Committee to Advance Equality: For Binational Same-Sex Couples

From JMG: Roy Ashburn's 2005 Press Release

Talking Points Memo dug into Sen. Roy Ashburn's official California government site and dug up this 2005 press release

touting an anti-gay marriage rally he co-hosted with the Traditional Values Coalition's Right Detestable Rev. Lou Sheldon.

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From JMG:

Jon Stewart Tries ChatRoulette

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From JMG: West Sacramento Mayor: I Outed Ashburn On Facebook Six Months Ago

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.

RELATED: Over at Boy Culture, Matt Rettenmund has some screencaps of the Facebook page of Ashburn's "date" on the night of his DUI arrest. Noting that the young man is Latino and probably first met Ashburn during that evening's popular Latin Night at Faces nightclub, Matt wonders how that squares with Ashburn's lengthy anti-immigrant voting history. Was that just another closet? Hate the Latinos, love their boys?

From JMG: Craig Ferguson On Sen. Roy Ashburn

Craig Ferguson On Sen. 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.

posted by Joe

From JMG: Quote Of The Day - Roseanne Barr

"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!

"Hey, I want her and all the gay kids in the world to know that they are just fine being gay and that they deserve love and respect instead of insults and rebuke! I have gay people in my family and my circle of friends and I am kicking bigot ass and taking names! That is how its done in my religion---(I have my own religion that I made up for myself and it is a great religion that actually works and respects facts and not fantasy!) [snip]

"Yet even though the people they say they love the most in all of their public displays and speeches (THEIR KIDS AND FAMILY!!) are gay,-- their own children, for crying out loud- these people cannot find the Christian decency and compassion within themselves to stop their hypocritical gay bashing!! How sickening. I know so many Mormon kids who were gay and committed suicide, and I just cannot and will not stay quiet in order to not offend bigots anymore. It is all so terribly depressing.

"Marie please don't talk about how your faith in your church has helped you get through this one! Please get some integrity and tell that church of yours that you will leave it and stop giving it ten percent of your money if they don't stop trying to destroy your kids' and all gay people's civil rights and dreams and hopes!!" - Roseanne Barr, writing on her personal blog.

(Tipped by JMG reader J. Karl)re-Barred from Joe

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.

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

(Via - HRC Back Story)

Reposted from JMG

Task Force organizer Aaditi Dubale speaks about the importance of ENDA

Coffee Party: How We Began

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

"Poly-Sci Model: The Musical!" Movie Trailer Spoof (HD)

The Sanctity of Marriage - RON ROMANOVSKY

From JMG: Exodus International Launches Campaign In Support Of Anti-Gay Bullying

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.

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From JMG: UC Davis LGBT Center Vandalized

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.

Reposted from JMG