Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Via JMG: Riots Close British Gayborhood
Birmingham's gay village was shut down yesterday due to widespread looting and fires. ZONE Magazine reports: The London riots have spread beyond the capital to Birmingham, including the Gay Village. Popular gay bars Missing, The Loft Lounge, Equator, Purple Bar and The Angel Bar were all closed on the advice of police at around 9pm last night. The police have confirmed that at least 35 arrests have already been made. The Birmingham Hippodrome theatre, which is located on the edge of the gay village in the Southside area of Birmingham, was on a 'lockdown' with up to 2,000 theatre-goers locked inside watching We Will Rock You. Following the performance, police escorted patrons to the safety of their cars in the Arcadian Centre.Hit the above link for live updates on the situation.
There was widespread looting in the city centre, including the Armani shop in The Mailbox. Kevin Breese, General Manager of Birmingham's Harvey Nichols shop, confirmed that the ajacent Armani shop has been completely looted. 'They were very well organised youths, with wirecutters and concrete blocks,' he said. West Midlands Police continued to tackle the disorder occurring in Birmingham last night. Several premises were attacked, with some shop windows smashed and property stolen in various locations in the centre, as well as some surrounding areas.
reposted from Joe
Via AmericablogGay: To be very clear, Obama administration can stop the deportation of Anthony John Makk
John wrote a post about the impending deportation of Anthony John Makk earlier today. It's really a stunning story. Makk is an Australian who is legally married to a U.S. citizen Bradford Wells. They've been married for seven years. But, the Obama administration intends to deport Makk by August 25th. Teddy Partridge at FireDogLake is furious -- and rightly so:
The Obama Administration has denied the request of a married couple in San Francisco, ordering the expulsion of one spouse who is the primary caregiver of his legally married husband with AIDS.
Team Obama is incapable of valuing our actual relationships, while making pretty speeches about DOMA’s unconstitutionality.
So, the Obama administration is using DOMA as an excuse when the Obama administration claims DOMA is unconstitutional. That's bad enough. The Obama administration has the executive power to prevent this deportation. It does not have to happen.
I asked Steve Ralls from Immigration Equality to give us an explanation of the Obama administration's options. Here's what he wrote:
The Obama Administration can intervene – today – and keep Bradford and Anthony together. On May 17, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security wrote, in a letter to Congress, that they retain authority “to exercise discretion in individual cases based on the unique factors presented by that particular case.” In June, ICE reiterated that position in a memorandum to field offices informing their agents that individuals who have U.S. citizen spouses or relatives, or are the primary caretakers for American citizens, should not be considered a priority for removal, and can, again, qualify for discretion. Despite both the letter and the memo, however, the Administration has not yet intervened in a single case for a lesbian or gay couple. Now would be a good time for them to do so, as American citizens are being torn apart from their spouses and partners. There is no question about the Administration’s ability to do so; the only question is whether they will exercise that ability on behalf of LGBT families.
Got that? There is no question about the Obama administration's ability. Makk's deportation does not have to happen.
On Sunday, Drew Westen wrote a powerful op-ed in the New York Times titled, "What Happened to Obama?," which included this passage:
Like most Americans, at this point, I have no idea what Barack Obama — and by extension the party he leads — believes on virtually any issue. The president tells us he prefers a “balanced” approach to deficit reduction, one that weds “revenue enhancements” (a weak way of describing popular taxes on the rich and big corporations that are evading them) with “entitlement cuts” (an equally poor choice of words that implies that people who’ve worked their whole lives are looking for handouts). But the law he just signed includes only the cuts. This pattern of presenting inconsistent positions with no apparent recognition of their incoherence is another hallmark of this president’s storytelling. He announces in a speech on energy and climate change that we need to expand offshore oil drilling and coal production — two methods of obtaining fuels that contribute to the extreme weather Americans are now seeing.
He supports a health care law that will use Medicaid to insure about 15 million more Americans and then endorses a budget plan that, through cuts to state budgets, will most likely decimate Medicaid and other essential programs for children, senior citizens and people who are vulnerable by virtue of disabilities or an economy that is getting weaker by the day. He gives a major speech on immigration reform after deporting a million immigrants in two years, breaking up families at a pace George W. Bush could never rival in all his years as president.
One of the families Obama is intent to break up is that of Anthony Makk and Bradford Wells. The President or someone who works for him needs to fix this. And, fast.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Should Bert and Ernie get married?
A debate-sparking petition urges the Sesame Street buddies to tie the knot — even though they've never come out as gay
posted on August 9, 2011, at 11:53 AM
Sesame Street roommates Bert and Ernie should finally take the next step in their relationship and get hitched, argue gay-rights activists. Photo: Facebook/Sesame Street SEE ALL 4 PHOTOS
Is it time for Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie to get married? Best Opinion: Montreal Gazette, Lonely Conservative, ThinkProgress
Via UOL: "Já escrevi meu nome na história", diz ex-BBB Jean Wyllys
Deputado federal há seis meses, o ex-BBB Jean Wyllys posou cheio de estilo para a edição de agosto da revista Rolling Stone e afirmou que não quer ter mais seu nome ligado ao reality show. “Quando saí candidato, eu não pus no meu material de campanha referências ao programa”, destacou.
A vontade do homossexual assumido é ser reconhecido como o deputado dos direitos humanos. “Sei que já escrevi meu nome na História, mesmo que este seja meu único mandato”, disse ele, que tem entre suas principais plataformas os direitos civis LGBTs e a defesa das religiões de origem africana.
Apesar disso, sua luta principal é pelo direitos civis dos gays. "Antes de mim, teve o Clodovil [Hernandes]. Mas ele não encampava a luta do movimento, pelo contrário. Em entrevistas, era radicalmente contra as paradas gays", diz o político refletindo sobre o papel do estilista no Congresso. "O deputado Clodovil não oferecia perigo, compreendeu? O problema é chegar aqui e reclamar por direitos".
Recentemente, em entrevista à apresentadora Marília Gabriela, ele contou que sofreu discriminação no seio familiar, entre outros assuntos.
Via JMG: Some States Still Criminalize Sodomy
Equality Matters notes: In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Texas’ sodomy statute was unconstitutional, marking a major legal victory on the path towards LGBT equality. With the remainder of state sodomy laws technically invalidated by Lawrence, the LGBT community began to shift its focus. [snip] Eight years later, however, eighteen states still refuse to rewrite their laws and take these anti-gay relics off their books, with countless LGBT Americans continuing to feel their devastating effects as a result. Several state legislatures and courts have exploited loopholes in the Lawrence decision, while others have simply refused to acknowledge the decision altogether.In some states, gay men are still being arrested for "crimes against nature." Hit the link for much more.
Via JMG: ZIMBABWE: Police Arrest Five Men On Charges Of "Sexual Immorality"
More bad news out of Africa. Five men have been arrested in Domboshava near Harare on allegations of being gay and committing acts of sexual immorality, state controlled ZBC News reported on Tuesday. The five men include a 55-year-old white and 4 black men whose ages have not yet been released, they are currently detained at Domboshava Police Station awaiting trial. The incident happened when a bottle store owner suspected that something was wrong after seeing the young black men spending money in an unusual manner leading him to alert the police.Note how the story obeys Scott Lively's mythology about wealthy white men corrupting local blacks.
Via JMG: Frothy Mix: Gay Marriage Is A Napkin
"I can call this napkin a paper towel. But it is a napkin. And why? Because it is what it is. Right? You can call it whatever you want, but it doesn't change the character of what it is. So when people come out and say that marriage is something else — marriage is the marriage of five people, five, 10, 20. Marriage can be between fathers and daughters. Marriage can be between any two people, any four people, any 10 people, it can be any kind of relationship and we can call it marriage. But it doesn't make it marriage. Why? Because there are certain qualities and certain things that attach to the definition of what marriage is." - Rick Santorum, speaking to a tiny crowd of supporters in an Iowa cafeteria.Via JMG: Linda Harvey: Ban Gays As Teachers
"Kids should not be put in the confusing position of having a teacher they like and respect in many ways who’s also known to be practicing homosexual behavior. Of course that’s where many of our children in public schools today find themselves because the National Education Association not only allows but applauds and defends openly homosexuality and even transvestite teachers. The fact is that no homosexuality should be in our schools, period. When people leave that behavior behind, then they might be qualified for a job involving children. Out and proud homosexuals should not have jobs that involve children. I know that’s not the current policy in many schools but it should be." - Linda Harvey of the SPLC-certified hate group Mission America.
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