Saturday, April 26, 2014

HRC Unveils Southern Initiative

Via press release:
Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced Project One America (POA), a comprehensive campaign to dramatically expand LGBT equality in the South through permanent campaigns in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. This substantial and lasting initiative—with a three year budget of $8.5 million and a dedicated staff of 20—is the largest coordinated campaign for LGBT equality in the history of the South.

“Right now, this country is deeply divided into two Americas—one where LGBT equality is nearly a reality and the other where LGBT people lack the most fundamental measures of equal citizenship. Project One America is an unparalleled effort to close that gap, and it opens up a bold, new chapter in the LGBT civil rights movement of this generation. In this grand struggle for equality, we can’t write off anyone, anywhere,” said HRC President and Arkansas native Chad Griffin.

Project One America is the very first campaign of its kind to work exclusively on LGBT equality in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas—where there are no non-discrimination protections for LGBT people at the state or local level in employment, housing or public accommodations, and where each state’s constitution expressly prohibits marriage equality.

“Despite the legal landscape, it’s long past time that the country stopped treating the South like the ‘finish line’ for equality. HRC has more than 57,000 members and supporters in these states, and there are millions more fair-mined people ready to stand on the right side of history,” Griffin said.
The Associated Press has more:
A national organization is launching a three-year, $8.5 million campaign to promote LGBT equality and push for new legal protections in three Southern states dominated by conservative politics and religion and known for resistance to change: Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Decades after groups used boycotts, marches, sit-ins, pickets and mass rallies to end legalized racial segregation and push for equal protection for blacks, the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign is planning a new kind of civil rights movement. It's one based on using chats and front-porch visits between relatives and friends to foster an environment more welcoming toward people of all sexual orientations.

The idea is simple, and it's borne out in polls: People are less likely to oppose expanded rights and acceptance if they know and care for someone who's gay. Activists hope that's particularly true in a region that values hospitality.

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Bryan Fischer: Cliven Bundy Is Totally Right Because I Love Black Men

Start at 2:45.

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Pineapples Not Included

The old but still hilarious banana argument is making its way onto car windshields again. (Tipped by JMG reader Fred)

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Things Straight Guys Say To Lesbians


(Tipped by JMG reader Win)

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TENNESSEE: Sixth Circuit Court Issues Stay On Marriage Recognition

In mid-March, a federal district court issued a temporary ruling which orders Tennessee to recognize the legal out-of-state marriages of three gay couples. That same week Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper announced that he would file an appeal. Yesterday the Sixth Circuit Court issued a stay on the lower court's ruling.
In deciding whether to issue a stay, the Court balances four factors: 1) whether the moving party "has a strong or substantial likelihood of success on the merits"; (2) whether the moving party "will suffer irreparable harm"  if the order is not stayed; (3) whether issuing a stay “will substantially injure other interested parties”; and (4) “where the public interest lies.” Baker v. Adams Cnty./Ohio Valley School Bd ., 310 F.3d 927, 928 (6th Cir. 2002). Because the law in this area is so unsettled, in our judgment the public interest and the interests of the parties would be best served by this Court imposing a stay on the district court’s order until this case is reviewed on appeal.
Read the full ruling. (Via Equality Case Files)

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Friday, April 25, 2014

Cliven Bundy: My Racism Is MLK's Fault

Tea Party darling Cliven Bundy appeared on CNN this morning where he whitesplained his racism.
I took this boot off so I wouldn’t put my foot in my mouth with the boot on. Let me see if I can say something. Maybe I sinned and maybe I need to ask forgiveness and maybe I don’t know what I actually said. But you know, when you talk about prejudice, we’re talking about not being able to exercise what we think and our feelings. We don’t have freedom to say what we want. If I call — if I say negro or black boy or slave, I’m not — if those people cannot take those kind of words and not be offended, then Martin Luther King hasn’t got his job done then yet. They should be able to — I should be able to say those things and they shouldn’t offend anybody. I didn’t mean to offend them.
Cliven literally took his boot off for the interview.

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CDC Issues Measles Warning

Thank the anti-vaxxers.
The number of measles cases this year, as of April 18, stood at 129 compared with 189 for all of 2013. The virus is making its way into United States via international travel from other countries — particularly the Philippines — and then spreading among pockets of unvaccinated Americans, said Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, at a news conference today. Dr. Schuchat said that celebrity vaccine opponents such as Jenny McCarthy "get a lot of attention," but that the most trusted sources of information for most Americans on immunizations are their physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. "American clinicians are still strongly supporting adherence to recommendations [from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices]," she said.

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Obama: I'd Save Putin From Drowning

From Russian state media:
American President Barack Obama said he would “absolutely” save Russian President Vladimir Putin if he were drowning. He added that in spite of recent disagreements between Washington and Moscow, there were still areas they could cooperate. Echoing the Russian president’s answer to the same question during an extended press conference last week, Obama said he would save Putin from a watery grave. “I’d like to think if anyone were out there drowning, I’d save them,” Obama said in response to a question at a news conference in South Korea. “I used to be a pretty good swimmer, I grew up in Hawaii.”

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New Weakness Found In HIV

Scientists in La Jolla, California have found a fifth area of vulnerability in HIV that may advance the search for a vaccine.
The research was described in two papers published Thursday in the journal Immunity. It’s the latest product of a major effort by the National Institutes of Health and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, which funds work at TSRI. A new class of antibodies that neutralize a broad range of HIV strains provided a critical tool. The surface protein bearing the vulnerable site is typically unstable and difficult to study. Unlike previously discovered "broadly neutralizing" antibodies, these actually stabilize the protein in its fully assembled, infectious state. This makes it much easier to study the HIV surface protein. Moreover, other such vulnerable sites are likely to exist, the researchers said, and knowledge of what to look for should help. The site is the first discovered since 2009, said Andrew Ward, one of the TSRI researchers. “They’re elegant studies, as good as it gets,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Infection Control Today has more:
The discovery is part of a large, IAVI- and NIH-sponsored effort to develop an effective vaccine against HIV. Such a vaccine would work by eliciting a strong and long-lasting immune response against vulnerable conserved sites on the virus—sites that don’t vary much from strain to strain, and that, when grabbed by an antibody, leave the virus unable to infect cells. HIV generally conceals these vulnerable conserved sites under a dense layer of difficult-to-grasp sugars and fast-mutating parts of the virus surface. Much of the antibody response to infection is directed against the fast-mutating parts and thus is only transiently effective. Prior to the new findings, scientists had been able to identify only a few different sets of “broadly neutralizing” antibodies, capable of reaching four conserved vulnerable sites on the virus. All these sites are on HIV’s only exposed surface antigen, the flower-like envelope (Env) protein (gp140) that sprouts from the viral membrane and is designed to grab and penetrate host cells.
(Tipped by JMG reader Eric)

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ALASKA: State Supreme Court Rules That Tax Code Discriminates Against Gays

The Alaska Supreme Court today ruled that it's unconstitutional to deny property tax exemptions to same-sex couples. Via press release from the ACLU:
The rules were challenged by the ACLU of Alaska, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on behalf of three couples who were denied full access to a $150,000 property tax exemption that Alaska makes available to opposite-sex married couples. Because same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Alaska, the state treated them as roommates rather than as families and let them get the exemption for only half of the value of their homes. Roger Leishman, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, successfully argued the case at trial and on appeal before the Alaska Supreme Court.

“Families in Alaska deserve better than a second-class system of laws for same-sex couples who are just as committed to each other as heterosexual couples,” said Joshua Decker, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska. “Our senior citizens and veterans should not have to pay more taxes just because they happen to be gay or lesbian.” The lead plaintiffs, Julie Schmidt, 71, and Gayle Schuh, 66, have been partners for 36 years, and moved to Alaska from Illinois after retiring from careers in education. “Gayle and I built a home and a life here because we loved what Alaska had to offer,” said Schmidt. “It hurt that the state that we loved so much treated us like strangers. It is gratifying to have our relationship recognized.”
More about the case here.

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This Is An Ad For Something

Not remotely work-friendly.

(Tipped by JMG reader Robbie)

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Al Gore On 2016

"You say you can ask the question a million ways. I’m going to only answer it one way. With apologies, I’m sure you’ve heard this answer before. I am a recovering politician. And the longer I avoid a relapse the more confidence that I will not succumb to the temptation to run yet again. But I’m a recovering politician. I’ll just leave it at that." - Former Vice President Al Gore, declining to give Politico a direct answer when asked his plans if Hillary Clinton doesn't run for president.

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Ukraine PM: Russia Wants World War III

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk today declared that Russia wants to start World War III.
"Attempts at military conflict in Ukraine will lead to a military conflict in Europe,'' he told an interim cabinet meeting that was broadcast live. The remarks were also translated into English and posted on the official government website. "The world has not yet forgotten World War II, but Russia already wants to start World War III," he said. Russia announced new military exercises Thursday involving ground and air forces near its border with Ukraine. The latest move follows stepped-up operation by Ukraine to remove pro-Russian insurgents from occupied buildings in the east. At least two people were killed in a clash at another checkpoint.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: "The West wants -- and this is how it all began -- to seize control of Ukraine because of their own political ambitions, not in the interests of the Ukrainian people."

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At America's First Cat Cafe

Via Mashable:
America's first cat cafe has opened in New York City this week with furry kitties so adorable, you'll want to lap them up. We don't recommend that, but the cat-achinos are delish. The pop-up cafe, brought stateside by Purina One, is filled with soft, playful cats available for adoption from April 24-28. The goal is to educate and show the health of these adorable cats — an important priority, Nicky Roberts of the Purina One team told Mashable.

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Glenn Beck: The Bible Is The Only Textbook Needed By Public Schools

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Alan Keyes: Liberals Who Point Out Cliven Bundy's Racism Are The Real Racists

"I find it appalling that we basically have a history of the leftist liberalism that wants to extinguish black people by abortion [and] destroying the family structure. All of these things if you just look at the effects, you would say this was planned by some racist madman to destroy the black community. Then when somebody comes along to comment on that damage, the leftists all scream 'racism.' I think it’s time somebody started to recognize the racism that exists in its effects – the hard leftist ideology using the black community for their sacrificial lamb, for their sick ideology. It’s time we called them what they are. Now it’s racist to point it out." - Three times failed presidential candidate and three times failed Senate candidate Alan Keyes, speaking to World Net Daily.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Alan Keyes speaks at Larry Klayman's rally to overthrow the government. Alan Keyes says gay rights rape Christian parents. Alan Keyes says gay Boy Scouts will force straight Scouts to be gay themselves. Alan Keyes says gay activists are controlled by Satan. Alan Keyes says it is a fact that gay men have half the life expectancy of straight men. Alan Keyes says gun control is a government plot to murder hundreds of thousands of Christians. Alan Keyes says legalizing gay marriage is like legalizing slavery. Alan Keyes loses lawsuit which demands that the Supreme Court review President Obama's birth certificate.

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Professor Vs Creationists

Breitbart spins the incident:
A University of Connecticut professor went on a wild tirade on the Storrs campus Tuesday, claiming he came from an ape as he confronted a Christian gospel presentation that included discussion on evolution. Christian evangelist Don Karns of Hampton, Virginia, said Boster approached him as he was holding a sign about evolution, mocked him, and then became confrontational. “He asked me if I had accepted Darwin as my lord and savior,” Karns said. “He was very agitated, very demonstrative… it was very unbecoming of a professor.” Within minutes, Boster, who began teaching at UConn in 1997, also began to openly mock campus tour coordinator Scott Smith of Schoolmaster Ministries of Raleigh, North Carolina, as he preached. “As I was pointing to Christ—I was talking about the sin nature—I said, ‘There’s probably some people out there—maybe even professors—who think they descended from monkeys,’” Smith stated. “[Boster] jumped off the ground and came running over and basically started screaming, ‘I did not come from a monkey! I came from an ape!’”

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Folsom Street East To Return

Folsom Street East didn't happen last year due to the massive apartment building that is nearing completion on West 28th Street. The event returns this year, one block away. Via press release:
Folsom Street East (FSE) today announced that it will hold its 16th annual Street Fair on Sunday, June 22nd. In anticipation of final approval from the City of New York's Street Activity Permit Office, FSE also announced that this year's Street Fair will take place on 27th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, one block south of its previous venue. "We're thrilled to bring Folsom Street East back to the streets of New York City," said FSE Board President and Street Fair coordinator Gary Martin. "We believe that 27th Street will be a great new venue for our event and are confident that our final permit will be approved in light of Community Board 4's unanimous recommendation to SAPO earlier this month that it go forward." This year's Street Fair will benefit the Anti-Violence Project, Housing Works, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, and the HIV/AIDS-related services of The Center. The fair will be held from 11 AM - 4 PM, and feature 2 hour stage show starring New York's finest entertainers - bookings to be detailed in advance of the event. As in years past, attractions will also include a beer garden hosted by the Eagle NYC.
RELATED: If you'd like a brand new apartment with views of the Eagle and the city's most famous titty bar, a studio will run you up to $4000.

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Elton John AIDS Foundation Creates HIV Fund In Frankie Knuckles' Name

Via Chicago Pride:
Sir Elton John is honoring the memory of legendary DJ, record producer and remixer Frankie Knuckles by establishing the Frankie Knuckles Fund to support HIV information, testing and treatment among black communities in Africa, America and the U.K. "Frankie was such a lovely man and a great talent and his legacy provides a powerful voice to reach out to people, particularly men of color, about their essential role in helping to create an AIDS-free future," said John, founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Knuckles died of diabetes complications on March 31st.

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Courtney Love - You Know My Name

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Haters Have The Harvey Milk Sadz

"Harvey Milk was a very dishonorable man -- a sexual anarchist who hated sexual boundaries, a homosexual predator of teens and boyish-looking young men, and a brazen attacker of moral standards and parental rights. The intolerant homosexual-bisexual-transsexual movement is guilty of trampling religious freedom, free speech, private property rights, parental rights and the innocence of children, If you believe in protecting children from bad role models, don't buy the Harvey Milk stamp. Harvey Milk's 'LGBT' agenda has been an extremely negative influence on religious freedom, which it crushes, and the health and well-being of children, whom it sexually targets,. Indeed, a moral disaster -- the unnatural, unhealthy, tyrannical homosexual-bisexual-transsexual agenda -- is being honored by the U.S. Postal Service, which is pushing negative outcomes on children through this harmful sexual movement." - Save California crackpot Randy Thomasson, renewing his annual call for parents to keep their kids out of school on next month's Harvey Milk Day. (Via Good As You)

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UGANDA: Climber Claims Nation's Tallest Mountain In The Name Of Gay Rights

Mountaineer Neil Gottlieb climbed to the summit of Uganda's tallest mountain, posted a rainbow flag, and claimed the peak in the name of gay rights. He then issued an open letter to President Yoweri Museveni:
On April 16, 2014, after a 6-day climb, I summited your country’s tallest peak, Mount Stanley’s 16,753 foot tall Margherita Peak, and mounted a gay pride flag at its summit in protest of your country’s criminalization of homosexuality. Your country’s highest point is no longer its soil, its snow or a summit marker, but rather a gay pride flag waving brilliantly, shining down from above as a sign of protest and hope behalf of the many thousands of Ugandans that you seek to repress and the many more that understand the hideous nature of your repressive legislation.

The wiser of us understand that humans possess certain unalienable rights. These rights include freedom to express oneself, freedom to worship one’s god or none at all and freedom to live and love as one is born. Despite this, you recently signed legislation into law that allows those born homosexual to be imprisoned for life. This is a disgusting, despicable act that threatens to ruin countless lives. If you had a son, daughter, niece or nephew that was homosexual, would you want her or him to be imprisoned for life? What if you have friends that are closeted homosexuals? Should they be locked up for the rest of their lives? If you were born gay, would you deserve to be imprisoned?
Gottlieb's letter closes by suggesting that if Museveni doesn't want that rainbow flag on Uganda's highest peak, he should climb up there and rip it down himself. In order to shield the mountain guides that assisted in the Gottlieb's climb, he notes that they had no idea what he was planning and didn't even know what the rainbow flag represents. (Via Gay Star News)

Read Gottlieb's full letter at his Facebook page.

RELATED: Gottlieb is the founder of California's Three Twins Ice Cream.

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Quote Of The Day - Bryan Singer

"The allegations against me are outrageous, vicious and completely false. I do not want these fictitious claims to divert ANY attention from ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’ This fantastic film is a labor of love and one of the greatest experiences of my career. So, out of respect to all of the extraordinary contributions from the incredibly talented actors and crew involved, I’ve decided not to participate in the upcoming media events for the film. However, I promise when this situation is over, the facts will show this to be the sick twisted shake down it is. I want to thank fans, friends and family for all their amazing and overwhelming support." - Director Bryan Singer, on the molestation lawsuit filed against him last week. Singer's accuser filed suit against three other Hollywood executives on Monday.

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Girl Gives First Lady Her Dad's Resume

Via the Washington Post:
A young girl who was a guest at the White House's annual "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" did her father a favor. She handed Michelle Obama his résumé. When Obama called on a girl, identified by the Associated Press as 10-year-old Charlotte Bell, during a question-and-answer session, the girl stood up and walked toward the first lady. "My dad's been out of a job for three years and I wanted to give you his résumé," Charlotte said. Obama seemed surprised, then invited the girl on stage and gave her a hug. "Oh my goodness," Obama said while hugging Charlotte.

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SOUTH DAKOTA: Marriage Suit Coming

South Dakota's first marriage equality lawsuit is on the way.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges will officiate at the weekend marriage of a lesbian couple from South Dakota as the women prepare to take part in a groundbreaking lawsuit to force their home state to recognize their union. The couple, Nancy Robrahn, 68, and Jennie Rosenkranz, 72, say that along with two other gay South Dakota couples, they plan on filing a federal class-action lawsuit against state officials. Robrahn and Rosenkranz will argue that South Dakota should recognize same-sex marriages when performed outside of the state. In addition, the suit will seek to overturn South Dakota's statewide same-sex marriage ban enacted by a constitutional amendment in 2006. A spokesman for Hodges said she does not know Robrahn and Rosenkranz personally, but responded positively after those working with them reached out to her office.
Robrahn and Rosenkranz have been together for 27 years. In March they were denied a marriage license by the clerk's office in South Dakota's Pennington County.

RELATED:  Once the above suit is filed, that will leave North Dakota, Montana, and Alaska as the only states without marriage equality lawsuits.

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Koch Brothers Vs Columbus Zoo

The famed Columbus Zoo, which is often ranked as the nation's best, is under attack from the Koch Brothers.
Americans for Prosperity is sending out mailings this week urging Franklin County residents to vote “no” on Issue 6, the permanent, 1.25-mill property tax that would raise $32.7 million a year for the zoo. The group is supported by Charles and David Koch, billionaire brothers from Kansas whose wealth comes from oil and gas, chemical, paper and other industries. The zoo tax would replace a 0.75-mill levy that expires at the end of 2015 and brings in $18.9 million a year. It would cost homeowners $44 a year per $100,000 of property value. The current levy costs $21 a year. The group’s mailing calls it a “money grab” that would be “a 105 percent property-tax hike.” John Kulewicz, co-chairman of the zoo levy campaign, said that “falsely implies that our entire tax bill will go up” when the zoo levy is less than 1 percent of the overall residential property tax. He said the campaign hasn’t decided whether it will file a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission about that wording.
The vote is May 6th. (Tipped by JMG reader Gustav)

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Paul Weller - Brand New Toy

Legendary British rocker Paul Weller is very pissed about this week's Record Store Day, the annual event to promote the nation's few remaining independent music shops.
This is a message to all the fans who couldn't get the new vinyl single on Record Store Day and/or paid a lot of money for a copy on eBay. I agree with all of you who have sent messages expressing your anger and disappointment at the exploitation of these "limited editions" by touts.

Apart from making the record, the rest has very little to do with me but I am disheartened by the whole thing and unfortunately I won't be taking part in Record Store Day again. It's such a shame because as you know I am a big supporter of independent record stores but the greedy touts making a fast buck off genuine fans is disgusting and goes against the whole philosophy of RSD.

There were copies of my single on eBay the day before Record Store Day and I've heard stories of people queuing outside their local record shop only to be told there were none left at opening time! It only takes a few to spoil a wonderful concept for everyone else. Shame on those touts. Don't support their trade and don't let them use Record Store Day to ruin the very thing it's designed to support.
Weller's new single is from the coming More Modern Classics.

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Thursday, April 24, 2014

NOM Chairman: Oregon Is Colluding With Gay Activists To Block Out Opponents

"What is occurring in Oregon is the plaintiffs are colluding with the government to get a pre-ordained result that fits with their political agenda notwithstanding the fact that the voters of Oregon voted overwhelmingly to define marriage as one man and one woman. Judge Michael McShane held a hearing in Oregon yesterday where everybody participating--two sets of plaintiffs and two sets of Defendants, including the Governor and the Attorney General, all argued that Oregon's marriage law served no rational purpose. Attorneys for the government announced that they could not even conceive of any argument in favor of marriage between one man and one woman. The hearing highlighted in a profound way the importance to our adversary process of actually having adversaries." - NOM chairman John Eastman, who looks forward to "mounting a vigorous defense" should they be allowed to intervene.

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Obama Appoints Jason Collins To Federal Fitness, Sports, & Nutrition Council

Via White House press release:
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts: Jason Collins, Appointee for Member, President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. Jason Collins is a professional basketball player with the Brooklyn Nets, where he has played since 2014. Previously, he played for the Washington Wizards, the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the New Jersey Nets. He joined the National Basketball Association in 2001 after playing for Stanford University, where he was a National Association of Basketball Coaches third team All-American and a member of the All-PAC-10 first team. Mr. Collins is a partner with the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Mr. Collins received a B.A. from Stanford University.
Other appointees include Rachel Ray, Alonzo Mourning, and ballet star Misty Copeland.

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One Million Moms Vs Kimberly-Clark

One Million Moms via email:
Poise is airing a new commercial, and it is extremely sexually suggestive. This indecent ad includes two women having a discussion about "SAM" in their pants. Poise products are designed to provide protection for light bladder leaks so they have introduced liners with super absorbent material, or the acronym SAM. The Poise commercial begins with one woman telling another woman about how she loves SAM. She continues by saying, "SAM knows how to take care of a woman. SAM is also very small, but SAM can last for hours!" Then a man they do not know looks over at them shocked because he is close enough to hear their conversation and finds it inappropriate. The ad ends when she says, "I have SAM in my pants right now," and then points to the Poise liners she has in her handbag. The other woman then states, "I wish I had SAM in my pants." It is the most disgusting commercial that Poise and parent company, Kimberly-Clark, have ever produced. Please send Poise (Kimberly-Clark) an email letter urging that this ad be pulled immediately!

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Sean Hannity Is Very Upset That Cliven Bundy Is Making Teabaggers Look Bad

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VH1 Anti-Bullying PSA Raises Eyebrows

AdWeek discusses an anti-bullying PSA produced for VH1.
On one level, the video is a marvel of wish-fulfillment that anyone who's ever been picked on or put down during lunch period or study hall can instantly relate to. Believing you can turn the tables feels great, and the spot hits all the right notes in that regard. Still, the tone and message ultimately fall flat. The revenge motif, though lighthearted, seems to perpetuate the cycle of bullying, with today's victims becoming tomorrow's oppressors. Yes, it's handled with a deft touch and good humor—and the jerks in the boy's bathroom using that kid's head as a toilet scrubber certainly have it coming. Even so, breaking the cycle and discouraging the behavior should be the goal, shouldn't it? There's really none of that here.

(Tipped by JMG reader Elroy)

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Headline Of The Day

Details.

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Straights Should Stay Out Of Gay Bars?

Slate vlogger and self-identified separatist June Thomas says that gay nightclubs are too few and "precious" to the community and therefore straight people should think twice about coming in. And gay guys should stay out of lesbian bars too.
(Tipped by JMG reader John)

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Tom DeLay Hails Cliven Bundy For Fighting Lawlessness Of Obama's Tyranny

We haven't forgotten the Abramoff scandal, have we?

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HomoQuotable - Robert Oscar Lopez

"Jeremy Hooper, Scott Rose, Straight Grandmother, and the rest of these ridiculous trolls in the gay blogosphere aren't merely incredibly dangerous because they use desperate tactics to distract people from real, serious issues and impose their totalitarian agenda on others through character assassinations and psychological operations. They are also incredibly stupid! [snip] The entire basis for calling me a rising star of the 'anti-gay' movement depends upon a belief that it is anti-gay to protect children's rights against slavery or deprivation of a mother/father. This is why Jeremy Hooper tries his psychological operations routine where he goes to every site remotely involved with me and says 'Robert Oscar Lopez equates same-sex marriage with slavery.' Slavery is defined as purchasing and ownership of human beings as chattel. If you pay a price to someone else for control of a child, you have engaged in human trafficking and are a slaver." - Homocon horcrux Robert Oscar Lopez, who is ever so pissed that gay bloggers keep quoting him verbatim.

RELATED:  Two weeks ago Lopez filed an anti-gay amicus brief in support of Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage. Last month Lopez declared that gay men are turning surrogate mothers into breeding slaves. Last year, in addition to appearing on stage at an anti-gay Manif Pour Tous rally in France that was supported by neo-Nazis, Lopez testified against LGBT equality before several state legislatures and he co-signed an anti-gay homocon brief to the Supreme Court in support of DOMA. You really must read the Media Matters take on Lopez' trilogy of gay erotica. 

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The Blood Moon Prophecy Is Coming True!

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Teabaggers Demand That Lying NYT Provide Video Of Bundy's Racist Remarks


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Dana Loesch Defends Cliven Bundy

"First, to take the quote at face value it’s odd and sounds offensive. You’re talking about government overreach and you go into this story? Secondly, I hope no one is surprised that an old man rancher isn’t media trained to express himself perfectly. He seems to be decrying what big government has done to the black family — which big government has negatively affected not just the black family, but all families regardless of ethnicity — so perhaps he included that in his remarks against big government? I’m just trying to figure out how he even got to the point of discussing it and yes, it’s justified to have a healthy suspicion of the New York Times." - Wingnut radio shrieker Dana Loesch, defending Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy for saying that "the Negro" was better off as a cotton picking slave. As you can see, Loesch implies that the New York Times invented Bundy's quote.

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Quote Of The Day - Cliven Bundy

“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro. In front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids — and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch — they didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for their kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for their young girls to do. And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do? They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom." - Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who is the current hero of the Tea Party for refusing to pay federal grazing fees.

Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Sean Hannity, and Todd Starnes have all hailed Bundy for refusing to recognize federal authority over the land where his cattle have grazed for decades. Media Matters writes about Starnes' defense of Bundy:
During an appearance today on the radio program of Republican strategist Alice Stewart, Fox's Todd Starnes championed Bundy as an example of Americans "saying enough is enough" with the federal government. "We do know that the feds returned some of the cattle that they had taken from the Bundy Ranch. What I find interesting, though, Alice, is don't they still have laws on the books about cattle rustling out in Nevada?" Starnes said. "Back in the day, they used to string folks up for stealing cattle." Starnes later claimed that the Bundy incident shows that "Americans have really reached a boiling point here" and Americans have finally said, 'You know what? We're not going to stand by and let the Constitution be tramped.'" He also took the opportunity to link the situation to the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, stating: "Look at all the government firepower that was out there at that ranch. They had more guns there than they did at the consulate in Benghazi ... if only Ambassador [Christopher] Stevens had been a protected tortoise."
UPDATE: The backpedaling has begun. Sen. Rand Paul: "His remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him." Spokesman for Sen. Dan Heller: "Senator Heller completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way."

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NYC Flood Risk: 20X Greater Than 1844

This won't come as a surprise to anybody who lived here during Hurricane Sandy. Via Mashable:
In a sign of the shift to a riskier coastal flood environment in New York, one which is mirrored in many low-lying coastal cities worldwide, the study found that three of the nine highest recorded water levels in the New York Harbor region since 1844 have all occurred since 2010, and eight of the largest 20 such events have occurred since 1990. This is no coincidence, says Stefan Talke, a civil engineer at Portland State University and lead author of the study. The annual probability that a storm, such as a winter nor’easter or a summer hurricane, will overtop the typical Manhattan seawall has increased about 20-fold since 1844, Talke told Mashable, going from less than 1% a year in the 19th century to about 20-25% today. That means that waters can be expected to top the lower Manhattan seawall, which is about 5.7 feet high — once every four to five years, according to a summary from the American Geophysical Union (AGU). That's up from once every 100-400 years back in the late 19th century.
Last year former Mayor Bloomberg proposed a $20B plan to bolster the city's seawalls. The plan calls for an extensive network of barriers, levees, and bulkheads along parts of the city's 520 miles of waterfront. Also proposed are inflatable plugs for tunnel entrances. Mayor De Blasio had not yet indicated if he will follow through.

RELATED: I took the below photo of the eight-lane FDR at the end of my block just after Sandy had passed.

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PolitiFact Rates Ralph Reed's Claims About Gay Parenting As Totally False

On Sunday, Ralph Reed appeared on ABC's This Week to declare that social science has found "irrefutable" proof that children are better off being raised by a mom and a dad. PolitiFact has rated his claims as totally false.
We did find one study funded by conservative organizations as showing gay parents are worse than straight ones, but it’s been denounced by the American Sociological Association, the researcher’s own university and many reputable sociologists. In conducting the study, Mark Regnerus loosely defined same-sex couples and, in doing so, only spoke with two children who were actually raised by gay parents. Research is still limited, but many reputable studies so far have concluded that children of gay parents, generally speaking, are just as well off as children of straight parents. What’s more important is the number of parents a child has, experts told us. "Kids are better off with two parents," said Andrew Cherlin, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University. "But we don't have much evidence that those parents must be of the opposite gender."
Their final ruling: "All reputable research so far indicates that children brought up by gay parents are just well off as those brought up by straight parents. We rate Reed’s statement False."

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Popular Christian Musician Backs Gay Marriage, Backlash Already Underway

Jars Of Clay vocalist Dan Haseltine has been tweeting numerous messages of support for same-sex marriage this week and anti-gay crackpots like Michael Brown are furious.
This really boggles the mind. When you’re sliding down a dangerous slippery slope, you don’t say, “Give me one good reason we’re in danger, other than the fact that we’re careening down this deadly slope.” No. You grab hold of something to stop your fall and then figure out how to climb back to solid ground. Does this gifted artist not realize that the only reason we’re talking about redefining marriage today is because we are well down that slope already? This is the day of full-blown incestuous relationships on popular TV shows like Game of Thrones; of other shows glorifying polyamory (married and dating!), polygamy (from Big Love to Sister Wives to My Five Wives), and teen pregnancy; of news reports about the “wedding” of three lesbians. It is the day of almost half of all first-time American mothers having their babies out of wedlock, with cohabitation rates up more than 700% since 1960, and it is against this backdrop that talk of same-sex “marriage” has become prominent. Do we really want to accelerate the destruction of marriage?
Jars Of Clay have won three Grammys for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. (Tipped by JMG reader Chris)

UPDATE: More about the story from MetroWeekly.

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Jason Collins Lands Inside Cover Of TIME

Chelsea Clinton has written a Jason Collins profile for TIME's most influential people issue. Via Today:
TIME magazine unveiled its 11th annual “Time 100 Most Influential People in the World” issue on Thursday, with major — and controversial — figures from music, movies and the political world filling up a large portion of the list. Superstar Beyonce Knowles-Carter is on the cover of the popular issue, and subsequent inside covers feature actor Robert Redford, Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay athlete, and General Motors CEO Mary Barra. Other honorees include actress Amy Adams, Amazon founder and The Washington Post’s newest owner Jeff Bezos, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Pope Francis, actress Christy Turlington Burns, potential presidential candidate and grandmother-to-be Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State John Kerry, Late Night host Seth Meyers, country singer Carrie Underwood, “Happy” singer Pharrell Williams, Russian President Vladimir Putin and singer Miley Cyrus, making it possibly the first time Putin and Cyrus have had something in common.
Inside covers are a thing? (Tipped by JMG reader RKK)

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Who's On Newsies?

Two of the kids from Newsies performed a Broadway take on the classic Abbott & Costello bit during the Broadway Cares Easter Bonnet shows this week. Every year Broadway casts raise money for Equity Fights AIDS during their their curtain calls for the six weeks leading up to the Easter Bonnet shows.
The generosity of theatre fans during six weeks of fundraising by 57 Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring companies helped push the 28th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition to another record high, raising $4,532,129 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Broadway veterans Idina Menzel and Denzel Washington joined newcomers Bryan Cranston and Fran Drescher on April 21, 2014, to announce the final total following the finale of two stunning Easter Bonnet Competition shows filled with song, dance, comedy and 17 elaborate, creative, custom-made bonnets. Since the Easter Bonnet Competition began in 1987, the event has raised more than $58 million for Broadway Cares. Last year's event raised $4,250,542.
More great performances in the bottom clip.


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Duck Sauce - NRG

These guys had a huge club hit in 2010 with Barbra Streisand. And if you haven't seen their freaky video for 2011's Big Bad Wolf, you might not want to watch it at work. Stereogum reviews the clip below:
A-Track and Armand Van Helden of Duck Sauce inject their sense of humor into their entire collaboration, and the duo’s new infomercial-inspired video for “NRG” is no exception. While the group’s dance track plays, an infomercial (starring Jon Daly from Kroll Show/Red Hot Chili Peppers) demonstrates the many uses for a fake “Everything Gel” product. Surely some insane entrepreneur is already preparing such a product/infomercial to go to market right now, no?
Armand Van Helden first gained notice with his 1994 stomper Witch Doktor and with his remix of Tori Amos' Professional Widow.

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TEXAS: State Judge Rules Ban On Gay Marriage And Divorce Is Unconstitutional

In late February, a federal judge ruled that Texas' ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and stayed his ruling pending appeal. A state judge has now ruled likewise, paving the way for a San Antonio couple to proceed with their divorce and child custody case.
The latest ruling comes in response to a same-sex divorce lawsuit that was filed in Bexar County in February by Allison Leona Flood Lesh and Kristi Lyn Lesh, who were married in Washington, D.C., in August 2010. Kristi Lesh became pregnant through artificial insemination during the marriage and gave birth Feb. 19, 2013. Her attorney argued that because Allison Flood Lesh isn't the biological or adoptive parent, Kristi Lesh should retain sole custody. Allison Flood Lesh is seeking to split custody of the child. Because Texas doesn't recognize same-sex marriages, there's also no legal avenue available to pursue a divorce. In a separate case involving couples from Austin and Dallas, attorney James J. "Jody" Scheske argued before the state Supreme Court in November that same-sex divorces should be allowed. The court has yet to issue a ruling.
Texas Attorney General and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott is appealing the February ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court.

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MISSOURI: Republicans Want To Impeach Democratic Governor Over Gay Marriage

Via the Associated Press:
A Republican-led Missouri House committee plans to hold a hearing on measures seeking to impeach Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. The Wednesday hearing on three separate impeachment resolutions includes one citing Nixon's decision to allow same-sex couples who married legally in other states to file joint tax returns in Missouri. Another measure criticizes the governor for the amount of time he took to call a special election to fill legislative vacancies. The final measure to be considered by the Judiciary Committee would impeach Nixon for his refusal to fire state officials involved with the Revenue Department's decision last year to scan driver's license applicants' personal documents into a computer system.
Nixon is mocking the hearing, calling it a "show."

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Billy On The Street With Amy Poehler

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OREGON: Marriage Gets Its Hearing

Here's how things went in Oregon yesterday:
Lawyers for four gay and lesbian couples and the state of Oregon urged a federal judge Wednesday to strike down Oregon's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. No comments were made in favor of the ban, so lawyers on both sides of the case were in the rare position of asking for the same ruling from the judge. Oregon's attorney general, Democrat Ellen Rosenblum, has said the ban is legally indefensible and has refused to offer arguments in favor of keeping it.

Judge Michael McShane did not say which way he was leaning. His questioning focused heavily on how he should apply precedents from higher courts and whether he should delay implementation of his ruling until appeals courts sort out gay marriage cases pending around the country. The judge is deciding two parallel cases. The couples who filed suit are asking him to declare the ban unconstitutional and allow same-sex couples to wed. They also want an order that same-sex marriages performed in other states must be recognized in Oregon.
NOM isn't happy about not being there.
McShane has said he won't rule on the constitutionality of the same-sex marriage ban until he decides on a request filed this week by the National Organization for Marriage to defend it. McShane said he'll consider the group's request next month and, if he grants it, he'll hold new oral arguments so the group can defend the ban. The group's chairman, John Eastman, said the judge would benefit from hearing several arguments that weren't raised in court Wednesday because nobody was defending the ban. "The notion that there are no plausible arguments to make in defense of marriage is ludicrous," said Eastman, who also is a law professor at Chapman University in California.

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AP Interviews NPH About Hedwig

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REPORT: Accused Seattle Gay Nightclub Arsonist Was "Provoked" By Gay-Baiting

The Seattle man awaiting trial for the New Year's Eve arson of a crowded gay nightclub may have been provoked by an email which taunted him to have gay sex. Police say the email strengthens the likelihood of hate crime charges. Via local television:
KIRO 7 has uncovered new evidence against Musab Masmari, who told a friend about his "distaste for homosexuals" shortly before he was charged in the New Year's Eve fire at Neighbours Nightclub. The email was sent by someone who signed it "your slave john." According to new police documents filed in King County Superior Court, "john" offered to polish Masmari's shoes using his tongue. The sender also propositioned Masmari, writing, “You can order me to do what you want me to do," and, "Can I have a chance?" Investigators with the Seattle Police Department believe the email was written by someone who knew about Masmari's self-admitted "distaste for homosexuals” and call the email "evidence pertinent to hate crime." Three days after the email was sent to Masmari, Neighbours Nightclub was torched on a busy New Year’s Eve with hundreds of people inside.
In February court documents revealed that Masmari had once declared to a friend that "homosexuals should be exterminated." So far Masmari has only been charged with a single count of arson. Local activists are outraged, saying that the charges should include 750+ counts of attempted murder. Masmari was apprehended as he attempted to flee the country on a one-way ticket to Turkey. He has pleaded not guilty to the arson charge and his trial is scheduled to begin on May 29th.

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Open Thread Thursday

Plop-plop fizz-fizz. My baloney has a first name. Tell us your favorite old school commercial jingles.

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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

BROOKLYN: Five Ultra-Orthodox Jews Arrested In Gang Assault Of Gay Man

Five Hasidic men were arrested in Brooklyn today for the December gang beating a gay fashion student. At least two of the men charged belong to a controversial Ultra-Orthodox street patrol group.
Taj Patterson, 22, has said he was headed to his Fort Greene home after a night of partying last December when over a dozen ultra-Orthodox men assaulted him on Flushing Ave. in Williamsburg while shouting anti-gay epithets. Aharon Hollender, 28, Abraham Winkler, 39, Mayer Herskovic, 21, Pinchas Braver, 19, and Joseph Fried, 25, were charged with gang assault and other counts, but not with any hate crimes, authorities said Wednesday. “We simply cannot allow anyone walking on the streets of Brooklyn to be knocked to the ground, stomped and brutally beaten,” said Brooklyn district attorney Kenneth Thompson. The group, at least two of whom belonged to a volunteer patrol called Shomrim, were looking for someone who vandalized cars in the area and stopped Patterson, prosecutors said. Even though the vandalism report was unfounded, they allegedly started pummeling the victim, authorities said.
The victim suffered a broken eye socket, a torn retina, and numerous cuts and bruises. It's not clear why hate crimes charges have not yet been made. The alleged attackers have been released on bail and face up to 25 years in prison.

RELATED: The Shomrim and a splinter group, the Shmira, are "public safety" groups that aggressively patrol the Hasidic neighborhoods of Brooklyn with a fleet of official looking vehicles, some of which resemble NYPD patrol cars. Members of both groups, who reportedly hate each other, have been charged with assaulting black residents of Brooklyn. One of the Shomrim members arrested today was also arrested in 2012 for taking courtroom photographs of a child molestation victim in order to intimidate her as she testified against a Hasidic leader. Her attacker, who was later sentenced to 103 years in prison, sat on his sect's "modesty committee," which enforces strict rules of dress and behavior for female members.

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Liberty Counsel Has The Illinois Sadz

Liberty Counsel is ever so pissed that all those anti-gay GOP committee members lost their seats in Illinois. (Tipped by JMG reader Gustav)

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One Million Moms Vs TLC

From the economic terrorists at One Million Moms:
Joe, TLC obviously enjoys promoting immoral reality shows with unethical lifestyles! The new reality show, "My Five Wives," promotes another polygamist family airing on Sunday evenings at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) and 9:00 p.m. CT on TLC. The family in the show consists of one husband, five wives and their combined twenty-four children. Not only is their unconventional family structure absurd and confusing, but their living arrangements are as well. These five women are constantly discussing how difficult sharing a husband is and have to stick to a schedule on who gets the husband on which night to keep jealousy to a minimum, especially concerning time spent together. This is their solution on how to function without chaos.

TLC implies that the loving, tight-knit family has established a cohesive, loving unit. In other words, everything is fine and dandy, and nothing is morally wrong with their lifestyle choice. Instead of TLC airing programs that are enlightening and encouraging- after all they are The Learning Channel- they have decided to stoop so low as to show this controversial content, again. TLC doesn't seem to mind that this lifestyle is illegal, nor that it is ethically wrong. Please send an email letter to the sponsors of this week's "My Five Wives" asking that they pull their support immediately from a program that degrades family and marriage. This week's national sponsors were: Subway, Realtor.com, Arm & Hammer (Church & Dwight Co.), Evolution of Smooth (eos), Capri Sun (Kraft Foods) and Cracker Barrel Cheese.

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Jodie Foster Has Gotten Married

E Online has the news: "Congrats to Jodie Foster and her new wife Alexandra Hedison. I can exclusively reveal that the Oscar winner and her photographer girlfriend of almost a year got married this past weekend. A rep for Foster confirms the happy news. As E! News first reported, the two started dating sometime last summer. 'It's pretty serious,' a source told us in September. 'They're totally in love.'"

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Porno Pete Appears On Show Of Harlem's "Jesus Would Stone Homos" Pastor

Porno Pete apparently agrees that homosexuals should be stoned to death as today he appeared on the internet show of Harlem's Pastor James Manning. Nothing really interesting happens, just the usual fire and brimstone denouncements and lies about "ex-gays." LaBarbera whines that marriage equality is a done deal nationwide, he just hopes that at least one state (Oklahoma, he suggests) defies the courts and refuses to comply with a marriage ruling. For his part, Manning declares that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo "is a homosexual himself."

(Tipped by JMG reader John)

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Macklemore's Ryan Lewis Reveals That His Mother Has Been HIV+ For 30 Years

Ryan Lewis writes:
A huge part of what's made me who I am, is something I haven't talked about in interviews. If I could just take a few moments of your time, I'd love to tell you about the strongest woman that I know, my mom, Julie Lewis. In 1984, my mom gave birth to my older sister, Teresa. Due to a complicated delivery, she needed a blood transfusion and at that moment, my mom had HIV+ blood put into her body. When she was finally diagnosed, she was given only a few years to live. By that time, she had already given birth to my sister Laura and me. We each had a 25% chance of being born HIV+, but we were extremely fortunate (today, the risk of a mother passing HIV to her baby is 2% or less if she is taking medication).

Thanks to advanced medicine and healthcare available here in the U.S., my mom has lived despite her odds. To honor the thirty years my mom has been a survivor, our family is raising funds to build health centers worldwide that will stand strong for at least thirty years. We're calling it the 30/30 Project. We are partnering with Construction for Change, a Seattle-based nonprofit, to carry out construction. And we have local partners on the ground, such as Partners in Health, to run and operate the health facilities long-term. We want to give hope to women and families in other parts of the world who lack access to quality, affordable healthcare.
An IndieGoGo donation page has been launched to support the 30/30 Project. Watch the clip below. CBS News has posted an interview with Ryan Lewis.

(Tipped by JMG reader Stephen)

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Homocons Co-Sign Statement Denouncing "Punishment" Of Mozilla's Former CEO

A coalition of well-known homocons and others today released a public statement on the resignation of former Mozilla CEO Brandon Eich. The statement is titled, "Freedom To Marry, Freedom To Dissent: Why We Must Have Both." An excerpt:
Is opposition to same-sex marriage by itself, expressed in a political campaign, beyond the pale of tolerable discourse in a free society? We cannot wish away the objections of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith traditions, or browbeat them into submission. Even in our constitutional system, persuasion is a minority’s first and best strategy. It has served us well and we should not be done with it.

Much of the rhetoric that emerged in the wake of the Eich incident showed a worrisome turn toward intolerance and puritanism among some supporters of gay equality—not in terms of formal legal sanction, to be sure, but in terms of abandonment of the core liberal values of debate and diversity.

Sustaining a liberal society demands a culture that welcomes robust debate, vigorous political advocacy, and a decent respect for differing opinions. People must be allowed to be wrong in order to continually test what is right. We should criticize opposing views, not punish or suppress them.

The freedom—not just legal but social—to express even very unpopular views is the engine that propelled the gay-rights movement from its birth against almost hopeless odds two generations ago. A culture of free speech created the social space for us to criticize and demolish the arguments against gay marriage and LGBT equality. For us and our advocates to turn against that culture now would be a betrayal of the movement’s deepest and most humane values.
The statement does not address the fact that all LGBT groups remained completely silent as the controversy unfolded and came to its conclusion. Nor does it note that the campaign against Eich was spawned by Mozilla staffers and developers themselves. Instead, the "blame" for Eich's resignation is laid squarely at the feet of phantom gay activists.

Homocon signers: Ken Mehlman, Peter Thiel, Rich Tafel, William Saletan, Jamie Kirchick, Jonathan Rauch, and former GOP Rep. Jim Kolbe. Among the others: Andrew Sullivan, John Corvino, David Blankenhorn, and Box Turtle Bulletin bloggers Jim Burroway, Timothy Kincaid, and Rob Tisinai.

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