NEW YORK: Anonymous Site Threatens To Out GOP State Sen. George Maziarz

An anonymous website is threatening to out New York GOP state Sen. George Maziarz, who voted against marriage equality every time it came up. The site includes a countdown clock promising to expose Mariarz in eleven days. I've read no rumors about Maziarz, who is married to a woman, so the site may be just a very cheap election ploy. He's best known legislatively for creating New York's version of Megan's Law, which tracks the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders. Maziarz will face Democratic newcomer Amy Hope Witryol in November and he has been forecast to win reelection easily.

VIDEO: Here's Maziarz responding to a question about marriage equality during a 2009 town hall in his Niagara County home district.

Songwriter Hal David Dies At 91

Hal David, the legendary songwriting partner of Burt Bacharach, has died at the age of 91.

David died of complications from a stroke Saturday morning in Los Angeles, according to Jim Steinblatt, spokesman for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. David was a longtime member and former president of ASCAP. Bacharach and David wrote many top 40 hits including "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head," ''Close to You" and "That's What Friends Are For."

"As a lyric writer, Hal was simple, concise and poetic -- conveying volumes of meaning in fewest possible words and always in service to the music," ASCAP's current president, the songwriter Paul Williams, said in a statement. "It is no wonder that so many of his lyrics have become part of our everyday vocabulary and his songs... the backdrop of our lives."

Many lyrics and tunes from Bacharach and David continue to resonate in pop culture, including "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and "I Say A Little Prayer" to "What The World Needs Now Is Love." Their music was recorded by legendary singers including The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond and their longtime partner Dionne Warwick.

Instead of a dozen Warwick clips, let's start out with Luther Vandross' goosebump-inducing interpretation of my all-time favorite Hal David classic, followed by my other favorites.

Romney: We Built Everything

Quote Of The Day - Micky Ward

"I can’t support Scott Brown. I just can’t do it. I found out Scott is anti-union and I’m a Teamster guy. I found out he’s also against gay marriage and I say if you love someone you should have the same rights no matter who you are." - Boxing legend Micky Ward, retracting his endorsement of Sen. Scott Brown, who was about to appear at Ward's gym for a photo op. Mark Wahlberg played Ward in the Oscar-winning movie The Fighter.

MINNESOTA: Archbishop Sends Letter Demanding Vote For Marriage Ban

"Our effort to support God’s unchanging plan for marriage is not a campaign against anyone, but rather a positive effort to promote the truth about marriage as a union between one man and one woman. But the reality is that marriage is not ours to redefine, just as another human life is not ours to take. God is both the author of life and the author of marriage. It is this most fundamental understanding of the natural order that animates who we are as Catholics.

"It is also why we fight to defend God’s plan for marriage, because his providence is as clear for what marriage is as it is for the dignity of each human life. Now, Minnesota for Marriage needs your help to get the message out. We must ensure that Minnesotans know what is at stake and have the correct information about why they should vote ‘Yes’ for the marriage amendment. (Remember that if you leave the ballot box blank, the government votes ‘No’ for you!). - Archbishop John Nienstedt, in a letter sent to Minnesota's Catholics.

RELATED: In 2010 Nienstedt sent Catholics 400,000 DVDs created by the Knights of Columbus which demanded their vote for the only gubernatorial candidate that opposed same-sex marriage. Many of those DVDs were returned to his office and some were turned into art installations.

Afternoon View - From Governor's Island

California's Lottery Cam Is Watching You

Your dream of changing your name and vanishing into the ether with your winnings won't happen in California, where lottery officials have published surveillance video of a big winner checking his ticket.

"We see this as an integrity and transparency issue," said Russ Lopez, California Lottery Deputy Director of Corporate Communications, in a statement. “The California Lottery truly believes that when a person buys a lottery ticket with the hope and prayer of changing their lives, we should do all we can to connect them with their winnings. We believe this effort will make a lot of Californians very happy.”

Blogger Aksarbent is not amused.

What's really happening isn't a "transparency issue," obviously, but a quasi-government agency employing tabloid journalism tactics to further publicize and promote its ultra-long-shot gambling product, which Warren Buffett once called "a tax on the stupid." So know this if you buy a winning lottery ticket in California: You may wish to remain anonymous while getting your affairs in order and consulting with attorneys (and perhaps having an attorney claim the ticket for your trust so that every grasping friend and relative and burglar and stalker and grifter won't come after you) but the California Lottery may decide to veto your sensible choice and release security camera footage of you to the entire world, as if you were a bank robber.

Obama Slams Romney's Speech

GOP Platform: High-Capacity Clips Are OK

Think Progress notes that the official GOP party platform endorses the continued legalization of the same high-capacity bullet magazines used in Colorado's Batman mass slaying.

Gun ownership is responsible citizenship, enabling Americans to defend their homes and communities. We condemn frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers and oppose federal licensing or registration of law-abiding gun owners. We oppose legislation that is intended to restrict our Second Amendment rights by limiting the capacity of clips or magazines or otherwise restoring the ill-considered Clinton gun ban.

The Happy Couple Workout

Gothamist calls this "the most annoying workout ever."

50 Shades: The Magazine

Father Of UK Gay Rights Dies At 84

Pioneering British LGBT rights activist Allan Horsfall has died at the age of 84.

Horsfall became a local councilor in Nelson, north-west England, in the 1950s but started to discover inconsistencies in the way the law against homosexuality in Britain was applied. One public lavatory used by men meeting to have sex was well known to police and magistrates but there hadn’t been a conviction there in 30 years. But at other times, police would arrest a suspected gay or bisexual person, go through their address book and round up many of their contacts. They would then appear in court accused of being a ‘homosexual ring’, even though many of them didn’t know each other.

This inspired Horsfall to set up the Homosexual Law Reform Society. It’s first offices were donated by the Bishop of Middleton in Salford, Manchester in north-west England. This later became the Campaign for Homosexual Equality which at one point had thousands of members across the UK. Even after homosexuality was decriminalized in Britain in 1967, with an age of consent set at 21 for gay men in private, Horsfall continued his campaigning work which spanned 50 years. In 1998 he worked on the case of the Bolton Seven – a group of men who had sex with each other and got prosecuted because, although homosexuality was legal, group sex between men was not.

Noted British activist Peter Tatchell: "Allan was arguably the grandfather of the modern gay rights movement in Britain. We all walk in Allan's shadow. He was active in LGBT campaigning until a few months before his death. Allan deserves a Queer State Funeral."

Paul Ryan Lied About Marathon Feat

Runner's World clocks him on it.

It turns out Paul Ryan has not run a marathon in less than three hours—or even less than four hours. A spokesman confirmed late Friday that the Republican vice presidential candidate has run one marathon. That was the 1990 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, where Ryan, then 20, is listed as having finished in 4 hours, 1 minute, and 25 seconds. Ryan had said in a radio interview last week that his personal best was "Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something." In a statement issued to Runner's World by a spokesman Friday night, Ryan said of his marathon experience: "The race was more than 20 years ago, but my brother Tobin—who ran Boston last year—reminds me that he is the owner of the fastest marathon in the family and has never himself ran a sub-three. If I were to do any rounding, it would certainly be to four hours, not three. He gave me a good ribbing over this at dinner tonight."

Ryan confessed after Runner's World scoured marathon records in Ryan's home state. (Tipped by JMG reader Brad)

Longtime JMG Reader Weds In NYC

Father Tony writes us this morning with some happy news:

"At sunset on Friday night, longtime JMG reader Sean Smith (blue shirt) married his partner of 15 years, Kevin Beckford. On JMG, they had read about my policy of asking couples to donate to the Ali Forney Center in lieu of a fee and thought this was a good idea. Their wedding was held at Bongo, the fabulous seafood lounge at 395 West Street in Greenwich Village. Old timers will remember this as the location of the bar Ramrod."

Congratulations Sean and Kevin! As noted above, Father Tony accepts no payment for performing these weddings, but he does suggest a donation to the Ali Forney Center. Write him at FatherTonyAdams@Facebook.com.

BRAZIL: Gay Man Wins Paternity Leave

For the first time ever, a Brazilian court has granted paternity leave to a gay man who just adopted a child with his partner.

Normally Brazilian fathers are only given five days off work after becoming parents, while mothers receive four months off, but a Brazilian court found that it was discriminatory for a gay couple to receive less combined parental leave than a heterosexual couple. As a result Lucimar da Silva will become the first Brazilian man to receive the same parental leave as a woman. Brazil’s social security agency has agreed to honor the decision. ‘However unusual it may seem to grant maternity leave to a male person … this hypothesis is possible when the father takes care of the newborn,’ the agency told Brazilian TV network O Globo.

Unfortunately this decision does not set precedent and future applicants will also have to go to court to earn paternity leave.

Billboard Of The Day

The Secret Service is investigating the above Texas billboard which quotes a Bible passage that calls for God to kill your enemy. This so-called "imprecatory prayer" has been used by pastors and anti-gay politicians in the past.

The sign says "Pray for Obama", but it's the scripture quoted below those words that is raising eyebrows: Psalms 109:8. Psalms 109:8 reads, "Let his days be few, and let another take his office." Milton Neitsch Jr., who has lived in Victoria since 1961, says he didn't intend for people to pick up on the hateful wishes of death and pain surrounding the tiny verse. But some people say it is hateful and inappropriate. They say it misuses the holy scripture and it must come down. Neitsch recently received an email from a friend and decided to post it on his advertising billboard along North Navarro Street. He had no idea the firestorm of controversy it would create. "Pray for the president. He needs it," said Neitsch. When asked what the sign means, Neitsch responded, "Exactly what it says. Hope he's gone soon and somebody different takes his place."

Neitsch, of course, is lying. Christians know exactly what the full passage says.

May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children. May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation. May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out. May their sins always remain before the Lord, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Bolding is motherfucking mine.

Fischer: The DNC Will Be Unsafe For Me

If you believe that the AFA actually got denied press credentials, raise your hand.

Pet Shop Boys - Leaving

From the coming album.

(Tipped by JMG reader Dwight)

Stevie Wonder: Gays Are Confused

"I think honestly, some people who think they're gay, they're confused. People can misconstrue closeness for love. People can feel connected, they bond. I'm not saying all [gay people are confused]. Some people have a desire to be with the same sex. But that's them." - Stevie Wonder, commenting on Frank Ocean's coming out. So disappointing.

UPDATE: Wonder has apologized to The Advocate.

"I’m sorry that my words about anyone feeling confused about their love were misunderstood. No one has been a greater advocate for the power of love in this world than I; both in my life and in my music. Clearly, love is love, between a man and a woman, a woman and a man, a woman and a woman and a man and a man. What I’m not confused about is the world needing much more love, no hate, no prejudice, no bigotry and more unity, peace and understanding. Period."

Follow JMG At The DNC On Twitter

As it will be sometimes difficult to pull out a laptop and make quick updates to the blog, I'll be posting commentary and photos for DNC events to my Twitter feed. You don't have to be a Twitter user to monitor my feed. You can also read my tweets and see my photos by adding my Twitter name to your RSS feed. Or you can have my tweets and photos sent directly to your phone by texting "follow JoeMyGod" to 40404. (Reply with "stop" to turn those texts off.) I'll try to catch things up here on the blog as time and (more vitally) electricity permits. Blog post links are also automatically fed to my Twitter account. DNC delegates and candidates, please flag me down for JMG photos!

Quote Of The Day - Victoria Jackson

"How many times do people get pregnant from rape? It's point zero zero one percent. It's a joke. I read lots of articles. I know people, because I'm 53. I've know a lot of people, and I've actually never known anyone who got pregnant from being raped. And guess what? If I got raped, I would have the baby. And if I didn't want to keep it because I had these [mocking tone] horrible nightmares, I would adopt it out. But I think that God can turn a bad thing into a good thing. And that, if I got raped and a beautiful baby who was innocent was born out of it, that would be a blessing." - Math expert Victoria Jackson, speaking at the RNC to Michelangelo Signorile. Hit the link for the audio.

San Francisco Responds To Pam Geller

Pam Geller's anti-Islam ads on San Francisco's mass transit system are now paired with the above message. And she is LIVID: "The city of San Francisco condemns calling any group savage. I say we buy the SFMTA a one-way ticket to Taliban country, eh?" Earlier this month Geller won a court battle to place the same message on New York City transit.

RELATED: Norway's convicted mass murderer Anders Breivik defiantly presented a Nazi-esque salute as he was led away to prison. Brevik was a participant in Geller's blog and cited her words at length in a deranged manifesto published after he murdered 77 people, most of whom were teenagers.

New York Times Rips Romney/Ryan Lies

The New York Times has published a lie-by-lie refuting of Romney and Ryan's RNC speeches. An excerpt:

Representative Paul D. Ryan used his convention speech on Wednesday to fault President Obama for failing to act on a deficit-reduction plan that he himself had helped kill. He chided Democrats for seeking $716 billion in Medicare cuts that he too had sought. And he lamented the nation’s credit rating — which was downgraded after a debt-ceiling standoff that he and other House Republicans helped instigate.

And Mitt Romney, in his acceptance speech on Thursday night, asserted that President Obama’s policies had “not helped create jobs” and that Mr. Obama had gone on an “apology tour” for America. He also warned that the president’s Medicare cuts would “hurt today’s seniors,” claims that have already been labeled false or misleading. The two speeches — peppered with statements that were incorrect or incomplete — seemed to signal the arrival of a new kind of presidential campaign, one in which concerns about fact-checking have been largely set aside. [snip]

In his floor speech, Mr. Romney repeated his widely debunked charge that Mr. Obama had gone on an “apology tour” on America’s behalf — an accusation he feels so strongly about that he laid out his own worldview in a 2010 book he titled “No Apology.” But independent fact checkers have called the accusation a distortion, and it is hard to find evidence that Mr. Obama ever said he was sorry for the United States.

Read the entire article.

The Presets - Ghosts

Australian electronic duo The Presets aren't gay, but they do love to put a lot homoerotic imagery into their videos. They first came to my attention when they played Folsom Street Fair in 2008. Nice guys in person, too.

Breitbart: Gay Filmmakers Target Children

From an entry on Breitbart today:

You knew it was only a matter of time before the gay community, which has successfully integrated gay characters into every possible form of entertainment for adults, targeted children. Now, for the first time, an American animated feature features an openly gay character.

Laika's stop-motion animated zombie comedy "ParaNorman" has a character named Mitch, who is, of course, a heavily-muscled jock who seems heterosexual until the end of the movie, at which time a girl named Courtney asks him if he wants to see a movie. Sure, he says, you’ll just love my boyfriend, who’s into chick flicks.

It’s a time-honored technique of the gay community to hide the fact that a character is gay until the audience has developed a real affinity for him/her, then catch the audience off-guard by divulging that the character is gay. If they really were “brave” they’d announce from the start that Mitch was gay and see just how many parents would take their children to see this movie.

Breitbart's editor is GOProud's BFF, Dana Loesch.

Suspected Gay Honor Killing In Turkey

Four years ago I wrote about what was then being called the first "gay honor killing" in Turkey. Now it appears there has been a second.

A gay teenager was allegedly killed last month by his father and uncle in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır in a murder that the boy’s rich and powerful tribal family subsequently sought to cover up, according to local members of the LGBT community. R.A., 17, had allegedly been exposed to violence by his family because of his sexual orientation before seeking refuge at a friend’s house, daily Cumhuriyet reported. R.A.’s uncle, however, forcibly removed the teenager from his friend’s house; later, the boy reportedly had an argument with his father, after which the latter allegedly shot his son 14 times before he and his brother deposited the body by the side of the road, Cumhuriyet reported.

The father and brother have been arrested. (Tipped by JMG reader Brandy)

RELATED: Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, but LGBT people have zero civil rights and discrimination is widespread. "Passive" homosexuals are banned from the military and some reports claim that conscientious objectors to service must provide photographic evidence of being on the receiving end of anal sex in order to be excused. Human rights groups have objected to Turkey's potential admission to the European Union based on the government's mistreatment of LGBT people, its brutal prison system, and the abuses of other minority groups. British Prime Minister David Cameron, an otherwise staunch supporter of LGBT rights, has called for Turkey's immediate membership in the EU.

Today's Lie From The Liberty Counsel

The Liberty Counsel is telling their radio audience that the Southern Poverty Law Center puts organizations on their hate groups list merely for opposing same-sex marriage. This ridiculous lie has been debunked numerous times by the SPLC, who always points out that if such were the criteria for anti-gay hate group listing, there would be thousands of so-named organizations and not the mere 29 who presently hold that dishonor. Liberty Counsel and other anti-gay organizations have been quite successful in spinning this bullshit lie to the national media, who never calls them out.

NORTH CAROLINA: Atheist Billboards Near DNC Removed After Christian Threats

American Atheists have removed their billboards outside the venue for the Democratic National Convention after being deluged with threats from God's Gentle People™.

"We are saddened that by choosing to express our rights as atheists through questioning the religious beliefs of the men who want to be our president that our fellow citizens have responded with vitriol, threats, and hate speech against our staff, volunteers, and Adams Outdoor Advertising." "The election of our leaders in the United States is one of the most important decisions that we as citizens make," said American Atheists' president David Silverman. "Allowing our judgment to be clouded by sheer silliness is unacceptable. We want to show the people of our country the foolishness of mixing religion with politics." Silverman says the billboards were meant to inspire conversation and challenge the status quo.

Christian television is delighted to report the good news.

Judge Rules Against NYC Porn Shop Ban

Eleven years ago one of the first things just-elected Mayor Bloomberg did was to order porn shops out of Times Square so that the area would be safe for "family friendly" businesses like the Disney Store and Bubba Gump's. City zoning officers had long been stymied in their attempts to enforce a 1995 law which stipulates that a business would be classified as "sex-centered" if more than 60% of the items on sale were of an erotic nature.

Those enforcement attempts had failed because porn operators had responded by stuffing the fronts of their stores with thousands of children's and martial arts titles, thereby reducing the porn percentage and bewildering tourists who wandered in expecting only to find The Little Mermaid and certainly not Ghetto Gangbang #22 or an invitation to join a lovely lady in the upstairs lounge. In 2001 Bloomberg tried to close that 60/40 loophole by adding another zoning demand to force those businesses into areas less trafficked by tender eyes.

That second push worked, mostly, but Bloomberg was a little too successful in cleaning up Times Square because the avalanche of chain restaurants and mainstream retailers to the area then spilled over onto Eighth Avenue, where many porn outlets had relocated. Oops. Yesterday a judge ruled that the original 60/40 law is unconstitutional.

Martin P. Mehler, a lawyer who represented several topless clubs in the case, said the city’s defense of the 2001 law failed because the original 60-40 rule had worked. “We have adhered to what the law was,” Mr. Mehler said. “It has accomplished its goal of doing away with that tawdry atmosphere that used to exist in Times Square, and there was no need to take away a basic First Amendment right.” Lawsuits challenging the 2001 law have taken many turns over the last decade. Justice York twice before, in 2009 and 2010, found the law to be constitutional.

But he was directed by appellate courts to reconsider both rulings. The litigation may not be over. City lawyers said on Thursday that they would appeal. But Herald Price Fahringer, who represented more than 100 video stores in the case, said the suit was not about protecting neighborhoods as much as about free speech and letting the marketplace, rather than government, decide which businesses survive. “It’s wrong for a city or a state to say, ‘We’re banning this type of literature, and we’re not going to allow you to read or see it,’ ” he said. “That’s just un-American.”

Dr. Who Sings Dr. Who Theme

The news season starts tomorrow! #WhovianGiggle.

Karl Rove: I Should Kill Todd Akin

"We should sink Todd Akin. If he’s found mysteriously murdered, don’t look for my whereabouts!" - Karl Rove, speaking to major Republicans donors at an RNC breakfast yesterday. The audience, as you would predict, roared. Rove's Crossroads Super-PAC yanked all of its pro-Akin ads after the "legitimate rape" scandal caused Akin's poll numbers to plummet.

Tomorrow In NYC: Pig Island 2012

I am unreasonably excited about this. I'm totally not a fan of craft beer, but it's unlimited so I'll muddle through with assistance from my pork high.

So This Exists

Seriously. It's $14.99. Move over Big Mouth Billy Bass.

Catholic Group Apologizes For "Those Kids Were Asking To Be Molested" Interview

Remember the Catholic priest who claimed that molested children were asking for it? His interview was yanked one day later by the National Catholic Register and replaced with an apology from the editor. Today the priest's order issued its own apology with a claim that Father Groeschel is just suffering from a brain injury. Via Box Turtle Bulletin:

The Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal sincerely apologizes for the comments made by Fr. Benedict Groeschel in an interview released August 27 by the National Catholic Register. In that interview, Fr. Benedict made comments that were inappropriate and untrue. A child is never responsible for abuse. Any abuser of a child is always responsible, especially a priest. Sexual abuse of a minor is a terrible crime and should always be treated as such. We are sorry for any pain his comments may have caused. Fr. Benedict has dedicated his life to helping others and these comments were completely out of character. He never intended to excuse abuse or implicate the victims. We hope that these unfortunate statements will not overshadow the great good Fr. Benedict has done in housing countless homeless people, feeding innumerable poor families, and bringing healing, peace and encouragement to so many.

Fr Benedict helped found our community 25 years ago with the hope of bringing the healing peace of Jesus Christ to our wounded world. Our desire has always been to lift-up humanity and never to hurt. About seven years ago Fr. Benedict was struck by a car and was in a coma for over a month. In recent months his health, memory and cognitive ability have been failing. He has been in and out of the hospital. Due to his declining health and inability to care for himself, Fr. Benedict had moved to a location where he could rest and be relieved of his responsibilities. Although these factors do not excuse his comments, they help us understand how such a compassionate man could have said something so wrong, so insensitive, and so out of character. Our prayers are with all those who have been hurt by his comments, especially victims of sexual abuse.

Box Turtle Bulletin notes that Groeschel isn't just an everyday priest, he's the founder of Dignity Courage, the Catholic Church's "ex-gay" ministry. Groeschel also wrote a book advising gay Catholics on how to live to a live of tortured, unloved celibacy.

World's Richest Woman Has Advice

"There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire. If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself -- spend less time drinking or smoking and socialising, and more time working. Become one of those people who work hard, invest and build, and at the same time create employment and opportunities for others." - Australian mining tycoon Gina Rinehart, who inherited $30 billion from her daddy. Rinehart says Australia needs to do away with the minimum wage "unless we want to end up like Greece."

Hate Group Launches 'Protecting Marriage Month': Diseased Gays Will Kill Us All

The Center For Marriage Policy has posted a flyer for their followers to deliver (in person, presumably) to the above corporations and stores.

Promiscuity is a serious public health problem. Homosexuals comprise about 3% of the population but are disproportionately responsible for serious, fatal, and costly health problems for the rest of America. HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases are spread invisibly to spouses who are often unaware of their partner’s promiscuous activities. HIV is the #14 cause of infant death in the United States. 25% of new HIV infections are in women who are most often not gay or bisexual. Gay men have between 4 and 100 times more sex partners than heterosexual men. Anal sex is extremely risky because the rectum has no membranes to protect the body from infection.

The group also has this message on their website.

Multicultural marriage divides America into two absolute classes depending solely on reproductive ability — with women entitled and men plantation bondservants to big government. God-given natural social, parental and economic rights will be fully usurped by government. Health care costs will soar due to illness and social problem grown due to the numbers of sexually-confused children and adults. Your pocket will be picked and your children indoctrinated whether you like it or not. We must rescind irresponsible homosexual public policy from the lawbooks across-the-board and discourage homosexual behavior. We must not allow pansexuals to take over the conservative movement like they did the American Psychiatric Association. Their invasion is as dangerous to our socioeconomic fabric as the Occupy movement is to free enterprise.

The Clint Eastwood Song

From YouTube's song-a-day man.
(Video via JMG reader Beeblemyer. Image via Dr. Jeff)

Classy Dana Loesch Strikes Again

You'll note that the account of this incident on Breitbart fails to mention what Loesch screamed at these women. Code Pink took the high road, responding with "Peace and justice!"

UPDATE: Here's video of Loesch and her husband (on the camera) following one of the Code Pink protesters out of the arena. Mr. Loesch seems to think he's really famous.

RNC Delegate Is "Highly Offended" That "Mexican" Is Working At EPCOT

Think Progress reports:

During a trip to Epcot at Disneyworld, Pennsylvania delegate Mark Harris and his wife were shocked and offended to find a Mexican employee working at the amusement park’s American pavilion, which showcases the different cultures in the United States. According to the couple’s blog, Harris complained to staff that he was “highly offended” that a “person from Mexico” was working in the American pavilion when other nations’ pavilions were staffed by people from each respective country.

Hometown GOP officials in Harris' district are falling over themselves to disavow his words.

"Ex-Gay" Ban Heads To Gov. Jerry Brown

California's bill to ban "ex-gay" therapy for minors has cleared its final hurdle before heading to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The state Senate on Thursday sent the governor a bill that would prohibit so-called sexual-conversion therapy for minors, aimed at changing their orientation from gay to straight. Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) proposed the measure based on concern by medical groups involving psychologists and psychiatrists that the therapy is not based on sound scientific principles. "The entire house of medicine has rejected this phony and sham therapy. It really is junk science,’’ Lieu told his fellow Senators. "The American Psychiatric Assn. says it poses great risk to individuals including feelings of guilt, self-hatred, shame. Some people commit suicide having gone through this.’’ The bill was approved with a 22-12 party line vote, with Republicans objecting to the state telling parents and teenagers what kind of therapy they can pursue.

The bill is vigorously opposed by PFOX, NARTH, the Catholic Church, and other hate groups that enjoy brainwashing and torturing gay children.

Obama Sees Electoral Bump

Source.

Signorile Asks Rep. Aaron Schock

In past Schock has maintained that he is not gay. In addition to his vote against the repeal of DADT, he voted against the Hate Crimes Act and has stated his opposition to same-sex marriage. He has a 0% rating from the Human Rights Campaign and votes the GOP party line 93% of the time.

Cruising With Kirk Cameron

God-fearing American patriots only!

Obama To Eastwood

(Via JMG reader Oh'Behr)

Where The Bears Are: Episode 9

Mitt Romney's Acceptance Speech

Anti-Gay Group Slams SF 49ers For Recording It Gets Better Video

"The problem with the 'It Gets Better' campaign is that it, again, is special rights -- singling out a particular group that is no more harmed than any other groups, and really singling them out for special attention and special rights, special things that should also be shared with lots of other people that are being bullied. It really is, again, another example of money and resources being given to a special class, a group of people, and discriminating against many others who are being bullied." - Larry Jacobs, head of the World Congress of Families.

Tori Amos - Flavor

Her album of "re-imagined" self-covers comes out 10/02.

Romney/Ryan/Rand 2012

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip description: "Three years ago today, Vermont became the fourth state in the country where gay and lesbian couples had freedom to marry. On this third anniversary, let's take a moment look back at how that happened -- and what's happened since."

Grinding At The RNC

Buzzfeed has some funnier ones.

Tweet Of The Day - Tea Party Cat

Obama Slams Ryan On RNC Lies

Bam!

Satan Loves Gay Marriage

David Koch, who has donated millions to the man who has pledged to support an amendment to place a same-sex marriage ban in the U.S. Constitution, says he personally endorses marriage equality.

The 1980 vice presidential nominee for the socially liberal – but fiscally conservative – Libertarian Party, Koch told POLITICO “I believe in gay marriage” when asked about the GOP’s stance on gay rights. Romney opposes gay marriage, as do most Republicans, and when that was pointed out to Koch, he said “Well, I disagree with that.” Koch said he thinks the U.S. military should withdraw from the Middle East and said the government should consider defense spending cuts, as well as possible tax increases to get its fiscal house in order – a stance anathema to many in the Republican Party. “I think it’s essential to be able to achieve spending reductions and maybe it’s going to require some tax increases,” he said. “We got to come close to balancing the budget, otherwise we’re in a terrible deep problem.”

Hurray?

RNC Delegates Poll

Source.

And The Eastwood Memes Launch

Clint Eastwood's Bizarre RNC Speech

Newt Gingrich And His Most Recent (Known) Adulterous Lover Speak At RNC

Headline Of The Day

Source.

An Excerpt From Romney's Speech

The Romney campaign has sent out a press release containing what we presume is the bulk of tonight's acceptance speech by Mitt Romney. An excerpt:

To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: if Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right. I am running for president to help create a better future. A future where everyone who wants a job can find one. Where no senior fears for the security of their retirement. An America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon. And unlike the president, I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. It has 5 steps.

First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables.

Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance.

Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements. And when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences.

Fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget.

And fifth, we will champion SMALL businesses, America’s engine of job growth. That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most. And it means that we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing Obamacare.

More of the speech can be found here. You'll note that there's little more than a cursory nod to the "the Creator" and "praying as a family" and no explicit mention of Romney's (or the president's) faith. There's also no mention of hot-button social issues like abortion or same-sex marriage. We'll have to see how much the actual speech aligns with what we've been given in advance.

God Hates Southern Decadence, Part 3

Warning! Choose Only One!

(Via JMG reader Ric)

Etch-A-Sketch Issues Election Versions

Etch-A-Sketch has issued special 2012 red and blue models to capitalize on the famous gaffe by a Romney advisor. (Via Andrew Belonsky)