Rock For Equality Named Finalist In YouTube DoGooder Video Contest

Rock For Equality's amazing clip about Social Security discrimination, which I posted here several weeks ago, has been named a finalist in the YouTube DoGooders Non-Profit Video Awards. Instructions on how to vote are below and here, followed by Rock For Equality's stunning clip.

KFC Will Kill Us All

Consumerist reports that KFC's mythical Double Down is no longer mythical.

For those coming late to the story, it's bacon and cheese sandwiched between two pieces of fried chicken. And now, many months later, I'll finally be able to get my hands on one. KFC announced the decision to go live with the Double Down yesterday, but we weren't sure they weren't playing a April Fools gag. But no, they truly are going nationwide with the delicacy on April 12. The sandwich will be available in two forms. The Original Recipe sandwich will set you back about 540 calories, 32g of fat and 1380mg of sodium. The not-as-bad-for-you Grilled Double Down totals 460 calories, 23g of fat and 1430mg of sodium.

I promise I'll only have ONE. Just so I can say I did.

Vatican Priest: Catholics Are Being Persecuted Like The Jews

A Vatican priest stepped in it yesterday when he compared the global rash of child molestation investigations to the systemic persecution of Jews.

Speaking in St. Peter’s Basilica, the priest, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, took note that Easter and Passover fell during the same week this year, and said he was led to think of the Jews. “They know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence, and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms,” said Father Cantalamessa, who serves under the title of preacher of the papal household. Then he quoted from what he said was a letter from a Jewish friend he did not identify. “I am following the violent and concentric attacks against the church, the pope and all the faithful by the whole world,” he said the friend wrote. “The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.” Good Friday has traditionally been a fraught day in Catholic-Jewish relations. Until the liberalizing Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, Catholic liturgy included a prayer for the conversion of the Jews, and Catholic teaching held Jews responsible for the Crucifixion.

The Vatican immediately distanced themselves from the remarks, but Jewish groups are livid.

Jewish leaders around the world used words like repugnant, obscene and offensive to describe the sermon, particularly, as Di Segni noted, it came on the day that for centuries Christians prayed for the conversion of the Jews, who were held collectively responsible for Jesus’ death. “How can you compare the collective guilt assigned to the Jews which caused the deaths of tens of millions of innocent people to perpetrators who abuse their faith and their calling by sexually abusing children?” demanded Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the international Jewish rights group.

Feds Crack Down On Unpaid Internships

The terrible economy has resulted in huge rise in the number of unpaid internships offered by employers. The Department of Labor says many of these jobs are illegal and has begun a campaign to enforce the regulations that define these positions.

“If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division. Ms. Leppink said many employers failed to pay even though their internships did not comply with the six federal legal criteria that must be satisfied for internships to be unpaid. Among those criteria are that the internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, that the intern does not displace regular paid workers and that the employer “derives no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities — in other words, it’s largely a benevolent contribution to the intern. No one keeps official count of how many paid and unpaid internships there are, but Lance Choy, director of the Career Development Center at Stanford University, sees definitive evidence that the number of unpaid internships is mushrooming — fueled by employers’ desire to hold down costs and students’ eagerness to gain experience for their résumés. Employers posted 643 unpaid internships on Stanford’s job board this academic year, more than triple the 174 posted two years ago.

Oregon, California and several other states have also launched investigations.

Rep. Alan Grayson Vs. Florida Doctor

John Forsythe, 92

Gen. Paul Eaton Endorses DADT Repeal

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Paul Eaton, who lead the invasion forces in Iraq, has strongly endorsed the repeal of DADT. "Discrimination based on sexual orientation is inappropriate in our society." Listen to the entire clip, the guy knows his stuff. Easton's son is a third generation West Point graduate now serving in the infantry.

HomoQuotable - Dan Savage

"Three shark in attacks in Florida, million of sharks in the ocean, and no one will go in the water. Hundreds and thousands of children raped in churches and people still send their kids to church. It's crazy. You should be sending your kids to gay bars. There they will be be safe." - Dan Savage, speaking on his latest podcast.

Janet Jackson - Nothing

Could this sound any more like Michael?

(Via - Rod 2.0)

Mississippi: ACLU Rejects $20K Gift From Atheist Group For Alternative Prom

The ACLU has declined a $20,000 donation from the American Humanist Association which the group offered to fund an alternative prom open to all students, including lesbian teen Constance McMillen, whose story made international news after her school canceled its prom rather than allow Constance to attend with a female date.

“Although we support and understand organizations like yours, the majority of Mississippians tremble in terror at the word ‘atheist,’ ” Jennifer Carr, the fund-raiser for the A.C.L.U of Mississippi, wrote in an e-mail message to Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the humanist group. According to Matthew Sheffield, a spokesman for the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition, the organization arranging the event, the A.C.L.U. of Mississippi did not have authority to decline the gift. “We asked someone at the A.C.L.U. to assist us in handling all the donations, and that person told them we were not interested and that is not true,” he said. Mr. Sheffield said that after getting answers to a few questions, their board would decide whether to accept the gift. The alternate prom is scheduled for May 8. Regarding the A.C.L.U. move, Ms. Carr wrote to Mr. Speckhardt: “Our staff has been talking a lot about your donation offer and have found ourselves in a bit of a conflict. We have fears that your organization sponsoring the prom could stir up even more controversy.”

The ACLU says that the donation offer came with attached conditions that organizers would have trouble meeting, something that the American Humanists denied. Tonight Constance and her girlfriend will attend a private prom.

UPDATE: Since the above-linked NYT story was published, the ACLU has posted a notice of apology to the American Humanists, saying it was up to the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition whether the donation would be accepted or not. The ACLU also apologized for the wording in the email sent to the atheist group, saying their staffer's message does not "reflect the views of our organization in any way."

Florida Doctor: Don't Come To Me If You Voted For Barack Obama

Urologist Dr. Jack Cassell of Mount Dora, Florida has posted a sign telling patients to go elsewhere if they voted for Barack Obama.

A doctor who considers the national health-care overhaul to be bad medicine for the country posted a sign on his office door telling patients who voted for President Barack Obama to seek care "elsewhere." "I'm not turning anybody away — that would be unethical," Dr. Jack Cassell, 56, a Mount Dora urologist and a registered Republican opposed to the health plan, told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. "But if they read the sign and turn the other way, so be it." The sign reads: "If you voted for Obama … seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your healthcare begin right now, not in four years."

Doctors cannot refuse patients based on their race, gender, religion, etc., but political preference is not one of the those protected classes. And here we've been told it's the Democrats that would cause the withholding of medical care.

Militia Targets Dozens Of State Governors With Threats Of "Removal"

The FBI is warning state governors today that recent letters sent by the militia group Guardians Of The Free Republics may provoke violence against them. The group has mailed letters to dozens of governors saying that if they don't resign, they'll be taken out by unnamed means.

The FBI expects all 50 governors will eventually receive such letters. Governors whose offices reported getting the letters included Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Chet Culver of Iowa, Dave Heineman of Nebraska, Jim Gibbons of Nevada, Brad Henry of Oklahoma, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Bob McDonnell of Virginia, and Gary Herbert of Utah, where officials stepped up security in response to the letter. In Nevada, screening machines for visitors and packages were added to the main entrance to the state Capitol as a precaution. "We're not really overly concerned, but at the same time we don't want to sit back and do nothing and regret it," Deputy Chief of Staff Lynn Hettrick said.

Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said federal authorities had alerted the governor that such a letter might be coming, and it arrived Monday or Tuesday. Boyd, who described the letter as "non-threatening," said it was opened by a staffer and immediately turned over to the Michigan State Police. Jindal's office confirmed that the governor had received one of the letters and directed questions to the Louisiana State Police. "They called us as they do for any letter that's out of the norm," said Lt. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman. He declined to provide specifics about the letter, but said, "not knowing the group and the information contained in the letter warranted state police to review it." The FBI warning comes at a time of heightened attention to far-right extremist groups after the arrest of nine Christian militia members last weekend accused of plotting violence.

In the clip below, a supporter of the Guardians displays his weapons, talks about Barack Obama's birth certificate, and provides shopping advice about stocking food supplies for the coming civil war.

Michele Bachmann: Pelosi Incited The Teabaggers By Walking Through Them

Two bits of assholery from Crazy Eyes in one day!

Will The iPad Save Print?

A few fanboys have been lined up outside Manhattan's Fifth Avenue store for days already, but the scene isn't remotely like for the iPhone launch as only those with pre-orders will get their machine tomorrow. But some folks like to be FIRST! as YouTube tells us every day. Apple expects to sell 7 million units this year and are forecasting 20M annually by 2012.

Frum To GOP: Stop HCR Repeal Effort

Former National Review editor David Frum says his fellow conservatives need to stop making false promises that they can repeal the health care reform bill. Frum has called for a more moderate GOP that focuses more on governing and less on so-called morality issues.

Undercover NYPD Cop Rants Outside Of West Village Gay Bar: This Fag Establishment Needs To Be Closed!

Well known NYC gay activists Allen Roskoff and Corey Johnson say they were harassed outside a West Village gay bar by a man later identified as an undercover NYPD detective. Chi Chiz, a Christopher Street bar favored by black gay men, has been the subject of a recent raid over allegations of drug dealing inside the club. Club owners are claiming harassment and overzealous prosecution. The day after the raid, Roskoff and Johnson went to the club where the following is alleged to have occurred.

According to Roskoff — who was with Corey Johnson, also a gay activist and the 1st vice chair of Chelsea’s Community Board 4 (which does not encompass Christopher Street) — as they arrived at the club, the young white man was standing outside yelling, “This fag establishment should be closed.” When Roskoff and Johnson confronted the man, he responded to each of them, “You’re a faggot.” Roskoff said he called 911, at which point the man headed east on Christopher until he arrived at the cigar store at Sheridan Square, where he went inside and changed his clothes, before hailing a cab. At that point, a squad car pulled up and the man was asked to step out of the taxi. The officer at the scene said “Oh, no” when he saw the man, whom he recognized as an undercover in his precinct, according to Roskoff, who said he was interviewed by telephone at 2 a.m. by an NYPD Internal Affairs investigator who had arrived at the Sixth.

Thomas Shanahan, who is representing McKenzie and Ray, said that he was told by Laura Mulle, the NYPD legal unit attorney in the Chi Chiz case, that the man who confronted and then fled from Roskoff and Johnson was, in fact, an undercover Sixth Precinct cop, but that he had been put on desk assignment. Mulle would not divulge the name of the officer to Shanahan — she advised him to file a Freedom of Information Act request. Mulle also declined comment to Gay City News, directing the newspaper to the NYPD’s public information office, which did not respond to a request for information about the undercover officer or his desk reassignment. Shanahan said he has served a subpoena naming Joe Doe targeted at the undercover officer, as well as a notice that he seeks to depose him.

A judge is seeking to broker an agreement between the club and the NYPD in which club owners will "guarantee" that no drugs will be sold amongst the customers. One owner responded, "We can’t guarantee that. When the city figures out how to keep drugs off Rikers Island, they can hold us to the same standard."

(Via Paul Schindler @ Gay City News)

Portland: Beau Breedlove Joins Recall Effort Against Mayor Sam Adams

Beau Breedlove, the former paramour of openly gay Portland Mayor Sam Adams, has joined the latest recall effort against him. Controversy over Breedlove's age at the time of his encounters with Adams nearly brought the mayor down during his election campaign.

Breedlove, who is volunteering with the recall campaign, said in an interview after the rally that other gays and lesbians have chastised him for backing the recall of the city's first openly gay mayor. Breedlove said that's precisely why Adams should step down. "He should hold himself to a much higher standard than any other politician, because he's not just representing the city of Portland," he said. "He's representing the GLBTQ community in a new way they haven't been represented before." Breedlove said he and Adams kissed before he turned 18 but didn't have sex until after he turned 18, which is the age of consent. Adams has maintained that no sexual contact took place before Breedlove turned 18. Adams was 42 at the time. The attorney general's office declined to prosecute Adams, citing lack of evidence. "In reality, he was the one who was in his 40s and he was the adult in the situation. I never felt like a victim until the end, when he continued to lie and threw me under the bus," Breedlove said Thursday. Breedlove said he and Adams have had no contact since the attorney general's investigation.

Breedlove parlayed his fame as the mayor's boytoy into a 2008 nude photo spread in Unzipped Magazine. The recall effort presently has fewer than half of the signatures needed by April 20th to force a vote.

Michele Bachmann: The Census Will Be Used To Round Up Americans

Pixie Herculon - The Bear Song

Here's a minute of Pixie Herculon's coming single, The Bear Song, shot on location around the Castro (including Bearbucks) and featuring a rap by Margaret Cho. Hey, I see a couple of JMG readers in there! Loves it. Rich Morel should totally do the remix. The single drops on iTunes on April 5th.

(Tipped by JMG reader Irvin)

The Seed Cathedral

No, that isn't a computer-created image. It's real world art.

The Seed Cathedral at the Shanghai World Expo's UK Pavillion is exactly that: a 66-feet-tall shrine accented with 60,000 25-feet-long fiber-optic rods on its exterior, each of which contains one or more seeds encased at its tip. And awe-inspiring it certainly is. The rods funnel light into the Seed Cathedral's interior during the day and carry interior light out outward at night, casting a beautiful glow around the structure. The fiber-optic rods sway in the breeze, conjuring images of tall stalks of grass waving in the wind or even the tiny filament hairs that grow on some seeds. From inside, the movement of the clouds above and the swaying of the fibers can give the sensation that cathedral is moving, or perhaps breathing.

Hit the link for close-ups.

Maddow: GOP's C Street House Examined For Illegal Rent Subsidies

The GOP's C Street townhouse, home to a cabal of Christianist members of Congress known as "The Family", is being examined for tax violations due to below market rents granted to residents. Maddow: "If there are other members of Congress living in fake churches, we'd like to hear about it."

Gen. John McHugh: I Take It Back

Secretary of the Army Gen. John McHugh is backpedaling on yesterday's comment that he would cease ejecting soldiers over DADT.

Army Secretary John McHugh apologized Thursday for mistakenly telling journalists the Department of Defense would place a moratorium on discharges of homosexual servicemembers while the Pentagon conducts a year long study on the impact of changing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military leadership have made clear they'll uphold the current law while the study is being conducted. Recently Gates announced new standards for discharging gay servicemembers, including raising the ranks of officers who can conduct an investigation and requiring all testimony from peers and outside parties to be given under oath. But Gates never said gay service members would not be dismissed in the interim.

McHugh's comments to a defense writers group on Wednesday were published on major wire services and newspapers, including the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post". His apology today: "Yesterday, in response to a series of questions from reporters regarding "Don't Ask Don't Tell", I made several statements that require further comment. "First, while President Obama has asked Congress to repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell", it is and remains the law of the land... Second, I was incorrect when I stated that Secretary Gates had placed a moratorium on discharges of homosexual service-members. There is no moratorium of the law and neither Secretary Gates nor I would support one."

BAH.

Eurovision 2010: France's Jessy Matador

Congo native Jessy Matador represents France with a song that will also be used to promote this year's World Cup. Trivia: The 1998 World Cup soundtrack album with the same title, Allez Ola Ole, contained the single The Cup Of Life, the song which broke out Ricky Martin as an grown-up performer. Perhaps due to the World Cup hype, Jessy Matador is being tipped as this year's favorite to win Eurovision.

Concerned Women Are Concerned That Gay Kids Don't Get Beaten Enough

Concerned Women For America have issued an endorsement of the plan for Christian children to walk out of school during GLSEN's Day Of Silence.

The pro-homosexual "Day of Silence" (DOS) is coming to your child's school again. The nationally scheduled date is April 16, 2010. While wearing the mask of a "safe schools" program, this is actually a movement to silence any criticism of homosexuality. It is a homosexual activism day. Day of Silence is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and was created by GLSEN's founder and former Executive Director, Kevin Jennings. Jennings now heads the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program at the U.S. Department of Education. The Day of Silence is just one of the homosexual indoctrination programs operating in our schools.

"Gay" students and teachers are asked to go the entire day without speaking as a protest to the bullying and harassment students receive over their "sexual orientation." This is a manufactured crisis of violence upon gender-confused students. Adult homosexual activists have manufactured it to promote a political agenda, but instead they are ruining young lives, putting children at risk because of deadly behaviors, and forcing gender confusion on the vulnerable.

The goal behind the Day of Silence is not to make schools safe but to silence Christian voices and the voices of those who do not approve of homosexuality. Students who do not support homosexuality have a right to say that sex between two males or two females is repulsive. They also have a right to say people aren't born homosexual without being called bigoted or hateful.

Among the Christian groups endorsing (PDF) the beating, bullying and torture of LGBT youth: American Family Association, Americans For Truth, Liberty Counsel, Mission America, MassResistance, PFOX, and many others.

Tony Perkins Vs. Michael Steele

Family Research Council head Tony Perkins doesn't want people to stop funding the GOP just because of the tittygate flap, he's SUPER pissed that they just hired Prop 8 attorney Ted Olson.

Animals Are Gay, Part II

Two elderly male otters died within an hour of each other at a New Zealand zoo yesterday. Handlers say that the second one probably died of heartbreak after watching his mate pass away.

Zookeeper John Miller said the Asian otters, who were 19 and 16 years-old, had been best friends for 15 years. It's thought that having each other for company kept them alive beyond the normal otter life-span of 14 years. According to handler Gail Sutton, the pair lived to nearly 100 in human years. 'They were a great pair of otters, they were interested in what was happening,' she said. The pair had been unwell for a couple of weeks but after completing treatment they were returned to their enclosure, only to be discovered dead the next morning. 'We were devastated and we couldn't work out quite what had happened with them,' Ms Sutton said. 'It brought a tear to my eye and it's making me well up now.' 'The only consolation from this is that they both went together because if one had gone without the other, the remaining one would have been really lost.'

Sniff.

Broadway Friday

-Sexy space stud Patrick Stewart returns to Broadway next season in David Mamet's A Life InThe Theater. Engage!

-Despite many rave reviews for Little Miss Sunshine's Abagail Breslin, the revival of The Miracle Worker closes on Sunday after only 38 performances.

-Musical Everyday Rapture will replace Lips Together, Teeth Apart which was torpedoed when lead Megan Mullally walked out. Opens April 29th. Fans are begging Megan to defend herself. Jeremy Pivens redux?

-Madonna spotted attending FELA! with four of her children: David, Mercy, Rocco, and Jesus. What? Gossipers dished Madge's outfit as inappropriate for her advancing years. Whatever.

-Bombtastic All About Me, starring Michael Feinstein and Dame Edna closes Sunday after only 20 shows. The house only grossed 23% of the max during the run.

-First quarter 2010 Broadway grosses: $238M. That's up 4.4% from last year.

-Dancer and actor unions are warring over whether the Sinatra jukebox tuner Come Fly Away is a musical or "an evening of dance." The dancer union says there's no narrative in the show, therefore they should administer the Equity contract.

-Rejected titles for Patti LuPone's memoir:

"Peaks & Valleys of The Doll"; "Patti LuPone: Not Just a Tap-Dancing Fascist"; "Curtains Up - Cell Phones Off!"; "The LuPone Trio Minus Two"; "'SHUT UP, IT'S BEEN TWENTY-NINE YEARS!' - Trials and Tribulations of a Tony Award Winning Actress"; "Shut Up, It's Been 29 Years! A Life in the Theatre"; "Born With A Trunk: Theatrical Musings By A Big-Nosed Diva"; "Don't Cry For Me, For Me, For Me, For Meee!"; and "Mein Kampf."

-DRAG ALERT: The producers of Looped are holding a Tallulah Bankhead impersonation contest. Send them your video clip.

VIDEO: The revival of La Cage Aux Folles opens April 6th.

The Kids Are Alright

This made me tear up a little.

(Via - AmericaBlog)

Bill Donohue: Gays Are At Fault

The Catholic League's Bill Donohue continues his campaign of lies on CNN:

Let me give you a quick example. I'm Irish. Everybody who has half a brain knows that the Irish have a bigger problem with alcoholism than the Italians or the Chinese, for example. Does that mean because you're an Irishman, therefore, you are driven to become an alcoholic? Of course, not. What it means, though, if your group is overrepresented in a particular problem area, you ought to explore it. Yes, there's a connection between Irish and alcoholism, and, yes, there's a connection between homosexuality and sexual abuse of minors.

Vatican: The Pope Has Immunity From Testifying In Any Pedophilia Trial

According to a Vatican spokesperson, Ill Papi Nazi has immunity from being called to testify in any pedophilia trial because Vatican City is a sovereign nation and Ratzinger is its head of state.

Dalla Torre outlined the Vatican's strategy to defend the pope from being forced to testify in several lawsuits concerning sexual abuse which are currently moving through the U.S. legal system. "The pope is certainly a head of state, who has the same juridical status as all heads of state," he said, arguing he therefore had immunity from foreign courts. Lawyers representing victims of sexual abuse by priests in several cases in the United States have said they would want the pope to testify in an attempt to try to prove the Vatican was negligent. But the pope is protected by diplomatic immunity because more than 170 countries, including the United States, have diplomatic relations with the Vatican. They recognize it as a sovereign state and the pope as its sovereign head.

Dalla Torre rejected the claim that Ratzinger is ultimately the boss of Catholic bishops and therefore responsible for them: "The Church is not a multi-national corporation. He has (spiritual) primacy over the Church ... but every bishop is legally responsible for running a diocese."

Quote Of The Day - Tony Perkins

"I've hinted at this before, but now I am saying it -- don't give money to the RNC. If you want to put money into the political process, and I encourage you to do so, give directly to candidates who you know reflect your values. Better yet, become a member of FRC Action and learn about the benefits it offers, including participating in the FRC Action PAC which can support candidates who will advance faith, family and freedom." - Family Research Council head Tony Perkins, calling the religious right to cease funding the GOP because of their love for titty bars and fake lesbians in bondage. Whee!

Google Translate For Animals

Photo Of The Day - Message To Hipsters

The pranksters at Trustocorp send a message to Williamsburg's hipsters. Other examples of their fake street signs at the link.

(Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

Barney Frank Bans Contact With Former Staffer Turned Lobbyist

Under congressional rules, government employees who become lobbyists (usually for the industries they once regulated), are barred from contacting their former employers for one year. Today Barney Frank took that one step further, banning staffers on the House Financial Services Committee from ever speaking with a former coworker now working as a banking industry lobbyist.

By law, [Peter] Roberson is banned from communicating with staff for one year, but Frank said in a statement that period of time is insufficient. "I am therefore instructing the staff of the Financial Services Committee to have no contact whatsoever with Mr. Roberson on any matters involving financial regulation for as long as I am in charge of that Committee staff," said Frank. "Fortunately," said Frank, "examples of staff members doing what Mr. Roberson has done are rare, but even one example is far too much and that is why I wanted to make clear I share the unhappiness of people at this, and my intention to prohibit any contact between him and members of the staff for as long as I have any control over the matter."

Excellent move, Rep. Frank. Now how about some legislation extending the lobbying ban to, say, ten years?

Los Angeles City Council Calls On Feds To End Social Security Discrimination

Today the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution calling on the federal government to end Social Security policies that discriminate against same-sex couples. Via press release from the LA Gay & Lesbian Center:

“LGBT workers pay into the system like everyone else,” said Councilmember Koretz, “so the federal government has no business denying same-sex couples equal benefits. It’s unfair, it’s un-American and it must change.” Councilmember Rosendahl said: “With the energy of our youth and the wisdom of our seniors, we’ll get our rights.” On April 11, just days before Americans must file their tax returns, Councilmember Koretz will join Senator Barbara Boxer and many others at Rock for Equality, a rally, march and ‘rock-in’ to demand equal benefits for LGBT tax payers. Hundreds of people will meet in front of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s McDonald/Wright building, followed by a march to the Hollywood Social Security office where they will stage a rally and rocking chair ‘rock-in.’

Senator Boxer, who just pledged her support for Rock for Equality, said: “I look forward to being at Rock for Equality on April 11, and applaud the organizers and participants of this event for their efforts to achieve equality in Social Security benefits.” Senator Boxer is not alone among Washington, D.C. leaders who agree that Social Security discrimination must end. President Barack Obama said at a recent town hall meeting in Florida: “The notion that someone who’s working really hard for 30 years can’t take their death benefits and transfer them to the person they love the most in the world, and who has supported them all their lives… that just doesn’t seem fair… it doesn’t seem right…”

Go the Rock For Equality site for information on the campaign to grant same-sex couples the same Social Security benefits as any other married American.

GLAAD: Ignore Bill Donohue

"GLAAD joined with Call To Action and the Interfaith Alliance today in urging media to ignore desperate attempts by anti-gay activist Bill Donohue to distract attention from the latest revelations in the deepening abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Donohue, who has a long history of outrageous and defamatory attacks on gay people in his capacity as head of the New York-based Catholic League, recently renewed those attacks following media coverage of developments in the U.S. and Europe — coverage that turned a spotlight on new revelations about the reassignment of abusive priests." - From GLAAD's press release urging the media to "ignore" the Catholic League's Bill Donohue.

Donohue has spent the week on virtually every cable channel deriding the Catholic molestation scandal as a "gay problem." Not a "Catholic problem." I can't see why GLAAD expects any of us to just ignore that.

Anti-Gay Group Threatens To Sue Feds Over Gay Marriage Census Count

The U.S. Census says that if you list yourselves as gay married, they'll tabulate that data "with no questions asked." Which is blowing the minds of the Save California, who is calling for a lawsuit against the federal government.

Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, said counting LGBT couples as married is violating the federal Defense of Marriage Act. "Marriage is only for a man and woman. That's the law they need to follow. This needs to be a lawsuit. Somebody needs to sue the federal government to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act," Thomasson said. The U.S. Census Bureau said the count is a snap shot of the country through self identification. "It's your opportunity to tell us who you are," said D'Anne Ousley, spokesperson for the U.S. Census Bureau. "Same sex marriage is legal in some states. So we will be reporting the results of same sex marriage as well as unmarried partners."

Several anti-gay groups have claimed that the gay census count is a defacto attempt to overturn DOMA. If only. And like that's a bad thing.

Stars Give A Damn About Hate Crimes

True Blood star Anna Paquin comes out as bisexual in this star-studded plea against hate crimes created by Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund. The campaign's website, We Give A Damn, is down at the moment, doubtlessly due to gossip sites freaking out over Paquin's unanticipated revelation.

Scenes From Teabaggery

Andrew Breitbart, Victoria Jackson, Glenn Back, Sarah Palin and other escaped mental patients gathered over the weekend to call for the destruction of the country they love so very much.

RNC Sends Out Phone Sex Number

The Republican National Committee can't catch a break. First they get busted spending big bucks at a lesbian bondage titty club, and now they've sent out a flier directing the folks on their mailing list to call a phone sex line.

The Republican National Committee sent a fundraising mail piece earlier this month with a return number that leads to a phone-sex line offering "live, one-on-one talk with a nasty girl who will do anything you want for just $2.99 per minute." At the bottom of a piece designed to resemble a census form, a toll-free number is listed next to the national party's address. A voter in Minnesota received the mailer and called the number intending to complain about the attempt to raise money with a form that looks like a government document. But the Minnesotan was instead directed to a second toll-free number that greets callers as "sexy guy" before offering them the chance to talk with "real local students, housewives and working girls from all over the country."

SF: GLBT Historical Society Inks Five Year Lease In New Castro Space

San Francisco's GBLT Historical Society has negotiated a deal with Walgreens to take over a new space in the Castro for the next five years. The Bay Area Reporter's Matthew Bajko reports:

The deal calls for the historical society to take over two-thirds of a defunct coin-operated laundry on 18th Street while Walgreens will expand its specialty pharmacy next door into the remaining space. The enlarged pharmacy will not be visible from the street, however, as the build-out for Walgreens will be contained within the building. The national chain will pay for the remodel of the interior space, seek the necessary permits from the city, and offer the storefront at a reduced rent to the historical society. The society will be paying $2,000 a month at first to occupy the building at 4127 18th Street. The rent will then go up to $3,000 in the second year and cap out at $4,000. "It is a good deal," said Paul Boneberg, executive director of the historical society. "It is a very generous offer from Walgreens."

Pending city approval for the work, the new museum could be opened in time for this year's Pride. The GLBT Historical Society previously had a temporary space on the corner of Castro and 18th Street.

Sorry About That, Exodus

I guess them there "ex-gays" at Exodus International didn't care for our freeping of their anti-gay youth Day Of Truth poll yesterday - they've yanked it from their site. [Insert Nelson laugh.]

OMFG WTF MTA?

The Working Families Party is warring with NYC for their refusal to allow a subway advertising campaign complaining about recently announced cuts in service. At issue is the "obscene internet shorthand" used in the ads.

The MTA is not ROTFL at parody signs that use cheeky acronyms to criticize City Hall. "WTF?" asks one of two posters the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has refused to display on subways and buses. "OMFG," declares the second of the "Service Nightmare" posters, which mimic official service-change bulletins and were rejected as unsuitable by the MTA. The campaign was created by the Working Families Party, which contends Mayor Bloomberg has been "missing in action" during the authority's fiscal crisis, leaving riders on track for sweeping reductions in bus and subway service. But transit officials rejected the spots because the acronyms imply obscene language that many riders may find "offensive, improper or in bad taste," MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said. The ads also look too much like the real thing, using subway-line logos to form the suggestive acronyms, according to the MTA. Some riders might believe they are real authority bulletins, officials said - or that the authority agrees with the political message.

Beginning on June 27th there will be no more W or Z trains. About two dozen bus routes will also be deleted.

Fox's Megyn Kelly To Code Pink: Who Are YOU To Try To Silence Karl Rove?

Fox News host Megyn Kelly think's Code Pink has a lot of nerve to try and make a citizen's arrest of a war criminal for committing war crimes.

NJ: Newark Sees Its First Murder-Free Month In 44 Years

For the first time in 44 years, nobody got murdered in Newark for an entire month.

The last homicide occurred 32 days ago, besting a 1966 record, says Police Director Garry McCarthy, who is now eyeing a 50-year record of 43 murder-free days. While many factors are involved, the statistics reflect an aggressive effort by Mayor Cory Booker to lower the crime rate. Booker applauded the murder-free month on his Facebook page. The Star-Ledger also notes that that murder rate for the quarter is the second best since 1941 and says major crime rates for shootings, aggravated assaults, robberies and carjacking are also down for the first quarter compared to 2009.

Meanwhile NYC is seeing a reversal in a decades-old decline in homicides. The 2010 murder rate is presently 20% higher than last year.

Armed Militias Plan April March On DC

Bill O'Reilly: I'll Pay Fine Owed Westboro

After a judge ruled that the father of a dead soldier must pay Westboro Baptist Church their court costs for defending themselves against his suit for picketing his son's funeral, Bill O'Reilly has announced that he would personally pay the judgment. O'Reilly: "I will pay Mr. Snyder's obligation. I am not going to let this injustice stand."

Eurovision 2010: Moldova's Olia Tira

Handicappers are listing Moldova's entry as one of this year's favorites. It's fairly standard Eurodisco/pop, but catchy nevertheless. Like the violins, hate the sax.

Norman Laboon To Face Psychiactric Exam And Competency Hearing

God, aka Norman Laboon, has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination. Laboon was arrested last week after Rep. Eric Cantor dug up two year old death threats that Laboon had made against him on YouTube. Critics charge that Cantor's team was desperately looking for any proof that Republicans too have been the subject of threats, as were many Democrats after the health care reform vote.

"It is hereby ordered that the above Defendant shall be detained temporarily and that a psychiatric/psychological examination of Defendant be conducted to determine his mental competency to stand trial and to comprehend the nature and consequences of his actions," says the order, dated March 29 and entered on the docket today. The exam is to be held before Thursday, when a competency hearing is scheduled. Leboon has a history of claiming that he is a deity, including an incident last summer when, according to a police report, he threatened to dispatch the angel Gabriel to kill his roommate.

In numerous YouTube clips Laboon claimed to be a gay Muslim with a partner and two children. Despite Rep. Cantor's transparent desperation and Laboon's obvious mental illness, teabaggers are already citing Laboon as a shining example of the "violent left."

No Underwear Subway Ride

Gen. John McHugh: No More DADT Firings

Secretary of the Army Gen. John McHugh says he will no longer expel soldiers under DADT.

Mr. McHugh, who spoke at a breakfast with Pentagon reporters, said it made no sense to pursue discharges of service members as he speaks with them about the change in policy. Mr. Obama, Mr. Gates and Admiral Mullen have all asked commanders to assess opinion within the military about the change in law. Mr. McHugh said it would be “counterproductive” to “take disciplinary action against someone who spoke with me openly and honestly.” He said the Pentagon was still trying to devise a way to more formally poll large numbers of service members about their views on changing the law.

At the same breakfast, Mr. McHugh also said that a three-star general who was criticized by the Pentagon leadership last week for speaking out against repeal of the law would not receive a letter of reprimand. Instead, Mr. McHugh said the officer, Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, had had numerous conversations with Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, and now recognized that his comments were “inappropriate.” General Mixon, the commander of Army forces in the Pacific, wrote a letter published on March 8 in Stars and Stripes that urged those who support the current policy to write to their elected officials and lobby the leaders of their units.

Fascinating development, eh?

Tired Old Queen At The Movies #25

Gene Tierney's Leave Her To Heaven.

It's OK, You Can Be A Single Lady

(Tipped by JMG reader Peter)

Open Thread Thursday

Tell us about a good customer service experience you've had lately. Who's treating people right?

Quote Of The Day - Iowa Gov. Chet Culver

"We stood firm for the civil rights of every Iowan by saying loudly and clearly that any and all efforts to add discriminatory amendments to our state constitution have no place in our state constitution. Regardless of our personal views, we have a line that needs to be drawn between the executive branch and the judicial branch and I think Iowans are ready to move on and accept that unanimous decision." - Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, congratulating the state legislature for refusing to consider a constitutional amendment overturning same-sex marriage. This week is the one year anniversary of marriage equality in Iowa.

HomoQuotable - Charles Winecoff

"Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away – called New York City – there was a special place where fairies could go when they weren’t feeling well. It was known as the Gay Men’s Health Project. The friendly bears and slender youths who ran this magical dispensary helped unlucky fairies mend their wings and wee-wees so they could get back to working through their issues and flit off to the nearest after-hours disco, bath house, abandoned truck or dilapidated pier. [snip]

"The warrior fairies did not trust the king and queen, who hailed from a make-believe place called Hollywood. Even though there were many fairies in Hollywood, the elders imagined that the king, whose name was marked by a malevolent ”R,” would round up their infected friends and lock them in concentration camps. The fairies only trusted royals whose names boasted a benevolent ”D.” So fearing the worst, they paid no heed to the warnings of their own shamans. Instead, they fought to protect their underground turf from the imaginary menace of the “R” invaders by keeping their fairy-only, non-reproductive recreation centers open. Thousands more fairies fell from the sky.

"Time passed. Powerful potions were eventually conjured up to keep infected fairies healthy and alive. Kings began to grant them audiences, and the peasantry as a whole became more accepting of their existence, and appreciative of their hard history. The fairies were celebrated and honored for the injustices they endured. The peasantry took extra care to be more tolerant of fairy feelings. But the fairies couldn’t reciprocate. They didn’t know how to trust or to let down their guard. They had become addicted to attention, self-pity, and anger." - Homocon writer and noted micro-penis sufferer Charles Winecoff, writing for anti-gay Andrew Breitbart's Big Hollywood.

According to Winecoff, filthy promiscuous AIDS-infected "fairies" of the 1980s set the stage for our 21st century blind obedience to the Democrats, Messiah Obama, and his fascist health care reform plan. Of course, Winecoff wouldn't know anything about health care deprivation or poverty, because as he gloats, he "grew up in a penthouse with a fabulous view of the skyline of Manhattan."

Today In Proofreading

The repeal of DADT is a "hot bottom issue" according to MSNBC. But only in the Marines.

(Tipped by JMG reader CF)

Sarah Palin Interviews LL Cool J!

Only not! Gothamist has the story:

Fox News' "Real American Stories," hosted by hockey mom Sarah Palin, will be airing tomorrow night with interviews with Toby Keith, Jack Welch and LL Cool J. But the rapper wants to set the record straight, because he didn't actually sit down with Palin for an interview. He wrote on Twitter last night, "Fox lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins Show. WOW." Watch what you say, Cool James; you might getcherself yer very own Palin target on your back!

Hang on, Cool James. You mean Sarah Palin is LYING???

UPDATE: The segment with LL Cool J has been pulled. Catch how Fox words the notice.

"‘Real American Stories' features uplifting tales about overcoming adversity and we believe Mr. Smith's interview fit that criteria," FNC head of programming Bill Shine said in a statement. "However, as it appears that Mr. Smith does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career."

Ooh, fledgling acting career. Suh-NAP, Miss Shine, girl!

SC Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer Wants A Constitutional Convention To Repeal HCR

Anti-gay closet case gay homosexual South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer is calling on his Red State counterparts to stage a constitutional convention to repeal the health care reform bill. Yeah, that'll happen.

Fort Lauderale April 9-11: The 2010 Gay & Lesbian Literary Arts Festival

Next weekend I'll be in Fort Lauderale for the 2010 Gay & Lesbian Literary Arts Festival, where I'll join Miami Herald columnist Steve Rothaus and author Steve Petrow for a panel discussion titled "The Art Of Blogging." Fancy! The panel will be moderated by South Florida Gay News columnist and blogger bon vivant, our very own Father Tony.

Festival registration and schedule information. Events take place at the brand new Stonewall Library & Archives, which I'm very excited to finally see. I'm going to be missing next weekend's Saint disco reunion party here in NYC, so I'm going to lean on a certain part-time Lauderdalian to make up for that. I'm very sure that will involve at least one visit to the Ramrod, the best gay bar ever that used to be a Circle-K.

Photo Of The Day - Liberials

From the excellent Look At This Fucking Teabagger.

(Tipped by JMG reader Dean)

Eurovision 2010: Romania's Seling & Ovi

Rubber-suited Fergie-a-like hits Mariah-high notes with generic male co-vocalist. Not terrible, but instantly forgettable. Points off for the oh-so-tired fire/desire rhyme, which should have been retired even before Rick James and Teena Marie made it their showstopper.

Animals Are Gay

This weekend's feature article in New York Times Magazine deals with homosexuality in the animal kingdom. Here's an excerpt:

Various forms of same-sex sexual activity have been recorded in more than 450 different species of animals by now, from flamingos to bison to beetles to guppies to warthogs. A female koala might force another female against a tree and mount her, while throwing back her head and releasing what one scientist described as “exhalated belchlike sounds.” Male Amazon River dolphins have been known to penetrate each other in the blowhole. Within most species, homosexual sex has been documented only sporadically, and there appear to be few cases of individual animals who engage in it exclusively. For more than a century, this kind of observation was usually tacked onto scientific papers as a curiosity, if it was reported at all, and not pursued as a legitimate research subject. Biologists tried to explain away what they’d seen, or dismissed it as theoretically meaningless — an isolated glitch in an otherwise elegant Darwinian universe where every facet of an animal’s behavior is geared toward reproducing. One primatologist speculated that the real reason two male orangutans were fellating each other was nutritional.

In recent years though, more biologists have been looking objectively at same-sex sexuality in animals — approaching it as real science. For Young, the existence of so many female-female albatross pairs disproved assumptions that she didn’t even realize she’d been making and, in the process, raised a chain of progressively more complicated questions. One of the prickliest, it seemed, was how a scientist is even supposed to talk about any of this, given how eager the rest of us have been to twist the sex lives of animals into allegories of our own. “This colony is literally the largest proportion of — I don’t know what the correct term is: ‘homosexual animals’? — in the world,” Young told me. “Which I’m sure some people think is a great thing, and others might think is not.”

Wingnut logic: Homosexual acts are not natural! Then why do so many animals do it? What are you, an ANIMAL? Well, yes.

The 2010 Peter LaBarbera Hate Challenge

"The folly of the SPLC’s expanding 'hate' dragnet is that it threatens to engulf all religious/moral opposition to homosexuality. Indeed, it would be revealing to query the top 25 'GLBT' activist across the nation and ask them if they would also label, as Matt Barber pokes fun HERE, the following as 'hate groups': Family Research Council, AFA, the Roman Catholic Church, Focus on the Family, the Southern Baptist Convention and ADF. Wayne Besen, Evan Hurst, Joe Jervis, Jeremy Hooper, Rea Carey: take up the challenge!" - Peter LaBarbera, in his seventh consecutive post whining about being named a hate site by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Since you asked, Petey, yes, I do consider your named groups to be hate-centered. Therefore I accept your challenge to help you expand the SPLC's list. It's clear that you want more company on that list in order to take the sting out of your having been singled-out, so let's try to make the hurt go away. In alphabetical order and just off the top of my mind, here are some asshat groups whose campaigns of oppression and hate are just as evil as yours.

The 2010 Peter LaBarbera Hate Challenge!

The following evil and hate-filled organizations devote a large amount of their time and resources to thwarting the civil rights of LGBT people in the United States. They do this through lies, slander, buying politicians, and the demonizing of LGBT Americans in the public's mind.

Alliance Defense Fund
American Family Association
Americans For Prosperity
Catholic League
Center For Military Readiness
Christian Coalition
Concerned Women For America
Eagle Forum
Exodus International
Family Policy Network
Family Research Council
Family Research Institute*
Focus On The Family
Heritage Foundation
Illinois Family Institute
Maine Family Policy Council
MassResistance*
Morality In Media
NARTH
National Organization For Marriage
Parents & Friends Of Ex-Gays
Parents Television Council
Protect Marriage
Liberty Counsel
Repent America
Republican National Committee
Roman Catholic Church
Traditional Values Coalition*
(*Already listed by SPLC.)

I'm sure I've made a few glaring omissions for this list. Readers, feel free to suggest others.

Ex-Gay Sadists Exodus International's Campaign In Support Of Anti-Gay Bullying

The "ex-gay" sadists at Exodus International are endorsing the beating, bullying, and torturing of gay youth through their Day Of Truth campaign against GLSEN's coming Day Of Silence. Below they interview students at the University of Central Florida (second mention of my alma mater today, but not as funny), asking them about God's view on homosexuality. Jeremy at Good As You suspects that the clip's host is related to Exodus head Alan Chambers. And go freep their damn poll.

Molestation Debate: Sinead O'Connor Vs. Catholic League's Bill Donohue

Last night Larry King hosted Sinead O'Connor and the Catholic League's Bill Dohohue to discuss the Vatican's lack of action on the global pedophilia scandal. Openly gay former CNN anchor Thomas Roberts also appeared to talk about his own molestation by a Catholic priest. Donohue: "Al Qaeda suspects are presumed innocent more than the Pope." In the third of the below clips, Donohue says he would "like to knock the teeth down the throat" of one of the accused priests. "I am not going to sit here and see the Pope's good name maligned." Sinead goes rogue during the interview, occasionally blowing off King's pleas to stop talking and reading quotes from the Bible.