Mr. Fleet Week

Originally posted May 28th, 2007

Mr. Fleet Week is climaxing. Waist-deep in the Hudson River he stands, back arched, toes curling, straining...UGH...to blow his patriotic load of bipedal cannon fodder one last time over America's well-fingered g-spot, Midtown Manhattan. That spot, after six nights of polite (compared to the locals) but woefully unskilled (ditto) attention, is currently wavering perilously between grateful, exhausted satiety and "not tonight fuckwads, I have a headache." As I watch the streets of Gotham swell a final time with jarheads and swabbies - all of them young perfect happy bounding eager horny puppies, their arrival again strikes me with feelings of envy and apprehension. They also make me think of boobies, but we'll get to that in a bit.

The enlisted men, who comprise a mammoth portion of the visiting servicefolk, trod confidently, five abreast, down the almost deserted streets of midtown, streets that only hours earlier were abandoned by legions of locals fleeing to their summer refuges in the Hamptons, Fire Island, Newport, Cape Cod. The swabbies stream past posh drinkeries where smiling men in suits stand at the open doors, welcoming all. (They have spirited away the "not you, maybe you, never you" ropes.) Hey Navy! No cover! Fleet Week specials! The jarheads that come inside are probably well-aware that if they were employees here, they'd likely always be "back of the house" material to most of these beaming restaurateurs, who this week are eagerly waving Puerto Rican gunners and Mexico-born supply clerks into their depopulated VIP sections. But it's OK. Everybody who's anybody is out of town.

The swabbies don't know that the folks who live behind the darkened-till-September windows of that fly penthouse duplex (with roof garden access!) consider Fleet Week the start of the "stink season," an expression that means exactly what you think it doesn't. These are the Ugly New Yorkers, the folks who spend a rilly, rilly unappealing amount of their time making it loudly known that Manhattan is the only place in the world to live if you are a Worthwhile and/or Important Person. (Except, you know, in the summer, when it isn't.) We hate them. And if we had a bajillion dollars we would go right out and buy a ginormous house in Upper Hamptaukategue Bay-On-Ocean and spend all summer long glaring at them from the cabana on our private beach. We'd give those plus-one Conde Nasties and guest list Viacommies a frowning they wouldn't soon forget, we tell you what. 'Course, all that frowning would be one way, cuz...well, you know.

Sorry. Back to reality. On the corner of 10th Avenue and 50th, street vendors have cagily created a push-cart gauntlet, an obstacle course of crapola. Later tonight, this Spanglish Armada of bootleg reggaeton CDs, counterfeit Yankee hats and Twin Towers snow globes will prove irresistible to beer-goggled ensigns as they stagger towards the forbidding superstructure of the U.S.S. Wasp, which intimidates even the nearby Notable NYC Landmarks. And they are Official Kodak Photo Spots (™), so that there's some high-end intimidatin', missy. Must be the nuke-tipped missiles. The vendors lie in wait, confident, relaxing. It's way early. It's gonna be a while before that first Tupac Lives t-shirt gets airbrushed, before somebody gets their baby mama's name burned onto a plaque bearing the likenesses of the Holy Trinity: Mother Teresa, the BVM, and Jennifer Lopez. Don't be mad at the rocks that they got.

But, you know, fuck all that noise, dude. Because right now, on this last night, especially fucking tonight, dude, Fleet Week has better things to do with its money.

Bro, we gotta roll. Leave dat shit on the table, son. We get it the way back, aiight? Long as you ain't throwed you money at every bitch you seen. (HIGH FIVE!)

You see, right now most of the men in Manhattan who are wearing white bell bottoms are likely carrying a fat roll of singles, a rubber-banded roll of dollar bills smirkingly acquired from the too-bored-to-be-disgusted tellers at every midtown branch of Chase or Commerce or Citibank. The tellers know where those singles are headed. Walking away from the bank, the roll of ones is fingered anxiously in each man's pocket. This is everything left over from his entire leave, savings harvested via hot dog carts, bottom shelf whisky, and walking back to the Wasp instead of taking a cab, even though there's five of you and it woulda only cost about 4 bucks each. Five, tops.

But, ah, five extra dollars to add to the roll of singles means five extra individual opportunities to place those dollars where they been destined to go. And that's to UNICEF's Feed The Children Fund. Snort. No. Actually, like Boy George, those singles are headed for a very short but closely scrutinized life on the NYC stage. There they will be shoved into the gaping orifices and glittery sweat-soaked thongs of the most popular and well-paid dancers of the New York City stage. Just like Boy George. Hah! Hey, the drummer just give me a rim shot! Just like Boy George! You're. Welcome.

The "gentlemen's establishments" 'round here seem tireless in their efforts to direct testicle-owning Gothamites to their nipplistiscated nightclubs, but even with their Howard Stern promotions, their taxi ads, their billboards, and their vampiric army of creepy Night Of The Steve Buscemi Living Dead guys handing out flyers all over Times Square, nobody seems to know where the strip clubs are. I can tell you without exaggeration that over the last week I have been asked, "Where the pussy at?" about a hundred million jillion times. Wait, it was three times. Whatever. The third time you mention pussy to the average gay man, his spam filter has kicked in. You can keep talkin' all you want, but like that guy who wants to share his Nigerian lotto winnings with you, you're just lying there unnoticed. Just like Boy George! (Yeah, still funny.)

I'm just about to cross Broadway when the intersection becomes flooded in a sea of white. An ill-organized flotilla of swabbies, perhaps one hundred in number, is milling around, anxious, excited, wanting to get somewhere really fast but having no idea where they are going or how to get there. The scene reminds me of a certain comic-book themed gay activist group. Some of the sailors shout conflicting directions to the others, but they do not appear to be in charge. Again, I am reminded. One of them says, "Dude, this sucks. We're almost outta time. Let's just all go do our own thing." Reminded.

Then the light changes, the sailors surge, and somebody shouts, "Don't nobody know the fuck where the pussy at?" And I die a little inside. At least they didn't ask me. Somebody says, "Ask the hot nuts guy!" And still they don't ask me. How rude. Some dude cups his hands and shouts, "Fellas, y'all just gotta stay going on 7th Avenue down to 23rd. It's 'bout a thirty minute walk, fifteen if you double-time it." And in a Broadway choreography miracle that is the stuff of which Tonys are made, one hundred young men instantly coalesce into a united multi-legged creature, a single-minded, purpose-driven, white bell-bottomed Naval sperm in search of an egg, probably one named Autumn, or maybe Summer, who is currently working her way through law school by stripping.

I stand there smiling, thinking there can't possibly be enough ho's in da house for when all those boys arrive. I watch them disappear past Red Lobster and I turn back to 42nd Street, thinking how I hope those boys at least get a good thrill from the dancers. And how I hope that a lot of them get to shove their damn singles wherever they want. Then I realize that all the titty bars I happen to be familiar with seem to be on 11th Avenue, not 7th Avenue, and I wince at the thought that those boys may have blown the last hours of their last night in New York City swimming up the wrong Fallopian tube. I can't imagine what grim nightmare the U.S.S. Wasp may have in store for her crew. But I hope every. single. one. of them gets this pussy thing that intrigues them so. The ones that want it, anyway. Including the girls. Especially the girls.

Christians Must Vote For Christians, Part 2

Lutheran And Anglican Churches To Align In "Holy Battle" Against LGBT Rights

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Anglican Church have agreed to unite in "holy battle" against the civil equality of LGBT Americans. The Christian Post reports:

The cooperation between the two denominations is a reason for joy at a time when "there is a widespread failure to recognize the biblical teaching regarding the creation of man and woman and their biblical roles, life-issues, and other grave challenges that society faces," LCMS President the Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison said in a statement Friday as the two bodies released a joint report summarizing the areas of agreement. The joint report recognizes "a pervasive threat to the understanding of marriage as the life-long union of a man and woman as husband and wife and oppose any efforts to redefine marriage in any other terms." The churches affirmed the biblical teaching that God intends sexuality only to be fully enacted within the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. "We oppose efforts within society or by some churches to view other sexual relationships as moral alternatives to heterosexual marriage."

More Video From Protest of NC's Pastor Charles "Concentration Camp" Worley

MSNBC reports:

Although gay rights and anti-hate groups responded with outrage when a North Carolina pastor called for gays and lesbians to be fenced in so they eventually die off, he was greeted with a standing ovation by his church members when he approached the pulpit, the Hickory Record reported. “I appreciate all the support,” Pastor Charles Worley told the 100 or so congregants at Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C. on Sunday, according to the Record. Several members stood and spoke out; others threw up their hands in support of their pastor. “I’ve got a King James Bible,” Worley said, according to the Record. “I’ve been a preacher for 53 years. Do you think I’m going to bail out on this?”

A formal request has been filed that the IRS consider revoking Pastor Worley's tax-exempt status.

Church Sign Of The Day

Source.

BRITAIN: Iraq War Protester Heckles Former Prime Minister Tony Blair

Clip description: "A heckler burst in on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he testified at a UK inquiry into media ethics at London's Royal Courts of Justice."

INDONESIA: Islamic Death Threats Force Cancellation Of Lady Gaga Concert

CNN reports:

Islamists and conservative Muslims have decried Lady Gaga's upcoming concert, saying her revealing costumes and sensual dance moves are forbidden by Islamic law. The chairman of the Islamic Defenders Front, Habib Rizieq, said his group could not guarantee security if the concert were held. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. In March, the pop star got a thumbs-down by the country's highest Islamic authority, according to The Jakarta Globe. Indonesian Council of Ulema chairman Cholil Ridwan was urging Muslims not to attend the controversial singer's upcoming concert in Jakarta, the newspaper reported. "(The concert is) intended to destroy the nation's morality," Ridwan told the Globe.

Afternoon View - Fleet Week Dancer

Today in Central Park a handsome young swabbie and his female companion happily joined the gay dancers in the center of the roller-disco area below Bear Hill.

NORTH CAROLINA: Hundreds Protest Pastor "Concentration Camp" Worley

An estimated 1200 protesters gathered today outside the North Carolina church of Pastor Charles "Put Gays In Concentration Camps" Worley. Unlike fellow NC Pastor Sean "Beat Gay Kids" Harris, Worley has refused to apologize for his message. The Hickory Daily Record reports:

The protestors came out in force to bring a message of love and acceptance. Their signs bore bold statements like, “Jesus had 2 dads and he turned out just fine.” And “I am a gay, moral, conservative Christian.” Sheriff’s deputies and Newton police officers kept the peace as the protestors stood by the side of the road and cheered every time a car drove past and honked in approval. A vocal group of more than 50 counter-protestors were on hand to support Worley and his church. They too had signs with slogans like, “Sodomites are vile, unnatural and worthy of death. Romans 1:21-32.” And “Gay pride is why Sodom got fried.” The protest’s organizer explained her goals for the event. “Hopefully our protest today will send a message that we, as a community, as a state and as a country, will not stand in the background in silent acceptance,” said Catawba Valley Citizens Against Hate member Laura Tipton. “This protest has grown beyond Pastor Worley. I hope his congregation sees that we are gathering in love. Their messages are wrong, and we will not accept them.”

RUSSIA: Violence From Christian Activists At Attempted Moscow Gay Pride Parade

Violence broke out in Moscow today when members of the Russian Orthodox Church attacked a small group of gay activists who were attempting to stage an illegal gay pride parade.

More than 10 people were arrested outside the Moscow City Duma Sunday, where gay rights activists had planned to hold to protest a new law being discussed that would ban "homosexual propaganda," RIA-Novosti reported. Three of those arrested were Orthodox Church activists who had come to disrupt the protest, while the other detained demonstrators were all participants of the gay rights protest, including event organizer Nikolai Alekseyev. News media showed pictures and videos of physical altercations between the two groups in which a man holding a rainbow flag was being attacked as journalists stood by with cameras rolling. Other pictures showed activists hold signs, including one anti-gay protester whose sign read "Moscow is not Sodom."

VIDEO: In the clip below you'll see that police swarmed the young man seen punching the gay activist in the photo at the top of this post. Other reports claim that a total of forty gay activists and counter-protesters were taken into custody.

(Top video via JMG reader Darius)

AP Covers Vatican Butler Scandal

God Created Aliens In His Own Image

Or something like that.

Sweden Wins Eurovision 2012

Eighteen nations gave the highest possible scores to Sweden's Loreen last night, granting her catchy dance track an easy Eurovision 2012 win with a domineering 372 points. (When I first posted her entry here back in March, most of those who commented on that post immediately picked Sweden as this year's winner.) My pick to win, Russia's grannies, finished a far second with a respectable 259. My other favorite, Moldovan cutie Pasha Parfeny, finished just out of the top ten. Embarrassingly, the UK's Englebert Humperdinck narrowly escaped a last place finish with a mere 12 points. On the plus side, Britain's large gay Eurovision fan contingent gets to party in Sweden next year, an inestimable improvement over Baku, Azerbaijan.


RELATED: Click over to Buzzfeed for a large collection of photos and videos from last night's Eurovision finals.

Fans Arrive For Eurovision Finals

Lots of gay boys, as usual.

LIVE STREAMING VIDEO: You can watch the finals live right here with the download of the Eurovision proprietary video plug-in, which works great for me so far.

Tomorrow

Details.

The Butler Did It

The pope's private butler has been arrested and charged with leaking embarrassing and confidential Vatican documents to the Italian press.

The pope's butler has been arrested by Vatican police on suspicion of leaking a large number of confidential letters addressed to Benedict XVI which have lifted the lid on alleged corruption and nepotism at the Holy See. A Vatican spokesman declined to confirm the butler's arrest, which was widely reported by Italian media on Friday, stating only it had arrested a person discovered in illegal possession of "confidential documents". Paolo Gabriele, 46, who has worked as Benedict's butler since 2006, was reportedly taken into custody after investigators found a mass of documents in the Vatican apartment he shares with his wife and three children. The arrest comes a month after the Vatican gave an investigative team led by Cardinal Julian Herranz, a member of Opus dei, a full "pontifical mandate" to join Vatican police in rooting out the perpetrators of what has been dubbed Vatileaks.

Among the scandalous revelations being published in a book is the claim that Vatican's official newspaper started a rumor that the editor of a rival paper is gay.

RNC Continues Booker Attack

Hate Group Reviews Adam Lambert

Focus On The Family's Plugged In site has reviewed Trespassing, the latest release by Adam Lambert that this week became the nation's first-ever #1 Billboard album by an out gay artist. The lengthy, bitter, nasty Focus review concludes:

There are isolated moments in which Adam Lambert tries to delve below the surface, to get past the flesh and into the soul. Mostly, though, he's merely interested in sexual satiation. Several songs hint at his willingness to engage in a risky sexual encounter with someone he's just met. And in this, Lambert perhaps unwittingly reinforces the stereotype historically held about gay men: Namely that they're promiscuous and sexually voracious, ready to indulge a carnal tryst at virtually any moment.

Then, the album's last song, "Outlaws of Love," laments how homosexuals frequently feel judged by others. "We can't change," Lambert sings. "Everywhere we go, we're looking for the sun/Nowhere to grow old, we're always on the run/They say we'll rot in hell, but I don't think we will/They've branded us enough, outlaws of love." But maybe it's Lambert who brands himself here. Brands himself as lascivious. Brands himself as masochistic. Brands himself as "crazy." Brands himself as "shady."

Purchase Lambert's new album. (Tipped by JMG reader Rod)

Email Of The Day - Eugene Delgaudio

"Dear Joe, Public Advocate has won another victory for marriage! Republican New York state senator James Alesi, who betrayed the Family last summer by voting for homosexual 'marriage,'” has announced he is conceding his political seat. Public Advocate supporters sent countless emails and newsletters exposing Alesi’s role in this betrayal -- and it has paid off! Alesi admitted that his vote against marriage was the factor that cost him the support of his constituents. Thank you for all your help in this battle. It is vital that we hold politicians accountable for voting against true marriage and family values. It is up to you and me to show them morality is not optional." - Eugene Delguadio, the second-biggest liar in Hate Land.

FACT CHECK: As I reported here weeks ago, Alesi is actually retiring because a scandal involving a lawsuit he filed against the owners of a unfinished home where Alesis fell while allegedly trespassing.

MAINE: Hundreds Of Churches To Take Special Collection Against Civil Equality

On Father's Day, June 17th, hundreds of Maine's churches will take up a special second collection during Sunday services. That round of money will go directly to fight the November vote on same-sex marriage.

Between 150 and 200 churches are expected to raise money for the Protect Marriage Maine political action committee, said Carroll Conley Jr., executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine evangelical organization and a member of the PAC. Conley is also trying to drum up support for the Maine campaign from religious leaders from around the country. Protect Marriage Maine has been in contact with about 800 churches across the state and expects 150 to 200 to participate in the Father's Day collections, Conley said. They include Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Nazarene, Church of God, Wesleyan, Evangelical Free, Advent Christian and other denominations.

In 2009 the Maine Catholic Diocese ordered a similar second collection. The local Catholic Church says it is staying out of anti-gay fundraising this time.

EUROVISION: Iran Accuses Azerbaijan Of Hosting A Gay Parade During Contest

The Eurovision finals are taking place this weekend and as many of Europe's media outlets poured into Baku, neighboring Iran took to its state-controlled press to accuse host nation Azerbaijan of allowing a "gay parade."

On Wednesday, Iran claimed that the Azerbaijani government was insulting Islam because it was going to allow a "gay parade," according to the semi-official Fars news agency. In fact, there has never been such a demonstration in the country, and none was planned for Eurovision. In reality, Tehran is upset because the oil-rich Azerbaijan concluded a multi-billion dollar arms deal with Iran's arch-enemy, Israel, in February and apparently promised to allow the Israeli Air Force access to several military airfields in Azerbaijan -- which the Israelis could potentially use for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. As it happens, there was never any chance of a gay pride event being held to coincide with Eurovision, as gay rights activist Ruslan Balukhin explains. "We would need the city's permission for that -- and we would not get it."

The activist quoted in the above article contends that gay Eurovision attendees will be safe "not because the Azerbaijanis are tolerant, but because the authoritarian government doesn't want any disturbances." Last month Islamic terrorists vowed to use "chemical weapons and knives" against gay visitors. The 57 year-old competition is heavily followed by gay fans, many of whom travel to the host cities every year for associated parties and nightclub events.

Isaac's Live Lip-Dub Proposal

Clip description:

"On Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012, I told my girlfriend to meet me at my parent's house for dinner. When she arrived I had stationed my brother to sit her in the back of an open Honda CRV and give her some headphones. He 'wanted to play her a song.' What she got instead was the world's first Live Lip-Dub Proposal."

Get a tissue. Get two.

(Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

Trans People Make Jeebus Cry

"There’s been a movement from 1967 to erase the sexual differences, the gender assignment that God has given. There has been an assignment of Hell trying to tell us that we need to be unisex, that we need to move into some kind of homogenous, androgynous zone. There’s been something in the culture that is trying to erase the image of God from before us. Marriage is supposed to be a reflection of Christ’s relationship with the Church, but also in the reality of that there is an understanding of femininity and masculinity that also reflect godly roles and assignments. How dare people have gender reassignment surgery that says the way God originally dedicated them to be was not good enough." - Harry Jackson, speaking at the Family Research Council's Watchmen On The Walls conference.

Shake, Rattle, & Roll

Finally we have a video of what's been rattling my apartment daily for the last 18 months. The cat used to get freaked out, but now she hardly lifts her head.

(Via - Gothamist)

Christine Quinn, Speaker Of The Redacted

Twenty-four hour local news channel NY1 filed a Freedom Of Information request to obtain the 2011 schedule of NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the presumptive leader in the 2013 mayoral election. What they got back was a list that included over 600 hours of blackened appointments.

They could be instances when she goes to spinning class in TriBeCa. They could also be certain instructions to staff or interagency deliberations that aren't finalized. "It seems that there might have been names, names of staff members for example, public employees, other people that Ms. Quinn might have met that did involve the performance of her duties," said Robert Freeman of the State Committee on Open Government. "It would be difficult to understand why those names would be redacted." The schedules do reveal that Quinn has met with at least four campaign fundraisers during the work week. Half were in the council's offices.

In 2009 Quinn won reelection with over 80% of her Chelsea/West Village district's vote, but her support for overturning term limits, which enabled third terms for both herself and Mayor Bloomberg, angered many former supporters. Quinn's backing of the term limits issue was considered by some pundits to be a campaign tactic to buy time to overcome a then-raging scandal about her administration of a $17M slush fund that had allocated city funds to nonexistent organizations.

In September 2011 a federal investigation into the slush fund "closed without taking up any action," according to City Council attorneys. Quinn continues to be dogged at personal appearances by a small but very vocal group of LGBT detractors who claim she is the puppet of wealthy landlords and developers intent on further gentrifying the poor out of New York City.

Today In Gay Marketing

Quote Of The Day - Jon Cryer

"I respectfully disagree. I want to stand up for all the slightly effeminate dorks that are actually heterosexual. Just cause the gaydar is going off, doesn't mean your instruments aren't faulty. I've had to live with that, and that's okay." - Jon Cryer, responding to Pretty In Pink costar Molly Ringwald, who says that his Duckie character was gay but didn't know it. Ringwald's statement has spawned a playful Twitter exchange between Cryer, Ringwald, and fellow cast member Andrew McCarthy.

RELATED: Ringwald will be a grand marshal of this year's Los Angeles Pride.

Updated Electoral Projections

I'm going to try and remember to post one of these every Friday until November. The interactive version with the latest polling data can be found at Huffington Post.

Anderson Cooper Interviews Supporter Of Pastor "Concentration Camp" Worley

Peter LaBarbera: Christians Must Become More Brutal Towards Homosexuals

"Simply put, we as a movement must conquer whatever timidity, fear and political correctness we have in NOT wanting to debate the morality of homosexuality–because our fanatically driven LGBT opponents will never relent in their audacious campaign 'sell' homosexuality to the public. Notice that while many conservatives shrink from the homosexuality debate, self-described 'queer' activists never back-track in their misguided, indeed, pathological quest to compel society to approve of their aberrant 'lifestyles.'" - Porno Pete LaBarbera, in an AFTAH column posted from Madrid.

RELATED: LaBarbera is in Spain for the World Congress of Families, where NOM's Brian Brown and numerous other hate leaders are appearing and where one symposium is chillingly titled "Solutions To Homosexual Behavior."

GOProud Vs Meghan McCain

"Meghan McCain should be absolutely ashamed of herself. She went on a liberal network with a liberal host and demonized Andrew Breitbart. During his life, Andrew Breitbart did more for gay people, and showed more political courage on behalf of gay people, than Meghan McCain could ever dream of. Meghan McCain has made quite the career for herself picking fights with high profile conservatives and then going on liberal outlets to trash them. She picked a fight this time with a man who isn’t even alive to defend himself. As usual, however, this is a fight Meghan McCain has lost." - GOProud's Chris Barron, this time attacking Meghan McCain via press release, rather than his usual "She's FAT" messages on Twitter.

UPDATE: This is what has Barron so bent out of shape.

Gay Rights Are Inherently Misogynistic

"Mothers were given the talent to bear children. That talent doesn't belong to men. When a man says he wants to get married to another man, we in Zimbabwe don't accept it. We can't talk of women's rights at all if we go in that direction. It will lead to extinction. Our customs look down on women as inferior. Men pay cattle and money to get a wife and expect women to obey them. Women will surely lose. Men say that women are not as knowledgeable as us. The attitude of men still despises women." - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, speaking at an HIV/AIDS conference.

GOP Statistics

Indonesians Protest Lady Gaga

"Lady Gaga is a prostitute and Satan worshipper." Hurray! More protest photos from Jakarta can be found at Buzzfeed.

SpaceX Connects With Space Station

Newspaper Woes For New Orleans

After a widely-praised post-Katrina comeback, insiders claim New Orleans' major daily newspaper will be cutting back to publishing twice a week.

The Times-Picayune, which has published since 1837, was bought by the Newhouse family in 1962 and later merged with the afternoon daily. Up to now, the paper has avoided some of the deeper cuts in the industry, in part because the newspaper played such a critical role in the coverage of Katrina and its aftermath. “The newspaper, oddly enough, is stabilizing, albeit at a reduced level from before the storm,” he said. “It has not come roaring back — it is a smaller business, but it is healthy business and that can’t be said of many American newspapers. The reporters and editors who work here accomplished something amazing.”

Mariela Castro Endorses Obama

Speaking at a San Francisco event, Cuban LGBT rights activist Mariela Castro yesterday said she would vote to re-elect President Obama, were she an American. Mariela is the niece of Fidel Castro and the daughter of current Cuban president Raul Castro.

"If we don't change our patriarchal and homophobic culture ... we cannot advance as a new society, and that's what we want -- the power of emancipation through socialism," she said. "We will establish relationships on the basis of social justice and social equality .... It seems like a Utopia, but we can change it." During her 90-minute appearance in San Francisco, she hailed Barack Obama’s support for homosexual "marriage" and the loosening of U.S.-Cuba travel restrictions, saying: “I would vote for President Obama.”

The Romney campaign has called on the president to reject Castro's endorsement.

“President Obama should disavow the endorsement of the daughter of Cuban dictator Raul Castro,” Romney campaign adviser Alberto Martinez said in a statement. "It is galling that an envoy from a Communist regime would come to our country and lecture the American people on who to vote for while the regime refuses to hold free and fair elections and systematically violates the human rights of its people,” said Martinez. “The decision by the Obama Administration to welcome Mariela Castro to our shores — a decision that has received rightful criticism from both Republicans and Democrats — continues to be an egregious affront to the people of Cuba and those who love freedom everywhere.”

Regarding the "decision to welcome Mariela Castro" to the United States, both the Romney campaign and the linked wingnut site fail to mention the inconvenient fact that Castro was granted THREE such visas by the Bush II administration.

Pastor Charles Worley: Remixed

Hate Groups Gather In Madrid

The World Congress Of Families takes place in Madrid this weekend, where the main topic of discussion appears to be the "demographic winter" facing Europe, namely the relative decrease in the number of white Christian babies. But the other big topic, of course, is the demise of the "natural family," the issue which has drawn the attendance of Porno Pete, the Red-Caped Catholic Loons, the Concernstipated Women, and other American opponents of civil equality such as the Alliance Defense Fund and Focus On The Family, both of whom are major sponsors of the convention. Ironically, all of this takes place in a nation which offers its citizens full marriage equality.

No Wedge: Religious And Black Groups Form Coalition To Fight NOM-Style Tactics

From the No Wedge 2012 site:

The real threat to marriage in Black America is not marriage equality. The real answer to promote and sustain Black families is educational opportunities, economic development, eliminating race-based profiling, and eliminating the disproportionate rate of incarceration among Black men. Interlopers are counting on provoking African Americans and gay Americans battling to determine which group has suffered and or has been marginalized more. Importantly, this discourse has its place, however not to the point of distracting us from the realities that unify us.

LA Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties

Citing recent LGBT rights setbacks like North Carolina's Amendment one, Los Angeles gay hotspot The Abbey has banned bachelorette parties. From their press release:

Every Friday and Saturday night, we’re flooded with requests from straight girls in penis hats who want to ogle our gogos, dance with the gays and celebrate their pending nuptials. They are completely unaware that the people around them are legally prohibited from getting married. Over the past 22 years, The Abbey has been a place that accepts everyone, gay, straight, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and everything in between. We love our straight girlfriends and they are welcome here, just not for bachelorette parties. It has long been a policy at The Abbey to deny admission to groups in costume, including Bachelorette regalia. Bachelorette parties had previously been allowed inside if they removed their costumes. The Abbey's Bachelorette Ban comes on the heels of a ban on Gay Marriage in North Carolina and a number of other states across the south. The Abbey encourages other gay-owned and operated establishments to institute their own bans as a sign of solidarity until Marriage is legal everywhere for everyone.

I think DC's Town club has the same policy.

NYC's Fleet Week Is Underway

The weather continues to be dark and drizzly, but the parade of "tall ships" from around the world rolls on as NYC launches its 25th annual Fleet Week. The streets of midtown have been crowded in white bell-bottoms for a couple of days. Event slideshow here.

BRAZIL: Civil Unions Bill Nears Passage

Brazil's national legislature yesterday took another step towards legalizing civil unions nationwide, a move seen as putting into written law what some courts have already allowed.

The country’s human rights committee yesterday approved a measure to change the law regarding civil unions – the new bill classes a ‘union’ as a contract between two people in a ‘continuous and long-lasting’ relationship, established with the aim of starting a family, regardless of gender. This bill, sponsored by Senator Marta Suplicy, moves the law forward in line with what is already happening in the country. Since May 2011, the Supreme Court has been approving civil unions for same-sex couples, and state courts have since allowed these to become fully-fledged marriages. Sen. Suplicy said: “All we have done is added something to civil law that the Supreme Court has already done.”

The bill faces several other steps before final passage.

Why God Hates Civil Unions

Hate Group Leader Bradlee Dean Claims "Victory" Over YouTube For Yanked Clip

"They said that the content was 'hate speech', [but] there's absolutely nothing to do with any sort of speech, other than the fact that we were just showing them the fruit that fell from the tree and is falling from the tree over in Canada concerning homosexual marriage. It sends a strong signal to America that we can do this thing if we stick together. We can win our country back." - Hate group leader Bradlee Dean, whose clip was actually flagged by YouTube viewers after being posted here on JMG. Dean then wrote a furious editorial in World Net Daily, claiming that YouTube had singled him out for censorship.

The reposted clip is here.

Kylie Minogue - Timebomb

(Via Towleroad)

Tweet Of The Day - Cory Booker

FRANCE: Stars Crowd amfAR Gala