Saturday, June 05, 2010

Where Will The Oil End Up?

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Zionists Mock Gaza Flotilla

With the aid of American-Israeli Caroline Glick, who is the deputy editor of the Jerusalem Post, the DC-based Zionist think tank Center For Security Policy has created the below video mocking the Palestinian activists involved in Monday's flotilla raid in which nine people were killed. Today the Israeli government issued an apology after its press office sent media outlets an email linking the video.

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PALM BEACH: Elton John To Perform At Rush Limbaugh's Wedding Today

Sir Elton John, who angered many when he paired with Eminem for a Grammy show duet, is again sleeping with the enemy. Tonight he will perform in Palm Beach at the fourth wedding of Rush Limbaugh.
The conservative firebrand, 59, will exchange vows Saturday in Florida with Kathryn Rogers – a blond bombshell half his age – in a lavish Hawaiian-themed wedding bash headlined by none-other-than Sir Elton John. It's an odd pairing considering El Rushbo's history of anti-gay commentary on his conservative radio show and the openly gay "Tiny Dancer" singer's longtime commitment to gay rights. The Palm Beach Post reported the British superstar will pocket $1 million for playing the wedding reception at the posh Breakers Hotel. The hotel has reportedly staffed about 50 additional security guards for the event. Limbaugh and Rogers, 33, hosted a rehearsal dinner luau for 400 close friends and family at the hotel Friday night and the wedding will take place at Limbaugh's beachfront mansion at an undisclosed time.
Gossip website Gawker plans to fly a banner plane over the wedding and they've asked readers for suggestions on what the message should say. Mediate reports the leading contenders:
  • Love – the ultimate time release drug

  • Oxycongratulations for you and yours!
  • Glenn Beck approves this marriage
Let's hope Limbaugh's million dollars ends up with the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

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Real Bankruptcy

Here's some "real" insanity. Teresa Giudice, the bling-loving fake-boobed star of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey, has filed for bankruptcy. And court papers reveal that although Guidice and her husband only make a combined $80K annually, they are a staggering $11M in debt.
The Giudices say they owe creditors $10,853,648.04. Teresa, known for her lust for designer clothes and expensive bling on the Bravo show, owes nearly $20,000 on credit cards for Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. In total, the Giudices show $104,000 in debt on at least eight credit cards. The bank has moved to foreclose on the Giudices' $1.8 million, 10,500-square-foot, eight-bedroom, 5½-bath marble-and-onyx manse in Towaco, NJ, the couple moved into during the first season. Teresa and Joe defaulted on their $1,280-a-month payment for the family's ubiquitous black Cadillac Escalade. They also didn't have insurance on the massive SUV, according to GMAC. Teresa -- who this season told Joe to get a vasectomy -- owes $12,000 to a Garden State fertility clinic. Banks have taken the couple's $279,000 four-bedroom Jersey Shore house. The Giudices had three mortgages on the house and owed $325,000. The couple also handed over a $200,000 home in Lincoln Park, NJ, that had four mortgages -- and an outstanding debt of $600,000. Teresa and Joe owed another $1 million for property in Clifton, NJ, that has been given back to lenders.
All of the women on all of the incarnations of the series are bitter social climbers who try to outdo each other with increasing larger tacky mansions, designers clothes, designer faces, and ostentatious parties for their children. Many have the women have been found to have profound financial difficulties, including bankruptcies, home evictions, and salary liens. But the real story here is our banking system, which allows someone to accrue debt to the tune of 100x their income.

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Funeral Grinding

After yesterday's posts about gay men supposedly using Grindr at the Pentagon, here's a short film about another inappropriate location to grind, sent to us by the film's maker.

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PhoboQuotable - Randy Thomasson

"We said Ashburn was untrustworthy, and now he's proving it. Although he pledged he'd vote according to the values of his district, he's thrown his constituents under the bus, replacing his loyalty to them with his overriding loyalty to the homosexual agenda and his new identity. Sadly, Roy Ashburn has elevated his personal feelings and personal agenda above doing what's right. He is the opposite of a public servant." - Save California executive douchenozzle Randy Thomasson, reacting to yesterday's vote by newly out CA Sen. Roy Ashburn, who approved a resolution endorsing LGBT Pride Month.

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Kylie Minogue At NYC's Splash Bar

Kylie Minogue dropped in at Splash in Chelsea last night and the lives of hundreds of twinks were changed forever. (And not a few bears, too.)


(Via - Towleroad)

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Weekend Mix - DJ Pete Savas


Rock your weekend with this killer vocal house mix from Salt Lake City's DJ Pete Savas! Play this loud! Setlist. Website. Podcasts. Facebook.

RESIDENCY: Every Saturday night at Fusion @ Club Edge, Salt Lake City. And catch DJ Pete Savas at Big Bear Adventure Weekend, Saturday, August 28th in Big Bear, California.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: DJ Jeff Jackson & DJ Disco Connie. DJ Phillip Kimball. DJ Paul Ferrer. DJ Shane Stiel. DJ Paul Goodyear. DJ Susan Morabito. DJ Seymour Butz. DJ RuBot. DJ Rotten Robbie. DJ Ted Eiel. DJ Herbie James. DJ David Knapp. DJ Dave Huge. DJ Corey Craig.

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Friday, June 04, 2010

Beat It With A Real JO-Bro

This Craigslist ad comes via JMG staff photographer Dr. Jeff, who asks: "Real? Not real? Who cares, it's hilarious. Bedazzler!" We concur.

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ZOMG! Gay Men Are Grinding At The FRC

In response to today's silly report from the Washington Examiner (now debunked by Mediate), which claimed that gay men were using Grindr from within the Pentagon, one clever lad took his iPhone around DC and found "pages and pages" of men grinding inside the Family Research Council headquarters. Or certainly within 1000 yards! Which totally proves it, right?

NOTE: The video is back up.

(Tipped by JMG reader Joe)

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Spill, Baby, Spill!


(Via - AmericaBlog)

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ILLINOIS: Rep. Mark Kirk (R) Denies Gay Rumors To TV Reporter

After a Chicago television reporter confronted Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) about his fabricated military record, she pressed him about being outed last week by blogger Mike Rogers. And that went down in an amusing fashion.

Reporter: You said you are not gay? Why do the bloggers keep saying that?

Kirk: Because I guess I got divorced, but I hope to remarry one day.

Reporter: To a woman?

Kirk: Absolutely.

Hit the link for the video.

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PhoboQuotable - Brian Walters

""I don’t want my vote to be construed as support, because I really don’t support that, the same way that I wouldn’t support a group of, say, pedophiles who wanted to assemble. I would not vote yes on that either, [or] men who beat up their wives. Anything like that." - Oklahoma City councilman Brian Walters, explaining why he voted against a parade permit for this year's gay pride event.

(Via - The Advocate)

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Family Research Council Responds

The following statement was just sent to the Washington Post by the Family Research Council.
Inaccurate internet reports have been circulating indicating that the Family Research Council lobbied "against" a congressional resolution condemning a bill proposed in Uganda. The Uganda bill would have provided for the death penalty for something called "aggravated homosexuality." Unfortunately, those spreading these false rumors deliberately failed to obtain the facts first.

FRC did not lobby against or oppose passage of the congressional resolution. FRC's efforts, at the request of Congressional offices, were limited to seeking changes in the language of proposed drafts of the resolution, in order to make it more factually accurate regarding the content of the Uganda bill, and to remove sweeping and inaccurate assertions that homosexual conduct is internationally recognized as a fundamental human right.

FRC does not support the Uganda bill, and does not support the death penalty for homosexuality -- nor any other penalty which would have the effect of inhibiting compassionate pastoral, psychological and medical care and treatment for those who experience same-sex attractions or who engage in homosexual conduct.
Ah, but being gay IS, largely, "internationally recognized as a fundamental human right." And what the FRC was doing, by own their words, was attempting to rewrite the congressional resolution to erase the TRUTH that the Uganda bill does INDEED call for executing homosexuals, something the Christian right has been denying for months. (It also calls for Ugandan citizens to report the names of every gay person they know, or else they go to jail themselves.) But hey, at least we've got the FRC on the record saying their don't want us killed, whether we buy that or not.

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Wingnut DC Paper Goes Looking For Grindrs Around Capitol Hill

Reporters from the wingnut Washington Examiner loaded up Grindr on their iPhone and tried to zero in on gay men around Capitol Hill, the White House, and the Pentagon. Unsurprisingly, they found lots of action.
Yeas & Nays visited three of Washington's power centers -- Capitol Hill, the White House and the Pentagon -- to see if the application is truly being used everywhere. There were pages and pages of men on Capitol Hill. Just outside the House gallery, we were 393 feet away from an attractive 27-year-old Georgetown grad. On the White House lawn, only 17 gay men were within our reach, but once inside the press briefing room, the application identified many more options. On the Pentagon grounds, the device offered several pages of available gay men. That could be a problem for military workers in the building -- even though the House voted last week to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," it's still being enforced. "Being out anyway, including on GrindR, is still a risk under 'don't ask, don't tell,' " said Aaron Tax, a legal director at Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
The below clip may seem lighthearted, but it serves as a reminder that the person homing in on your iPhone may not be a friend.


UPDATE: Mediaite's Michael Triplett finds holes in the story.

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Daily Grumble

Seven months later, Miss Ladyfingers USA still dominates the search terms that bring outsiders to JMG. And to think I once complained because the top item was "bacon explosion." Anyhow, it's a good list to look at anytime I get feeling all fancy pants.

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CA Sen. Roy Ashburn Has Gay Pride

For the first time in his life....
Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, joined enough Democrats in the state Senate today to approve a resolution declaring June 2010 Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Pride Month. The Bakersfield Republican acknowledged publicly in March that he is homosexual. He had been arrested on a DUI after leaving a Sacramento gay bar and decided subsequently to reveal that he is gay. Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, is the author of SR 44, and she said Thursday she was joined in support for the resolution by Ashburn and Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. All three legislators are gay. The measure passed on a 25-9 vote.
Isn't it a beautiful feeling, Roy?

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WaPo Picks Up My FRC Post

The Washington Post's David Weigel has picked up my post about the Family Research Council lobbying against a congressional condemnation of Uganda's "kill gays" bill.
Gay City News and blogger Joe My God dug into the lobbying records of the Family Research Council and found that among the "Civil Rights/Civil Liberties" issues that the FRC's Tom McCluskey and David Christensen lobbied on was HR 1064, a resolution condemning Uganda's proposed anti-homosexuality bill. That's the bill that would assign a seven-year sentence for "homosexuality" and a possible death sentence for "aggravated homosexuality."

Should this come as a surprise? Well, it's the only issue under the "Civil Rights/Civil Liberties" heading that doesn't actually touch on a change to American laws. The resolution, proposed by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Ca.), spends most of its length arguing that Uganda's efforts to fight AIDS would be impeded by the law and proclaims that "all people possess an intrinsic human dignity, regardless of sexual orientation, and share fundamental human rights." In the FRC's report, this resolution is short-handed as "pro-homosexual promotion."
Weigel has posted the FRC's lobbying report in full, as well as the wording of the House resolution. He is waiting for the Family Research Council to respond.

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Pat Condell On Ground Zero Mosque

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It's National Donut Day

Today is National Donut Day and the freebies are flying. Free donut with beverage purchase at Dunkin Donuts. And one free donut at Krispy Kreme, no purchase required. National Donut Day was created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the volunteers who fed donuts to soldiers during World War I. Mmm, forbidden donut.

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Florida AG Bill McCollum Hired Dr. George Rekers Against The Advice Of Own Staff

Florida's newspapers are keeping the pressure on state Attorney General Bill McCollum. Today the Sarasota Herald-Tribune revealed that McCollum hired Dr. George Rekers even though his own staff warned him strongly against it. Which proves, again, that McCollum is a liar, as he's previously he claimed that he only hired Rekers because his staff told him to.
E-mails released Thursday show that an attorney in McCollum's own office warned against hiring Rekers, whose testimony had been deemed suspect in an earlier Arkansas lawsuit that challenged a ban on placing foster children in homes with gay parents. Assistant Attorney General Valerie Martin wrote in a July 2007 e-mail that after talking to Arkansas officials and reviewing the background of the former University of South Carolina professor that she would "recommend NOT using him."

E-mails also show that during a conference call Martin -- who said the state considered more than 30 possible expert witnesses -- was ordered to hire Rekers "against my strong cautions." The e-mails were included in public records that were obtained from McCollum's office detailing the selection and payment of Rekers. McCollum said he agreed to release the records even though the lawsuit is still on appeal so the public could see "the entire process" used in selecting Rekers. McCollum on Thursday again defended the hiring of Rekers and said that one of the reasons he was hired is that he had been used as an expert witness in a previous federal lawsuit that had challenged the ban. Other attorneys in his office believed Rekers could help if the case wound up getting appealed. "There were discussions and there were differences of opinion among our attorneys over the hiring of this expert witness. There was a decision made ultimately by me," said McCollum.
McCollum told the paper yesterday: "I think there should be no doubt about the fact that he actually performed the function that he was asked to do, he did the work. This is not a case of overpaying him, he was paid a reasonable fee." Yes, Bill. It's "reasonable" to pay somebody over $120,000 to rip apart Florida's gay families.

I'm heartened that Florida's mainstream media is being so dogged in their pursuit of this story and that McCollum is still being forced to talk about gay male prostitution and its connection to the Family Research Council's Dr. George Rekers.

UPDATE: Nadine Smith at Equality Florida sends us the links to the Rekers documents they requested from the state of Florida. She warns that there are tens of thousands of pages within. If anybody has the time, dig in and see if you can unearth some good dirt. The various documents on McCollum’s hiring of Rekers can be downloaded here: McCollum’s Office. Department of Children & Families.

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Ford To Close Mercury Division

Ford Motor Company has announced that this will be the last year of production for their Mercury line.
Mercury's demise follows a string of famous American nameplates that have been dropped over the last year, including General Motors Co.'s Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer. Ford plans to focus on the design and marketing of its more upscale Lincoln brand — including offering a compact Lincoln sedan — to replace sales that dealers will lose from the closure of the Mercury line. Mercury and Lincoln vehicles are often sold side by side in auto showrooms. There are no standalone Mercury dealers in the U.S., and Ford doesn't expect the closure of the brand to result in any job cuts at the automaker.
Mercury had dwindled to 5% of Ford's total sales.

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Classmates.com Owes You $3

Remember when Classmates.com agreed to pay $9.5M to settle a class action suit claiming deceptive marketing practices? Yesterday current and former members of the site got their settlement notice: $3 cash money. Or $2 in site credit! Funny, yeah, but I'm more concerned that I was notified about my fat settlement at all, because I totally don't remember ever joining.

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NEW YORK: Conceptual Artist Tobias Wong Commits Suicide At Age 35

Openly gay conceptual artist and notorious art prankster Tobi Wong committed suicide on Sunday in Manhattan. He was 35.
Mr. Wong first came to the attention of the design press in 2001 when he turned a Philippe Starck Bubble Club chair into a lamp, softly glowing from within. Adding spice to the stunt, “This Is a Lamp” was shown the night before the actual Starck chair was presented to the public for the first time. A provocateur by nature, Mr. Wong operated at the fringes of the traditional design world, creating objects like a stack of 100 $1 bills, bound in peelable glue like a notepad; a gold-plated McDonalds coffee stirrer (a riff on the company’s plastic version that was apparently popular among drug users before being withdrawn); and an engagement ring with the diamond mounted upside down, so that the wearer could use it to scratch graffiti. “As time went on his work became more and more ironic, sarcastic and pointed,” said Paola Antonelli, senior curator in the Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Architecture and Design. “He had an enfant terrible style of design that was very fresh in New York. Today you see all sorts of people doing conceptual design, but he was one of the first.”
You can find a collection of Wong's most famous pieces here.

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Photo Of The Day

Hit the Boston Globe's series of photos of doomed sea birds along Louisiana's oil-soaked coast, if you can bear it.

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UNITED NATIONS: Egypt Blocks LGBT Rights Group From Accreditation

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's request for accreditation as a consulting group to the United Nations has been blocked by Egypt.
The group, which had applied for "consultative status" at the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) three years ago, is an international NGO and advocacy group focusing on protecting the rights of homosexuals and lesbians worldwide. Diplomats from Western nations that support gay rights complained that Egypt and other developing states that have been criticized by rights groups for discriminating against gays and lesbians prevented the committee from voting on whether to accredit the group, thereby leaving it in limbo. "IGLHRC is disappointed by the vote of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations to block action on our application," Cary Alan Johnson, head of the New York-based group, said in a statement to Reuters.

The U.N. NGO committee has 19 members, among them the United States and Britain, as well as Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Pakistan and China. Johnson said it was a "clear case of discrimination against an organization because it defends the human rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi- and transsexual) people around the world." The U.S. delegation defended the work of IGLHRC. "This NGO is committed to combating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity," the U.S. statement said. "It has contributed to valuable research on HIV/AIDs and its work is well known to this committee."
According to the British delegation, Egypt blocked IGLHRC "on behalf of African countries."

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Happy Gay Pride From Tony Perkins

"Happy sexual deviance month--or, as this President likes to call it, Gay Pride Month. Under this administration, every month feels like one long same-sex parade. For the second year in a row, however, the White House decided to make it official, weighing in with its second proclamation for 'Gay Pride Month' detailing how homosexuals and cross-dressers have "enriched' American life. Unlike President Clinton, who spent a fair amount of his time indulging the Human Rights Campaign, President Obama took it a step further and added 'bisexuals' and 'transgenders' to the list. In fact, he called on 'every American' to spend the month celebrating their movement--a movement dedicated to destroying marriage, free speech, public health, religious liberty, and (after the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal) national security." - From yesterday's Washington Update by the Family Research Council, a message that was also emailed to their millions of members.

The Family Research Council wants LGBT people criminalized.
The Family Research Council wants LGBT people deported.
The Family Research Council wants LGBT people put to death.

And yet every time an LGBT rights issue is in the news, Tony Perkins or Peter Sprigg are trotted out on national television as America's leading Christian voices as they tut-tut their hatred, smirk their oily smiles, and promise viewers that they love homosexuals, despite our "sins."

Stormfront loves blacks.
Al Qaeda loves Jews.
Hutus love Tutsis.
And the Family Research Council loves you.

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Sean Hayes Addresses Newsweek Article Claiming He Can't Play Straight

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COMING IN JULY: RuPaul's Drag U

Following up on the wildly successful second season of RuPaul's Drag Race comes a new reality series from Ms. Charles in which the first series' contestants makeover bio-women as drag queens.

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GLAAD Demands Apology From Bill O'Reilly For Comparing Gays To Al Qaeda

GLAAD has issued a call to action, demanding that Fox's Bill O'Reilly issue an apology for comparing gays to al Queda.
On the June 2 edition of Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” host Bill O’Reilly made highly offensive comments while discussing a gay themed McDonald’s advertisement currently airing in France. After playing the ad for his viewers O’Reilly asked Jane Skinner to weigh in on the content. Skinner pointed out that the ad campaign is “part of an overreaching campaign called ‘come as you are,’ which you saw at the end there. So they show people in different walks of life.” O’Reilly then asked, “Do they have an al Qaeda ad, you know, come as you are? You know?” Instead of evaluating the commercial in a fair manner, O’Reilly used the occasion to defame the LGBT community, suggesting that McDonald’s might begin marketing to terrorists simply because the company produced a gay friendly television commercial. His lighthearted tone in the segment was equally disturbing. Cable opinion programs like “The O’Reilly Factor” have a responsibility to cover issues with a level of respect and civility. Bill O’Reilly failed to live up to that standard in making these defamatory remarks. Fox News Channel is equally accountable for allowing O’Reilly a platform for this insulting and irresponsible commentary.
Join in GLAAD's demand here.

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Did Liberty Counsel Smuggle Lisa Miller And Her Daughter Out Of The Country?

For many months we've been wondering about the whereabouts of "ex-gay" Lisa Miller and her daughter Isabella, both of whom disappeared after a Vermont judge ruled that Miller must surrender custody of the child to her former partner. Miller had been represented by the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, who since January have claimed to have no knowledge of the pair's location. Yesterday it was learned that Miller may have kidnapped her daughter to El Salvador.
The girl, Isabella Miller-Jenkins, and her birth mother, Lisa Miller, failed to appear for a court-ordered custody swap in January and are believed to have flown to El Salvador last September, said attorney Sarah Star, who represents ex-partner Janet Jenkins. Star said a Virginia police officer told her that Miller and the girl flew to El Salvador's capital, San Salvador, from Juarez, Mexico, which is across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. "This is obviously horrifying," Star said Thursday. "Isabella's not in school. She's most likely in a country that is not as developed as the U.S., and (Jenkins is) worried about her. She's worried she's not in a safe environment. As far as we know, Lisa Miller doesn't even speak Spanish."

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has turned its attention to Central America, distributing photos and information about Isabella to news outlets throughout the region, apparently believing she and her birth mother moved there, Star said Thursday. Isabella, a pigtailed 4-foot-tall blonde, is listed on the Center's website as a victim of a family abduction who may be in the company of Miller. Center officials wouldn't comment on that development Thursday. "This thing has taken some interesting turns, but I can't talk about where we think the child may be, because she hasn't been found," said Robert Lowery, executive director of the Center's missing-children division.
Even though Liberty Counsel claims they haven't seen or heard from Miller in nine months, they still plan on representing her to the Virginia Supreme Court. Interesting, huh? Let's hope that when Isabella is finally found, charges of aiding and abetting kidnapping are brought against the Liberty Counsel and their two henchmen, Matt Barber and Mat Staver.

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Thursday, June 03, 2010

CHRISTIAN LOVE: Family Research Council Lobbied Congress Against Resolution Denouncing Uganda's Kill Gays Bill

It's time for the Southern Poverty Law Center to reclassify the Family Research Council as an official hate group, not merely anti-gay as they are now listed. According to the FRC's official lobbying report for the first quarter of 2010, they paid two of their henchmen $25,000 to lobby Congress against approving a resolution denouncing Uganda's plan to execute homosexuals. The resolution passed in the Senate on April 13th, but remains languishing in the House almost four months after being referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee. Did the FRC's lobbying kill it? As we learned last week with Malawi, international pressure CAN sway even the most virulently anti-gay government.

Below are three screencaps of the 20-page Family Research Council lobbying report supplied to me by Duncan Osbourne at Gay City News. Among the other items they lobbied against are the overturn of DADT and DOMA, which is to be expected. But it's almost astounding, almost, that they would lobby the members of Congress against denouncing the death penalty for LGBT people. THIS needs to fucking THROWN in Tony Perkins' and Peter Sprigg's smirking faces the next time they appear on cable television to speak in soothing voices about the FRC's godly gentle love for homosexuals. The proof is right below on official United States government stationery. The Family Research Council wants you DEAD. Glory! Praise His Name! Also: Die, faggots, die!

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LGBT HISTORY: HIV Story Telling Video Booth To Launch For San Francisco Pride

Generations HIV - A Video Story Telling Booth & New Media AIDS Quilt for the 21st Century will launch in San Francisco on June 16th at Under One Roof. Facebook event page here. The booth will be open until June 30th to share and record your life with HIV.

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The Gayken On The View

Clay Aiken appeared on The View yesterday to talk about why he came out when he did and about being a new dad. This clip concludes with Aiken's performance of Unchained Melody, which is from his new album, Tried & True.

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American Among Killed In Flotilla Raid

Among the nine people killed during Israel's raid on the flotilla headed to Gaza was 19 year-old Furkan Dogan, a New York-born man with dual U.S.-Turkish citizenship. According to one report, Dogan was shot four times in the head. And not that it's necessarily relevant to this tragedy, I've gotten three emails today speculating that Dogan may have been gay. Does anybody know if this is true?

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Quote Of The Day - Admiral Mike Mullen

"The law needs to change. Fundamentally, it’s an issue of our values. It’s very critical for us as an institution, and I’m hard-pressed not to support policy and a law that forces individuals to come in and lie everyday. I have every expectation that not only we will do this, but we will lead in a way [so] it gets done. That doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges. I want to understand what the possibilities are … what it’s going take to implement this and, in that regard, address the leadership challenges and implementation with expectations that at the small-unit level, not exclusively, it will be led and led well. I have a lot of faith in you that that’s doable." - Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, speaking to soldiers yesterday at Fort Bragg.

Perhaps referencing the ridiculous claim by the Family Research Council that openly gay soldiers will lead to rampant male rape, one soldier asked Mullen if repealing DADT wouldn't lead to increases cases of sexual harassment. Mullen responded: "Certainly any change in the laws is not an excuse for anything like that to ever happen. We are a disciplined force. We have standards. Maintaining those standards, sustaining that discipline is our job, no matter what happens."

(Tipped by JMG reader Matt)

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PETITION: Ask New York's AG Candidates If They'll Sue To Overturn DOMA

Defend The Law has launched a petition campaign asking all of the 2010 candidates for New York Attorney General if they will pledge to sue the federal government to overturn DOMA, as is being done by Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice and candidate for Attorney General voluntarily said two weeks ago that she would sue the federal government over the Defense of Marriage Act if she becomes New York’s next attorney general. Now Defend the Law is asking the other five candidates for attorney general in New York for their respective stances on the matter. It is true that New York does not have in-state marriage equality; however, New York is a state that actively recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other states. Thus, to gain standing in the lawsuit, as District Attorney Rice said, the state could represent New Yorkers afforded marital status by New York State, but denied federal marriage benefits by DOMA.
Facebook page here. Sign the petition here.

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IRS Recognizes Community Property Law For California's Gay Couples

In a major reversal, the Internal Revenue Service has recognized California's community property law for registered domestic partners.
The decision, which was issued in a private-letter ruling on Friday, reverses a position the IRS took in 2006, when it said California's registered domestic partners should each report on their own federal tax return only the income they personally earned, not one-half of their community income. The new decision does not require or even allow California's registered domestic partners to file their federal tax return as married filing jointly or married filing separately, as they must do with their state tax returns. They must each still file a single federal return, but each should now report one-half of their community income. Suppose one partner earns $100,000 and the other earns $60,000. In the past, each reported only the income he or she earned. In the future, each would report $80,000, which is half their combined income. Each would also be entitled to half of the combined income tax withheld from their paychecks.
The ruling, which was welcomed by Lambda Legal, could raise or lower a couple's taxes, depending on their financial status.

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Online Magazine For Men Launches

A new online magazine for men (including gays) has launched. From their press release:
Good Men Media today announced the launch of The Good Men Project Magazine, a timely and provocative online publication that explores issues facing modern men and that seeks to answer the question, “What does it mean to be a good man?” The Good Men Project Magazine is part of The Good Men Foundation, a registered 501(3)c charitable organization designed to help at-risk men and boys. The magazine is a cross-platform, multi-media destination featuring compelling writing about parenting, sex, relationships, identity, ethics, humor, and health. The publication’s contributors include top-tier journalists commissioned to provide feature content as well as volunteer writers and bloggers.
Among the magazine's featured contributors is JMG reader and openly gay author Benoit Denizet-Lewis, who debuts on the site with an amusing story about step-moms. Also of note today, an interesting look at learning how to shave, from the perspective of a transman. Bookmark this site, it looks promising.

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HomoQuotable - Bil Browning

"Knockoffs are tiring; how many impromptu-but-choreographed flash mobs can there be before the idea is finally given a rest? Worse though, are the copycats that try to be something they're not. Instead of putting forth something brilliant and groundbreaking, they recycle something, put a new brand on it and try to spin it to the consumer as superior to the product they're aping. (Hello, Microsoft. I'm looking at you!)

As I've been watching some of GetEqual's recent tactics and behind-the-scenes positioning, I can't help but get the same uneasy feelings. I'm starting to feel as if I've been sold a bill of goods; I wanted orange juice but got Tang. Instead of a radically different, transparent and community-focused direct action organization, I got HRC Lite (now with more action!)." - Bilerico Project co-founder Bil Browning, from a lengthy and scathing commentary on GetEQUAL.

Pam Spaulding responds:
My two cents (and with full disclosure of course, Autumn [Sandeen], who participated in the last GE WH protest and was arrested, is a Blend barista) is that GetEqual isn't even close to HRC lite, since there is a level of transparency with the public that HRC has never had, as exhibited by all of the facts about who's paid what and where the money comes from, and who is guiding the organization and their backgrounds. A good amount of Bil's post goes to nailing down the salaries of Kip Williams, Robin McGehee and Heather Cronk, GetEqual's new Managing Director. Basically, their pay ranges from $70K-90K; the organization doesn't have ongoing support to fund their employment or provide stability down the road, so it's natural to examine the story behind GetEqual, but I don't see a valid comparison to HRC in any form of fashion. GetEqual doesn't proclaim to speak for the entire LGBT community, nor does it lobby or have official access. By its very nature -- impromptu protests that rankle the establishment, GE is not likely to gain it either.

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American Catholic Bishops Agree On ENDA: It Should Remain Legal To Fire Gays

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has written a letter to Congress demanding that they vote against ENDA. An excerpt:
While the Church is ardently opposed to all unjust discrimination on the grounds of sexual inclination, whether homosexual or heterosexual, it does teach that all sexual acts outside of a marriage between one man and one woman are morally wrong. The Catholic Church’s teaching cannot, therefore, be equated with “unjust discrimination,” because it is based on fundamental truths about the human person and personal conduct. Homosexual conduct is categorically closed to the transmission of life, and does not reflect or respect the personal complementarity of man and woman. In contrast to sexual conduct within marriage between one man and one woman—which does serve both the good of each married person and the good of society— heterosexual and homosexual conduct outside of marriage has no claim to special protection by the state.

Just as every other group in our society, the Catholic Church enjoys the same rights to hold to its beliefs, organize itself around them, and argue for them in the public square. This is guaranteed by our Constitution. This includes the right to teach what it holds to be the truth concerning homosexual conduct—and to act as an employer consistent with that truth—without the threat of government sanction. The USCCB continues to oppose “unjust discrimination” against people with a homosexual inclination, but we cannot support a bill – such as ENDA in its current form – that would legally affirm and specially protect any sexual conduct outside of marriage.
Andrew Sullivan reacts:
Notice that there is no attempt here to argue that straight people who violate church doctrine - anyone who masturbates or uses contraception, is divorced or re-married - should not be protected from discrimination. It is always just the gays who are the target, because their identity inherently proves their iniquity, while most straight people can hide theirs. Notice also that the focus here is entirely on the victims of discrimination, not the perpetrators.

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PFOX Complains: The PTA Won't Let Bigots Like Us Come To Their Convention!

"Ex-gay" group PFOX is stamping their widdle footies because the PTA says they don't allow hate groups to come to their national convention. PFOX says they called and emailed for eight months, requesting a booth at the convention, only to finally be told they don't meet the PTA's standards. Via Christian Newswire:
"Why is it gay groups meet the PTA Diversity and Inclusion Policy but our families do not? 'Diversity' and 'inclusion' should mean exactly that -- diversity and inclusion of everyone," said [PFOX head Regina] Griggs. "Instead, gay groups like PFLAG that deny public access to ex-gays and disrupt church events welcoming former homosexuals are approved by the PTA while ex-gay groups are not," said Griggs. "Now the PTA is pressuring its state PTA chapters nationwide to adopt its biased national diversity policy, which includes 'sexual orientation,' even though that term is selectively used to discriminate against people of faith and ex-gay families." "The PTA has become a left-wing advocacy group instead of serving the needs of all children," said Griggs.
PFOX is asking for concerned Christians to join in an email campaign to the national and local chapters of the PTA demanding that they rescind their sexual orientation non-discrimination policy until it includes the orientation of "ex-gay." Or "totally kidding themselves," as it is more properly known.

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Fight Back New York: What The Diaz?

Fight Back New York, the action PAC formed to fight anti-gay New York legislators, has launched an amusing attack on state Sen. Ruben "Reverend" Diaz. Go play here.

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Chief Of Naval Operations Urges Sailors To Participate In DADT Study

It sure seems like he's asking for negative comments. "The repeal will ONLY go into effect AFTER this study."

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NYT Takes Over Nate Silver

The New York Times has taken over hosting of FiveThirtyEight, the popular elections prognostication site run by statistics guru Nate Silver.
Mr. Silver, a statistical wizard, became a media star during the last presidential election season for his political projections based on dissections of polling data. He retains all rights to FiveThirtyEight and will continue to run it himself, but “under the banner and auspices of NYTimes.com,” The Times said in a news release. The arrangement is similar to one The Times struck with the authors of the blog Freakonomics in 2007. The Freakonomics blog appears in the Opinion section of NYTimes.com. FiveThirtyEight content will be incorporated in the politics section of NYTimes.com.
The hiring of Silver, a loud supporter of Democrats, will further annoy the Freepers and their ilk, who usually disparage the paper as the "New York Slimes." Good.

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Rue McClanahan Dies At 76

Golden Girl and beloved gay icon Rue McClanahan died this morning at the age of 76.
"She passed away at 1 a.m. this morning," her manager, Barbara Lawrence, tells PEOPLE. She had a massive stroke." McClanahan, who played Blanche Deveraux on the still-popular '80s sitcom Golden Girls, had suffered a minor stroke earlier this year while recovering from bypass surgery. Lawrence added that at the time of her death Thursday, McClanahan “had her family with her. She went in peace.”
Last fall Rue was scheduled to appear at a tribute in her honor at San Francisco's Castro Theater, but was forced to cancel due to the above-mentioned heart surgery. I met Rue once only, at Bea Arthur's memorial in NYC, where she was charming, yet hilariously raunchy.

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Christian Groups Launch Preemptive Strike Against Comedy Central's Jesus Show

Comedy Central is considering green-lighting a proposed animated show about Jesus Christ. And Christian groups are already gearing up for a boycott of advertisers. Via the American Family Association:
Christian groups are rising up as a team to oppose a new Comedy Central program that denigrates Jesus. The main character of the animated project is Jesus, who lives in New York and is intent on breaking ties with his "powerful but apathetic father." "You can imagine the mockery and blasphemy and sacrilege that will go on with that, and so American Family Association [AFA] has decided to join other groups to speak out strongly against this," explains AFA president Tim Wildmon. "In fact, we would consider a boycott of the sponsors of this program." He is quick to point out that a few weeks ago, Comedy Central edited out a segment from South Park that was disrespectful of Mohammed after a Moslem activist group complained. Wildmon, along with those in the Coalition Against Religious Bigotry, feel that creates a double standard.
The proposed show is titled JC.

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Your Daily Minute Of Crazy

Rep. Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann says the president should have "commandeered" private boats to help fight the oil spill. This, from the woman who has been screaming that the federal government has taken over private industry.

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Monday June 14th: Ali Forney Center Rally To Protect Homeless LGBT Youth

The Ali Forney Center will hold a rally in support of LGBT youth on June 14th at NYC's Union Square.
As LGBT youth find the courage to come out of the closet at younger ages, thousands are being rejected by their families and forced out of their homes. As many as 40% of the homeless youth in the United States are LGBT. Homeless LGBT youth are subjected to violence and harassment on the streets and in mainstream youth shelters. This phenomenon of thousands of LGBT youth being forced from their homes due to homophobia, stripped of economic support, and made to endure homelessness represents the most terrible cruelty and intolerance currently directed at the LGBT community. We call on the members of the LGBT Community, our straight allies, and on all decent people who believe that youths should not be thrown to the streets for being LGBT, to rally in support of LGBT homeless youth.
Here's the event's Facebook page. I'll be there. Come out and get your photo taken with Carl Siciliano and I'll publish a slideshow here on JMG.

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Open Thread Thursday

So what's everybody doing this summer? P-Town? Fire Island? Stay-cation? What's your favorite summer getaway?

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Bill O'Reilly On McDonald's Gay Ad

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AZ Gov. Jan Brewer Admits Crime Is Down, But Blames Immigrants Anyway

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer acknowledges that violent crime is actually down in her state, but goes right on to blame immigrants anyway. Loony tunes.

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Movie Describes How Mormon Church Pressured Members To Support Prop 8

LDS members contributed 71% of the $40M used to repeal same-sex marriage in California, even though they only comprise 2% of the state's population. This short clip from 8: The Mormon Proposition, which opens around the country this month, describes how church elders pressured its member to donate as much as they could.

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PhoboQuotable - Chuck Hurley

"I believe a pseudo pastor, meaning anyone who would knowingly lead their flock astray on issues of morality and spirituality, and so clearly violate the revealed Word of God, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and a false shepherd. In my opinion, those who signed their name to the Interfaith Alliance petition in support of state sanctioned sodomy are not only wolves in sheep’s clothing, but they are blind leaders of the blind." - Iowa Family Policy Council leader Chuck Hurley, who says that Iowa's pro-gay clergy are "blatantly evil." Hurley is leading the drive to have a repeal of marriage equality placed on Iowa's ballot.

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Obama Honors Paul McCartney

Last night the president awarded Sir Paul McCartney with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The award was created in 2007 and has also been presented to Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. After last night's ceremony, McCartney performed the Beatles classic Michelle for the First Lady, then brought everybody (including Obama) up on the stage for a singalong of Hey Jude.

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Fran Drescher's Ex-Husband Is Gay

Yesterday actress Fran Drescher revealed that her ex-husband is gay. The pair divorced in 1999 after more than 20 years of marriage.
“Peter and I met when we were 15,” Fran tells In Touch. “We were just kids and didn’t know who we truly were. We went through a lot together.” The couple split for good in 1999, and according to an insider, Peter later came out of the closet to Fran. They continue to collaborate and are still “the best of friends. We love each other dearly,” she says. “We have even fixed each other up! I more successfully than him, by the way.” They’re even working together on a new sitcom based on their relationship. “Peter and I feel so blessed to have met each other and to still have a caring, loving relationship,” Fran says. “Love is what we’re all about.”
Drescher has been a vocal ally for LGBT rights for at least a decade. In 2008 she and her ex-husband hosted an anti-Prop 8 party in Los Angeles.

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Christian Group Lashes Out At McDonald's Over Gay Ad In France

Ten days ago I showed you a gay-positive McDonald's ad from France. Since then the clip has gotten over 1M views on YouTube and has been featured in the mainstream media. And right on cue, American wingnuts are screaming.
"We see McDonald's decision to backhand hundreds of millions of traditional family values people," Bill Johnson, President of the American Decency Association, told LifeSiteNews, "and align themselves with promoting the godless behavior of a few." This is not McDonald's first homosexualist activism. In 2008, McDonalds paid $20,000 dollars to become an official "organizational ally and corporate partner" of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). In the same year, McDonald's also helped sponsor the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade; Richard Ellis, vice president of communications for McDonald's USA, was also appointed to the board of directors of the NGLCC.

Yet because of a boycott started by the American Family Association on July 3rd of that year, Richard Ellis left the board of the NGLCC and McDonald's said that it did not plan to renew its membership with the NGLCC. Bill Johnson called the new television spot "one of the most bewildering kinds of advertisements when you consider the fact that so many Americans across this country have done business with McDonald's."
The American Decency Association is suggesting a phone campaign of complaints to McDonald's U.S. headquarters. Go here if you'd like to offer praise instead.

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Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Choi & Pietrangelo End Hunger Strike

Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. James Pietrangelo have ended their hunger strike against DADT after seven days. But they note below that they plan to resume their fast again in the future.
The fast of the past seven days has been a success because people have been educated to the use of fasting as a tool to bring attention to a set of clear political and social demands. Tonight, we will end the fast knowing that the inadequacies of the ‘compromise’ to end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ are well known. Our quest to end the discharges, stop the insulting study, and institute a non-discrimination policy is not over. In the coming weeks, we will prepare to resume our fast and will provide many ways for those who believe in uncompromising justice to join us. On a personal note, we have learned a great deal about the proper planning involved in fasting. We appreciate the concerns that many have expressed. When this fast is resumed, we will be using the proper safeguards to ensure our health is properly attended to. Everyone that considers fasting for an extended period of time must also take proper precautions.
When the hunger strike began, it was made clear that the protest was being done outside of the pair's involvement with GetEQUAL.

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AZ Gov. Jan Brewer Caught In Lies About The Death Of Her Father

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer told a local newspaper that her father died fighting the Nazis. It turns out he died of a lung disorder ten years after the war ended. Via Politico:
"The Nazi comments ... they are awful," Brewer told the Arizona Republic of the rhetorical attacks she'd absorbed after signing a tough immigration measure. "Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11 because of that ... and then to have them call me Hitler's daughter. It hurts. It's ugliness beyond anything I've ever experienced." The problem, the Arizona Guardian reports: "During the war, [Brewer's father Wilford] Drinkwine worked as a civilian supervisor for a naval munitions depot in Hawthorne, Nev. He died of lung disease in 1955 in California."
Brewer's spokesman saws the governor meant to suggest that her father's death was caused by the fumes he inhaled while working in a munitions factory. And since those munitions were used against the Nazis...well, there you have it. War hero! Fighting the Nazis from Nevada!

(Tipped by JMG readers Homer)

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AT&T Kills Unlimited iPhone Data Plan

Beginning Monday, new customers of AT&T will no longer be able to purchased unlimited data plans for their iPhone and iPad.
AT&T hopes to ease congestion on its network, which has drawn complaints, particularly in big cities. But the approach could confuse customers unfamiliar with how much data it takes to watch a YouTube video or fire up a favorite app. Current subscribers will be able to keep their $30-per-month unlimited plans, even if they renew their contracts. But starting Monday, new customers will have to choose one of two new data plans for all smart phones, including iPhones and BlackBerrys. Subscribers who use little data – like those who may get dozens of e-mails a day but don't watch much video – will pay slightly less every month than they do now, while heavy users will be dinged with higher bills. The move takes effect in time for the expected unveiling of Apple's new iPhone next week. Analysts said they expect other phone companies to follow. With no caps on consumption, data use could swamp wireless networks while revenue for the operators remains flat.
Here's how the new plans break down.
One of the new AT&T plans will cost $25 per month and offer two gigabytes of data per month, which AT&T says will be enough for 98 percent of its smart phone customers. Additional gigabytes will cost $10 each. A second plan will cost $15 per month for 200 megabytes of data, which AT&T says is enough for 65 percent of its smart phone customers. If they go over, they'll pay another $15 for 200 more megabytes. A gigabyte is enough for hundreds of e-mails and Web pages, but it's quickly eaten up by Internet video and videoconferencing. The 200 megabytes offered under the $15 plan is enough for more than 1,000 e-mails, hundreds of Web pages and about 20 minutes of streaming video, AT&T says.

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