Tea-Baggers Hit DC

Those wacky tea-baggers are at it again, protesting in 1500 U.S. cities today because, now, after eight years of Dubya wrecking the economy, NOW they don't like deficit spending.

Happy 233rd Fourth!

Family Of Murdered Gay Sailor Blames Military For Ignoring His Complaints

Although the government is claiming that murdered San Diego sailor August Provost was not the victim of a hate crime, his family feels differently.

Provost III, had complained a year before about being harassed for being gay. Roy said she advised Provost to report and document the incidents, but she said the military did little to help. “He went to the Navy to serve and protect,” she said in an interview with Beaumont’s KFDM News, “he didn’t get protected at all.” Roy told The Associated Press that the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy discouraged her nephew from asking for help. “That phrase is just stupid because it tells them they have no one to speak to,” she said. The 29-year-old Houston native was found dead Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego.

Roy said the family was told that Provost was shot three times, had his hands and feet bound, his mouth gagged, and body burned. The family plans to hold funeral services July 10 in Houston. Democratic Rep. Bob Filner of San Diego said Thursday he wants a Defense Department investigation into the death, after leaders of the city’s gay community asked him to intervene. Investigators have called the sailor’s death a random act unrelated to the his sexuality and have taken a “person of interest” into custody. No charges have been filed.

Another victim of DADT, but this one is dead.

Cooper Vs. Sarah Palin's Spokeswoman

UPDATE: Sarah Palin Resigning

GOP sources report that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will announce today that she will not seek re-election in 2010, setting the stage for an expected 2012 presidential bid. Tina Fey is going to have lots of work.

UPDATE: The news is much bigger: Palin is resigning. Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be sworn in at the end of July. More to come.

UPDATE II: Just watched Palin's press conference. Bizarre. No specific reasons given, just a reference to attacks on her son, Trig, a rambling history of the acquisition of Alaska, and a lamenting of having to defend numerous ethics charges. Palin didn't appear to be reading from any notes and the Lt. Governor seems rather stunned. The Freepers are very unhappy. Some say that she's taking the high road and leaving politics entirely to care for her family, some suspect a coming scandal - and many are calling her political career over.

Ft. Worth Cops Suspend Bar Checks

Continuing to backpedal from their involvement in the raid of the Rainbow Lounge, the Fort Worth police department says they are suspending "bar checks" in conjunction with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

The announcement by Chief Halstead came four days after a raid at the Rainbow Lounge by six Fort Worth officers and two Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents left one patron hospitalized with a head injury. "I think it's an excellent first step," said Todd Camp, founder of Fort Worth's Q Cinema gay and lesbian film festival. "I'm glad to hear that both departments are conducting investigations. As a long-time resident of Fort Worth, I look forward to working with the police department to make sure something like this doesn't happen again."

Rainbow Lounge patron Chad Gibson, who suffered a head injury during what witnesses described as an unnecessarily rough arrest, is scheduled to be released from the hospital today. Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead has ordered multicultural training for his officers, probably with an eye towards coming civil lawsuits as an internal investigation of the raid continues.

Helen Thomas Slams Robert Gibbs

White House press corps grand dame Helen Thomas takes no mess from press secretary Robert Gibbs.

UPDATE: India's Decriminalization Of Homosexuality DOES Apply Nationwide

Contrary to earlier reports that the Dehli High Court's ruling to decriminalize homosexuality only applied in the National Capital Territory, today the Times Of India reports that the ruling does indeed apply nationwide.

Since a high court has a limited territorial jurisdiction, is homosexuality decriminalized only in Delhi or the whole country? Although legal pundits are divided on this, the law laid down by a 2004 SC judgment implies that homosexuals across the country may rest assured that they too are entitled to the benefits of the historic Delhi high court decision on Section 377 IPC. In Kusum Ingots vs Union of India, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had ruled: “An order passed on writ petition questioning the constitutionality of a Parliamentary Act, whether interim or final, will have effect throughout the territory of India subject of course to the applicability of the Act.”

In a separate story the Times Of India also reports that the government is unlikely to appeal the High Court's ruling.

Though under pressure from religious groups of all hues to appeal against the Delhi High Court order legalising gay sex, the Manmohan Singh government is unlikely to move the Supreme Court on its own. The opinion in the government on the fraught issue is far from settled and the Delhi HC may have spared it the tough task of coalescing divergent views into a position. In fact, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi indicated as much when he said that "the verdict has rendered legislative intervention meaningless".

Veteran gay reporter Rex Wockner has issued requests to several major U.S. newspapers that they correct their earlier reports about the ruling's impact nationwide.

Don't Hope?

(Via JMG reader Jeff)

Photo Of The Day

Ruth Madoff was photographed on the subway (horrors!) yesterday after being booted from her $7M Upper East Side penthouse "with only her purse and the clothes on her back." She asked if she could take a fur coat, but was denied. It's unknown where Ruth is staying, but it's been reported that numerous Manhattan buildings have turned her down, not wanting what may be a years-long media circus parked outside their lobbies. The uncropped version of this photo in today's NY Post reveals that the poster behind Ruth says, "99 Cents Does More!"

UES Gay Bashing Spree Continues, AVP Issues Community Alert

The NYC Anti-Violence Project has issued a community alert (PDF) after a third Upper East Side gay bashing in one week by what appears to be the same group of young men who committed the attack I reported on Monday. The victim in that attack provided the NYPD with the sketch (left) of one of the men involved in his assault. There have been three other attacks on non-gay persons.

Community Alert: Three out of six attacks in the last month on the Upper East Side investigated as anti-LGBT Hate Crimes.

This morning, the New York City Anti-Violence Project learned of six violent attacks on the Upper East Side that have occurred in the span of just over a month, but most between June 26th through June 28th. A disturbing commonality in at least two of the incidents has been the use of slews of anti-gay epithets during the attacks, regardless of the self-identity of the victims. Three of the incidents are being investigated as Hate Crimes by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force. The Anti-Violence Project is urging the NYPD to investigate all six as possible hate crimes. All of the attacks occurred in the early morning hours.

The news comes just after the release of the 2008 Hate Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People in the United States report, which includes the New York City Anti-Violence Project’s data on anti-LGBT hate violence in New York City. The report documents that in NYC there was a 12% decrease in reports of incidents, but an increase in the severity of the attacks. Murders alone increased 67%; robbery and larceny rose 140%, and sexual assaults increased 171%. The recent reports from the Upper East Side have made clear that the trend in severity appears to be continuing.

On Sunday a 40 year-old man was assaulted on Second Avenue near East 84th Street as he walked alone from the subway. Police are seeking the same four to six young white men for all the attacks.

NY Controller To Withhold Senate Pay

Finally! NY State Controller Thomas DiNapoli has begun the process to withhold the pay of state Senators.

"I have a responsibility to taxpayers to safeguard their interests," DiNapoli said. "These are difficult fiscal times. The state needs leadership and action." DiNapoli's decision affects the pay period ending July 8. Payroll for 62 senators amounts to some $190,000, or $3,049 per senator, every two weeks. Paterson has already called for DiNapoli to withhold the pay of the do-nothing lawmakers.

A spokesman for Senate Democrats said, "We'll see him in court."

A-Hole Or B-Hole?

Hardee's has joined the race to the advertising bottom as every fast food outlet in the country seems to be trying to outdo the last in sexual innuendo.

Sally Kern's "Morality" Rally

OK Rep. Sally Kern and her supporters held a "morality rally" on the first floor of the state Capitol yesterday, where protesters tried to outshout Kern's idiots. The rally was held to promote Kern's attempt to have the legislature endorse her "Proclamation of Morality, " which I recently mentioned here. Among many other things, Kern's proclamation blames gays for the state of the economy.

A circuslike atmosphere broke out Thursday during a rally to launch Rep. Sally Kern's proclamation for morality. Protesters repeatedly interrupted Kern, R-Oklahoma City, and her supporters, chanting for the separation of church and state and calling Kern and her supporters hypocrites. A crowd of as many as 250 Kern supporters and protesters attended the event on the first floor of the state Capitol. Among Kern's supporters were Republican Reps. Mike Reynolds of Oklahoma City and Lisa Billy of Lindsay. The proclamation, the bulk of which was written by Kern, calls for a national awakening of righteousness. "We believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis," the proclamation states. "This nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery."

C.S. Thornton, deputy director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, said the proclamation is riddled with factual inaccuracies. During the rally, chants of "shame on you" were interrupted by the singing of "God Bless America," only to be droned out by calls for everyone to love their neighbor. Critics accused Kern of using state resources to promote religion. The proclamation makes several references to religion.

Below, protesters chant and Kern supporters sing religious songs.

(Tipped by JMG reader Lynette)

Tap Tap Tap

Is anybody working today or is everybody on a three-day weekend?

Web Site Story

A Broadway-style look at social media.

Predictable

Wanna bet there'll be a few MJ fans that go entirely apeshit on them?

(Via - Good As You)

Why, Superman, Why?

Seriously, WTF is Microsoft thinking? Do NOT press play unless you are truly ready to be grossed out. You have been warned.

There's No Furries In Baseball

The NY Mets were "justifiably freaked out" to realize they were staying in the same hotel as a furry convention during this week's away games in Pittsburgh. Above, Mets announcer Kevin Burkhardt poses with a beaver. I think that's a beaver. Anthrocon 2009 continues through Sunday. Pittsburgh continues in last place.

Paterson: NY Senate Must Work Holiday

Gov. Paterson has issued proclamations calling for the NY Senate to work every single day through this holiday weekend. Whether they'll show up or not, who knows?

Gov. David Paterson has elevated the Senate stalemate from a “conflict” to a “crisis.” The governor didn’t make much news today in his Red Room press conference, except to say that he has issued proclamations for special session every day at 3 p.m. through July 6 — which means that the Senate will be in Albany through the holiday weekend. Paterson also called on Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat, to withhold the pay of senators’ salaries. So far, DiNapoli has declined to take that step. When asked about the bills that Senate Democrats “voted” on in yesterday’s “session” (made possible by Republican Sen. Frank Padavan’s walkthru of the Senate chamber, which Democrats claim made quorum), Paterson reiterated that he did not intend to sign the bills.

Sen. Ruben Diaz, unsurprisingly, is the first to tell the Governor "come get me", saying to the NY Daily News, "I would rather spend my time in church, preaching and praising the Lord, than to be here doing nothing, wasting my time...wasting the money of the people of the state of New York." Watch Diaz say he will defy the proclamation.

Feds Sieze Madoffs' UES Penthouse

U.S. Marshalls just took possession of Bernie Madoff's UES penthouse, forcing his wife to look for lodging elsewhere.

U.S. Marshal Joseph Guccione said the marshals arrived at the property at noon with a court order permitting them to take custody of the apartment and cause anyone there to move out. Guccione said Madoff's wife Ruth had been advised in advance of the marshals' plans and was leaving the residence, surrendering all personal property. "She will be leaving,'' he said. "Restitution for the victims is the government's top priority.'' Typically, the marshals service changes all locks and secures a property when it seizes a location. Last week, Ruth Madoff agreed to give up all of her possessions in return for a promise that federal prosecutors would not go after $2.5 million she can keep. The money, though, is not protected from civil legal actions that might be pursued by a court-appointed trustee liquidating Madoff's assets or by investor lawsuits.

It's quite a media circus over on E.64th, I think people are hoping to see Ruth sitting on the curb. What will the poor dear do, with only $2.5M to her name?

Influence Peddling Scandal Rocks Washington Post

The Washington Post has just canceled an event with lobbyists amid an explosive scandal that they'd been selling the lobbyists access to powerful politicians and their own reporters and editors. Politico has the story:

Washington Post Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Katharine Weymouth said today she was cancelling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where, for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors.

The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff." With the newsroom in an uproar after POLITICO reported the solicitation, Weymouth and Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli both said they were not aware of the flier.

“This should never have happened,” Weymouth told Post media reporter Howard Kurtz. “The fliers got out and weren't vetted. They didn't represent at all what we were attempting to do. We're not going to do any dinners that would impugn the integrity of the newsroom." Brauchli told Kurtz he was "appalled" by the plan." It suggests that access to Washington Post journalists was available for purchase," Brauchli told Kurtz. The proposal "promises we would suspend our usual skeptical questioning because it appears to offer, in exchange for sponsorships, the good name of The Washington Post."

A lobbyist is rightfully chastising journalists for poor ethical practices. Bizarro world! Do we believe the WaPo's story that this just a case of a poorly written flier?

HomoQuotable - Rachel Maddow

"It didn’t come to me in terms of like, 'I think I like that girl', or 'I think I’m falling in love' or 'I think I know what this feeling is.' It was, 'It would make sense to me if I ended up being a gay person.'

"It very quickly became a hormonal urge, but I remember when it first occurred to me that I might be gay, it was more like realizing that that would be the thing that would make sense for a lot of things that I had felt over the course of my whole life, and maybe that was an explanatory construct.

"And I remember thinking that....and then my next thought...and I shit you not...was, 'But I hate softball!' And so I thought, 'I can’t possibly be a lesbian, because the only thing I know about lesbians is they play softball and I will never.'" - Rachel Maddow, from my Pride'09 Magazine interview.

NEA Considering Marriage Endorsement

Christianist news site OneNewsNow is first with the word that the National Education Association is considering issuing a resolution in support of marriage equality.

The NEA is currently holding its annual convention in San Diego, California. Educator and conservative activist Jeralee Smith called OneNewsNow from the convention to report that the executive council has approved language that will throw the full support of the NEA behind same-gender marriage, homosexual adoption, and other issues surrounding the homosexual agenda. "They will help to overturn legislation that is discriminatory against same-sex couples," she notes. "And then there is one little bullet about [how] they will recognize that marriage has a religious connotation and it's not compatible with beliefs and values -- because of that they recognize that certain churches should not be forced to conduct same-sex marriage." Smith says the resolution could be voted on as early as midday Friday or as late as Tuesday of next week.

The NEA is the nation's largest union with over 3.2M members.

UK: Conservative Party Apologizes For Anti-Gay Section 28 Legislation

In 1988 the UK enacted Section 28, a law which ordered that schools "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship." The law was not repealed until 2003.

Yesterday, at a gay Pride event in London, the Conservative Party apologized for having sponsored the legislation.

David Cameron has issued an extraordinary apology on behalf of the Conservative Party for legislation banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools. He said the party had 'got it wrong' when it introduced Section 28 in the late 1980s. It is one of a series of apologies Mr Cameron has made for his party's actions in government. [snip]

Section 28 was introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government in response to evidence of Left-wing councils promoting gay relationships in schools. It prevented councils and schools from intentionally promoting homosexuality, but became a focal point for anger for gay rights campaigners. Mr Cameron insisted he was making his apology because the legislation had been ' offensive to gay people'. 'I'm sorry for Section 28. We got it wrong. It was an emotional issue. We have got to move on and we have moved on,' he said.

He insisted that under his leadership the party was embracing gay rights and predicted it would produce Britain's first gay Prime Minister. 'Yes, we may have sometimes been slow and yes, we may have made mistakes, including Section 28, but the change has happened,' he said.

Britain's first openly gay Prime Minister, a Tory?

Dog Watch '09: Week 25

Ft. Worth Bar Raid Investigation Launched

The Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission has begun an investigation into the raid of the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas.

The agency is conducting an internal investigation of the incident at the Rainbow Lounge on Jennings Street, according to a news release issued Wednesday afternoon. The TABC also conducted inspections at two bars on Rosedale Street. Meanwhile, the man who was hurt in the raid on the Rainbow Lounge, 26-year-old Chad Gibson, was listed in fair condition at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. He had earlier been listed in serious condition.

"We are saddened that this incident occurred and extend our sincere hope that Mr. Gibson recovers quickly," said TABC Administrator Alan Steen. "I have initiated an internal affairs investigation to answer questions about how these locations were chosen, to review the agents' actions, and specifically to establish the facts surrounding Mr. Gibson's injury." The inspection of the Rainbow Lounge has drawn protests from the gay community, including a demonstration later Sunday by about 100 people.

Fort Worth Chief of Police Jeff Halstead claims that Chad Gibson was in the custody of TABC agents, not his officers, and is changing his tune on what went down.

"We’ve got to work together," Halstead said. "Be patient, and you will see that this is just not lip service. I will meet with you wherever you want to meet. I will go to your restaurants, your house, we can eat barbecue, whatever you want to do. But we’ve got to talk. We will heal beyond this."

He'll eat barbecue with us? Oh, that's makes everything OK!

Glass Box In The Sky

Remember a few months ago when I told you about the new glass ledge at the 103rd floor of the Sears/Willis Tower? Most of you said, "No way! Not going there." Here's a side view of one of the four retractable glass bays, taken on a rainy day. Below is video taken during nicer weather. Very, very cool.

(Via - Towleroad)

Canadian HIV Vaccine Ready To Begin Human Trials In U.S.

A little bit of encouraging news today.

An HIV/AIDS vaccine developed in Canada has passed safety tests in animals and the researchers are awaiting approval to begin human trials in the U.S. "It is a very important milestone for us," said Yong Kang, a professor of microbiology at the University of Western Ontario in London who has been working on the vaccine for 20 years. Kang said he expects to get the go-ahead soon from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human toxicology tests and two phases of clinical trials in the United States. If all three trials are successful, the vaccine should be available within the next decade, Kang told CBC News on the phone while attending a meeting in South Korea.

(Tipped by JMG reader Alejandro)

Woman With Cancer Asks Obama For Help

Watch this one, please.

Gay Sailor Murdered On Marine Base

The body of an openly gay sailor was found yesterday in a guard shack outside of Camp Pendleton, a USMC base just outside San Diego. The case may be investigated as a hate crime.

The body of Seaman August Provost of Houston, Texas, was discovered about 3:30 a.m. on the western edge of the base, said Doug Sayers, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest. An autopsy was completed yesterday, but authorities were waiting for results of toxicology tests to determine a cause of death. A “person of interest” was being held in the Navy brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. No charges have been filed. The death has local gay activists calling for a formal investigation into whether Provost was slain because of his sexual orientation. “We're definitely monitoring this and trust and hope the military will investigate this in the professional way it should,” said Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of San Diego's Human Rights Commission. Murray-Rameriz also has contacted Reps. Susan Davis and Bob Filner, asking that they make official inquiries to the military concerning an investigation. The Navy would not comment on whether Provost's orientation had anything to do with the death.

The victim's boyfriend said that Provost had been out to trusted friends in the Navy.

Indian High Court Legalizes Homosexuality In New Dehli

In a ruling that is only binding in the National Capital Territory (for now), the Delhi High Court has decriminalized homosexuality in a decision with sweeping implications for one of the world's largest gay populations.

Rex Wockner has done an excellent analysis of the decision. An excerpt:

What about the rest of India? It certainly carries weight there but is, at the moment, legally binding only in the National Capital Territory. What could happen next is that (A) the national government could appeal the ruling to India's Supreme Court, (B) the national government could accept the ruling and not appeal it, (C) the national government could accept the ruling and use it as ammo to introduce a bill in Parliament to duplicate the ruling in national law, and/or (D) anti-gay parties to the lawsuit could appeal to the Supreme Court. Regardless, gay sex is now legal in India's National Capital Territory and, as the Queer Media Collective put it: "This is the first time a court as senior as this, with such respected judges, has given a decision on homosexuality. Because of that it sends a powerful signal to the legal establishment across the country. We are confident that judges, lawyers and police officers across the country will understand and follow the Delhi High Court's lead."

The most damning bit of the ruling: "The criminalisation of homosexuality condemns in perpetuity a sizable section of society and forces them to live their lives in the shadow of harassment, exploitation, humiliation, cruel and degrading treatment at the hands of the law enforcement machinery."

NY Blade Suspends Publication

Two days ago we learned that HX Magazine has been sold. Today comes word that its HX Media stablemate, the New York Blade, is suspending publication.

The New York Blade, one of the two major gay and lesbian newspapers in New York City, has laid off its editor in chief and suspended publication, the chief executive of its publishing company said on Wednesday. “Everyone was let go, but the people on The Blade know that they may come back if The Blade is coming back,” said the executive, Matthew Bank, of HX Media, which was formed in 2005 by the merger of The Blade and HX Magazine. The moves came on Tuesday after HX was sold to undisclosed buyers. The Blade, a biweekly paper with a free circulation of 22,000, was left with an uncertain future. “It doesn’t have an issue scheduled until a week from Friday.” Mr. Bank said. “There are a lot of things that can happen between now and then.”

This leaves NYC with only one gay news print source, the excellent Gay City News.

A Letter To The DNC

JMG reader Jimbo points us to this bit of delicious snark found in the letters section of Salon.

Dear DNC

I truly "support" Democrats being elected in 2010 and 2012. I am a "fierce advocate" of the Democratic Party after all. I know that I have promised you my support over the past few decades and have done my best to follow through.

Even now I am "working towards" a financial donation to the Party. I do have to ask for your "patience" though, because as a gay man, my family and I are still second class citizens and are having to funnel our resources towards causes that protect and honor our basic civil rights. "We have a lot on our plate."

We are "proceeding" towards lifting the denial of funds to the DNC and are "developing a strategy" that will get us there by the end of Obama's time at the White House. As a matter of fact, my family has planned several "meetings" to discuss these very important donations and will be sending out a press release shortly to announce our "cocktail party" celebrating Democracy.

Thanks for understanding. And hang in there!

Sincerely,

Liam

The Pain, The Pain

Media Matters provides this clip showing the anguish of the right over Al Franken's win.

Open Thread Thursday

What's your guilty pleasure? Mexican soaps? Game shows? Disney Channel?

India's High Court Set To Rule On Decriminalizing Homosexuality

One of the world's largest homosexual populations is anxiously awaiting word on a pending ruling that may decriminalize gay sex. Rex Wockner:

The Delhi High Court will issue its long-awaited decision in the case seeking to decriminalize gay sex tomorrow, Thursday, July 2, at 10:30 a.m. Delhi time. You should care because...India is the world's second-most-populous nation: 17.22 percent of all humans live there. That's 1,165,760,000 people. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code bans gay sex under penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The legal challenge seeks to have the section "read down" so it no longer applies to consensual sex between adults.

The ruling will come tomorrow at about 1:30am NYC time. Even if only 5% of India is gay, this ruling will affect the lives of over 50 million of our people.

Mollie Sugden Dies At 86

Mollie Sugden, the actress beloved by gays for her portrayal as the daft Mrs. Slocombe in the Britcom Are You Being Served? has died at age 86.

Sugden found early TV success with comedy series Hugh and I in 1962 and in Coronation Street as the gossiping Nellie Harvey. But it was The Liver Birds in the late 1960s and early 1970s that enabled her to make her first real impact, as Nerys Hughes' snobbish mother Mrs Hutchinson. And then in 1972 came Are You Being Served? and the role she became best known for - the blue-rinsed Betty Slocombe, with her affectation of middle-class gentility and her outrageous use of the double-entendre. Sugden went on to have her own slot on consumer programme That's Life and even found new fame in the US where re-runs of Are You Being Served? transformed both Sugden and co-star John Inman into cult figures in the early 1990s.

And now, Mrs. Slocombe and her famous pussy.

Sen. Burris: Marriage Is For Bloodlines

Sen. Roland Burris (D), the man who was appointed by deposed Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, has an odd viewpoint on marriage.

"My concept of marriage is a male and a female for the perpetuation of the species, for children to be born and identify the bloodline and the heritage. "But I'm pretty sure, as things are moving along, that that will probably change." Burris says he supports civil unions. Also at the parade was Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who says she's considering running for the senate seat. Madigan says she also supports civil unions.

Identify the bloodlines and the heritage? Uh, what? Burris delivered that opinion at Chicago's gay Pride parade this weekend.

Chad Gibson's Mom Speaks Out

Fire. Them. All.

So in the latest bit of New York Senate fuckwittery, yesterday only the Senate Democrats were in the chamber, 31 of them, one short of a quorum, while the GOP caucus sulked elsewhere. Then GOP Sen. Frank Padavan cut through the room to get to the lounge where free soft drinks are available. "QUORUM!" shouted the Dems, and immediately passed 120 bills.

SRSLY.

Gov. Paterson refuses to sign the bills, saying they don't count, illegal vote, yadda yadda yadda. Meanwhile vital state operations ground to a halt yesterday when legislation expired. And no vote in sight on marriage equality. New York state has no recall mechanism for state legislators. That needs to change. Now.

Glenn Beck Agrees With Guest: U.S. Needs Another Bin Laden Attack

How Much Did The DNC LGBT Fundraiser Really Make?

The Advocate reported that last Thursday's gay DNC fundraiser at DC's Mandarin Oriental raised a record $1M, an amount widely reported in the blogosphere, including here. Skeptics about that figure abounded here and elsewhere. Michelangelo Signorile has been digging.

Several Democratic insiders tell me that DNC officials have much latitude in moving money around and attributing funds from other fundraisers -- or funds from regular donors, including members of the DNC's LGBT Leadership Council, who donate in increments throughout the year -- to this fundraiser to swell the numbers. I offered some of this analysis on the show on Friday, raising skepticism about the reports on the blogs, after having spoken to one Democratic insider. But over the past few days I've spoken to several other people familiar with fundraising and the DNC who expressed skepticism. Pam Spaulding as well has spoken to an insider about this in an update to her post. DNC officials can apparently make it look like they made one million dollars even if they only made 250K from the event.

Signorile goes on to question how many of the event's guests were comped, how many maxed out at a $30K donation, and how many requested refunds. It's a great piece - read the entire thing.

"That Faggot Had It Coming"

The above is Dan Savage's translation of the Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead's defense of his officers in the beating of Chad Gibson during a raid of the Rainbow Lounge on Saturday.

Halstead: "You're touched and advanced in certain ways by people inside the bar, that's offensive. I'm happy with the restraint used when they were contacted like that."

Savage: "Allow me to translate the chief's comments: 'Them faggots in that thar bar touched mah officers and now they're complainin' about some rough stuff and one little ol' faggot with a brain injury? Those perverts should be grateful they're alive.'"

Dan continues:

All of this is bullshit. I've been in a million gay bars. I've been in gay bars on multiple occasions when the police came in to check everyone's IDs and make sure no minors were being served. Gay men don't grope police officers when they enter gay bars. I find it inconceivable that the gay men drinking in the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth responded to a raid by attempting to grope the police officers. This "they groped us!" shit is a lie. As the owner of the bar, J.R. Schrock, put it at the protest the night after the raid: "The groping of the police officer—really? We're gay, but we're not dumb," Schrock said to the crowd that gathered at the bar Sunday afternoon. "That is a lie, and I am appalled by it."

Jeff Halstead can't be allowed to use the Gay Panic Defense. His officers weren't groped, no one was "touched and advanced." Homophobic cops raided a gay bar, roughed up the patrons, and a young man is in the hospital and may die.

Some will say that this was just an ill-timed raid on a gay bar in Texas, of all places, one that got out of control. So what's the big deal? But this is exactly the kind of state-sponsored violence that gays and lesbians fought back against at Stonewall 40 years ago. Gay men all over the country are going to have to speak up and defend the patrons of the Rainbow Lounge. We can't allow the chief of police in Fort Worth to use the Gay Panic Defense or exploit stereotypes about gay men—so sexually reckless that they can't even keep their hands off cops during a raid!—to get away with violating the civil rights of gay men in Fort Worth or murdering Chad Gibson.

At this writing, Chad Gibson remains in intensive care with a blood clot in his brain.

FDA Told To Ban Vicodin & Percoset

An FDA advisory panel has recommended a ban on Vicodin and Percoset because of their damaging effects on the liver.

The two drugs combine a narcotic with acetaminophen, the ingredient found in popular over-the-counter products like Tylenol and Excedrin. High doses of acetaminophen are a leading cause of liver damage, and the panel noted that patients who take Percocet and Vicodin for long periods often need higher and higher doses to achieve the same effect. Acetaminophen is combined with different narcotics in at least seven other prescription drugs, and all of these combination pills will be banned if the Food and Drug Administration heeds the advice of its experts. Vicodin and its generic equivalents alone are prescribed more than 100 million times a year in the United States. Laureen Cassidy, a spokeswoman for Abbott Laboratories, which makes Vicodin, said, “The F.D.A. will make a final determination and Abbott will follow the agency’s guidance.”

According to the linked story, the FDA is not required to comply with its advisory panels, but usually does. Expect Big Pharma to go all out on this one.

HomoQuotable - David Mixner

"Let's call it what it is - Gay Apartheid.

"Now some of you might think that is a loaded and unfair word. I have chosen the word very carefully and deliberately. Apartheid is when a group of citizens of a nation is by law separated from all other citizens and the rights, benefits and protections all others are granted.

"Having DOMA and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as laws of the land are apartheid laws. They set us apart from all other American citizens. State after state has singled us out in their Constitutions to create a separate body of law for LGBT citizens. States have created laws to forbid us from adopting or participating in the foster care system. Those of us who have foreign national partners are refused to right to co-habitate in America. Creating civil unions and domestic partnership laws to avoid marriage is a failed attempt to sustain a system of 'separate but equal' that didn't work in the segregationist South and won't work for us. So lets be honest about this as we see an enormous number of laws on the books specially denying LGBT Americans the rights, benefits, privileges and protections granted to all other Americans: we have created and are continuing to expand on a system of Gay Apartheid. There is no other way to look at it." - Noted activist and former Clinton White House adviser David Mixner, writing on this blog.

Read the entire essay.

To The North....About 18 Inches

This is what happens when you dig a new subway line under century-old brick buildings.

For the second time in a month, a building near the Second Avenue Subway construction site has been evacuated, authorities said. Residents of the building, at 92nd Street and Second Avenue, said they were told to leave yesterday afternoon. "I definitely wish I had gotten a call earlier. It's very difficult to move all this stuff out of my apartment," fumed Megan Linkin, 26, who lives at 301 East 92nd St., one of three addresses assigned to the building. "It probably has to do with the construction. You notice the blasting zone is right outside the door." Saeed Zokeri, 27, who owns a deli at 1766 Second Ave., said he was "angry" at the short notice he received. "They came today at 2 p.m. and said you have to get out. The building could collapse at any minute," he said. Residents of 1768 Second Ave. said they, too, were told to leave. One was told the building was leaning 18 inches to the north.

At least my building is safely down a side street and all I've had to deal with is power outages, cable outages, water outages....

Caption This

Olbermann: Obama Stonewalling On DADT

Dan Savage appeared on Olbermann last night to say that he found it "shocking" that Obama received "polite applause" at the White House LGBT cocktail party, when everybody in the room knew he could end the discharges immediately if he wanted to.

Fear Of 1994

A quote from Rahm Emmanuel in yesterday's WaPo sheds some light on what's not driving the White House to move on LGBT rights.

Maintaining a sense of common interest across the party is a paramount goal. Early on, administration officials and Democratic leaders agreed they would steer clear of controversial social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. And to the discontent of many liberal Democrats, Congress intends to remain generally silent on those fronts. "They know the consequences of '94. It looms," White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said of the legislative debacles in President Bill Clinton's early tenure that produced the 1994 Republican landslide. "That division led to failure. . . . Our chances for success only come about by unity. That, as a culture up there, has been enforced by enough people that enough members believe." For the White House, the trick is to keep a firm grip without appearing overly meddlesome.

(Via - Pam's House Blend)

Pat Condell Calls Out Feminist Silence On Burka Controversy

My favorite YouTube atheist gets it right.

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day to our JMG readers in the north!

Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada), formerly Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), is Canada's national day, a federal statutory holiday, celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North America Act of 1867, which united Canada as a single country of four provinces. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as internationally.

We thank you for your fabulous homosexuals like k.d. lang, Scott Thompson, Mark Tewksbury, and Ashley McIsaac. As for your hets, Ryan Reynolds almost makes up for Celine Dion. Almost.

Wanna Be Startin' Something

I love the anchors' faces.

Lt. Dan Choi Recommended For Firing

Yesterday a military tribunal recommended that Lt. Dan Choi be dismissed. Choi vows to take his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

Minneapolis Cops: It Wasn't One Of Us

JMG reader Sean Chapin forwards us this press release from the Minneapolis Police Department, who says that it wasn't one of their officers ignoring the gay man being verbally harassed by a group of homophobic teens and children outside of Twin Cities Pride.

June 30, 2009 ( MINNEAPOLIS ) Currently, there is a video on YouTube of an incident that occurred sometime during the Minneapolis Gay Pride Festival. There has been some speculation that Minneapolis Police Officers were in that video. The Minneapolis Police Department wants to assure the public that those security officers who casually walk by during this incident were not from our department. We have a strict uniform policy and those were not our uniforms or our police officers. This is unacceptable behavior that would not be tolerated by the Minneapolis Police. Action would have been taken immediately to stop the harassment that is depicted in the video. We want all people, no matter of color, race, creed or sexual orientation to feel safe and welcome while they are in the city of Minneapolis. Link to video. PIO contact for this incident is Sgt Jesse Garcia III.

The Minneapolis PD is to be lauded for their prompt and proper response to this incident. But if it isn't one of theirs, who is the man in the video? He appears to be carrying a gun, but he could just be a bank security guard.

(Screen grab by JMG reader Michael)

JMG Makes Advocate's Top Political Blogs

This here website thingy made the Advocate's Top Political Blogs list.

From Joe.My.God to The Daily Beast, Advocate.com spotlights a few of the best blogs that cover politics, inside and way outside the Beltway.

Joe.My.God: The name sounds salacious, but the content is anything but. Not to say Joe Jervis's six-year-old blog is boring -- it just gets to the point when it comes to gay politics and news. Reporting from New York, Jervis also has his ear to Washington. He seamlessly blends big-picture posts (on the White House, GLAAD, "don't ask, don't tell" protests) with more local stories, covering gay bashings that often go unreported.

Here's the complete list in the order of the story.

The Bilerico Project
Gay Patriot
Immigration Equality Blog
BlogActive
David Mixner
Politico
Joe.My.God.
HRC Backstory
Chris Crain
Daily Beast
Drudge Report
Andrew Sullivan
FiveThirtyEight
Gay Politics/Victory Fund

I think I'd have rather been on their Top 15 Gay(ish) Blogs list, but whatevs, go me,

HX Media Spins Off Namesake Mag

In yet another sign of the woes of LGBT print media, HX Media, owner of the New York Blade (among other properties), has sold its namesake title, HX Magazine, the famed weekly guide to Gotham's gay nightlife. An investment fund that owns a stake in HX Media was forced into receivership in February.

"HX Magazine and the web site hx.com have been sold. The new owners of HX Magazine will be releasing details and information on their plans for the future of the title shortly. In the meantime, Bank and HX Magazine Publisher Gary Lacinski will be assisting them in the transition. HX Magazine issue 931 dated July 10th, which will be released on July 3rd, will be the last one produced by HX Media and its staff."

When I first started visiting Manhattan on clubbing excursions in the early 90's, I'd borrow copies of the first incarnation of HX, the folded/stapled Homo Xtra, and try to memorize bar addresses on the flight up from Miami. Let's hope that at least some of the current staffers hold onto their jobs under the new owners.

(Via - NY Press)

Did Michael Jackson Die Of Anorexia?

When a 50 year-old man only weighs 112 pounds at 5'11", it seems possible.

According to autopsy reports, the King of Pop was a skeletal 112 pounds when he died last Thursday. Although the cause of death won’t be known for weeks, two authors of Michael Jackson biographies have put forward an intriguing theory: that Jackson might have died of anorexia. I'm going to make a prediction: Part of the contributing factor not only will be substance abuse ... but it will also be anorexia,” Diane Dimond, who wrote a book about Jackson’s molestation trial, said on CNN on Thursday. She went on to recall that, when she was reporting on the trial in 2005, Jackson was so emaciated that she wondered how he could stand up. Meanwhile, Ian Halperin, author of the forthcoming Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, wrote in the U.K. Daily Mail that Jackson had lost significant weight in recent months, and that his doctors wondered if he was bulimic. He quoted a Jackson staff member saying: “He goes days at a time hardly eating a thing, and at one point his doctor was asking people if he had been throwing up after meals.” The staff member continued: “‘He suspected bulimia, but when we said he hardly eats any meals, the doc thought it was probably anorexia.’”

RELATED: Some gossip sites are claiming that one of the boys who accused Jackson of molestation has recanted his story, saying his father forced him to lie for the money. Other sites are denying the story.

Filibuster Proof: Dems Get 60th Senate Seat As Al Franken Wins Case

After a legal battle that has lasted for more than half a year, Al Franken will at last be seated in the U.S. Senate, giving the Democrats a filibuster proof 60 seats.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has just issued its long-awaited judgment in the Senate race, declaring that Democrat Al Franken is the winner. The unanimous decision was released after a seven-months long battle over the seat formerly held by Norm Coleman. Gov. Tim Pawlenty had indicated as late as Monday that he was willing to certify Mr. Franken as the winner once the state’s highest court decided the recount and Mr. Coleman’s battle. On CNN on Sunday, Mr. Pawlenty said: “I’m prepared to sign it as soon as they give the green light.”

Both sides spent a combined $11M in the recount battle.

UPDATE: OK, maybe it's not over.

Numerous Wingnut Groups Join Forces To Create Massive Anti-Gay Group

Ex-Gay Watch points us to a Reuters story noting the formation of the Freedom Federation, a massive coalition of anti-gay groups who are joining forces to create one giant swirling cesspool of hate.

The Freedom Federation is a new and unique federation of some of the largest multi-ethnic and transgenerational faith-based organizations in the country committed to plan, strategize, and work together on common interests within the Judeo-Christian tradition to mobilize their grassroots constituencies and to communicate faith and values to the Religious, social, cultural, and policymaking institutions.

Among the groups joining the Freedom Federation:

American Association of Christian Counselors, American Family Association, Americans for Prosperity, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), Campaign for Working Families, Catholics Online, Concerned Women for America, Conservative Action Project, Eagle Forum, Exodus International, Faith and Action, Family Research Council, High Impact Leadership, Liberty Alliance Action, Liberty Counsel, Liberty University, Life Education and Resource Network (LEARN), Marc Nuttle, Morning Star Ministries, National Clergy Council, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Renewing American Leadership, Strang Communications, Teen Mania, The Call to Action, Traditional Values Coalition, Vision America

Tony Perkins, Matt Barber, Phyllis Schafly, Ruben Diaz, James Dobson and all those other miserable, unhappy, destructive horrible people in one room. Shudder.

Flight Safety From Air New Zealand

Notice anything about their uniforms?

UPDATE: JMG reader KJ points out their blooper reel and their fun site.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jim S)

Haters Lose, No Vote On DC Marriage

A Washington DC Superior Court has just dismissed the case filed by anti-gay Bishop Harry Jackson and others, clearing the way for the District to begin recognizing same-sex marriages on July 6th.

The decision from Judge Judith Retchin to deny a preliminary injunction and grant the city’s motion to dismiss means there will be no referendum on the recognition statute, which will likely become law July 6 after a congressional review of the law is completed. Congress is not expected to undo the legislation. Retchin determined that the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled properly that the proposed referendum, sought by a coalition of area clergy, was an improper subject for a ballot question because it would violate the city’s Human Rights Act. The act, she said, makes it “unlawful for the government to deny services or benefits based on membership in a protected category,” and there are some 200 rights and responsibilities conferred to married couples that are not given to legally recognized same sex couples.

Stand by for more screaming and foot-stomping by Bishop Jackson. It should be quite delicious.

British PM Bans Gay Activist Peter Tatchell From Downing Street Pride Event

The world's most famous gay activist, Peter Tatchell, claims that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown barred him from a gay Pride celebration at 10 Downing Street because of Tatchell's criticisms of the government on LGBT rights issues.

In a statement, Tatchell said: "I have been campaigning for LGBT human rights for 40 years. I was one of the group of people who helped organise Britain's first gay pride parade in 1972″. Calling many of those invited "tame apologists for Labour", Tatchell said the same "selective invitation criteria" was applied when Gordon Brown hosted a Downing Street reception for LGBT campaigners back in March. "An insider tipped me off that my name had been removed from the invite list, at Gordon Brown's personal request. He was apparently still angry that I had heckled him over his government's erosion of civil liberties, when he opened the Taking Liberties exhibition at the British Library late last year," he said.

Prime Minister Brown has turned down an invitation to march in this Saturday's gay Pride event in London, citing "security considerations."

SCOTUS Reverses Nominee Sonia Sotomayor On Affirmative Action

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision made by SCOTUS-nominee Sonia Sotomayor when she was an appeals judge, ruling that white firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut had been discriminated against when they were passed over for promotions in favor of less qualified black firefighters. The case is expected to have broad impact on affirmative action cases nationwide.

In the firefighter case, the city said it acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities, but Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his majority opinion that New Haven's action amounted to discrimination based on race against the white firefighters who were likely to be promoted. "No individual should face workplace discrimination based on race," Kennedy said. The ruling restricts, but does not eliminate, employers' ability to take diversity into account in employment decisions. But the ruling could make it harder for minorities to prove discrimination based solely on lopsided racial hiring or promotions. Sotomayor and two appeals court colleagues had ruled the city did the right thing in throwing out the test, and the Supreme Court reversal gave critics fresh ammunition two weeks before her Senate confirmation hearing.

Rep. Jared Polis On White House Party

Dallas Paper Calls For Inquiry Into Fort Worth Gay Bar Raid

The Dallas Morning News doesn't seem to believe the Fort Worth cops.

The Fort Worth Police Department still has some explaining to do about what happened early Sunday at a southside gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge. Or some clarifying or some illuminating or some supplementary detailing – anything to mitigate the apparently self-administered public-relations shot-to-the-foot it suffered after what it keeps calling a routine "bar check." 'Cause – Problem No. 1 – bar patrons who were there say it wasn't a "check," it was a "raid." Problem No. 2, this particular "check" ended with a kid in the intensive-care unit with a head injury. Problem No. 3, in what I can only hope is a spectacularly infelicitous coincidence, all this took place on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Raid. [snip] Fort Worth is a fine and tolerant city.

The police officers I personally know over there are decent, stand-up people. But today, in the Twitter-and-blog-enabled process of rapid dissemination, they're getting an ugly reputation. And the flames of indiscriminate opinion about Texas being a stagnant backwater of vicious, insular, hate-crazed xenophobes dance higher. So, Fort Worth, we need some answers, please, and quickly. This is no time to stonewall.

One bar patron remains in intensive care with a brain injury. The cops claims he fell and hit his head because he was so drunk. On the Dallas Voice, one of the club's dancers saw one of the arrests go down this way:

I was still standing near the entrance to the VIP lounge with a friend when an officer approached a man standing there. The man had water in his hand. The officer asked him how much he had had to drink and the man said that he didn’t have to answer that. The officer then said that he was going to arrest him for public intoxication. The man said,”You can’t do that I am just standing here right now drinking water.” At the time the officer shoved the man over towards the wall near the dressing room and then back to the rear wall near the men’s restroom, then down onto the floor. Several other officers, made their way back there to hold that ONE MAN down on the ground as they placed restraints on him. At the time I noticed that all of them did not have FWPD uniforms on. Some of them were actually State Police.

Peter LaBarbera Discovers YouTube

America's most famous closeted homosexual, Peter LaBarbera, has posted his first ever YouTube clip, a 2.5 minute compilation of Chicago's Gay Pride parade. LaBarbera conveniently positioned himself outside the local bathhouse (not too far to walk after the parade!) so that he could film parade participant Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart with the baths behind him.

UPDATE: Mr. Chickenshit has taken the video private so that gay bloggers can't expose his idiocy. You can still watch the clip on YouTube, but of course he's disabled comments and ratings there too.

Cops Raid San Diego Dem Home Fundraiser With Helicopter, Arrests, Pepper Spray

Congressional candidate Francine Busby was being hosted at the home of a lesbian couple in San Diego, where they and 30 guests raised funds for her campaign. A neighbor of the couple began shouting homophobic slurs over his backyard fence and then apparently called the police to complain about the noise. What happened next is surreal.

Cops responded with eight police cruisers and a helicopter, arresting the hosts and pepper spraying the guests. The Sheriff's Department received the complaint at 9:33 p.m. from a man who said someone was talking on a loudspeaker and a crowd was cheering, keeping him awake. From about 8 to 8:30 p.m., Busby said, she used an amplified microphone to talk to guests, whom she described as middle-aged supporters. During Busby's speech, Barman said in a statement yesterday, a man on the property behind her house shouted “disparaging remarks” about Busby and gay people. Barman lives in the house with her partner, Jane Stratton, 55. After her talk, Busby said, people chatted.

“It was a quiet home reception, disrupted by a vulgar person shouting obscenities from behind the bushes,” Busby said. Neighbors on three sides of the house said yesterday there wasn't much noise from the party. One man said he slept through it. “We didn't hear anything until the sheriff came, with eight patrol cars and a helicopter,” said Natasha Cortina, 43, who said she and her two children were home with the windows open. Hugh Elliott, 53, who lives closest to the house, said he heard a deputy's radio, then arguing, coughing, crying and finally everyone spilling outside as the smell of pepper spray drifted over his back fence.

Busby is seeking to fill the House seat vacated by GOP Rep. Duke Cunningham, who is in federal prison after being found guilty of corruption. She is demanding that San Diego police explain their actions at her event. Commenters at the Sign On San Diego story are calling for the firings of the involved police.