Saturday, June 26, 2010

Weekend Mix - DJ Russ Rich


Get your Pride weekend rolling with this pumping vocal house mix by San Francisco's DJ Russ Rich. Setlist. Podcasts. Website. Facebook.

UPCOMING GIGS
Colossus @ 1015 Folsom, July 26th, San Francisco
Play T-Dance @ DNA Lounge, Nov. 14th, San Francisco

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: DJ Jeb Edwards. DJ James Torres. DJ Bill Pfeiffer. DJ Mike Ponsades. DJ Steve Sherwood. DJ Pete Savas. 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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At The Florent World Premiere

Thursday night Father Tony and I attended the world premiere of Florent: Queen Of The Meat Market, David Sigal's documentary of the of famed Meatpacking District restaurant, its flamboyant owner Florent Morellet, and the incredible scenes staged almost nightly over the 25 years that NYC's night creatures inhabited the place.

On hand at the premiere was a who's who of Manhattan's downtown scene, including Michael Musto, Murray Hill, Penny Arcade, Edgar Rodriquez, Dirty Martini, Brian Griffin, Kenneth Walsh, Simon Doonan, and Jonathan Adler. One person I didn't expect to meet was openly gay DNC treasurer Andrew Tobias, who outed himself as a JMG reader.

The movie is a sort of tone poem to the now lost Meatpacking scene and the audience cheered every time a beloved Florent employee or patron appeared on the screen. But it's also a real history of NYC activism, AIDS, art, and nightlife. After the screening, everybody moved into a giant room next door where performance artists and Florent regulars Tigger, Penny Arcade, Murray Hill, and others did their thing on stage as we noshed, drank, and mingled far too late on a school night. I got to chat a chat times with director David Sigal (also a devout JMG reader!) and he seemed thrilled with his film's reception. Even if you've never lived in Manhattan, you should definitely find Florent when it appears at your local film festival.

RELATED: This week Gothamist posted a great interview with David Sigal and five years ago Towleroad published a lengthy profile on Florent. Father Tony's possibly NSFW slideshow from the premiere is here.

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PhoboQuotable - Tony Perkins

"CNN gave homosexual activists the gift of a free hour-long infomercial last night--in the form of a primetime special about homosexual parents called Gary and Tony Have a Baby. Actually, it should have been called Gary and Tony Buy a Baby. As viewers learned, the two homosexual men first purchase human eggs from an egg donor; use the sperm of one of them for in vitro fertilization; and finally rent the womb of a surrogate to bear the baby. The total cost runs a cool $160,000. The closest that host Soledad O'Brien came to raising an ethical question was to ask why the couple didn't adopt instead. Not once did they explain why the process involved 14 eggs and two embryos--but only one baby.

"It was obvious throughout the that these men are political activists for the homosexual cause (even using the newborn as a prop at a same-sex 'marriage' rally). Meanwhile, the only reference to people who oppose same-sex 'marriage' (which, incidentally, is at least 70 percent of the American population), was to express fear that one of them would physically harm the baby. Equally tragic, one of the men said that no one has ever given him a reason why their lifestyle choice is harmful. Here's one--they are deliberately and permanently depriving this child of a mother. CNN seems content to tug at the heartstrings rather than report the news. They imply that the "love" or affection that these men feel for each other and for the baby that they've manufactured is enough. Love is important, but it isn't sufficient. Social science proves that children suffer from not having a married mom and dad, so why is CNN promoting two people who would deliberately put their baby in that situation?" - Family Research Council douchenozzle Tony Perkins.

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RUSSIA: Police Arrest Activists At St. Petersburg Pride Rally

Five activists were arrested today at small gay pride rally staged in St. Petersburg, Russia.
About two dozen gay and lesbian activists gathered in the tourist-packed courtyard of one of the world's most famous museums, founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, carrying banners and chanting "Homophobia is the country's shame." One of the organisers, Maria Efremenkova, said the Russian government did nothing to protect gays. "You do not notice us and (you) violate our rights and freedom," she said. Gay activists have been trying for years to get permits for rallying, but to no avail. The organisers of the rally in St. Petersburg were refused five locations, they said. Homosexuality was punishable with jail terms in the Soviet Union and though Russia decriminalised homosexuality in 1993, intolerance remains very widespread. Polls have shown more than 80 percent of Russians see homosexuality as immoral.
Although today's protest was not publicized in advance, a group of ultra-right Russian nationalists showed up and attempted to stage an attack. They were arrested as well.

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Cute Soldiers Lip-Sync To Tiffany


(Tipped by JMG reader Glenn)

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SLOVENIA: Gay-Friendly Cafe Fire-Bombed And Defaced With Anti-Gay Graffiti

A gay-friendly cafe in Slovenia's capital of Ljubljana has been fire-bombed and defaced with homophobic graffiti. My friend Aaron translates from the linked article:
Last night, Cafe Open was again the target of homophobic attacks --the third time this week. Twice, unknown parties threw Molotov cocktails at the cafe, which burned the exterior of the building. Last night, the attackers spray-painted the building with homophobic slurs such as "Death to Faggots!" The same slogans were painted on the home of Judge Zalar, who presided over another case involving Cafe Open last year where a literary evening was interrupted by anti-gay attackers. The Ministry of the Interior and the police have been informed of the situation and will provide a higher level of protection for events to be held during the week, including the Pride parade. The police believe that the homophobic graffiti is related to the attacks on Cafe Open last year and that the Molotov cocktails were time to coincide with the start of LGBT Pride Week.
From the 2009 story about last year's attack on the same business:
It was was the evening of 25th June, the day when Slovenia celebrated its 18 years of independence. In honour of the traditional Gay Pride Parade week and the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Slovene homosexual association Legebitra, a gay-and-lesbian literature night was organised in a Ljubljana café, called Open. Suddenly a calm evening turned into a devastating assault. At about 9 pm, a group of eight masked assailants, dressed in black stormed the place. They were armed with sticks, shouting anti-gay slogans and they apparently wanted to burn the café by throwing a torch into the room. When the assault began, journalist and gay activist Mitja Blažič was just at the entrance of the café and he blocked the attackers. He was beaten and repeatedly kicked in the head. Since the attackers were trying to start a fire, the president of the Association for the Integration of Homosexuality also suffered some mild burns.
My thanks to Aaron for translating.

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Pride Flag Flies Atop Space Needle

A gigantic rainbow flag is flying atop Seattle's Space Needle this weekend. Lurleen at Pam's House Blend has the story.

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Friday, June 25, 2010

The Cult Of Apple, Part 87

Folks stood in the hot summer NYC sun for a long as six hours to get their iPhone 4 today, its second day of release. It kills me how almost everybody in the line is staring into the perfectly good iPhones they already own. Children of the corrrrrrrrn.

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Bob & Henry Get Married

After 64 years! Video by the Washington Blade.

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MINNEAPOLIS: Twin Cities Pride Loses Court Battle To Bar Anti-Gay Activists

Twin Cities Pride has lost their battle to bar anti-gay evangelists from their event in a Minneapolis park.
A federal judge has ruled that an anti-gay Wisconsin evangelist will be allowed to hand out bibles and anti-gay literature during Minneapolis' huge LGBT Pride Fest this weekend. Brian Johnson had been a fixture at Twin Cities Pride Fest for years, until last summer, when he was denied a permit for a booth. He showed up anyway and was arrested. This year, Pride Fest attorneys attempted to get an emergency restraining order against him. Since the Fest is held in a public park, attorneys for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board argued on Johnson's behalf, although they insisted they were merely trying to clarify the rules and were not advocating one viewpoint over another. A federal judge ruled Friday that a restraining order would violate Johnson's First Amendment rights. "The court's task here is to balance these competing interests to the greatest extent possible- -- to enable all speakers to exercise their constitutional rights," Judge John Tunheim said in his ruling. "And then to depend on reasonable and law-abiding people to stay within proper limits."
The Minneapolis Parks Department says that police will be standing by to make arrests if things get out of hand.

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Eve's Sassy Gay Friend

Wait for Adam....

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CANADA: Landlord Refuses Gay Tenants Because God Would Totally Kill Him

A landlord in Canada's Northwest Territory is facing the Human Rights Commission after he tore up a gay couple's lease because God would smite him for renting to queers.
Speaking in his own defence in a Yellowknife boardroom, property owner Will Goertzen read from the Bible as he attempted to justify his not honouring a lease with Scott Robertson and Richard Anthony after finding out they were a couple. Homosexuality "isn't natural and it's a crime against nature. I can definitely not have a part in it," Goertzen told a commission adjudicator on Tuesday. "We all die and after that is the judgment." Robertson and Anthony, who say they ended up homeless for 10 days, are asking the commission to award them $23,500 each, for punitive damages and damages for "injury to dignity, feelings and self respect." Robertson is also asking for $930 in compensation for time he missed at work to deal with the matter. They have already taken Goertzen before the territory's rental court and received compensation for a $1,150 damage deposit Goertzen cashed after they signed the initial lease. "I don't know how more clear the discrimination could be and I guess that's why it's so shocking for us," Robertson told the adjudicator.
The landlord maintains that God has supremacy over any man-made laws.

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Conclusive Proof That God Sent The Oil Spill Because Obama Dissed Israel

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Formerly The World's Whitest Beaches

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HomoQuotable - Reed Cowan

"I would like to propose to the entire worldwide gay community that they cancel gay pride events until we have marriage equality. All those thousands of people who go to gay pride, those are bodies that could put on a shirt and go into the neighborhood and tell their story. We should wait until we have equality to have our party. In the meantime we volunteer the same passion and air miles and participation and really channel that same participation into our fight for equality." - Reed Cowan, director of 8: The Mormon Proposition, speaking to Slate.

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Coffee Talk

Cafe Figo, First Avenue, 1PM

Linda Richman Look-A-Like: So anyway, false alarm, thank the BVM. But I told her that if she EVAH makes me a grandma before I'm 50, I'll move down to her Nanna Marie's in Boca so fast it'll make her weave spin.

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Terrorist Babies Are Coming For You!

This guy just never quits, does he?

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NEVADA: Teabagger Senate Candidate Sharron Angle Linked To Anti-Gay Group

Talking Points Memo has uncovered an anti-gay newspaper insert published in 1994 by the wingnut party that GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle belonged to at the time.
The far-right third party that Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle called home in the 1990s supported abolishing "the debt money system" and ran a vitriolic anti-gay insert in state newspapers that portrays LGBT people -- or, as Angle's party called them, "sodomites" -- as child-molesting, HIV-carrying, Hell-bound freaks, according to documents obtained by TPM. As we reported earlier this month, Angle was a member of Nevada's Independent American Party, a Christian conservative-cum-libertarian third party, for at least six years while she was getting her feet wet in politics in the 1990s. Independent American Party members told us that Angle switched to be a Republican in 1997 out of political expediency as she was preparing to make a run for state-level office.[snip]

In 1994, the party attracted considerable controversy by placing a 16-page advertising insert in Nevada newspapers promoting an amendment to the state constitution that would explicitly permit discrimination against LGBT people by businesses and government. Janine Hansen, the current executive director of the party and the editor of the '94 insert, told TPM earlier this month that "in general [Angle] agreed with our position on the issues." The ad insert, which approvingly cites an 1814 legal treatise titled "Consequences of Sodomy: Ruin of a Nation," is a digest of articles that refer to LGBT people alternately as "homosexuals," "sodomites," and "brazen perverts." The insert includes virtually every homophobic myth ever conceived. Sample headlines include: "Homosexual Curriculum In The First Grade" ... "Flawed Science Nurtures Genetic Origin For Homosexuality" ... "No Constitutional Right To Be A Sodomite."
The insert cited lies from discredited anti-gay "researcher" Dr. Paul Cameron and made the claim that HIV can survive in water.

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WASHINGTON: Woman Sued Her Own Church For Performing Gay Weddings

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Bryan Safi: That's Gay (Pride)

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GLAAD Demands Retraction From The View Over Down-Low/AIDS Comments

GLAAD is demanding that View host Sherri Shepherd and guest moderator D.L. Hughley retract their comments that black men on the down-low are responsible for the majority of HIV infections in black women.
While discussing the FDA's ban that prevents gay and bisexual men from donating blood, Shepherd and Hughley communicated misinformation about the causes of increased HIV rates among African American women and used the phrase "down low" to describe men who have sex with men but publicly identify as heterosexual. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), however, has debunked the dangerous myth that Shepherd and Hughley cited on the program. Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention talked about his research to NNPA News in October 2009. Fenton said that the CDC "has looked to see what proportion of [HIV] infections is coming from male partners who are bisexual and found there are actually relatively few," and goes on to attribute most infections to other factors.
GLAAD has posted contact information for the show's producers and ABC, asking that you request an apology and a retraction.

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Quote Of The Day - Brian Burke

“The best thing about when Brendan told me he was gay, I didn’t have to take anything back. I hadn’t made any derogatory comments about gay people, I hadn’t told him they were sick or twisted or God would punish them — some of these absurd things that people say about homosexual people. I didn’t have to take anything back. I said it to him. We were both in tears.” - Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, talking about his son, who was killed in a car accident earlier this year. Burke will march with PFLAG in Toronto's pride parade.

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Tweet Of The Day - Sarah Palin

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European Court Of Human Rights: There's No Right To Same-Sex Marriage

Europe's top human rights court has ruled that there is no inherent right to same-sex marriage.
The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected an appeal by two Austrian men who said their country’s refusal to allow same-sex marriage violated the right to marry and prohibition of discrimination in European rights law. The ECHR is part of the Council of Europe, which promotes democracy and the rule of law among its 47 member states. Its rulings are binding on Council members since they have signed the European Convention on Human Rights. “The court observed that, among Council of Europe member states, there is no consensus regarding same-sex marriage,” the ECHR said in a statement on Thursday. Only 7 of the Council’s 47 members have approved same-sex marriage. “The court underlined that national authorities were best placed to assess and respond to the needs of society in this field, given that marriage had deep-rooted social and cultural connotations differing largely from one society to another.”
The court's decision stated that while gay couples could not be denied marriage purely on a procreational basis, that "still did not impose an obligation on states to grant same-sex couples access to marriage."

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NYCLU Relaunches Fight For Marriage

The NYCLU has begun a campaign to relaunch the fight for marriage equality in New York.
All New Yorkers deserve the freedom to marry. New Yorkers across the state and political spectrum agree, and so does the State Assembly and Governor Paterson. Sadly, at the end of 2009, the New York State Senate voted against marriage fairness. Though the vote was a significant disappointment, the NYCLU knows it is just a matter of time before all New York families are provided the protection that marriage offers. The majority of New Yorkers support fair marriage laws that protect lesbian and gay families, and the day will come when we achieve that goal. But we need your help to make that happen. Please join the campaign to make New York the next victory for fairness. Get involved today! To see more videos and to take action, go to www.marriageny.com.

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Michael Jackson's Billion Dollar Year

Michael Jackson died a year ago today, but his empire rolls on.
In the final years of his life, Jackson's finances were widely reported to be in chaos, with the singer facing foreclosure on his famed Neverland Ranch and struggling with debts of roughly $US500 million. However in the 12 months since Jackson's death on June 25 last year, the King of Pop's empire has witnessed a money-spinning resurgence, generating revenues estimated at more than $US1 billion. Jackson's estate has paid off more than half of the singer's debts and is likely to put his affairs back into the black in the coming year. The financial bonanza began almost immediately, with Jackson selling nearly 4 million records in the six weeks after his death. By June 2010, total album sales had swollen to 9 million in the United States alone, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. Internationally, Jackson has sold 24 million albums.
Jackson's This Is It has grossed more than $300M worldwide, making it the most successful concert movie in history. Even though there was no audience at those concerts.

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Pride Weather

Sunday's forecast looks pretty great!

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Evil Gay Angels

A priest in the Dominican Republic wants to tear down his church's artwork because the angels look totally gay. And evil.
The painting named "Allegory of the Virgin of Carmen," was concluded 12 years ago by Dominican artist Roberto Flores. The artwork adorns the interior of the church of “Our Lady of Carmen” in the mountain community of Jarabacoa, an agricultural and tourist center located in the Dominican Republic. The priest Johnny Duran sparked the controversy surrounding the painting, after promoting the adoption by the Jarabacoa City Council of a resolution that revokes an earlier statement by the same council that designated the mural as municipal heritage. Explaining his reason to revoke the previous decision and destroy the mural, the priest argues that the church congregation feels uncomfortable by the painting and that the mural does not inspire religious sentiments because the angels there depicted have a “diabolical, homosexual look” in their faces. Further, he contends that it is not clear whether the angels are male or female.
(Tipped by JMG reader Bob)

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Tired Old Queen At The Movies #37

1939's The Private Lives Of Elizabeth and Essex, starring Bette Davis and Errol Flynn.

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

FRIDAY: Summer Fur @ NYC LGBT Center

Tomorrow night NYC's LGBT Center hosts Summer Fur, a benefit dance party beginning at 9pm. Tickets: $10 at the door, $8 online.
Hosts Joe Fiore and New York Metrobears bring you Summer Fur…Be warned…MORE fur ahead! DJ Tony Ruiz will be spinning his magic. Summer Fur is the ultimate fur attack! Hot go-go bears, cheap beer, bear art, hangin’ with furry bears with all that warm, warm fur...and over 700 furry friends...Could you ask for anything more! GoGo Bears: Ryan Mr. Woof, JD, George and more! Special performance by Josie Cotton ("Johnny Are You Queer?") and special guests The Boys of Bearlesque!
I think I'll be doing a few hours at Summer Fur, then I'll head downtown to Blowoff. Possible bear overload?

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HAWAII: How To Help Civil Unions Fight

Hawaiian activists are asking for your help in a snail mail campaign to convince Gov. Linda Lingle not to veto the state's pending civil unions bill. Lingle has deluged with letters from our enemies, so let's send her some positive messages of our own.

Two suggested lines for your letter: "We are from _____ and we would sure love to have our civil union in Hawaii," and "We recently got a civil union in _____ but would much rather have had it in Hawaii."

Letters should be mailed to:
The Honorable Linda Lingle
Governor, State of Hawaii
Executive Chambers
State Capitol
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

You'll need to send your message this week for it to arrive on time.

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God Sent The Oil Spill Because President Obama Has Insulted Israel

So said evangelists Cindy Jacobs and Chuck Pierce in a Generals International webcast caught yesterday by Right Wing Watch, who reports:
Jacobs explains that years ago Bob Jones prophesied years that following the death of Oral Roberts, the Gulf Coast would be hit with an oil spill and two hurricanes. Apparently that prophesy is now coming true and it is because God is angry with Obama's attitude toward Israel. Chuck Piece agreed, but noted that God had sent Hurricane Katrina also because he was upset about the United States' treatment of Israel. God intended Katrina to be a "purifying wind," but the US failed to get the message "so now look at the gunk that's coming up on top of us."
Generals International also co-sponsored Janet Porter's hilariously failed May Day anti-gay rally in Washington DC. Right Wing Watch notes that World Net Daily has also jumped on the God-sent-the-oil-spill meme. The first clip is about the oil spill. In the second, Cindy and Chuck reveal that demonic spirits are attempting to destroy their ministry, but if you SEND THEM MONEY, you can stop Satan right in his cloven-hoofed tracks!

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NOM Loses Again In Maine

Today Maine's campaign finance ethics commission rejected NOM's request to suspend an investigation into their activities.
The group, which was the biggest contributor to the successful Yes on 1 campaign to repeal the state's same-sex marriage law, argued in a letter to the commission that it did not have the legal power to conduct an investigation. But on a 4-0 vote this morning, the commission rejected that argument. "It seems to me if this was such a compelling issue for them they would have brought it earlier," said Commission Chairman Walter McKee. "I have no doubt this will be appealed to Superior Court."
Sad trombone for Slaggie!

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Join Us In This Year's NYC Pride March

You are invited to join NYC's Gay Bloggers & Digital Activists in this year's Pride March, where we will be stepping off from 40th Street between Madison & Park shortly after 12pm. (But we're supposed to be there at 11am.) We've been moved up from last year's Section 87 (or something) to Section 2 (hurray!) and will be following the Gotham Knights rugby club. Hello. (Here's the complete lineup.) Last year we had about 50 in our group, but mysteriously lost all but one of our lesbians about an hour before the end, which had nothing to do with that fly all-girl dance party that was about to start. You don't have to be a blogger to join us, but you will need a well-practiced princess wave.

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Fox News Anchors Suddenly Play Nice When The Boss Is On The Set

Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch actually supports comprehensive immigration reform. Watch how his anchors suddenly get all PC with their rhetoric when he is the guest.

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ISRAEL: Jerusalem Police Reject Proposed Route For Gay Pride Parade

Jerusalem police have rejected the proposed route for this year's gay pride parade, which was to culminate at the Knesset, where activists would honor the two people were murdered at a Tel Aviv LGBT youth center last year in a still unsolved shooting spree. Police reportedly rejected the route because it also passes by an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva.
"The Jerusalem Police's decision in essence prevents the Jerusalem Open House and the gay community in Israel from marching in the center of Jerusalem, as is done in all the rest of Israel's major cities, along a publicly visible route that is not hidden from the eyes of the public," Uziel wrote. "The requested route does not pass through any areas that are sensitive to the nature of the parade. In this decision, the police severely violate the freedom of speech and the right to march. The decision isn't logical, isn't proportional and is not based on relevant arguments, as required by law," she added. "It is time to return the Jerusalem Gay Pride parade to its rightful place, as a part of the fertile Jerusalemite fabric of life."
In previous years members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox sect Haredi have pelted Jerusalem's pride-goers with eggs and bags of human excrement, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

(Tipped by JMG reader Huntington)

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Bristol Palin's Acting Debut

From an upcoming episode of The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, which airs July 5th on ABC Family. Clearly Bristol has been studying at the Paris Hilton School for Robotic Acting.

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FRC: Fall To Your Knees And Ask God's Forgiveness For Obama's Perversion

The Family Research Council is calling on all Christians to fall to their knees on the Fourth of July and beg God's forgiveness for our Muslim/Kenyan/socialist president and his "agenda of perversion" regarding LGBT rights (among other things.)
We are a broken nation full of broken people who have broken God's laws and God's heart. Consequently, in these difficult days, the Lord has continued to impress upon me the great need for us, as followers of Jesus Christ, to take responsibility for the broken state of our nation and go to God for help because He is the only one who can help. Yet we must go to God on His terms: in humility, prayer, and repentance as outlined in 2 Chronicles 7:14. We must begin on our knees. That is why we have re-launched the "Call2Fall" for Sunday, July 4th.
I'm perfectly happy to fall to my knees on the Fourth of July, but I don't have a date!

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Outdoing The Double Down

I guess the race to outdo KFC's Double Down is on. Via the diet and exercise site That's Fit:
We all know that the bun is easily the most boring part of a burger. So why not swap a stale old bun for something rich and flavorful like, say, a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches? Oh, wait. That's already been done. It's called Friendly's Grilled Cheese Burger Melt and it is, quite frankly, a heart attack waiting to happen. "We place a thick and juicy 100 percent Black Angus Big Beef Burger between two whole grilled cheese sandwiches, complete with lettuce, tomato and mayo," said the restaurant chain has to say about their latest creation. "You'll have to taste it to believe it." Um, I think I'll pass. One BurgerMelt has 1,500 calories, 79 grams of fat, 2090mg of sodium and 101 gram of carbs. That's nearly triple the amount of the Double Down.

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For When The Escalator Is Too Slow

The entrance to a subway station in Berlin has been outfitted with a temporary slide, much to the delight and puzzlement of commuters. Man, I'd love to see this next to that horrid six-story monster at Lex and 53rd. (Or at DC's Dupont Circle.) But you know, America. Lawsuits. The Berlin installation is a promotion for Volkswagen.

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ONTARIO: Pride Toronto Reverses Ban On Anti-Israeli Apartheid Group

After more than a month of controversy, protests, and threats of a boycott, Pride Toronto has reversed their ban on Queers Against Israeli Apartheid. But all of Pride Toronto's event participants will now be required to sign an agreement to abide by the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.
"This is a victory for the Palestine solidarity movement, which has faced censorship and bullying tactics from the Israel lobby for far too long," said QuAIA member Tim McCaskell in the release. PT's reversal follows outrage in Toronto's queer community, as many condemned the organization for its restrictions on free speech in the parade.
It's not yet clear if the competing events to Pride Toronto, which were created in protest of the ban, will now take place.

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BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules Names On Referendum 71 Must Be Made Public

The U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled that anti-gay activists in Washington state MUST make public the names on Referendum 71. Protect Marriage wanted to keep the names secret, claiming they feared retribution from "violent homofascists." The ruling (PDF) was 8-1, with Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting.
Justices ruled in a case called Doe V. Reed. They heard oral arguments in Washington, D.C., April 28. The conservative group that tried to block release of the signatures wanted the nation's high court to uphold a lower court ruling that said signing petitions and referendum is constitutionally protected political speech - which by law is OK to engage in anonymously. The group, Protect Marriage Washington, asked justices to shield the names of the 138,000 people who signed Referendum 71 petitions in hopes of overturning the "everything but marriage" same-sex domestic partner law. In November Washington voters upheld the new statute. Gay rights groups have said they'll post the petition signers' names online, and some fear harassment or threats if their names are revealed.
The Court's decision, of course, has far-reaching implications for the transparency of the referendum process and campaign finance laws nationwide. SO SUCK IT, NOM! This is a GREAT day for LGBT Americans and the democratic process.

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HomoQuotable - Edmund White

"After the chipper little pianist tired of his operettas, someone put on Johnny Mathis and we all danced cheek to cheek. Bradley of course insisted on leading and he planted his size 14 hand on the small of my back and with a wink that looked like a neurological tic kept edging his long fingers down the back of my pants. He asked me if I was campaigning for Nixon.

"He was an enthusiastic kisser with lots of saliva and a tongue as active as an electric eel. When my hand brushed his crotch 'by accident,' I discovered under the cashmere another considerable charm of his person. I was willing to ignore the Nixon comment and make a date." - Legendary gay author Edmund White, from an almost too frank (you'll see what I mean) essay titled What I Remember About My First Republican Fuck.

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Maddow On Crazy Sharron Angle

GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle won't talk to the mainstream press about her calls to withdraw from the UN, abolish Social Security, and shut down the EPA. She's also warned of "Second Amendment remedies" if the teabaggers don't come to power in 2010.

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Why Is Peter LaBarbera So Worried About Spies At His Young Haters Academy?

Earlier this month Porno Pete LaBarbera announced the launch of the Americans For Truth Academy, a three-day seminar in which, for $99, aspiring young homophobes can learn how to more effectively destroy the civil rights of LGBT people. Some of you suggested we send in an undercover observer, an idea also put forth by Friendly Atheist blogger and high school teacher Hemant Mehta, who offered to pay the registration fee if one if his readers wanted to go.

Cue Porno Pete, from a post titled Friendly Atheist Blogger Seeks Students To Spy On AFTAH Academy:
Hemant Mehta, a supposedly “Friendly Atheist” blogger and high school math teacher who not only can’t seem to understand the difference between “hate and bigotry” and disagreeing with homosexuality, but whose lack of judgment (i.e., using the F-word on a blog surely read by many of his students) makes him a poor role model for youth. But the biggest problem for Neuqua Valley students and their parents is Mehta’s vocal atheist activism. Something tells me that numbers and equations aren’t all that Mehta is talking about in his classroom.
LaBarbera goes on to quote a lengthy attack on Mehta from Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute, who says that by offering to pay for someone to attend LaBarbera's Hate Institute, Mehta's "publicly encouraging his students to be deceitful."

You may recall my assessment of his Three Day Hate seminar: "LaBarbera will train young people how to properly hate faggots and dykes and foster violent crimes against them. For a mere $99 donation, you can buy a budding young bigot a Scholarship In Hate™." Porno Pete actually went on the radio with Matt Barber to scream about how offensive that description was.

If we're wrong and LaBarbera is really just teaching Christian love and forgiveness for homosexuals, why in the world would he be so afraid of outside observers? You know the answer.

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JMG EXCLUSIVE: New Single From Famed Disco Artist Amanda Lear

Amanda Lear, the 70's disco artist, model, and muse of Salvador Dali, has a new single and you folks are the first to hear it before its release on iTunes next week.
Outsider Music teams up with French imprint, Edina Music, for the release of AMANDA LEAR “I’M COMING UP” REMIXES EP. Featuring dynamic mixes by MOREL, TOMMIE SUNSHINE, SPECIAL OPS (aka SCISSOR SISTERS’ BABYDADDY and DJ SAMMY JO), and NIGHTRIDERS (aka Boston-based nu French disco duo, MATT JOHNSON and JOE FARIA), the single marks the inimitable singer/songwriter, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist’s triumphant return to her club music roots with an energized and deliciously modern 21st Century electro-pop sound.
The below mix is by famed dance artist and remixer Rich Morel, who has scored numerous Billboard #1 hits with such acts as Pet Shop Boys, Yoko Ono, and Depeche Mode. Rich is also one-half of the Blowoff dance party DJ team. Amanda Lear is 71!

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Postcards From Hell

Foreign Policy Magazine has posted a photo series titled Postcards From Hell, which catalogs the world's "most failed states." The list was compiled by the Fund For Peace.
This year's index draws on 90,000 publicly available sources to analyze 177 countries and rate them on 12 metrics of state decay -- from refugee flows to economic implosion, human rights violations to security threats. Taken together, a country's performance on this battery of indicators tells us how stable -- or unstable -- it is. And unfortunately for many of the 60 most troubled, the news from 2009 is grave.

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Gay Orangina Ad Banned In France

Perhaps looking to capitalize on the publicity earned McDonald's recent gay-positive ad in France, Orangina has created the below clip. But this one has been judged "too polemic" to air, according to the company's agency.

(Tipped by Maxime at Yagg.com)

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Family Research Council Screams About Obama's "Agenda Of Perversion"

Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council are stamping their widdle feet about the president's hosting of a bunch of dirty homos at the White House.
"Gay Pride Month" may be coming to an end, but we can't say the same for the President's pandering. At last night's rainbow love fest, the same Barack Obama who, as a candidate, said he supported man-woman marriage outlined his specific plans for destroying it. As he ticked off 13 minutes worth of accomplishments for his closest constituency, the President reiterated his personal desire to annihilate marriage in America. "Because I believe... that committed gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country, I have called for Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA]." The so-called Defense of Marriage Act? You mean the same law that perfectly sums up Obama's "so-called" view of marriage, as expressed to Rick Warren in 2008? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the President can't take a jackhammer to DOMA without also laying the bricks for same-sex "marriage." While he may try to seduce both sides of this debate, it's clear where the President's real allegiance lies. And as the last 17 months of priorities have proved, that allegiance is not to the majority of Americans. Despite natural and national crises, this administration has consistently put an agenda of perversion ahead of the real business at hand. And there's no end in sight.

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Photo Of The Day

Nadine Smith of Equality Florida handed the president a photo during Tuesday's LGBT Pride Month reception at the White House. The accompanying letter read:
Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for the invitation to join you for the White House LGBT Pride Reception. On behalf of the 131,000 households that support the work of Equality Florida and all fair-minded Americans I ask you to please lend your voice to ending a law that literally tears families apart. Every Wednesday for almost a year these two boys wonder if the court will decide to let them be adopted by their foster dad of over 5 years or whether they will be torn from their home and likely separated. Florida is the only state with a statute that specifically bans gay people from adopting but already anti-gay groups are preparing to launch a ballot measure to make this devastating discrimination part of the state constitution. We must end this now in Florida or we will see it on the ballot state after state.

Sincerely
Nadine Smith
Executive Director
Equality Florida

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PhoboQuotable - Tim Wildmon

"It’s shameful that adults would abuse a brain-washed child in this way. He’s obviously just parroting the nonsense he’s been told by manipulative adults. For gay activists to trot out this child and make him the poster child for promoting unnatural sexual expression is a form of child abuse.

"When you realize that the FDA won’t allow a male to donate blood if he’s had sex with another male even one time since 1977, you begin to understand the enormous health risks involved in this kind of sexual behavior. We call on Mayor Lioneld Jordan of Fayetteville to cancel his plans to issue a proclamation celebrating homosexual behavior and Gay Pride. There is nothing about homosexual conduct to be proud of, and much to be ashamed of." - American Family Association president Tim Wildmon, complaining about ten year-old Will Phillip's selection to be be the Grand Marshal of Northwest Arkansas Pride.

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Religion!

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Open Thread Thursday

A lot of the biggest U.S. pride events are this weekend. Tell us about your plans and your traditions. If your city's pride has already taken place, let us know what you did and how it went.

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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Philadelphia Loses Bid To Oust Boy Scouts From City-Owned Building

A Philadelphia federal jury has ruled unanimously that the city violated the First Amendment rights of the Boy Scouts when it used the group's anti-gay policies in an attempt to evict them from their city-owned building.
"We can't be kicked out of the building or evicted and we don't have to pay any rent," Scouts' attorney William M. McSwain said of the verdict involving the organization's policy. Scouts lawyers said they expect U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter to issue a permanent injunction that bars the Scouts' eviction based on their anti-gay policy. That's not, however, necessarily the end. Under the city's lease, it can evict the Scouts without giving a reason, Scouts' Jason P. Gosselin said. In an unusual address to the jury, Buckwalter said he hopes the Council and the city can reach a final negotiated solution. The Scouts are willing to negotiate and would like to end the nearly 7-year standoff, Gosselin said.
Wingnut blogs are already celebrating.

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Beating The Gay Out

I don't care if this is real or not, I'm still laughing thirty minutes later. From the Tumblr blog How To Deal With Gay People, via JMG reader Luffy.

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Help Defeat New York's #1 Homophobe, State Sen. Ruben Diaz

Marriage Equality New York, who created the below clip, has posted a donation page for Charlie Ramos, the 2010 opponent of state Sen. Ruben Diaz, our state's most virulent and successful homophobe. Including in the below clip is footage of the 2008 anti-gay rally staged by Diaz, which brought 10,000 Hispanic evangelicals to Manhattan to scream anti-gay slogans and rail against same-sex marriage. Diaz, a Pentecostal preacher and a Democrat, has successfully thwarted numerous LGBT equality measures.

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Canadian Earthquake!

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake centered north of Ottawa was felt across the U.S. midwest and northeast this afternoon, shaking buildings as far as Boston, NYC and parts of Jersey. I felt nothing, but my super says it rattled some equipment in our building's basement. Any here feel it? The New York Times wants your story.

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Old Lady Gaga

This is Broadway star Jackie Hoffman, who is currently starring in the Addam's Family and appeared in Broadway Bares on Sunday. Broadway hunk Nick Adams is in this too!

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Iran Bans Pet Dogs

A high-ranking ayatollah in Iran has told police they are to fine anybody found a with a pet dog. Working dogs are exempt, praise to Allah.
A senior Iranian cleric has decreed dogs are "unclean" and should not be kept as pets -- a move aimed at discouraging Western-style dog ownership in the Islamic state, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Dogs are considered "unclean" under Islamic tradition but, while relatively rare in Iran, some people do keep them as pets. By issuing a fatwa -- a religious ruling -- Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi has sent a clear message that this trend must stop. "Friendship with dogs is a blind imitation of the West," he was quoted as saying in Javan daily. "There are lots of people in the West who love their dogs more than their wives and children." Guard dogs and sheep dogs are considered acceptable under Islamic law but Iranians who carry dogs in their cars or take them to public parks can be stopped by police and fined.

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Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) Compares Barack Obama To Adolf Hitler

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Moms With Guns

"You don't need a gun to protect kids" says Amber Watch Alert. Oh, but here's a super slo-mo video of angry moms shooting off their automatic weapons, just in case that's your bag. SRSLY, what IS the message here, exactly?

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

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Bronx Pol: If You Tax Cigarettes Too Much, The Terrorists Have Won

A just-approved hike in the state tax on cigarettes will raise the cost to around $12/pack in NYC, prompting Bronx Assemblyman Michael Benjamin to claim that Gov. Paterson hates Israel. Because higher cigarette prices encourages bootlegging. Which is done by terrorists.
"Criminals and terrorists will be further enticed to take advantage of the price differential between high tax and low tax jurisdictions, ie, NYS/NYC, Native American reservation smokeshops, and/or any southern state. We are sowing the seeds of increased terrorism-related activities by those who mean America, Israel and our other allies harm," he said.
Terrorists have been found in the cigarette bootlegging business. The new tax is expected to generate about $440M in added revenue. The state budget has a current shortfall of $9B. NYC adds its own tax to cigarettes and when the price first hit $10/pack last year, the city estimated that about 40,000 residents gave up the habit. A survey taken at the time indicated that the next "breaking point" for smokers would be at the $15/pack level.

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WORLD CUP: USA Beats Algeria 1-0

The USA team just beat Algeria 1-0, moving them on in the World Cup playoffs. Apparently this is a very big deal.
Landon Donovan scored in the first minute of stoppage time off a rebound, advancing the United States to the second round at the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Algeria. With the U.S. perhaps three minutes from elimination, Jozy Altidore was stopped on a breakaway by goalkeeper Rais Bolihi. Donovan hustled in and kicked in the rebound to win Group C Wednesday. After his U.S. record 44th international goal, Donovan joyously ran to the corner flag and his teammates ran down the touchline to mob him. Donovan was in tears when the game ended and the United States had moved into the second round. With just its fifth shutout in World Cup play, the United States (1-0-2) won a World Cup group for the first time since 1930 and will face the runner-up in Group D this weekend.
UPDATE: YouTube already yanked the video.

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Eliot Spitzer Lands CNN Gig

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who in 2008 dragged his scowling wife before the cameras to resign in a prostitution scandal, has been hired to host a new primetime show on CNN.
CNN announced Wednesday that it had hired former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and conservative columnist Kathleen Parker to helm a new point-counterpoint show in the key 8 p.m. ET hour, recruiting two headstrong political figures in a bid to revive its flagging viewership. The network described the new program as a "spirited, nightly roundtable discussion program" that will be focused on the biggest stories of the day. "Other cable news channels force-feed viewers one narrow, predictable point of view; in contrast, CNN will be offering a lively roundup of all the best ideas -- presented by two of the most intelligent and outspoken figures in the country," CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein said in a statement. "Eliot and Kathleen are beholden to no vested interest -- in fact, quite the opposite: They are renowned for taking on the most powerful targets and most important causes."
Spitzer's exposure as a patron of high-priced hookers came after he'd spearheaded an anti-prostitution campaign as state Attorney General. Reportedly Spitzer was "insatiable," sometimes requesting more than one girl in a night. He also liked to keep his socks on. Spitzer's most infamous call girl, Ashley Dupre, finagled her notoriety into a career as a pop singer and sex advice columnist for the New York Post.

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VIDEO: The 2010 Bingham Cup

JMG reader Sean Chapin sends us his videos of this year's Bingham Cup rugby championships, where NYC's Gotham Knights beat defending champions the Sydney Convicts. In the second clip, Alice Hoglan, the mother of 9/11 hero Mark Bingham, delivers a great speech.

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MINNEAPOLIS: Anti-Gay Activists Given OK To Proselytize At Pride Festival

Twin Cities Pride is warring with the Minneapolis parks department over the decision to allow anti-gay activists on the grounds of their Pride festival, where the husband and wife team of Brian and Lois Johnson is expected to attempt to hand out bibles and shout about Jeebus.
Festival organizers say they paid ten of thousands of dollars to secure the park for this weekend’s celebration, giving them a right to control the message of the event. The park board has given the OK to Brain and Lois Johnson to distribute the Bibles, saying it is merely standing up for free speech. “The park board’s decision is akin to allowing the Klu Klux Klan to openly convey their racist and anti-immigration views at the Cinco de Mayo festival,” said Eileen Scallen, an attorney for the Pride Festival and a professor at William Mitchell College of Law. Pride officials say they will seek a federal injunction Wednesday to prevent the Johnsons from handing out books and anti-gay literature within Loring Park during the festival. They gave the park board until Tuesday evening to reverse the decision to allow the Johnsons in the park.
The Johnsons are being backed by the Alliance Defense Fund, which has defended many similar cases around the country. The ADF says it will sue Minneapolis if their clients are banned from the park. Last year the Johnsons were arrested for trespassing at the festival, but the city later dropped the charges.

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Tomorrow At 8PM: CNN's Gary & Tony Have A Baby

Last week Father Tony and I attended a preview screening of CNN's gay parenting documentary Gary & Tony Have A Baby, which follows New Yorkers Gary Spino and Tony Brown from finding an egg donor, to hiring a surrogate mother, to the eventual birth of their son. The couple's journey is expensive and trying, but ultimately quite sweet, even if it's a route that few gay couples could ever afford.

The film is part of CNN's Gay In America series and last week's screening was co-hosted by CNN reporter (and the documentary's narrator), Soledad O'Brien, as well as GLAAD executive director Jarrett Barrios. I have to give CNN big props for tackling this project, which involved filming in multiple states over more than a year. In addition to the big PR push for tomorrow's night's showing at 8PM, they've created an teacher's guide for high schools and colleges.

GLAAD's Jarrett Barrios, who has two adoptive sons of his own, stressed to me that while the vast majority of gay couples use other methods to create their families, Gary & Tony Have A Baby is nevertheless a very positive look at a gay parenthood. The trailer is here and below are just a few photos I took at the screening.

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Morning View - Sixth & 52nd

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