Atari Flashback 2+

My loyal companion Aaron notes from his self-exile in Portland that the Atari Flashback 2+ will be released next month for $30.

40 Games built right in to the console: 3D Tic Tac Toe, Adventure™, Adventure™ II, Aquaventure, Arcade Asteroids™, Arcade Pong™, Asteroids Deluxe™, Battlezone™, Centipede™, Combat, Combat 2, Dodge'm, Double Dunk, Fatal Run, Frog Pond, Hangman, Haunted House, Human Cannonball, Lunar Lander™, Maze Craze, Millipede™, Missile Command™, Off the Wall, Outlaw, Quadrun, Radar Lock, Realsports Boxing, Realsports Soccer, Return to Haunted House, Saboteur, Save Mary, Secret Quest, Space Duel, Space War, Super Baseball, Super Football, Video Checkers, Video Chess, Yars' Return™, Yars' Revenge™.

Asteroids and Centipede are the only ones I recognize. Back in 1975, I was totally the coolest kid on the block because we had Atari's home version of Pong, which was sold only at Sears. Yes, Sears made me cool. For about three minutes.

Fagottron's UPular Remix

YouTube whiz kid Fagottron, whose hypnotic spliced up Disney remixes I've posted here several times, has apparently gone into business with Disney itself, as his take on Pixar's UPular is being promoted on the Pixar YouTube channel. Pixar refers to the artist as Pogo, which is apparently his stage name in his native Australia. It's great to see a company actually endorse work that positively builds on their own, rather than shut it down as so often happens. Last year Disney also allowed the "gay boys on Fire Island" take on Miley Cyrus' Party In The USA to remain on YouTube without complaint.

Hope Less

Virtually every broadcast and cable network showed the Hope For Haiti Now telethon last night. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fox News was the lone holdout.

On January 22, a wide variety of broadcast, cable, radio, and internet outlets, including CNN and MSNBC, preempted their regularly scheduled prime-time programming and aired Hope for Haiti Now, a benefit concert and telethon to raise funds for Haiti earthquake relief. But even after receiving criticism for giving little coverage to the devastating earthquake in Haiti on its top-rated programs, Fox News did not preempt its programming and air the benefit concert, instead broadcasting regular editions of The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity.

According to the above-linked Media Matters story, the top three programs on Fox News have each devoted as little as five minutes of coverage per night to the earthquake story.

A/S/L?

"Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources — images, videos, animated features, blogs, Web sites — which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis." - Pope Palpatine, urging priests to take up blogging and social networking.

Conan Celebrates His Freedom

With the worst version of the worst song of all time.

Haiti Telethon Highlights

Best Rickroll Ever?

Passenger Dies On Atlantis Cruise

Three months after GLAAD board member Spencer Yu died on an Atlantis Cruise to the Mexican Riviera, yesterday an as yet unidentified 37 year-old male passenger of the all-gay cruise company was found dead in his Liberty Of The Seas cabin while the ship was moored in the Cayman Islands. Local police are investigating and have not released any cause of death.

RELATED: When the ship first arrived in port, it was met with local controversy, although one Cayman newspaper described complaints as "more subdued" than in years past. In 1998 the Cayman government banned ships carrying gay cruise events from its ports. That ban was later relaxed, although local pastors continue to campaign for its return.

Hawaii Senate Approves Civil Unions

By a veto-proof majority vote of 18-7, the Hawaii Senate passed a civil unions bill today.

The vote was 18 to 7. The Senate rejected an amendment to change the effective date of the bill, which is Jan. 1, 2010. The bill would allow same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter into civil unions and receive the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law. The state House passed a civil-unions bill last session that would only apply to same-sex couples. House leaders have said they would wait and see what the Senate vote was before deciding whether to move forward on the Senate version of the bill. An overflow crowd filled the Senate gallery for the debate, with many supporters of the bill wearing rainbow colored lei and many opponents dressed in white t-shirts. Several senators described the bill as a step toward equality for same-sex couples. "For me, it is about equal treatment," said state Sen. Rosalyn Baker, D-5th (S. Maui, W. Maui).

Here's what happens next:

State House Speaker Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Palolo Valley, Wilhelmina Rise), said majority Democrats will likely meet on Monday in private caucus to decide how to proceed. Say said one of the factors will be whether the House can muster a two-thirds' majority -- 34 of 51 lawmakers -- to override a veto. The House voted 33 to 17 last session on civil unions, with one lawmaker absent. Say described the vote count now as close. Say, who supports civil unions, said he would recommend that the House not attempt to address a technical flaw in the Senate version and decide simply whether to send the bill to the governor.

Hawaii Lt. Governor James Aiona promised that even if the bill should be submitted with a veto-proof margin, it will be overturned by public referendum in November.

100 Cheesiest Movie Quotes Of All Time

"It's not a toomah." Some of these aren't all that terrible. Schwarzenegger does justifiably get the lion's share of this clip, though.

Canada Revokes Tax Exempt Status Of Anti-Gay Church

This ought to fuel America's wingnuts for the foreseeable future.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has revoked the charitable status of Kings Glory Fellowship (KGF), a Christian church in Calgary. CRA cites a number of issues with KGF's application, but the decision is based, in part, on the ground that certain KGF Board members have spoken out strongly against abortion, and other moral issues. "The members of the Board of Directors espouse strong negative views about sensitive and controversial issues, which may also be viewed as political, such as abortion, homosexuality, divorce, etc.,” wrote CRA agent Dian Prodanov in an October 29th letter.

These “political” views make the church ineligible because, according to the agent, a registered charity “may only engage in non-partisan political activities as long as it devotes substantially all (usually 90% or more) of its resources to charitable activities." KGF's pastor, Artur Pawlowski, is also the founder and pastor of Street Church Ministries, which has made headlines because of its battle with the city of Calgary to uphold its right to preach to and serve the city's poor.

Tax authorities also cited numerous irregularities in the church's financial statements, but Pastor Arthur Pawlowski dismissed those issues as a "smoke screen" for the real reason for the exemption revocation.

Quote Of The Day - Cheyenne Jackson

"Can you believe how big this thing has gotten?" - Broadway and 30 Rock star Cheyenne Jackson, speaking to Neil Patrick Harris while both were in their underwear in their gym's locker room. Go to After Elton for context and the full interview where Jackson also talks about his onscreen romance with 30 Rock's Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and what it means about stereotypes for out gay actors.

Democrats Need Balls

Starring Liam Sullivan of "Kelly" fame.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

Lisa Miller Gets Another Month To Hide

A family court judge in Virginia has given Lisa Miller another 30 days to appear with her 7 year-old daughter or face arrest. Presumably aided by the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, Miller went into hiding last month after a Vermont judge awarded custody of her daughter to Miller's lesbian ex-partner, Janet Jenkins. After "renouncing" her homosexuality and finding Jeebus, Miller had fled to Virginia upon the advice of Christianist lawyers who told her that state was the least likely to honor custody judgments from Vermont. The lawyers, obviously, were correct.

Yesterday's #1 Google Search Term

Tefillin.

NYC Fri/Sat: Bob Mould In Concert

Legendary former Husker Du and Sugar frontman (and Blowoff DJ/creator) Bob Mould is playing two live shows in NYC this weekend at City Winery in Soho. Former Posies frontman Jon Auer is Bob's special guest for both shows. Get tickets here. You can listen to Bob performing live right now on WNYC.

It Doesn't Feel Like A Lifetime

Last month the Weblogs Awards, for which this here website thingy has been a finalist and winner in years past, announced that they were packing it in and there would be no awards for 2009. Which was kind of a relief, because as Monica Geller as I tend to get about these things, that Air America nonsense burned us all out.

But here come the biggest blogging awards, the Tenth Annual Bloggies, for which JMG was a finalist for Best LGBT Blog a couple of times in recent years. Strangely enough, this year JMG is up for a "Lifetime Achievement Award," something won in years past by such groundbreaking bloggers as Jason Kottke and Dooce's Heather B. Armstrong. So that's pretty damn cool. Check out the other finalists, vote here. And definitely check out all the other categories, you'll likely find some great new sites.

Queer Rising

A new LGBT activist group called Queer Rising announced their existence earlier this week with Martin Luther King Day demonstrations around NYC. Visit their Facebook page here. This is the first I'm hearing about Queer Rising. Members - please weigh in with your plans and goals.

PhoboQuotable - Cathi Herrod

"It's one thing to disagree on the issue of same-sex marriage. It's quite a different matter to label those of us -- really the millions not only in California and Arizona, but throughout this country -- who stand for marriage between one man and one woman as 'haters.' Mrs. McCain has effectively called all of us 'haters.' That surprises me. For those of us in Arizona who worked very hard to pass Prop. 102 in 2008, we're offended, we're disappointed and we're outraged." - Cathi Herrod of the Center For Arizona Policy, the group that backed the state's successful Prop 102 referendum to ban same-sex marriage.

No Weekend 7 Train Until April

Most of the queens in Queens depend on the 7 train for their weekend visits to Manhattan's gay nightlife. Gothamist reports today that the MTA is suspending weekend service on the 7 for the next ten weekends as their perform their famous "system upgrades." The service suspension begins January 29th. There will be a replacement bus service along the 7 line route, but from what I've heard in the past, you'd get to the clubs quicker if you just swam the East River.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL): Tax Corporate Political Ads At 500%

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the best thing to hit Congress in a long time, has launched a campaign to tax corporate political ads at 500% of their value.

Fearing this decision before it became official, Grayson last week filed five campaign finance bills and a sixth one on Thursday. Grayson said the bills are important to securing the people's "right to clean government." The bills have names like the Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act and the Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act. The first slaps a 500 percent excise tax on corporate spending on elections, and the second mandates businesses to disclose their attempts to influence elections. More details are available on the congressman's Web site.

"These bills will save us from drowning in corporate money and special interest money," Grayson said. "They should have been passed a long time ago but after the Supreme Court opened those floodgates, I think it's imperative we get these things done." Reforming campaign finance laws has been a daunting task, as senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ) have made concerted attempts and failed. "I'm very optimistic," Grayson said. "I discussed the bills with the leadership when I filed them, which was a week ago in the case of the first five."

Grayson's petition has about 50,000 signatures already this morning.

Daily Ungrumble

As I was channel surfing last night I came across the new FX animated series Archer. And holee cow, this show is just about the funniest and definitely the filthiest thing I've ever seen outside of pay cable. Stand by for the decency/morality folks to completely lose their shit over this one.

BBC Making Amends To Gays

Last month the BBC outraged LGBT people worldwide by placing a debate question on its website asking, "Should homosexuals be executed?" The wording of the question was changed later on the same day and a top official offered a (limp) apology, but many remain furious. Yesterday the network announced a new project dedicated to improving its portrayals of gay people.

The BBC said today that it had set up a working group to look at the issues of audiences and portrayal through surveys with audience groups and online. Tim Davie, the director of BBC audio and music and the chair of the new group, said that this would include qualitative and quantitative surveys with all audience groups, including heterosexuals and faith groups. He said: "It's important that we talk to both more accepting and less tolerant audiences." The research, which is the first the BBC has undertaken in this area, is expected to be published in the summer. It will look at humour, stereotyping, language and tone and BBC executives said it would be distributed to all programme-makers. Davie said the research had not been commissioned in the wake of the disastrous Ugandan 'gay execution' debate, telling a press briefing this morning that the idea had already been in planning.

The project surveys do not include questions about transgender people, an issue a spokesperson said the BBC may tackle separately.

Prop 8 Witness Repeats Pedophilia Claims

David Boies tore into Hak-Shing William Tam on the stand at Perry vs. Schwarzenegger as Tam repeated his nonsensical claims about gays and pedophilia.

Attorney David Boies spent time walking Tam through a Web site for a Chinese-American evangelical Christian group that featured a headline reading "Studies Show That Homosexuality Is Linked to Pedophilia." Tam serves as secretary of the group, known as the American Return to God Prayer Movement. The Web site also contained a link to another article claiming gays were 12 times more likely to molest children. "So you supported this Web site making these kind of statements?" Boies asked. "Uh, yes," Tam said. "Do you believe that homosexuals are 12 times more likely to molest children?" the lawyer continued. "Yeah, based on the different literature that I have read," Tam replied. Boies pressed Tam to cite books, articles or authors he had read to substantiate the views, but Tam said he could not remember specifics.

Tam's crazy got even better a few minutes later.

Tam also said he agreed with a statement on the Web site for the Chinese-American Christian group that said if same-sex marriage was treated as a civil right, "so would pedophilia, polygamy and incest." "And that is what you were telling people in encouraging them to vote for Proposition 8?" Boies asked. "Yes," Tam answered. Tam said he drew that conclusion after reading an Internet article that claimed incest and polygamy were legal in the Netherlands, a country where same-same marriages became legal in 2001. Boies: "You are saying here that after same-sex marriage was legalized, the Netherlands legalized incest and polygamy?" Tam: "Yeah, look at the date, Polygamy happened afterward." "Who told you that? Where did you get that idea," Boies asked incredulously. "It's the Internet," he said. "Another person in the organization found it and he showed me it. ... I looked at the document and I thought it was true."

They literally believe everything they read on the internet.

Beware The Earthquake Machine

According to Venezuela president Hugo Chavez, it was the U.S. that totally wiped out Port Au Prince with its secret earthquake machine.

Citing an alleged report from Russia's Northern Fleet, the Venezuelan strongman's state mouthpiece ViVe TV shot out a press release saying the 7.0 magnitude Haiti quake was caused by a U.S. test of an experimental shockwave system that can also create "weather anomalies to cause floods, droughts and hurricanes." The station's Web site added that the U.S. government's HAARP program, an atmospheric research facility in Alaska (and frequent subject of conspiracy theories), was also to blame for a Jan. 9 quake in Eureka, Calif., and may have been behind the 7.8-magnitude quake in China that killed nearly 90,000 people in 2008. What's more, the site says, the cataclysmic ruin in Haiti was only a test run for much bigger game: the coming showdown with Iran. The ultimate goal of the test attack in Haiti, the report reads, is the United States' "planned destruction of Iran through a series of earthquakes designed to topple the current Islamic regime."

Tired Old Queen At The Movies #15

Olbermann On SCOTUS Ruling To Allow Corporate Political Ads

Watch and get even more scared. Classic Olbermann.

Broadway Friday

-Mo Rocca will host Miscast 2010, a benefit show featuring Broadway performers singing songs "from roles they would never actually play" at the Hammerstein Ballroom on March 1st. Performing: Raúl Esparza, Sutton Foster, Ana Gasteyer, Montego Glover, Cheyenne Jackson, Aaron Tveit and Marin Mazzie. Sounds a lot like Broadway Backwards, doesn't it?

-Eddie Clendening, Lance Guest, Levi Kreis and Rob Lyons will reprise their originating roles in the Broadway debut of Million Dollar Quartet, set to begin previews March 13th at the Nederlander. The musical tells the story of the 1958 meeting of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley in the Memphis studio of Sun Records.

-Viva Forever: Spice Girls -The Musical is probably not what you want, what you really really want. From the producer of Mamma Mia!

-Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps will reopen Off Broadway at the New World Stages on March 25th.

-Liza Minnelli will join the cast of Ugly Betty as Justin's (Mark Indelicato) drama teacher. Taping begins later this month.

-The Los Angeles revival of The Pee-wee Herman Show is winning rave reviews.

BELOW: TheaterMania's Joseph Marzullo's photo of the cast of the Off Broadway revival of Boys In The Band: Aaron Scharff, John Wellmann, Kevyn Morrow, Jonathan Hammond, Nick Westrate, Jon Levenson, Kevin Isola, Graham Rowat, and Christopher Innvar. The show begins previews on Feb.12th at 37 West 26 Street.

Air America Shuts Down

The liberal talk radio network Air America abruptly announced Chapter 7 bankruptcy today and ceased operations.

It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business. The very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America's business. This past year has seen a "perfect storm" in the media industry generally. National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection.

French HIV Prevention Ad (NSFW)

The clever bit of live action + animation in a new HIV prevention ad from France may be NSFW.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jonny in Sydney)

Trippin' To The Oldies

Flags, fans, tambourines, claves, cowbells, and baby powder. Sunday's third installment of the Saint reunion party, Trippin' On The Moon, was an end-to-end delight. I walked in to Linda Clifford's sultry 1978 classic Runaway Love and left about seven hours later shortly after the Love Unlimited Orchestra's My Sweet Summer Suite. Perfection. The clip below has some seriously borked audio as I spun around the room too damn close to the speakers at times, so turn it down. But starting around the middle keep an eye out for some JMG regulars, including Charlie, who gives us a short dance floor castanet performance. Congrats to promoter Christine Visca and DJs Micheal Fierman and Robbie Leslie for another fantastic night. The next Trippin' will be in April. Can't wait.

Miami Beach Adds Trans Protections

The city of Miami Beach has broadened their anti-discrimination ordinances to protect transgender folks. In the same action, the city has created a Human Rights Commission to address claims of wrongdoing against all citizens.

The legislation, sponsored by former Commissioner Victor Diaz Jr., grew out of concern that the 2008 passage of Amendment 2, a statewide voter referendum that limited marriage to a union between a man and a woman, would weaken Miami Beach's laws regarding domestic partnerships. Diaz, who is openly gay, said the result is one of the strongest human rights measures in the country and a reaffirmation that Miami Beach is committed to equal rights. "This is about being again at the forefront, at the cutting edge of these issues,'' Diaz said. "So when people say 'Gee, where should I live? Where do I feel safest? Where do I feel I can express myself and raise children and love my partner and contribute to my community without any fear of discrimination?' they say Miami Beach.'' Diaz stressed that the legislation was a win for all people, but acknowledged that the new, updated measure has great significance for Miami Beach's gay community, considering state and federal laws do not offer the same protections covered under the city's new law.

A spokesman for the ACLU called Miami Beach's new laws the strongest in the state "bar none."

(Tipped by JMG reader Bradley)

Washington State May Recognize Marriages From Out Of State

Interesting news from Washington state via Slog:

On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions (e.g., Massachusetts and Iowa) as equivalent to Washington's state-registered domestic partnerships. The bill has been moved on to the Rules Committee, which will decide whether to forward the bill to the state house floor. Speaking with Rep. Jamie Pedersen (D-43), the sponsor of the bill, he said, "There is very little question that we would have enough votes to pass it in the house."

Here's a summary of the bill.

The Girl With The Curious Hand

Mrs. Senator Scott Brown once starred in a music video as "the girl with the curious hand." Nothing wrong with that, it's just more background on a family that promises to provide us with lots of interesting moments. Note the ejaculating penis visual metaphor.

Tea Party Leader Busted For Child Rape, Found With Grenade Launcher

Former USMC Sgt. Charles Dyer is the organizer of a Tea Party offshoot called the Oath Keepers, a group dedicated to recruiting military personnel into the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. Dyer works as a liaison between militia groups and the Tea Party and last year spoke at a Tea Party rally in Oklahoma. On Tuesday, Dyer was arrested for the rape of a 7 year-old girl. During his arrest, police found a grenade launcher in his home.

Charles Alan Dyer, 29, of Marlow, was arrested Tuesday afternoon by Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies, said Sheriff Wayne McKinney. Dyer served in the United States Marines in Iraq. McKinney said charges included first degree rape and two counts of forcible sodomy. It is expected the charges will be formally presented in Stephens County District Court today, McKinney said. “These are what we are asking for through the District Attorney’s office,” McKinney said. The investigation began after the last alleged incident that was said to have taken place Jan. 2, at Dyer’s residence on Hope Road near Marlow.

During the search the sheriff’s deputies noted several firearms and a device believed to be a Colt M-203, 40-millimeter grenade launcher, a complaint filed in the United States District Court of Western Oklahoma by Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco Special Agent Brett Williams said. On Wednesday, knowing that Dyer, an ex-Marine, had alleged contacts with militia groups and not knowing the legality of the alleged device, the Stephens County Sheriff's Office contacted federal agents and informed them of what the deputies had observed. Dyer’s affiliation with militia groups is apparent through the videos posted on his YouTube channel — July4Patriot.

A militia group called the American Resistance Movement claims that Dyer was set up and has started a fund for his defense. Crooks & Liars has much more about Dyer's arrest and backstory and points us to this chilling video from his YouTube channel, in which he urges military personnel to take up arms against the government.

Peter LaBarbera: Uganda Has It Right

"Here’s the question I keep asking myself about the Uganda controversy: just what is it that qualifies the United States of America to lecture the Ugandans about homosexuality? Is it our public policy that enshrines immoral sexual behavior (oops: “sexual orientation”) and gender confusion (er…”gender identity and expression”) as a “civil right”? Is it our homosexual “marriage” laws that make a mockery of this divine institution?

"How about our pro-homosexuality educational propaganda in K-12 schools that corrupts young students’ minds in the name of “tolerance”? Or the 24/7 “gay bathhouses” and sex clubs that proliferate in urban centers across the United States to facilitate quick-and-easy (and anonymous) deviant sexual hook-ups? (“Come to America: where you can have all the safe sodomy you want! Discounts for students (no joke) and free condoms available for your perverted pleasure!”)" - Peter LaBarbera, joining a new Christianist campaign against the New York Times for criticizing Uganda's proposed death penalty for homosexuality, something LaBarbera calls "sheer Western activist arrogance."

LaBarbera is also trying to get Professor Warren Throckmorton fired from Grove City College for opposing Uganda's "kill gays" bill. This, from the same fuckweasel who screams day and night about homofascists trying to get people fired for supporting Prop 8. It's a one-way street in Jeebusland. Do as they say, not as they do.

What Is Google Telling Us?

I was looking for a new and hopefully horrible photo of Peter LaBarabera for a post I'm about to put up and was highly amused by the above Google result. Yes, at the moment the first Google return for "Peter LaBarbera" is an ad for erectile dysfunction. And it links to his URL! If somebody at Google is being funny, I want to gay-marry whoever that person is.

Air Scare: Orthodox Jewish Prayer Device Causes Flight Diversion

A flight out of LaGuardia was diverted to Philadelphia this morning after its flight crew became alarmed by an Orthodox Jewish teenager putting on his tefillin, a traditional prayer device involving two black boxes and long leather straps.

Authorities say, Chautauqua Airlines flight 3079 from LaGuardia to Louisville was diverted to Philadelphia after a 17-year-old male strapped on a "tefillin," also known as a phylactery, used in the Jewish religion for prayer purposes. Philadelphia police say a flight attendant had never seen tefillin before, which has two small black boxes with black straps attached to them. The attendant became alarmed and reported it. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says they were notified of a "disruptive passenger" on the plane and as a result was diverted to Philly. The Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia Police Department and federal authorities immediately went into Emergency Response mode and the plane that departed LaGuardia at 7:25 a.m. landed in Philadelphia at 8:50 a.m.

The boy and his sister were interviewed by Homeland Security as were the other passengers. Security officials described the boy as "completely cooperative."

SCOTUS Ends Ban On Corporate Political Ad Campaigns For POTUS And Congress

The Supreme Court has lifted the ban on corporations making political ads in support of presidential or congressional candidates.

By a 5-4 vote, the court overturned a 20-year-old ruling that said companies can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to produce and run their own campaign ads. The decision, which almost certainly will also allow labor unions to participate more freely in campaigns, threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states. It leaves in place a prohibition on direct contributions to candidates from corporations and unions. Critics of the stricter limits have argued that they amount to an unconstitutional restraint of free speech, and the court majority agreed.

As one would expect, Ginsberg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Stevens were the dissenting votes.

Quote Of The Day - Maggie Gallagher

"What do Olson and Boies think they are doing? Watching accounts of this trial unfold this week I had a big “aha” moment. It’s now clear: Ted and David think they are conducting the Scopes trial! When this trial began I told you: gay marriage activists were putting 7 million Californians on trial. But this week it got worse: They are clearly putting Christianity itself on trial. Why else have an expert read statements of Catholic and Southern Baptist doctrines into the record?

"And why put a Stanford Prof. named Gary Segura on the stand to testify 'religion is the chief obstacle for gays’ and lesbians’ political progress.' Could the zero-sum nature of the game be any clear? Rights for gays and lesbians, in their minds, depends on invalidating the voting rights of religious people when it comes to gay marriage, because their votes are influenced by their religion–i.e. bigotry." - Maggie Gallagher, writing on NOM's blog.

Lesbian Couple Makes Subway Rescue

The Washington Post today tells the story of a disabled woman rescued from the tracks of DC's Metro by a lesbian couple after her wheelchair malfunctioned and lurched off the platform.

"Help!" the disabled woman cried, her motorized wheelchair overturned a few feet away as she lay sprawled on the Metro tracks at Union Station just before midnight one day last week. Michelle Kleisath, a 29-year-old anthropology doctoral student from Seattle, was among a crowd gathered on the platform, watching aghast. She pulled her phone from her pocket to call 911 but realized there was not enough time. "She's going to die," Kleisath, who was in the District attending a conference on race relations, recalled thinking. "Someone has to get her off." But thanks mainly to Kleisath and her partner, Chilan T. Ta, 26, a transportation engineering student from Seattle, disaster was averted. The couple, with help from other bystanders, rescued the woman.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jimbo in DC)

Gays For Scott Brown?

With no exit polls, it's impossible to know how much gay support former Cosmo model Scott Brown may have gotten in Massachusetts. In the clip below, SiriusXM's Michelangelo Signorile talks to one gay man who says he campaigned for Brown. Yes folks, we got us a gay teabagger.

John Edwards: I'm The Daddy

It's taken two years, but onetime Democratic golden boy John Edwards has finally admitted fathering a baby with a woman working on a film about his 2008 presidential campaign.

Mr. Edwards had vehemently denied the accusations – first reported nearly two years ago by The National Enquirer – but he made the not-so-surprising announcement before a tell-all book by a former aide makes the same disclosure next month. “It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter, and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me,” Mr. Edwards said in a statement released to The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., and to NBC’s “Today” show. “I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves,” Mr. Edwards added. “I have been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.”

You may recall that during the campaign Edwards "wasn't there yet" on gay marriage. Marriage is meant for one man and one woman and one buxom German filmmaker.

Indiana Tries For Marriage Ban

GOP state Senators in Indiana are trying to push through a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

A Republican-controlled Senate committee voted 6-4 to approve a proposal that could eventually lead to a constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions in Indiana. Even if the proposal clears the full GOP-led Senate, it will likely go nowhere in the Democrat-controlled House. Democratic House Speaker Patrick Bauer of South Bend has repeatedly said that amending the state's constitution isn't necessary because Indiana law already prohibits same-sex marriage.

Indian's state Senate has approved similar bills three times in the last five years, but the state House has always voted it down.

You Can't Sit There, You Might Molest

A man in the UK is suing British Airways for making him move to another seat on a flight out of London. According to company policy, adult men are not allowed to sit next to children unrelated to them. Because we're all potential child molesters.

In line with the policy, BA cabin crew patrol the aisles before take-off checking that youngsters traveling on their own or in a different row from their parents are not next to a male stranger. If they find a man next to a child or teenager they will ask him to move to a different seat. The aircraft will not take off unless the passenger obeys. Mr Fischer, a 33-year-old hedge fund manager, became aware of the policy while he was flying from Gatwick with his wife Stephanie, 30. His wife, who was six months pregnant, had booked a window seat which she thought would be more spacious. Mr Fischer was in the middle seat between her and a 12-year-old boy. Shortly after all passengers had sat down, having stowed their bags in the overhead lockers, a male steward asked Mr Fischer to change his seat. Mr Fischer refused, explaining that his wife was pregnant, at which point the steward raised his voice, causing several passengers to turn round in alarm. He warned that the aircraft could not take off unless Mr Fischer obeyed. Mr Fischer eventually moved seats but felt so humiliated by his treatment that he is taking the airline to court on the grounds of sex discrimination-He is paying all his own legal.

British Airways instituted the policy in 2001. Qantas and Air New Zealand have similar rules.

SF Gay Men's Chorus To Make Concert Tour Of Proposition 8 Strongholds

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus will conduct a tour of concerts through the heartland of Proposition 8 country in central California as part of an outreach program. Via press release:

The three-part tour will kick off at the end of January with concerts in Redding and Chico, continue in May with concerts in Fresno and Bakersfield, and end in July with a concert in Tracy. For chorus member Bud Dillon, the tour means coming home. Born and raised in Redding, Bud has a special understanding of the importance of the concerts. "So many people only hear about gay men within the context of heated controversy. The Freedom Tour will help to change that in an incredibly entertaining way. Nobody leaves our concerts without a huge smile on their face!" “It's simple." Witherington added. “We believe to accept us, you have to know us. So we tell our story through our music. Our message is one of coming together and recognizing those things we have in common.”

The chorus will perform a new original number called We Are Coming Out, which was written by JMG reader Sean Chapin.

McCain Vs. McCain

Sen. John McCain, who faces reelection in Arizona this year, has issued a statement saying that he doesn't agree with his wife's newfound support for marriage equality.

John McCain's office said in a statement that the Arizona senator respects the views of members of his family but remains opposed to gay marriage. "Sen. McCain believes the sanctity of marriage is only defined as between one man and one woman," the statement said. John McCain backed an Arizona ballot measure passed by voters in 2008 that defined marriage as between one man and one woman. The NOH8 Web site praised Cindy McCain's willingness to publicly endorse a cause that is unpopular within the Republican Party. "The McCains are one of the most well-known Republican families in recent history, and for Mrs. McCain to have reached out to us to offer her support truly means a lot."

Free Republic issued its standard "Massive Barf Alert" upon word of Cindy McCain's photo shoot for NOH8.

Prop 8 Trial: Pro-Gay Side To Call Homophobe As Hostile Witness

Hak-Shing William Tam, who infamously said that the ultimate goal of gay activists was to legalize sex with children, will be called today by Olson & Boies as a hostile witness, despite Tam's attempt to back out of testifying for the bigots' side.

Last week, the lawyers used footage from Tam's taped deposition to buttress their contention that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional because it was fueled by deep-seated animosity against gays. They questioned him about a letter he wrote during the ballot measure's 2008 campaign saying that "other states would fall into Satan's hands" if gays weren't stopped from marrying in California. Before Tam's testimony, lawyers for Proposition 8's sponsors plan to wrap up their cross-examination of Stanford University political scientist Gary M. Segura.

This should be very interesting. The trial resumes around 9am, San Francisco time. Follow along on the Courage Campaign's Prop 8 Trial Tracker live blog.

HomoQuotable - Daniel Nardicio

"I will NEVER let another celeb pose for Playgirl without full-frontal (unless we advertise so). In other words, Kirk will have to do full frontal to do Playgirl. Playgirl made a killing off the Levi shoot, and I got a hefty raise because of it. Some douchebag at AOL Popeater wrote a "piece" where he claims I said we lost money. We paid Levi a small sum to pose, with a rev share for the rest. So our output was minimal and we did VERY well. Anyway, I needed to write this to someone." - Playgirl marketing director Daniel Nardicio, in an email responding to my post about Kirk McCambley.

Prop 8 Trial Re-Enactment Trailer

Using actors, the folks at MarriageTrial.com will be issuing reenactments of Perry vs. Schwarzenegger. Here's the trailer.

Open Thread Thursday

What are you reading and how do you read it?

Glenn Beck On Scott Brown: This Could End Up With A Dead Intern

Glenn Beck attacked Senator-elect Scott Brown today on his radio show, slamming Brown for joking about his daughters' availability during his victory speech.

Beck launched into a long rant about how Brown had just put his daughters up for grabs on a "meat market" and how shocked he was that anyone could say something like that on national television. Then came that moment that differentiates Beck on the radio from Beck on the TV: he started comparing Brown to Gary Condit. "I want a chastity belt on this man. I want his every move watched in Washington. I don't trust this guy. This one could end with a dead intern. I'm just saying. It could end with a dead intern."

Prop 8 Trial "Explosion": Mormon Church Tried To Cover Up Its Involvement

Calling it an "explosive afternoon" the Courage Campaign's Prop 8 live blog reported late today that according to documents revealed to the court, the Mormon Church labored hard behind the scenes to cover-up their involvement in the campaign. That's not surprise to any of us, but it's the first time physical evidence has been produced to substantiate this.

For example, one letter indicated that the LDS church had identified a volunteer for the campaign in every single zip code. This was a church document that was in the hands of a Prop 8 campaign official, and thus was discoverable. Andy Pugno, the general council for ProtectMarriage.com tried his darnedest to get Judge Walker to exclude it, but failed. From Rick’s liveblog:

Pugno: Objects because document will be revealing. Judge: Not to make light of this, but the reason people want to produce documents is that they are revealing. Boutrous: It’s from an outsider to the core group. We are attempting to show the level of coordination with groups that Protect Marriage says were not even affiliated with the campaign.

This is perhaps the most explosive bit of all, from a document between the LDS Church and the campaign:

With respect to Prop. 8 campaign, key talking points will come from campaign, but cautious, strategic, not to take the lead so as to provide plausible deniability or respectable distance so as not to show that church is directly involved.

Get that? The LDS Church intentionally worked to hide behind the scenes to disguise their involvement in the public realm. The LDS Church is well aware that the general public does not have the most favorable opinion of them. Attention on their involvement could have hurt their cause, namely passing Prop 8.

RELATED: The Courage Campaign has pulled the video clips in the below post. I haven't gotten an explanation for this yet, but you can still read their transcripts at the supplied link.

Here's What The Prop 8 Supporters Were Too "Scared" To Say In Open Court

The American Foundation For Equal Rights sends us these video depositions made by two Perry vs. Schwarzenegger defendants who later dropped off the witness list rather than face the "violent wrath of vicious homofascists" were the trial to be televised.

The Olson/Boies legal team today introduced into evidence videos of the depositions of Paul Nathanson, Ph.D. and Katherine Young, Ph.D., who are among the experts dropped by the defendants from their witness list. In the videos, Nathanson and Young make several statements that are harmful to the defendants’ case and that support the plaintiffs’ position. Both are professors at McGill University. They were questioned by David Boies.

Listening to both witnesses without knowing who they are, one would presume they were witnesses FOR the gay side, especially Paul Nathansan, who seems ready to explode into a glitter rainbow of unicorns and Hello Kitty at any moment. Please watch every minute of these clips, it's unbelievable.

Protect Marriage Sues Courage Campaign Over Lesbified Logo

On their Prop 8 Trial Tracker blog, the Courage Campaign has been using a parody version of Protect Marriage's infamous stick-figure logo, replacing the male adult with another female. After screaming about it last week, Protect Marriage is now suing.

Following on the cease-and-desist letter ProtectMarriage.com sent us last week, the Prop 8 attorneys filed late yesterday in U.S. District Court a complaint and temporary restraining order asking a federal judge to order us to take our parody logo down. I guess we all know the answer to the question: Do they have a sense of humor or are they that offended by stick figures in dresses? (see background on this silly dispute here)

The Prop 8 attorneys have requested a temporary restraining order (TRO) prior to the full ruling. The case has been assigned to Judge Lawrence K. Karlton and we are currently waiting to hear back if he he has either granted the TRO, denied the TRO, or opted for a hearing about the TRO. Our MoFo attorneys (the short-hand name our lawyers at Morrison Foerster go by) worked the midnight oil to prepare an excellent Opposition statement filed before the court. Short version: No fricken’ way we are taking the logo down. As our lawyer said, our logo is a “sassy” parody of their logo.

Read Protect Marriage's 12 page complaint at the Courage Campaign's site.

UPDATE: The Courage Campaign is reporting on Twitter than the judge has ruled in their favor.

Protect Mawwiage

Follow this funny guy and RT his posts to the real Protect Marriage.

Pastor Launches Boycott Of Houston Over Lesbian Mayor Annise Parker

Pastor David Grisham has launched a website calling for the boycott of Houston because of its openly lesbian Mayor Annise Parker. Via Houston Press:

"The main reason for the boycott is simply because it's about the only way that people in the rest of the state of Texas -- outside of Houston -- can actually take a stand for righteousness in the city of Houston," Grisham tells Hair Balls. "Now, Jesus said that we were to preach the gospel through all the world, and that includes Houston, Texas." This isn't Grisham's first anti-gay rodeo; he's also behind www.repentamarillo.com, which also deals with the sin of gay people being all gay and doing really gay things. His group, a chapter of RAVEN Ministries International, also protested that city's swingers' club. (No, it wasn't a gay swingers club, but swinging is apparently a sin, even if it's the old-fashioned hetero kind. But they also preached during a gay pride event on a park....basically, wherever there are a bunch of gay dudes, you're likely to find Grisham and his followers, which is in no way suggestive of anything at all). "This is not about the Mayor personally," Grisham says, no doubt bringing some relief to Annise Parker. "It's not about personality, it's about principle. The election of an [openly] homosexual person to a major public office brings with it a radical homosexual agenda. That in and of itself makes a statement."

Among the 20 things Grisham says not to do in Houston: work, shop, eat, vacation, drive, fly, invest, etc etc. Oh looky! Here's his contact form. Slip the good reverend a couple of paragraphs of slash fiction involving him and, say, Peter LaBarbera.

Cindy McCain For Marriage Equality

Mrs. John McCain has joined the NOH8 campaign, which is lovely, really, but a little late. From the NOH8 site:

In the year since we've started the NOH8 Campaign, we've often been surprised at some of the different individuals who have approached us showing their support. Few, though, have surprised us more than Cindy McCain - the wife of Senator John McCain and mother to vocal marriage equality advocate Meghan McCain. The McCains are one of the most well-known Republican families in recent history, and for Mrs. McCain to have reached out to us to offer her support truly means a lot. Although we had worked with Meghan McCain before and were aware of her own position, we'd never really thought the cause might be something her mother would get behind. We have a huge amount of respect for both of these women for being brave enough to make it known they support equal marriage rights for all Americans.

RELATED: The College Republicans student group at George Washington University has pulled their support for an upcoming appearance by Meghan McCain after learning that marriage equality would be the topic of her speech.

Daily Grumble

In full realization of how very cliched this post is, I must nevertheless denounce the Sales Prevention Team at the Best Buy on East 86th Street for the most aggravating purchase experience I've ever had. I can totally say without hyperbole that that place is a million times worse than Hitler. As I was told, because of "the shrink", one can only buy computer-related items at the single computer department register, where they hold your purchase hostage while the exasperated 17 year old clerk deals with a long line of argumentative idiots who have clearly never bought an item that requires electricity. I walked in knowing what I wanted, where it was, that it was in stock, and yet there I stood for 63 minutes. I would have left but I was hypnotized by the statuesque woman in the floor-length mink barking out insults at her follow customers. "Rebates come in the mail, dumbshit, not from the girl!" "You don't BUY a virus, moron!" "She already told you twice about the warranty, you deaf fuck." Seriously, if I only had my camera, she'd be a YouTube hero. Her rant at the woman who was worried that her new laptop wouldn't have enough memory to hold the internet? Viral city. Anyway, you may commence ridiculing me for shopping at Best Buy. I knew better, but I rolled the dice because it's close.

A Moment Of Light

American rescue workers free a woman trapped for several days in Haiti's rubble as bystanders chant "USA! USA!" This is probably the most jingoistic thing you'll see on this here website thingy.

Gavin Newsom On Obama & Marriage

Today SF Mayor Gavin Newsom talks to Maureen O'Dowd about leaving politics and his disappointment with President Obama on gay marriage.

“Oh, I can’t get in trouble here,” Newsom said with a playful wince. “I want him to succeed. But I am very upset by what he’s not done in terms of rights of gays and lesbians. I understand it tactically in a campaign, but at this point I don’t know. There is some belief that he actually doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage. But it’s fundamentally inexcusable for a member of the Democratic Party to stand on the principle that separate is now equal, but only on the basis of sexual orientation. We’ve always fought for the rights of minorities and against the whims of majorities.” He said the promise of Obama sparking an “organic movement” has faded and “there’s a growing discontent and lack of enthusiasm that I worry about. He should just stand on principle, put this behind him and move on.”

Newsom abruptly gave up his bid for California governor last fall.

Hot Gay Singles

Two hot new singles from gay artists are out this week. First, Blowoff DJ and remix king Rich Morel has just released his take on Alan Cumming's Next To Me, which is from Cumming's new album, I Bought A Blue Car Today. Now available on iTunes. Another typically fantastic Pink Noise Mix from Rich. And B-52s frontman Fred Schneider has a new side project called The Superions, whose first single Who Threw That Ham At Me is also now available on iTunes. Snippet here. Fun, fun, fun and Paula Deen too. Below is Clip #1 in a YouTube series of fan questions fielded by the Superions.

The Plight Of Gays Across Africa Worsens

As the campaigns against gays in Uganda and Malawi continue to garner international headlines, many LGBT people across Africa are retreating further into the closet, fearful for their lives. This retreat effectively cuts many off from HIV/AIDS prevention outreach and life saving medications. Via PlusNews:

More than two-thirds of African countries have laws criminalizing homosexual acts, and despite accounting for a significant percentage of new infections in many countries, men who have sex with men tend to be left out of the HIV response. "[They] are going underground; they are hiding themselves and continuing to fuel the epidemic," UNAIDS executive director Michél Sidibé told IRIN/PlusNews recently. "We need to make sure these vulnerable groups have the same rights everyone enjoys: access to information, care and prevention for them and their families."

In addition to the well-known recent situations mentioned above, PlusNews has compiled a list of recent campaigns against gays in Egypt, Senegal, Burundi, South Africa, Tanzania, Gambia, Cameroon, and Nigeria. HIV/AIDS activists have been imprisoned in some places, other men have been subjected to forcible HIV tests and anal exams before being imprisoned as well. Fueled by religious fanaticism, the flames of anti-gay hatred are being fanned across the continent with no end in sight to this nightmarish downward spiral for tens of millions of LGBT people.

(Tipped by JMG reader Mike in the UK)

Quote Of The Day - Peter Daou

"Nothing should have been a bigger red flag to the new administration than the growing complaints by established progressive bloggers that Democrats were veering off track on the stimulus, the health care bill, civil liberties, gay rights, and more. But scoffing at the netroots is second nature in many quarters of the political establishment, even though they laid the groundwork for Obama's victory. The single biggest reason Obama's hope bubble burst is because of the unintended convergence of left and right opinion-making.

"The cauldron of opinion that churns incessantly on blogs, Twitter, social networks, and in the elite media generates the storylines that filter across the national and local press, providing the fodder for public opinion. Stalwarts of the left, dedicated to principles not personalities, hammered the administration; couple that with the partisan criticisms from conservatives and libertarians, and the net effect was to alter conventional wisdom and undercut Obama's image and message." - Former Hillary Clinton internet adviser Peter Daou, in a Huffington Post essay titled Liberal Bloggers To Obama And Dems: We Told You So.

UNRELATED: Before he was a policy wonk, Peter and his wife Vanessa were known as the electronic/dance duo The Daou, whose epic 11-minute 1992 deep house classic Surrender Yourself became an underground/gay club standard, hitting #1 on Billboard's dance chart. This, of course, raises Peter Daou's cred for me.