Subject: Tell CBS: Don't air anti-abortion Super Bowl ad

Dear Friends,

The broadcast networks that air the Super Bowl have historically rejected advocacy ads. Yet CBS, which is airing the Super Bowl this year, has accepted an anti-choice ad by the ultra-conservative group Focus on the Family.

Focus on the Family's "celebrate life" (read: anti-choice) ad features Heisman Trophy-winning college football star Tim Tebow. And CBS approved this anti-choice ad, even though the network has repeatedly rejected advocacy ads in past years including a 2004 MoveOn.org ad that went after then-President Bush's fiscal irresponsibility and an ad the same year from the United Church of Christ showing them welcoming a gay couple who had been turned away from another church. And they just rejected a comical ad from a gay dating site from this year's lineup of ads.

So to recap: CBS wouldn't allow a group to criticize Bush, wouldn't let a religious group promote its own tolerance of LGBT families and considers a light-hearted dating ad out of bounds. But CBS is perfectly happy to allow Focus on the Family to promote its conservative social agenda.

Join me in calling on CBS to kill the Focus on the Family ad before the Super Bowl on February 7!

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/superbowl_focus/?r_by=7560-1068490-jcBWYNx&rc=paste1

How to save a life

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
How to save a life

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
[ How To Save A Life Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

From 365gay: Nepal to legalize gay marriage, offer weddings on Mt. Everest

Want to get married on top of the world? Not a problem, says a travel agency promoting gay marriage in Nepal.

In May, the country is set to ratify a new constitution that legalizes same-sex marriages, according to a report in The Telegraph.

Sunil Babu Pant, a Communist legislator and leader of the country’s gay rights movement, launched Pink Mountain, a travel agency offering wedding ceremonies on Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak.

Pant’s company will offer regal, elephant-back processions and wedding ceremonies at the mountain’s base camp.

“Most Asian countries don’t welcome gay visitors, so we can have the maximum benefit for the Nepal economy which is fragile after years of war,” Pant told the Telegraph. “The government is hoping to increase the number of tourists from 400,000 to one million next year and has taken a positive attitude to welcoming gay and lesbian visitors to help meet their ambitious target.”

WOO HOO! THis from JMG: Pentagon To Announce DADT Repeal Details Next Week

BREAKING: Pentagon To Announce DADT Repeal Details Next Week

This just popped up on Marc Ambinder's blog over on The Atlantic. This looks pretty major, folks.

Before President Obama announced last night that he would work with Congress and the Pentagon to end the military's ban on service by gays and lesbians, the White House consulted Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to sign off on the language he planned to use, administration officials said. They did. "The Pentagon is with us," the official said. And Geoff Morell, Gates's spokesman, e-mails me to say that "The Department leadership is actively working on an implementation plan and will have more to say about it next week."

So -- Obama's pledge to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell was more than words -- he's instructed the military to get it done as soon as Congress repeals the law. A Senate hearing is set for February 2, featuring testimony from Mullens and Gates. An outside hearing is set for February 11. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) doesn't know if he has the votes to cross the 60-person threshold in the Senate, but the expected endorsement by Mullen will make it difficult for opponents to argue that the military brass isn't ready.

Very promising!

thanks again JMG

Sydney Mardi Gras 2010

From JMG: American Anti-Gay Groups Continue Expansion In Africa

The anti-gay American Center For Law & Justice has opened a branch in Kenya, another ominous indication of the Christian right's continuing push to demonize gays in Africa. From their site:

The Christian response to all that is happening [in Kenya] has been ad hoc and reactionary. This has seen several laws passed that eroded the value system that we have known and held dear. The East Africa Centre for Law & Justice (EACLJ) is the response to this trend. The EACLJ aims to develop a Centre that will be credible and trustworthy in its information. This information will be used to inform the general public on issues of national importance being churned out of our parliament. It shall also be useful in lobbying legislators when debating and enacting laws. The Centre also aims to be a haven for those who find themselves in conflict with the law, especially over the exercise of their faith.

A 2007 survey in Kenya showed that 96% of those responding "rejected" homosexuality, the highest percentage in Africa. Homosexuality is illegal there and although few are prosecuted, the police routinely harass anybody they suspect is gay. So I'm not sure how the ACLJ can make things any worse, unless they're looking for another "kill gays" bill there.

Box Turtle Bulletin's Jim Burroway responds to the ACLJ's press release about Kenya:

Unmentioned is Uganda, which just happens to sit between Kenya and Rwanda, with Burundi further south. The ACLJ has filed friend of the court briefs in the U.S. against just about every LGBT-related case brought to the courts. Specifically, they vigorously opposed (PDF: 212KB/28 pages) overturning American anti-sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas. In 1995, they also opposed overturning Colorado’s Amendment 2, which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down for illegally barring LGBT people from full participation in the legislative process. Since ACLJ now wants to meddle in the legal affairs of East Africa, now would be a good time for them to go on record with their position on Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

thanks JMG

Twingo Advert - Drag Queen

From JMG: More NOM Defeatism

Read and enjoy.

We are not hopeful that Judge Walker is going to do justice to the 7 million Californians who voted to protect marriage as the union of husband and wife–especially not after his rush to break all the rules to televise this trial resulted in the lost of key expert witnesses’ testimony. Respect for voting rights doesn’t appear to be at a premium these days among certain judges.

Ah, satisfying.

lifted from JMG

Obama urges domestic partner benefits for gay couples

President Obama today strongly endorsed extending domestic partner benefits to gay and lesbian couples, specifically mentioning a bill introduced by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) that would do just that for federal workers. Responding to a questioner at a Tampa, Fla. town hall-style appearance, Obama said:

“As I said last night my belief is that a basic principal in our Constitution is that if you’re obeying the law, if you’re following the rules, that you should be treated the same regardless of who you are.

“I think that principle applies to gay and lesbian couples, so at the federal level one of the things that we’re trying to do is to make sure that partnerships are recognized for purposes of benefits, so that hospital visitation for example is something that is permitted, so that social security or pension benefits or others, that same-sex couples are recognized in all those circumstances.

Jump here to read the rest

From JMG: Tired Old Queen At The Movies #16

His Bette Davis impression kills.

another find lifted from jmg