Ben Cohen's Second Week On SCD

From a live blog about tonight's show: "6-6-7-6 from the judges. A total of 24 for Ben, which is higher than the judges comments suggested that it would be. Kristina and Ben will definitely take that score and run."

(Tipped by JMG reader Darryl)

RELATED: You might want to also view tonight's dance by Robin Windsor, the openly gay professional with whom Cohen had hoped to be paired for the competition.

Please Pay Us

From Reddit. Original. (Tipped by JMG reader Ray)

Organizing For Action: John Boehner is Caving to Tea Party Republicans

Headline Of The Day

Details. (Tipped by JMG reader MWG)

Brian Sims Meets Dan Savage

Details.

Russia Suspends Adoptions To Sweden

"The perverts? No, it is unacceptable. Homosexuals are 'perverts' and should absolutely not be allowed to adopt children. Children who grow up in that kind of environment are destroyed psychologically." - Russian MP Vitaly Milonov, speaking to Swedish television after Russia suspended adoptions to Sweden because of the legality of same-sex marriage there.

The Local has more:

"It's terrible. We have 13 children in Russian orphanages today who have been offered to parents in Sweden who they have actually met," said Jonas Friberg at the Adoptioncentrum agency in Sweden to Sveriges Television (SVT). Representatives of the Russian authorities and the Swedish embassy met yesterday to discuss the legal situation with regard to adoptions of Russian children. Russia is seeking to sign agreements with individual countries to ensure that Russian children do not come to LGBT parents, according to the SVT report.

Married

The gay Marine whose homecoming kiss went globally viral last year got married to his boyfriend yesterday in a small town the Finger Lakes area of western New York. Hit the link for more.

Crazy Eyes: I Never Said I Wanted The Shutdown When I Said I Wanted It

Man Sets Himself On Fire On National Mall

Capitol Hill was rocked by another bizarre incident late this afternoon when a man set himself on fire on the National Mall. The Associated Press reports:

The reason for the self-immolation was not immediately clear and the man's identity was not disclosed. But it occurred in public view, on a central national gathering place, in a city still rattled by a mass shooting last month and a high-speed car chase outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday that ended with a woman being shot dead by police. The man on the Mall suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to the hospital, said District of Columbia fire department spokesman Tim Wilson. He was standing by himself in the center portion of the Mall when he emptied the contents of a red gasoline can on himself and set himself on fire moments later, said Katy Scheflen, who witnessed it as she walked across the area. Police say they responded around 4:20 p.m. Friday. Scheflen said passing joggers took off their shirts in an effort to help douse the flames, and the man was clearly alive as the fire spread. A police department spokesman said he was conscious and breathing at the scene. MedStar Washington Hospital Center tweeted that the man was taken there and he was in critical condition.

The man apparently had no sign and said nothing intelligible before setting himself on fire. Despite that, commenters on right wing sites are buzzing that this was some kind of anti-Obama protest and some are pointing out it was a 2011 self-immolation in Tunisia that helped spawn the Arab Spring uprisings.

Obama: Nobody Is "Winning"

FRC Prays Against ENDA

From the Family Research Council prayer team:

May God’s people pray and fast for God to excise the root of our nation’s sexual immorality, extreme as it has become. May believers repent and show zeal for God’s honor that overshadows the activists who seek special legal status and benefits for what the Bible calls abomination. May ENDA be stopped in its tracks! (Lev 18:22; 19:15; Ex 20:14; Ps 26:8-11; Mt 12:28-29; 15:8; 16:19; 18:18; 17:21)

Note that the FRC starts right off by citing one of the "abomination" parts of Leviticus, but leaves off the "they shall be put to death" part that comes a few verses later.  (Via Good As You)

Shutdown Shirts

The shirt on the left reads: "Starring Ted 'Green Eggs' Cruz, Harry 'Ping Pong" Reid, and John 'Mr. Orange' Boehner." $20 from Raygun. The shirt on the right is being sold by the Moonie Times. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

NOM: Gay Marriage Is A Vote Loser

Posted today to NOM's blog:

In England, a recent report showed that nearly two-thirds of MP's believe that supporting gay 'marriage' is a 'vote loser.' And reports from local Conservative associations show a rapid decline in membership, with gay marriage seen as one of the reasons. Now even the Prime Minister, David Cameron, is saying that he regrets "forcing" marriage redefinition through the Parliament. The same can be said in America. Despite the droning drumbeat of the mainstream media, nearly two-thirds – 65 percent – of Americans disapprove of redefining marriage. During the November 2012 elections, true marriage out-polled the Romney campaign in all four states marriage was on the ballot – by double digit margins! It seems English politicians have already learned what the GOP in America – and all its candidates – need to grasp. Defending marriage as one man and one woman is a winning issue at the polls.

FACT CHECK: Aside from the inconvenient truth that equal marriage WON in all four of those states, Cameron has denied making those claims of "regret."

HomoQuotable - PA Rep. Brian Sims

Source.

State Department Updates Russia LGBT Travel Warning, Cites "Propanganda" Ban

Source.

Pat Robertson To The Poor: Don't Stop Tithing Or God Won't Cure Your Diseases

In today's "Bring It Online" segment on the 700 Club, Pat Robertson fielded an email from an elderly woman who is living on Social Security and wonders if it would be a sin to stop tithing in order to help pay her sick husband's medical bills. Robertson responded: "Read carefully what the bible has to say in Malachi. He says, 'Prove me with your tithes and offerings and I will rebuke the devourer for your sake.' Your husband has all these medical problems because the devourer has not been rebuked! You need to rebuke him, you give your tithes faithfully and God, he says, 'I will rebuke the devourer, the person who is eating up your money and eating up your health.' So, you want to be healthy, that's a promise in the word!" Start at the 3:20 mark in the clip below.

PA Gov. Tom Corbett Fauxpologizes

"I explained that current Pennsylvania statute delineates categories of individuals unable to obtain a marriage license. As an example, I cited siblings as one such category, which is clearly defined in state law. My intent was to provide an example of these categories. My words were not intended to offend anyone. If they did, I apologize." - Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, fauxpologizing for comparing gay marriage to incest during a interview aired this morning on Harrisburg television.

REPORT: Discredited Study By Mark Regnerus Cited In Russian Bill That Authorizes Seizing Children Of Gay Parents

In the third of their four part series on the influence of American hate groups on Russia's anti-gay movement, today Right Wing Watch reports that the infamous study by discredited Texas researcher Mark Regnerus was cited in the pending Russian bill that authorizes the government to seize children from the custody of their gay parents.

When Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlyov introduced a bill that would allow the state to remove children from openly gay parents – classifying homosexuality along with drug abuse and child abuse as offenses that merit the loss of custody – gay rights activists noticed something interesting in the text of the bill. Zhuravlyov, who insisted, “In the case when a parent has sexual contact with people of their own gender, the damage that can be inflicted on the psyche of a child is enormous,” had in the text of his bill quoted extensively from a 2012 study conducted by University of Texas researcher Mark Regnerus that purports to show that having LGBT parents harms kids. New evidence shows that the Regnerus study also influenced the architects of Russia’s ban on gay “propaganda” and its ban on the adoption of Russian orphans by gay couples and single people living in countries that allow marriage equality.

More from the report:

When word began to spread that Regnerus’ study was playing a key role in the Russian anti-gay movement, Regnerus backtracked, saying that the Russian effort to remove children from biological parents who are gay or lesbian was a “misuse” of his research. While actively snatching children from gay parents might have been a step too far for Regnerus, he hasn’t stopped pushing his flawed findings around the globe. In fact, the same day that Regnerus claimed that Russian lawmakers had gone too far with his study, the anti-gay Alliance Defending Freedom announced that Regnerus would join it at a panel at the United Nations seeking to inject anti-gay politics into discussions of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

Hit the above links and read the full and extensive report from Right Wing Watch.

Liberty Counsel: Teaching Kids That LGBT People Get Murdered Is Sexual Assault

"What are your kids studying in school today? Public schools from California to Florida are celebrating LGBT History Month, where they highlight a homosexual or lesbian each day. Today, America’s school children are learning about Edward-turned-Gwen Araujo, who was intimate with men who allegedly beat him when they discovered that he was not a woman. If parents think our school children should be focused on science and math, not sex and murder, they need to talk to teachers, principals, and school boards to ensure that this program is stopped. The sexual assault on our children is mind-boggling." - Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver, in a statement published to their website.

FACT CHECK: Staver is referring to California's FAIR Education Act, which was signed into law in 2011 and mandates that notable LGBT people be included in history lessons. The bill, which has faced repeal efforts from hate groups, does not, of course (and unfortunately), apply to other states.  Aside from California, only the school board of Florida's Broward County (home to Fort Lauderdale) has even recognized LGBT History Month.

Anti-Boehner Ad To Run During NFL Game

An anti-Boehner ad is about to hit the air:

Many football fans tuning in for Sunday's game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots will see a new ad blaming House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for the government shutdown. The spot by House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, features a close-up of a baby crying, with a narrator saying, "Speaker John Boehner didn't get his way on shutting down health care reform. So, he's shut down the government and hurt the economy." The ad will be airing in Boehner's district, which includes rural and suburban areas around Cincinnati. Meanwhile, the Revive America PAC, a conservative group, has been running an ad on cable news attempting to spark a grassroots campaign to "fire" Boehner. But more established conservative groups, such as the Senate Conservatives Fund, Club for Growth and Heritage Action Fund, are standing by Boehner and his strategy.

Boehner: This Isn't Some Damn Game!

Grover Norquist: Ted Cruz Pushed The House GOP Into Traffic And Walked Away

"Cruz stood on the side and confused people about the fact that every Republican agrees. He said if you don’t agree with my tactic and with the specific structure of my idea, you’re bad. He said if the House would simply pass the bill with defunding he would force the Senate to act. He would lead this grass-roots movement that would get Democrats to change their mind. So the House passed it, it went to the Senate, and Ted Cruz said, oh, we don’t have the votes over here. And I can’t find the e-mails or ads targeting Democrats to support it. Cruz said he would deliver the votes and he didn’t deliver any Democratic votes. He pushed House Republicans into traffic and wandered away." - Libertarian hero Grover Norquist, who is on the board of directors of GOProud.

GOP "Elders" Turn On Ted Cruz

The New York Times reports that senior members of the GOP yesterday furiously argued with Sen. Ted Cruz in a closed-door GOP meeting.

Several Senate Republicans — Dan Coats of Indiana, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire — assailed Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who has led the movement to block funding for the health law. Ms. Ayotte was especially furious, according to two people present, and waved a printout from a conservative group friendly to Mr. Cruz attacking 25 of his fellow Republican senators for supporting a procedural vote that the group counted as support of the health law. Ms. Ayotte asked Mr. Cruz to disavow the group’s effort and demanded he explain his strategy. When he did not, several other senators — including Mr. Johnson, Mr. Coats and even Mitch McConnell, the minority leader — joined in the criticism of Mr. Cruz. “It just started a lynch mob,” said a senator who was present. Despite the uproar, Mr. Cruz did not offer a plan for how his party could prevail in the shutdown battle and suggested his colleagues were defeatists.

(Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

The Voice Of Siri Comes Forward

CNN reports:

Her name is Susan Bennett and she lives in suburban Atlanta. Apple won't confirm it. But Bennett says she is Siri. Professionals who know her voice, have worked with her and represent her legally say she is Siri. And an audio-forensics expert with 30 years of experience has studied both voices and says he is "100%" certain the two are the same. Bennett, who won't divulge her age, fell into voice work by accident in the 1970s. Today, she can be heard worldwide. She speaks up in commercials and on countless phone systems. She spells out directions from GPS devices and addresses travelers in Delta airport terminals. Until now, it's been a career that's afforded her anonymity. But a new Apple mobile operating system, iOS 7, with new Siri voices means that Bennett's reign as the American Siri is slowly coming to an end.

RELATED:  In the 70s Bennett sang the earworm jingle, I'm Tillie, The All-Time Teller, for First National Bank's just-debuted ATM. Whenever my college roommate needed cash, he'd say, "I gotta go fuck Tillie."

Tea Tweet Of The Day

FEMA Recalls Workers For Karen

FEMA has recalled furloughed workers in advance of Tropical Storm Karen.

A hurricane watch is in effect from Grand Isle to Indian Pass in the Florida Panhandle. A tropical storm watch also was in effect for parts of the Louisiana coast west of Grand Isle, including the New Orleans area. "Based on applicable legal requirements, and consistent with its contingency plan, FEMA has begun to recall currently furloughed employees necessary to serve functions of the agency to protect life and property as they prepare for potential landfall of Tropical Storm Karen," White House press secretary Jay Carney. Carney, the president's press secretary, said FEMA has also reactivated the Hurricane Liaison Team, which is embedded with the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "The president directed his team to ensure that federal resources and personnel needed to support state and local preparation efforts are available and on the job," Carney said.

How much federal disaster aid will Bobby Jindal ask for next week? Socialism!

This Week's TIME

The Tea People are furious. Good.

PENNSYLVANIA: Governor Tom Corbett Compares Same-Sex Marriage To Incest

Zack Ford writes at Think Progress:

In an interview Friday morning with WHP-TV, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) demonstrated that his own impressions of marriage equality are just as offensive as those of his lawyers that he tried to distance himself in August. Arguing against a county clerk who’d begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, they suggested that those couples were just like 12-year-old children in being ineligible for marriage, but Corbett told anchor Sherry Christian that incest would be a better comparison.

And then he laughed. Note the shocked face of the host.

KAZAKHSTAN: Lawmaker Proposes Bill To Recriminalize Homosexuality

Kazakhstan, which has already seen an attempt to copy Russia's ban on "homosexual propaganda," might be taking things a step further.

Kazakhstan’s Parliament deputy Bakhytbek Smagul has suggested drafting a law to ban same-sex relationships in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports from the plenary meeting of the Majilis (lower chamber of the Parliament). “I believe it necessary not only to enhance the article 11 of the Family Code (persons not allowed to marry), but also to develop a draft law eradicating same-sex relations, and close the nightclubs everywhere,” Smagul read out his address to Kazakhstan Prime-Minister Serik Akhmetov. According to the MP, several countries that “set traditional family relations a priority in their state policies” have already adopted laws banning same-sex relations because the latter are not part of their national mentalities. “These are Afghanistan, Malaysia and Indonesia. Russia also intends to adopt such law,” he said.

While relatively sparsely populated, Kazakhstan is the largest of the former Soviet republics and is about twice the size of Alaska. (Via Gay Star News)

Jon Stewart Vs Fox News On Shutdown

This thing has been a gold mine for him.

Southern Baptists Attack George And Barbara Bush For Witnessing Gay Wedding

"President Bush did not merely attend the wedding. He also served as an official witness, signing the legal documents for the ceremony and the Maine wedding license. Under a photograph with the former president the couple added the words, 'Getting our marriage license witnessed!' The news coverage of the Bushes’ attendance at the same-sex wedding points to a reality that must be understood—and fast. Attendance at a wedding is not a neutral act. The history and context of the wedding ceremony identify all those present as agreeing to the rightness of the marriage and acting as witnesses to the exchange of vows. This is why the venerable language of The Book of Common Prayer, used in the overwhelming majority of Christian weddings, calls upon anyone with knowledge that the proposed union is invalid to speak, 'or forever hold his peace.'

"Anyone remaining silent at that point is affirming the rightness and validity of the marriage, and all who are present are counted as both witnesses and those who celebrate the union. But, this is not just about the Bushes. The same predicament remains, even if we are not the former leader of the free world. To be present at a wedding is to affirm that it is right, whether you sign a legal document or not. No one said this was going to be easy, and this is hardly the end of the predicaments and perplexities that will challenge Christians who stand on biblical teaching in the days ahead. This is one question, however, that Christians had better think through fast. A wedding invitation might soon be headed your way." - Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptists Theological Seminary.

Tea Party Lie Of The Day

Talk about ridiculous lies. The Washington Post points out that the man hasn't had insurance in 14 years and therefore had no premium to increase 300%.  Check out the great take down of this entire fiction over at Mediaite.

NOM Praises Chris Christie

"We are appreciative and grateful to the governor and the attorney general for waging a vigorous defense. Our position is that the good people of New Jersey be trusted with this decision. Let’s have a conversation, a dialogue, a debate. [However our coalition] is not unified in its position on the consequences of same sex marriage. I personally do not believe that polygamy and incest will necessarily result." - Donald Sico, New Jersey lobbyist for NOM, speaking at yesterday's press conference for the just-formed anti-gay coalition.

Sico's last sentence above refers to a statement made at the press conference by a representative of the Knights Of Columbus: "There will inevitably be demands for legalization of polygamy – we’ve already seen this in Canada – polyandry, group marriage, marriage even between siblings."

Facebook Graphic Of The Day

Men In The Alps

It's an AIDS fundraiser calendar out of Europe.

(Tipped by JMG reader Tom)

REPORT: NOM's Brian Brown Collaborated With Russia's DUMA On Bill That Bans Gay Couples From Adopting

Right Wing Watch reports that at the invitation of Russia's legislature, NOM president Brian Brown traveled there with a group of far-right French Catholic anti-gay activists to collaborate on the bill that bans gay couples from adopting.  The DUMA passed the bill five days after Brown's visit.

On June 13, 2013, just days after the Russian Duma passed laws banning on gay “propaganda” and actions that “offend religious feelings,” a delegation of five French Catholic anti-gay activists --at least one with ties to the far-right Front National party -- traveled to Moscow at the invitation of the Duma committee on family, women and children to discuss, among other issues, Russia’s plans to tighten its ban on adoption by same-sex couples abroad. Joining them was one of the most well-known figures in the American anti-gay movement, National Organization For Marriage president Brian Brown. Brown had worked closely with the French anti-gay movement in its protests of the country’s marriage equality law, traveling to Paris to demonstrate against the law and signing onto an email to members of the Collectif Famille Mariage, one of the most prominent groups working to oppose marriage equality in France.

More from the report:

Le Figaro notes that elected officials at the front of the French anti-marriage movement did not respond to the Duma’s invitation to attend the meeting for fear of being “associated with a campaign of homophobia directed by Moscow” but that the name of the far-right Le Pen family “was mentioned several times” at the event. According to Russian news reports, the French activists and Brown attended two events in Moscow. One was a joint meeting on changes in international adoption laws with the Duma’s committee on foreign affairs and its committee on family, women and children – whose chair, Yelena Mizulina, authored the ban on gay “propaganda” and the adoption bill.

The other event was a roundtable discussion on "Traditional Values: The Future of the European Peoples," hosted by the St. Basil the Great Foundation – a Catholic group run by Konstantin Malofeev, the head of a private equity group and spirited anti-gay activist – and also sponsored by the Duma’s family committee, the right-wing Center for Social-Conservative Policy, and a new multi-party group of Russian MPs formed, with approval of the Russian Orthodox Church, to “protect traditional Christian values” and fight “aggressive liberalism” inreaction to Pussy Riot’s protests. Among the measures pushed by the group was the new law imposing jail time for “insulting religious feelings.”

Right Wing Watch notes that NOM has never announced Brown's trip to Russia and has refused their request to comment publicly. As you may recall and as RWW notes in their report, earlier this year Brown appeared at one of the massive anti-gay rallies staged in Paris by Manif Pour Tous, which by then had been taken over by violent factions from France's far-right and neo-Nazi groups, as well as a group that demands a Catholic theocracy for France.

It seems obvious that Brown's humiliating defeat in France and the friends he made in their failed and often violent anti-gay movement spurred his invitation to take part in Russia's pogrom against its gay citizens. It's not yet known if Brown also collaborated on the pending bill that authorizes the Russian government to seize the children of gay parents. (And still, NOM is not listed as a hate group by the SPLC.) Please hit the top link in this post and read the full and extensive report by Right Wing Watch.

VIDEO: Below is a brief appearance by Brown from a Russia television station covering the meetings.

Brian Sims Announces PA Marriage Bill

Towleroad has the transcript of Sims' speech. An excerpt:

“The majority of Pennsylvanians now support marriage equality, and that support continues to grow,” Sims said. “Neighboring states, including New York, Maryland and Delaware, have all decided to be on the right side of history and have granted equal rights to their LGBT citizens. The time has come for Pennsylvania’s legislature to stand up and let our citizens know we see them as truly equal members of society and they have the right to choose whom they marry. With the Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, it became apparent that Pennsylvania cannot continue to be stuck in the past. This is a civil rights issue facing our LGBT community. Furthermore, this issue is holding back Pennsylvania’s economy. People and businesses are seeing states that have true marriage equality as more attractive to them, and they’re spending their money in those states. This lack of equality is holding us back. Where are we at in our government where you lose rights by crossing a border?”

Singapore Upholds Sodomy Ban

Singapore's High Court has affirmed a ban on sodomy.

In a ruling issued Wednesday, Singapore High Court Judge Quentin Low dismissed a challenge to Singapore’s law criminalizing sex between men. In a ruling issued Wednesday, Singapore High Court Judge Quentin Low dismissed a challenge to Singapore’s law criminalizing sex between men. “The fact that there is plausible evidence in support of either side must mean that this issue is at least arguable and debatable,” Loh asserted in his ruling. And since the court is “unable to find for Mr Ravi on the factual assertion that homosexuality is a natural, immutable attribute,” Loh ruled this is a matter that must be deferred to the legislature.

Tea Party Rep Blames Dems For Shooting

Griffin was elected to the House in the 2010 Tea Party wave. (Via Gawker)

MISSISSIPPI: Football Players Disrupt Campus Production Of Laramie Project

According to the Daily Mississippian, members of the University of Mississippi football team disrupted a campus production of the Laramie Project and shouted "fag" during the show.

Cast members of the play, which is about an openly gay male who was murdered in Laramie County in Wyoming, said members of the audience became so disruptive at times that they struggled completing the play. According to the play’s director and theater faculty member Rory Ledbetter, some audience members used derogatory slurs like “fag” and heckled both cast members and the characters they were portraying for their body types and sexual orientations. Ledbetter said the audience’s reactions included “borderline hate speech.” “I am the only gay person on the cast,” junior theater major Garrison Gibbons said. “I played a gay character in the show, and to be ridiculed like that was something that really made me realize that some people at Ole Miss and in Mississippi still can’t accept me for who I am.”

The players are reportedly enrolled in a freshman-level theater course that requires attending a number of school plays during the term. The school's athletics department has acknowledged the incident and emailed an apology to the head of the theater department, but no disciplinary action has yet been announced.

Capitol Hill On Lockdown After Gunshots

Members of Congress ordered to shelter in place...

#BREAKING: Source says female suspect reported dead on scene at U.S. Capitol.
— ABC News (@ABC) October 3, 2013

UPDATE: It appears that the shooting was related to a car chase that ended near the Capitol Building. DC police have now lifted the lockdown. I'll update this post if this incident was more than a "routine" crime.

Freep This Illinois Poll

Illinois already includes gay people in its public accommodation laws, but that hasn't stopped the local Catholic stormtroopers from lying about what the pending marriage equality bill will mean for busineses. (Which is nothing, of course, since that law is long established and has nothing to do with same-sex marriage.)  Freep the fuck out of this.

Reince Preibus To Thomas Roberts: Maybe You Should Apply For A Job With Obama

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus sparred with MSNBC host Thomas Roberts today and Roberts didn't not back down. Talking Points Memo recaps:

"Why do we need to attach the solutions or changes that go along with the law that has been vetted by the Supreme Court, by a mandate by the people reelecting the president and both houses of Congress," Roberts asked. "Why should that be attached to to shutting down the government and as the president is saying basically writing a ransom note and asking for some type of goody bag in response for Congress doing its job to govern?" "Those are some pretty good talking points," the RNC chair shot back. "Let me just rewind." "They're not talking points," Roberts interjected, referring to a speech Obama gave in Maryland moments before the exchange. "That's directly from what the president just gave us." "I think you should apply for a job in the Obama administration," Priebus said later, after several minutes of sparring with the MSNBC host.

Watch the clip and enjoy.

Christian TV Host Rick Joyner: I've Asked God For A Military Takeover & Martial Law

"We’re headed for serious tyranny, a terrible tyranny right now. But guess what? The kingdom is coming, the Kingdom of God is coming. And America is not the Kingdom of God. I think we have been used in some wonderful and powerful ways by God, we’ve been one of the most generous nations in history. We’ve done so much good. That’s why I appeal to the Lord: Don’t let us be totally destroyed, please raise up those who will save us. And as I’ve been telling friends for a long time, no election is going to get the right person in there because the system is so broken. That's why our only hope is a military takeover, martial law." - Christian television host Rick Joyner, asking God to have the US military revolt against President Obama. (Tipped by JMG reader Bernard)

GOP House Rep Confronts Park Ranger, Demands Apology For Shutdown

Gawker has the recap:

In an astounding confrontation that took place yesterday at the World War II Memorial in DC, a Tea Party congressman from Texas appeared to blame the Park Service for denying veterans access to the facility — and then made a Park Ranger apologize for the shutdown. "How do you look at them and ... deny them access?" Rep. Randy Neugebauer asked the unidentified Ranger in an incredible exchange that was caught on camera by NBC Washington. In fact, the Park Service has been invoking the First Amendment in order to allow vets into the memorial despite the shutdown making it illegal for the department to do so. "It's difficult," the Ranger replied. "Well, it should be difficult," scorned the congressman. "It is difficult," the Ranger repeated. "I'm sorry, sir." "The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves," said Neugebauer. "I'm not ashamed," the Ranger retorted.  "You should be," sneered Neugebauer.

RELATED: The National Journal ranks Neugebauer as the "most conservative member of Congress." You might recall that it was Neugebauer who shouted "Baby killer!" at a Democrat during the Obamacare debate in the House.

Press Release Of The Day

Just in via press release:

While the majority of the country is feeling the effects of the government shut down and party disagreement over Obamacare, one industry is reaping the rewards from the fallout. Beginning September 29th, SeekingArrangement.com, the world’s largest Sugar Daddy dating site, experienced its largest growth in new sugar baby sign ups since March. Over 13, 947 women have joined the site this week, 56 percent of which are single mothers. “Obama once said, ‘Successful Americans do want to give something back, and no one finds success on their own. You didn’t build that, someone gave you help along they way.’- Someone like a sugar daddy. 44% of sugar baby membership is made up of college students, while 30 percent are single mothers. The average sugar baby receives $3000 per month in financial assistance from sugar arrangements.

So...you have options. If you're female.

Quote Of The Day - Antonin Scalia

"I haven't expressed my view about gay marriage. The issue in the DOMA case was not whether the Constitution requires states to allow gay marriage. That was not the question at all. The question is whether Congress can define marriage in all of the statues that Congress enacted to mean only marriage between a man and a woman. I'm waiting for the second shoe to drop." - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, saying that he expects to find the issue before the Court again.

Crazy Eyes On Fox News: This Is About the Happiest The GOP Has Ever Been

Models Promote Obamacare In Colorado

Details.

NOM Announces NJ Hate Coalition

The New Jersey Family Policy Council and New Jersey Family First are two divisions of the same group and their mouthpiece is "ex-gay" crackpot Greg Quinlan. So basically this coalition is Catholics and "ex-gays."

NORTH CAROLINA: Lesbian Seniors Apply For Marriage License, Are Rejected

A lesbian couple together for 40 years yesterday applied for a marriage license in North Carolina's Henderson County.

"Carole and I are here today to apply for a marriage license," said 79-year-old Mary Burson, "because we love each other, we've been together for 40 years...we've raised eight children together and we want to make the commitment that our brothers and sisters that are heterosexual can make." Burson and her partner, Carole Kaiser, 79, hoped Register of Deeds Nedra Moles would join a county clerk in Pennsylvania who has issued 174 marriage licenses to gay couples, even though that state — like North Carolina — prohibits same-sex unions. "Well, consider is about all I can do, because you both know that according to North Carolina law, I cannot issue the marriage license (to same-sex couples)," Moles said. "I've made you a copy of the N.C. General Statute, in case you would like to look at it, but I cannot do this today. So, I must turn you down."

Seventy members of the couple's church waited outside the courthouse to cheer their attempt, which was sponsored by the Campaign For Southern Equality. (Tipped by JMG reader Aaron)

Lewis Black Vs Guido Barilla

(Tipped by JMG reader Lorelei)

PENNSYLVANIA: Sims And McCarter To Introduce Marriage Equality Bill Today

Back in late June, openly gay Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims announced his plan to introduce a marriage equality bill. That happens today.

State Reps. Brian Sims and Steve McCarter, both Philadelphia Democrats, will announce the introduction of the Pennsylvania Marriage Equality Act during a news conference today at 10 a.m. in LOVE Park. Despite staunch opposition from Gov. Corbett and conservatives, the legislators said they are encouraged by recent action in the state, and that more than 30 lawmakers have signed on to the bill as co-sponsors. "It was really in June when Rep. McCarter and I, who've been talking about this for a while, took the lay of the land and found our colleagues were ready to support this issue," Sims said. "We've been seeing this growing support, so it's the right time."

Today's action happens as two separate marriage equality lawsuits, one brought by the ACLU, the other by Montgomery County Clerk Bruce Hanes, head for the state Supreme Court. The Sims/McCarter bill will be Pennsylvania HB 1686.

Germany Unveils Rainbow Olympic Outfits

German athletes will wear the above rainbow-hued uniforms at the Sochi Olympics, but officials insist the design is not intended as a commentary on Russia's anti-gay laws. Der Spiegel reports:

The uniforms were created by German designer Willy Bogner, in cooperation with Adidas and the shoe company Sioux. Bogner claims they were an homage to the aesthetics of the 1972 Munich Summer Games and said he wanted to create a "celebratory design, inspired by the great atmosphere of the times." It conveniently comes in the wake of Munich's announcement that it will bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which, if it is successful, would make it the first city ever to have hosted both the winter and summer games.

But other commentators have seen a more explicitly political message in the uniforms. On Twitter, German users interpreted the uniforms "as a rainbow pattern" and as a "clear political statement." "Looks great, like a gay and lesbian pride parade," wrote one user. "Extremely hideous -- but a well-intentioned move supporting the rights of gays and lesbians," wrote another. The official description, which claims the outfits "were created using colors and materials specially tailored to the conditions in Sochi" seemed to, in ambiguous fashion, support that interpretation.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation insists that the design was finalized "before the Russian protests had even begun." (Tipped by JMG reader Elroy)

Christian Twerk Team

There's a t-shirt. Source. 

RELATED: There's also a Miley Cyrus Halloween costume.

Open Thread Thursday

Has or will the shutdown affect you personally?

NEW YORK CITY: Mayoral Candidates Release First Ads Of General Election

A poll released today shows Joe Lhota trailing by 50 points. Crazy. But today's Lhota ad is all about how much he's like De Blasio. Wut?

Alex Jones Explains Obamacare

Sarah Palin: Storm The "Barrycades"

"It’s beyond shameful to see Barack Obama disrespect and mistreat our World War II veterans so blatantly. Obama’s political stunt to 'shut down' their memorial by barricade is to elicit an angry response to generate bad publicity for people the president uses in his continual blame game. The difference is obvious. There aren’t any World War I veterans alive today to mistreat in a shameful political stunt. He’s deployed more guards to bar our World War II heroes from their memorial than he sent to Benghazi when our consulate was under attack. The President is treating our veterans the same way he treated school kids when he cancelled their White House tours. When times called for obvious government belt-tightening, he took it out on kids rather than look for anything that would affect him personally. And while our vets are barricaded from the memorial they built with their heroism, the government 'slim down' won’t affect Obama’s golf game or his family’s White House chefs." - Sarah Palin, writing on her Facebook page.

NOTE: All of Teabagistan has been aflutter for the last 24 hours with furious posts about WWII vets in wheelchairs removing the barricades around the monument on the National Mall. All of which is somehow the president's fault and not the GOP.

KENTUCKY: State Attorney General Files Limp Defense Of Gay Marriage Ban

The office of Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has filed its defense against a marriage equality lawsuit brought by a local gay couple. But there's some interesting wording in the defense.

In an 18-page filing in federal court in Louisville, Assistant Attorney General Clay Barkley asked U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Gregory Bourke and Michael De Leon. Barkley wrote that the men lack standing to challenge the law. Bourke and De Leon, who were married in Canada nine years ago, sued in July to force the state to recognize valid unions from other states and countries. The men are seeking an injunction to stop state and local officials from enforcing the ban written into the Kentucky constitution in 2004. Much of the state's filing is boilerplate legal language. But, Barkley said same-sex couples seeking to marry "are just as willing as opposite-sex couples to assume the obligations of marriage" and, if allowed to marry, would "benefit equally from the legal protections and social recognition afforded to married couples.

Seems rather half-hearted, eh?  Conway, probably not incidentally, is a Democrat who lost the 2010 Senate race to Rand Paul. During that campaign Conway noted his support for the repeal of DADT, but also stated his opposition to same-sex marriage. A tepid defense of this lawsuit might be his way of "evolving" on the issue, which he'll have to do if he expects to move up.  He can't run for Attorney General again due to term limits.

Father Tiger - Right Now

From the band's publicist:

Andrew, a super-fan of Los Angeles-based indie revival pop group Father Tiger, traveled from Orlando to L.A. with his boyfriend, Chad, for a vacation where he also planned to propose. Before they made the trip, Andrew wrote to the band telling them of his plans. Band members Greg Delson and John Russell agreed to meet the couple at a park after Andrew proposed (and Chad accepted!) to celebrate with a private, acoustic performance of their original song "Right Now."

Hit the Father Tiger tag for previous JMG posts about them.

Fort Lauderdale Tops Gay Couples Data

Via Huffington Post:

Recently released data from the U.S. Census revealed which cities have the highest concentration of same-sex couple households in the country. The surprisingly frontrunner? Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where same-sex couples make up a whopping 2.8 percent of total households. The Florida beach town has long been a destination for the vacationing LGBT community and is home to 19 gay resorts. The real jaw-dropper, however, comes with a switch-up between two much larger cities. With 2.5 percent same-sex households, San Francisco came in a narrow third (third!) to Seattle, where gay households are suddenly booming. The city leaped from an estimated 1.7 percent of households in 2011 to 2.6 percent in recent data, nudging San Francisco from its cherished gay pedestal.

I suspect that many of those Fort Lauderdale couples actually live in Wilton Manors. Here's the top ten: Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Portland (ME), Somerville (MA), Oakland, Providence, Washington DC, Warwick (RI).

Putin Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Despite Russia’s role as the main supplier of weapons to Bashar al-Assad’s regime, an advocacy group has put the president’s name forward because the former KGB agent “actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet.” The International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation of Peoples of the World made no mention of Putin’s ruthless and violent campaign against the separatists in Chechnya or the war he waged on Georgia, but instead points to his efforts to prevent a US air strike on the Syrian regime following a chemical gas attack in August. The activist group is on the list of those approved to make Nobel Peace Prize nominations and according to the vice president of the organisation.

It's worth noting that Stalin and Hitler also got nominations.

Tweet Of The Day - Ted Cruz

Betty Who Meets The Home Depot Guys

Via press release from VH1:

Yesterday on VH1’s “Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan,” The Home Depot proposal couple, Dustin & Spencer stopped by to tell the story behind their viral video that’s already received over 10 million views on YouTube! Betty Who, whose song “Somebody Loves You” was the music used in the flash mob proposal, was also in studio to perform the catchy tune for her first ever TV performance. The Australian singer then got a fun surprise when she met Dustin and Spencer for the first time on camera. After the video went viral Betty Who was signed to RCA Records, so it was a special moment.

UPDATE: The clip is auto-playing for a few readers, so I've removed it. View it here.

Banksy Tags West Chelsea

Stand by for that garage door to be ripped down and sold for a jillion dollars in one of the nearby fancy galleries. (Via Gothamist)

Quote Of The Day - Tony Perkins

"I know a lot about the Southern Poverty Law Center, and I’m sure it’s not comforting for them to know that I can share that information with the law enforcement community. This is a very dangerous group. We are not advocating that homosexuality be illegal. What we have advocated is that marriage should be preserved in our laws as the union between man and woman, the same as the voters have in Louisiana. Is that vicious? I don’t think so. Is there anything wrong with helping the governor? Is there something wrong with the governor helping me? Bobby has been my friend since I was in the legislature." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, speaking to the Baton Rouge Advocate about his appointment to the Louisiana Law Enforcement Commission.

FACT CHECK: Perkins is lying (SHOCKER) when he claims that the FRC doesn't "advocate that homosexuality be illegal." In fact, FRC vice president Peter Sprigg appeared on national television to declare that Lawrence V Texas had been "wrongly decided" and therefore homosexuality should have remained illegal.

Fox News: Obama Loves The Shutdown

Queer Nation Takes Aim At Coca-Cola Over Sponsorship Of Sochi Olympics

Today Queer Nation launched Tell Coke, a website that directs visitors to email Coca-Cola executives to express objections to their "multi-billion dollar investment in Russia" and their sponsorship of the Sochi Olympics. Hit the link to send the prepared messages.

Billionaire Homocon Peter Thiel: The Major Money Man Behind Sen. Ted Cruz

Homocon billionaire Peter Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and who hosted Ann Coulter in his Manhattan apartment for a GOProud fundraiser, is one of the largest financial backers of Sen. Ted Cruz.  Tech site Valleywag goes off:

It's an odd marriage of interests, the sort Cruz otherwise opposes as a matter of principle: Peter Thiel is a pot-smoking gay man, which makes him the kind of person Cruz supporters would like to launch into some sort of Martian exile. But Thiel is also, crucially, a massively rich bussinessman, which is enough for Cruz to shelve his Tea Party druthers and accept hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Silicon Valley luminary. Adjacent bigots have yelled at Cruz for pocketing Thiel's cash, but he has every reason to ignore them: last year, Thiel gave $2 million to Club for Growth, a SuperPAC that in turn poured over $600,000 into Cruz's (successful) senatorial run. Club for Growth is still a vocal supporter of Cruz as he's flailed and railed against Obamacare. Is it lunacy to be the most loyal supporter of a man who thinks you don't deserve equal protection under the law? No crazier than paying kids to drop out of school, cure death, or create a floating libertarian ocean utopia.

RELATED: Thiel has authored an anti-diversity book which claims that America's downfall began when women got the vote. His "seasteading" project intends to create floating city-states that are exempt from international law, taxes, banking regulations, and employment protections.

Here's That "Ex-Gay Theme Song"

Performed at yesterday's "First Annual Ex-Gay Awareness Dinner" in Washington DC, this (presumably) is the winning entry in their theme song contest. Sample lyric: "Live your life for all to see, walk in great integrity, laying down your life and serving those you lead, this is your destiny."

UPDATE: A reader points out that Jernigan is a former vice president of Exodus International who resigned last year after he was exposed for supporting Jamaica's anti-gay laws. According to his Wikipedia entry, Jernigan also campaigned against the Hate Crimes Act.

Britney Spears - Work Bitch

Surprisingly, I don't hate this. I denounce myself!

IOWA: Appeals Court Upholds Conviction Of Man Who Didn't Disclose HIV+ Status

The Iowa Court of Appeals today upheld the conviction of Nick Rhoades, a gay man who did not disclose his HIV+ status to a sex partner he met online in 2008. His partner, who did not become infected, called police after learning of the man's HIV status even though condoms were used during their encounter. At his trial, Rhoades pleaded guilty on the advice of his counsel at the time and was sentenced 25 years in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender. The sentence was suspended several months later and Rhoades was placed on five years of probation. Lambda Legal, who represented Rhoades in his appeal, reacts via press release:

"We're extremely disappointed that the Iowa Court of Appeals is allowing Mr. Rhoades's conviction to stand because it was based on a misinterpretation of the plain language of the statute," said Christopher Clark, Senior Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal. "Someone who engages in safe sex, as Nick did, does not have the intent required to support a conviction under Iowa's law concerning the criminal transmission of HIV. Lambda Legal will assist Nick in evaluating his current options, which include a request that the Iowa Supreme Court hear this case." Thirty-nine states have HIV-specific criminal statutes or have brought HIV-related criminal charges resulting in more than 160 prosecutions in the United States in the past four years. Among other things, HIV criminalization perpetuates the many myths and misconceptions that fuel other types of discrimination against people living with HIV. It sends an inaccurate message regarding prevention responsibility, creates a disincentive to getting tested, and may actually discourage disclosure of HIV status.

Read more about the case here.

RUSSIA: Court Agrees With UN Ruling, Dismisses "Gay Propaganda" Charge

In what activists hope may lead to a repeal of Russia's national "homosexual propaganda" ban, a local court has agreed with a 2012 ruling by the United Nations Human Rights Commission and dismissed the charges against activist Irina Fet, who was arrested in 2009 after holding the above "Homosexuality Is Normal" sign.  Gay Star News reports:

Ryazan regional court today (2 October) has now agreed with the international ruling, and cancelled all prior charges and verdicts. Moscow Pride is now entering into a separate process with the Finance Minister to compensate Fet for moral damages, which could take up to two years. Nikolai Alekseev, a lawyer and one of Russia’s foremost gay rights activists, has described it as a ‘severe blow’ to the country’s gay propaganda laws. Speaking to Gay Star News, he said: "Full justice is restored. It is written now in a Russian court. It is a decision that is extremely important. The Russian judiciary is moving forward with the international courts, and agreeing with their view of the legal aspects of sexual orientation." While the law being discussed is the regional gay propaganda ban in Ryazan, and not the federal nationwide ban, one ruling could affect the other.

Another report on the ruling can be read here via Google Translate.