Saturday, May 24, 2008

Saturday Reading



Someone in the blog comments yesterday mentioned this story by Joe as a favorite. "I'm resting!"

My favorite Joe. My. God. story, though, is one that he has not yet posted, but read to a crowd at the final WYSIWYG last year. Titled "Hanky Codes," it involved, in typical Joe fashion, a leatherman wearing so much gear "that he looked like Tina Turner in a chainmail dress in the Thunderdome."

Anyway ...

It's Saturday and, since folks sometimes have a few weekend moments for leisure reading -- and Joe hasn't taken away my ability to post, yet -- I thought I would suggest a piece from the blogosphere that I read recently and and impressed me as good storytelling ...

The piece is something by a local blogger here in New York, called "GB5 at the Eagle." Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here.

You guys read any great blog stories lately? Or have you written something special?

Use the comments on this post to suggest Saturday blog reading of your own, or just to chat.

-- Aaron.

Friday, May 23, 2008

TGIF


Dad has some other obligations that require him to step away from blogging for a bit. You know what kids do when their parents aren't home, right? Time to raid Mom and Dad's liquor cabinet.

Erm.

In other words, I am going to have the Alexander Haig moment I've been waiting for all my life.

I've been reading Joe's blog for a number of years now and I'm not sure why I know why so many people keep coming back here.

What do you love about Joe?

Consider this an open thread. (For this or any other topic.)

-- Aaron.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

A Break In The Programming....

Gentle readers, I'm going to take a short blog vacation as I've been under the weather for the last couple of weeks, leaving me very stressed and unfocused, causing my job performance to suffer during a critical time of the year for us. I think a few days of unpluggedness from this here website thingy might be just the tonic. Have a great holiday weekend and I see y'all after a bit.

Labels:


McGreevey: I'm Broke And I Owe My Boyfriend $250K

Disgraced former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey told the judge presiding over his divorce trial that he can't pay alimony because he's broke and owes his boyfriend $250K.
Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey yesterday said he owes a quarter-million dollars to his boyfriend, but wants to pay child support for the daughter he has with his estranged wife, as well as for his first child. The nation's first openly gay governor denied, however, that he is financially dependent on boyfriend Mark O'Donnell. 'I want to pay child support. I want to fulfill my obligations,' McGreevey told a state judge during his third day of testimony in his divorce trial. 'Unfortunately, I have had to bankrupt myself to pay legal fees upon legal fees.' McGreevey said O'Donnell has lent him much of the legal costs, as well as the $3,000 that McGreevey is charged monthly for living in O'Donnell's Plainfield mansion.
McGreevey is "charged" $3000 to live with his boyfriend? Wouldn't that be also known as "paying his share of the mortgage"?

(Via - Towleroad)

Labels: ,


More Airline Woes

Now, American:
American Airlines said Wednesday that it would soon start charging passengers $15 to check their first bag each way, or $30 round-trip, if they are flying on a discounted fare. The airline’s new policy — to take effect June 15 — comes only two weeks after many major carriers, including American, began charging $25 each way for checking a second bag.

The new fee is just the latest example of airlines adding charges on top of rising airfares, even at the risk of angering travelers further, to make up for the billions of dollars they are losing as fuel prices soar. It is also likely to make the fight for already-tight space on planes more fierce, as passengers try to stuff more carry-on luggage into overhead bins. “It’s only going to get worse and worse,” said Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents employees at American.
Guess I better book my holiday trip home to Florida now, before it costs a grand just to get to Orlando from NYC.

Labels: ,


Wingnuts Call On California's County Clerks To Refuse Marriage Licenses To Gays

From the Campaign To Save Children and Families:
ACTION: If your county approved Prop. 22, please call your county clerk immediately. Urge him or her not to issue marriage licenses to anyone but a man and a woman. Urge your county clerk to:

"Do what's right, maintain public order, uphold the marriage statutes, and respect the democratic process by NOT issuing any 'same-sex marriage' licenses until the people decide this issue in November. Please enforce the marriage statutes and Proposition 22, which both say marriage is only for a man and a woman. Decline to go along with the court's nonsense. The separation of powers provision of the California Constitution prohibits the court from legislating from the bench. That's why even Chief Justice Ron George told the L.A. Times he didn't know whether his ruling would be accepted." Remember, even if county clerks say they MUST follow the Supreme Court decision, that's not true and you should tell them so. The California Supreme Court has no constitutional authority to impose new laws -- especially laws that go against marriage and family, the foundation of society (see California Constitution, Article 3, Section 3 and Article 4, Section 1). Only the Legislature and the voters can make new laws with statewide application.

Ask your county clerk if they were a Nazi officer during WWII and had been ordered to gas the Jews, would they? At the Nuremberg trials, they would have been convicted of murder for following this immoral order. And should have states obeyed the 1857 Dred Scott decision designating black slaves as "property," not "persons"? Abraham Lincoln reacted with disgust to the ruling and was spurred into political action, publicly speaking out against it. Several state legislatures essentially nullified the decision and declared that they would never permit slavery within their borders, no matter who ordered them to do so. Likewise, the ruling to destroy the man-woman definition of marriage should not be obeyed.

They also call on their followers to call the clerks' offices to harass them and provide a long list of county office phone numbers.

Labels: , ,


Donna Summer on American Idol


Donna Summer performed on last night's final of American Idol, singing her new single Stamp Your Feet and Last Dance. Oh, and David Cook won.

Labels: ,


Morning View - Pier 40

Pier 40 is part parking garage, part boat slips, and also hosts Courtyard Fields - several acres of baseball and soccer fields on two levels.

Labels:


Court Challenges DADT

An encouraging first:
A US federal court of appeal has reinstated a lawsuit by a decorated Air Force nurse who is suing after she was discharged for being a lesbian. Major Margaret Witt's case is the first time a court has not automatically backed the US military's argument that gays hurt morale and operations as a good enough reason for dismissal.

The three judges of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Air Force now has to demonstrate reasons to keep Major Witt from serving. They did not strike down the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, which is in fact a federal law passed in 1993.

It bars openly gay, bisexual or lesbian people from serving in any of the US Armed Forces and prohibits the military from asking questions about a service member's sexuality. Major Witt, who joined up in 1987, tried to sue in 2006. A district court judge said that a 2003 Supreme Court ruling which struck down Texas' anti-sodomy laws did not extend to the military's treatment of gays. Yesterday the appeals court reinstated her lawsuit.

Labels: , ,


Open Thread Thursday

What's your favorite foreign language movie?

Labels:


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Shopping For Love

Food Emporium, 1st Avenue, Tuesday, 10PM

The grocery list that somebody had left in the bottom of my cart said:

1. parm cheese
2. scallions
3. almonds
4. OJ
5. half n half

And in a different color pen at the bottom, this had been added:

6. the love of a TRUE man.

It was crossed out in the original pen.

Labels: , ,


Awwww......

Labels: ,


ACLU Wins Reversal In Florida Gay-Straight Student Alliance Case

Via the Palm Beach Post:
A judge has reopened a case involving the Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School, allowing students to challenge the school's refusal to allow the club to meet on campus. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore dismissed the case last month, saying the club's founder, Yasmin Gonzalez, no longer was affected by the school's decision because she has graduated.

But Moore reversed the decision Friday, saying Gonzalez still has a stake in the case because she seeks nominal monetary damages. The judge also allowed current student Brittany Martin to become a plaintiff in the case against the school board of Okeechobee County.

"We are absolutely elated," said Rob Rosenwald, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the students. "I know that the students at Okeechobee High School are very excited that their rights will be vindicated."

Attorneys for the school board could not be reached for comment. Gonzalez and the club she created sued the school board in November 2006, claiming it violated the federal Equal Access Act by allowing other extracurricular clubs to meet on school grounds but banning the Gay-Straight Alliance.

In April 2007, Moore ruled that the school had to allow the club to meet on campus while the case worked its way through court. But Moore rescinded the order last month and dropped the alliance as a plaintiff when it appeared that the club no longer had any members. After Gonzalez graduated, subsequent club officials also left the school.

Last month, Moore also rejected Martin's request to become a plaintiff, saying she hadn't suffered because she wasn't a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance when it first was banned from campus in 2006. However, Rosenwald argued that Martin had suffered because she tried to organize club meetings in April and was denied by the school's principal.

In Friday's ruling, Moore agreed Martin had the right to challenge the school district in court. According to court records, school board attorneys have argued the club was denied in April because it was too late in the school year to start a school group.

Moore disagreed, saying in his order that the Gay-Straight Alliance already existed, so Martin was not trying to start a new club. What's more, the judge said the school district has made clear it would deny the club regardless of the date, because it passed a new policy last year denying any clubs that are "sex-based or based upon any sexual grouping, orientation or activity of any kind." Gonzalez has said she started the Gay-Straight Alliance to provide a haven for students to talk about homophobia and to promote tolerance of one another regardless of sexual orientation.
Yasmin Gonzales. Brittany Martin. Heather Gillman. The kids are alright.

Labels: , ,


Gary Kasparov & The Flying Penis


I think they were trying to protest his anti-Kremlin speech. Or something.

Labels: ,


Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes Up 24%

More fuel for the Matthew Shepard Act, sadly.
A report released Tuesday shows that violent attacks on members of the LGBT community nationwide grew by 24 percent in 2007 over the previous year. The 78-page report was prepared by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs with input from more than 30 of its members across the U.S. The number of incidents of anti-LGBT violence rose from 1,486 in 2006 to 1,833 in 2007, based on reporting from the exact same reporting regions as the year prior. Additionally, 2007 had the third highest murder rate in the past 10 years that NCAVP has been compiling the report with murders more than doubling from 10 in 2006 to 21 in 2007. LGBT people also reported a 61% increase in sexual assaults perpetrated as hate crimes. Part of the increase is attributed to an increase in the willingness of LGBT people to report hate crimes.
Have you ever been the victim of anti-gay hate crime?

Labels:


CA Readies For Marriage Rush

Here come the brides. And the grooms.
Los Angeles County will be ready to meet the increased demand for civil marriage ceremonies and license applications on June 16, when the recent state Supreme Court ruling overturning a same-sex marriage ban will take effect, acting County Clerk Dean Logan said Tuesday. "Our staff is busy going about the process of preparing to implement the court's decision in concert with all the other services we provide, and we believe that we will be able to do that in a timely and efficient manner," Logan said.

In a report delivered to the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Logan said that he would likely increase the number of hours that county facilities were open to perform civil marriage ceremonies and would expand the county's volunteer deputy marriage commissioner program, which allows ordinary citizens to be deputized to perform marriages.

At the moment, appointments for civil marriage ceremonies are scheduled at the main Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office in Norwalk every day, but only one day per week at its outlying offices. The Board of Supervisors directed Logan to consider opening a temporary district office in West Hollywood, a city whose population is 44 percent gay, bisexual or lesbian, according to a 1998 survey.

The supervisors also told Logan to work out a plan with local public safety officials to ensure security at his department's various facilities. While reporting to the supervisors, Logan addressed recently voiced concerns that county employees might be allowed to opt out of performing same-sex marriage proceedings if they are uncomfortable with them. On Monday, Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo sent letters to Secretary of State Debra Bowen and county Supervisor Yvonne Burke, calling on them to reject such a policy and urging Burke to pressure Logan to resign should he try to implement it.

"I want to be unequivocally clear that all employees of the Registrar- Recorder/County Clerk are obligated to uphold the constitution of state of California and the Constitution of the United States," Logan said. "We will not and we have not issued any policies nor will I issue any directives that would compromise that obligation .
I already have friends complaining that they're gonna go broke on wedding gifts. It's a good thing.

Labels: , ,


Gay Mayor For Portland, Oregon

History was made yesterday when Portland, Oregon elected openly gay Commissioner Sam Adams, 44, as their new mayor, making Portland the largest American city ever to be helmed by an out gay man.
"I'm running not to be a gay mayor, but a great mayor," he said after delivering his victory speech. "But I'm very cognizant, very aware that I'm the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. That's a real honor."
Former NYC mayor Ed Koch is in his early hundreds and he still hasn't come out. His answer to the gay question remains, "Fuck off!" Congratulations to the people of Portland and Mayor Adams.

Labels: , , , ,


Anti-Gay Rep. Vito Fossella Gives Up Election Bid

Two weeks after his drunk driving arrest revealed his double life with a longtime mistress and their "love child", anti-gay "family values" blowhard Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island) announced that he will give up his reelection campaign
Fossella said in a statement on his Web site Tuesday that the choice was a difficult one, based on a need to balance his "dedication to service" and "the need to concentrate on healing the wounds" that he has caused his wife and family.

The 43-year-old Republican congressman has acknowledged fathering a daughter with a Virginia woman. The two met while she was an Air Force officer working with Congress. He represents Staten Island and part of Brooklyn. The congressman's secret relationship with the woman was revealed after he was arrested for drunken driving on May 1.

The scandal has hurt GOP chances of holding on to the on Republican seat from New York City in Congress. In Congress Fossella voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that would bar same-sex marriage and against the Matthew Shepard Act which would add gays under hate crime law. He opposed an inclusive ENDA, which would bar discrimination against gays in employment, but later supported the bill after transgender protections were removed. He also supports maintaining "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
He should have resigned, but that would have meant a special election - which would surely have favored any Democrat at this point.

Labels: , , , , ,


Ted Kennedy Has A Brain Tumor

Horrible.
Sen. Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and will remain hospitalized for at least several days as he and his family determine his treatment options.

The Massachusetts Democrat suffered a seizure Saturday and has since been hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He has been talking and joking with family and friends while undergoing a battery of tests that revealed the malignant tumor, a glioma in the left parietal lobe, according to the hospital.

"He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition and is up and walking around the hospital," Drs. Lee Schwamm and Larry Ronan said in a joint statement released by the hospital.

"The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy," they said. "Decisions regarding the best course of treatment for Sen. Kennedy will be determined after further testing and analysis."
Is Ted Kennedy the greatest Senator of our lifetime? Who could rival him for that title?

Labels: , ,


Obama Takes OR, Clinton KY

Ho hum.

Labels:


Morning View - Queer Bar

The bottom of the door to Nowhere Bar lets folks coming down the stairs what the deal is inside. I don't usually enjoy low-ceiling'd basement bars, but Nowhere is always full of friends.

Labels:


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

More Progress In Cuba

Things are continuing to get better for Cuba's gays.
Cuba's gay community celebrated unprecedented openness - and high-ranking political alliances - with a government-backed campaign against homophobia on the weekend. The meeting at a convention center in Havana's Vedado district may have been the largest gathering of openly gay activists ever on the communist-run island. President Raul Castro's daughter Mariela, who has promoted the rights of sexual minorities, presided.

"This is a very important moment for us, the men and women of Cuba, because for the first time we can gather in this way and speak profoundly and with scientific basis about these topics," said Castro, director of Cuba's Center for Sexual Education. Mariela Castro joined government leaders and hundreds of activists at the one-day conference for the International Day Against Homophobia that featured shows, lectures, panel discussions and book presentations. A station also offered blood-tests for sexually transmitted diseases.

Cuban state television gave prime-time play Friday to the U.S. film "Brokeback Mountain," which tells the story of two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair. Prejudice against homosexuals remains deeply rooted in Cuban society, but the government has steadily moved away from the Puritanism of the 1960s and 1970s, when homosexuals hid their sexuality for fear of being ridiculed, fired from work or even imprisoned. Now Cuba's parliament is studying proposals to legalize same-sex unions and give gay couples the benefits that people in traditional marriages enjoy.
Amazing.

Labels: , ,


Red Staters On California's Ruling

These guys kill me.

Labels: , ,


PozOrNot.Com

In a similar vein to HotOrNot.com, it's actually spelled Pos Or Not, and it's from MTV and Kaiser.
Pos or Not, has a serious purpose (tasteful or not). The site, www.posornot.com, introduced in late April, is an H.I.V. education effort disguised as a game. It shows photographs and brief biographies of men and women ages 21 to 30, and asks visitors to decide whether each is H.I.V. positive or negative. The message is that you can’t judge someone’s virus status by looks, occupation or taste in music.

The site is sponsored by MTV’s college network and the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit group that focuses on health policy. “We feel it’s another kind of activist tool to get out the word about H.I.V. protection,” said Stephen K. Friedman, the general manager of mtvU, the college and university offshoot of Viacom’s MTV network.

The first trial by mtvU of what Mr. Friedman calls “games for change” was Darfur Is Dying, an online simulation of a refugee camp that has logged more than 1.5 million plays since 2006. Other companies have sponsored games about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the immigration debate and the world’s water resources.

The network wants the word about its H.I.V. site and its message to be spread like a popular YouTube video. It enlisted celebrities like Wyclef Jean, a musician, and Rosario Dawson, an actress, to make promotions for the game, which are playing across MTV’s networks.

The game — if it can really be called that — was played about 5.1 million times by 400,000 people in its first three weeks, according to mtvU. Entertainment Weekly’s Web site suggested it might be the “most depressing use” of an Internet trend ever, but suggested that any H.I.V. outreach effort could be beneficial.
The lesson of Pos Or Not seems a bit simplistic, but is probably a necessary warning to the ill-informed. However, the unfortunate fact for pozzers a decade or more into it is that you often can tell. The meds do eventually take their toll for most. And while the average person might not notice some of the telltale signs, middle-aged gay men in particular seem finely attuned to note even the most subtle hints. Ten or more years ago, I remember standing in a San Francisco bar while an acquaintance accurately judged the status of a dozen men that I knew were positive but thought that they didn't show it. Now I'm probably as skilled as he was.

Labels: , ,


A New Talking Point

Regarding this story from Fox News...
As gay couples celebrate their newfound right to marry in California and opposition groups rally to fight the ruling, many struggle with this question: Is homosexuality natural? On this issue, Nature has spoken: Same-sex lovin' is common in hundreds of species, scientists say.
The Freepers respond:

- "Dogs eat feces but it’s not something to be emulated."
-"Eating your own young is common in the wild too. Expect the California Supreme Court to legalize it next."
- "They also mount animals of other species. Bestiality should be legalized as “normal” too?"

The prevalence of homosexual behavior among animals is an ooooold story, Fox. Why bring it up now? Wait, I know. It's so the Freepers of the world have a new talking point: "OK, maybe it is natural. But natural isn't always RIGHT!"

Labels: , ,


Tragic End For Indian Couple

No words.
Two Indian women whose families had tried to break up their relationship set themselves on fire in what police describe as an apparent suicide. The charred bodies of Christy Jayanthi Malar, 38, and her partner identified only as Rukmani, 40, were discovered Saturday in the home of one of the women in the town of Sathangadu. Police said it appeared the women died in an embrace.

Both women were in opposite-sex marriages in what some LGBT activists say is common among Indian gays who must fight laws against homosexuality and pressure from families. The two women had been lifelong friends and had met while attending school together. Police said that the families of the two women knew of the relationship and had tried for years to separate the women. Despite the pressure the women continued to meet while their husbands were at work.

On Friday Rukmani went Malar's home following a heated argument with her family. Relatives followed her and continued to yell insults at her from the street. The next morning they committed suicide. "Around midnight, they poured kerosene on their body and set themselves on fire," a police officer told the Times of India. "They appear to have hugged each other during the final moments of their life."

In bitter irony both families agree to allow the remains of the two women to be cremated together. Following the suicide LGBT activists renewed their demands for the repeal of India's laws against homosexuality.

Labels: , ,


Decapitations Promised For Gambian Gays

Via Towleroad:
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh says he will 'cut off the head' of any homosexual caught in his country. Addressing supporters at the end of his meet the farmers tour Sunday, Jammeh also ordered any hotel or motel housing homosexuals to close down, adding that owners of such facilities would also be in trouble. He said the Gambia was a country of believers, indicating that no sinful and immoral act as homosexual would be tolerated in the country. He warned all homosexuals in the country to leave, noting that a legislation 'stricter than those in Iran' concerning the vice would be introduced soon.
Yammeh is BFFs with Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Anybody remember when Jammeh gave the commencement address at St. Mary's College of Maryland in 2004?

Labels: ,


Morning View - Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn Heights as seen from near the Manhattan foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. No identical cousins were sighted.

Labels:


Monday, May 19, 2008

CA Marriage Ruling Could Send Issue To U.S. Supreme Court

From the San Jose Mercury News:
It was 1964. Conservative groups across California, angered by a new law aimed at discriminatory housing practices, mobilized to wipe the law off the books by amending the state constitution.

The initiative was a hit at the ballot box. Two-thirds of the state's voters approved the change in the constitution. But the new law didn't stick - both the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down, finding that it violated federal equal protection rights.

More than four decades later, that scenario could unfold again in California. This time, however, the issue is gay marriage, and California - because of its situation - may end up being the battleground that ultimately propels this modern day civil rights battle into the U.S. Supreme Court.

With social and religious conservatives moving to erase Thursday's California Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage with a fall ballot initiative, California is in a unique position. While dozens of states have enacted gay-marriage bans, none has done so after a state Supreme Court found a legal right for gay couples to wed.

"We'd be in uncharted legal territory," said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a lead attorney in challenging the gay-marriage ban.
The story notes that with the current conservative makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, gay marriage advocates would obviously face an "uphill battle" there.

Labels: , ,


Typhoon Dubya

Labels: , , ,


San Francisco Values = Interracial Dancing

Via SFGate.com:
GOP Rep. Sam Graves unveiled an ad this week using the money phrase to disparage his Democratic challenger Kay Barnes, aka the "Big City Mayor" (formerly that is, of Kansas City.) Barnes' sin: She attended a fundraiser thrown by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and she shares Pelosi's "San Francisco Values." You know what that means. Or at least what it is supposed to mean. Nevertheless, you've GOT to see Graves' commercial only to check out the dancers who apparently are supposed to embody SF Values. Memo to the Graves campaign: 1978 called and wants its dancers back.

Labels: , , , ,


Portland, Oregon: Record 75,000 Turn Out For Obama Rally

Unreal:
Some 75,000 people flocked to Portland’s waterfront Sunday to watch Barack Obama speak, making it the biggest rally the campaign has held to date. Thousands stood on the lawn, dozens watched from boats and from the bridge stretching across the Willamette River. A few kayakers held their paddles and tried to keep their kayaks straight as they watched the candidate, who stood on a makeshift platform.
(Photo via - Slog)

Labels: , , ,


Lambda Legal Protests HIV Spitting Sentence

Saying that the saliva of HIV positive persons should not be considered a "lethal weapon", Lambda Legal has lodged a protest against last week's sentencing of a Texas man to 35 years in prison for spitting at a police officer.
A gay-rights group is protesting a 35-year prison sentence given to an HIV-positive man who was convicted of spitting on a police officer, and public health officials say the risk of contracting the AIDS virus from saliva is extremely low.

[snip]

The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says no one has ever contracted the AIDS virus from spit. The Dallas County Health Department issued a statement Friday that said HIV is usually spread by sexual contact or sharing needles with an infected person or through a transfusion of tainted blood. The notice said that federal public health officials consider "the risk of HIV transmission from such fluids as saliva and tears to be extremely low."

Bebe Anderson, the HIV projects director at Lambda Legal, a gay-rights group, said the verdict could create wrong impressions about how HIV is transmitted. "It's been 25 years since the virus was identified, but there are still lots of fears," he told The Dallas Morning News for Saturday's editions. "We are still facing people losing their jobs and fighting for their children because of fears that are unfounded."
The prosecutor says, "No matter how minuscule, there is some risk. That means there is the possibility of causing serious bodily injury or death," the legal definition of a deadly weapon.

Labels: , ,


June10th: Maine's Anti-Gay Petition Drive

Boo-hooing that they are being intimidated, wingnuts in Maine are crying foul because LGBT activists plan to stand next to them at polling places during the primary and urge voters not to sign their anti-gay petition. Via WingNutDaily:
A lobby for homosexuals and transgenders in Maine has announced plans to shadow individuals who will be working to collect signatures on the "YES for Marriage and Equality" pro-family referendum, which is intended to put a marriage protection plan on the 2009 election ballot.

In a report in the New England Blade this week, Betsy Smith, executive director of the Equality Maine activist organization, outlined "a plan that asks volunteers to stand with the people the [Christian Civic] League recruits to collect signatures for the petition."

"I think it is disgusting that so-called 'gay' groups plan on harassing dear Christian grandmothers who simply want to gather signatures on Primary Election Day. Shame on Equality Maine," said Michael Heath, chief of the CCL.

"They need to call off this totalitarian campaign of intimidation and apologize. Yesterday wouldn't be soon enough," he said in a statement today.The Equality report said, "this way … signers will not misinterpret the petition's purpose and understand before they sign that the so-caled (sic) 'equality' the League wants is really equality for straight couples, not equality for all."

A report from CCL said, "Smith went on to state the Equality Maine petition blockers 'will offer a pledge for [homosexual and transgendered] equality, so that people who are opposed to [the pro-family referendum] can take action that day.'" The Blade report was harshly critical of the pro-family plan to define marriage and provide that it is a union of one man and one woman, as well as eliminate the requirement that taxpayers fund homosexual clubs in public schools.

Equality officials reported they had been working to change the language of the proposal, and the language approved by the secretary of state "explains to voters much more clearly what this referendum would do," according to Smith. The title now defines the plan as "An Act to Protect Marriage and Promote Equality." If about 55,000 signatures are collected, the issue will be on the 2009 ballot in the state.
Here's what Equality Maine warns the about the petition:
Voters have every right to sign that petition. But we want them to know what they're really signing: a measure that would:

* Erase all the non-discrimination protections we've fought so hard to win
* End funding for school civil rights teams, which have played a vital role in combating harassment of all kinds
* Prohibit unmarried couples from jointly adopting, a move that would threaten the best interest of children
The anti-gay petition drive takes place on June 10th, Maine's primary day, at polling places statewide. In you live in Maine, please go to Equality Maine's site and learn how you can volunteer to "intimidate" your local wingnuts.

Labels: , , ,


What To Do With Bill Clinton?

An interesting op-ed piece in the NY Times makes a suggestion.
Here’s an easy answer. Give Mr. Clinton a real job with real power, a challenging position that would be engaging, in part because it would be new. Let me explain. Once the campaigns agree on an Obama-Clinton ticket, Mr. Obama calls Gov. David Paterson of New York, lays out the situation and gets an agreement that if an Obama-Clinton ticket wins, the governor appoints the former president to fill Mrs. Clinton’s Senate seat, where he would serve until 2010. He could then run in a special election for the two remaining years of the term.

As for precedent, recall that John Quincy Adams moved from the executive to the legislative branch of the federal government, serving in Congress after his time in the White House. Upon being sworn in, Mr. Clinton would immediately be the most prominent member of Congress. He would carry the prestige of being a former two-term president — and he would be married to the vice president, who also happens to preside over the Senate.

Bill Clinton’s lack of legislative experience would be a virtue, a new challenge for him. It would also bring his political life full circle: his first campaign, which he lost, was for Congress in 1974. Of course, there would be plenty of incentive for Governor Paterson, too. Think what his state would have after the inaugural — a former New York senator in the White House, and a former president in the Senate.
Others have suggested Bill Clinton for the Supreme Court, but I like this idea too.

Labels: ,


Man In Dress Hates Gay Marriage

In what is believed to be a reaction to the gay marriage ruling in California, Ill Papa restated his opposition, saying, "The union of love, based on matrimony between a man and a woman, which makes up the family, represents a good for all society that can not be substituted by, confused with, or compared to other types of unions." And then he picked out his favorite beaded gown and went to tea dance.

Labels: , ,


McCain To Dems On SNL:
Keep The Infighting Alive

Labels: , ,


HomoQuotable - George "Sulu" Takei

"Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!

"The California Supreme Court has ruled that all Californians have a fundamental right to marry the person he or she loves. Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We've worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We've traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily.

[snip]

"With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked on same sex marriage, "Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper, in fact, serve only to oppress."

"For now, Brad and I are enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its bouquet is simply exquisite." - George Takei, announcing via his website that he plans to marry his partner, Brad Altman.

Labels: , , ,


Our Hero: Chief Justice Ronald George

The Los Angeles Times has published an interview with California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George, the man who wrote the ruling overturning that state's ban on gay marriage.
In the days leading up to the California Supreme Court's historic same-sex marriage ruling Thursday, the decision "weighed most heavily" on Chief Justice Ronald M. George -- more so, he said, than any previous case in his nearly 17 years on the court.

The court was poised 4 to 3 not only to legalize same-sex marriage but also to extend to sexual orientation the same broad protections against bias previously saved for race, gender and religion. The decision went further than any other state high court's and would stun legal scholars, who have long characterized George and his court as cautious and middle of the road.

But as he read the legal arguments, the 68-year-old moderate Republican was drawn by memory to a long ago trip he made with his European immigrant parents through the American South. There, the signs warning "No Negro" or "No colored" left "quite an indelible impression on me," he recalled in a wide-ranging interview Friday. "I think," he concluded, "there are times when doing the right thing means not playing it safe."
Under court rules, George is not allowed to comment specifically on the ruling until it takes effect in 30 days or so, but he does give some insight into into his thought process and reveals that he consider the fight for gay marriage to be akin to the fight to repeal interracial marriage laws.

Labels: , ,


Morning View - From The Christopher Pier

Labels:


Israel To Get Memorial To
Gay Holocaust Victims

Tel Aviv will be the site of Israel's first memorial to the gay victims of the Nazis.
Three iron panels, each 5 meters wide and deep, and partially buried, will form a 3-dimensional triangular pit, from which light will stream. Names of the registered homosexual Nazi victims will be inscribed inside in Hebrew, though the actual number of victims and every name is not known.

"The pit inside the triangle represents the deep well of hatred that homosexuals faced and is a metaphor as the dead-end of being in a concentration camp; the inability to escape," says Pinkas. A dedication will also be inscribed in English. Assouline's design was selected as "the most creative and simple. We did not want something extravagant."

A handful of large-scale Holocaust memorials to homosexuals exist worldwide, including in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and within weeks in Berlin. The "Homomonument" in Amsterdam, designed by Karin Daam, comprised of three triangles in a pink-tone marble, abuts the Anne Frank House and a church.
Tel Aviv will also be host to the world's first LGBT community center entirely financed and run by a local government. The center is scheduled to open on June 1st.

Labels: , , ,


Sunday, May 18, 2008

Huckabee Jokes About Obama Assassination

Speaking to the NRA on Friday, veep hopeful Mike Huckabee's speech was interrupted by a loud noise offstage, to which he responded, "That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak. Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor." Yeah, jokes about people taking shots at Obama are hilarious, at least to the members of the NRA. Asswipe.

A commenter on the linked Reuters story says, "That was no joke – especially when you look at the actual video. Mike Huckabee was talking to the National Rifle Association, to a group of gun-owners and gun-lovers, that may well include racists and haters. He did not crack a smile; it flowed right in with his speech. That was instigation to violence: a casual instillation of the idea for the assassination of a presumed presidential nominee of the United States. He should be arrested and charged. In an airport security line, if an ordinary citizen deadpan some "joke" about guns and noise, the person would no doubt be hauled off and investigated. We should do no less to this dangerous demagogue."

Labels: , , ,


GB:NYC 5: Bloggers, Bears, And A Mutant

On Friday night, the Farmboyz, Tater, and I started our weekend way uptown in the triple-digits at the book launch party for Joel Derfner's Swish, where I grabbed this shot of Joel and his editor, Andrew Corbin. Next stop was the opening party for GB:NYC-5 at the HK Lounge in Hell's Kitchen, where it got so crowded that our nametags were the only way to distinguish the bloggers from the blogless. There was immediate blogger-on-blogger action.

Saturday arrived sunny and warm, but our picnic on Central Park's Bear Hill was slightly disappointing in that due to the set up for the AIDS Walk, the weekly roller-disco did not take place. Without the usual wacky cast of roller-weirdos to entertain us, Eric Leven picked up the slack and produced his double-dutch jump ropes.

It turned out that nobody else could actually double-dutch, so after Eric demonstrated some fancy single-rope moves (below, with Mike on the left), Little David had a few spins (second photo below, with me in the red hat taking pics.) Second photo by Stash, who has some great shots of the picnic here.
The rain returned in the evening, turning the Furball at the LGBT Center into a muggy, sweaty, mancrush - which was actually kinda perfect. Little David (below) was particularly pleased with DJ Man Parrish's retro-80's set, but I spent most of the Furball in the first floor disco grooving to legendary DJ Frankie Knuckles (second photo below). Important dance music trivia: house music gets its name from the style pioneered by Knuckles during his residency at Chicago's Warehouse club, hence his moniker, "The Godfather Of House." And yes, he did play The Whistle Song, which never fails to give me goosebumps.After the Furball, most of the crew headed uptown to the Eagle, where the rain had finally let up and we found the roofdeck in its usual Saturday night state. As an interesting conclusion to the evening, we found ourselves parked a couple of feet away from a probably psychotic man who was talking non-stop to himself.

A paraphrased sampling: "Why is it that your many feeble minds cannot penetrate mine, while I can penetrate yours so easily? You do not know of the star fire and my power. You inferior beings, you humans. You know not the power of the mutant, you restless, thoughtless humans who spew your idiocy on the internet." I was standing closest to him, so I was repeating him to everybody, which he eventually confronted me on, saying, "You useless human! Why do you steal my words? You do not know their POWER!" I said, "Oh, we just think you're saying some very interesting things," and then I introduced myself. He said, "My name is Manic, human." Indeed. As crazy as he probably is, it was all rather performance arty. I bet they'd line up in the East Village to hear him.

Overall, another great GB:NYC. Lots of new friends and good times with folks we get to see far too rarely. I think we had about 40-50 bloggers taking part this year, and we're looking forward to even more for GB:NYC-6. Big thanks to Little David and Father Tony for organizing!

Labels: , , , , , , , ,