Via Pogo: Wishery

Via JMG: George Takei Calls Out Anti-Gay Arkansas School Board Member

Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Prop 8 Attorney Andy Pugno LOSES Race For State Assembly

Protect Marriage lead attorney Andy Pugno has lost his bid for the California Assembly, despite the heavy backing of NOM. Icing on the cake: winner Richard Pan is a strong supporter of LGBT rights. SUCK IT, NOM!

(Tipped by JMG reader Ray)

Labels: California, California Assembly, Proposition 8, Protect Marriage

reposted from Joe

I Was Pregnant With My Cat

ViaJMG: HomoQuotable - Ricky Martin

"Since I can remember, I have felt a very strong attraction to other men and, although I can say that I have also come to feel a lot of attraction and a lot of chemistry towards women, it is men who ultimately awaken what is instinctive, the animal in me. Socially, there are so many prejudices against homosexuals that I thought nobody would understand me, that I'd be rejected, since those are the codes I heard and learned as a child. So since my adolescence, when these desires I first began to manifest themselves, I had to deal with this great conflict between my emotions and my thoughts." - Ricky Martin, in a leaked excerpt from his autobiography. Martin launches his book tomorrow with an hour-long appearance on Oprah.

Labels: coming out, HomoQuotable, pop music, Ricky Martin

reposted from  Joe

Via JMG: God Hates Bags

On sale here.

(Tipped by JMG reader Steve)

Labels: silliness, Westboro

reposted from Joe

Kermit The Frog's "It Gets Better" Video

Via JMG: MICHIGAN: Assistant AG Andrew Shirvell May Be Disbarred For Anti-Gay Stalking

A complaint has been filed seeking the disbarment of Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell over his anti-gay harassment of UM student body president Chris Armstrong.

The complaint alleges Shirvell harassed and defamed Armstrong during what Gordon describes as a six-month campaign "of lies, dishonesty, heckling, hate speech and even job interference." The commission could disbar Shirvell if it investigates. "I could not stand by and let Mr. Shirvell continue his reckless, bullying behavior," Armstrong said in a statement. Shirvell already is fighting a ban from the U-M campus. And he faces a Friday disciplinary hearing in the Attorney General's Office.

Armstrong's attorney: "We just feel very strongly ... that you can't be a licensed attorney and an officer of the court and conduct yourself this way and essentially terrorize a college student."

Labels: anti-gay harassment, education, lawyers, Michigan

reposted fromJoe

Via Utne

Republicans Are Alone on Climate Change Virtually no party in the world's liberal democracies shares their position. Read More >>

Via 365gay: Sources: Most US troops, families say gays OK

By The Associated Press 10.29.2010
Survey results of troops and families is in. Read more...

HHS Secretary supports the "It Gets Better Project" in Support of LGBT Youth

Via JMG: Noose Hung At Equality California

Workers arrived at the Santa Ana office of Equality California to find a small string noose hanging from the door. Local police were uninterested. EQCA employee Mel Distel relates her exchange with the cop who responded to her call:

"There was nothing they could do, of course, there was no suspect and no crime had been committed. The officer said 'what it is, is a string on a door.' My vision got blurry, I was embarrased and felt stupid for making the call. I took a deep breath and said 'Do you see any correlation between the fact that this is a gay office and there was a noose left on our door in the wake of all of these teen suicides?' The officer said, 'Sometimes you just have to live with being a victim,' and proceeded to mention that his car had been broken into before." That didn't exactly sit well with Distel. "As if that's the same. As if having your stereo stolen is anything like the message 'You should kill yourself.' As if random theft is anything like an act meant to convey hate and stir up fear in the heart of a minority group."

Making threats of violence against an LGBT group is considered a hate crime in California, despite the officer's indifference.

Labels: California, Equality California, LGBT rights

reposted from Joe

Michelle Obama (Ellen)

via jmg: WASHINGTON: Rally For Sanity Smashes All-Time Metro Ridership Record

Yesterday's Rally For Sanity broke Washington's all-time record for Metro ridership on a Saturday.

By preliminary estimates, Metro recorded 825,437 Metrorail trips on Saturday. Whether it served any of those riders very well is different question. The demand for public transit to attend the Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear -- hosted by Comedy Central duo Stewart and Colbert -- exceeded supply. Metro customers suffered long waits at various Metro stations throughout the city. Several even suffered injuries. Nevertheless, the new record fairly shattered the old record, set on June 8, 1991, when Washington played host to a victory celebration for U.S. troops who served in the First Gulf War. That day Metro recorded 786,358 trips. A 1997 Promise Keepers rally in the District has the third-place record, with 735,909 trips.

Of course, we'll never know how many more people were turned away from using the subway (as was my group) because the cops were freaking out about how crowded the platforms were. We ended up walking the hour or so from our hotel to the Mall and it was amazing to look down the side streets and see tens of thousands of people streaming up from all directions.

RELATED: Despite the ridership count and all the other attendance reports, the Freepers are, of course, declaring that the lamestream media are conspiring to cook the head count so that Glenn Beck's rally looks smaller in comparison.

Labels: Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, subway, Washington DC

reposted from Joe

Via Truthout: Bigger Than Beck? Huge Crowd Attends Restore Sanity Rally

Steve Thomma and David Lightman, McClatchy Newspapers: "Three days before hotly contested national elections, a pair of comedians drew tens of thousands to the National Mall on Saturday with a blend of jokes and music meant to counter some of the anger and fear they see in the country."
Read the Article

Via Sonja:

Via Homosexuality and the Baha’i Community: a conversation

Clip Mulher na Presidência

Via JMG: New York Times Asks: Why Aren't Gays Fired Up Against Meg Whitman?

The New York Times observes that there appears to be "little passion" among LGBT voters regarding the outcome of California's gubernatorial race. And that's curious because Meg Whitman has vowed to attempt to defend Proposition 8 in the Ninth Circuit Court, should she be elected.

Intervention would be an “unprecedented situation,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at the University of California, Irvine. “We don’t know what would happen if a new governor or attorney general tried to intervene,” he said. The December appeals hearing could face a lengthy delay, or an argument could be made for a new trial, with the state reversing its stance and supporting the marriage ban. Rory Little, professor of law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, said that a new trial would be unlikely, but that the judges would carefully consider the motion. “The court will take this very seriously,” Mr. Little said. With the election possibly affecting such a hard-fought legal victory, gay men and lesbians should be motivated to vote, but they might not be aware of the stakes, according to political analysts.

I think we at this here website thingy have been ringing the Fear Whitman bell fairly loudly, but the above-linked NYT piece places the overall blame for Whitman apathy on LGBT disappointment with the Obama administration.

Labels: 2010 elections, California, Jerry Brown, Meg Whitman, New York Times, Proposition 8

reposted from Joe

Facebook Quote of the Day (via Joe Jervis):

Folks, not voting Dem because you're angry about LGBT rights is like burning down your house because you don't like the carpet. We can and will eventually change that shitty carpet, but we need the HOUSE it goes in.