From JMG: Anti-Gay GOP CA State Sen. Roy Ashburn Busted For DUI While Leaving Sacramento Gay Bar With Another Man

Anti-gay GOP California state Sen. Roy Ashburn was arrested for DUI yesterday after leaving Faces, a popular Sacramento gay bar, with an unidentified male passenger. Ashburn has been a loud opponent of LGBT rights and has organized and hosted anti-gay marriage rallies for the Traditional Values Coalition. He also has a 100% rating from the anti-gay Capitol Resource Family Impact group for voting against every LGBT rights bill during his tenure.

The California Highway Patrol pulled over Senator Roy Ashburn at 2:00 a.m. Wednesday after an officer noticed a black Chevy Tahoe swerving at 13th and L Streets. When the officer stopped the state-issued vehicle, the driver identified himself as Senator Ashburn. He was arrested without incident and charged with two misdemeanors: driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol level higher than .08% or higher. A male passenger, who was not identified as a lawmaker, was also in the car but was not detained. Ashburn was booked into the Sacramento County Jail and released on $1,400 bond. Ashburn, a father of four, is a Republican Senator representing parts of Kern, Tulare and San Bernardino Counties with a history of opposing gay rights. Ashburn issued a statement on the arrest Wednesday afternoon: "I am deeply sorry for my actions and offer no excuse for my poor judgment. I accept complete responsibility for my conduct and am prepared to accept the consequences for what I did. I am also truly sorry for the impact this incident will have on those who support and trust me – my family, my constituents, my friends, and my colleagues in the Senate."

Ashburn is being term-limited out of office in 2010. In January he surprised supporters by announcing that he would not be running for the U.S. House or the powerful California State Tax Board, two jobs he'd publicly had his eye on for the last year. Ashburn divorced his wife in 2003.

ANTI-GAY VOTING RECORD: In March 2009, Sen. Ashburn voted against a Senate resolution declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Ashburn voted three times to oppose the creation of Harvey Milk Day. In September he voted against California recognizing out of state same-sex marriages. In 2008 he voted to oppose an expansion of the state's insurance laws to include sexual orientation as a protected class.

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Quote of the Day

"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group."

"We have a lot more work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say “common struggle” because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination."

Coretta Scott King

From JMG: Rep. Anthony Weiner Vs. Fox & Friends

Our favorite Congressman is lauded by MSNBC for going after Fox & Friends and other liars about the health care reform bill.

reposted from JMG

From JMG: Pro-Gay Clergy Drown Out Westboro Nutters At DC Courthouse

(Via - HRC Back Story)

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Task Force organizer Aaditi Dubale speaks about the importance of ENDA

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On NPR: Former 'No Child Left Behind' Advocate Turns Critic

In 2005, former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch wrote, "We should thank President George W. Bush and Congress for passing the No Child Left Behind Act ... All this attention and focus is paying off for younger students, who are reading and solving mathematics problems better than their parents' generation."

Four years later, Ravitch has changed her mind.

Jump here to read /listen to full story NPR

From 365gay

Speaking of nudity, this past weekend 5,200 bared all for a photo shoot at Sydney’s iconic opera house. The event was named “Mardi Gras: The Base” in celebration of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, according to a Reuters report. I’m not sure I’d want to spend an hour naked on what was described as a cool autumn day, but I certainly applaud those who did. “I thought it could be a bit awkward, but it’s funny because when you’re naked and everybody else is naked, you feel like you’re dressed, because everybody looks the same,” Steven Anglier told Reuters. So, it’s like turning around during a 3D movie and seeing everyone in silly blue and red glasses? OK, then. Wonder how many of the participants were vajazzled.

From MJ: Why Do Some Conservatives Play Footsie With Treason?

Wing nuts no longer: Right-wing celebs are helping anti-Obama militias go mainstream.

— By Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery

March/April 2010 Issue

IN THE FALL of 1964, not long after Barry Goldwater had clinched the Republican nomination for president, historian Richard Hofstadter penned an essay for Harper's called "The Paranoid Style in American Politics." It was an instant classic—not because it was so elegantly written, but because in just a few pages it described with deadly accuracy one of the major strains of our national dialogue.

make the jump here to read the full story

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