A Gift From Newsweek To Us All

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Newsweek for this hilariously deranged photo of Crazy Eyes. Maybe somebody there has been reading JMG.

AUSTRALIA: Atheists Asked To Mark "No Religion" On Tuesday's National Census

Visit the Census Campaign for more information on why it's politically important for atheists to step forward and identify themselves.

Transfer Accelerator

Dutch rail officials call it a "transfer accelerator," but they concede that the slide on the right of the above stairs is meant to make commuting more playful. I'd totally use it. Video at the link.

Local News Covers Perry's Rally

Proposed Toll: $15 To Enter Manhattan

This is an old ploy by the Port Authority. Propose an insane toll increase and then "settle" for one that feels entirely reasonable by comparison.

The cost of crossing the bridges and tunnels that span the Hudson River to New York City could rise by 50 percent for many drivers under a steep series of toll increases to be proposed on Friday by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, according to two people familiar with the plans. A $4 toll increase for E-ZPass users could go into effect as soon as September on the three major Hudson River crossings – the George Washington Bridge and the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels – as well as three other bridges between New Jersey and Staten Island, the Bayonne and Goethals Bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing. The biggest increase by far would be felt by drivers who pay in cash: cash tolls on those crossings would be raised by $7, to $15 a trip. (By comparison, a cash toll on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge currently costs $13.) About 25 percent of drivers on the Port Authority crossings currently pay in cash.

The Port Authority also calls for raising the PATH train fare by one dollar.

Big Expansion For Ali Forney Center

The New York City Council has awarded the Ali Forney Center the contract to take over a floundering 20-bed facility for homeless youth. Along with the contract comes a $620K grant. Julie Bolcer reports at the Advocate:

"We are grateful to have the additional shelter beds,” said Carl Siciliano, the executive director of the Ali Forney Center, in a telephone interview this week. “It is a terrible thing to see so many LGBT youth forced to survive out in the streets while they wait for beds. We hope to have the new site opened by October so fewer kids will have to suffer in the cold this winter." The most recent census funded by the City Council in 2007, prior to the current economic crisis, found that almost 4,000 homeless and runaway youths live in New York City. An estimated 40% of them are believed to be LGBT, a segment of homeless youngsters at elevated risk for HIV infection and suicide attempts.

Siciliano said city officials contacted him several weeks ago about taking over the shelter contract, and they agreed to a grant to prevent his organization from having to front any expenses. Located in two adjoining houses in the Sunset Park neighborhood, the fully furnished shelter will bring to 77 the total number of emergency and longer-term transitional beds managed mostly in Brooklyn by the Ali Forney Center, but the organization still has a waiting list of 180 young people.

A Cavalcade Of Hate Group Leaders

About half of the 18 SPLC-certified anti-gay hate groups had representation on the stage of Rick Perry's prayer rally. Clip description from Right Wing Watch: "Rick Perry, David Barton, Tony Perkins, Penny Nance, Gov. Rick Scott, Gov. Sam Brownback, Jim Garlow, and John Hagee speak and pray at The Response."

Israel's Jews Need To Stop Being Jewish And Recognize Jesus As Their Messiah

From the stage at Rick Perry's prayer rally. This is a very short excerpt of a rather prolonged call for Jews to stop being Jewish.

State Dept: Get Out Of Syria

The U.S. State Department has issued a warning which urges all Americans to evacuate Syria immediately.

Those who must remain in Syria should limit all non- essential travel within the country, the department said. The warning also advised U.S. citizens to defer all travel plans to Syria. The State Department said several Syrian cities, including the capital, Damascus, have been placed on “heightened security,” while travelers on Syrian roads have encountered “an increased number of checkpoints and roadblocks.” With the Assad regime attributing the country’s protests and violence to foreign influences, detained U.S. citizens could find themselves accused of incitement or espionage, the department said.

Yesterday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Syria's present rulers "have lost their legitimacy to govern." Observers noted that Clinton stopped short of calling for Syria's president to resign.

Crazy Eyes Blames Obama For Downgrade

Shocking.

Photo Of The Day

JMG Mobile Change

Thanks to a tip from JMG reader Mike, I've make a slight template change that should speed things up for those who read this here website thingy on a mobile device. If the changes cause any new problems, please email me.

UPDATE: It appears that if you comment from a mobile device, your message evaporates into Blogger's default comment system and does not appear. Working on fixing that. For now, click on "view web version" to comment from your phone.

Clark Retirement Community Lip-Dub

Today Is Lucille Ball's 100th Birthday

And Google is paying tribute on their home page.

Quote Of The Day - David Barton

"The letter reminds school superintends that it is ‘not uncommon for adolescents to experience transient,’ that’s a big word, ‘transient confusion about their sexual orientation,’ and is telling 14,800 superintendents that ‘most students will ultimately adopt a heterosexual orientation if not otherwise encouraged.’ And they’re saying, guys, back off. This indoctrination you’re doing. If you’ll just let this develop naturally, they’ll end up being heterosexual unless you force them to be homosexual. Well that’s a remarkable letter coming from the leading pediatric association in America." - Historical revisionist David Barton, citing a letter sent to the nation's schools by an essentially fictitious group of pediatricians.

RELATED: The real "leading pediatric organization," the American Academy of Pediatrics (with 60,000 members), is quite gay friendly. OMG, that Christianist dude just totally LIED! Shocking!

Tony Perkins On Rick Perry's Prayer Rally

Barry Lynn of the Americans for Separation of Church & State takes on FRC's Tony Perkins. The rally takes place today in Houston. Halfway through the clip, Matthews runs a montage of the outrageous comments made by the event's sponsors.

Mystery Company Vanishes After Donating $1M To Magic Underpants' Campaign

Here's GOP fundraising for you.

Three firms gave $1 million apiece to Restore Our Future, a conservative "super PAC" planning to spend millions to help Romney's White House bid. One of those companies was W. Spann LLC, a mysterious New York-based company that apparently closed up shop last month shortly after its contribution to the pro-Romney PAC. As NBC News's Michael Isikoff reports, the company was formed in March by Boston estate tax lawyer Cameron Casey and listed a midtown Manhattan address where the landlord says there's no record of the firm being a tenant. The company gave $1 million to Restore Our Future on April 28, and according to records obtained by Isikoff, dissolved on July 12th, just two weeks before the pro-Romney PAC disclosed its donors to the Federal Election Commission. There's no indication in the records of what the company did or who its owners or principals were. Casey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The other two companies, which share a Utah address, are mysteries as well.

Brian Brown On NOM's Hate Pledge

MSNBC's reliable Thomas Roberts goes right for NOM's hypocrisy. And after Slaggie Gallagher called him out, Tim Pawlenty obediently belly crawls on board NOM's hate express.

Freep This AFA Poll

You know what to do.

Billboard Of The Day

(Source)

The Bodega Cats Of New York City

RELATED: If it weren't for Shelley, I'd have likely tried to steal the semi-feral one-eared old tom that rules the bodega on my corner. His name is Harvey Fierstein due to his battle-scarred voice.

Byran Fischer On GOProud/CPAC Flap

With a lengthy spittle-flecked side-rant against homosexuality in general.

FRC's Prayer Of The Day

Today the Family Research Council is asking its followers to pray that the nation's judges rule against LGBT equality.

Please pray for our judges, especially on the U.S. Supreme Court, that they will rule aright when they hears these cases. Pray for the lawyers who will argue our position on natural marriage. May pastors and believers across America awaken to what is happening and get engaged! May the Lord intervene to stop these efforts to homosexualize our nation – and to indoctrinate our children with evil! (Ex 23:1-2; Lev 9:15; Dt 1:16-17; 25:1; 1 Sam 8:6-7; Jn 7:24; Rom 1:32; 2 Tim 2:1-8; Jude 7)

World Markets "Plunging"

Log Cabin Denounces NOM's Hate Pledge

Radio silence from GOProud, of course.

British Soldiers Lip-Dub Glee

New Can

This is the first design change I can recall since I had my first Bud a million years ago.

AUSTRALIA: 26 Suicides Blamed On Pedophile Catholic Priests

Even though 26 suicides have been attributed to the actions of pedophile priests such as Father Robert Best (above), local Catholic officials in Australia say that no inquiry is needed into the deaths. All of the suicides occurred at schools where Best taught. He has pleaded guilty to dozens of counts of child molestation.

Bishop Connors on Tuesday said not even revelations from Detective Sergeant Kevin Carson that 26 young men had killed themselves after being abused by priests and brothers in Ballarat convinced him that more would be learnt from an inquiry. "I think we've learnt a lot of things about what is appropriate behaviour and what's not appropriate behaviour," Bishop Connors said. "I think people are very well informed nowadays as to what's inappropriate approaches from a male." While conceding the abuse of children was wrong, he said that in the past it had not always been clear to everyone what was appropriate and inappropriate behaviour. "In the past a lot of ignorance was there on the part of lots of people. Parents didn't understand, sometimes bishops didn't understand. We have no excuse now."

NOM Is Astroturfing Facebook

According to NOM defector Louis Marinelli, NOM is paying people to plant anti-equality comments on Facebook pages.

As social media manager for the National Organization for Marriage, Louis J. Marinelli, the then 24-year-old behind the "Protect Marriage: One Man, One Woman" page, was asked to put together a "SWAT team" of people to comment in favor of NOM's content and opinions. "There was a system where we would track what they did and they would accumulate points.... We were working on a program where they would redeem those points for prizes," said Marinelli. The group also planned to create media teams in key 2012 election states who would be asked to take online actions as well as attend events or write letters to editors, according to Marinelli. When he resigned on April 7, he said about 15 people were on the online astroturf team.

The author of the above-linked story says that NOM has refused multiple requests to comment on the issue.

The Rent Is Too Damn Low

Gadfly tenant activist Jimmy McMillan, whose campaign for New York governor charmed many, is being evicted from his apartment. You may recall that McMillan ran on the Rent Is Too Damn High ticket. In a switch, McMillan says his landlord is kicking him out because his rent is too damn low.

Jimmy McMillan says he pays $872.96 for a rent-controlled ground-floor apartment on St. Marks Place in the East Village -- which he's had since the late-1970s, when the rent was around $275. But the man who founded the tenants-rights party says his landlords are giving him the boot so they can pull in way more dough. "I've been here since 1977, and they want more money!" McMillan said. "It's about 'My Rent is Too Damn Low.'" So McMillan now has a new crusade -- waging a legal battle to keep the hipster-haven apartment he shares with his adult son -- a mission that meshes well with the credo of his populist political party.

McMillan says he's running for president in 2012.

Return To Sender

(Courtesy of JMG reader Craig)

GLAAD Rips NYT's Puff Piece On AFA

Yesterday I noted that the New York Times handled the vicious American Family Association with kid gloves in a profile that was almost glowing at times. Today GLAAD denounces the piece and its author. An excerpt:

Anti-gay activists claim that those judges “supported” marriage for gay and lesbian couples – a claim which Eckholm repeats here. But this is a gross mischaracterization. The truth is that those judges ruled that under the state constitution, the state could not legally prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying. “Supporting” something and saying “it’s unconstitutional to ban” something are two very different statements, particularly when it comes to judicial rulings. By adopting AFA’s own claims here, Eckholm may as well have called them “activist judges.”

There are other instances of this too, like saying Home Depot supports “gay pride parades” instead of correctly pointing out that it supports the entire LGBT community. Why the focus on just parades? I have to assume that’s the language AFA uses, because that’s the image it wants to conjure up in its boycott calls. By adopting AFA’s slyly inaccurate language – and by mischaracterizing this disagreement as one between the AFA and “liberals” rather than between the AFA and an overwhelming majority of Americans – Erik Eckholm has done his audience and his newspaper a great disservice.

Jeebus Wants You To Nuke The World

After an expose by the website Truth Out, the Air Force has suspended a program that uses Christian parables to teach "nuclear ethics."

The course was led by Air Force chaplains and took place during a missile officer's first week in training at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Officers who train to be missileers were required to attend the ethics course, which included a PowerPoint presentation on St. Augustine's "Christian Just War Theory" as well as numerous examples of characters from the New and Old Testament the training materials asserted engaged in warfighting in a "righteous way." St. Augustine's "Qualifications for Just War," according to the way the Air Force characterized it in slides used in the ethics training, are: "to avenge or to avert evil; to protect the innocent and restore moral social order (just cause)" and "to restore moral order; not expand power, not for pride or revenge (just intent)." One of the PowerPoint slides also contained a passage from the Book of Revelation that claims Jesus Christ, as the "mighty warrior," believed some wars to be just.

According to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, the Christians-only nuclear training constituted a blatant violation of the Constitution.

Last Known Gay Surivor Of The Nazis' Concentration Camps Dies At Age 98

Rudolf Brazda, believed to be the last known gay survivor of the Holocaust, has died at the age of 98.

Brazda was sent to the Nazis’ Buchenwald concentration camp in August 1942 and held there until its liberation by U.S. forces in 1945. Nazi Germany declared homosexuality an aberration that threatened the German race, and convicted some 50,000 homosexuals as criminals. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 gay men were deported to concentration camps, where few survived. When a memorial to the Nazis’ gay victims was unveiled in Berlin in 2008, the LSVD said the last ex-prisoner that it knew of had died three years earlier. But the group said it was then contacted by Brazda, who visited the memorial at its invitation and became an honorary member. Brazda was born in 1913. He grew up in the eastern German town of Meuselwitz and repeatedly ran into trouble with Nazi authorities over his homosexuality before being sent to Buchenwald.

Earlier this year Brazda was named a knight in France's Legion of Honor.

SOLD: Hotel Chelsea

Manhattan's Hotel Chelsea, arguably the most famed home of New York City's arts legends, has been sold and is closed.

Saturday night was, by all indications, the last night that the Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street would be open to guests, though the duration of the closing, the first in its history, was unknown. The building is to be sold for over $80 million to the developer Joseph Chetrit, though the deal had not closed as of Sunday, according to someone close to the matter, who asked not to be named because the negotiations were confidential. Extensive renovations are expected to take at least a year. The hotel's 100 permanent residents will be allowed to stay, but they have been told nothing beyond what the startled hotel workers learned late last week: that all reservations after Saturday were canceled.

The New York Times reminisces:

A palpable heaviness lingers, especially in the first-floor room where Nancy Spungen was staying with her boyfriend, Sid Vicious, when she was stabbed to death in 1978. Artists, photographers, composers and producers still live there, making the place part art colony, part living museum. Residents say the hotel’s character shifted irrevocably after its lionized former manager and part-owner, Stanley Bard, was ousted by the hotel’s board of directors four years ago. Mr. Bard had acted as curator, deciding who got to stay and how much would be paid, and overseeing the hotel during the days when the likes of Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen and Robert Crumb roamed its halls. Residents said the hotel’s occupancy and room rates had suffered since Mr. Bard’s departure, with celebrities and artists replaced by budget tourists.

I've actually been in the very room where Sid stabbed Nancy. Definitely spooky.

HomoQuotable - Queen Latifah

"I just like ladies who have class. Period. And if it’s 'T and A' you’re sellin’, that’s fine, as long as that’s what you’re selling. But you don’t have to show everything, you know? You can hold some back and just be yourself and let your personality shine and let your individuality show. To me, that’s sexier. A confident woman is a sexy woman, in my opinion." - Queen Latifah, in what some gossip sites are heralding as her first official acknowledgement of being gay.

Slaggie Gallagher On NOM's Hate Pledge

MARYLAND: Guilty Plea In McDonald's Attack On Transwoman

One of the teenagers caught on video in a brutal attack on a transwoman at a Baltimore McDonald's has pleaded guilty.

Teonna Monae Brown, 19, pleaded guilty in a Baltimore County court to one court of first-degree assault and one count of a hate crime in the attack on Chrissy Polis, 22, said Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger. The April attack brought attention nationwide to the plight of transgender people, with thousands signing online petitions and holding rallies. Prosecutors expect to seek a prison term of five years when Brown is sentenced next month.

The second attacker pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to a juvenile facility.

Mark Fiore: Mourning In America

Porno Pete Attacks Dolly Parton

"The question is where can normal families go anymore to get away from the promotion of homosexuality? They can't go to the ballpark because they're promoting homosexuality. Apparently, family theme parks are now promoting homosexuality. Everywhere you go, people see the promotion of homosexuality -- and they don't think it's appropriate for their children, and they're tired of it." - Formerly tax-exempt hater Porno Pete LaBarbera on Dolly Parton's apology to a lesbian patron of Dollywood.

New Blog: Terrible Taxidermy

More horrifying/hilarious examples are here.

The Bandana Splits - Sometimes

Church Sign Of The Day

(Source)

NOM Issues Anti-Gay Hate Pledge

Not to be outdone by the repulsive bigots at Iowa's Family Leader, NOM has issued its own anti-gay hate pledge to members of the GOP presidential field. As you might expect, the first candidates to leap at the chance to sign were Crazy Eyes, Frothy Mix, and Magic Underpants.

Signers of the pledge vow that if elected president, they will:

A) Promote a federal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage,
B) Nominate and appoint Supreme Court and federal judges that oppose LGBT equality,
C) Vigorously defend DOMA,
D) Establish a presidential commission to investigate the harassment of anti-gay Christians,
E) Establish legislation to repeal DC marriage.
NOM Hate Pledge

Jeebus Will Save Us From The Comet

And it's all going down on August 15th!

Farah: I STILL Cannot Fucking Believe There's A Black Man In The White House

"How much don't we know about Barack Obama as he nears the end of his third year of White House occupation? Well, he claims today is his 50th birthday. Yet, incredibly, it is still only an unsubstantiated claim – and, perhaps, more suspect than ever. How long will it take to see him frog-marched down Pennsylvania Avenue? How will this charade finally be resolved? What steps need to be taken to see justice prevail? We're not nearly as far away as you might think. While the media and the failed Washington political establishment would like it to just go away, that will never happen. Not as long as I am around to sit on Obama's birthday cake." - World Net Daily founder and Just For Men three-time gold medalist Joseph Farah.

Evil Homosexuals Are Winning Over America Through Television

Yesterday GLAAD released their annual assessment of LGBT portrayals on network television, declaring that ABC Family was the best place to find positive gay characters and plots. Right on cue, the Southern Baptist Convention is expressing its disgust.

Dwayne Hastings, a vice president at the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, agreed that TV has shaped the culture, but not for the better. Hastings said parents should instill strong morals and stand on biblical truth, which condemns homosexuality. "For families who seek to follow Christ and earnestly live out their faith, there is nothing happy in this report," Hastings said. "Those who push for so-called homosexual rights and lobby for same-sex interests ... have a powerful ally with deep pockets in the entertainment industry who are more than willing to use their media to recast the homosexual lifestyle as normative."

He added, "Unfortunately, many Americans are willing to allow Hollywood to manipulate their perspective on the world." Said Hastings, "The reality is that if we were to publish the same kind of report that GLAAD has produced but instead focus on the presence of evangelical Christians on television, it would be a very short report. But few are concerned about the lack of accurate, portrayal of Bible-believing characters on television or in the movies. "Whether we want to admit it or not, there is a well-financed and detailed plan at work to change Americans' opinions on those who practice homosexual and lesbian lifestyles. Given reports like this one, we can tell it is a very effective plan."

There's a lack of "Bible-believing characters" on television? I coulda sworn my cable system vomits out about about two dozen ALL-Christian channels. In multiple languages.

New From Crazy Eyes

BRONX: Elderly Catholic Priest Busted For Molesting Teenage Girl

Father Jaime Duenas was busted inside his own rectory yesterday and charged with molesting a teenage girl.

“She didn’t protest to getting a massage,” Duenas said in his cell before his arraignment last night, according to prosecutors. “She was wearing short skirts.” Duenas was arraigned last night on charges of sexual abuse, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child. He was released without bond. The judge ordered the priest to stay away from the victim.

Duenas is 87.

Sao Paulo OK's "Straight Pride"

The city council of Sao Paulo, Brazil has approved a bill calling for a "Heterosexual Pride Day" to be celebrated on the third Sunday of every December. Whether the event becomes a reality or not appears to depend on the mayor.

Sao Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab must sign the legislation for it to become law and has said only that he is studying it. His office declined Wednesday to say whether he supports the proposal. The legislation's author, Carlos Apolinario, said the idea for a Heterosexual Pride Day is "not anti-gay but a protest against the privileges the gay community enjoys." As an example, he mentioned how Sao Paulo's huge gay pride day parade is held every year on Paulista Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in this city of 20 million people, while the March for Jesus organized by evangelical groups is not allowed on the same avenue. "I respect gays and I am against any kind of aggression made against them," Apolinario said. "I have no trouble coexisting with gays as long as their behavior is normal." The Brazilian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Association criticized the legislation, saying it could provoke homophobic violence. "How many LGBTs will be attacked because of the message that only heterosexuality makes someone a moral person and a good citizen," the association said in a statement.

Sao Paulo is the most populous city in the western hemisphere (by some measures.)

Brandon's Brother: He Was Molested

The half-brother of teenage murderer Brandon McInerney claimed in court yesterday that Brandon had been molested by a male relative. And that mitigates his murder of gay teen Lawrence King somehow.

James Bing testified that McInerney’s father cried hysterically as he revealed the molestation that occurred when Brandon was about 9 years old. The older McInerney was upset because the family had dealt with the problem internally, sending the relative away for years, instead of reporting it to police and getting Brandon help, Bing told the courtroom. McInerney’s father, who is now dead, believed the memory of the molestation was what caused his son to react so violently when Larry King began dressing like a girl and flirting with McInerney at their Oxnard junior high school, Bing said. "He felt that it scarred him," said Bing, 24. "He felt guilty that he hadn’t done anything about it before."

Last month prosecutors asked the judge to rule that jurors should disregard King's sexuality when making their decision in the case. This was seen as a tactic meant to derail any gay panic defense.

TX Gov. Rick Perry Wants Constitutional Bans On Abortion & Gay Marriage

Rick Perry is a die-hard Tenther who totally supports states' rights. EXCEPT in those cases where the Christianist agenda is better served by overriding states' rights with federal constitutional amendments. Got that?

Homocons Back NOM On Allen West

The quislings at Gay Patriot are backing NOM's contention that "homofascists" forced a Florida business group to rescind its speaking invitation to noted homophobe Rep. Allen West.

Bowing “to pressure from gay activists who threatened a business boycott“, a gay South Florida business association has cancelled a meeting with U.S. Rep. Allen West. Seems that that Republican’s views on gay issues don’t perfectly align with those of gay activists. Or maybe it’s that (R) after his name which designates him (to some gay lefties) as a horrible, no good, very bad person. With the Wilton Manors Business Association succumbing to the threat of a boycott, gay entrepreneurs won’t have the chance to meet West, a champion of deregulatory/small government policies which help small businesses, including gay enterprises.

Gay Patriot blogger B. Daniel Blatt, pictured and quoted above, goes on to describe West as a "pretty tolerant" person. Let's go to the record, shall we?

-"When I see anyone with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker, I recognize them as a threat to the gene pool."
-"The U.S. military is not there as a social experiment and for those who will sit up there and say, Congressman, you should understand because you’re black. Unless I’m Michael Jackson, I can’t change my color. But people can change behavior."
-"The term ‘gay marriage’ is an oxymoron. Because marriage is a union and a bond between a man and a woman to do one thing: the furtherance of society by procreation, through creating new life. "

NYT Profiles AFA

The New York Times today profiles the American Family Association, but make zero mention of the group's status as an SPLC-certified hate group.

Broadcast on its 192 talk-radio stations, streamed over the Internet and e-mailed in “action alerts” to 2.3 million potential voters, the American Family Association’s pronouncements have flowed forth daily from its sleek offices here in the Deep South. [snip] Mr. Wildmon, 73, has turned over management of the association to his son Tim Wildmon, 48, but the group’s reputation for inflammatory statements rose after the hiring two years ago of Bryan Fischer, a former pastor from Idaho, as the director of “issues analysis” and the host of a daily two-hour afternoon show. Mr. Fischer, 60, silver-haired and a talk-radio natural, has become a public face of the group. Perhaps most notably, Mr. Fischer trumpets the disputed theory that Adolph Hitler was a homosexual and that the Nazi Party was largely created by “homosexual thugs” — evidence, he says, of the inherent pathologies of homosexuality. Mr. Fischer has also said that no more Muslims should be granted citizenship because their religion says to kill Americans, and that welfare recipients “rut like rabbits” because of what he calls welfare’s perverse incentives.

A Message From Michele & Ladybird

Harry Jackson Goes Seven Mountains

Lying preacher Harry Jackson, who infamously faked living in DC in order to have standing to fight gay marriage, has begun parroting the tenets of Seven Mountains dominionism, which claims that only Christians have the God-given right to rule America's courts, schools, and legislatures.

APA Endorses Gay Marriage

The largest association of psychologists in the world has issued an endorsement of same-sex marriage.

The policymaking body of the American Psychological Association (APA) unanimously approved the resolution 157-0 on the eve of the group's annual convention, which opens here today. The group, with more than 154,000 members, has long supported full equal rights for gays, based on social science research on sexual orientation. Now the nation's psychologists — citing an increasing body of research about same-sex marriage, as well as increased discussion at the state and federal levels — took the support to a new level. "Now as the country has really begun to have experience with gay marriage, our position is much clearer and more straightforward — that marriage equity is the policy that the country should be moving toward," says Clinton Anderson, director of APA's Office on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns.

Open Thread Thursday

Have we talked about books lately? What are you reading these days? And how are you reading it?

O'Donnell Rips Huckabee's "History"

Westboro: We'll Picket Norway Funerals

Like many European nations, Norway has strong restrictions on the public utterances of hate speech. Even carrying Westboro's trademark "God Hates Fags" sign would subject them to arrest. But I doubt they'll actually show up.

Email Of The Day - Eugene Delguadio

"Dear Joe, The Radical Homosexuals infiltrating the United States Congress have a plan: Indoctrinate an entire generation of American children with pro-homosexual propaganda and eliminate traditional values from American society. Their ultimate dream is to create a new America based on sexual promiscuity in which the values you and I cherish are long forgotten. You see, the Homosexual Classrooms Act contains a laundry list of anti-family provisions that will exempt homosexual students from punishment for propositioning, harassing, or even sexually assaulting their classmates, as part of their specially-protected right to 'freedom of self-expression.'" - Escaped mental patient Eugene Delguadio, the self-proclaimed Public Advocate of the United States.

NOTE: Delgaudio's emails are always entertaining due to the dizzying heights of his outrageous lying. But I always wonder how many old ladies are eating cat food tonight because they've signed over their meager funds to charlatans like Eugene Delgaudio, who closes every email with a desperate plea for money.

The Media Is Anti-American

Pat Robertson on Islam: "Are you so anti-American, are you so opposed to this great nation and the freedoms you have that you want to embrace something out of the eighth century, BC?" Irony, people! Let's hear it for irony set completely adrift from self-awareness!

HIV Infections Rise For Young Black Men

Today the Centers for Disease Control issued multi-year data on new HIV infections. While the number of new infections overall seems to be stable, young black gay men in particular are seeing a troubling increase.

“More than 30 years into the HIV epidemic, about 50,000 people in this country still become infected each year. Not only do men who have sex with men continue to account for most new infections, young gay and bisexual men are the only group in which infections are increasing, and this increase is particularly concerning among young African American MSM ,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D. “HIV infections can be prevented. By getting tested, reducing risky behaviors, and getting treatment, people can protect themselves and their loved ones.”

According to the new estimates, there were 48,600 new HIV infections in the United States in 2006, 56,000 in 2007, 47,800 in 2008 and 48,100 in 2009. The multi-year incidence estimates allow for a reliable examination of trends over time. They reveal no statistically significant change in HIV incidence overall from 2006 to 2009, with an average of 50,000 for the four-year period. In 2009, the largest number of new infections was among white MSM (11,400), followed closely by black MSM (10,800). Hispanic MSM (6,000) and black women (5,400) were also heavily affected.

TEXAS: Perry Prayer Event May Flop

It looks like Texas Gov. Rick Perry's controversial Christians-only prayer rally may have dreadful attendance.

Openly and deeply religious, Texas Gov. Rick Perry organized what seemed like a slam-dunk event for a politician in a state where religion and politics walk hand in hand: He would fill Houston's Reliant Stadium with fellow believers in a seven-hour session of Christian atonement by some of the nation's most conservative preachers, exhorting believers to pray about the nation's moral decline. Since he set up the event scheduled for Saturday, however, Perry has become the most talked-about almost-candidate in the 2012 Republican presidential field. But with only 8,000 RSVPs for a stadium that seats 71,500 people, virtually no politicians planning to attend, and a slate of organizers who hold out-of-mainstream views on religious freedom, gay rights and even Adolf Hitler, the event has become a potentially risky gamble if Perry is serious about running for the White House.

This could be quite delish.

Hate Group: Don't Recruit Homos

Formerly with Coral Ridge Ministries, hate honcho Robert Knight is now with the laughably-named American Civil Rights Union, where he is calling on the military to refuse to advertise for gay recruits. Because that would constitute "special treatment." That same special treatment is currently used to recruit Latinos, blacks, and women.

Robert Knight, a senior fellow at the American Civil Rights Union, says no one should be surprised that the homosexual lobby wants special treatment from recruiters. "This is huge. This could have generational impact,” explains Knight. “And it can't stand. It will wreck our military. People of good conscience will have to leave the military and in fact many have already said they're going to." Knight alleges the entire "don't ask, don't tell" repeal process was a sham. "It was brought about with junk science, with a misrepresented survey that was leaked to the press for maximum effect -- and that ought to be investigated. In fact, that's one thing Republicans could do right now is to call for hearings into the misuse of that survey of U.S. personnel and see how the results were slanted," says the family advocate.

Knight's group has been pressuring GOP members of the U.S. House to open an inquiry into the handling of the DADT surveys completed by active duty servicemembers.

RELATED: If you believe Knight's group was deliberately named so as to funnel donations meant for the ACLU, raise your hand.

More Ridiculous Lying Lies From The Lie-Tastic Liars At Lying NOM

Local activists in gay-gay-gay Wilton Manors, Florida threatened to stage a boycott after a local business group invited virulently anti-gay Rep. Allen West to speak at one of their meetings. Under pressure, the business group rescinded their invitation to West. Story over? Nope. The unrepentant and inventive liars at NOM are trying to escalate this little low-level bit of local theater into some kind of rallying cry about HOMOFASCISTS shutting down debate. In fact, a casual glance at NOM's blog headlines and tweets on this story give the impression that West has suffered personal, physical intimidation and/or threats.

As usual, when boycotts work AGAINST the Christianists, they are "intimidation" and "homofascism" and "harassment." When THEY boycott, that is GOD'S PLAN, people.

RELATED: NOM has a public relations firm on call to field media inquiries about this "outrageous attack on Rep. West."

MISSOURI: Public School Board Bans Novels That Are "Contrary To The Bible"

A public school board in Missouri has banned Kurt Vonnegut's classic novel Slaughterhouse Five because it "teaches ideas that are contrary to the Bible." This action came after a protracted complaint campaign by local university "professor" Wesley Scroggins.

Shortly before 9 p.m. Monday, the school board voted 4-0 -- three members were absent -- to keep Laurie Halse Anderson's "Speak," an award-winning book about date rape, and remove Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" and Sarah Ockler's "Twenty Boy Summer." Wesley Scroggins, a Republic resident, challenged the use of the books and lesson plans in Republic schools, arguing they teach principles contrary to the Bible. "I congratulate them for doing what's right and removing the two books," said Scroggins, who didn't attend the board meeting. "It's unfortunate they chose to keep the other book."

Sarah Palin Vs. Joe Biden

Remember The Party 2011

The patrons and performers of San Francisco's legendary Trocadero Transfer will once again gather for Remember The Party on Sunday, October 9th. This year's event is a tribute to Sylvester!

Prepare to be cookin' on your feet in the Disco Heat as DJ JERRY BONHAM serves you a heaping helping of Disco deliciousness from all over the world, featuring a GRANDE SALUTE to the sweetest and hottest music that San Francisco ever served up! There's more in the mix to this Disco Dish. Think, a pinch of Patrick Cowley, a Dash of Sarah, a whiff of BearEssense, a chunk of Paul Parker, a little Boystown Gang on the side, a hint of Johnny Mathis, Loverde, Pointer Sisters, Patti Austin and more. It's all in the Technique and the whole thing's gonna be Two Tons O' Fun!

I plan on being there. And maybe this year on Monday I'll actually remember the party.

RELATED: TVOne's excellent biography on Sylvester has been posted to YouTube in its entirety. Watch it while you can.

ABC Family Tops GLAAD's Study

According to GLAAD, the best place to find quality LGBT-oriented television programming in the last year was on ABC Family.

ABC Family became the second network in the NRI's history to earn an "Excellent" rating from GLAAD. Of its 103 hours of original primetime programming, 55% included LGBT-inclusive images which also reflected the ethnic and racial diversity of the LGBT community. It is notable that both ABC Family and MTV, which in 2010 received the first-ever "Excellent" rating from GLAAD, are both youth-oriented networks. "As television audiences get to know our community and the common ground that we all share on the screen and in their own lives, acceptance is growing," said Mike Thompson, Acting President of GLAAD. "Inclusive programming is a hit with critics and audiences alike who cheered for Kurt and Blaine's romance on Glee or watched the wedding of Callie and Arizona on Grey's Anatomy."

Hit the link for a breakdown of other networks.

Fox News Christians: Kill All Atheists

Remember how anti-gay hate groups LOVE to cherry pick the JMG comments? And they supposedly called the FBI on me because of one or two anonymous messages? Well, God's Gentle People have NO issue with using their real names while threatening to murder atheists. Call the FBI!

(Tipped by JMG reader Grant)

Jesus Loved Employment Discrimination

Whackadoodle dominionist and American history revisionist David Barton says that Jesus H. Christ himself endorsed employment discrimination. Therefore, of course, Christian organizations should be exempt from hiring laws.

Now discrimination today is always a bad word a hundred percent of the time, but it simply means making a choice between or making a difference between. And discrimination means I am going to discriminate and say I can tell a difference between a Christian and a non-Christian and therefore I only want Christians working on my church staff. I can tell the difference between someone who says they're homosexual and someone who says they're straight. A secular organization has a tough time discriminating, but a church needs to have the right to discriminate. This is a biblical issue because Jesus has an entire parable in Matthew 20: 1-15 where he talks about a landowner who had a vineyard who went out to hire folks to work in his vineyard.

Right Wing Watch notes that Barton has previously cited the same Bible passage to support his claim that Jesus would have opposed the minimum wage.

Mike Huckabee's "9/11 For Kids!"

Remember Huckabee's internet American history education site? Here's a recent addition.

Bill Maher On Socialism

BRITAIN: Catholic Anti-Pedophilia Staffer Busted For Producing Child Porn

An official with the Catholic Church has been busted for possessing and producing child porn. Ho hum, you say? How about if he was in charge of stopping people exactly like himself?

A child protection official for the Catholic Church has been caught with 4,000 pictures of child porn. Father-of-four Christopher Jarvis was arrested after uploading pictures of children being abused to a website. Married Jarvis, 49, a former social worker, was employed by the church following sex scandals about pervert priests. His job was to monitor church groups to ensure paedophiles did not gain access to children in the church’s congregations. But he was caught by police in March with more than 4,000 child porn images on his home computer and his work laptop. He admitted 12 counts of making, ­possessing and distributing indecent ­images when he appeared before ­magistrates in Plymouth and is likely to face jail when he returns to court for sentencing next month.

Jonny McGovern - Sexy Nerd

Possibly NSFW due to McGovern's usual cast of strippers.

Lively: NY Marriage Hastens End Times

"God has chosen rampant homosexuality to be a key warning sign for judgment of the world as a whole, and not just of individual nations. I have made this point before, but it bears repeating. I am 53 years old. When I was born homosexuality was illegal throughout the entire world. In the space of just half a century this tiny 1-3% of the population have made themselves a global political power with greater influence in the courtrooms and legislatures of the world than the Church of Jesus Christ. This astonishing transformation surpasses that of Darwinism, Marxism, and even Islam in its speed and breadth of reach. To my thinking, this can only have been accomplished by the god of this world (Satan 2 Cor 4:4) who knows his time is short and is making his move." - Notorious homophobe and pedophile employer Scott Lively.

Photo Of The Day - Shuttle Debris

A years-long drought in Texas has lowered the water in one lake to the point that the above piece of the space shuttle Columbia has been revealed. In 2003, the Columbia disintegrated over Texas during its reentry to the atmosphere.

Mrs. CPAC On The Gays

"Rena, it IS a threat to society. It is not nature's way. They can't procreate, can they?....You hvae them in your family? Well, there is no reason not to like them or love them, the same way you would love one who has a disability, or an illness, etc. I just DO NOT want them pushing their agenda on the majority who are not. This is just about sexual preference--keep it in the bedroom!!!! It is not about being denied any constitutional rights.....Ana, I got your point.....I am just tired of this topic being shoved in our face continually by all these gay activists and I have to ventilate my feelings.... You know I always wondered why homosexuals are referred to as 'gay', kind of an oxymoron? Nothing really 'gay' about them or their movement......I am all for intellectual honesty too!!" - Diana Cardenas, wife of CPAC chair Al Cardenas, in a virulently anti-gay Facebook battle.

RELATED: Pam Spaulding directs us to this Scribd page where screenshots have been preserved.

Hard Hats & Microphones

Second Avenue subway construction worker Gary Russo spends his break time entertaining passersby with his Frank Sinatra impression. This clip was shot less than a block from my apartment, but I've not yet heard Gary in person.

(Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

James Dobson On Ladybird Bachmann

"Thirty homosexual activists put on the garb of cavemen and came into his clinic with cameras and scared his patients to death and have harassed that man, who has a right to do what he is doing because that’s what he believes. I think it’s unconscionable that people like you guys don’t report it." - Focus On The Family founder James Dobson, under the delusion that nobody reported on the "barbarian glittering" of Ladybird's office.

RELATED: Think Progress notes that those horrible activists conducted their operation in Bachmann's completely empty office. As the video proves, neither Bachmann nor any patients were present to be "scared to death." But as we all know, the truth has never mattered much to a good Christian man like James Dobson.

Equality Map

The Movement Advancement Project has a nifty interactive map which pops up pertinent LGBT rights info when you scroll over a state.

Ghana TV On Anti-Gay Campaign

Islamic and Christianist groups are finding common ground in Ghana's recent campaign against LGBT people. Last month high-ranking government officials began calling for "rounding up" and arresting all homosexuals in the country.

IRELAND: Openly Gay Senator Drops Bid For National Presidency

Openly gay Sen. David Norris has dropped his bid for the presidency of Ireland after revelations that he once pleaded for clemency for a former boyfriend imprisoned for statutory rape.

Mr Norris held a press conference outside his home in Dublin this afternoon to inform supporters he was withdrawing from the race. "I deeply regret the most recent of all the controversies concerning my former partner of 25 years ago, Ezra Yitzhak Nawi," he said. “The fallout from his disgraceful behaviour has now spread to me and is in danger of contaminating others close to me both in political and personal life. It is essential that I act decisively now to halt this negative process. I do not regret supporting and seeking clemency for a friend, but I do regret giving the impression that I did not have sufficient compassion for the victim of Ezra’s crime," Mr Norris said.

Norris had been considered the front-runner for the position, which in Ireland is largely ceremonial.

Gay Man Heads American Heritage

Steve Kleinelder, an openly gay man (and JMG reader) has been appointed as executive editor of the American Heritage dictionary. The Advocate notes the value of having one of our own in such a position:

In 2009, Kleinedler’s husband died suddenly, just two months after Kleinedler and fellow editors had revised the definitions of several marriage-related words to reflect the changing culture. The definition of widower, for example, was revised from "a man whose wife has died and who has not remarried" to "a man whose spouse has died and who has not remarried." “In the shattered aftermath of profound loss, an obsolete or incomplete definition of widower would seem an insignificant detail,” Kleinedler wrote, “but all such trivial details viewed together coalesce into a constant reminder of a two-tiered, unequal system. Therefore, having had the ability to revise the definitions that appear in a major American dictionary took on an important resonance for me.”

McCain: Debt Bill Will Pass Senate

The bill is being debated on the Senate floor at this writing. The vote should take place within the hour. UPDATE: The Senate has passed the bill 74-26.

Porno Pete Updates Tax Status

Peter LaBarbera has posted a notice regarding yesterday's news that his SPLC-certified hate group has lost its tax-exempt status. Porno Pete claims to have gotten the news on June 10th, but until yesterday his site still claimed that donations were tax-deductible.

AFA Campaigns Against Home Depot

The American Family Association today posted the below montage of gay pride events as part of their ongoing boycott of Home Depot, who are turning the nation's young girls into an army of flannel-draped carpenters. Or something.

Photo Of The Day - Queens Hail

Baseball-sized hail pelted parts of Queens yesterday, smashing cars and home windows.

Dolly Does Want Your Business

"I am truly sorry for the hurt or embarrassment regarding the gay and lesbian t-shirt incident at Dollywood's Splash Country recently. Everyone knows of my personal support of the gay and lesbian community. Dollywood is a family park and all families are welcome. I am looking further into the incident and hope and believe it was more policy than insensitivity. I am very sorry it happened at all." - Dolly Parton, expressing regret that a lesbian Dollywood patron was asked to cover up a tshirt which said, "Marriage is so gay."