BALTIMORE: Woman Gets Angry Note About Her "Relentlessly Gay" Yard

So this happened in Maryland:

A woman in Baltimore recently found herself in the middle of a pretty bizarre crossfire when she reportedly received a note from some of her neighbors (or, probably just one who is bluffing), stating that her yard is too flamboyant for the innocent eyes of children. The horrific offense that prompted this note? A line of rainbow-colored mason jars holding the words “LOVE” and “OHANA.” Ohana, for those of you who haven’t seen Lilo & Stitch or are not versed in Hawaiian, means “family.” Dire times, indeed. Julie Baker, the woman who owns the house and yard, was flabbergasted by the note. Baker is a widow and mother of four (the youngest of whom is already in high school), and thankfully, has a thick skin. She found some humor in it (as we all should), and soon enough, her friend Maeve Brigid posted the note and a picture of the yard to Facebook.

Baker has launched a GoFundMe to make her home even more relentlessly gay. At this writing she's raised nearly $2300.

Needless to say... I need more rainbows... Many, many more rainbows. So, I am starting this fundraiser so I can work to make my Home even More "relentlessly gay" If we go high enough, I will see if I can get a Rainbow Roof! Because my invisible relentlessly gay rainbow dragon should live up there in style! Put simply, I am a widow and the mother of four children, my youngest in high school and I WILL NOT Relent to Hatred. Instead, I will battle it with whimsy and beauty and laughter and love, wrapped around my home, yard and family!!! Thanks for your relentlessly gay support! Relentlessly!!!

(Via Christian Nightmares)

Prince - Baltimore

Via USA Today:

The promised Prince track about the unrest in Baltimore has dropped on SoundCloud. The serious subject matter is juxtaposed against a bouncy, guitar-based track, recorded at the singer's Paisley Park Studios in Minnesota with a vocal assist from Eryn Allen Kane. The Purple One begins by alluding to the 1992 Ice Cube track It was a Good Day: "Nobody got in nobody's way / So I guess you could say it was a good day." The hook features Allen crooning "Baltimore," while backup singers chant, protest-style, "If there ain't no justice, then there ain't no peace." The song ends with a radio announcer breaking in to announce the 1992 Los Angeles riots (the anniversary of which just passed), making the listener wonder if things have changed at all over the last 23 years.

World Net Daily: Obama Planned Baltimore Riots To Postpone 2016 Elections And Institute Nationwide Martial Law

"I don’t think the chaos in Baltimore 'just happened'; I think it was planned and is the next step in the breakdown of our society. From now until the verdict in this trial, the agitators will continue to travel and communicate city to city, town to town, stirring up unrest and hate, keeping people on edge waiting to see the result of this cliff-hanger. If the verdict is not what they want, perhaps Obama will have to institute martial law to preserve order, form a national police force and postpone the 2016 elections. Crazy? Maybe, but we are on the edge in this country. Attacks are coming from all sides, from inside and outside of our borders, and we are becoming overwhelmed. What happens when Baltimore spreads across the country and our television screens show four or five cities burning at once? Who will we turn to at that point? 'One Nation under God' – we need Him now more than ever." - Faded actress Morgan Brittany, writing for World Net Daily. Brittany, you may recall, murdered Bobby Ewing in an episode of Dallas that was later revealed to have been a dream.

BALTIMORE: Drop-In Center For Homeless LGBT Youth Damaged In Rioting

A burning object was hurled through the front window of Baltimore's drop-in center for homeless LGBT youth on the first night of the rioting. Via the Baltimore Sun:

Lara Law seemed more sad than angry on Tuesday morning as she assessed the fire damage to the Baltimore youth center where she and others provide services to young homeless people frustrated with a lack of opportunities in the city’s many impoverished neighborhoods. If it was a similarly-frustrated city youth who torched the center amid the riots in Baltimore, Law said, "the anger is legitimate and understandable" -- even if the actions were not. “I don’t condone the violence and the destruction, the tearing down of what we need in our community, but the young people out on the streets are some of the same young people we’re serving – filled with trauma and violence and a lack of opportunity their whole lives,” Law said.

“It’s understandable. We have to fix our way of doing things so they feel included and that there are opportunities for them.” By Tuesday afternoon, Law and her staff were in a temporary work space in a nearby café doing the same work they've always done for the program’s 14- to 25-year-old participants – some of whom Law fears may have been caught on the streets in the violence Monday night for no fault of their own. “We’re anxious to talk to them and find out how they were affected last night and how they continue to be affected,” said Law, director of the Youth Empowered Society Drop-in Center on North Charles Street.

YES Youth is soliciting donations on their Facebook page while repairs are being made from the fire. They also have an Amazon wish-list for the non-perishable snack items that they hand out to the homeless kids. (Tipped by JMG reader Nate)

Todd Starnes Has The Baltimore Sadz

BREAKING: Maryland DA Charges Six Cops In Custody Death Of Freddie Gray

Charges include second-degree murder, manslaughter, assault, and police misconduct.

Tweet Of The Day

Baltimore Protests Spread To Manhattan

Via AM New York:

Several hundred vocal demonstrators marched through Manhattan streets Wednesday night to protest the death of a Baltimore man in police custody that has sparked widespread riots and looting across Maryland’s largest city. Police said dozens were arrested throughout the evening in Manhattan after they resisted officers trying to keep them on sidewalks and off streets clogged with rush-hour traffic. A demonstration that began peacefully in Union Square at about 6 p.m. with signs and demands for an end to police brutality got increasingly aggressive as the sun set and more people joined the protest. “Our streets,” the protesters shouted at NYPD officers trying to contain them. Demonstrators said the death of Freddie Gray, 25, after his arrest by Baltimore police April 19 led them to take to Manhattan streets Wednesday night.

Baltimore To See Pro Baseball First

It's believed that this is a first for major league baseball:

"After consultation with Major League Baseball and city and local officials, tomorrow's game between the Orioles and Chicago White Sox will be closed to the public," the team said in a statement. "The Orioles will also play their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, scheduled for May 1-3, at Tropicana Field in Florida, while serving as the home team." The announcement came one day after Orioles executive John Angelos, the son of team owner Peter Angelos, responded to criticism of the protestors with a lengthy statement that pointed towards "a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and everywhere…living under an ever-declining standard of living and suffering at the butt end of an ever-more militarized and aggressive surveillance state."

Hillary Reacts To Baltimore Riots

BALTIMORE: Governor Declares State Of Emergency, Calls Out National Guard

Via ABC News:

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency today following a violent gathering in Baltimore, where people threw objects at police, set cars on fire and looted businesses. Hogan also activated the National Guard. The standoff began near the Mondawmin Mall in the northwest part of the city, the Baltimore Police Department said, as the group threw bricks, rocks and other objects at officers. Protesters were seen climbing on a police cruiser and damaging several others. Police tweeted that people were also looting businesses and setting cars on fire. One of the looted businesses was a CVS Pharmacy, but a spokesman for CVS said the store was closed earlier in the day out of an abundance of caution so no customers or employees were there at the time. Tonight's baseball game in Baltimore between the Orioles and the White Sox has been postponed in the wake of the violence, the team said.

In the past hour CNN cameras were rolling when rioters slashed water hoses as firefighters worked to extinguish blazing businesses.

MARYLAND: Archdiocese Of Baltimore Church Holds Gay Pride Celebration

Set your faces to stunned. From the website of the Archdiocese Of Baltimore:

Celebrate Pride Month with the St. Ignatius community! Embracing God’s Gifts, St. Ignatius’ Gay & Lesbian ministry, is inviting you to join us on Friday, June 13th at 7 PM in the Chapel of Grace, where we will give thanks to God for the gift of family. Through music, readings, prayer and a spirit of gratitude, we will gather to celebrate being members of God’s family. Please contact Gordon Creamer at 410.236.8225 if you are interested in participating in the planning process. All are welcome and please bring a friend! A light Reception will follow in Ignatian Hall.

From the St. Ignatius flyer promoting the ministry:

As members of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church, we are called to celebrate and share the gifts of diversity of sexuality in our church today. Our organization, Embracing God's Gifts, has been formed as an instrument for recognizing these gifts and incorporating their goodness and use into the life of our parish. Our mission is to create opportunities for the spiritual enrichment, support and inclusion of all diverse individuals, while being informed by church teaching, and to promote awareness and community building among them. We will accomplish this through a variety of endeavors that foster support, communication and social activities. We invite all to participate in this group with open-mindedness and compassion.

There's no mention of celibacy or "ex-gay" therapy at either of the two links above, but it's entirely possible that either or both are part of the ministry at St. Ignatius. Whatever the story is, the Freepers are losing their shit over this.

Baltimore Landslide

There's some screaming, so you might want to turn it down.

MARYLAND: Baltimore Mayor To Officiate Mass Gay Wedding At Pride Event

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake will officiate at a mass gay wedding ceremony during her city's gay pride event.

The GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland is hosting the annual parade and block party in Mount Vernon and festival at Druid Hill Park — the largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender gathering in the state — on June 15 and 16. The mass wedding will take place in the park at 2:30 p.m. June 16. Ryan O'Doherty, a spokesman for Rawlings-Blake, confirmed that the mayor will officiate marriages and speak at the event. Rawlings-Blake also performed marriages at City Hall for several couples just after midnight Jan. 1, when the law went into effect. Last week, Baltimore Pride organizers announced Rawlings-Blake would serve as grand marshal in recognition of her support of gay rights.

Beach House - Wishes

Beach House is from Baltimore and it shows. The clip is delightfully weird and quite appropriately it features Twin Peaks cast member Ray Wise.

MARYLAND: Archdiocese Of Baltimore Deacon Busted For Child Pornography

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has issued a statement.

Dear Parishioners, Earlier today, the Archdiocese of Baltimore learned that Deacon William Albaugh, 66, was arrested this morning on a charge of possession of child pornography by the Baltimore County Police Department. Albaugh, a permanent deacon assigned to St. Joseph Church in Fullerton, was ordained in 1996 and has spent his entire ministry at St. Joseph. The Archdiocese immediately suspended Mr. Albaugh’s diaconal faculties prohibiting him from all public ministry. The Archdiocese is working with St. Joseph Parish to inform the parish community. Neither the parish nor the Archdiocese has received any prior allegations against Mr. Albaugh, who successfully fulfilled all of the child & youth protection requirements of the Archdiocese, including a criminal history screening.

The deacon was busted thanks to Verizon, who found the porn loaded onto their cloud storage service. So he's a pervert AND really, really stupid.

Armisted Maupin Settles Super Bowl Bet

Famed gay novelist Amistead Maupin made a Super Bowl bet with fellow writer Laura Lippman in which the loser would pen an ode to the winner's hometown. Here's Maupin's tribute to Baltimore.

The Virtues of Baltimore (After Pondering Weak and Weary)
Who makes Baltimore so fine?
The Duchess of Windsor or Divine?
Poe and his Raven or Mama Cass?
The great John Waters or Ira Glass?
Thurgood Marshall or Adrienne Rich
Barry Levinson or – sonofabitch—
That linebacker who took a stand
For marriage equality in Maryland?
I lift my glass with a way-to-go
To Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Hit the link for Baltimore Fishbowl's illustrated version.

Ayanbadejo Reacts To 49ers Flap

"I've preached since day one to my teammates that there's certain words you can't say. And when they're around me they know -- if B.A.'s around, you can't say 'gay' in a derogatory manner, you can't say the three-letter 'f' word. And I tell them, I go, you can't say those things. And if people hear you say those things, regardless if you mean them or not, they're going to fry you. And if it's in a public arena your whole reputation's going to be roasted for it. So we've kind of seen it happen this time. So we just have to all learn from what happened, from this mistake. He apologized and hopefully he'll learn. And he's in the Bay Area, and it's really important there, it's pertinent there. So I think he's going to learn and he's going to grow to be a better person for it." - Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, responding to the flap about 49ers player Chris Culliver.

Maryland Marriages Begin At Midnight

Maryland's first same-sex marriages will take place tonight shortly after the first stroke of the new year. The mayor of Baltimore has ordered the opening of City Hall for the ceremonies.

"New Years Day will have a new meaning for the hundreds - if not thousands - of couples who will finally have the right to marry the person they love,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “It is a remarkable achievement for Maryland, and we are excited to open City Hall to host some of the first wedding ceremonies in our great state. Newly married couples will stand before their friends and family to profess their love and commitment to each other. This is what we worked for, and I am looking forward to take part in this historic and jubilant day.” Brennan says Rawlings-Blake will act as an official witness, but will not preside over any ceremonies.

The first couple to marry will be the mayor's aide and his partner of 35 years.

Editorial Of The Day

From the Baltimore Sun:

The case for Question 6, which would affirm Maryland's law authorizing same-sex marriage, is simple. It upholds the principle that the law should treat everyone the same. Marriage is both a religious and a civil institution. Churches, synagogues and mosques have always set their own rules about which marriages they recognize, and this law does not change that fact. What it does is to ensure that no Marylander faces discrimination under the law when it comes to one of the state's fundamental institutions. Opponents of the measure have sought to confuse the issue by warning of unintended consequences of marriage equality. They claim that those who, for religious reasons, oppose same-sex unions will be persecuted. That children will be taught about same-sex marriage in school against their parents' will. That it will somehow rob children of the best possible upbringing. Those are no more than scare tactics.

Read the full editorial, there's much more.