Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Via Belirico: Truth Wins Out's Wayne Besen Talks About Christine O'Donnell's Antigay Past with Rachel Maddow
Wayne Besen, director of Truth Wins Out, an organization dedicated to investigating the lies behind the so-called “ex-gay” ministries, appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show Friday night to discuss the Tea Party’s latest favorite, Christine O’Donnell, Republican candidate for Senate from Delaware.
Via JMG: New Associated Press Poll Shows Majority Support Marriage Equality
The is the second national poll to show that a majority of Americans support marriage equality. Stand by for NOM to issue their usual denouncement. The full poll can be viewed here (PDF).Via JMG: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: Constitution Does Not Protect Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Speaking to a San Francisco law school on Friday, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee gay people protection against discrimination. And the same goes for women. "If the current society wants to outlaw discrimination by sex, you have legislatures," Scalia said during a 90-minute question-and-answer session with a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law. He said the same was true of discrimination against gays and lesbians. The 74-year-old justice, leader of the court's conservative wing, is also its most outspoken advocate of "originalism," the doctrine that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original meaning of those who drafted it. The court has ruled since the early 1970s that the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the laws applies to sex discrimination, requiring a strong justification for any law that treated the genders differently. That interpretation, Scalia declared Friday, was not intended by the authors of the amendment that was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War.In the landmark 2003 Supreme Court ruling overturning laws against sodomy, Lawrence vs. Texas, Scalia was the most vehement dissenting vote.
Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Steve Hildebrand
"The Democratic strategy right now is to run from the president, run from important proposals that help this country. If we’re not going to do something about health care, if we’re not going to do something about climate change, if we’re not going to do something about the economy, about the deficit, about the war, Washington is going to get punished. The Democrats might get punished more because they’re in power, but Washington in general is going to get punished. And you’ve seen it in Republican primaries across the country. You’ve seen it in Democratic primaries across the country. And you’re going to see it with a lot of just pure incumbents from both parties in November. They’re getting punished because they’re not dealing with the issues. They’re not dealing with the real problems that we face as a country. And they should be punished. Stand up and lead or get out of the way." - Barack Obama's 2008 deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand, telling ABC News that Democrats who don't stand by the president deserve to be "punished."
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Via SacBee NAMES & FACES :
“The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart is hosting a “million moderate march” in Washington – for people who think shouting is annoying – but faux political nemesis Stephen Colbert will be nearby to keep fear alive against those “dark, optimistic forces.”
Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” and his archenemy on the network plan to hold opposing political rallies Oct. 30 on the National Mall just before the November elections. Stewart interrupted his regular fake newscast Thursday night to announce a “Rally to Restore Sanity” on Oct. 30. He said it’s for people too busy with their normal lives to go to other political rallies.
“Think of our event as Woodstock, but with the nudity and drugs replaced by respectful disagreement,” Stewart writes in promotion for his rally. Nearby, Colbert also announced a “March to Keep Fear Alive” to restore “truthiness” to the nation on his show Thursday night. Colbert said the nation can’t afford a rally to restore sanity in the middle of a recession.
– From the Associated Press
U.N. Secretary General Urges Repeal of Anti-Gay Laws Around the World
www.wegiveadamn.org
The Give a Damn Campaign is for everybody, especially straight people, who cares about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Via JMG: DADT Action: GetEQUAL Delivers Signed Combat Boots To Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)
AmericaBlog reports: Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) voted against the compromise DADT amendment in the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 27th. He's getting a visit from GetEQUAL today, which you can follow on GetEQUAL's Facebook page and via Twitter.the 2006 campaign, Webb wore the combat boots of his son who was serving in Iraq. Servicemembers will be leaving their combat boots for Webb, which is a powerful symbol. During the 2006 campaign, Webb wore the combat boots of his son who was serving in Iraq.Joe Sudbay notes that the following Senators are uncommitted to breaking a possible GOP filibuster:
--Susan Collins (R-ME)Have you called your Senators today? The vote is scheduled for Tuesday at 2:30pm.
--Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
--Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)
--Richard Lugar (R-IN)
--Judd Gregg (R-NH)
--Jim Webb (D-VA)
--George Voinovich (R-OH)
Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Denny's Waiter Stabbed For Being Gay, Cops Rule It A Hate Crime
A waiter at a Denny's restaurant in Santa Maria, California is hospitalized with neck and throat wounds after being attacked by a customer who first demanded to know, "Are you gay?" When the waiter replied that he was, the customer stabbed him with a knife. The 24 year-old assailant fled the scene but was later apprehended and charged with attempted murder as a hate crime. The waiter is expected to survive.Via JMG: Catholic League Nutter Bill Donohue: Atheists Should Apologize For Adolf Hitler
"The pope cited Hitler today, asking everyone to 'reflect on the sobering lessons of atheist extremism of the 20th century.' Immediately, the British Humanist Association got its back up, accusing the pope of 'a terrible libel against those who do not believe in God.' The pope did not go far enough. Radical atheists like the British Humanist Association should apologize for Hitler. But they should not stop there. They also need to issue an apology for the 67 million innocent men, women and children murdered under Stalin, and the 77 million innocent Chinese killed by Mao. Hitler, Stalin and Mao were all driven by a radical atheism, a militant and fundamentally dogmatic brand of secular extremism. It was this anti-religious impulse that allowed them to become mass murderers. By contrast, a grand total of 1,394 were killed during the 250 years of the Inquisition, most all of whom were murdered by secular authorities." - Catholic League nutjob Bill Donohue.FACT CHECK: As Donohue knows, Hitler was in fact a Catholic JUST LIKE BILL DONOHUE and sang in the choir at the Benedictine monastery he attended as a child.
Hitler publicly denounced atheism as inherently communist. "For eight months we have been waging a heroic battle against the Communist threat to our Volk, the decomposition of our culture, the subversion of our art, and the poisoning of our public morality. We have put an end to denial of God and abuse of religion. We owe Providence humble gratitude for not allowing us to lose our battle against the misery of unemployment and for the salvation of the German peasant."
The Catholic Hitler also denounced secular education. "Secular schools can never be tolerated because such schools have no religious instruction, and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith."
Here's your precious fucking Pope, Bill!
Labels: atheism, Benedict Palpatine, Bill Donohue, Catholic Church, Catholic League, Hitler Youth, liars, religion
Via JMG: Andrew Sullivan On Christine O'Donnell
"A mischievous thought: when will someone ask O'Donnell, as a single woman, if, since her conversion to Catholicism, she has ever masturbated? She cannot have had any sex, right? And that includes sex alone. Since she has made this a public stance, and since, apparently, she cannot lie (even if it would mean handing over Jews to Nazis), she has made the question perfectly legit." - Andrew Sullivan on Christine O'Donnell, who has said if she knew where the Jews were hiding and the Nazis asked, she'd have to tell them because she cannot tell a lie.Labels: 2010 elections, Andrew Sullivan, Delaware, ladyfingers, masturbation, Senate, Tea Party, teabaggers
Via Tricycle: Earth-touching Buddha
One of the most recognizable and poignant images in Buddhist iconography is the "Earth-touching Buddha," the Buddha seated with the fingertips of his right hand gently touching the ground. At the moment of his enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, the Buddha was challenged by the demon Mara to prove the claim that a human being could become an awakened one. In reply, the Buddha touched the ground and called the earth to be his witness.
Nepal, 13th century gilt copper alloy, 17.5 x 15 in. © 2010 Rubin Museum of Art (HAR 65687)
Via Utne: The Angry Monk
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Thursday, September 16, 2010
Via JMG: Christine O'Donnell Has A Long Sordid History Of Demonizing LGBT People
Wade Richards, a former member of Christine O'Donnell's "ex-gay" group who has since come to terms with his sexuality, tells all in a report published today by the Daily Beast. According to Richards, O'Donnell has a lesbian sister, whom he credits with helping him accept himself. The article lists some of O'Donnell's track record in her long campaign to demonize LGBT people.Toward the end of the Clinton administration, she protested the appointment of James Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg, a posting the religious right opposed because Hormel was gay. “The SALT was concerned about Hormel’s ties to the pedophile-rights movement,” her website said, though there was not a shred of evidence behind the slur. In 1997, in a clip recently unearthed by Talking Points Memo, she appeared on C-SPAN, where, looking fresh, lovely, and innocent, she objected to AIDS sufferers being called “victims” because the disease is the product of their own actions. In an appearance on Fox in 2000, she exclaimed over the horrors of New York’s gay pride parade: “They’re getting away with nudity! They’re getting away with lasciviousness! They’re getting away with perversion!”After working with O'Donnell's group, Richards went to work for Peter LaBarbera, going undercover at International Mister Leather.
Richards was unnerved when he went into Americans for Truth About Homosexuality’s “media room” and found copious hard-core porn—for research, naturally—as well as leather bondage gear for undercover work. “The sad thing was, there’s that 80-year-old grandma in Wichita, Kansas, thinking she’s donating this money to a good cause, and it’s going to who knows what kind of ‘research,’” says Richards. “As someone struggling with same-sex attraction, I thought, this is really not a place I need to be hanging out in.”Richards eventually became an ex-ex-gay after reaching out to Wayne Besen at Truth Wins Out. Read the entire story at the Daily Beast.
Labels: "ex-gay", 2010 elections, Daily Beast, Delaware, Peter LaBarbera, religion, Senate, teabaggers
Via JMG: DADT Repeal Vote Set For Tuesday
The Washington Post reports:
The U.S. Senate will hold a key vote Tuesday on a defense bill that includes language repealing "don't ask, don't tell," the Clinton-era policy banning gays from openly serving in uniform, Democratic and Republican aides said Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this week vowed to hold a vote next week, even taking to Twitter to respond to gay rights advocates.NOW is the time to call your Senators (both of them).
Via JMG: LOUISIANA: Sen. David "Diaper Boy" Vitter Signs Tea Party Morality Pledge
Sanctity of opposite-marriage hero, serial adulterer, hooker patron, and diaper fetishist Sen. David Vitter has signed the Tea Party Patriots' morality pledge. I hereby pledge to: Support and defend the U.S. Constitution as originally intended by the Founders and as explained in the "Federalist Papers." Act in a fiscally responsible manner: Decrease the size and scope of government on all levels--localstate, and federal; Decrease spending on all levels--local, state and federal; Work toward a balanced budget. Support the free market by lower taxes and fees on businesses and individuals: support only those regulations that enhance competition. Conduct myself personally and professionally in a moral and socially appropriate manner.Somebody just made a hypocrisy boom-boom in their diaper.
Labels: adultery, David Vitter, diaper play, hypocrisy, prostitution, sanctity of marriage, Tea Party
Via JMG: Nepal Arrests Gays Activists
More than 70 gay activists were arrested in Kathmandu as they rallied for government IDs for transgender citizens. It's an unexpected development for Nepal, which has been expanding LGBT rights, encouraging gay tourism, and recently saw its first large-scale gay pride celebration. Nepali men and women who identify as transgender are seeking citizenship certificates with their gender marked as "third sex" instead of male or female. Sunil Babu Pant, lawmaker and founder of the Blue Diamond Society, a gay rights group, says more than 70 people were detained near the prime minister's office and parliament. "We are running out of patience and are demanding our rights," Pant said from a detention centre. "Without the citizenship papers, the sexual minorities are unable to get a job, enrol in schools or colleges, seek treatment in hospitals and travel," he said. "They cannot even inherit parental property." In 2007, the Supreme Court ordered the government to amend laws to end discrimination against homosexuals, and give them the same rights as other citizens.Kathmandu police says the arrests were made for "violating the norm" by demonstrating in a unapproved area.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Via JMG: INDIANA: 15 Year-Old Boy Commits Suicide Over Anti-Gay Bullying
Another dead victim of anti-gay bullying, this time in Indiana.He was a teenager who didn't quite fit in. His classmates said Billy Lucas was bullied for being different. The 15-year-old never told anyone he was gay but students at Greensburg High School thought he was and so they picked on him. "People would call him 'fag' and stuff like that, just make fun of him because he's different basically," said student Dillen Swango. Students told Fox59 News it was common knowledge that children bullied Billy and from what they said, it was getting worse. Last Thursday, Billy's mother found him dead inside their barn. He had hung himself. Students said on that same day, some students told Billy to kill himself. "They said stuff like 'you're like a piece of crap' and 'you don't deserve to live.' Different things like that. Talked about how he was gay or whatever," said Swango.School administrators claim to have had no knowledge of the bullying, despite many students saying that they were aware of Billy's torment. A memorial Facebook page for Billy can be found here. Indiana does not include gay youth in its anti-bullying laws, no doubt thanks to repulsive Christianist groups like Focus On The Family.
Charles Robbins, executive director of the Trevor Project, responds to Billy Lucas' death.
Currently, there is no national standard to protect all of our children from bullying and harassment at school. Yet, we know that as many as 1 in 10 sexual minority youth have been physically assaulted at school, and that when youth are threatened or get into fights, or have property stolen at school, their risk of attempting suicide more than doubles. That is why The Trevor Project supports fully inclusive federal legislation, like the Safe Schools Improvement Act currently under consideration in the Senate, to offer the protections all of our children need from torment and ridicule at school, regardless of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Only with an enforceable national standard that offers resources and support to educators and staff, no matter the size of a school district, will we be able to prevent future tragedies like Greensburg High School has experienced. The death of Billy Lucas is a tragedy, and one that might have been prevented if his school district had the support of a fully inclusive anti-harassment and anti-bullying law.UPDATE: JMG reader Andy sends us the below news clip and notes that Billy's principal seems to blame him for his own bullying. "Sometimes he created an atmosphere around him like a little tornado, you know, because he went around doing things that made dust fly." Starts at the 2:00 mark.
Via JMG: Lady Gaga & Sen. Harry Reid Exchange Tweets About Repeal Of DADT
Lady Gaga has more Twitter followers than any person in the world. Does the above exchange bolster the theory that it was Gaga's VMA appearance Sunday night that forced Sen. Reid's hand yesterday?Monday, September 13, 2010
Via jmg: Evangelicals & Catholics Join Against Immigration Equality For Gay Couples
Although the nation's faith communities are largely in support of immigration reform, one group they'd like to disinclude is binational gay couples.
"It introduces a new controversial element to the issue which will divide the faith community and further jeopardize chances for a fair and bipartisan compromise," said Kevin Appleby of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which last year said the inclusion of gay couples in a House bill aimed at reuniting families made it "impossible" for the group to support the measure. "Immigration is hard enough without adding same-sex marriage to the mix."Visit Immigration Equality to learn about how to help keep binational LGBT couples in the comprehensive immigration reform bill.
The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, a 16-million-strong group of evangelical Latinos that could play a key political role in an immigration overhaul, is similarly opposed to including provisions for gay and lesbian families. The president of the organization, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, said that including such a measure would prove to be the "death knell" for comprehensive change.
Via JMG: Harry Reid Schedules Senate Vote On DADT Repeal For Next Week
It appears that the long-overdue Senate vote on the repeal of DADT will come at last next week. A senior Democratic leadership aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Reid met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday to inform the Republican leader that the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill will come to the Senate floor the week of Sept. 20. The aide said Senate leadership is anticipating the Senate won’t have unanimous consent to bring the legislation to the floor, so 60 votes will be necessary to end a filibuster and move forward with debate on the bill. “We are going to take it the floor next week to see where the votes are,” the aide said.Was it Lady Gaga? Nah...
Via Servicemembers United:
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Sunday, September 12, 2010
Via JMG: TENNESSEE: Lesbian Couple's Home Torched, Homophobic Neighbor Suspected
A lesbian couple in rural Tennessee returned from a trip to Nashville to find their home burned to the ground and the word "QUEERS" spray-painted on their garage. The couple feels they're victims of a hate crime, and were targeted because they're gay. They've been together for more than 15 years. Carol Stutte has an adult daughter from a previous relationship who also lived with them. At the time of the fire, they were in Nashville celebrating their fifth anniversary in Tennessee. "My daughter was supposed to be here. She was sick," Carol Stutte said. "I was grateful my baby girl didn't get killed in this fire. She would have been trapped in the basement." The couple moved to Vonore from Oklahoma. Carol Stutte says her partner is too afraid to come back to the property since the fire. She says they've been harassed all five years they've lived there by one neighbor. She also says recently the neighbor threatened to kill them and burn down their house," Stutte said. "I knew we had been threatened, but we never thought anything would be followed through."The local police and the state arson squad are investigating the fire as a possible hate crime. PFLAG has sent out a call for donations of cash and household items for the women. The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church is also taking donations.
Today's Email pass a long:
Did you know that the words "race car" spelled backwards still spells race car?
And that "eat" is the only word that, if you take the 1st letter and move it to the last, spells its past tense -- ate.
And if you rearrange the letters in "Tea Party Republicans", and add just a few more letters, it spells: "Shut-up, you free-loading, progress-blocking, benefit-grabbing, homophobic, resource-sucking, racist, hypocritical jerks, and face the fact that you nearly capsized the country under Bush."
How weird is that? :-)
And if you rearrange the letters in "Tea Party Republicans", and add just a few more letters, it spells: "Shut-up, you free-loading, progress-blocking, benefit-grabbing, homophobic, resource-sucking, racist, hypocritical jerks, and face the fact that you nearly capsized the country under Bush."
How weird is that? :-)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Via JMG: White House Responds To DADT Ruling
Towleroad has received the below statement from White House spokesman Shin Inouye.
"The Justice Department is studying the decision, including the question of its scope and immediate effect and we expect them to announce their next steps after that review is completed. The President remains committed to legislative repeal of DADT, and he will continue to work with lawmakers to achieve that goal this fall. And he will continue to work closely with Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on an ongoing study of how to best implement the repeal."
Via JMG: Shannon Minter Explains DADT Ruling
"Judge Phillips has not yet entered the judgment. She asked the plaintiffs to submit a proposed order including a permanent injunction by September 16. When she enters the judgment, she can either permit it to take effect immediately, stay it while the decision is on appeal, or temporarily stay it to give the Ninth Circuit an opportunity to rule on whether her decision should be stayed during the appeal. Because this is a facial challenge, not just an as-applied challenge, if the decision is upheld on appeal, it will apply to the whole country and will be the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell." - National Center for Lesbian Rights attorney Shannon Minter.Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Federal Judge In Log Cabin Case Rules DADT To Be Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Riverside, California has ruled DADT to be a violation of the First Amendment rights of gay and lesbian soldiers. The ruling arose from a challenge filed by the Log Cabin Republicans.
U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips said the policy banning gays did not preserve military readiness, contrary to what many supporters have argued, saying evidence shows that the policy in fact had a “direct and deleterious effect’’ on the military. Phillips said she would issue an injunction barring the government from enforcing the policy. However, the U.S. Department of Justice, which defended “don’t ask, don’t tell” during a two-week trial in Riverside, will have an opportunity to appeal that decision.Log Cabin Republicans head R. Clarke Cooper reacts: "As an American, a veteran and an Army reserve officer, I am proud the court ruled that the arcane ‘don't ask, don't tell’ statute violates the Constitution,” said R.Clarke Cooper, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans & Liberty Education Fund. “Today, the ruling is not just a win for Log Cabin Republican service members, but all American service members."
VIDEO: Rachel Maddow covers today's ruling.
As noted above, the federal government may appeal the decision. It is unclear what the status of DADT may be in the meantime. The Department of Justice has until September 23rd to submit objections to the judge's injunction.
Servicemembers United note that their executive director is the sole "injured party" named in the Log Cabin Republicans' suit.
"This is an historic moment and an historic ruling for the gay military community and for the readiness and integrity of our Armed Forces" said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former multi-lingual U.S. Army interrogator who was discharaged under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' "As the only named injured party in this case, I am exceedingly proud to have been able to represent all who have been impacted and had their lives ruined by this blatantly unconstitutional policy. We are finally on our way to vindication."VIDEO: Anderson Cooper covers the ruling.
More on this tonight as it develops. Here is the court's ruling.
DADT -- US District, virginia phillips
DADT -- US District, virginia phillips
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