Saturday, April 16, 2011

Royal Wedding

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Quote Of The Day - Marilyn Davenport

"Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people–mostly people I didn’t think would be upset by it. You're not going to make a big deal about this are you? It's just an Internet joke." - Marilyn Davenport, Tea Party activist and Orange County GOP committee member, after being busted for having emailed the above image with the caption: "Now you know why there's no birth certificate."

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Frothy Mix On His Campaign Slogan

Frothy Mix's campaign slogan, "Let America be America again," may have been lifted from a poem by noted gay author Langston Hughes. Oopsie!

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China Bans Time Travel

TV Guide reports that China has banned the depiction of time travel on television and in movies because that "disrespects history."
In a statement on March 31, China's State Administration for Radio, Film & Television said that fictional time-traveling in programs "casually make up myths, have monstrous and weird plots, use absurd tactics, and even promote feudalism, superstition, fatalism and reincarnation." Time-traveling Chinese shows have been prevalent as of late, featuring protagonists going back to ancient times and writers taking liberties with events. "Producers and writers are treating serious history in a frivolous way, which should by no means be encouraged anymore," SARFT said.

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Seriously?

The popular Cult Of Mac tech blog is polling its readers as to whether Apple should have allowed its employees to make an It Gets Better video. This is too asinine to even call for a freeping, but hit the link if you want to bother.

(Tipped by JMG reader JM)

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Eagle Forum: ASU Promotes Communism

According to the deep thinkers at Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, Arizona State's new school logo is promoting communism.
The Sun Devils of ASU are gearing up for this year’s football season with redesigned uniforms and logos. The school is promoting this greatly anticipated change with several YouTube videos. Several of these videos end with an image of a clenched fist. After a second or two, the fist lifts three fingers, turning into the Sun Devil’s “pitchfork” hand-symbol. The raised fist is a symbol of socialism, communism, and other extreme left-wing organizations, according to Wikipedia, It was first used as the emblem of the Red Front Fighter’s League of the Communist Party of Germany in 1932 and has since been used by groups such as the Black Panther Party and the Socialist Workers Party of the UK. Why would ASU choose to put a symbol representing left-wing organizations at the end of a video promoting its football team? Will this symbol be used to express the Sun Devil's team spirit or will it continue to communicate its traditional leftist message on the ASU campus?

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At London's "Snog-A-Thon"

Although London's John Snow Pub locked their doors rather than allow gay protesters inside, the planned "snog-a-thon" went on in the street outside.

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Pride Toronto Redux

Pride Toronto hasn't even begun accepting applications to march in this year's parade, but already last year's controversy is back in the news.
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid is pulling out of Toronto’s annual Pride Parade in what the activist group called a “challenge” to mayor Rob Ford, who had threatened to cut the city’s funding to the parade because of the group’s continued participation. The Ford administration’s response? Prove the group is out, and we’ll provide funding. Mr. Ford and his allies on council had said they would cut Pride’s funding altogether if Queers Against Israeli Apartheid takes part. The group’s vocal opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories has elicited accusations of anti-Semitism, but some advocates argued the reluctance to fund Pride had more to do with the mayor’s stance toward a flamboyant gay and lesbian event. Pride relies on the city for about a quarter of its budget. Last year, the city gave the parade a $123,807 grant and $245,000 worth of services, such as litter cleanup and policing.

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Atlas Is Shrugging

Dick Armey's FreedomWorks ties in yesterday's movie opening with an attack on the president.

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Friday, April 15, 2011

MSNBC On CA's Gay Education Bill

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Frothy Mix To Glenn Beck: States Should Be Allowed To Criminalize Gay Sex

Former Sen. Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum went on Glenn Beck's radio show yesterday to renew his call to criminalize gay sex. Santorum was responding to former Sen. Alan Simpson's epic denouncement of homophobic Republicans.
There were no “cruel, cruel” remarks. All I can ponder is that Alan Simpson is talking about a comment that I made, which I paraphrased, almost word for word, but paraphrased a Supreme Court justice in a case called Lawrence v. Texas, before that case came out, which had to do with, as you know, a Supreme Court case on the issue of sodomy, and I said that if you have -- if the Supreme Court changes the legal standard to say that sexual -- consensual sexual activity is now a constitutional right, then we open up the gates for all sorts of consensual activity. It’s not homophobic. It’s a legal argument, and it’s a correct legal argument. In fact, that’s exactly what’s happening. We went from Lawrence v. Texas to now a constitutional right to same-sex marriage and they’re going into a constitutional right to polyamorous relationships. This is the slippery slope that we’re heading down, and I stand by it.
Click over to Equality Matters for an audio file.

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Chaos In House As Dems Almost Trick GOP Into Approving Severe Tea Party Budget

House Democrats almost pulled a fast one on the GOP today. Talking Points Memo reports:
The vote was on the Republican Study Committee's alternative budget -- a radical plan that annihilates the social contract in America by putting the GOP budget on steroids. Deeper tax cuts for the wealthy, more severe entitlement rollbacks. Normally something like that would fail by a large bipartisan margin in either the House or the Senate. Conservative Republicans would vote for it, but it would be defeated by a coalition of Democrats and more moderate Republicans. But today that formula didn't hold. In an attempt to highlight deep divides in the Republican caucus. Dems switched their votes -- from "no" to "present."

Panic ensued. In the House, legislation passes by a simple majority of members voting. The Dems took themselves out of the equation, leaving Republicans to decide whether the House should adopt the more-conservative RSC budget instead of the one authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. As Dems flipped to present, Republicans realized that a majority of their members had indeed gone on the record in support of the RSC plan -- and if the vote closed, it would pass. That would be a slap in the face to Ryan, and a politically toxic outcome for the Republican party.
The bill ended up barely failing by a vote of 139-119. All Democrats voted "present."

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler At DOMA Hearing

Rep Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) opened this morning's DOMA hearing with a blistering denouncement of the entire issue.

(Via - Good As You)

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MassResistance On The Day Of Silence

The SPLC-certified hate group MassResistance has today published the below editorial on at least a dozen right-wing sites and blogs.
Welcome students. Today is the big day. Today is your chance to take a stand against the forces of bigotry and homophobia that unfairly targets our brothers, sisters and others in the gay, lesbian, transgendered, bisexual and gender optional community. By your very presence here, you signify your complete acceptance and approval of alternative lifestyles, sex on demand and the right of all to engage in whatever sexual practices feel good at the moment. You should be proud. And you may all now officially consider yourself enlightened. And empowered. I want to thank all of you for not bowing down to the fanatical and intolerant Christians who hate sex. I want to acknowledge your bravery, tolerance and dedication to the concept of gender neutrality and the right of every man, woman and others to choose whichever sexual orientation they prefer. [snip]

Because this is a national day of silence, I'd like to suggest some excellent visual opportunities. I have several tubes of lipstick for any of you guys out there. Having you boys wear lipstick is a great way to banish the remaining stereotypes of manly men. For you gals, we have these cute buttons with pictures of manly women and effeminate men. (Yes, Henry, you can have both lipstick and a button.) I'd like to thank all of you for your support. I'd also like to stress that your participation in this momentous event is mandatory. We'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to your parents. Believe it or not, some parents would object. I know, I know. But take heart in the fact that pretty soon they'll see the light. NAMBLA has a table right over there that offers lots of good information that should come in handy should you need to educate your parents.
Read the full hate manifesto.

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GetEQUAL Vs. Maggie Gallagher

As I reported earlier today, GetEQUAL ambushed Maggie Gallagher outside of this morning's DOMA hearing to give her their "Anita Bryant Award" for bigotry. Watch Gallagher tangle with a GetEQUAL member after he denounces her hatred.

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Photo Of The Day - Pink Thundersticks

Thousands of Brazilian volleyball fans showed up with pink "thundersticks" emblazoned with the name of an openly gay player after he'd been taunted with chants of "Faggot, faggot!" by fans of an opposing team. Visit Matt Algren's Asterisk for video and more amazing photos.

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Castro Boys Go Glee

Clever ad for an AIDS LifeCycle fundraiser.

(Tipped by JMG reader Aaron)

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ARIZONA: Birther Bill Passes

Arizona's GOP-dominated legislature has passed its bill requiring all presidential candidates to provide proof of being born in the United States in order to have their names placed on the ballot.
Lawmakers in 10 states introduced birther bills in their state legislatures at the beginning of this year's sessions, but the Arizona bill is so far the only one to make it to a governor's desk. The measure had failed twice in the last two years to make its way through the legislature, but this time was shepherded by a compliant Republican leadership that had not been eager to advance the issue before. The Republican speaker of the state House supported the bill this time, he told The Arizona Republic, because he believes it does not "add to or detract from the qualifications for president as stated in the United States Constitution." Brewer has not yet indicated where she stands on the bill, but has five days to choose whether to sign or veto it. If Brewer decides to not take a position and let the five-day period lapse, the bill will become law.
As you might expect, World Net Daily is doing ecstatic backflips and is directing readers to a website calling on Brewer to sign the bill.

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London Pub Locks Out "Snog-A-Thon"

The Soho pub that was to be the location of a "massive snog-a-thon" this afternoon has locked their doors rather than allow gay protesters inside. On Wednesday night two gay men were ejected from the pub after its landlady objected to their kissing. Hundreds of would-be snoggers had responded to a Facebook call for action. From the Guardian's live-blog of the protest:
It's become clear that the John Snow pub has closed its doors, presumably fearful of the avalanche of snogging that was about to descend upon it. One Twitter user, who works opposite, reports that a TV crew has arrived and is "filming the locked door whilst bar staff peer from upstairs window". The Press Association has managed to get a few words with Thomas Paget, the licence holder of the pub. He again refused to comment on the row. Asked whether the pub had been the victim of a "misunderstanding", he told PA: "I don't have anything to say."
(Via - Towleroad)

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NBA To Partner With GLAAD

GLAAD and the NBA today announced a joint effort to quell homophobia in professional basketball. This new partnership arises out of an incident in which Los Angeles Laker star Kobe Bryant was captured by network television as he called a referee a "fucking faggot." Bryant is appealing the $100K fine imposed by the NBA for his outburst. Via press release:
“In light of this slur, there is a real opportunity to build support for our community and educate fans of Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the NBA about the use of such words,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “The Los Angeles Lakers have taken a positive step and we look forward to working with them to create messages from players and coaches that combat bullying. We also suggested and will continue to advocate for zero tolerance policies for anti-gay slurs at home games, similar to what the New York Yankees adopted last year.” In addition to the LA Lakers, NBA executives have agreed to meet with GLAAD to discuss ways to send a message about the power of such words to the league’s audience, many of whom are young people, parents or educators.
Lakers spokesman John Black: "We appreciate the input we've received from GLAAD the past two days and will look forward to working with them on ways to help educate ourselves and our fans, and to help keep language like this out of our game."

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Martha Wash - I've Got You

Weather Girl and former Sylvester back-up singer Martha Wash is back with a lovely non-dance pop number. I'm betting the remixes will be killer.

(Tipped by JMG reader Chris)

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Tweet Of The Day - Bret Easton Ellis

Are we done with this asshat yet?

UPDATE: Dan Savage writes us to point out that It Gets Better contributor Gabrielle Rivera made the same point six months ago. (But without a nonsensical condemnation of "gay narcissism.")

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Lil Buck & Yo-Yo Ma

Hypebeast says:
Often, the most inspiring and beautiful creations come about as the result of a juxtaposition between the classical and the modern, the old and the new. Such is the case in this video, which was filmed by director Spike Jonze, that captures Los Angeles street dancer Lil Buck as he performs an amazing interpretation of “The Dying Swan” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with a live musical accompaniment by the award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

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Rep. Joe Crowley: Speechless

Watch Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) take an unusual method to denounce the GOP's spending plan.

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PFOX: "Ex-Gay" Is An Orientation

As today's Day Of Silence occurs at the nation's schools, the self-hating homosexuals at PFOX are demanding recognition as a sexual orientation other than straight or gay.
"If you're going to worry about sexual orientation non-discrimination and pick a day every year to host it, shouldn't that include all sexual orientations, such as former homosexuals," the PFOX executive director questions. "Where are their rights?" So she is encouraging students to distribute her organization's literature in schools today so that the message of hope will reach a hurting community. "By providing resources and educating [students] about the ex-gay community, we are at the same time giving them options," Griggs notes. "But it is an option, and only they can make the decision." But while she does not think students should be denied any information that allows them to make decisions, she laments that that is "what's happening in America's schools."
Even though the members of PFOX were doubtlessly bullied and abused as gay teenagers, they want that same abuse to continue for today's children. What's the word for that?

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Sassy Gay Friend: Royal Pain

I guess I'm getting used to the ads.

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GetEQUAL "Honors" Maggie Gallagher

Members of GetEQUAL ambushed Maggie Gallagher outside of today's DOMA hearing to give her their "Anita Bryant Award."

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FLORIDA: State Senate Committee Repeals Separation Of Church And State

Yesterday Florida's GOP-dominated state Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that effectively eliminates the separation of church and state.
SJR 1218, which was sponsored by Sen. Thad Altman (R-Melbourne) and endorsed by the entire Republican caucus, would delete a constitutional provision that bars Florida from spending public revenues on sectarian religious organizations. Supporters of the bill claim that prohibiting government from funding religious groups discriminates against religious groups. [snip] There are many reasons why Republicans want to repeal the “no aid” provision of Florida’s constitution, known as the Blaine Amendment. Their reasons include their desire to include sectarian religious education in our public schools and their desire to fund specific favored religious organizations while defunding public organizations that benefit all Floridians.
(Tipped by JMG reader Nicholas)

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House DOMA Hearings Begin

Metro Weekly's Chris Geidner tweets out the above photo as this morning's GOP hearing on defending DOMA begins. You can watch the hearing live here or follow along on Twitter at the hashtag #DefendingDOMA.

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FLORIDA: Teabaggers To Host Trump

Trump will drive the 30 miles from his mega-zillion dollar Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach to talk about how high taxes are hurting the little man.

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Obama On Trump's Birther Claims: I Was Born In Hawaii And I Don't Have Horns

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CALIFORNIA: Gay Ed Bill Passes In Senate

California's education bill requiring that notable LGBT people be positively portrayed in textbooks was passed yesterday by the state Senate.
If the bill is adopted by the state Assembly and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, California would become the first state to require the teaching of gay history. Supporters say the move is needed to counter anti-gay stereotypes and beliefs that make children in those groups vulnerable to bullying and suicide. Opponents counter that such instruction would further burden an already crowded curriculum and expose students to a subject that some parents find objectionable. The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Mark Leno of San Francisco, passed on a 23-14 party line vote. It also would add disabled people to the curriculum. The bill gives school districts flexibility in deciding what to include in the lessons and at what grades students would receive them. But starting in the 2013-14 school year, it would prohibit districts and the California Board of Education from using textbooks or other instructional materials that reflect adversely on gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
As I've noted here several times, the bill is vehemently opposed by anti-gay groups.

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AUDIO: Delaware Passes Civil Unions

Listen to the gallery erupt after the vote is announced.

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Apple Employees: It Gets Better

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Thursday, April 14, 2011

DELAWARE: Civil Unions Pass House!

Tonight the Delaware House passed its civil unions bill by a vote of 26-15. The bill passed last week in the state Senate and is now expected to be signed by Gov. Jack Markell, after which it will go into effect on January 1st, 2012.

The Human rights Campaign notes via press release:
SB 30 will allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions giving them all of the rights, benefits, and obligations of marriage under state law, but would not allow same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses. Religious institutions may choose not to solemnize civil unions. Delaware will be the 8th state to offer civil unions or comprehensive domestic partnerships. After the bill is signed into law, it will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012. Currently, five states have laws providing an expansive form of state-level relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples, without offering marriage. California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington provide same-sex couples with access to almost of all the state level benefits and responsibilities of marriage, through either civil unions or domestic partnerships. Earlier this year, the governors of Hawaii and Illinois signed into law civil unions bills. Couples in Illinois can begin applying for civil union licenses on June 1, 2011 and in Hawaii couples can begin applying on Jan. 1, 2012. Same-sex couples do not receive federal rights and benefits in any state.

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Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber: Muslims And Liberals Are God's Common Enemies

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ABC Cancels Long-Running Soaps

ABC today announced the cancellations of two of television's longest-running soap operas, All My Children and One Life To Live.
The network announced Thursday that the two soap operas would end, with "All My Children" going off the air in September and "One Life to Live" going off the air in January. In their place, a Mario Batali-hosted food show called "The Chew" will premiere in September, and a health/lifestyle transformation show tentatively called "The Revolution" will premiere in January.
That leaves The Bold & The Beautiful, General Hospital, The Young & The Restless, and Days Of Our Lives still running on daytime network television. Only four? Is that right? That's a far cry from what seems like dozens of soaps during my childhood. But I still miss Dark Shadows and Peyton Place.

UPDATE: Susan Lucci reacts to the end of her 41 year run as Erika Kane. "It’s been a fantastic journey. I’ve loved playing Erica Kane and working with Agnes Nixon and all the incredible people involved with All My Children. I’m looking forward to all kinds of new and exciting opportunities."

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Resurrection Flash Mob

Clip description: "More than 2,000 people from Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, gathered at Discovery Green in the heart of Houston to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The purpose was to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a powerful and celebratory way." Jeebus loves Auto-Tune!

(Source)

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The Verizon Guy Comes Out

Now that the long run of Verizon's "Can You Hear Me Now?" campaign is over, actor Paul Marcarelli has come out and is talking about the anti-gay abuse he endured while playing the character known as Test Man.
Marcarelli has a home in Guilford, Connecticut, and five summers ago, kids in an SUV began driving past at night, yelling, “Can you hear me now?” Later, says Marcarelli, “they started screaming ‘faggot’ up at my house. It got progressively more profane as the years went by.” One night, it happened while some friends were over, and he decided to call the police. “As soon as I hung up the phone,” he says, “I realized that in order for them to do anything about it, it would have to become a report that would go into a police log.” Worried about the publicity—and the questions that might ensue if it came out that the actor playing Test Man was gay—he declined to file a report.
Marcarelli has produced and written a film titled The Green, which "centers on how a small town slowly turns against a gay couple when one of the men, a schoolteacher, gets ensnared in scandal." His movie is currently being pitched to film festivals.

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VIRGINIA: Schools Block Pro-Gay Websites, Allow "Ex-Gay" Hate Sites

The ACLU has given Virginia's Prince William County two weeks to respond to their demand that schools stop blocking pro-LGBT youth websites.
The ACLU recognizes the need to screen out the heavy-duty adult stuff, their Virginia executive director Kent Willis said Tuesday. “But if you’re going to allow the Key Club and many other organizations to access the Internet, then you have to allow the gay and lesbian clubs to do so too.” The ACLU’s letter to Prince William says their system blocks out sites such as the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Day of Silence and It Gets Better, which provide support and resources for homosexual students. But it allows access to sites such as People Can Change, Exodus International and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays, which all advocate for changing from gay to straight.
The ACLU has sent the same letter to school districts in Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania - all of whom use the same blocking service as Prince William County.

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Jon Stewart Mocks "Pink Toenails" Story

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LONDON: Gay Couple Ejected From Soho Pub After Kissing

The UK's Guardian reports that two gay men were ejected by the landlady of a Soho pub after she complained that they had kissed.
Jonathan Williams, a journalist for a financial trade magazine, and James Bull, a charity volunteer, say they were ejected from the John Snow on Broadwick Street, Soho, by a woman who claimed to be the landlady and said they were being "obscene". Bull said he was physically sick after the incident, which happened at about 10.45pm on Wednesday, after the couple had earlier been for dinner on their first date together in Covent Garden. Bull said: "I felt so belittled, and to be made to feel so dirty and cheap over something like that – it's just wrong." The pair say that objections were first raised to their displays of affection shortly after they arrived at 8.30pm by a fellow drinker claiming to be the landlord, who was off duty. They refused what they described as his "polite request" to stop kissing. Williams, 26, and Bull, 23, insist they were not indulging in a "huge display of affection", but were merely kissing on the lips.
This Friday night local activists plan to stage a "massive same-sex snog-a-thon" at the pub, which is not a gay bar but is located in Soho's popular gay village.

(Tipped by JMG reader Oliver)

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Quote Of The Day - Ben Cohen

"It is disappointing to see this. As a professional athlete and rugby World Cup champion, I understand the heat and passion of competition at the highest levels. But we must all remember that strong bodies must be balanced with strong characters, and works toward that end. Our positions as role models demand it." - Straight ally Ben Cohen, saying he's disappointed with Kobe Bryant.

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Kobe Bryant To Appeal "Faggot" Fine

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant announced today that he intends to appeal the $100K fine imposed by the NBA yesterday for his calling a referee a "fucking faggot" during Tuesday night's game.
Bryant, talking from Sacramento on the Mason & Ireland show on ESPN 710 Radio in Los Angeles, said the appeal is "standard protocol," but also took responsibility for his choice of words said "out of frustration during the heat of the game." "The comment that I made, even though it wasn't meant in the way it was perceived to be, is nonetheless wrong, so it's important to own that," Bryant said. He added, "The concern that I have is for those that follow what I say and are inspired by how I play or look to me as a role model or whatever it is, for them not to take what is said as a message of hate or a license to degrade or embarrass or tease. That's something I don't want to see happen. It's important for me to talk about that issue because it"s OK to be who you are, and I do'n't want this issue to be a part of something or to magnify something that shouldn't be."

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Pat Condell: The Trouble With Christianity

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Maggie Gallagher To Testify Tomorrow At House DOMA Defense Hearing

Tea Party-backed Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), who has called the president "an enemy of humanity," will tomorrow hold a U.S. House hearing about the GOP's plan to defend DOMA. Topping Franks' list of witnesses is NOM chaircow Maggie Gallagher. The American Independent reports:
The U.S. House Subcommittee on the Constitution is scheduled to hold a hearing Friday titled “Defending Marriage,” called by subcommittee chairman Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), who has recently called for the impeachment of President Barack Obama because of his decision to order his administration to no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). People For the American Way Senior Fellow Peter Montgomery predicts Franks’ hearing will be a parade of “extremists.” Montgomery told TAI during a phone interview that Rep. Franks is “at the far-right fringe of the far right.” Montgomery also assumed the only purpose of the Franks Defending Marriage hearing would be “To promote that far-right agenda and provide them propaganda against the administration from here until 2012.” Franks is the founder of an official Focus on the Family affiliate called the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP). Formerly known as the Arizona Family Research Institute, the CAP was instrumental in the passage of Arizona’s Prop 102 adding an amendment to Arizona’s constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
Also on the witness list is NOM favorite and Prop 8 proponent Edward Whelan, who yesterday published an article denouncing the "outright illegality' of Judge Vaughn Walker's actions during the trial. The third witness, Carlos Ball, is a relatively unknown Rutgers professor and author who has published several pro-gay columns on Huffington Post.

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Open Thread Thursday

Pimp out your personal blog. What are you writing about?

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ENDA Reintroduced In U.S. Senate

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act will be reintroduced in the Senate today.
U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, announced that they introduced the fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit most employers across the country from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers. The bill, known as ENDA, would make it illegal under federal law for employers with at least 15 employees to discriminate against, harass, or fire anyone due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. While surveys show that over 60 percent of Americans overwhelmingly support workplace protections for LGBT people, it still remains legal in more than half the country for employees and job applicants to be discriminated against based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
While ENDA has a slim chance of success in the Senate, it is doomed in the House, where it was reintroduced last week.

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Frothy Mix Makes It Semi-Official

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Tweet Of The day - Chris Barron

UPDATE: From Barron's personal blog.
Instead of focusing on the words of an NBA player or Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter, why doesn’t the Human Rights Campaign and the rest of the gay left stand up to the brutality of radicalized Islam? The truth is that they won’t because it doesn’t fit their ultra-liberal world view. The gay left wants to demonize any Christian in America who might not support gay marriage, they want gay people in America to believe that the greatest threat we face is from Christianity, that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Indeed it is the Judeo-Christian western world that is the only thing that stands between gay people and genocide at the hands of radical Islamic barbarians.

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VIRGINIA: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli To Block Gay Adoption Regulation

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cucinelli has announced that he will block a proposed regulation banning religious discrimination against adoptive gay parents.
Cuccinelli’s office said in a memo dated Tuesday that the proposal to be considered by the State Board of Social Services as early as next week “does not comport with applicable state law and public policy.” "Therefore the State Board lacks the authority to adopt this proposed language,’’ wrote Allen Wilson, senior assistant attorney general. Cuccinelli’s position reverses one of his predecessor, William C. Mims, a former Republican legislator and now a Virginia Supreme Court justice. Currently, only married couples and single men and women — regardless of sexual orientation — can adopt in Virginia. Proposed changes would require private and faith-based groups, such as Catholic Charities or Jewish Family Services, to allow gay parents to adopt or foster children. But there’s disagreement between lawmakers and activists about whether the proposed regulations would allow other classes, including unmarried couples — heterosexual or homosexual — to adopt.
Anti-gay Virginia Del. Bob Marshall celebrates: "It was a correct decision in my judgment. The General Assembly has not made sexual orientation a protected class. This will be welcome news to a lot of faith-based adoption agencies."

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NOM Issues Alert On NY Marriage

Today NOM issues an alert that New York legislators will be voting on same-sex marriage upon their return from a two week break.
That gives us two weeks to contact legislators in defense of marriage! Please join us today by sending an email to your state senator and assemblyman. Two years ago, your phone calls and emails helped block same–sex marriage in New York, as even the New York Times acknowledged that key legislators voting against the same–sex marriage bill did so because of “overwhelming opposition to same–sex marriage among their constituents.” The same thing happened in New Jersey, and earlier this year, in Maryland and Rhode Island. The message is clear. When the people stand up, same–sex marriage advocates have to back down. Despite carefully crafted PR campaigns, gay marriage advocates simply cannot muster the votes when legislators start hearing from their constituents.
No formal announcement of a pending vote has yet been made by legislators or Gov. Cuomo. Same-sex marriage would pass easily and for the fourth time in the state Assembly. The state Senate is another story.

RELATED: NOM's former Facebook page, which had 290,000 followers, was wiped out last week by defector Louis Marinelli.

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World Net Daily Picks Up Porno Pete LaBarbera's Lying Attack On GLSEN

In a top-of-site "breaking" story, this morning World Net Daily picks up Porno Pete LaBarbera's ridiculous and outrageous campaign against GLSEN. As I reported here on Sunday night, one of the 40,000 members of GLSEN's Day Of Silence page, probably an anti-gay activist, uploaded several photos advertising a gay hook-up site. Several screen shots later and...BINGO! There's your "proof" that GLSEN is pitching porn to school kids.
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth edited some of the images, placing blocks over strategic parts of the photographs, but they remained largely too revealing for inclusion in a news report. "If a conservative or religious group were as reckless as GLSEN in exposing impressionable children to hard-core perversion and pornography, needless to say they'd be out of business and drummed out of the pro-family movement," LaBarbera told WND. "It is a testament to how the liberal media protects irresponsible 'gay' activists that GLSEN continues to have a huge influence with educators despite its documented record of corrupting children – by exposing them directly to the worst excesses of the homosexual-bisexual-transgender movement," he said.
Linda Harvey of the SPLC-certified hate group, Mission America:
"It's not at all a surprise. GLSEN has a long history of recommending age-inappropriate and frankly promiscuous homosexual activity at young age for kids," she said. "Then they cover it with a civil rights, social justice and safe school veneer. This offensive page linked from the Day of Silence website page, also sponsored by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which indeed has a lot to hide. But thankfully, some technologically savvy pro-family warriors captured the original page in anticipation of this move."
Yesterday LaBarbera admitted to me on Twitter that the photos could have been uploaded by any of the tens of thousands members of the Facebook page, including himself, yet that little detail has not made it into any of the stories now rocketing around anti-gay Christianist hate sites such as World Net Daily.

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The View On "Pink Toenails Boy"

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American Psycho

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A Primer On The Lies Of Crazy Eyes

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PhoboQuotable - Randy Thomasson

"School administrators have frequently denied sponsoring, participating in, or allowing the 'Day of Silence,' but are nonetheless allowing students to be silent without consequences. Even some teachers will 'go silent,' writing pro-homosexuality messages on boards, and setting up classroom displays to teach impressionable children that aggressive homosexual activists are 'victims,' that more laws promoting their agenda are needed, when there are already numerous laws prohibiting physical harassment of students; and that homosexuality is natural and healthy, when it is actually unnatural and unhealthy.

"Parents who are hearing about 'Day of Silence' are appalled this immoral takeover is happening. They don't want their children subjected to in-your-face sexual indoctrination, so they're keeping their kids home. Because school districts are allowing this brainwashing during the entire school day, morally-sensitive parents are counter-protesting by removing both their child and the child's ADA funding on Friday." - Randy Thomasson of Save California, in a press release that includes links to NARTH.

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Lawrence O'Donnell On NOM's Defector

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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

NBA Fines Kobe Bryant $100,000

In a move the Human Rights Campaign calls "unprecedented," the NBA has fined superstar Kobe Bryant $100,000 for calling a referee a "fucking faggot" during last night's game. Via press release:
While Bryant acknowledged the outburst earlier today and said in a statement it did “not reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian communities,” he failed to apologize or to take full responsibility for the homophobic slur. This afternoon, the NBA and Commissioner Stern issued a strong condemnation of Bryant’s action and in an unprecedented move, fined the Lakers’ superstar $100,000. “We applaud Commissioner Stern and the NBA for not only fining Bryant but for recognizing that slurs and derogatory comments have no place on the basketball court or in society at large, “ said Joe Solmonese, HRC President. “We hope such swift and decisive action will send a strong and universal message that this kind of hateful outburst is simply inexcusable no matter what the context.”

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HAWAII: Trans Rights Bill Passes Senate

By a vote of 22-2, Hawaii's state Senate has approved a bill banning employment discrimination against transgender residents. The bill has already passed in the state House.
Discrimination against transgender individuals is already illegal in Hawaii for housing, public accommodations and employment, but the ban on employment discrimination has only been established by rulings of the Civil Rights Commission and has not been written into the state statute. The legislation moves to gay-friendly Democratic Gov. Neil Abercromie. Upon the governor's signature, Hawaii will join 12 states and the District of Columbia to provide transgender employment, house and public accommodation protections.
Welcome news, of course, but note that such protections only exist in 12 states. And ENDA remains a faint dream...

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San Francisco's Big Gay 10K

Benefiting the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "You don't have to be fast, just fabulous."

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Press Release Of The Day

From Wayne Besen at Truth Wins Out.
Every now and again we highlight “ex-gay” activists who disappear from the scene. One such individual is Mike Ensley, who was laid off from Exodus in 2008. For those who do not remember, Ensley was the group’s “Youth Analyst”, with the insidious role of brainwashing young people. He has now reinvented himself as an Orlando-area photographer named “Philip Michael” with a penchant for homoerotic art house photos — particularly focusing on tanned musclemen.
Besen reports that Ensley hung up on him when called to ask about his new business.

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Sen. Rand Paul Quotes Ayn Rand In Speech Against Environmentalists

Because energy efficient lightbulbs are proof that we're being crushed beneath the heels of the oppressive collective. Or something.

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Hetero Woman Murders Three Children

Once again, we see the brutal fallout of a God-ordained one man/one woman marriage.
The woman apparently had just had a fight with her husband, Jean Pierre, and loaded into her four children into the vehicle, driving a short distance into the river, police said Wednesday. Lashandra Armstrong, 25, and three children, ages 5, 2 and 11 months, died, submerged in about 10 feet of water. Armstrong's 10-year-old son, Lashaun, squeezed through a minivan window and swam to shore
Obviously, the purpose of this post is to underscore how, if this had been a gay parent, our enemies would right this moment be rushing to the state legislatures with renewed calls to outlaw our families.

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Spin Spin Sugar

New York Times Magazine has published a mammoth feature asking whether sugar and high-fructose corn syrup is really as bad for us as it seems. Short answer: yes. (He said as he reached for another Reese's Cup.)

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Obama Announces Spending Plan

Politico live-blogged the entire speech.

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MSNBC: Gay Groups Snubbed At White House Event For Military Families

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People For The American Way Issues Report On Christianist Campaign To Keep Anti-Gay Bullying Legal And Frequent

People For The American Way today issued an extensive expose of the tactics used by the Christianist right to keep anti-gay bullying legal and frequent. An excerpt:
Rather than recognize and address the problem of bullying against students who are gay or perceived to be gay, Religious Right groups want schools to embrace a policy of inaction. Many resort to repeating discredited lies about sexual orientation and vilifying the LGBT community and its allies to back up their opposition to anti-bullying programs that mention anti-gay bullying. Concerned students, families, teachers, education professionals, and public officials should not be fooled by the far-right’s attempt to smear anti-bullying programs, and should instead ensure that schools address bullying with a direct, honest and comprehensive approach.
Read the full report.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders: Republicans Are Robbing The Poor To Give To The Rich

Another classic rant from our favorite Independent.

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Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg Claims Perez Hilton Is A Pedophile

In a Moonie Times article mocking Perez Hilton's plan to release a children's book, Family Research Council spokesdouche Peter Sprigg alleges that Hilton is a pedophile.
Mr. Hilton’s book, according to the publisher’s press release, is “the story of a child born with a shock of fabulous hair that sets him apart from his peers. While some find this difference hard to accept or understand, ‘The Boy With Pink Hair’ uses the opportunity to find what makes him special and share it with the world.” It would seem that Mr. Hilton, whose legal name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., does indeed have some experience with children. “He does have a known interest in children,” says Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow for Family Policy Studies at the Family Research Council, “having published a photo of teen star Miley Cyrus that could have been considered child pornography.”
Last year Hilton tweeted out a photo of Cyrus getting out of a car, apparently without underwear. Cyrus was 17 at the time. Therefore the openly gay Hilton is clearly a heterosexual pedophile, according to Peter Sprigg. And the relentless, outrageous, compulsive lying of the anti-gay Christianist right rolls on....

(Via - Holy Bullies)

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MARYLAND: Gays Partner With Habitat For Humanity On Housing For The Poor

Here's a lovely project in Maryland that just hit my in-box.
Pride Build Montgomery County aims to bring together the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and friends together to help build homes in partnership with families in need. Our hope is to provide an opportunity to better understand diversity by working to provide simple, decent, energy efficient and affordable housing to low-income families in Montgomery County. The Steering Committee for Pride Build includes prominent leaders in the LGBT community including: Bob Bernstein, Elizabeth Birch, Bill Briggs, Colleen Dermody, Randy Griffin, Tim McFeeley, Michael Meller, Jeffery Slavin, Pamela Strother and Bob Witeck.
Hit the link if you'd like to help out.

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LA Times Headline Writer FTW

(Via - Mother Jones)

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Tweet Of The Day - Bret Easton Ellis

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Kobe Bryant Calls Ref "Fucking Faggot"

Last night NBA superstar Kobe Bryant called a referee a "fucking faggot" after receiving a technical foul. The Human Rights Campaign reacts:
"What a disgrace for Kobe Bryant to use such horribly offensive and distasteful language, especially when millions of people are watching. Hopefully Mr. Bryant will recognize that as a person with such fame and influence, the use of such language not only offends millions of LGBT people around the world, but also perpetuates a culture of discrimination and hate that all of us, most notably Mr. Bryant, should be working to eradicate."
JMG reader Sean Chapin provides the below clip.


UPDATE: Bryant has apologized. "What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone."

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Quote Of The Day - Farooq Abdullah

"The male sex is growing and women are getting eliminated. The days are not far when there will be no girls to marry and we’ll all become gays. We never told people the truth, sometimes truth is bitter, we may not win elections but time has come when we must tell people, what is right. And the truth is the population is growing at a much faster rate and unfortunately male sex is growing faster and women are being eliminated, I don’t know whether the time will come. We will all become gays, that might happen." - Indian Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah, reacting to new census figures showing a growing disparity between male and female births.

NOTE: Abdullah makes no mention of India's historic problem with rampant female infanticide and sex-selective abortion.

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Not Intended To Be A Factual Statement

Stephen Colbert had a fucking field day with GOP Sen. Jon Kyl's claim that 90% of Planned Parenthood's work is abortion-related. Kyl's office later gave the "excuseplanation" that what he said was "not intended to be a factual statement."

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LOUISIANA: Federal Appeals Court Denies Gay Dads On Birth Certificate Request

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to allow two gay dads to have their names placed on the Louisiana birth certificate of their adopted son. That right is automatically granted to married couples, but Louisiana does not allow unmarried couples to adopt and does not allow gay people to marry.
Chief Judge Edith Jones wrote for a nine-member majority, rejecting the men's argument that Louisiana illegally treats adoptive children of unmarried parents differently from adoptive children with married parents. "This theory is unavailing in the face of the state's rational preference for stable adoptive families, and the state's decision to have its birth certificate requirements flow from its domestic adoption law," Jones wrote. Also at issue was whether the constitutional requirement that states give "full faith and credit" to each other's laws required the inclusion of both men's names on the birth certificate of the child. That, Jones said, does not mean that Louisiana must "confer particular benefits on unmarried adoptive parents contrary to its law."
The child was born in Louisiana, but adopted in New York where both men are recognized as his parents.

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Pat Robertson: The Bible Predicts An Asteroid Will Destroy The Earth

And yet as an evolution denier, he refuses to allow that the same thing happened 65 million years ago. UPDATE: Hang on, he DOES mention the dinosaurs/asteroid thing at 1:20 mark, which I didn't even hear the first time. Does Robertson now acknowledge that the world isn't 5000 years old?

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Praying For Atheists

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SF Chronicle Editorial: Judge Walker Is Gay, Prop 8 Overturn Must Be Vacated

The San Francisco Chronicle has posted an editorial in which failed 2010 California attorney general candidate John Eastman calls for vacating Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling to overturn Prop 8. Because Walker's recent official coming out as a gay man in a long-term relationship shows that he personally benefited from his own ruling.
Walker's admission requires that his decision in the case be vacated. He is either a direct beneficiary of his ruling in the case, or a person with a close-enough personal interest in the case that his impartiality might reasonably have been questioned if the required disclosures had been made. In Liljeberg vs. Health Services Acquisition Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court held that vacatur is required even when the disqualifying relationship only became known to the parties 10 months after the judgment entered in the case had been upheld on appeal. Where an objective observer would have questioned the judge's impartiality, recusal is required, and the appropriate remedy is to vacate the judgment because of the risk of injustice to the parties and of undermining the public's confidence in the judicial process.
Nowhere in Eastman's piece does he mention that NOM supported his campaign for attorney general. The Chronicle fails to note that pesky detail as well.

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HomoQuotable - Andrew Sullivan

"I do not know right now what to do or say. Except to express my love and gratitude for my family and friends and husband who lived through this with me; and to those who helped lift the HIV ban; and to my lawyer who was simply magnificent; and to those who did what they could - and they know who they are - to keep this show on the road.

"But I do know this. America remains the great dream, the great promise. For all its dysfunction, it remains an ideal, a place where the restlessness of the human mind and soul comes to rest in a place it constantly reinvents and forever re-imagines. I know this in my bones, perhaps more than many who take this amazing mess of a country for granted. But for the first time in my life, I do not feel somewhere in my psyche that I am displaced, unwelcome, an impostor." - Andrew Sullivan, announcing the long-awaited granting of his green card.

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This Is Not My Beautiful House

Embiggen the image for some pie charts showing the U.S. House if it were truly demographically representative.

Weiner Calls Out GOP On Medicare

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Focus On The Family Explains How To Harass LGBT Kids On "Day Of Dialogue"

Focus On The Family's Stuart Shephard hosts anti-gay activist Candi Cushman and her ratty hairpiece to explain how Christianist students are going to harass LGBT kids in the loving name of Jeebus. The Focus-sponsored "Day Of Dialogue" is this Monday. Up until last year, this annual bashing-fest was run by the "ex-gay" liars at Exodus International.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Porno Pete: GLSEN's Day Of Silence Facebook Page "Linked" To Porn Site

In one of his most laughable accusations yet (and that's saying something), Porno Pete LaBarbara tonight breathlessly reports that photos advertising gay hook-up sites were posted to the Facebook page for GLSEN's Day Of Silence. Where children would see them.
A Facebook page affiliated with the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) — to support homosexual student clubs and GLSEN’s upcoming activist “Day of Silence” in schools nationwide (Friday, April 15) — was linked for several weeks to a pornographic “gay” hook-up website containing full-frontal nudity and personal ads expressing interest in dangerous homosexual practices including anal sodomy, “rimming” and various sadistic sex fetishes popular in the homosexual male subculture. The GLSEN ”Gay-Straight Alliances” Facebook page was also linked to a “Gay Trip Thailand” Facebook page with shirtless Thai males — luring men to that notorious sex-tourism destination — as well as a movie about two male lovers that is sponsored by a leading “gay” pornographic video distributor. When the salacious links were exposed April 11 by Mission America, a pro-family group, they were quickly removed from the GLSEN Facebook page.
LaBarbera's post goes on for another zillion words with many long-disproven accusations against GLSEN.

Of course, as anybody who's ever been on Facebook knows, any one of the 40,000 people who "liked" that GLSEN page could have uploaded those photos. Why, it could have even been repulsive anti-gay douchebags like, ta-DAH, Peter LaBarbera. Like the page, upload the photos, lurk for a bit hoping they aren't noticed, take a screenshot...and WHEE! Instant scandal!

Can you imagine the scandal if say, hundreds of salacious photos of ripped male hotties were to be mysteriously uploaded to Porno Pete's own completely ignored public Facebook page? Why, that would be TOTAL PROOF that he's a closet case! Oh, wait.

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UNC Hate Crime Report was False

UPDATE: The story I reported early this morning has been revealed to be false. I should have listened to my gut before posting it.
A UNC-Chapel Hill freshman who told police he was attacked by a man who burned his hand and called him an anti-gay slur made a false report, the university says. In a message just released to the campus community, Chancellor Holden Thorp says: "The Department of Public Safety has determined that the alleged aggravated assault reported to campus last night did not occur. That report, filed with campus police on April 5, was false. The University will not report it as a hate crime." "It is important to recognize that incidents of harassment do occur," Thorp continued. "When they do, we take them seriously. We strive to foster a welcoming, inclusive and safe environment at Carolina.
ORIGINAL POST

A University of North Carolina freshman was attacked last week by a man he says severely burned his wrist with an unknown object.
As the freshman took a walk on South Campus at about 3 a.m. on April 4, he said he ran into an acquaintance on the Craige Residence Hall footbridge. As the two spoke, a man sitting at a nearby picnic table stood up and grabbed him by the wrist, he said. “Here’s a taste of hell you f—-ing fag,” Matney remembered the man saying. The man branded Matney, who is gay, on the left wrist with an unidentified object, causing third- and fourth-degree burns that damaged three nerves and a tendon, leaving the freshman with no feeling in his thumb and limited mobility in his index finger, he said.
The attacked student says he escaped after punching his assailant. UNC plans to report the attack as a hate crime to the federal government.

NOTE: The URL for this post contains the original untrue claim.

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Most Peaceful States

Blue is most peaceful, based on the rate of violent crimes and other factors.

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Stevie Nicks - Cheaper Than Free

With former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart. Lovely.

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Dude No. 1 Beard Oil

At $65 a pop, it's for "subtly scenting men's whiskers." OK, then.

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Trump Sells Himself To Evangelicals

Donald Trump appeared on the Christian Broadcast Network to work his Christianist bona fides. Trump tells CBN that while gays shouldn't be discriminated against, he's totally against gay marriage. The absurdity of that statement captures Trump's candidacy in a nutshell, dunnit?

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Out Magazine's 50 Most Powerful Gays

Out Magazine has issued this year's list of the 50 "most powerful" gay people. New Apple "acting" CEO Tim Cook heads the list on his first appearance. Billionaire GOProud moneyman and libertarian whackadoodle Peter Thiel ranks at #7. Another GOProud member and the 21st century Roy Cohn, Ken Mehlman, debuts at #37. Hit the link for bios on everybody.

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NYC To Get Space Shuttle

The four retired space shuttles have been doled out, but New York City is getting the Enterprise, which never actually went into orbit.

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Trump Tied For First In New CNN Poll

Seriously, this is fantastic.

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HomoQuotable - Fred Karger

"While governor of Arkansas, 11 years ago, [Mike] Huckabee commuted the 108-year prison sentence of Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons then went on a crime spree and ended up in Seattle, Washington, where on 19 November 2010, he casually walked into a coffee shop early one morning and shot and killed four police officers while they were eating breakfast. He fired at point blank range, killing all four instantly. Mike Huckabee has the blood of those four police officers on his hands. He has never even apologised to the families of the slain officers, or showed any remorse for what happened in Seattle that day.

"One year ago, Mike Huckabee said terrible things about my community and me. He compared gay marriage to incest, polygamy and drug abuse. He said that gay couples should not be able to adopt: 'These are not puppies, raising children is not an experiment.' Who the hell is he to cast aspersions on others?" - Openly gay GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, comparing the above-cited murders to Michael Dukasis' 1988 "Willie Horton" incident, which Karger used against Dukakis in his role on the committee to elect George H.W. Bush.

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