Talking Points Memo dug into Sen. Roy Ashburn's official California government site and dug up this 2005 press releaseLabels: closet cases, DUI, marriage equality, Roy Ashburn, scandal, Traditional Values Coalition
West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon tells local news that he outed state Sen. Roy Ashburn on his Facebook page six months ago. That's great. Too bad nobody ever found out about it. Like Equality California. Or the Courage Campaign. Or any LGBT media outlet.
Labels: California, Christopher Cabaldon, closet cases, LGBT rights, Roy Ashburn
Last night Craig Ferguson devoted his entire opening monologue to the Ashburn scandal to hilarious results. Too many great jokes, I'll just tip you to one. (Paraphrasing) "Police knew Ashburn had been in a gay bar because he tested positive for appletinis." The final joke is the best, though.
Labels: closet cases, Craig Ferguson, GOP, Roy Ashburn, scandal, television
"Marie Osmond's poor gay son killed himself because he had been told how wrong and how sick he was every day of his life by his church and the people in it. Calling that 'depression' is a lie! Yet the Osmonds still talk lovingly about their church, saying nothing about its extremely anti-gay Crusade. Marie also has a gay daughter!Labels: gay youth, Marie Osmond, Mormons, Quote Of The Day, religion, Roseanne Barr, suicide
re-Barred from Joe
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.
Labels: bigotry, California, closet cases, DUI, GOP, LGBT rights, Roy Ashburn
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Our favorite Congressman is lauded by MSNBC for going after Fox & Friends and other liars about the health care reform bill.
Labels: Anthony Weiner, Congress, Fox News, health care reform, heroes
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.
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.
Wing nuts no longer: Right-wing celebs are helping anti-Obama militias go mainstream.
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.
GLSEN's national Day Of Silence is six weeks away, but the "ex-gay" mental cases at Exodus International have already launched their "Day Of Truth" campaign to stop students from being taught that it's wrong to beat up and harass gay kids. According to Exodus, the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund is standing by with 1200 attorneys to represent anybody that faces opposition from school administrators.In the past, students who have attempted to exercised their rights to talk about topics related to homosexuality have been censored or, in some cases, punished for their beliefs. It is important that students stand up for their First Amendment right to hear and speak the Truth about human sexuality in order to protect that freedom for future generations. The Day of Truth provides an opportunity to speak the Truth in love and have an honest conversation about homosexuality and at the same time publicly exercise your constitutional right to free speech. Over the past 6 years, we have had over 17,000 participants in the Day of Truth. This year, even more students are expected to take part in the Day of Truth, as news of this vital project continues to spread across the country. The Alliance Defense Fund has more than 1,200 allied attorneys who are available to assist you if you run into complications with school officials or pro-homosexual advocacy groups on your campus.It's more than a little fucking sad that the same people who were likely brutalized for their homosexuality while in school are now campaigning to support their tormentors. And go freep their fucking poll.
Labels: "ex-gay", assholism, bigotry, bullying, Day Of Silence, Exodus International, GLSEN, LGBT youth, mental illness, religion, Stockholm Syndrome
The LGBT center at the University of California campus in Davis was struck by graffiti vandals over the weekend. For now, the damage will remain as a symbol of anti-gay sentiment. From a UC Davis bulletin: On the night of February 26th the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center experienced acts of vandalism. The entrance to the LGBTRC was defaced with derogatory and hateful words that target the Queer community. This vicious hate crime demonstrates the need for community centers like ours to exist in order to offer a safe space on campus and combat the homophobia, discrimination, and hate that is still prevalent within our society. As a center we wanted not to immediately remove the vandalism in order to ensure that this hate crime does not go unnoticed by the campus community. Facilities and administration offered to clean it up immediately but we wanted to take this opportunity to educate the campus about struggles that our community continues to face. We feel it is easier to erase physical representations of violence than to heal from the ongoing impacts of this hatred. Erasing it makes it possible to avoid believing these things happen on our campus. We want to work towards a healing resolution.There has been a rash of such incidents in recent months, with vandalism of LGBT centers seen in Orlando, Long Island, and elsewhere.
Labels: California, homophobia, UC Davis, vandalism
Comic book fans may be interested in False Witness! The Michele Bachmann Story, by Kevin Avidor. She's certainly the most cartoonish member of Congress in quite a while. And that's saying something. Ordering details at the above link.Labels: comic books, Kevin Avidor, mental illness, Michele Bachmann
