas’ veto the very next day. Vermont became the 4th state in the nation to allow same-sex couples the right to marry. NOM was very active in Vermont, paying for a massive advertising campaign, including radio, direct mail and robo-calling everyone in the state with a recorded message. Political experts think that their heavy--handed tactics backfired, and they lost because of it.

Now NOM is charging into 6 more Northeast states. So tomorrow, April 18th, on the 234th anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride from Boston to Lexington, we will begin our online advertising campaign. Our ad harkens back to 1775 when a brave Paul Revere rode his horse to warn of the attack by the British. We wrote our own version of Longfellow’s famous poem “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” entitled, “The Mormons are Coming, The Mormons are Coming!”
Embiggen the image below to enjoy Californians Against Hate's take on the classic Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere.

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Cindy McCain Tweets

(Via - Shakesville)

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Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell At Paterson's Marriage Press Conference

Thanks to Andy Towle, we finally have video of openly gay NY Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell's remarks at yesterday's press conference announcing Gov. Paterson's marriage equality bill. In 2007 O'Donnell successfully sponsored a marriage equality bill in the Assembly and is confident that it would pass by an even greater margin in 2009.

O'Donnell: "I do not want a pew in your church. I do not want a seat in your synagogue. What I want is a piece of paper that is issued by my government that many of you have had. Some of you have had it two or three times. And I'm only looking for it once."

O'Donnell closes with, "Someday soon, after 28 years of being engaged, I'm going to actually be allowed to get married." Paterson: "That's a lot of invitations to send out, Danny."

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Big Apple Slice


They are: Piano: Colin Huggins. Drummer: Daniel Sanchez. Tap Dancers: Michela Lerman, Dolores Sanchez, Parker Hall. Wait for the chick in the green sweater!

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Names The Five States Of Texas

It's technically true that the document that admitted Texas into the Union allows for its possible future division into five states. What would you name these five states? AMERICAblog might have some ideas to get you started.

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Teabaggers Claim 1 Million Participants

WorldNetDaily is claiming that 1 million Americans turned out for Wednesday's tea bag protests.
An estimated 1 million Americans participated in at least 1,000 tea parties, according to reports by organizers tabulating the nationwide numbers, with documented protests held in 50 states. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform told WND, "The Obama administration has awakened a sleeping giant." Tax Day Tea Party national event coordinator Amy Kremer told WND she has confirmed that more than 850 parties took place. She has at least 100 more reports in her e-mail inbox that have not been posted. Asked how many people attended the events, she responded, "I would estimate it at over 1 million. I'm waiting on more numbers to come in from organizers right now. I can tell you it is absolutely over 750,000 right now." "The establishment in Washington, D.C., is terrified," Norquist said. "There were no such demonstrations four months into the administrations of Democratic presidents Carter or Clinton."
(Photo via JMG reader Douglas In Oklahoma)

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Fake Subway Advisory

Somebody is getting cute with the MTA's advisory template and posting fake notices.

(Via - Gothamist)

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No Prosecutions For Torture

President Obama has decided not to prosecute CIA interrogators for the torturing they committed under the Bush regime. Keith Olbermann strongly objects. It's Olbermann at his best.

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"Ex-Gays" Denied Ad In Texas Paper

Focus On The Family's "ex-gay" road show was denied ad space in a San Antonio newspaper. From Christianist site OneNewsNow:
Focus spokesman Gary Schneeberger tells OneNewsNow that conference organizers tried to buy an ad in the San Antonio News-Express. "And the ad was rejected as being 'offensive,' even though all the ad really does is recount the personal story of a man on our team who used to struggle with same-sex attractions and found freedom from that through events like Love Won Out," he notes. The newspaper wanted the ad changed to remove the life story of the former homosexual because of concern that homosexuals in the community might be offended.

"Now, what's kind of ironic to us is that when you look at, and we did, look at three weeks' worth of newspapers of the San Antonio News-Express, we found several ads for strip clubs," Schneeberger points out. "We found ads for lingerie models in the classifieds." So Schneeberger feels the newspaper demonstrated no concern over offending the 98 percent of the city's population who are not homosexual, but balked at the risk of offending the two percent who are.
A sample of the refused ad is at the "ex-gay" site. (PDF)

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Diaz Calls For Paterson's Removal Over Marriage Equality Support

Wingnut Pentacostal minister and NY state Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) says he is planning a May event to call for the resignation of Gov. David Paterson over his support of marriage equality. Diaz: "We will bring out thousands and thousands of Hispanic evangelical Christians in the city of New York to ask Governor Paterson to step aside."

In the NYC Spanish-language news clip below, Diaz rallies Hispanic evangelicals to join his fight against Paterson. Diaz begins talking at 0:30.

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Tom DeLay Endorses Secession

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says Texas Gov. Rick Perry is "standing up for the sovereignty of his state." Chris Matthews rips DeLay to shreds.

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Repeal Attempt Already Underway for Washington's New Partnerships Laws

Earlier this week LGBT couples in Washington state were granted "everything but the word marriage." Immediately, anti-gay religious groups announced their plans to block the legislation's implementation and to repeal the underlying domestic partners laws which had just been expanded.
“We are in the process of organizing a referendum… to repeal the domestic-partnership law,” says Gary Randall, president of the Faith and Freedom Network, a conservative religious coalition of two nonprofits and a PAC. He says the group is meeting this afternoon and plans to file paperwork any day. Simply filing the paperwork for a referendum would block the bill from becoming law for at least 90 days after the last day of the legislative session (scheduled for April 26 this year), says Shane Hamlin, assistant director of the Secretary of State Office’s election division. The anti-domestic-partnership campaign would have until July 25 to gather 120,577 signatures to qualify for the general election. If the measure qualifies, the bill remains in limbo until the November vote. Randall says his group may also try to repeal the two previous domestic-partnership laws. That would require filing a separate initiative which needs 241,153 signatures submitted by July 3 to make this year's ballot, the Secretary of State Office says.
(Via Dominic Holden @ Slog)

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America Hates Gay Penguins

For the third year in a row, the book most complained about in public school libraries is And Tango Makes Three, which tells the story of two male penguins raising an orphaned chick. The American Library Association tracks the titles most demanded for removal by parents and educators, although they estimate that four or five times more books are removed than are reported.
"Tango" was cited for being anti-family, pro-gay and anti-religion. Also high on the list were Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy (complaints for being violent and anti-religious), Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girls" series (language, sexually explicit), Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories" (violence, occultism) and Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (drugs, suicide, nudity, language). ALA spokeswoman Macey Morales said that books were actually pulled at least 74 times last year. Those removed included Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" (refers to masturbation), Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper" (sexually explicit) and Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down" (profanity).
(Tipped by JMG reader Joe)

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We ARE Intolerant Of Bigotry

Anti-gay hater Karen England and the Capitol Resource Institute are upset about the phone calls and emails you sent them about their Day Of Silence walkout plans, citing them as examples of gay intolerance. Because people are supposed be tolerant of bigotry. Their new video in response to your complaints is at the bottom of this post.
Our staff is receiving threatening voicemails and emails, some of which are featured in our brand new Louder than Silence video. This mail is all in response to our joining the Day of Silence Walkout Coalition. "You may not be gay, but you may be next," said one email, which included a photo of a casket. [JMG: The casket is actually that of 11 year-old Carl Walker-Hoover, who killed himself over anti-gay bullying.] "I wish you would just go kill yourself," said a voicemail left on our phone.

Day of Silence is supposed to be a campaign against name calling, bullying, and harassment. In messages from Day of Silence supporters, staff members at Capitol Resource Institute and another pro-family organization are called "bigot," "disgusting," "evil spawn," and much more. "If this is the kind of atmosphere we get just for asking kids to stay home, in an email, can you imagine what it is like for kids refusing to stay silent?" said Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute.

We are urging this one day walkout because students should be free to support traditional marriage and relationships, without their peers seeing them as bigots. We are urging this one day walkout because teachers should focus on academic subjects, not on changing students' minds about sexual issues. If schools permit the Day of Silence in class, students are best off somewhere else. "The actions of Day of Silence supporters are speaking louder than the silence," England said.

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Solmonese Vs. Buchanan

Pat Buchanan: "Monogamous relationships in a marriage is a natural law."

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DADT Repeal May Not Happen

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has gone from urging slow movement on the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell to saying it may not happen at all.
“If we do it,’’ Mr. Gates told reporters on his plane enroute to Rhode Island, “it’s important that we do it right, and very carefully.’’ Mr. Gates was expanding on his answer to an officer’s question earlier in the day at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., where the Defense secretary was asked about the policy that allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation secret. “Everybody in this room knows that this is a complex and difficult problem,’’ Mr. Gates responded. Then he noted that President Harry S. Truman had signed an executive order integrating the armed services in 1948 “and that it was five years before the process was completed.’’ Mr. Gates added: “I’m not saying that’s a model for this, but I’m saying that I believe that this is something that needs to be done very, very carefully.’’
So now we've gone from "when" to "IF".

You may recall that on January 11th, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs was asked if the president planned to repeal DADT. His widely-quoted response: "You don't hear a politician give a one-word answer much, but it's 'Yes.'"

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NOMinated For Best

The makers of this clip congratulate themselves as having made the "best parody" of NOM's ridiculous ad - and I can't say I disagree.

"Shoot The Messenger is a comedy troupe put together by Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead."

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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Monday: 2009 Broadway Beauty Pageant

For over the rainbow glittery gayness, how about an event that combines barely-clad boys, show tunes, tiaras, and public service for homeless LGBT youth? This Monday the Ali Forney Center presents their annual Broadway Beauty Pageant.
Handsome hunks from your favorite Broadway shows are competing to raise money for the Ali Forney Center, an organization that provides shelter and services to homeless LGBT youth in New York City. Join host Tovah Feldshaw, and our judges Ana Gasteyer, Beth Leavel, Charles Busch and Seth Rudetsky as the boys compete for the crown. In true Beauty Pageant style, these sexy stars square off in the interview competition, talent competition, and the ever-popular swimsuit competition. Buy your tickets now!
The 2009 Broadway Beauty Pageant takes place at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at W.95th Street. This year's contestants are from the casts of Wicked, Hair, The Lion King, Billy Elliot, and The Little Mermaid. Embiggen the image on the left for a special discounted ticket offer.

If you cannot attend, how about a kind donation to one of NYC's most worthy charities?

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Nonviolence 4 Equality

A newly-formed activism group is calling for nonviolent civil disobedience in the furtherance of LGBT rights. From their site, Nonviolence 4 Equality:
It’s time to take it to the streets.

Like never before, there is an urgent national call for social change through the use of nonviolent direct action, including civil disobedience.

We are tired of defeat, token change, defending ourselves against charges of moral inferiority, and being told to “wait” in the land we love while liberation occurs in other countries. Martin Luther King, Jr. acknowledged that real change takes time; yet he also warned against the “tranquilizing drug of gradualism” and instructed the oppressed to demand equality now – not on the convenient time schedule of those doing the oppressing. The nonviolent legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, Barbara Deming, Bayard Rustin, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Oscar Romero and countless others is deeply rooted in United States and world history. It continues to play a vital role in undermining the power of repressive political regimes.
It's not immediately apparent what kind of civil disobedience is being suggested - check out the site and tell us what you think.

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Oh Noes! Gay Mafia Controls Paterson!

From the hilarious World Weekly News:
New York Governor David Paterson is introducing legislation today which would promote same-sex marriages in the state. Political insiders believe he is being pressured to do so by the Gay Mafia, based out of New York’s Fashion District. The Gay Mafia, or the Velvet Hand, has been a force in New York politics since the 1970’s. Originally founded in the back rooms of Studio 54, they are now the “Pink Power Brokers” who run New York’s Fashion and Theater districts. Current alleged fairy godfather Harvey Fierstein was unavailable for comment.

The Governor said in a statement yesterday, flanked by two new and impeccably dressed bodyguards, that “the timing was always right for this. And a-all that was required was, the-the will.” His hands began to shake and before he could say more his bodyguards, one of whom appeared to be a season 1 contestant on “Make Me a SuperModel”, escorted him from the platform and into a waiting limo with the license plate “Qu33n B.” The FBI is currently investigating New York’s Gay Mafia. The Velvet Hand has been tied to fake purse trafficking, drug running, and every Broadway musical for the past fifteen years. They are believed to have a stranglehold on the body waxing industry, and own several gay steel mills upstate as fronts. Their army of chorus dancer enforcers has ensured their underground power for decades.

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Big Apple Slice


His name is Mike Alaska.

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He's A Patriot!

Via Huffington Post's "Ten Most Offensive Tea Party Signs."

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Gov. Paterson Announces His Marriage Equality Bill For New York

Flanked by Mayor Bloomberg and NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Gov. David Paterson delivers a great speech in support of his marriage equality bill. Openly gay Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell gave a fantastic speech too, I'll try to find that.

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New York Marriage Action Alert!

At this writing, New York Gov. David Paterson is holding a news conference announcing the submission of his marriage equality bill. The Empire State Pride Agenda urges all New Yorkers to contact their representatives using this form and request that they uphold the American ideal of equality for all citizens. Do it now, please.

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Response To Illinois Family Institute's Anti-Day Of Silence Clip

JMG reader Sean Chapin does an excellent job picking apart the lies in yesterday's hateful anti-Day Of Silence clip from the Illinois Family Association. If you didn't catch the final update on yesterday's post, the IFI has amended their clip to remove the incorrect attributions and reposted it at another URL on YouTube. If you flagged it yesterday, thanks, but you may want to do again at the new location.

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Daily Ungrumble

Holy crap! It's gorgeous outside. Finally. I'm thinking Central Park on Saturday. Bear Hill.

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Anticipation

Cafe Figo, 1st Avenue, 9am

Woman On Cell: I know it's your first week but part of being a good assistant is anticipating my needs. Do I look like a person who doesn't drink coffee?

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Joe The Plumber Talks Tea

"Let me give you another extremist view - In God We Trust - you say that too loud you can get shot somewhere in America."

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Boycott Jamaica Protest At Stonewall

Last night activists gathered with the owners of NYC's historic Stonewall Inn for a ceremonial pouring of Myer's Rum into the gutter in protest of the treatment of LGBT people in Jamaica. Activists are calling for a boycott of all Jamaican products including cruise ship tourism. Wayne Anderson at World Of Wonder has more, including lots of photos.

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Internet Ordination Mill To Sue For Marriage Equality Rights

The Universal Life Church, which sells online ordination certificates, says that it has retained two law firms in a plan to sue for marriage equality across the country on the grounds of religious discrimination.
The Universal Life Church Monastery has announced a legal defense campaign that will take action in all states that have enacted unconstitutional same-sex sacramental marriage restraints. The Universal Life Church Monastery reports that "States that deny ministers the religious right to perform the sacrament of marriage, regardless of the couple's sexual orientation, do so in violation of the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution." To investigate appropriate legal action supporting same-sex sacramental marriage, the Universal Life Church Monastery has retained two constitutional law firms, which include Arizona-based DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy, and Seattle-based Carney Badley Spellman.
Well, this should be mildly interesting.

(Via - JMG reader Mitchell)

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GLAAD Asks For Straight Allies

Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Bacon, Sally Field and other stars encourage our straight allies to stand up for their LGBT friends.

(Via - Bilerico)

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Octomom®

That woman with a clown car for a uterus has applied for a trademark on the word "octomom."
According to two applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Suleman on April 10, and obtained by E! News, the enterprising 33-year-old is looking for the right to attach her infamous handle to (surprise) future TV projects, as well as to Octomom-branded disposable diapers and children's wear, including dresses, pants, shirts and textile diapers.
She's also in negotiations for a reality show.

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Washington Gets "Everything But Marriage"

The Washington state legislature has approved a bill giving "everything but the word marriage" to gay couples.
After nearly two hours of debate, the House passed the measure on a 62-35 vote Wednesday. It now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who is expected to sign it into law. The bill expands on previous domestic partnership laws by adding partnerships to all remaining areas of state law where currently only married couples are mentioned. The statutes range from labor and employment rights, to pensions and other public employee benefits.
Everything but the word. Good news, but logic-defying as well.

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Tea Party Paranoia

Tim Russo at Blogger Interrupted interviews some patriots at a teabagger rally.
I’ve been doing video of right wing nutbags for a long time, but this one was the most disturbing event I’ve ever attended. The rotting racist rabid rump of Republicanism has been reduced to a twitching crowd of paranoids. I got harassed away by a growing mob of jackasses, some of whom are in this video. I tried to get the police to stop them, to no avail. After about a half hour of these thugs chasing me around the event, I just left. I’m sure they’ll show up here in comments to harass some more. But I got some stuff on camera, and now it’s on Youtube, because that’s how I roll.

(Via - Pam's House Blend)

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Archbishop Dolan Vows To Fight Paterson's Marriage Equality Bill

In his second statement on the issue in as many days, yesterday New York's new Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan vowed to use his new job to fight the marriage equality legislation to be introduced by Gov. Paterson today. Dolan said he will call on all the Catholic Bishops in New York to work with him to defeat the bill.

Dolan
: "We love them. We would defend their rights...[but] if we let that definition of marriage go and begin to include other relationships, it will be to a detriment to the civilization."

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Open Thread Thursday

The complaint box is open. Vent. Rant. Rage.

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Texas Governor Threatens Seccesion

Texas Gov. Rick Perry told an audience of teabaggers today that "Texas can leave the union if it wants to" and threatened "if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that." Clip is audio only.

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NY State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. Calls "Emergency Summit On Gay Marriage"

Anti-gay preacher and NY state Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. is positively freaked about Gov. Paterson introducing a marriage equality bill tomorrow and has called for an "emergency summit." Oh noes! Homos! Elizabeth Benjamin at the NY Daily News:
Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. has called an emergency summit of the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization tomorrow to strategize on the "next steps to take" in response to Gov. David Paterson's expected introduction of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. In a brief telephone interview this morning, Diaz Sr., a Pentecostal minister who has long been vocal in his opposition to gay marriage, questioned Paterson's timing and called it "ridiculous," particularly given the fact that this is the week Archbishop Timothy Dolan is being installed in his new job. "I think this is the wrong time to do it," Diaz Sr. said. "(Paterson) is doing this as a welcoming ceremony for the new Catholic? It's ridiculous." In the press release announcing tomorrow's meeting at the Christian Community Neighborhood Church, the Bronx Democrat went even further, calling the governor's move "disrespectful, and adding: "If I were Governor Paterson, I would abstain from going to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the welcoming ceremony and to celebrate Mass.”
Benjamin also point us to this story in which openly gay Sen. Thomas Duane says he believes the Senate DOES now have the necessary votes to pass marriage equality.
Sen. Tom Duane said that he is confident that a bill to legalize same-sex marriage will pass this year, and that it will pass with bipartisan support.“I always knew that this would happen with bipartisan support. And it is always about building more and more support. We are not going to do this just with a majority, but a majority with extra votes,” said Duane. “I don’t have the exact time frame. But it will be this year,” he added. Duane said he has received commitments of support from individual Republican senators, but wouldn’t name them. Duane said that he did not think that those unnamed senators would renege on their commitment to him, based on Republicans’ history of passing bills such as the hate crimes bill of 2000 and the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA), which passed in 2002.
Just a few days ago, Duane was critical of Paterson's decision to introduce the marriage equality bill, saying it was better to wait until we had the votes. What changed?

RELATED: It's widely thought that Diaz got a "no gay marriage" promise from Sen. Malcolm Smith (D) in return for supporting him as Majority Leader.

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Big Apple Slice


They are the Xylopholks.

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"It's Hard To Talk When You're Teabagging"

Rimshot! Anderson Cooper FTW!

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Teabaggers Gone Wild

I didn't see any "roughing up", but news reports are saying that some of tea bag protests are getting quite rowdy.

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Pro-Killing Of Gay Youth Group Releases Anti-Day Of Silence Video

UPDATE: Since this post went up, the Illinois Family Institute has changed the information on their home page. Instead of a Baptist church in Arizona, the creator of the clip is now identified as Grace Gospel Center in Bensonville, Illinois. The Arizona church has written me to say they have no affiliation with the Illinois Family Institute. I have updated the copied text from the IFI's site to show the new information.

UPDATE II: The Arizona church reported back that the Illinois Family Institute is wrongly listing their domain, DareToStand.org in the clip. I have recommended that they contact the IFI and insist the clip be corrected. Also: Pam Spaulding reminds us that Peter LaBarbera used to run the IFI. No surprise there.

UPDATE III: "This video has been removed by the user." The IFI has also scrubbed the post announcing its launch from their home page, probably at the demand of the Arizona church who found out that the IFI was using their domain from this post. Go JMG community for all those calls!

UPDATE IV: The clip is BACK UP with a new URL at the end. If you flagged it earlier, you'll have to do it again as it's on a new YouTube location. They've now disabled ratings as well as comments, probably due to the hundreds of 1-star reviews you folks gave.

From the Illinois Family Institute, a certified hate group, comes this outrageous video protesting Friday's national Day Of Silence. This might just be the creepiest and most offensive video that the Christianists have produced yet. It's just...unbelievable. The clip's creators have cowardly disabled comments, but please go to YouTube and flag this video. Phone the Illinois Family Institute at (708) 781-9328 and let them know how you feel.
It is our firm opinion that these claims of discrimination, intolerance and bullying (aimed at people of faith who believe God's Word that homosexuality is sin) are diverting attention away from GLSEN's main purpose which has been and continues to be the normalization of homosexuality among impressionable youth. This 6 minute video, made by Grace Gospel Center in Bensonville, Illinois, exposes how our children are being indoctrinated, held captive and forced to accept an unproven and dangerous ideology while Biblical Truth is undermined.

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Fail: DC Teabaggers Had No Permit

Today in massive fails:
It was a great idea, really. Take 1 million tea bags and dump them in Lafayette Park to protest government spending. Hip, hip, hoo-ray! But a funny thing happened en route to a visually pleasing Tax Day protest. The National Park Service said the tea party protesters didn't have the proper permit to dump their bags. So instead of a raucous visual demonstration, all that was left was images of the tea party packing up their boxes of tea on a cold, soggy day in D.C. Doh! "We have a million tea bags here, and we don't have a place to put them because it's not on our permit," said Rebecca Wales, lead organizer of D.C. Tea Party. Fight the power, folks, but next time check your permits before acquiring 1 million tea bags.
"Packing up their boxes of tea on a cold, soggy day in DC." Bwah ha ha.

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Madge Takes The UES

Madonna is crossing Central Park and moving into the triple digits of the UES, buying a $40M "double-wide" townhouse at Lexington and E.81st Street.
Reminiscent of a London townhouse, this 26-room classic Georgian residence is notable for its extraordinary 57-foot width, making it one of the widest houses on the Upper East side, its 3000 sq. ft. garden bordered by tall trees, rhododendron and roses, and its double-car garage, another Upper East Side rarity. The 4-story townhouse has approximately 12,000 sq. ft. above grade, and offers a 38' by 22' drawing room with tall south windows overlooking the garden, a paneled dining room off the garden terrace, intimate library, 13 bedrooms, 11' ceilings, 9 fireplaces, Georgian staircase, elevator, and future rooftop garden.
No residence east of Lexington Avenue has ever sold for more than $20M, much less $40M, according to Curbed, which has lots of photos of the inside of the mansion, including a floorplan. According to the NY Post, the house has one major flaw - you can hear and feel the 6 train every time it passes. Boo hoo.

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Not To Be A Category Tag On XTube

Today in bizarre police news:
A convicted child molester was found naked and bleeding behind a Brooklyn building - a victim of sexual self-mutilation, police sources said. Sources said that Damiene Iriarte, 26, was found in Fort Greene with the tip of his penis bitten off. "How he did it? Limber, I guess. Not the work of a sane mind," a police source said. He was taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center.

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How To Spot A Gay Ugandan

The Ugandan Observer asked readers how to spot a gay Ugandan. Here's a couple of suggestions.
John Mayanja, 26, Businessman
If I see a man acting like a woman and a woman taking up an appearance of a man, I would imagine they are gay. If a man applies make-up and is so serious about the way they look, then they must be up to something unusual. In most cases you will find that such a man hates women and is never interested in talking about them. Even gay women rarely have time for men. Children should be educated against this act from home and society should emphasize our culture because it does not allow homosexuality.

Sarah Nakiwolo, 22, Student
What I know is that men who are gay tend to like all the fancy things that are normally appreciated by women. For example they will want to always treat their hair, apply make-up and act like women by pulling at their blouses (shirts) and jeans, which are normally tight. They also tend to gesture around like women by folding their hands, you know. Then for women, they will behave like men. They wear men’s clothes a lot and would rather cut their hair to appear like men and do not fuss about make up. God made sex for man and woman, period. It will be hard to stop gay acts unless government comes out with a strict law.
(Via - Ex-Gay Watch)

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Bo-Bama Meets The Press

President Obama says that Bo will not be allowed in his bed.

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Focus On The Family Fires Employee Busted For Focusing On Underage Sex

Remember the Focus On The Family employee who was busted To Catch A Predator-style last week? It took them ten days, but he's been fired.
Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger says Juan Alberto Ovalle, 42, was fired Thursday after he was formally charged with criminal attempted sexual assault on a child and Internet luring of a child. Ovalle had worked for Focus on the Family since 2003 as a Spanish-language translator of radio broadcasts and other programs. Authorities say Ovalle was arrested April 3 when he drove to Lakewood to meet someone he thought was a girl under age 15. He allegedly started chatting online April 2 with the person, who was an undercover officer.
Won't someone please think of the chil- oh, wait, he WAS.

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ACLU Battles Tennessee Schools Over LGBT Web Access

The ACLU is demanding that Tennessee's public schools stop blocking students from researching LGBT issues on the internet. According to the ACLU, filters at schools currently block the term "LGBT" but allow access to "ex-gay" websites. Many noted LGBT activist groups are currently blocked to students, including HRC, PFLAG, GLSEN, and GLAAD. Via press release:
In its letter, the ACLU gives the districts and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative until April 29 to come up with a plan to restore access to the LGBT sites or any other category that blocks non-sexual websites advocating the fair treatment of LGBT people by the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. If that deadline is not met, the ACLU will file a lawsuit. “Students at Knox County and Metro Nashville schools are being denied access to content that is protected speech under the First Amendment as well as the Tennessee state constitution,” said Tricia Herzfeld, Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Tennessee. “This kind of censorship does nothing but hurt students, whether they’re being harassed at school and want to know about their legal rights or are just trying to finish an assignment for a class.”

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NH Talks Marriage Today

Today a New Hampshire Senate judiciary committee holds a public meeting on marriage equality before deciding to send the issue to the full Senate for a vote. Last month the New Hampshire House narrowly approved same-sex marriage by a vote of 186-179. Rallies from both sides are taking place at this moment outside the State House. Inside at the hearing, openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson will square off against Catholic Bishop John McCormack. I'm trying to find a live stream of the proceedings.

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Timothy Dolan Takes Over As Archbishop Of NY, Pledges To Fight Gay Marriage

Today the 2.5 million member New York diocese of the Catholic Church installs Timothy Dolan as Archbishop, replacing the creepily sonorous Edward Egan, who is retiring. During his homily at St. Patrick's Cathedral last night, Dolan referenced "the threats to marriage" (as well as sexual abuse by clergy) and promised to fight the impression that the Catholic Church is "unenlightened" because it opposes gay marriage and abortion.

I saw two news reports on Dolan last night and it killed me to see the happy-faced anchors burbling their inane welcomes to Dolan ten seconds after running the clip in which he denounced same-sex marriage. Today midtown will be closed down around St. Patrick's for the installation mass, I guess the taxpayers are covering that tab.

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CNN Takes On Anti-Gay Bullying

Last night CNN did an excellent report on the plague of anti-gay bulling in the nation's public schools, focusing on the suicide of 11 year-year old Carl Walker-Hoover and interviewing Thomas Krever, head of NYC's Hetrick-Martin Institute, which is home to Harvey Milk High School. Excellent piece.

Learn about Hetrick-Martin here.

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Equal Taxes, Equal Rights

Some of you weren't too fond of the LGBT movement attempting to co-opt the tea baggers' tax protests, but if you ARE interested, today the HRC, Join The Impact, and Marriage Equality USA are organizing at least 60 protests at U.S. Post Offices around the country to demand fair taxation for LGBT couples.
It doesn't matter how long a same-sex couple has been together, come Tax Day they are considered single by the federal government. As single people, they must pretend their finances and their futures are not intertwined and forgo access to the many economic safety nets their tax dollars help fund, such as Social Security survivor benefits, estate tax deferral when inheriting property, and the ability to file taxes jointly. Every year, LGBT people are forced to pay taxes on their partner's health care benefits as if it were additional income. Opposite sex couples are exempt from this unfair taxation. Even in Massachusetts and Connecticut, where same-sex marriages are recognized by the state, they are not recognized by the federal government, and all of the above injustices apply.
Go here to find the protest nearest you. NYC's protest will be at the James Farley Post Office at 421 Eight Avenue at 5PM. That building is Gotham's landmark post office next to Penn Station and home of the famous inscription: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

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Count The Double Entendres

David Schuster has a lot of fun making teabagging jokes and ripping Fox News.

(Tipped by JMG reader Bob)

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Maine Marriage Hearing: April 22nd

Via Equality Maine:

Maine’s marriage campaign is moving to the next level. The hearing on the marriage bill has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 22 at the Augusta Civic Center. Make no mistake about it: April 22 will be the single most important day of this campaign outside of the final vote. The media, legislators, governor, and people of Maine will be watching. We need you there. Email april22@equalitymaine.org to RSVP for the marriage bill hearing. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. Our opponents already announced they will have over 1,000 people at the hearing. We cannot let them outnumber us on this critical day. The LGBT and allied community must come together like never before.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Adam Lambert - Born To Be Wild

I'm not sure what kind of musical advice Quentin Tarantino was supposed to be giving on movie theme night, but tonight was surely the oddest of Idol's guest coach moments. At this point, one must pity the other contestants, none of whom are outright terrible, for they are truly on a different show than Adam Lambert.

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Is NOM Worried About Being Sued By Their Own Anti-Gay Actors?

One of my favorite YouTubers just forwarded me the message he got from YouTube explaining why his clip of Rachel Maddow discussing those NOM audition tapes was pulled for copyright violations. Here's a bit of "assistant to the director" of NOM Joshua Baker's complaint about the clip:
The copyrighted work at issue is an audition tape produced by the National Organization for Marriage for the NOM video "A Gathering Storm." Some of the actors who appear on the audition video were not selected for the final video, and thus have not signed releases for the distribution of their likeness. The audition video is included as part of the MSNBC broadcast, and can be identified by the green background.
So is NOM saying that they are worried about being sued by their own actors because they didn't sign a release? Really? If so, delicious.

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Broadway Takes On NOM

I know I just said I was done with these parodies, but along comes this clip from the touring cast of Mary Poppins. "It is like a flood in the living room and the whole family is being washed away by the wiles of Satan and his dark army of homos."

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Poz Diva Arrested For Unprotected Sex

Pop star Nadja Benaissa of the multi-million selling girl group No Angels has been arrested by the German government for having unprotected sex while knowing she is HIV-positive.
Lawyers for Nadja Benaissa, a 26-year-old singer with the succsessful girl band, is accused of having had unprotected sex with three men in 2004 and 2006, according to state prosecutors in Darmstadt, Germany. One of the three men is now HIV positive, possibly as a consequence of his sexual relations with Benaissa. No Angels sold 5 million album sales in their first three years. The four-woman group became an overnight sensation when they won a TV talent competition in Germany in 2000. Benaissa was charged with dangerous bodily harm, and kept in custody as the investigating judge decided there was a risk she would repeat the alleged deed. The singer has one daughter, who was born in 1999.
Does it seem like we are seeing more of these prosecutions lately?

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Pirates Arrr Saving The World

A few years ago the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster proved conclusively that global warming was being caused by a decrease in the number of pirates. Since pirates are back in strong numbers now, I guess we can all go back to our planet-destroying ways. Bless his Noodley Appendage!

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Deconstructing The Christianist Lies

This guy does a fantastic job breaking down the lies of the Christianist right. You're probably familiar with all the cases he cites, but the wingnuts continue to harp on the same lying examples.

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No Triple Digits

U.S. Post Office, Upper East Side, 11:30am

UES Girl 1: So he's all, "Well I live on the Upper East Side too, so we should totally get together."

UES Girl 2: Yeah, but where on the Upper East Side?

UES Girl 1: I know, right? And he's "Oh, I'm at 4xx East 79th." Like I'm ever gonna date someone in the triple digits.

(For non-New Yorkers: Street addresses begin at Central Park and get higher as you approach the East River.)

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NY Gov. Paterson To Introduce Marriage Equality Bill On Thursday

Over the objections of some legislators such as openly gay state Sen. Thomas Duane, who'd prefer to wait until we have the votes to win, NY Gov. David Paterson will introduce his marriage equality bill on Thursday.
Mr. Paterson has said in recent days that the State Legislature should move ahead now with the legislation regardless of whether it can muster enough votes. His reasoning, which some gay rights advocates have challenged, is that New York should make a statement that it is committed to treating same-sex couples the same way it treats opposite-sex couples. The announcement will take place at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Mr. Paterson’s office in Midtown Manhattan, said people who were briefed on the governor’s plans but who asked not to be identified because they did not want to upstage the governor. The fact that Mr. Paterson is introducing a bill does not, however, mean that action in the Legislature is imminent. It could take months — even longer — before the bill makes its way through the appropriate committees and onto the floor of the Senate and the Assembly.
A marriage equality bill sponsored by openly gay Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell passed in the Assembly in 2007 and is expected to pass there again. The votes are not there in the state Senate, despite a one vote Democratic majority, due to a trio of anti-gay Senators from NYC. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith says he will only bring the bill to the floor when there are enough votes to pass it, perhaps rendering Paterson's move this week largely symbolic.

RELATED: Despite a honeymoon of popularity after replacing former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Paterson is presently suffering through highly negative public opinion polls which show that if the next gubernatorial election were held today, he would lose to prospective candidate Attorney General Andrew Cuomo by a margin of more than 3-1.

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2M4M 4Ever!

From the hilarious Andy Cobb. Cover your keyboards.

(Via - AmericaBlog)

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Do You Remember Rock-N-Roll Radio?

I do, partly thanks to Phil Spector, who yesterday was found extra guilty in the murder of his girlfriend. Here's one of my favorite Spector productions. Hey, where's the sax player?

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The Day Of Silence Walkout Coalition

Even in the face of last week's widely publicized suicide of 11 year-old Carl Walker-Hoover, who had been tormented by anti-gay bullying, the religious right is shamelessly going forward with their plan to pull students out of school on Friday's Day Of Silence. Here's a portion of the just-issued press release from Karen England, executive director of the Capitol Resource Institute:
Friday is the Day of Silence, a campaign of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which is often used to make homosexual behavior appear normal on school campuses. "Students should focus on academics in school. They should not be allowed to end their verbal engagement in class for a social agenda," said Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute. "We pay California teachers to teach -- by speaking in classrooms -- and teachers should also be expected to fully discharge their duties this coming Friday," she said. "If a school allows teachers to stop teaching, it should not get tax dollars for educating our students on that day." The Day of Silence Walkout Coalition includes organizations such as Concerned Women for America, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, and more. It reaches out to parents across the nation who do not want their children focusing on sexuality at school.
"Karen England is available for comment on this week's Day of Silence. To reach her, please call (916) 212-5607 or email kengland@capitolresource.org."

Feel free to send Ms. England the below result of what she stands for.

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Spitzer 2010. Seriously.

Disgraced former NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer is reportedly planning on running for state Attorney General in 2010 when current AG Andrew Cuomo runs for governor. Seriously. Spitzer: "My record as governor was disappointing, but the voters will remember my excellent two terms as attorney general."

By "disappointing" he means "hookers, wire fraud, Troopergate, Ashley Dupree."

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Sen. Franken (For Real Real This Time)

And it only took 164 days!
Over five months after the election, a three-judge panel has declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of the Minnesota U.S. Senate race. The judges--Hennepin County's Denise Reilly, Pennington County's Kurt Marben and Stearns County's Elizabeth Hayden--issued their final ruling late Monday, stating "Franken received the highest number of lawfully cast ballots in the Nov. 4, 2008 general election." They also determined that Franken is entitled to receive the certificate of election.
Coleman still plans to appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

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