Photo Of The Day

Free Republic founder Jim Robinson attended today's "anti-Obamacare" rally in Washington DC on his Medicaid-provided wheelchair. Robinson does not know the meaning of irony.

"Bury Obamacare With Kennedy"

The headline on Free Republic about today's teabagger protest in DC gloats: "Turnout estimated (by ABC News) at 2 Million!!" Well, not exactly. Here's what ABC really says:

Carrying signs depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler and the Joker, and chanting slogans such as "'No big government" and "Obamacare makes me sick," approximately 60,000 to 70,000 people flooded Pennsylvania Ave, according to the Washington DC Fire Department. Organized by FreedomWorks, a conservative activist group led by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, many of the protestors were affiliated with the Tea Party movement, grassroots demonstrations that began across the country last spring to protest Democratic tax policies, and government bailouts of the banking and auto industries.

But you know, wingnuts are probably even more famous for being liars than for being racists and homophobes. Why, Michelle Malkin says 2 million, so TWO MILLION it is!

That Day

(This story makes its fifth and final annual appearance on JMG. I just wanted to run it once under a president other than Dubya.)

Manhattan, September 11th, 2001

That day, I got to my office on 42nd Street at about 8:55am. About ten minutes later, I got a call from Thomas in Orlando. "Honey, you should look out your window because a plane just hit the World Trade Center!"

I have a fabulous view of the Chrysler Building from my office, but to see the World Trade Center I had to go downstairs and walk over to Fifth Avenue. There was already a crowd on every corner, shielding their eyes against the morning sun. All we could see was a plume of smoke. Just as I got back into my office, the word spread that a second plane had struck.

A few minutes later someone reported that the subways had stopped running and it only took about another 15 minutes before office decorum began to dissolve. Davita, our normally stoic sales manager, began sobbing, worrying about getting home to her daughter in Brooklyn. Some of our staffers nervously took post at our windows overlooking Grand Central Terminal, watching the sky over the Chrysler Building one block away. We all tried calling our families but got nothing but busy signals.

Our CEO called us into the conference room at 10am and announced, "It appears that the United States is under attack. I'm suggesting that we all try to make our way to our homes at once. Please call the office tomorrow before you come in, to see what our situation is." His voice was overloud, his nerves overcoming his normally lilting Liverpool accent.

A moment later someone with a radio announced, "One of the towers just collapsed." That sent the office scrambling for the door. A few minutes later I was on the street. I headed towards my apartment on 22nd Street in Chelsea and had just turned south onto Sixth Avenue when the second tower collapsed. I watched the top half of the building slide from view. Everybody stopped walking and stood in silent horror. From our distance there was no noise.

As I continued walking I began to pass people in varying states of distress. Lines began to form in front of payphones as cellphones were now useless. Taking a cue from Hurricane Andrew, I decided to stop at an ATM and get all the cash I could, remembering that it was weeks before the machines were restocked in South Florida. Lots of people had the same idea, there were long lines at every ATM that I passed. I was almost home before I finally found a deli with an unnoticed ATM in the back.

I pulled $300 from the ATM and headed up front with my cash, where I heard a couple of guys telling the clerk that they were going to head downtown and offer their help to the firemen. That hadn't occurred to me and it seemed like a good idea just then. Then a woman rushed in looking for bottled water, saying that she'd heard that the water supply was being turned off because it had been poisoned. That seemed quite possible, in the context of the day, so I followed her to the back of the store and picked up four gallons of water. I added a disposable camera to my purchase and struggled out. Once home, I changed into my heaviest jeans and my work boots. Our cable was out, the radio stations were out, so without much information I headed downtown.

There were crowds of people on most corners, staring southward. Anybody with a transistor radio drew an immediate crowd. The only stations on the air were those with towers in New Jersey. I got as far as Canal Street when I first encountered a police road block. They seemed to be stopping vehicles only, but when I tried to walk past the cops, they turned me back, saying, "Residents only." I guess I didn't look like someone who might live in Chinatown.

Above: Every corner offered a fresh perspective on the horror.Above: I veered east on Canal and a few blocks away I found many thousands of people walking home to Brooklyn across the Manhattan Bridge.Above: People were in a trance. There was little talking, just an occasional glance back at the smoke plume.Above: I walked out onto the upper part of the bridge and took this picture.Above: When I headed back south, along the edges of the financial district, I found many people wearing facemasks. I still have no idea where these thousands of masks came from, but when I came across one lying on the ground, I put it on.Above: The first physical evidence of the attack that I found was this heavy dusting. Above: This abandoned fruit stand struck me as a sign of the terror that must have reigned just a couple of hours earlier because the owner even left his cash box behind. It was lying open with money visible.Above: This cop wouldn't let me go past his corner, but he did tell me that he heard that volunteers were being advised at the Ferry Building. He didn't seem very convincing, I think he just wanted me to go away.

A few feet away, a female cop started screaming at some people who'd arrived with cameras. She shouted, "You're horrible ghouls! This is a terrible disaster and you fucking want souvenirs!" I shoved my camera deeper into my pocket. One of the guys shouted back at her, "This is history, lady! Terrible, terrible history! People need to know what we are seeing!"Above: This is John Street, looking west. Those spots on the picture are tiny pieces of paper, raining down from some damaged skyscraper.Above: Just around the corner, I was about 100 feet up the block when a gust of wind brought thick smoke down on top of me just as I was taking this picture. The darkness of the smoke prevented the camera from showing that this shoe was just one of dozens lying in the street. People had run right out of their shoes in the panic. I was very glad to have my facemask right then. Above: Taking this photo of the Stock Exchange almost got me sent to Leavenworth. As I learned a moment later, taking pictures of financial institutions during national emergencies can be considered an act of treason because you might be providing proof to the enemy of what they did or did not accomplish. While the news reporter standing next to me vehemently argued his case, I slipped away.

From here, I walked south to the Ferry Building, where as I suspected, there was no gathering of volunteers, just some dazed looking ferry employees and some passengers hoping for service to Staten Island. This is when I decided to give up on volunteering that day, there was just nobody around to report to. Nobody seemed in charge of anything, except the lone cops in charge of guarding their portion of the disaster's perimeter. The route to the west side of Manhattan was blocked from the Ferry Building, so I doubled back and circled the entire financial district, counter-clockwise, until I got to Battery Park City, intending to walk home up the West Side Highway.

I joined a ragtag group of office workers, perhaps a dozen or so, who'd just braved coming out of their buildings, and we walked on the sidewalk along the Hudson. We'd just about gotten to Tribeca when a police SWAT team of sorts appeared before us. One of them barked at us through his megaphone, which was a bit funny because he was only about ten feet away.

"You may not proceed in this direction. You may not return the way you came. You must all now join a mandatory evacuation of this area."

OK, fine. But if we can't go forward and we can't go back, what do we do?

"This tugboat is waiting to deliver you safely to Jersey City."

TUGBOAT? And indeed, moored there was a tugboat, one of those pushing things that steer the cruise ships into the harbor. The cops made us get on the tugboat. We protested, of course.

"This is for your own safety. We cannot allow you people to be wandering around this area. Once safely on the Jersey City side, you can re-enter Manhattan via the PATH train to the 33rd Street Station."

The tugboat crew had to lift us down onto the boat as there was no real dock there. In my group of evacuees was a dog walker who had eight tiny dogs on leashes. Once on the tugboat, it was noticed that the deck of the boat, which was an open-grill of sorts, was too wide for the little dogs' feet. We were each handed one of the dogs to hold while we crossed the Hudson. I got the pug. Above: This is the view as we pushed back from the west side of Manhattan.
Above: When we were about halfway across, another building collapsed. I never figured out which one it was, but you can tell it was just north of the Twin Towers.Above: This young paramedic stood with his hands over his mouth, sobbing. No one spoke to him. Above: On the Jersey City side, we were met by eager emergency workers who seemed genuinely disappointed that we had no injuries. A young girl gave me a wet towel to wipe my face and I was surprised to see the towel turn black after just one pass across my forehead. I walked through a big crowd of EMT's all set up with no one to treat. They were just sitting in chairs, watching the smoke rise from downtown Manhattan.

I heard one of the tugboat people ask about the PATH train, and she was told, "Oh, no. There will be no trains to Manhattan for at least 72 hours, by order of the Port Authority. The bridges and tunnels are closed too. You folks are going to have to make do over here for a few days."

I was furious. The cops on the Manhattan side had lied to us to get us onto the tugboat. I argued with a couple of the cops, telling them with great indignation of how we'd been deceived. One of them looked at me and said, "Buddy, if you want me to feel sorry for you, you need to turn around and look back at what you just left."

That shut me up.

A moment later, I had another attack of anger, this time at myself. I'd forgotten to take the $300 cash out of my work pants. I was in Jersey City, by myself, and in my pockets I had a disposable camera, an expired California driver's license and $6. I have no idea where the $6 came from. It could have been there since before I moved to NYC.

Trying to quell panic, I walked away from the pier towards downtown Jersey City in the direction of the PATH train station. I passed a young man sitting on a bike, studying the scene across the Hudson. Even in my very upset state of mind, I noted that he was very handsome.

"Joe! Is that you?"

I turned around. The guy on the bike was from San Francisco! He and I had fucked around once shortly after I got to SF and from then on I'd seen him out at the clubs every so often. My spirits lifted, maybe he could put me up for three days?

"Hi Ricky! What are you doing in New York?"

"Actually, I live here in Jersey City. I'm going to school here now. Been here for about a year. What a day, huh? Oh, here comes my boyfriend."

And up walked a Port Authority cop. I couldn't believe my luck. I quickly explained my situation to them. The cop looked me up and down, then said, "Well, you can understand why they lied to you over there. You must have been in a dangerous area. And we've been told there will be no trains, tunnels or bridges open for at least 72 hours. But...."

But?

"There is going to be one more inbound train to Manhattan in about 20 minutes. The train's gonna be all fire-rescue and search units from Jersey. You could probably walk right onto that train and no one would stop you. You could pass for fire-rescue. Just don't talk to anybody. They're all from different units so they don't know each other anyway."

A few minutes later, Ricky's boyfriend, the Port Authority cop, walked me past the other cops and through the yellow tape blocking the PATH station entrance. We shook hands at the top of the escalator and I headed down. At the bottom of the escalator, I nearly gave myself away by instinctively heading for the fare machine, my $6 in my hand. Then I saw a fireman jump the turnstyle and I whirled around and did the same. The train left almost the moment I got on. I made it by 20 seconds, tops. Nobody spoke on the ride over. Not one word. I sat at the far end of the car and tried not to meet anybody's eyes, even though it was too late to throw me off.Above: When we reached the 33rd Street station in Manhattan, I walked upstairs to find the streets completely deserted of cars and buses. I have no idea where all those vehicles went, but this picture of Seventh Avenue, looking north, is the proof. That's the west entrance of Macy's on the right.

Then I walked home to Chelsea for the second time, that day.

Viacom: Gay Network Logo Will Go Dark During The National Equality March

In what is the largest corporate endorsement of the National Equality March to date, media giant Viacom announced today that Logo, their cable channel for LGBT folks, will "go dark" for four hours as the March takes place in Washington DC on October 11th. Viewers tuning in will see a graphic directing them the Logo-run website 365gay.com for news from the March.

Saturday: Protest Rally At Atlanta Eagle

A rally protesting the treatment of staff and patrons during yesterday's police raid at the Atlanta Eagle will take place tomorrow, Saturday, at the nightclub at 7:30PM. Facebook action page here.

80's Flashback

Marianne Faithful, The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan, 1980. My favorite track by Faithfull, this cover of Dr. Hook's 1975 album track is probably one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. "At the age of 37, she realized she'd never ride through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair." The imagery of a wasted life spent "in a white suburban bedroom in a white suburban town" brought out the existential angst in the 20 year-old me, as I'd decided that Orlando surely must be the most dreary place in the entire world. ("Get me out of here! I don't wanna be Lucy Jordan!") Lucy Jordan is from the critically raved album Broken English, which includes her controversial and scatological evisceration of a former lover, Why'd Ya Do It (NSFW), which my roommate and I could quote line by filthy line. TRIVIA: The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan was written by legendary children's book author and songwriter Shel Silverstein.

WA: Attorney General To Appeal Decision To Cloak Names Of R-71 Signers

Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna says he will file an appeal to the decision of a federal judge to cloak the names of those who signed the anti-gay Referendum 71, which would repeal the state's new domestic partners law. Yesterday federal judge Ben Settle said that people have the right to participate anonymously in the political process. This ain't over yet.

Daily Grumble

So the super and a couple of workmen are in my kitchen this morning measuring for a new floor. Apartment door: open. I look over from my desk and catch a glimpse of Shelley out in the hallway. Shit. I make an awkward jump over the workers just in time to see her dashing up the stairs. I pursue. Fourth floor. She looks back at me, yowls and hisses. Takes off. Fifth floor. More hissing. I get within 20 feet of her, she screams, takes off. So not like her. Then I think she's trapped in a dead end hallway, end of crisis. But, no. Somebody's door is open and she dashes in. Fuck. I tap on the open door, "Hello? My cat just ran in here!" No answer. I see Shelley's tail under their couch and hoping not to get shot, run over to pull her out. Much scratching and hysterical yowling ensues, but I finally yank her out.

AND IT WASN'T SHELLEY.

Looked like her, just a little smaller, but totally not MY cat. Just somebody else's poor kitty that got chased into her own apartment by a terrifying stranger. Bleeding and embarassed, I return to my apartment where Shelley is calmly sitting on the windowsill, looking all "What?" The end.

Military Exercises In DC? TODAY?

Now let's do a fly-by of the White House!

Gay British Envoy Murdered In Jamaica, "This Is What Will Happen To ALL Gays"

"This is what will happen to ALL gays" read the note left at the scene of the strangling murder of John Terry, the British honorary consul to Jamaica.

Police believe that Mr Terry, who was married but separated from his wife, knew his attacker. There were no signs of forced entry at the property. However, it is believed that the killer stole his wallet and mobile telephone in an attempt to make it appear as though a robbery had gone wrong. Police would not say whether Mr Terry’s murder was thought to be linked to his work as a Justice of the Peace but they were investigating the possibility that the attack might have been homophobic after a handwritten note on his body described him as a “batty man”, local slang for a homosexual. The note also said: “This is what will happen to ALL gays.” It was signed: “Gay-Man”. The former hotel manager had worked in the island’s tourism trade for more than 30 years. At the time of his death he was working at the Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay, a resort popular with British and American tourists.

Jamaica, the island paradise.

Democratic Leaders Call for Official Censure Of Rep. Joe Wilson

Top Democrats are calling for an official censure of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) after his unprecedented heckling of President Obama during a nationally televised speech to the joint chambers of Congress.

Joe Wilson’s flat refusal to apologize to the entire House for heckling President Barack Obama rekindled a push by some top Democrats to introduce a censure resolution — despite Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to consider the idea on Thursday. Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) are considering the move after Wilson adamantly refused to offer a mea culpa in the well of the House. Clyburn buttonholed him on the floor and asked him three times to publicly renounce his “You lie!” outburst, according to my colleague Victoria McGrane. “If he had just said he was sorry, nobody would be considering any of this,” added a senior Democratic aide. The aide said it was too late to push for a resolution this week — and that any resolution would hit the floor next week, giving Wilson more time to reconsider his decision.

Wilson apologized to the president almost immediately after his outburst, drawing howls of betrayal from wingnuts who were already canonizing him as the new leader of the GOP. Since then, Wilson has retreated on his apology somewhat. Meanwhile, Rob Miller, Wilson's 2010 Democratic opponent, has benefited from an avalanche of donations, raising his election fund from $20K to almost $800,000 in less than 36 hours.

Remembering Mark Bingham

JMG reader Sean Chapin sends us his remembrance of Mark Bingham, the openly gay rugby player credited with helping foil the 9/11 hijackers of United 93, possibly saving the White House or the U.S. Capitol from the same fate as the World Trade Center. Bingham was memorably played by openly gay Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson in a movie recounting the heroics of Bingham and his fellow passengers.

Cops Raid Atlanta Eagle, Arrest Employees, Patrons Claim Harassment

Last night Atlanta police raided the popular Eagle nightclub, arresting several employees and angering patrons who claim they are being harassed.

About ten police cars and about 15 cops raided the bar, allegedly looking for drugs. However, the police were said to have ordered all patrons to get on the ground--including patrons who were just dancing or standing at the bar--and numerous patrons said people were handcuffed indiscriminately. Bar patrons were furious at the aggressive and indiscriminate treatment and called the incident "harassment." Patrons also stated that at least three undercover cops were present. One patron stated he knew this because he saw the undercover police first without their badges, mingling with the crowds, and then again with their badges on. However, after all the arrests were made, this writer noticed as several plainclothes men--several Black males and a couple White males--talked in a circle with police officers. They then went to their cars and drove off. It was apparent about 10 undercover police had been there. One police officer stated, as he and others left the parking lot, "This is gonna keep happening if we keep getting complaints from the community." The officer did not specify what complaints he was referring to.

According to the Eagle's owner, the bar's only citation was for allowing go-go boys to dance in their underwear. It was the nightclub's weekly "underwear party." Numerous patrons complain of being handcuffed and forced to lie on the floor as they were searched for drugs. No patrons were arrested.

"Everyone was ordered to get on their stomachs and face down during this ordeal. As far as I could tell everyone was searched at least once, most of us twice. Most, but not all, of the officers were incredibly derogatory and insulting whether they found evidence of drugs or not," Vives said. "When asking why, we were met with derisive remarks and no explanation. I am furious at how we were treated and can't believe that this has happened in this day and age. The officers present were incredibly rude to anyone who dared to ask what was happening and several were openly hostile towards the gay patrons. Of the officers present, there was one female who was running searches on the IDs of those whose licenses were collected. She was not only rude but seemed to be enjoying the event," Vives said. "At one point, she stopped what she was doing and walked over to the television and asked her colleagues what the score to the game playing on the television was.....at this point there were still innocent patrons laying face down on the floor," Vives said.

More on this story as it develops.

Jake Raynard Speaks

Thunder Bay, Ontario gay-bashing victim Jake Raynard speaks through multiple broken facial bones to talk about the value of the lives of LGBT people. There will be a rally against gay-bashing tonight at 6PM in Thunder Bay's Waverly Park.

Sunday: Bear Party In Jersey City

My pal Wolf, owner of Jersey City's Star Bar, tips us to his new Sunday afternoon party for bears and friends which begins this weekend. As many New Yorkers know, the bear-centric Dugout in the West Village has become the leather-lite Ramrod, ending at least a decade of beer-soaked late afternoon carousing around a brilliantly curated jukebox in favor of Britney-loving DJs and go-go boys. Dammit. Star Bar is just one block from the Grove Street PATH station (one stop from the West Village), and Wolf intends to recreate the old Dugout scene there. Who's down?

Gordon Brown Apologizes To Alan Turing

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has issued a posthumous apology to Alan Turing, the brilliant World War II code-breaker and computer scientist who killed himself after being convicted of the "crime" of homosexuality. Turing's decoding of the Nazi's "enigma machine" is credited as one of single-most crucial factors in ending the war.

I am both pleased and proud that, thanks to a coalition of computer scientists, historians and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activists, we have this year a chance to mark and celebrate another contribution to Britain's fight against the darkness of dictatorship: that of code-breaker Alan Turing. Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of the Second World War could have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war. The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely.

In 1952, he was convicted of "gross indecency" – in effect, tried for being gay. His sentence – and he was faced with the miserable choice of this or prison – was chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He took his own life just two years later. [snip] It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe's history and not Europe's present. So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work, I am very proud to say: we're sorry. You deserved so much better.

Turing is considered by some to be the "father of computer science." More about him here.

Quote Of The Day - John Marcotte

"We're going to set up a table in front of Wal*Mart and ask people to sign a petition to protect traditional marriage. We're going to interview them about why they think traditional marriage is important, and then we'll tell them that we are trying to ban divorce.

"People who supported Prop 8 weren't trying to take rights away from gays, they just wanted to protect traditional marriage. That's why I'm confident that they will support this initiative, even though this time it will be their rights that are diminished. To not support it would be hypocritical. We're also going to collect signatures in front of "Faces," the largest gay nightclub in Sacramento." - John Marcotte, author the 2010 Protection of Marriage Act, which would ban divorce in California.

You've got to check out their great site. "You said 'til death do us part.' You're not dead yet."

CNN: Teabaggers Back Rep. Wilson

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) who famously texted throughout Obama's health care speech, knowing the camera was on him, came to the defense of Rep. Joe Wilson as teabaggers screamed their new battle-cry, "Obama lies!" In this clip, "head of the teabaggers" Mark Wilson claims Obama "knows that any ban on federal health benefits for illegal immigrants would never stand up in court."

Judge: The Signers Of Referendum 71 Can Keep On Their White Hoods

A federal judge has ruled that the names of the bigoted signers of Referendum 71 will remain shielded from public review. If his temporary injunction stands, we'll never really know if the signers were actually registered voters or even real people, as many questions have been raised about the entire petition process, including the verifications of the names.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma granted the preliminary injunction involving petitions for Referendum 71 while a related case moves forward on the constitutionality of the state public records act. The referendum, sponsored by a group called Protect Marriage Washington, asks voters to approve or reject the "everything but marriage" domestic partnership law that state lawmakers passed earlier this year. In his ruling, Settle said he was "not persuaded that waiver of one's fundamental right to anonymous political speech is a prerequisite for participation in Washington's referendum process." Brian Zylstra, spokesman for Secretary of State Sam Reed, said that the judge's decision "is a step away from open government." "When people sign a referendum or initiative petition, they are trying to change state law," he said. "We believe that changing state law should be open to public view." A spokesman for the state attorney general's office, which is representing Reed in the case, said they are weighing whether to appeal the preliminary injunction.

Protect Marriage exults: "The court has said, and said rightly, that the ability to participate, even anonymously, in the political process is a long and respected right in the United States." Remind you of anybody else that liked to "participate anonymously"?

Olbermann's Special Comment On Wilson

Another classic rant from the king of these things.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) To Introduce DOMA Repeal Next Week

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) will introduce a bill repealing DOMA next week.

The Advocate has learned that Democratic representative Jerrold Nadler of New York will be introducing legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act next Tuesday. A Democratic aide confirmed that a press conference to announce the bill will be held September 15 at 11 a.m. at the House Triangle. The source said the bill currently has just over 50 cosponsors, but Congressman Nadler’s office has not yet officially circulated a letter to his fellow House members.

With a Democratic supermajority in the House, the bill has the potential to pass easily. We'll see about that.

New Clip From Western Queens For Marriage Equality

Western Queens For Marriage Equality sends us their latest clip urging NY state Sen. George Onorato to change his mind on same-sex marriage. Visit their Facebook group. Gov. Paterson has promised to force a vote in the state Senate sometime this month. If you are a constituent of Onorato (or even if you're not), please consider contacting him via the information in the clip. Donate to Marriage Equality New York here.

October 3rd: Lady Gaga To Host NYC Dance-A-Thon Rally For National Equality March

Via Wayne Anderson at World Of Wonder:

On Oct. 3rd Lady Gaga will host a dance-a-thon rally in NY for Equality Across America and the upcoming National Equality March on Washington. With music by Peter Rauhofer and a host of other NY nightlife luminaries such as Larry Tee, Honey Dijon, DJ Lina, and Bill Coleman will bring down the house. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Equality Across America.

Lady Gaga's Dance-A-Thon takes place at Santos Party House, a great mid-sized club in Chinatown with an excellent sound system. Seems like a good way to grow some excitement for the March among the club set.

Tonight

Report: Castor Semenya Is Intersex

Gender tests of world champion South African sprinter Caster Semenya reveal that she is intersex. According to the results of tests ordered by the International Amateur Athletics Foundation, Semenya has no uterus, no ovaries, and internal male testes producing high levels of testosterone.

The IAAF says, "This is a medical issue and not a doping issue where she was deliberately cheating," and that there will be no automatic disqualification on these grounds. Semenya will probably be allowed to keep her gold medal, but a second gold may be awarded to the second-place winner from Kenya. No discussions have yet been had over whether Semenya will be allowed to continue to compete in women's events.

RELATED: The Intersex Society of North America notes that although the term "hermaphrodite" is commonly used to describe intersex people (and this is already happening with Semenya), hermaphrodite literally means "fully male and fully female," which is a physical impossibility. "Intersex" is the proper way to describe a person who may have one or several of a very broad range of atypical gender characteristics, ranging from ambiguous or mixed external genitalia, internal conditions (as in Semanya's case), or an atypical chromosonal makeup. Some intersex characteristics are extremely rare, others occur much more frequently, and studies indicate that some aspect of being intersex occurs in about 1 out of 100 people.

Already

80's Flashback

Joe Jackson, Real Men, 1982. This track about coming out, bullying, and machismo was not a radio hit for Jackson despite getting surprisingly heavy rotation on MTV. There was some small controversy about censoring the word "faggot", but as I recall it was gay activists that insisted that it should remain. Jackson's never officially come out, writing in his autobiography that sexuality was too ambiguous a subject to interest him. But a couple of his songs have directly referenced NYC gay culture as well as his failed marriage to a woman. The follow-up single to Real Men, the glistening disco-ish Steppin' Out, is considered a landmark of early music videos and was Jackson's biggest hit, peaking at #6 in the U.S.

Rumor Mill: Hillary Mulling Resignation

Wingnut pubs like Weekly Standard and the New York Post are citing "insiders" who claim that Hillary Clinton is considering resigning as Secretary as State to run either for New York governor or against NY Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. From the Post:

Hillary Clinton is said to be frustrated with her lack of authority as secretary of state and resentful of the glacial pace of the White House vetting process. "President Obama's picks fly in even if they didn't pay their taxes. But her picks take forever," noted one Democrat. "Plus, she has no real clout over Holbrooke or Mitchell." Richard Holbrooke is Obama's "special representative" for Afghanistan and Pakistan. George Mitchell is "special envoy" to the Middle East. Clinton is said to be considering quitting to retake her old US Senate seat now held by Kristin Gillibrand -- or running for governor, as one rumor has it. "Her argument will be that Gillibrand is in danger of losing the seat to the Republicans," said a source. But Gillibrand won't voluntarily step aside, unlike Rep. Nita Lowey, whom Clinton nudged out of the race in 2000. "You couldn't blow Gillibrand out of that seat with dynamite," said our source. Clinton's rep did not get back to us by deadline.

Take that with a planet-sized grain of salt, coming from the Post. Gawker blames the rumor on the Weekly Standard's conservative blowhard editor/TV commentator Bill Kristol.

Kate Is Enough

Towleroad points us to this clip of Kathy Griffin and George Takei spoofing John And Kate Plus Eight. "Only on Lifetime, the network for Lady Drama."

Ted Olson Seeks To Overturn Restrictions On Political Speech By Corporations

Mostly-conservative lawyer kingpin Ted Olson, one half of the duo working to bring a pro-marriage equality case before the Supreme Court, returned to his roots yesterday, appearing before SCOTUS (on Justice Sonia Sotomayor's first day on the bench) to argue that laws restricting corporations from making political speech be swept away. Olson's client, a non-profit called Citizens United, has made a blistering film critical of Hillary Clinton.

Chief Justice Roberts and several of the court’s more conservative justices seemed frustrated with the complex state of modern campaign finance law and appeared ready to take bold action. Justice Sotomayor, like some of the court’s more liberal members, seemed inclined to take a narrower approach. “Wouldn’t we be doing some more harm than good,” she asked Floyd Abrams, “by a broad ruling in a case that doesn’t involve more business corporations, and actually doesn’t involve the traditional nonprofit corporation?” “Your honor,” Mr. Abrams responded, “I don’t think you’d be doing more harm than good in vindicating the First Amendment rights here, which transcend that of Citizen United.” Mr. Abrams represented Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader and a longtime foe of campaign finance regulation.

Olson is expected to win his case and U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagen appears ready to concede. What remains to be seen is whether the Court will overturn all bans on political speech by corporations during the 30-day period before elections, or if they will carve out exceptions for non-profits like Citizens United. Kagen holds that all kinds of corporations should not be allowed to spend money to support or oppose political candidates.

Wanna Be A Gotti Juror?

The NYC district attorneys' office is having a hard time finding New Yorkers willing to serve on the jury for the murder trial of notorious mobster John Gotti, Jr. That's a shocker.

The Dapper Don is long dead and three of his brothers are in jail forever - but the name "Gotti" still inspires fear. That's the long and short of comments from the more than 300 men and women in the pool of prospective jurors for next week's murder/conspiracy trial of John A. (Junior) Gotti, the son of the late mob boss John Gotti. "I don't want to mess with John Gotti," one prospective juror said. "People involved with John Gotti have mysteriously 'disappeared,'" said another. Both were later bounced. "I do have a fear of the Mafia looking me up if the jury found him guilty," a third offered. These are just some of the excuses prospective jurors have floated to try to get out of serving on the jury in Gotti's fourth federal trial.

Prospective jurors are being given a 29-page questionnaire asking whether they had any family members working in law enforcement, whether they could accept the testimony of convicted mob informers, and even what TV shows they watch. I'd pull a Liz Lemon and show up dressed like Princess Leia. Whatever it took.

Uruguay Legalizes Gay Adoption

Uruguay lawmakers have approved the bill legalizing adoption by same-sex couples. The bill was first proposed last month to great objections by local Catholic leaders.

Lawmakers voted Wednesday to extend adoption rights to gay couples in Uruguay, the latest measure to relax laws on homosexuality that has drawn criticism from church leaders in the country, which is predominantly Roman Catholic. Members of Congress said the law made Uruguay the first Latin American country to permit gay couples to adopt. The measure, which will now go to President Tabaré Vázquez for his signature, will also for the first time allow unmarried couples to adopt. “This law is a significant step toward recognizing the rights of homosexual couples,” Diego Sempol, a member of the gay rights group, Black Sheep, told Reuters Television earlier this week.

In 2007 Uruguay approved civil unions for same-sex couples, giving gays many (but not all) of the rights of marriage. Last year they lifted the ban on gays in the their military. That's Uruguay folks, more progressive than the USA.

Gay Man Sues Third Bible Publisher For $10M Over "Mental Anguish"

Last year we heard about Bradley Fowler, a Michigan gay man and ex-con who sued two Bible publishers for $70M for publishing versions that he claimed caused him "mental anguish and harm" because they substituted the word "homosexuals" in places where earlier translations did not. Both suits were dismissed due to statute of limitations restrictions between the publication dates and his lawsuit. Now Fowler is suing a third Bible publisher for $10M, with a similar complaint.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges William Tyndale Publishing manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale’s New Living Translation Holy Bible and the New Life Application Study Bible by using the term "homosexuals" in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9. "One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether," Fowler wrote in a statement on his blog. Fowler filed a motion for entry of default and a motion of summary judgment in district court, but the judge denied his motions, saying Fowler presented no proof that he served the defendant properly. The judge ordered him to reissue the original summons and complaint to William Tyndale Publishing.

Fowler wrote on his blog that he has "a long battle awaiting him." "[W]hen William Tyndale Publishing, Inc., Zondervan Publishing, Inc., and Thomas Nelson Publishing, Inc. began revising the scriptures, each publisher implemented the term homosexuals within its Bible, yet failed to follow what the scripture teaches about doing so," Fowler wrote on his blog. "As a result, homosexuals have endured a life long struggle of being accepted within the American culture."

Fowler says he became obsessed with "Biblical mistranslations" while serving time in prison.

HomoQuotable - Jake Raynard

"This story isn’t just mine. I’m sure there’s many other people out there who have encountered a lot of the same problems that I have in my life, and have encountered hate-related crimes and a lot of discrimination based on that. I would urge them to come forward and make their stories known and have it so we can start to heal as a community and start to move forward beyond this kind of hate. My physical well-being has already been damaged. But my spirit inhabits this body. And it’s very strong, I’m going to be fighting for what I think is right, and hopefully the community will join me in that fight." - Thunder Bay, Ontario gay-bashing victim Jake Raynard, who is out the hospital six days after being beaten with bricks by a gang of six to eight men.

According to the above-linked report, it took police an hour to respond to the calls of the restaurant workers who found the bloodied Raynard banging for help on their windows. Raynard's injuries: "A broken jaw, broken eye socket and broken upper patella. He underwent facial reconstruction surgery and had two metal plates, nine screws and a wire used to put him back together again." Raynard lives in Toronto but was in Thunder Bay to celebrate the 10th birthday of his nephew.

Ellen Joins American Idol

Ellen DeGeneres will replace Paula Abdul as American Idol's fourth judge on the coming season.

"I’m thrilled to be the new judge on American Idol," said DeGeneres in a press release. "I’ve watched since the beginning, and I’ve always been a huge fan. So getting this job is a dream come true, and think of all the money I’ll save from not having to text in my vote.” DeGeneres joins current Idol judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi, replacing departing judge Paula Abdul, who reportedly left the show due to contract disputes. Creator and executive producer Simon Fuller said, "I could not be more excited to have Ellen join the American Idol family. Ellen has been a fan of the show for many years, and her love of music and understanding of the American public will bring a unique human touch to our judging panel. I can’t wait for this next season to begin.”

Several popular talent competitions have featured openly gay judges, but this is a first for the nation's most popular show.

Rep. Joe Wilson's Dem Opponent Raises Over $100K Overnight

In less that 12 hours since SC GOP Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst, his 2010 Democratic opponent, a young former Marine named Rob Miller, saw over $100,000 flood into his Act Blue donations account. About half of that money came from Daily Kos readers alone.

UPDATE: Holy crap! The donations have soared to $375,000!

Mr. Unpopular

Rep. Joe Wilson is the most unpopular guy on both sides of the aisle right now, judging by this story in South Carolina's The State.

Democrats and Republicans alike are denouncing Rep. Joe Wilson for shouting "You lie" at President Barack Obama during his speech to Congress, an extraordinary breach of decorum for which the South Carolina Republican swiftly apologized. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouts as U.S. President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress at the U.S. Capitol September 9, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama addressed the joint session to urge passage of his national health care plan, the centerpiece of his domestic agenda.

"There'll be time enough to consider whether or not we ought to make it clear that that action is unacceptable in the House of Representatives," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said late Wednesday on WTOP radio when asked about possible punishment for Wilson. "I've talked to Republican members who share that view." "Let's see what he does," Hoyer said before Wilson issued an apology. "Then there's time enough to consider further action." House Republicans did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but there was widespread condemnation of the outburst from members of both parties.

The comments on the story are a hoot. Many support him, but this is more typical: "Wilson's true colors shined in the glare of the national spotlight; he is a redneck, good ole boy racist who is upset with the fact that America has a black president. The sad truth is he represented South Carolina just as one would expect."

Ohio GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt Whispers To Birther: I Agree With You

Last night Keith Olbermann pointed out that Schmidt has previously denounced the birther movement publicly. "So she was either lying then, or she's lying now."

Maddow On Obama's Health Speech

RELATED: It's Rachel Maddow's one year anniversary on MSNBC. Hooray!

Football Coach Takes Players Out For Steak...PSYCH! You're Getting Baptized

A Kentucky high school football coach included an extra stop during a field trip with his players.

A mother is angry about a trip led by the head football coach at Breckinridge County High School. The coach took about 20 players on a school bus late last month to his church, where nearly half of them — including her son — were baptized. Michelle Ammons said her 16-year-old son was baptized without her knowledge and consent, and she is upset that a public school bus was used to take players to a church service — and that the school district's superintendent was there and did not object. "Nobody should push their faith on anybody else," said Ammons, whose son, Robert Coffey, said Coach Scott Mooney told him and other players that the Aug. 26 outing would include only a motivational speaker and a free steak dinner. "He said it would bring the team together," Robert, a sophomore, said in an interview.

The ACLU and the Liberty Counsel have each issued the expected opinions, but neither are involved in the case as yet.

Teabaggers React To Obama's Speech

Open Thread Thursday

What's the latest music you've bought? What's hot?

THAT Was The Dude I Voted For

Seriously. Fantastic speech.

But we need to put a WORLD of hurt on GOP South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson for screaming "YOU LIE!" at the President of the United States during a nationally televised speech before Congress. That has never happened, to my memory. Not even when Dubya was announcing the invasion of Iraq.

Rep. Joe Wilson 803-939-0041
UPDATE: Sen. John McCain: "Wilson was totally disrespectful, for this or any other setting, and should apologize immediately.
UPDATE II: Rep. Wilson must have had a look at Twitter tonight, where he is the #1 trending topic as tweets demanding his censure (and worse) flood in. Many are directing people to the Facebook page of Wilson's Democratic opponent, a young former U.S. Marine named Rob Miller, whose donation page has reportedly been overloaded for the last two hours. Wilson has just issued an apology:

“This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.”

Adulterous GOP Defender Of Marriage Michael Duvall Resigns In Shame

The man who vowed to preserve the sanctity of opposite marriage, GOP California Assemblyman Michael Duvall has resigned in disgrace less than 24 hours after he was recorded bragging about two adulterous relationships with young female lobbyists, one of whom works for an electric company under contract to the state public utilities committee which Duvall co-chaired.

Assemblyman Mike Duvall of Yorba Linda said in a statement that the furor over his comments had begun to divert attention from the work his fellow lawmakers were trying to finish during the final week of their session. Duvall, whose is married and has two adult children, said it would not be fair to his family, constituents or friends to remain in office. "I am deeply saddened that my inappropriate comments have become a major distraction for my colleagues in the Assembly, who are working hard on the very serious problems facing our state," he said. "Therefore, I have decided to resign my office, effective immediately, so that the Assembly can get back to work."

Duvall was also recorded bragging about his manly load:

"She wears little eye-patch underwear,” said Duvall, who is married with two 
children. “So, the other day she came here with her underwear, Thursday. And
 so, we had made love Wednesday–a lot! And so she’ll, she’s all, ‘I am going 
up and down the stairs, and you’re dripping out of me!’ So messy!”

Hello, Mrs. Duvall, we have some papers for you to sign.

What The Birthers Really Believe

"We have kidnapped and brainwashed this pure, beautiful innocent white woman from America. You must take this woman's virginity, infect her with your seed, and breed a child."

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

80's Flashback

Erasure, A Little Respect, 1988. Although Erasure has had a whopping 35 Top 40 hits in the UK, including 15 that made the Top 10, this one was one of their only three singles to be pop smashes in the U.S., topping out at #14 a few months after their biggest stateside hit, Chains Of Love, peaked at #12. On the U.S. dance chart it's a different story of course, where Erasure has posted 17 Top Ten hits (including two #1's.) It's a tough call to pick my favorite Erasure track, but if I had to, A Little Respect would be it. I'll never forget the time the DJ at an Atlanta tea-dance turned down the music so hundreds and hundreds of men could be heard singing loudly, "Sooooooul, I hear you callllllling." Still gives me goosebumps to think about it. UNRELATED: I've run into Andy Bell in gay bars in six different states. And counting.

Porno Pete Goes After JMG Commenters

Three-time Combover Olympics gold medalist Porno Pete LaBarbera has been creeping around the JMG comments again, needle-dick in hand, and has reposted some of your responses to yesterday's post about One Life To Live actress Patricia Mauceri.

Folks, those loving and compassionate human rights activists over at the homosexual blog “Joe. My. God.” are at it again — showing fired soap actress and committed Christian Patricia Mauceri (right) what it means to respectfully disagree with an opponent without falling into cheap, vulgar name-calling and ad hominem smears. Well, not really. Here’s some of the hateful “gay” slime dumped on One Life to Live actress Mauceri after JMG’s Joe Jervis attacked AFTAH’s post relaying a FoxNews report about her claim that she “was fired and abruptly replaced for objecting to a gay storyline because of her religious beliefs.” This is no way to treat a lady.

DavidE, Dwerk, BStewart23, Dan, Fritz, FunButNutz....you've all been enshrined on the website of the most notorious closet case in the history of the interwebs. Um, congrats? And yo Petey, since you visit JMG so often, surely you must see my own repostings of comments from wingnut and Christianist sites. You've go NO fucking room to talk about name-calling. Here's a thought, enable comments on your OWN chickenshit site and let's see what the your readers are saying. Yeah, thought not.

Maine's Bishop Malone Explains It To You

"Our opposition to same-sex marriage is not an instance of unjust discrimination or animosity towards homosexual persons. In fact, the Catholic Church teaches emphatically that individuals and society must respect the basic human dignity of all persons, including those with a homosexual orientation." (Of course, we will still be taking a special collection at Mass this Sunday to give to Maine's anti-gay group who is working to enshrine "unjust discrimination" in state law. What, ya gotta problem with that? Say ten Hail Marys and meet me in the little box with the hole.)

(Via - Good As You)

Apple Debuts iPod Nano That Shoots Video, Plays Radio, Feeds Cat

At today's product launch thingy in California, Apple debuted a new iPod Nano with tons of new features.

Apple today introduced the new iPod nan, adding a video camera, mic and speaker to the world's most popular music player. Music lovers can now shoot video wherever they are, view it on their iPod nano and use their computers to easily transfer their videos to YouTube. The new iPod nano features an ultra-thin and sleek design with a larger 2.2-inch color display and gorgeous polished aluminum and glass enclosure. iPod nano also features a built-in FM radio with live pause and iTunes® Tagging, as well as a built-in pedometer. The new iPod nano is available today in an 8GB model for $149 and a 16GB model for $179, and comes in nine brilliant colors including silver, black, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, red, and pink.

So if it shoots video, it must take pictures too, right? Apple sez that the Nano is the "most popular digital music player in the world, with over 100 million units sold." Gizmodo is covering the their conference live, if you Apple bottoms want a minute-by-minute update.

Mr. President, Ignore The Crazy People

Uninsured father, filmmaker, and writer Lee Stranahan pleads with the president to ignore the crazies and support the public option in his upcoming national speech on health care reform. Watch this.

Auto-Tune The Health Care

Your questions to the president must be presented in song.

WHOOPS: GOP State Assemblyman Michael "Defender Of Marriage" Duvall Brags About Affairs Over Live Microphone

Married California GOP state Assemblyman Michael Duvall, who campaigned in favor of Proposition 8, didn't know his microphone was live when he bragged to a fellow legislator about his affairs with married female lobbyists. Oh, and he's apparently into spanking!

Capitol Blackberries are buzzing after KCAL-TV Los Angeles late Tuesday night aired a videotape of what its reporter said was an Orange County GOP lawmaker talking to a colleague at a committee hearing in explicit detail about recent trysts. Duvall In the KCAL report, Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Michael Duvall (R-Yorba Linda) appears not to realize that his microphone is on during a lull in a July committee hearing and talks about his conquest of two women. Reporter Dave Lopez then reports that Duvall says on the tape that the women with whom he has been having sex are lobbyists. The report alleges that one of the lobbyists works for a utility with business before Duvall's committee but does not name her. Later in the report, Duvall is seen ducking Lopez on the Assembly floor and in the hallways outside the chamber as the reporter confronts him with questions about his sexual encounters.

At Box Turtle Bulletin, Jim Burroway says:

Duvall was given a 100% rating by the Capital Resources Institute for “time and time again, [voting] to protect and preserve family values in California.” But now, not only has Duvall admitted to cheating on his wife, the vice-chair of the Utilities and Commerce committee is boasting of sleeping with a lobbyist for Sempra Energy, one of the state’s largest utilities — a clear ethical violation. Who knew “family values” could be so much fun?

Enjoy the video, in which the noble defender of marriage runs from reporters.

Daily Grumble

Well, I thought I would blog a bit about next week's NYC primary election, so I sat down with the fancy 24-page voter guide (sent by the Campaign Finance Board) to see if any quotes or issue positions jumped out at me. Whoops, the guide I got sent is in Cantonese. According to a note in English on the inside cover, you get the Chinese guide if your district has "a certain number of Chinese or speakers." Either that number is very low, or I've seriously misjudged the makeup of the Upper East Side all these years. Hebrew, that would make total sense.

Canadians Rally Behind Gay-Bashed Man

Residents of Thunder Bay, Ontario are rallying around gay-bashing victim Jake Raynard, who was brutally beaten by a gang of men with bricks as he stood outside a gay bar this weekend.

A group has formed on Facebook offering support and communicating the messages of support for the injured man, who underwent reconstructive surgury on the weekend following the attack early Saturday morning. The Facebook group has been growing at about 30 people per hour. Juan Anderson reports, "The level of support coming forth is overwhelming. The community is rallying around Jake and taking a firm stance against hate crimes in our community. Let's spread that sentiment as far we can: 1. A rally is taking place Friday at 6 PM in Waverly Park. All people who support Jake and believe that this action has no place in our community are asked to attend. More details will be solidified in an announcement tomorrow. 2. A Fund has been established for Jake. This fund will be dedicated to permit Jake access to legal consultation, rehabilitation treatments, and some basic income while unable to work.

Join Jake's Facebook support group here.

(Tipped by JMG reader Allen in Thunder Bay)