Saturday, July 07, 2012

Rep. Barney Frank Becomes First Gay Member Of Congress To Marry

Today Rep. Barney Frank made history when he became the first openly gay sitting member of Congress to marry.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick officiated the ceremony and added some levity by saying Frank, 72, and Ready, 42, had vowed to love each other through Democratic and Republican administrations alike, and even through appearances on Fox News, according to Al Green, a Democratic congressman from Texas. "Barney was beaming," said Green, who attended the ceremony. He added that Frank, a champion of gay rights and the sweeping reform of Wall Street, shed a tear during the ceremony. After exchanging their vows, Frank and Ready embraced each other, Green said. "It was no different than any other wedding I've attended when you have two people who are in love with each other," Green said.
Frank will retire at the end of this, his sixteenth term in office. The wedding was attended by top Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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Scott Lively Issues "Christian Red Alert" Over Missouri Anti-Discrimination Bill

Hate group leader Scott Lively, who is presently being sued for crimes against humanity, has issued a "Christian Red Alert" because Springfield, Missouri is considering a bill to protect LGBT residents from discrimination.
The City of Springfield Missouri has announced it’s intention to "consider"an ordinance to give homosexuals extraordinary new powers to silence and punish Christian landlords and businesses through civil rights lawsuits. Framed as an “anti-discrimination” measure it is in reality a “Gay Fascism” Bill that will make disapproval of homosexuality illegal in the City of Springfield and grant gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders (GLBTs) legal standing to sue their opponents, primarily Christians. Starting in the 1980s in cities like San Francisco, homosexuals have forced many U.S. cities and numerous states to adopt similar “Gay Fascism” laws with disastrous effects on Christian landlords and businesses. Empowered by recent successes, they are now pushing into conservative cities.
Lively will be in Springfield this week to "train" local bigots on how best to oppose the proposed bill. The third-largest town in the state, Springfield calls itself "Queen City Of The Ozarks."

VIDEO: Yesterday Lively appeared on Bryan Fischer's nationally syndicated radio show to scream about the bill. Hit play only if you can bear it.

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TUESDAY: Bear Week Blowoff

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Today We Are All Red States

Source.

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Obama Ad Slams Romney On Abortion

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House GOP Rep. Thad McCotter Resigns After Reelection Petition Scandal

Far right five-term GOP House Rep. Thad McCotter (MI) abruptly resigned from Congress yesterday even though he was predicted to skate through an easy reelection campaign. Had he actually been on the 2012 ballot, that is.
His staff turned in 2,000 signatures supporting his candidacy, twice as many as needed to be eligible for the Aug. 7 primary ballot. But 80 percent were found to be fake or duplicates. McCotter initially said he would conduct a write-in campaign but eventually dropped the effort. An attorney, he was first elected to the House in 2003 after serving as a state senator and county commissioner. “We wish Congressman McCotter and his family the best and thank him for his service to the state,’’ said Matt Frendewey, spokesman for the Michigan GOP.
McCotter had a 100% rating from the Christian Coalition and voted against the Hate Crimes Act, against repealing DADT, and for a federal amendment banning same-sex marriage. He did vote in favor of ENDA. McCotter briefly launched a virtually unnoticed campaign for the presidency in 2011.

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Presbyterians Narrowly Reject Marriage

In an astonishingly close vote, a mainline Presbyterian denomination voted yesterday to reject an endorsement of same-sex marriage.
The vote at the church’s biannual convention in Pittsburgh was 338 to 308, with 2 abstentions. But the decisive generational shift that lies ahead for the church was made clear in a separate tally of votes by seminary students and young adult advisory delegates, known as YAADs. The students voted 82 to 18 percent in favor of changing the definition of marriage, and the young adult delegates voted 75 to 21 percent — but their votes were solely advisory. The Rev. Katharine Rhodes Henderson, president of the Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City, said, “If the YAADs had voted, this probably would have passed.”

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, with about two million members. But its numbers have declined in recent years, in part because of the conflict over the gay issue. Last year, the church, like several other mainline Protestant denominations, approved the ordination of noncelibate gay clergy members. But the Presbyterians left it up to each region of the church to decide, which allowed some theologically conservative congregations to remain within the denomination — a diversity reflected in the debate and the vote on Friday.

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Scissor Sisters Have A REAL Kiki

Last night the Scissor Sisters played Terminal 5 in Hell's Kitchen where an already ecstatic (and virtually all-male) audience went nuts when during their current club smash, Let's Have A Kiki, the band brought out Justin Bond of the legendary cabaret act Kiki & Herb. We literally screamed in delight and later at the XL after party I got to chat with Justin who was thrilled with the reception she got. We didn't stay long at the after party, but my loyal companion Aaron and I left marveling at the Limelight Disco 2000-esque crowd of club kids, dragoons, and general wildness. We both had thought that scene was long gone and we simultaneously felt very old and very pleased.

RELATED: Terminal 5 is my favorite Manhattan concert venue in part because they usually manage to keep the place fairly cool no matter how jammed the room may be. But not last night, where it was murderously hot in the balconies. To put it in terms San Franciscans may relate to, it was 4am at Real Bad hot. It was holiday weekend Pleasuredome rear disco hot. That's how hot it was.

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Legalize Love: Google Launches Global Marriage Campaign For Marriage

Google has announced that it has launched a global campaign in support of marriage equality.
The "Legalize Love" campaign officially launches in Poland and Singapore on Saturday, July 7th. Google intends to eventually expand the initiative to every country where the company has an office, and will focus on places with homophobic cultures, where anti-gay laws exist. Google's Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe outlined the initiative at a Global LGBT Workplace Summit in London earlier today. "We want our employees who are gay or lesbian or transgender to have the same experience outside the office as they do in the office. It is obviously a very ambitious piece of work. Their strategy involves developing partnerships between companies and organizations to support grass-roots campaigns.

On the decision to launch the initial phase in a country like Singapore, Palmer-Edgecumbe says, "Singapore wants to be a global financial center and world leader and we can push them on the fact that being a global center and a world leader means you have to treat all people the same, irrespective of their sexual orientation." At the end of the day, the "Legalize Love" campaign is also good for Google's business. "We operate in many countries and have a very globally mobile workforce. We have had a number of instances where we have been trying to hire people into countries where there are these issues and have been unable to put the best person into a job in that country," said Palmer-Edgecumbe.
We're still waiting for that Google boycott.

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WA Methodist Group Endorses Marriage

A splinter group of Methodists has endorsed Referendum 74, which would uphold Washington state's recently passed marriage equality bill.
The United Methodist Church in the Northwest, at odds with its parent denomination, has endorsed Referendum 74 and called on voters to make Washington the nation’s seventh state to enact same-sex marriage. The church’s Pacific Northwest Annual Conference passed a resolution worded to “encourage all people to approve Referendum 74 so that the Marriage Equality Act can be put into law.” Same-sex marriage was approved by the Legislature in February and signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire, but opponents gathered the requisite 120,577 valid voter signatures to force a vote in November.

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NYT: Rift Between "Ex-Gays" Deepens

The New York Times reports that more "ex-gay" ministries are moving to distance themselves from Exodus International, whose head Alan Chambers has admitted that reparative therapy never works.
Mr. [David] Pickup, an officer of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality [NARTH], composed of like-minded therapists, said reparative therapy had achieved profound changes for thousands of people, including himself. The therapy, he said, had helped him confront emotional wounds and “my homosexual feelings began to dissipate and attractions for women grew.” Some in the ex-gay world are more scathing about Mr. Chambers. “I think Mr. Chambers is tired of his own personal struggles, so he’s making excuses for them by making sweeping generalizations about others,” said Gregg Quinlan, a conservative lobbyist in New Jersey and president of a support group called Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays.
Chambers continues to call for lifelong celibacy for gays who can't force themselves into opposite-sex relationships.
Mr. Chambers said he was simply trying to restore Exodus to its original purpose when it was founded in 1976: providing spiritual support for Christians who are struggling with homosexual attraction. He said that he was happy in his marriage, with a “love and devotion much deeper than anything I experienced in gay life,” but that he knew this was not feasible for everyone. Many Christians with homosexual urges may have to strive for lives of celibacy.

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Friday, July 06, 2012

They're Farmers And They Grow It

Over 3.2M YouTube views already.

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UN Calls For Tax On Billionaires

The United Nations has called for a special tax on the world's billionaires, saying that such a fund could provide as much as $400B a year for impoverished countries.
An annual lump sum payment by the super-rich is one of a host of measures including a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, currency exchanges or financial transactions proposed in a UN report that accuses wealthy nations of breaking promises to step up aid for the less fortunate. The annual World Economic and Social Survey says it is critical to find new ways to help the world’s poor as pledged cash fails to flow. The report estimates that the number of people around the globe worth at least $1 billion rose to 1,226 in 2012. There are an estimated 425 billionaires in the United States, 315 in the Asia-Pacific region, 310 in Europe, 90 in other North and South American countries and 86 in Africa and the Middle East. Together they own an estimated $4.6 trillion so a one percent tax on their wealth would raise more than $46 billion, according to the report.
RELATED: France's new Socialist government has said they plan to implement a 75% income tax on those making more than one million euros a year. There's a real possibility of that happening due to the commanding majority the Socialists now hold in the national legislature.

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LAUNCHED: Herman Cain TV

Herman Cain has launched a new website and The Guardian is alternately baffled and amused:
Perhaps you've heard the news that failed Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has launched his own online television channel, or "website", at CainTV.com? This is the most absurd thing to happen in the world of launching your own things since British member of Parliament Louise Mensch launched her rival to electricity, or whatever it was, last month. Sadly, however, Cain TV is so authentically bizarre that it's hard to make the kind of snide jokes you'd expect from a liberal media outlet.

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Ted Nugent: We Wouldn't Have Obamacare If The South Had Just Won The Civil War

"Because our legislative, judicial and executive branches of government hold the 10th Amendment in contempt, I’m beginning to wonder if it would have been best had the South won the Civil War. Our Founding Fathers’ concept of limited government is dead. Because of the chief justice’s vote, Fedzilla just burped and is now prepared to gobble up even more of our tax dollars, more of our GDP and limit even more opportunity in the private sector." - Faded rocker Ted Nugent, writing for the Washington Times.

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NOM Responds To Jane Pitt Story

All you need is the headline.

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NEW YORK: Court Rules Against Liberty Counsel's Challenge To Marriage

Another shot of good news for your weekend, not that the Liberty Counsel had a chance in hell to succeed.
The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Rochester ruled against gay marriage opponents who argued that state senators violated New York's open meeting rules ahead of the law's passage on June 24, 2011. The law was given final legislative approval by the state Senate after weeks of intensive lobbying and swiftly signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms claimed Cuomo and another gay marriage supporter, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, met behind closed doors with the Senate's Republican majority in violation of the law.
The three groups that had petitioned the court were Torah Jews For Decency, Liberty Counsel, and New Yorkers For Constitutional Freedoms. (Via Good As You)

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Focus Has The DOMA Blues

Just posted to the Focus On The Family blog:
The Department of Justice has decided to rig the game in order to get the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) declared unconstitutional, and in the process coax the Supreme Court into granting homosexuality the heightened status of a “quasi-suspect class” under the equal protection provisions of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution, much like race, sex and religion. The DOJ is also manipulating the federal appeals process a bit in order to achieve its goals, so the chutzpah it takes to attempt this maneuver is impressive. And maddening.
Snicker.

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True Blood Cosmetics

Available next month on the Home Shopping Network. Lipstick shades include Bite Me, New Flesh, and Fairydust. (Tipped by JMG reader Rebecca)

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Iris Leonardo - Let Me Be

Coproduced by Jeff Crerie, who did Matt Alber's last album. That's Jeff's husband Mykel signing the lyrics. Lovely.

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The Advocate Endorses Obama

Making what they say is their first endorsement "in decades," today The Advocate officially backed Barack Obama.
By saying aloud, “I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” in a televised interview on ABC, he has sparked conversation domestically and internationally. While he is our president at home, globally he’s an icon, a symbol of the promise of America, of the promise of equality. Obama may be the most prominent man on the planet ever, given the pervasiveness of modern media and his anomalous and historic nature as the first black American president; he is surely the single most recognizable head of state on the globe. By virtue of his unique position, his endorsement of marriage equality is not merely rhetoric. His words constitute action. On the very face of it, his statement is enormous, and has the power to move millions in a way that a statement from no other person could have.
Read the full article.

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From Maine's Marriage Opponents

Via JMG reader Louise, the above is how Maine hate group leader Mike Heath illustrates his latest beg for money. The accompanying press release notes that Frank is spending the summer "sodomizing his boyfriend Jim" in anticipation of their coming wedding. As classless as we'd expect.

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Theme Song For The Dear Leader

Kim Jong-un has a new theme song.
The anthem – catchily titled Onwards Toward the Final Victory is part of the propaganda drive to build up the image of the "great successor". Radio and television are airing it several times a day and the score has already been printed in the official newspaper Rodong Sinmun. "The song hardens the will of the Korean army and people to devote their all to the prosperity of the country with high national pride," said state news agency KCNA.
I'll have to wait for the remix.

Higgs Boson

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Katy Perry On Obama's Evolution

"I was really happy; I probably went down to West Hollywood and had a shot. I came from a different mind-set growing up, and my mind has changed. My viewpoint on all these things—equality for women, the choice to love anyone you want—hopefully, we will look back at this moment and think like we do now concerning [other] civil rights issues. We’ll just shake our heads in disbelief, saying, ‘Thank God we’ve evolved.’ That would be my prayer for the future." - Katy Perry, speaking with Parade Magazine.

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100% Bacon Burger

The Slater's 50/50 chain has launched a 100% ground bacon burger. Which comes with a slice of bacon, just because. It bears the Simpsons-esque name, The 'Merica Burger.

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Only The Teavangelicals Can Save Us

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British AIDS Group Calls For Home Testing

Noting that some Brits have already begun attempting to order the OraQuick in-home HIV testing kit from America, the National AIDS Trust has called upon the British government to approve the test as well.
“It will be far better for the Government to legalise and ensure the quality of such kits and that proper information, advice and support are available alongside their use, than for people to access such unlicensed testing kits via the internet. We need to work out a way of integrating this new and exciting technology effectively and safely into our testing strategies so that people with HIV are diagnosed as early as possible and can live long and healthy lives.”
RELATED: After Monday's approval by the FDA, the OraQuick website immediately launched, but the product does not yet have a shipping date. The test is scheduled to launch this October on the shelves and websites of Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Walmart. The retail price has not yet been officially disclosed, but analysts expect it to run about $60. Confidential and FREE tests are available in almost every American city.

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AFA Commenter Calls For Bombing GLSEN

I think I'm going to start a series of these since hate groups love so much to scream bloody murder and republish mean anonymous internet comments about them. The above comment was deleted after about twelve hours. By the way, regulars on OneNewsNow complain every day that their beloved site has become overrun by "homosexualist trolls." Garsh, I hope that's not because some homofascist blogger keeps linking their news items. Snork!

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New From Karl Rove

Crossroads GPS says they'll spend $25M in the next month to run this ad in about a dozen (mostly) swing states.

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Headline Of The Day

Breitbart.com speculates:
Ann’s comments came the day after Romney hung out with Sen. Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire. Other prospective women on the list would have to include Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Gov. Susana Martinez (R-NM), Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), and even former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK). There is little doubt that the Romney campaign wants to reach out to women; Ann is far more popular with women than Mitt. He could certainly do worse than to choose any of the women on the short list above.

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100K "Ex-Gay" Preachers Will Heal AIDS

More from crackpot Pastor Lou Engle.

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REPORT: No Dent In Unemployment

Mitt Romney is live on CNN right this minute crowing about the just-released June jobs report which shows no change in the unemployment situation.
The nation's unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2% for the second consecutive month, the Labor Department said Friday. Businesses added 84,000 jobs, while government payrolls fell by 4,000. A consensus of economists had estimated that payrolls grew by 95,000 jobs last month, including 103,000 in the private sector. The report also could help determine President Obama's reelection chances because voters' perception of the economy tend to take shape in the summer. Weak job growth and an unemployment rate stuck above 8% the next few months could work to the advantage of Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. An Associated Press-GfK poll in June found that more than half of those surveyed disapproved of the president's handling of the economy.

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IOWA: Hate Groups Concede That Their Battle To Overturn Marriage Is Failing

ABC News reports that even Iowa's most ardent opponents to same-sex marriage are glumly conceding that the likelihood of a repeal is fading away.
The shifting views come as a bitter disappointment for the state's prominent Christian conservative community which has long bridled at Iowa's status as a gay rights haven in the heartland — the only place outside the Northeast where gays can marry. "People are getting comfortable with it and that's a shame to tell you the truth," said Susan Geddes, an Iowa Republican and social conservative organizer who worked for Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign in the state. Even Republicans seem to be more accepting, said Julie Summa marketing director for The Family Leader, a social conservative advocacy group. She and other evangelical leaders attribute the change to libertarian Republicans, like supporters Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who oppose restrictions on personal freedoms. The issue is less prominent now in conservative campaigns, they said.
Cue the sad trombone.

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Billboard Of The Day

Londoners woke up today to find that vandals had splashed oil and left their website address on six Olympic billboards posted by BP. Numerous other billboards in the transit system have been similarly defaced with smears of oil. Lots more photos at the first link.

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OHIO: Supreme Court To Hear Appeal Of Teacher Fired For Teaching Creationism

The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of a public school teacher who claims he was wrongly terminated last year for teaching creationism and Christian doctrine.
John Freshwater claims his rights to free speech and academic freedom were violated when he was fired by the Mount Vernon school board in January 2011 following allegations that he failed to remove religious materials from his classroom and burned crosses on students’ arms during science experiments. “This Court must intervene if students and teachers in America's public schools are to remain free to engage in open, respectful dialogue about competing academic theories and their respective merits. Nowhere is such freedom more crucial than in a science classroom, where the asking and answering of questions is the very basis of the universally acknowledged “scientific method,” Freshwater’s attorney, R. Kelly Hamilton argued in his request for the court to hear the case.
The school board says Freshwater ignored their 2003 refusal to allow him to continue teaching "the alleged controversy surrounding evolution." Freshwater has become a folk hero to the far right. (Tipped by JMG reader Gus)

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Strictly For The Show Queens

To the tune of If Mamma Was Married, from Gypsy.

(Via Zack Ford)

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BRITAIN: Rainbow Flag Flies Over Government Building For First Time

As Pride London collapses in a morass of infighting and financial problems, British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has ordered that the rainbow flag be flown over a government building for the first time.
“There has to be a first time for everything,” said Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrat party. “Flying this iconic flag in the heart of Whitehall is a small but important emblem that the government and this country are behind equal rights,” added Clegg, whose centrist party is junior partner in a coalition led by the centre-right Conservatives. The striped rainbow flag was raised over the Cabinet Office, the ministry responsible for coordinating central government.
Andrew Belonsky notes that Pride London is beseeching the city government to prepare for the expected large crowds despite the cancellation of most events.
To create a safe and incident-free event for revelers in Soho, Westminster Council will need to close key roads and uphold parking suspensions in the area. Because we couldn’t provide the assurances required to pay the council for these closures, the application did not progress. As a result we cannot guarantee a safe and secure event for the community in Soho and we’re forced to cancel all official Pride London events for this reason.

The partying will no doubt still carry on and bars and clubs [will be] extremely busy. However, normal licensing rules apply. We urge that revelers enjoying post-Pride in Soho keep their wits about them and stay safe.

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Santigold - The Keepers

Alyssa Rosenberg offers this critique:
It’s a house where impeccably coifed, white-blonde people eat food that glows with poison. When shooters in a car shred the walls, they momentarily startle, then check their hair and make sure their clothes are in place, and sit back down to dinner. And when their milkman’s caught in the crossfire, they make a spectacle of his death without considering the risk outside. The house build by racism is burning down around them and they don’t even notice. [snip] It seems it takes someone like Santigold to do the job properly, to reveal the obscenity of moving through your swish, stylish life ignorant of the fundamental inequalities you benefit from, and unprepared to adapt to a world without them.

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Nate Silver's Electoral Map

Source.

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Quote Of The Day - Jane Pitt

"I think any Christian should spend much time in prayer before refusing to vote for a family man with high morals, business experience, who is against abortion, and shares Christian conviction concerning homosexuality just because he is a Mormon. Any Christian who does not vote or writes in a name is casting a vote for Romney’s opponent, Barack Hussein Obama — a man who sat in Jeremiah Wright’s church for years, did not hold a public ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer, and is a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage." - Jane Pitt, mother of Brad Pitt, in a letter published by the Springfield, Missouri News-Leader. Brad Pitt, as you probably know, is an ardent supporter of LGBT rights.

NOTE: Yesterday the linked newspaper retracted their claim that the letter was from Brad Pitt's mother. The paper later retracted its retraction with this update: "To clear up earlier confusion, the News-Leader has verified the letter writer is the mother of actor Brad Pitt and local businessman Doug Pitt."

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Minnesota For Marriage Is Butthurt

Minnesota For Marriage is ever so pissed about the title for their ballot measure, which Secretary of State Mark Ritchie issued last week as "Limiting the status of marriage to opposite-sex couples."
"Basically what we're looking for is to find out any amendment-related correspondence that the secretary of state has had with either parties that oppose the amendment, or with Governor Dayton, or even the Attorney General Lori Swanson, just to make sure that there wasn't any collusion going on here to try and defeat the amendment."
Last year Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed the legislature's attempt to adopt the marriage ban, which invalidated the demanded title, "Recognition of marriage solely between one man and one woman."

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Dallas Men Arrested After Marriage Sit-In

Two gay men were arrested in a Dallas marriage license office yesterday after they staged a sit-in upon being refused.
Mark Jiminez and Beau Chandler say they were protesting Texas' ban on gay marriage, passed in 2005. The two men went to the clerk's office Wednesday afternoon to file for a marriage license they knew they wouldn't receive. When they were denied, Jiminez and Chandler sat down and handcuffed their arms together. They were eventually led out by Dallas sheriff's deputies. Dallas television station WFAA reports that Chandler signed paperwork Thursday to change his legal last name to Jiminez, even though they weren't married.
VIDEO: Via the Dallas Voice.

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America's Revolution Wasn't A Rebellion

If it had been, that would have been against the bible.

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Thursday, July 05, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO: Jury Acquits Man Of Beating The Priest He Says Molested Him

Today a San Francisco jury found Will Lynch (left) not guilty on two felony charges of beating the priest he says sexually abused him as a child.
The jury found Will Lynch not guilty of felony elder abuse and felony assault for a confrontation with Rev. Jerold Lindner. It also found Lynch not guilty of misdemeanor elder abuse, but deadlocked 8-4 in favor of a conviction on misdemeanor assault. The verdict was a triumph for Will Lynch, now 44, and his supporters, who faithfully packed the Santa Clara County courtroom as the assault trial -- normally a brief event -- stretched over three weeks. From accusations of prosecutorial misconduct to a confrontation in the hallway between the priest and one of his alleged molestation victims, the trial was roiled by disruptions. "My heart leaps," said Will Lynch's younger sister Amanda Lynch of her reaction when she heard the verdict. "After 35 years, justice has been served," said Kathleen Smith, 83, one of Lynch's supporters who helped organize the camping trips during which Lindner allegedly sexually molested Lynch and his brother more than 35 years ago.
Linder was never charged with molesting his eleven accusers due to the statute of limitations. The Jesuits have paid Lynch, his brother, and several others almost $3M in restitution, including a $786K payment to Linder's own niece. Before the verdict was reached, the jury had asked the judge for the definition of nullification, which is when a jury refuses to convict even though they believe the evidence justifies it.

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U.S. Gymnasts Predicted To Do Well



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Big Soda Vs Bloomberg, Part 2


(Via Gothamist)

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Maggie To Gays: Not This, Not Now

"A society that is serious about marriage would gently stand up to gay people and say 'not this, not now.' Changes in law are hard to undo, once they are institutionalized. I did not decide to debate gay marriage, gay-marriage advocates did. I responded to the challenge. We are making a decision about how serious we are about trying to strengthen marriage as a social institution dedicated to connecting sex, babies, moms, and dads. If we allow gay marriage, the answer is 'not very serious' or perhaps 'we don’t care at all any more.' That’s why I oppose gay marriage." - Maggie Gallagher, writing for the National Review. (Via Good As You)

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CNN Host Vs GOP Rep. Joe Walsh

Rep. Joe Walsh has been taking heat for dissing the patriotism of his Democratic challenger, a female double-amputee Iraq veteran. Watch him get into it with CNN host Ashleigh Banfield.

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SEATTLE: Occupy Activists Dump $5000 In Marked Bills From A Hotel Window

Via Seattle Times:
Activists tossed $5,000 off a downtown Seattle building Wednesday to protest money in politics. Dollar bills came swirling down just after 5 p.m. at Seventh Avenue and Pike Street, to the delight of tourists. The money was printed with the words "money as speech silences us all," a statement of protest against court rulings that consider political donations from businesses a form of free speech. According to the activists' website, the money will go back into general circulation and get their message out. Holly Rozner, a tourist visiting Seattle from Chicago with a group of friends, fetched $14 from the sky. "I just saw it coming down," she said. "I didn't think it was real." Matthew Toles, a photographer taking pictures of the money drop, said a "shower of money" lasted between five and 15 minutes. At first, people carried on with their business, not realizing that it was money fluttering down, he said. The wind blew some of the money onto a bar awning and into a nearby alley, sending people hunting for cash on windowsills and Dumpster lids.

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Pity DC

And lots of people still don't have power.
The number of households without power dropped Thursday, but for the half a million people still in the dark after last week's heat-driven storms, life was just as uncomfortable. The thermometer was still hovering around the 100-degree mark in many places, and it's not likely to move much until the start of next week. More than 400,000 customers were still without power in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Jersey, Illinois and Washington, D.C. That was after many in those states spent the Fourth of July much like the Founding Fathers may have -- weltering in darkness.

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TEXAS: Police Issue Sketch Of Suspect In Shooting Of Lesbian Teen Couple

Texas police have released a sketch of the suspect in the shooting of a lesbian teen couple. Activists have held vigils around the nation since the crime.
With help from a witness, Portland police described the alleged gunman as a skinny male in his 20s, weighing 140 pounds. The sketch was released late Wednesday. Mary Kristene Chapa, 18, and Mollie Judith Olgin, 19, were both found June 23 in a park with gunshot wounds to the head. Olgin died from her injuries and Chapa remains hospitalized. The two women were involved in a relationship, according to family and friends, though it's not clear if that was the motive for the shootings. So far, the incident has not been ruled a hate crime.

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Delgaudio & His Fugly Clowns, Part 3

In his latest edition of batshittery, Eugene Delgaudio addresses an off-camera former GOP Sen. John Warner and thanks him for attending the presentation of "one million petitions against the gay bill of special rights." Whatever THAT is. Shortly into the clip we hear the voice purporting to be Sen. Warner, the sixth husband of Elizabeth Taylor, who surely would bitchslap her ex were she there. The voice does sound somewhat like Warner.

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NEW YORK CITY: Murderer Pleads Insanity In Grisly 2011 Killing Of His Boyfriend

In January 2011 New York City's tabloids published daily grisly updates in the case of Portuguese model Renato Seabra, who stabbed to death and then castrated his wealthy and renowned fashion photographer boyfriend with a wine corkscrew in a midtown hotel. Seabra told the NYPD at the time that he had murdered Carlos Castro in order to free him of his "homosexual demons" and that he himself was "not gay anymore." Yesterday Seabra's lawyer pleaded an insanity defense. A 2011 court filing from the defense advised the court that Seabra believed that he was acting on direct orders from God. Via Gay City News reporter Duncan Osborne:
“Mr. Seabra developed a manic episode and became fulminantly psychotic,” David Touger, the attorney for Renato Seabra, wrote in a court filing last year. “He acted on his delusional ideas when he attacked and killed Mr. Castro. He did not appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions, as he was acting as a conduit for God.” This mental disease or defect defense, or insanity defense as it is more commonly known, asserts that because the now 22-year-old Seabra could not tell right from wrong when he killed Castro, he cannot be held criminally liable. If a jury agrees, Seabra will be institutionalized until doctors decide he is no longer a threat. His trial may start as soon as September. At a June 18 hearing, Touger and Maxine Rosenthal, the assistant district attorney who is prosecuting the case, said they wanted to go to trial soon. While some earlier press reports have noted that Seabra would use an insanity defense, none has noted that he claimed to be acting on God’s behalf. Seabra faces one second-degree murder count that alleges he intended to kill Castro. The maximum penalty for second-degree murder is 25-years-to-life.
According to a psychologist hired by the defense, Seabra suffered from "Bipolar I Disorder, Single Manic Episode, Severe with Psychotic features." Seabra first came to national fame in Portugal after appearing on a male model reality show.

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Lou Engle: The Avengers Is A Metaphor For Christian Spiritual Warfare

Somebody needs to tell Pastor Lou that The Avengers was written and directed by Joss Whedon, an ardent atheist who supports gay marriage.

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HomoQuotable - Frank Ocean

"4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Every day almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with feeling. No choice. It was my first love. It changed my life." - Hip hop artist Frank Ocean, coming out on his personal blog.

Ocean is part of the collective Odd Future, whose leader Tyler The Creator has been criticized for virulently anti-gay lyrics. Tyler has issued a typically strange statement in support of Ocean's coming out. Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons reacted on his personal blog:
Today is a big day for hip-hop. It is a day that will define who we really are. How compassionate will we be? How loving can we be? How inclusive are we? I am profoundly moved by the courage and honesty of Frank Ocean. Your decision to go public about your sexual orientation gives hope and light to so many young people still living in fear. These types of secrets should not matter anymore, but we know they do, and because of that I decided to write this short statement of support for one of the greatest new artists we have. His gifts are undeniable. His talent, enormous. His bravery, incredible. His actions this morning will uplift our consciousness and allow us to become better people. Every single one of us is born with peace and tranquility in our heart. Frank just found his.

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Gay Marriage Made Them Miss The Bus

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Federal Judge Denies House GOP's Motion To Stop Proceedings In DOMA Case

Just in via press release from GLAD:
On July 4, Judge Vanessa L. Bryant of the U.S. District Court of Connecticut, denied the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group’s (BLAG) motion to stay the proceedings in Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management, the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) now pending in federal court in the District of Connecticut. Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), which is representing the plaintiffs, strongly opposed the motion for a stay. In denying BLAG’s motion that the pending appeal in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Windsor case made her ruling unnecessary, Judge Bryant cited potential harm to the Pedersen plaintiffs if the proceedings were halted. “The Court finds that the harm which would befall the Plaintiffs if a stay were to be entered is significant,” she wrote. “Entering a stay in this matter would essentially deny the Plaintiffs the right to advocate for their own interests, asking them instead to ‘stand aside while a litigant in another [case] settles the rule of law that will define the rights of both [parties].’”
Last week both the House GOP and the Department of Justice requested Supreme Court review of the case.

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Christianist Hate Groups Announce Forty Days Of Prayer And Fasting Against Obama

The Concernstipated Women, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel, and dozen of other Christianist groups have announced that they will fast and pray nonstop against President Obama beginning 40 days before the election. The linked site is careful not to name the president specifically, but we know what they mean.
Though voting is both a civic duty and a Biblical responsibility, which must be approached with solemnity and due deliberation, something else must happen first if we are to see our nation saved. We must begin by asking God's forgiveness for our national and individual transgressions, and for His guidance in the task of selecting our leaders at all levels of government and, thus, charting our nation's future. Starting on September 28, and continuing through November 6, we are calling for a Great Religious Awakening through 40 DAYS of prayer, fasting and repentance. While we are deeply troubled by the direction in which our nation is headed (according to a Feb. 5 Rasmussen poll, 63% believe America is on the wrong track), this is not a political effort. The political problems which beset us are symptoms of a deeper spiritual malaise. The place to start isn't with primaries, platforms and conventions, but rather through prayer, fasting and repentance.
The coalition's board of governors includes Tony Perkins, Penny Nance, Mat Staver, and "hero" General Jerry Boykin.

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BACKFIRED: Louisiana GOP Angry That Muslims Can Use School Vouchers

GOP legislators in Louisiana have realized to their horror that their bill to provide vouchers for private religious schools can actually be used by Muslims.
Rep. Valarie Hodges, a Republican who represents East Baton Rouge and Livingston, now says she wishes she hadn’t voted for the Jindal voucher bill. “I actually support funding for teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion, which is Christianity, in public schools or private schools,” Hodges told the Livingston Parish News. "I liked the idea of giving parents the option of sending their children to a public school or a Christian school,” Hodges added. The newspaper reported that she “mistakenly assumed that ‘religious’ meant ‘Christian.’” “Unfortunately it will not be limited to the Founders’ religion,” Hodges told the News. “We need to insure that it does not open the door to fund radical Islam schools. There are a thousand Muslim schools that have sprung up recently. I do not support using public funds for teaching Islam anywhere here in Louisiana.”
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State writes:
Some legislators aren’t comfortable funding Muslim schools. What’s to be done? How about not establishing these programs in the first place? Let Muslims fund Muslim schools. Let Catholics fund Catholics ones. Let fundamentalist Protestants pay for the conservative Christian academies and so on.
The law has already gone into effect and provides for no state oversight regarding curriculum or educational standards. (Tipped by JMG reader Huntington)

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Freedom To Marry Launches Campaign To Reach Out To Young Conservatives

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GERMANY: Jewish And Muslim Groups Urge Bill To Overturn Circumcision Ban

After a German court ruled that the circumcision of minor boys constituted "grievous bodily harm," a coalition of Jewish and Muslim groups are calling on the national legislature to pass a bill that allows the practice.
"We call on the German Bundestag (lower house) and the government to act as quickly as possible to put an end to this legal insecurity and establish legal safeguards allowing the circumcision of boys," said Gurcan Mert of the Turkish Islamic Union, speaking on behalf of the other groups. In a decision that also sparked outrage among Jewish groups and which could set a legal precedent, the regional court in this western city ruled against a doctor in Cologne who had circumcised a four-year-old Muslim boy on his parents' wishes. The judges found that the "fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents". "The religious freedom of the parents and their right to educate their child would not be unacceptably compromised if they were obliged to wait until the child could himself decide to be circumcised," the court added.
Several German hospitals have already suspended circumcisions until its legality is made more clear.

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ACLU Issues App To Record Cops

The ACLU of New Jersey has launched a smartphone app that will secretly record your encounters with the police.
The ACLU’s Alexander Shalom said the app is easy to use. “There’s really only three buttons that the user needs to deal with,” Shalom said. “There’s a know your rights button that educates the citizen about their rights when encountering police on the street, in a car, in their home or when they’re going to be placed under arrest, and there’s a button to record audio and a button to record video.” The app lets users record audio and video discretely with a stealth mode that hides the fact that the recording is happening. Shalom said officers would also have a harder time deleting the recorded incidents.
The app can also send your recording directly to the ACLU.

UPDATE: The NYCLU has released a similar app. It's currently Android only, but an iPhone version is expected shortly.

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Rumor Mill: Apple To Make iPad Mini

Tech sites have lit up on the rumor that Apple is planning an October release for the iPad Mini, which analysts say is meant to challenge the low prices of Google's Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire. Google's small tablet ships next week.
Claims from the Bloomberg news agency come about a week after Google launched a $200 7-inch tablet, the Nexus 7. Apple's smaller iPad, nicknamed "the iPad Mini" by Apple watchers, will purportedly launch in October and sell for around $200 just like Google's new device and Amazon's Kindle Fire. To help it hit that low price, the purported iPad Mini would come without the current iPad's popular high definition Retina display, according to Bloomberg. It's not clear if the rumored iPad Mini will lack any other hardware features of the standard iPad such as an LTE radio or front- and rear-facing cameras. It's also unknown whether a smaller iPad might have less storage, say 8GB, compared to the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions of the current iPad.

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Gay Marriage Robs The Public

Source.

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Church Sign Of The Day

Source.

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SWEDEN: Court Rules Trans Rape Victim Wasn't Raped Because She Is A "Man"

A Swedish judge has ruled that a transgender rape victim wasn't really raped because her assailant thought she was a "real woman."
“The intended crime never had the possibility of being fulfilled,” explained judge Dan Sjöstedt of the Örebro District Court to local newspaper Nerikes Allehanda. When the 61-year-old man had tried to commit the rape in Örebro, he had no idea that the intended victim was actually a man in women’s clothes, who had been taking hormonal treatment to reach the “right” identity, wrote the paper. After following the woman for some time, the would-be rapist was “brutally violent” in the "attempted rape", tearing off the victim's pants and grabbing at the victim's crotch, according to the paper. The incident occurred in front of the victim’s ex-boyfriend’s house, and it was him who came rushing to intervene. When police arrived, they arrested the attacker. However, the court has ruled that the 61-year-old had intended to rape a woman, as he had been following her before the attack, making a conscious decision to rape her specifically. The man also referred to his victim as "she" throughout the court case.
The man was instead convicted of assault and faces four years in prison. (Tipped by JMG reader Kevin)

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Trump: Obama Wants War With Iran

Details.

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LOS ANGELES: Referendum To Require Condoms In All Porn Makes County Ballot

Proponents of mandatory condom usage in all porn productions have succeeded in their bid to place the measure before Los Angeles County voters in November. In January the city council of Los Angeles adopted the same requirement. Via press release from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation:
“We are extremely pleased to learn that our County of Los Angeles ballot measure to require adult film producers to obtain public health permits has successfully qualified for the November ballot, particularly as that is also the presidential election and voter turnout is expected to be very high,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation and one of the five named proponents of the ballot initiative. “This ordinance, modeled after the County’s similar health permitting process for tattoo and massage parlors and bathhouses, should go a long way to improve safety on the sets for adult film performers. We are grateful that officials from the City of Los Angeles already acted earlier this year to adopt a similar citywide measure, and now we look forward to taking this measure directly to voters throughout the County of Los Angeles in November.”
The ordinance will be titled as the "County of Los Angeles Safer Sex In The Adult Film Industry Act." Backers needed 200,000 petition signatures to qualify for the ballot; over 360,000 signatures were submitted.

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BRITAIN: Anti-Gay Muslim Group Plans Demonstration At Derby Pride

Pink News has more of the group's message:
"The heat always seems to bring out the worst of this society and this summer is no different with the upcoming Gay Pride march. As Muslims it is our duty to forbid this major, deplorable evil of society. We will be speaking about the Islamic viewpoint on the issue of homosexuality in Islam, how homosexuals in society should be viewed and what the Islamic verdict is on homosexuals under an Islamic state."
Several arrests were made at Derby Pride 2011 after Muslim protesters used a bullhorn to compare homosexuals to pedophiles, an act which is legal in the United States. One of the men arrested last year was also convicted with two others earlier this year for distributing pamphlets calling for homosexuals to be executed.

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NYT: Gay Men Flock To Magic Mike

We're supposed to be surprised by this?
Interviews around the country indicated that gay men have been flocking to “Magic Mike” in numbers not seen since the release of “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005. But unlike that film, about two cowboys in love, there’s nothing explicitly gay about “Magic Mike.” Unless you count muscled men thrusting their pelvises without pants. That was enough for Bill Venne and his friends. “Let’s be honest: it’s men taking their clothes off,” said Mr. Venne, 49, who lives in Minneapolis and saw “Magic Mike” on Sunday with 16 gay men and one straight woman. “It’s the kind of thing you want to see, but not by yourself. A middle-aged gay guy in the audience might as well be wearing a trench coat.”
With mostly positive reviews, the film grossed $39M in its opening weekend.

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"Ex-Gay" Ministry Breaks With Exodus International Over Their Confession That Conversion Therapy Doesn't Work

"For 36 years, First Stone Ministries has been affiliated with Exodus International, a network of ministries that all proclaim freedom from homosexuality through relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the last several months, the leadership of First Stone Ministries has become increasingly aware of some changes in Exodus's ideology and leadership that have resulted in us feeling we are unable to continue as an Exodus Member ministry while maintaining Biblical integrity and a clear conscience before God. In April, First Stone officially resigned as an Exodus Member ministry. We remain dedicated to proclaiming Biblical truth in all sexual and relational matters, and to providing a safe place for those struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions to find healing and freedom in Christ and to be empowered to 'go and sin no more'. Pray for us as we seek to remain connected with other Biblically-sound ministries." - Stephen Black, head of First Stone Ministries, desperately trying to keep his scam alive.

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SAN DIEGO: Computer Malfunction Sets Off All Fireworks At The Same Time

Well, it was impressive for the few seconds it lasted. Confused crowds were told to go home several minutes later.

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Open Thread Thursday

How's the economy treating your household these days?


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Wednesday, July 04, 2012

68 Hot Dogs In 10 Minutes

One of those NYC's holiday traditions I just don't get.

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Quote Of The Day - Cristina Kirchner

"Today is a day of tremendous reparation. Today we do not shout for liberation but instead we shout for equality, which is just as important as freedom. I do not want to use a word that bothers me greatly: Tolerance. No. I do not believe in 'tolerance'. To tolerate is to say I'll allow you to be because I have no other choice. I want to talk about equality and I want to talk about all of you who will now have the same rights I have enjoyed from the moment I was born and the rights that so many millions of Argentinians have enjoyed from the moment they were born. This is the society we want." - Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, at an event marking the new right of transgender citizens to officially change their gender on official documents without proving they'd undergone surgery.

Blabbeando author Andres Duque says the new law, which was passed unanimously by the legislature, makes Argentina the world's most progressive nation for transgender rights. Argentina legalized same-sex marriage in 2010 and it's now quite arguable that they are the world's most progressive nation for LGBT rights overall. Hit the link for video of the above-cited ceremony. It's a beautiful thing even if you don't speak a word of Spanish.

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Cross Burning: 9PM (BYOB)

Details.

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