Herman Cain: If The Supreme Court Overturns DOMA, I'll Overturn THEM

Responding to a question posed by NOM's Brian Brownshirt, tonight Herman Cain demonstrated an astounding lack of knowledge of how government works. Not one person on the panel bothered to correct him.

GOProud: Liberals Get Out

A Tweet About Today's Debate

The GOP wants you to die uninsured, unmarried, and childless. And could you please do it quickly?

LIVE VIDEO: Iowa Hate Group Hosts GOP 2012 Presidential Candidates

UPDATE: The event is concluded. My recap: "God, hate gays, babies, war, nukes, praise, glory, Jesus, war, God, hate gays, religious oppression, hate gays, hate gays. Jesus!" Plus one deliciously outrageous gaffe by Herman Cain that will surely lead the cable shows all week.

Afternoon View - De-Luxe Apartments

Recognize these de-luxe apartments in the sky-y-y?

GLAAD's Awkward Thanksgiving

In a campaign they're calling "Awkward Thanksgiving," GLAAD suggests you not just sit there at the family table this Thursday.

The LGBT community has a ton to be thankful for from the past year. But we also have a long way to go. And believe it or not, putting down that forkful of stuffing for a minute and just talking about yourself (if you're able to) this Thanksgiving can make a huge difference. We've all had those Thanksgiving dinners where Aunt Betty decides this is the perfect time to discuss a year's worth of ailments and medical treatments. Well, you know what? If she can talk about her polyp, you can talk about your partner.

The fact is, while you're scarfing down mashed potatoes and staying silent while everyone else at the table is freely speaking their minds, you're missing a golden opportunity to make real, honest progress by talking about your life, and the things you care about. It's okay if Aunt Betty feels a little awkward at first, it's important for her to know that someone she loves cares deeply about LGBT equality. And the more we all talk about what's important to us, the less awkward those conversations will become

Crazy Eyes: ACLU Runs The CIA

From one of my favorite YouTube commenters.

Billie Ray Martin - Twisted Lover

Former Electribe 101 frontwoman Billie Ray Martin continues to pump out goodness. This time it's retro gay disco with a shout-out to Ring My Bell. And hit this link for a free download.

Occupy Scott Lively!

Resisting Arrest

(Source)

UPDATE: AmericaBlog has the story and information about the already-launched campaign against the cop.

UPDATE II: There's video.

Tony Perkins On Prop 8 Opinion

Regis Says Goodbye

World's Tallest Trailer Park For Brooklyn

A highrise project above a new sports arena in Brooklyn will be built using modular housing units like those seen in mobile homes. At 32 stories, one of the buildings will be the tallest such structure in the world.

In New York City, the School Construction Authority has used the technology to build classrooms, and the Capsys Corporation, a modular builder based at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, has built prefabricated steel-frame housing up to seven stories tall in Brooklyn and on Long Island. Mr. Ratner said 60 percent of the construction would take place in a factory, where an estimated 190 workers would assemble roughly 950 steel-frame modules, each 14 feet by 35 feet, and outfit them with electric and plumbing lines, as well as with kitchen and bathroom pods. At the same time, on-site workers would build the foundation. The modules would be transported to the site, lifted into place by crane and bolted together. Steel bracing would rise with the stacked modules.

The artist's rendering seen above isn't very promising, but I've seen some rather nifty pre-fab modular homes. And Montreal's Habitat 67 still looks cool.

Mister Chase - Fuck You Very Much

An ASL take on one of my favorite tunes.

Right Wing Rollercoaster

But for Frothy and Hunstman, it's still just a ride on Kiddie Carousel.

Sahara Davenport - Go Off

Hate Group Leader On Prop 8 Opinion

"This is a measure of sanity that has overcome last year's nonsensical and biased ruling of the homosexual Judge Vaughn Walker, who viciously attacked the sacred institution of marriage between a man and a woman. He arrogantly struck down the people's vote. He even denied the people of California the basic right to be represented in court. The constitution, the statutes, and the official oath of office make it abundantly clear that it is the duty of the attorney general and the governor to enforce and defend the California Constitution." - Save California head Randy Thomasson, who last week characterized gay people as "less than animals."

FRC's Quiz On "Family Values"

Just as an FYI, click over and see what the FRC is spewing.

Approval Graph

(Source)

NOM Promises "Papist Takeover"

In a tweet that underscores NOM's increasingly transparent operation as an arm of the Catholic Church, today their blogger Thomas Peters promised a "papist takeover." (Of the United States, we guess.) Peters' father is the U.S. advisor to the Vatican's highest court and recently called for Archbishop Timothy Dolan to excommunicate NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his support for same-sex marriage. Slaggie Gilamonster and Brian Brownshirt are Catholics too, of course.

Fox News Vs. OWS

HomoQuotable - Paul Rudnick

"Gays are beginning to experience what a lot of long-running straight couples go through. A lot of straight people find marriage dull or a government inroad into their private life. I think marriage should be available to everyone, but I don't think it's right for everyone. [snip] I'm a little in the Rachel Maddow camp. I'm 100 percent for the legalization of gay marriage, but I'm not so sure I'll take a sip." - Playwright Paul Rudnick, speaking with Michael Musto. Rudnick remains unmarried after 18 years with his partner despite "feeling the New York nudge."

Occupy Batsignal On NYC Skyline

(Via - Village Voice)

Pepper-Sprayed At Occupy Portland

Oklahoma Preacher: Homosexuals Commit 50% Of All Murders In Large Cities

And many of us "openly admit to be being pedophiles" because we cannot reproduce. So says Christian preacher Tom Vineyard in his remarks in opposition to a gay rights bill in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. You can express your displeasure with this honest Christian man at his church.


UPDATE: Duncan Osborne at Gay City News forwards us the actual source for Vineyard's 50% claim. It turns out the claim is from a 1957 book and the claim was about suicides not murders. (The suicides number is wrong, too.)

Transgender Day Of Rememberance

Sunday is the 13th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, which marks the brutal oppression and murders of trans people around the world. Hit the link for events and vigils all over the globe.

There's A Clip For Benetton's Campaign

Whoa.

(Via - Towleroad)

Quote Of The Day - Dr. Julio Montaner

"Despite the tough fiscal climate in which our government finds itself, working to provide access to care is no longer simply a moral imperative, it is essential if we are to truly end this epidemic. We stand with this administration in its efforts to fight this terrible disease, but urge those at all levels of government to rise to the occasion in which our movement finds itself and make the dream of an AIDS-free generation a reality." - Dr. Julio Montaner, telling the closing session of the U.S. Conference On AIDS that it's "unacceptable that the U.S. can provide medications to the rest of the world, but cannot ensure access to treatment for its own citizens."

(Via JMG reader Richard)

"Marriage Defender" Doug Manchester Buys San Diego's Daily Newspaper

Hotel kingpin and Prop 8 backer Doug Manchester has purchased San Diego's Union-Tribune for $110 million. And locals can expect some big changes.

What happens when that brash, bold, confrontational man steps into the newsroom of the region's largest newspaper? John Lynch, the former local radio executive who will become the newspaper's new president and CEO, offered a preview Thursday night of that future. Some parts of the paper may stay the same. Lynch and Manchester want its publisher, Ed Moss, and its editor, Jeff Light, to stay. Lynch said he doesn't foresee the print product disappearing for at least a decade. But Lynch said he wants the paper to be pro-business. The sports page to be pro-Chargers stadium. And reporters to become stars. "It's news information, but it's also show biz," Lynch said. "You get people to tune in and read your site or the paper when there's an 'Oh wow' in the paper."

BACKGROUND: After Manchester's $125,000 donation to Protect Marriage was made public, a boycott of his San Diego hotels was launched, costing the properties millions in lost convention business. Manchester then offered LGBT groups blocks of free hotel rooms with a value that equaled his Prop 8 donation, an olive branch that was refused. In 2009 Manchester's wife of 43 years launched an ugly divorce proceeding that included claims that he had forged her name on an $8M tax refund check. Last year his hotel hosted the wedding of Ladyfingers Prejean.

Assassination Suspect: Nostradamus Told Me I'm The Second Coming Of Christ

This is the nutter arrested for hitting the White House with several shots in what the Secret Service has characterized as an assassination attempt on the president. And like many of the dangerously psychotic, his delusions are drenched in religion.

Christwire Vs. JMG, Part Three

Here we go!

I could only wish this were the age of Inquisition, because I would happily kick through the doors of every confirmed gay and make them renounce their choice of fecal empowerment! The atheists and gays love to disrespect religion, so it is no surprise they have decided to pick on these two holy leaders and cause the Pope to be damned to hell and bring even more damnation and guilt upon the Imam. Let’s pray for Pope Ratzinger tonight that God will forgive him for this homosexual kiss. It is not funny. It is terrifying and angering all at once, and as always, the gays are to blame.

White House Vs. Benetton

The White House has joined the Vatican in expressing displeasure at Benetton's wildly viral ad campaign. But unlike the Vatican, the White House is more concerned with copyright issues.

The White House isn’t feeling very kissy toward Benetton, after the publicity-loving clothing company photo-shopped President Obama into an ad smooching Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez. "The White House has a long-standing policy disapproving of the use of the president's name and likeness for commercial purposes," deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said in a statement. The ads feature manipulated images of Obama kissing Chavez and Hu — and throws in pictures of Pope Benedict XVI canoodling with a top Egyptian imam — the point being international solidarity and love, as befits the brands “United Colors” campaign.

Early in his administration, the White House threatened legal action against a coat manufacturer when it posted a Times Square billboard showing that the president had worn their jacket.

Iowa Hate Group To Host GOP Field

At a program cosponsored by NOM, Iowa's Family Leader will host much of the GOP presidential field in a fundraising event that charges $40 to meet the candidates. You may recall Family Leader for their presidential pledge with claimed, among many things, that black families were better off under slavery. But that doesn't bother the giants of the Republican Party, who are happy to appear under the Family Leader's banner.

Tomorrow In NYC: Furball 2011

Tomorrow night at NYC's LGBT Community Center. It's a complete mob scene. Starts early, ends early. Facebook page here.

MGMT - All We Ever Wanted

UPDATE: The band's sales prevention team has blocked the video on YouTube. They don't want anybody accidentally buying the new record.

Frothy Mix: I'm The Best On Hating Gays

"If you want to see the contrast, the contrast is there. I'm a solid conservative who fought for the federal marriage amendment as opposed to Mitt Romney, who issued gay marriage licenses and actually violated the constitution of Massachusetts to institute gay marriage in his state. One of the reasons I do talk about the past is because I have the best record in the field." - Rick Santorum, speaking on Laura Ingraham's radio show.

Astronomy Photo Of 2011

Buzzfeed reports that the above photo of Jupiter with lo and Ganymede has been named Astronomy Photo of 2011.

Obama's Muslim Inclinations

"They say he’s going back to the place that he spent his childhood, he spent four years in Indonesia, I don’t know if he was trained in a madrassa, one of those Muslim schools, but nevertheless that is his inclination. His father was a Kenyan socialist and he talks about the roots of his father. So he’s got an African and an Indonesian background. I don’t know what his mother was doing; she just sort of flitted around. But nevertheless, this may give him a warped perspective of what needs to be done to make America the greatest nation on earth." - Pat Robertson, speaking on the 700 Club.

FRC's Prayer Of The Day

The Family Research Council is asking its followers to pray that millions of Americans remain without health care. The Bible demands it!

Please pray for each member of the Supreme Court during the weeks and months ahead. May God rule in this case, among the top 10 Supreme Court cases in American history, and may ObamaCare be ruled unconstitutional! (Dt 1:16-17; 2 Kg 24:Ps 82:1-5; Pr 14:34; 24:10-12;4; Is 10:1; Gal 5:1)

New York, New York

Brian Brownshirt Cheers Prop 8 Opinion

"It has been nothing short of shameful to see Governor Jerry Brown, his predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Kamala Harris abdicate their constitutional responsibility to defend Proposition 8 in Court. Although today’s ruling from the California Supreme Court confirms that the proponents of Prop 8 have the right to defend their initiative when the state officials refuse to fulfill their sworn duty, it is gratifying to know that the over 7 million Californians who supported the initiative will have a vigorous defense of their decision in our federal courts." - NOM president Brian Brownshirt.

New From Herman Cain

Herman McBain

Another Attempt To Repeal SB48

How is this new effort different from the one that just failed?

UPDATE: I'm told the last petition campaign was for an outright repeal of the bill in its entirety. This new attempt would strip the words "gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender" and "sexual orientation" from the bill's wording, which would have the same net effect.

December 2nd: NYC Toys Party

Even though the room capacity is over 2000, this event sells out instantaneously every year. Which is why I've never been.

Dumbassery On Parade, Part Two

If you thought their last clip was wall-to-wall lies, hang on to your Lie-O-Meter for this one!

Tony Perkins: We Must Keep Military's Sodomy Ban Despite DADT Repeal

As usual, Perkins goes all straw man: "If the ban on sodomy is lifted, can the ban on adultery be far behind?" Who fucking cares? On the other hand, Newt Gingrich would enlist in a heartbeat!

Prop 8 Standing Reactions

Human Rights Campaign

“With today’s decision, the case challenging Prop 8 returns to federal court and we are one step closer to ending discrimination against loving California couples. Thousands of California families remain in legal limbo and we urge the Ninth Circuit to quickly issue its decision. We thank the courageous plaintiffs, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, and the Olson-Boies legal team for their continued fight for the equality of all Californians.”

Courage Campaign

"Allowing the Prop 8 proponents to have special rights in Court may open the floodgates to wealthy special interests to do the same. The judges of the 9th Circuit must determine if people who had enough money to buy a ballot measure that calls for people to vote on each other's rights should have special rights in federal court. Regardless, we are confident that justice and love will prevail."

Lambda Legal

"While a disappointing ruling, this case is now back in federal court, where we expect a quick victory. The ruling addresses only a procedural legal question. The key question underlying this case is whether the U.S. Constitution permits a state electorate to treat one group of people unequally to everyone else by depriving them of what the state's high court has held to be a fundamental right. A federal court has already ruled that it may not. We look forward to seeing that decision upheld so that same-sex couples in California may once again enjoy the freedom to marry."

National Center For Lesbian Rights

"In the bigger picture, this is good news for same-sex couples in California. Prop 8 is blatantly unconstitutional for many reasons -- not only because it deprives same-sex couples of a basic right, but because it was enacted for the sole purpose of targeting a particular group in order to deny them equal protection of the laws. It is likely the Ninth Circuit will issue a ruling fairly quickly, since they agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis. But even if they do, it likely will not be soon enough to permit the Supreme Court to hear the case during its current term."

More to come very shortly....

CA Supreme Court Issues Opinion: Haters Have Standing To Defend Proposition 8

As many insiders predicted, today the California Supreme Court issued its opinion that the backers of Proposition 8 should have standing to defend the measure. The question had been punted to the California court by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, who will now take the opinion into consideration while formulating their own decision on the issue. And the beat goes on...

The above excerpt comes via Good As You, where you can find the entire opinion.

AFER knew this was coming and just posted this reaction.

NYPD Uses Sonic Weapon On OWS

Twitter is lighting up with OWS reports that the NYPD is using a handheld sonic cannon known as an L-RAD or Long-Range Acoustic Device. "Long-Range Acoustic Devices (L-RADs) send harmful, pain inducing tones over longer distances and are rarely deployed for crowd control purposes." Note: The below clip doesn't show the weapon being used.

Losers

Anti-bullying PSA with language too strong for YouTube.

Ruth Buzzi, Texan

Enter NOM's Newest Spokesliar

Always hard-pressed to find actual victims to support their new Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, NOM reached into Canada to hire sportscaster and "devout Roman Catholic" Damian Goddard as the group's official spokesman. If you saw the video I posted yesterday, you know that Goddard claims he was fired from Sportsnet for sending a single tweet in support of "one man, one woman marriage." Slight problem: Goddard's former employers say he's full of shit.

In response to questions about Mr. Goddard, Sportsnet released the following statement: “Mr. Goddard is aware of the reasons — which are well documented ­— why he is no longer with Sportsnet. Out of respect for our employees we do not discuss personnel issues in the press.” Mr. Gale said he contacted Sportsnet in May to see if there was an amicable way of settling the situation. He spoke to a senior person in human resources, who said Sportsnet had already made the decision to terminate Mr. Goddard for cause before the May 10 tweet and the company had lots of documentation to support its case.

Whatever Goddard did do to get fired, his employers won't say publicly. Which means it's probably pretty juicy. But NOM has never let the truth get between them and any chance to demonize LGBT Americans, even if they have to import a foreigner to do it.

Douchebags Of The Day

(Source)

Christwire's 51 Words For Penis

GEORGIA: State GOP Wants "In God We Trust" On ALL License Plates

Georgia GOP state Sen. Bill Heath wants "In God We Trust" on every license plate. And if you don't like it, you can pay the state for a sticker to cover up the slogan.

Motorists can already purchase a sticker with the motto for $1. The sticker can be placed over the usual county name decal Georgia license plates currently sport. Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, filed the proposal to reverse that order. He proposed the motto would be the default on any license plates manufactured after July 1 but motorists could buy a county decal sticker to cover it if they wanted.

The Extra Space Is For Jeebus

(Source)

The World's Most Expensive Historian

In one of the most snort-worthy lies ever vomited up by the GOP, Newt Gingrich is claiming that he was paid $1.6M by Freddie Mac to act as a historian. And not to peddle his influence as a lobbyist.

I offered advice. My advice as an historian when they walked in and said we are now making loans to people that have no credit history and have no record of paying back anything but that’s what the government wants us to do. I said at the time, this is a bubble. This is insane. This is impossible. It turned out unfortunately I was right and the people who were doing exactly what Congresswoman Bachmann talked about were wrong.

They truly are shameless.

NETHERLANDS: Parliament Moves To End Refusal Rights On Same-Sex Marriage

In a move that echoes an ongoing battle in New York state, this week the Dutch parliament voted to end an exemption which permits civil marriage officiants to refuse gay couples.

MPs voted on Tuesday afternoon for a change in the law to prevent civil servants refusing to conduct gay marriages. It is thought to be the first time the government has been defeated in an important parliamentary vote. Under current legislation, registrars can refuse to carry out a gay wedding if they are opposed on religious grounds. The cabinet has argued that as long as gay couples can get married in every local authority area, opt-outs should be allowed. But opposition MPs say this is institutionalised discrimination and want a change in the law. Although the anti-Islam PVV is sympathetic to this position, the party had been expected to vote against it because of its alliance with the minority cabinet.

Maybe one of our Dutch readers can tell us what happens next.

Tweet Of The Day - Levi Crocker

It looks like even Taylor Garrett's A-List cast mate and (sometimes) boyfriend doesn't believe him.

Benetton Pulls Pope Image

After furious complaints from the Vatican, controversial fashion house Benetton has pulled the Pope's "Unhate" image from their campaign featuring world leaders kissing on the mouth. (I posted another image from the campaign yesterday.)

"This shows a grave lack of respect for the Pope, an offence to the feelings of believers, a clear demonstration of how publicity can violate the basic rules of respect for people," said Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's spokesman. He said the Holy See was considering taking legal action against the fashion company. The image, which is guaranteed to offend Catholics around the world, briefly appeared on a banner which was draped over the side of a Renaissance stone bridge near the Vatican, in the centre of Rome. Hanging the banner was part of a series of "guerilla actions", the company said, which included the unveiling in Paris of an image of Nicholas Sarkozy smooching Angela Merkel and the unfurling of a banner outside Milan Cathedral depicting Barack Obama kissing his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao.

Among those complaining yesterday was the Vatican-owned NOM, whose blogger Thomas Peters took to Twitter and his Catholic Vote blog to express outrage.

Thousands March On Wall Street

After their eviction from and (sort of) return to Zuccotti Park, today the OWS protesters are marching on the literal Wall Street, a destination likely to be fiercely protected by the NYPD. The NY Daily News and NY1 are both live-blogging from the scene.

Sydney Mardi Gras 2012

Still on my bucket list. One of these years...

PETA Vs. Super Mario

He kills racoons! Or something!

The Handschu Guidelines

Interesting piece on spying by the NYPD.

FRC Backs Cake Bigot

DNC Vs. Rick Perry

Open Thread Thursday

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Bio-family? Gay family? Both? Neither?

Another Day, Another NOM Lie?

Late this afternoon NOM fired out an "emergency alert" that "Senate liberals" headed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein were planning to attach the repeal of DOMA to a "must pass" Defense Authorization Bill. The outrage! The trickery! The...totally untrue lie by compulsive liars who can't stop lying?The Human Rights Campaign's Fred Sainz moves in for the kill.

“Their members and their donors are, obviously, upset at their very poor performance,” Sainz said. “NOM needs to give them a red herring that equals hope or shows that they are working on something no matter how big of a lie it is. They’re trying to raise money with this is what they’re trying to do. They are trying to give the sense that something is going on when this is not something that is in the works.”

Of course, one could make the case that Feinstein is only denying having "threatened" to attach the DOMA repeal to the bill and is actually planning on doing it. Which would be an interesting, if hopelessly doomed tactic.

Carl Siciliano: Leading Man Of 2011

Last night Father Tony and I attended Instinct Magazine's posh event at District 36 where Carl Siciliano was feted as one of 2011's Leading Men, an honor bestowed on gay men outside of the usual celebrity orbit of movies and television. Carl (above in the white shirt) is well-known here as the founder and executive director of NYC's Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBT youth. Also on this year's list is San Francisco's Sean Chapin, who is a JMG reader and prolific video/music artist! Congrats to all!

FLASHBACK: Here's the slideshow from my year on the list in 2009. I'll add a slideshow to this post too very shortly.

BELOW: Gay City News' Dean Wrzeszcz, JMG, Father Tony. Photo by Jason Russo.