ATLANTA: Hate Groups To Rally Today In Support Of Fired Anti-Gay Fire Chief

The image above comes via NOM. Tony Perkins will also be there in Atlanta today. From his press release:

Atlanta's fire department is supposed to put out the flames -- not fan others. Unfortunately for Mayor Kasim Reed, the controversy over the firing of Christian fire chief Kelvin Cochran is igniting a different debate over religious liberty. Despite insisting that the decision to sack Cochran had nothing to do with his faith, it seems that Mayor Reed's decision was rooted in nothing but. Angry over a book written for a men's bible study that Chief Cochran had the city's permission to publish, Who Told You That You Were Naked?, the Mayor is finding out just how unpopular his intolerance is. For now, the newest face of the religious liberty debate has no intentions of backing down. We shouldn't either! Sign FRC's petition in support of Chief Cochran and I will let him know that you are standing with him as he stands for the truth! If you're in the Atlanta area tomorrow, please join us at 1:30 p.m. for the rally in the Capitol Rotunda.

Perkins, as usual, is lying. The mayor's office says they never heard about the book and as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution declared, "Cochran forced his own firing" by vowing to continue to proselytize at the workplace upon returning from his suspension.

Former Atlanta Fire Chief: Gays Got Me Fired For Expressing My Christian Beliefs

You didn't think Todd Starnes would let this guy go unmartyred, did you?

“The LGBT members of our community have a right to be able to express their views and convictions about sexuality and deserve to be respected for their position without hate or discrimination,” Cochran told me in an exclusive interview. “But Christians also have a right to express our belief regarding our faith and be respected for our position without hate and without discrimination. In the United States, no one should be vilified, hated or discriminated against for expressing their beliefs.” Cochran told me that someone within the department obtained a copy of the book and took it to openly-gay city council member Alex Wan. Wan released a statement supporting Cochran’s termination and said it “sends a strong message to employees about how much we value diversity and how we adhere to a non-discriminatory environment.” The book caused a firestorm within Atlanta’s LGBT community and there were many calls for him to be fired – a decision the mayor finally agreed to. “I guess they got what they asked for,” Cochran said.

As reported here earlier, not only did Cochran distribute his anti-gay book to his subordinates, during his suspension he went on a speaking tour of Atlanta churches where he declared that he would continue to proselytize at work upon his return. The local Atlanta paper got it right yesterday: "Cochran forced his own firing."

"Six Californias" Plan Fails Petition Count

According to a just-completed preliminary count, the billionaire behind the plan to divide California into six new states did not turn in enough valid petition signatures to place the issue on the 2016 state ballot.

The measure needed 807,615 valid voter signatures to qualify, and the Six Californias campaign turned in nearly 1.14 million in mid-July. But several weeks of random signature checks that ended Friday determined that only 752,685 signatures were valid – almost 15,000 signatures below the threshold needed to launch a full count of every signature. In a statement, Tim Draper said he is convinced that the campaign turned in enough valid voter signatures to qualify his measure. He said the campaign will review signatures deemed invalid in several counties, noting that the campaign’s signature-gathering firm had projected that many more signatures would be valid than did election officials. “It is yet another example of the dysfunction of the current system and reinforces the need for six fresh, modern governments,” Draper said. “In the meantime, we will work with the secretary of state to verify all of the signatures gathered during the petition process.”

The plan, which would have to get past Congress, would create the states of Jefferson, North California, Central California, Silicon Valley, West California and South California.

"Six Californias" Plan Advances

The billionaire behind the plan to divide California into six new states says his group has gathered enough signatures to place the issue on the November 2016 ballot.

Timothy Draper, a founder of a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that has invested in Twitter, Skype and Tesla, among other companies, has been agitating for months for a ballot initiative to chop the most populous U.S. state into smaller entities. "It’s important because it will help us create a more responsive, more innovative and more local government, and that ultimately will end up being better for all of Californians," said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the campaign. "The idea ... is to create six states with responsive local governments - states that are more representative and accountable to their constituents." Salazar said Monday that the campaign had gathered more than the roughly 808,000 signatures needed to place the measure on the November, 2016 ballot. Draper and other supporters plan to file the signatures with California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Tuesday.

Even if approved by voters, the idea would have to then get by Congress. (Tipped by JMG reader Ray)

President Obama Turns 52

I still can't get over being older than the president. Very slightly older. But still!

Highest Paid Public Employees

In 42 states, the highest paid public employee is a sports coach. (Tipped by JMG reader Michael)

Dueling Days Of Reason And Prayer

Today is the National Day Of Prayer and the National Day Of Reason. Rep. Pete Stark, the only openly atheist member of Congress, issued a proclamation on the House floor in recognition of the latter.

The National Day of Reason celebrates the application of reason and the positive impact it has had on humanity. It is also an opportunity to reaffirm the Constitutional separation of religion and government. Our nation faces many problems—bringing our troops home from Afghanistan, creating jobs, educating our children, and protecting our safety net from irresponsible cuts. We will solve these issues through the application of reason. We must also protect women’s reproductive choices, the integrity of scientific research, and our public education system from those who would hide behind religious dogma to undermine them.

The Libertarians' Nightmare

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian "think tank" has created this clip in protest of the horrible government regulation of everything in our lives. Things like traffic! And product safety! And consumer protection! Nightmare!

Abstinence Sex Ed To Continue

One of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated on American school kids, the federal "abstinence only" sexual education program will continue to the tune of $176M.

Despite a growing body of evidence showing it is not only ineffective but also discriminatory toward LGBT youth a renewal of the Bush administration's abstinence-only-until-marriage program for schools appears likely in Congress. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies has voted to continue funding the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program.

The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education. “It’s hard to imagine a good reason why, in these tight economic times, Congress would intentionally flush taxpayer dollars down the drain by spending them on disproven, ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

"We are floored that they continue to ignore study after study, and the consensus of the pubic health community, all concluding that these programs censor vital health care information, teach gender stereotypes, discriminate against lesbian and gay teens, and in some cases promote religion in the classroom in violation of the Constitution."

NYC Speaker Quinn In Financial Scandal

The New York Post says the office of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been funneling money into sham organizations in order to later use the funds to reward those faithful to her.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's office hid millions of taxpayer dollars by allocating grants to phantom organizations as a way of holding the funds to dole out political favors later - bogus bookkeeping that is the subject of city and federal probes, The Post has learned.

Among the dozens of fabricated groups that were slated to receive funds were the "Immigration Improvement Project of New York" ($300,000), the "Coalition for a Strong Special Education" ($400,000) and the "American Association of Concerned Veterans" ($422,763).

The total amount set aside in 2007 and 2008 for the fake organizations - which are each listed by name in the city budget after being inserted at the council's request - was $4.7 million. In the two years, 30 phantom groups were listed, council aides confirmed.

The money, in effect, became a slush fund for the speaker and was later used at Quinn's discretion to reward groups that were loyal to her and to fund favored council members' pet projects, sources told The Post. The scheme gave "the speaker a stash of cash with which to thank or pay off politically important allies or cooperative council members," a source said.

Quinn says she blew the whistle herself when she learned of the slush fund and had demanded that staffers end the practice. Quinn: "I was kind of sick over the fact that there were things listed in the budget that were not accurate and that my instructions to the staff were disregarded." Two of Quinn's top finance aides have been forced out over the issue. Quinn, who is openly lesbian, plans to run for mayor of NYC after Bloomberg is term-limited out of office in 2009.

U.S To HIV+: Stay Out

The government has proposed new rules which will make it even harder for HIV+ persons to enter the country, according to Gay Men's Health Crisis and Immigration Equality.

On World AIDS Day last year, President Bush announced his intention to create a streamlined process for foreign travelers with HIV to enter the United States more easily. Currently the United States is one of only 13 countries in the world, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, which ban travel for individuals who are HIV-positive.

Now, almost a year later, DHS has proposed "streamlined" regulations which would make it even harder to get a short-term waiver, Immigration Equality and the Gay Men's Health Crisis say in a joint statement.

"Unfortunately, despite using the terms 'streamlined' and 'categorical,' in reality these regulations are neither," said Victoria Neilson, Legal Director of Immigration Equality.

Under the new rules, a visitor would need to travel with all the medication he would need during his stay in the U.S., prove that he has medical insurance that is accepted in the U.S. and would cover any medical contingency, and prove that he won't engage in behavior that might put the American public at risk. The maximum term of the waiver would be 30 days.

"More than two decades into this epidemic, the United States continues to stigmatize people with HIV and treat this illness unlike any other virus," said Neilson.

You have prove you won't engage in risky behavior? Why don't they just ask you to prove you won't get hit by a car? How do you prove you won't do something in the future? And even if you GET a waiver, you can only stay 30 days? Just outrageous.
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Gen. Pace: Gays Are Counter To God's Law

His retirement mere days away, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, felt emboldened to make a final parting shot at the gays during a defense appropriations hearing after Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said he found Pace's previous comments on gays in the military to be be hurtful and demoralizing.

Pace responded, "Are there wonderful Americans who happen to be homosexual serving in the military? Yes. We need to be very precise then, about what I said wearing my stars and being very conscious of it. And that is, very simply, that we should respect those who want to serve the nation but not through the law of the land, condone activity that, in my upbringing, is counter to God's law."

Anti-war protesters at the hearing yelled "bigot!" at Pace and jeered him before the room was cleared of spectators. After the meeting resumed, Pace added that he would "very willing and able and supportive" to changes to the DADT policy "to continue to allow the homosexual community to contribute to the nation without condoning what I believe to be activity - whether it to be heterosexual or homosexual - that in my upbringing is not right." Um, what the fuck does that mean? Gays can contribute, but can't be condoned? Huh? Isn't that where we are right now with DADT?

In March of this year, Pace declared that he found homosexuals innately "immoral", spawning a massive round of protests by progressive organizations. National Gay & Lesbian Task Force head Matt Foreman was arrested [photos] at a Times Square military recruiting station sit-in attended by many prominent gay activists, which made national news. Then Hillary Clinton earned the ire of gay activists when she took her sweet time in disavowing Pace's comments. In June, Pace announced his retirement, which some took as an indicator that Republicans considered him a liability in the upcoming election.

Larry Craig Tries To Withdraw Guilty Plea

In a possible move towards unresigning his seat, today Sen. Larry "Tearoom" Craig's lawyer petitioned a Minneapolis court to withdraw his May guilty plea. Craig said he hoped the court would "allow me to prove my innocence." Switching gears from Craig's earlier "I panicked" defense, his lawyer argued that his client's mailed guilty plea denied him the opportunity to face a judge's inquiries, which would have made it clear that Craig denied soliciting for sex. If the judge does not accept the plea withdrawal, Craig faces poor odds if he appeals, as the Minnesota Appellate Court rarely overturns lower court verdicts. Craig did not attend today's hearing.

Let's wish Sen. Toe-Tapper luck. The GOP needs to have men like him. Or rather, we need the GOP to have men like him.

Senate Hate Crimes (Matthew Shepard Act) Vote Tomorrow

From yesterday's HRC's Backstory:

This afternoon, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), one of the lead sponsors of the Senate hate crimes bill, took to the Senate floor to urge the Senate to pass the hate crimes bill (S. 1105) and for President Bush to sign the legislation into law. Earlier today, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a cloture motion on the hate crimes bill, a procedural move to overcome Senator McCain's objection to bringing the amendment to the floor. Our side must achieve 60 votes on the cloture motion to win; that vote is scheduled for Thursday. The Senate should then move towards passages of the hate crimes bill as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Cross your fingers, kiddies. It's gonna be close.

UPDATE: Use the NGLFT's action center to send an urgent message to YOUR Senator urging support for the Matthew Shepard Act.

NY Times: Reject Holsinger

In an editorial called "A Nominee's Abnormal Views", today the NY Times Op-Ed page calls for Congress to reject Dr. James Holsinger as Surgeon General, saying, "The Senate should not confirm a surgeon general who considers practicing homosexuals abnormal and diseased."

An excerpt:

His [Holsinger's] strongest statement on homosexuality can be found in a murky, loosely reasoned paper that he wrote for a church committee in 1991. Titled “Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality,” the paper purported to be a scientific and medical review. It argued that gay sex was abnormal on anatomical and physiological grounds and unhealthy, in that anal sex can lead to rectal injuries and sexually transmitted diseases. Dr. Holsinger did not brand the large number of heterosexual women who engage in anal sex as abnormal, failed to acknowledge the huge burden of disease spread heterosexually and implied that women are more likely than men to avoid injuries with generous lubrication.

The Times gets it.
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