Today: Great Nationwide Gay Kiss-In

Put on your cherry chapstick and head out to the Great Nationwide Kiss-In today.

Why, you ask? Why are you doing this? After incidents in San Antonio, TX, El Paso, TX and Salt Lake City, UT - where different gay and lesbian couples were harassed or detained by law enforcement or other people for the simple act of kissing in a public place - we need to make a strong statement to everyone everywhere: kissing is not a bad thing, nor has it ever been. It's not vulgar or inappropriate. It's a sign of affection that is as old as time itself. And it's a beautiful thing that we share with our loved ones every single day.

A list of times and locations for your city is at the above link. Feel free to send me your photos and I'll turn them into a slideshow.

No Hippies At My Town Hall!

Broadway Friday

- Spider-Man: The Musical, the most expensive spectacular in Broadway history, is in trouble. The NYT reports that opening day has been put on hold and that stars Alan Cumming and Evan Rachel Wood have been released from their contracts. Producers insist the show will open as planned on February 25th once "cash flow problems have been resolved."

- Equity is looking into the case of the casting director who tweeted nasty comments during the auditions for The Gay Bride Of Frankenstein. Tony winner Marc Shaiman says he's appalled. A second audition has been scheduled to make up for it.

- My pal Jim Brochu (right) brings his one-man show about Zero Mostel, Zero Hour, to Off-Broadway for a limited run at the St. Clement's Theatre from November 14th - January 31st. The show will be directed by three-time Oscar nominee Piper Laurie and was cowritten by longtime JMG reader Steve Schalchlin, Brochu's husband.

- Martin McDonaugh's newest play, A Behanding In Spokane, is slated to open on Broadway in March. Chris Rock is in talks to headline.

- Sammy, the Broadway-bound musical about the life of Sammy Davis Jr., will see its world premier at San Diego's Old Globe on September 19th. Tony nominee Obba Babatunde headlines.

American Bigots Take Their Anti-Gay Road Show To Amsterdam

At the World Congress of Families in Amsterdam, Christian activists from the U.S. warned yesterday that homosexuals are planning to squelch religious expression in the name of marriage equality.

The comments came from attorney Ben Bull of the Alliance Defense Fund. He warned it is common for Christians and pastors to suffer at the hands of homosexual activists, simply for abiding by biblical principles. "One of the things that the leaders of the homosexual legal agenda have been saying for years is that whenever religious freedom or the free-speech rights of Christians interferes with their agenda, that their agenda trumps," he pointed out to conference attendees. "There's a freight train coming and it's heading right towards Christians, and it's called the homosexual legal agenda -- and it will run right over our constitutional rights unless we're heard loud and clear," he added. Homosexual activists, Bull explained, have used the courts rather than elections to consistently gain ground.

Little things like the fact that no one has ever had their freedom of speech suppressed over marriage equality doesn't stand in the way of their bigotry.

80's Flashback

Scritti Politti, Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin), 1984. Their first single to chart in the U.S., although it only got to #91. Scritti was much more successful with Perfect Way, the fifth single from Cupid & Psyche '85, which topped out at #11 here. I've always liked Wood Beez better, possibly because of its similarity (especially the bassline) to Chaka Khan's I Feel For You, both of which were produced by the late Arif Mardin.

New York Stimulates Electronics

Early this week, local news stations around New York delivered many heartwarming stories of low-income families reacting to a $200 per child windfall posted to the bank accounts of families receiving food stamps or welfare. The money, intended to buy back-to-school supplies, was authorized by Gov. Paterson and came from federal stimulus funds. Billionaire progressive George Soros contributed $35M of his own money to the $175M fund, saying that he'd once been a recipient of donated school supplies as a poor child.

However, as these things tend to go, reports are now coming in that much of the money was apparently spent on video games, cell phones, and other electronic devices, as stores report unanticipated runs on those items.

Wegmans and Tops report that ATMs in their stores ran out of cash on Tuesday, the day the money was deposited to food stamp accounts. The county reports that employees at the Wal-Mart store on Hudson Avenue called the Department of Human Services to say they thought welfare fraud was going on because there was a run on high-end electronics. The stores received no notice of the program and would have been prepared had they known, spokeswomen from Tops and Wegmans said. The ATMs first ran out in Syracuse, then the shortage spread to stores around the state, said Jo Natale, director of media relations at Wegmans. By then it was too late to get more cash to the machines, which are run by Wegmans, she said. Tops reported that people would go through the checkout to purchase a pack of gum in order to get cash back from their food stamp debit card and repeat the process, as only $40 is allowed at a time, said communications manager Katie McKenna.

Critics say that a voucher program, in which the funds could only be exchanged for clothes and other school supplies, would have been better. No kidding. Can New York do anything right? Get ready for the wingnuts to latch onto this story. Even if only a small percentage of the windfall went to cell phones or whatever, they'll find examples and scream and scream.

Trans Woman Asked For Photos Of Her Genitals As Requirement For Work

Pennsylvania transwoman Kate Lynn Blatt says her employer demanded a letter from a surgeon and a photograph of her genitals as a requirement of returning to work after she used the women's locker room. Philadelphia Gay News:

At the time of the October 2007 incident, Blatt was employed by Manpower Inc., a global staffing-services agency with a branch office in Pottsville. Manpower placed Blatt at Sapa Industrial Extrusions, a manufacturer of aluminum products in Cressona, where she earned about $10 an hour as a temporary factory worker. Blatt worked at Sapa for about a month, before allegedly being told by a supervisor that she wasn’t physically well enough to work at the job and was no longer needed at Sapa, she said. After being discharged from Sapa, Blatt said she personally visited Manpower’s branch office in Pottsville, in an attempt to return to work. Irene Kudziela, branch manager of Manpower’s Pottsville office, allegedly told Blatt that a letter from her surgeon documenting her gender-reassignment surgery — along with a photograph of her genital area — would be necessary before she could return to Sapa. Blatt, 28, said she found the request “repugnant” and “disgusting,” and declined to comply. She viewed the request as a form of sexual harassment, she added.

Blatt says she's like to return to work at Sapa as a diversity trainer.

Obama Is Literally Hitler

Hilarious.

UPDATE: It appears that for the humor/satire/parody impaired out there, I must point out that the linked site makes fun of the deathers who've been out with their Obama=Hitler signs. Literally.

HomoQuotable - Jim McGreevey

"With every passing day it becomes more and more in the distant mirror. I try to be grateful for the abundance of the blessings that I have, for the journey that I'm on and to relish each day as a gift. I'm grateful for my brokenness. I'm grateful for my humility. It's a blessing. An old Benedictine priest told me, 'It's the cracks where the grace comes through.' We have to cherish our humanity and to embrace that as an opportunity for change and for transitions. That's the gift. That's grace." - Disgraced former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey, speaking like the priest he is working to become.

Celebration Times

First & 69th, Friday, 10am

I'm coming out of a bodega...

Wild-eyed Homeless Guy: "Ooh! Look at you! You bought a paper! Hurray! Woo hoo! You can read! Whoop-dee-doo!"

OK, then. New York City.

Whole Foods Boycott Gains Steam

More than a dozen groups have called for a boycott of Whole Foods over the last 48 hours, and of course, there is a Facebook group.

Whole Foods is NOT a company that cares for communities and they have built their brand with the dollars of deceived progressives. No more. My $ will no longer go to support Whole Foods' anti-union, anti-health insurance reform, right-wing activities. John Mackey, CEO and co-founder of Whole Foods wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on 8/12/2009 quoting Margaret Thatcher and suggesting that healthcare is a commodity that only the rich, like him, deserve. Whole Foods has the right to cheat and lie and be as hateful and selfish as they wanna be. We also have the right to starve them of our $.

Whole Foods had almost $2B in sales in the last quarter. The next quarter's tally will be interesting.

Maine: NOM Accused Of Money Laundering

Californians Against Hate has sent a letter to election officials in Maine, warning that the National Organization for Marriage and other groups may involved in some funny business with their donations. The charges arise out of the payments made to the professional petition gathering group that successfully put a repeal of same-sex marriage on the November ballot. From the letter sent by CAH founder Fred Karger:

We have reviewed the very first finance report which was recently filed by Stand for Marriage PAC, the group trying to repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law. It appears that there are already questionable activities. Stand for Marriage PAC reported raising $343,689.50 during the period April 1 to July 5, 2009. We found it very suspicious that of that total, only $400 was given by individuals. The balance of $343,289.50 was contributed by various religious organizations and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. That means that individual contributions to repeal gay marriage in Maine are only .001% of the total raised. Are the proponents trying to hide the identities of those contributing to their campaign? Are they directing all contributions to existing organizations, who then gave the money to Stand for Marriage PAC? This appears to be the case. If this is true, would it not be considered money laundering?

Californians Against Hate has consistently maintained that NOM is a Mormon front group.

Federal Judge: Calling Someone Gay Is No Longer Defamatory

A federal judge has ruled that calling somebody "gay" no longer legally qualifies as defamation because of society's changing attitudes. The ruling came in the case of noted douchebag Howard K. Stern, who is suing the author of a book on the life of Anna Nicole Smith.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin of Manhattan ruled (PDF posted by the New York Law Journal) that calling someone gay is not defamation per se because of a "veritable sea change in attitudes about homosexuality," the New York Law Journal reports. He ruled in a suit by lawyer Howard K. Stern against television journalist Rita Cosby, who wrote the book Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death. Chin noted that New York courts have held there are four categories of statements that constitute defamation per se, including accusations of serious crime or statements that tend to injure another in his trade or profession. Gay conduct is no longer a crime, he said, and gays and lesbians are no longer viewed as shameful or odious.

The book claims that Smith frequently watched a sex tape featuring Stern and another of her paramours, Larry Birkhead.

Naughty Girls Need Wives Too

Former Page 3 topless model and 80's dance artist Samantha Fox is getting married to her female manager. Via SheWired:

Fox, most well known for her popular nude pictorials and eighties pop songs, tells OK! Magazine of the nuptial’s planned for England, “We might get Liz Mitchell of BoneyM to do the ceremony - she’s a pastor now… and have the do [party] in Siberia.” She also reveals Motorhead’s singer Lemmy will “definitely” be attendance and possibly give the bride away. Fox who has a large gay fan base first raised questions of her own sexuality when she served as judge for a lesbian beauty contest in 1999. Then in 2003 she put all rumors to rest and made her romance with Stratton public.

And now I'll spend the rest of the morning with "Fox, Fox, Samantha Fox!" in my head.

BART To Strike On Monday

Union employees of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) are set to begin a strike on Monday.

Bay Area residents face the prospect of a commuting nightmare Monday morning after the president of BART's second-largest union announced that it will go on strike at the end of service Sunday night. If Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, which represents about 900 train operators, station agents and power workers, follows through on its strike threat it will be the transit agency's first strike since September 1997, when a five-day strike created havoc for commuters. At a news conference outside the union's office across the street from the Lake Merritt BART station, ATU Local 1555 President Jesse Hunt said, "We have no choice" but to go on strike after BART board members voted 9-0 earlier in the day to impose pay and work rules on the union, effective immediately. Hunt cited the fact that the implementation of terms and conditions of employment brought members of the ATU under a contract "far worse than the contract that was in front of our union this week" as the main reason behind the strike.

BART averages 340,000 passenger trips on weekdays.

Gay Activist Heckles Bill Clinton

Gay activist and blogger Lane Hudson heckled Bill Clinton about DADT and DOMA during Clinton's speech at the Netroots Nation conference in Pittsburgh yesterday. Andres Duque has the full transcript of Clinton's response, which he began by telling Hudson he'd fit in as one of the town hall screamers.

Hey, you know, you ought to go to one of those congressional health care meetings. You did really well there. I’ll be glad to talk about that. If you will… If you will sit down and let me talk, I’ll be glad to discuss it. But if you stand up and scream I won’t be able to talk. But the other guys would love to have ya. I wanna talk a little about that too.

But anyway, so, here we are in a different world. Now, it’s not like the 1990’s. You wanna talk about ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’, I’ll tell you exactly what happened. You couldn’t deliver me any support in the Congress and they voted by a veto-proof majority in both houses against my attempt to let gays serve in the military and the media supported them. They raised all kinds of devilment. And all most of you did was to attack me instead of getting some support in the congress. Now, that’s the truth.

Maddow: Racist Nightmare On K Street

Rachel Maddow tips us to ResistNet.com, a racist GOP-astroturf group that is organizing against health care reform.

Photo Of The Day

"Death to Obama. Death to Obama, Michelle and her two stupid kids." The Secret Service took the man into custody outside a town hall meeting on health care reform being held by Sen. Ben Cardin (D) in Hagerstown, Maryland. The Freepers are convinced he was planted by liberals.

Stars Come Out For NOH8 Campaign

Confession: I have no idea who any of these people are.

Sunday: NOM Protest In Rhode Island

There will be a protest at the National Organization for Marriage's hatefest in Rhode Island this Sunday. From the Providence Equality Action Committee's Facebook action page.

This Sunday, the National Organization for Marriage is holding a "Marriage Day" at the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick. The purpose of this event is to build support for bigotry and exclusion of LGBT people from basic rights in Rhode Island. The event includes a "wedding renewal ceremony" where (straight) married couples may "renew their vows". The newly-formed Providence Equality Action Committee (PEAC) is calling for a protest outside the event for 5-6pm, during the speech of NOM president Maggie Gallagher. We are renewing our vows--to fight for equality and against hate in our state! Join us with your signs and your body as we work together for full equality for all LGBT people in RI and throughout the country!

Donuts will NOT be served!

80's Flashback

Mari Wilson, Just What I Always Wanted, 1982. A pure pop delight with a 60's throwback vibe. This track got to #8 in the UK, but other than some MTV play, didn't get much notice in the U.S. (Except at gay video bars, of course, where the boys flipped for the beehive and the costumes.) From the excellent album, Showpeople, which finally came out on CD last year.

Whole Foods CEO: People Have No Intrinsic Right To Health Care

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has raised the ire of many of his most loyal customers by penning an anti-health care reform editorial in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, in which he lovingly quotes Margaret Thatcher and says that there is no "intrinsic right to health care."

Many promoters of health-care reform believe that people have an intrinsic ethical right to health care—to equal access to doctors, medicines and hospitals. While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter?

Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That’s because there isn’t any. This “right” has never existed in America

Even in countries like Canada and the U.K., there is no intrinsic right to health care. Rather, citizens in these countries are told by government bureaucrats what health-care treatments they are eligible to receive and when they can receive them. All countries with socialized medicine ration health care by forcing their citizens to wait in lines to receive scarce treatments.

Customers are going apeshit on the Whole Foods website. One example:

John Mackey's comments in the Wall Street Journal re: "Obamacare" (as he puts it) run completely contrary to Whole Foods' purported "values" of caring about the community, nutrition, etc. It is an absolute slap in the face to the millions of progressive-minded consumers that HAVE MADE W.F. what it is today. You should know who butters your hearth-baked bread, John. Last time I checked it wasn't the insurance industry or conservatives who made you a millionare a hundred times over. Suffice it to say we will be selling our Whole Foods stock asap and will only be shopping at our neighborhood W.F. for emergency items from now on, even though it is by far the most convenient store for us.

Single Payer Action has already launched a boycott of Whole Foods:

John Mackey is a right wing libertarian. He’s a union buster. He believes that corporations should not be criminally prosecuted for their crimes. He has just launched a campaign to defeat a single payer national health insurance system. And he’s the CEO of Whole Foods. Primo hangout of liberal Democratic yuppies. [snip] Single Payer Action is calling on all American citizens to boycott Whole Foods.

UPDATE: Whole Foods has deleted the entire above-linked customer forum, where many pages of complaints had been posted. JMG reader John reports that customers are now "going renegade" and posting their complaints in other areas of the site such as "new product requests."

Concerned Women For America: No Equal Rights For Queers (Or We'll Shoot)

Pam Spaulding tips us to the latest bit of bile from the Concerned Women for America, who actually used a handgun to illustrate their opposition to employment equality for gays.

ENDA adds not only "sexual orientation" but "gender identity" to federal workplace anti-discrimination law. Thus, it takes an ax to the idea that sexual behavior has a natural normalcy or any relation to morality. It falsely equates a changeable condition (sexual desire) with race and ethnicity. Worse, it turns traditional values into a form of bigotry punishable under the law. People who like to describe themselves as "fiscal conservatives but social liberals" are fooling themselves. Without morality, you cannot have a sound economy, as Adam Smith pointedly observed. The left has long been at war against sexual morals for good reason. People conditioned to think as short-term opportunists instead of as members of the family tree are easy to manipulate. Just give them the false promise of a painless future free from individual responsibility.

And then there's this: "To put it more simply, a statute that directly contradicts God's moral law is illegitimate." These people will stop at nothing short of a complete Christianist theocracy. And the handgun is their ominous warning of how they plan to get there.

NOTE: Since Pam's post, it appears the CCWA has removed the handgun illustration from their article.

In Which I'm Declared Fashionable

According to the New York Times, men with guts are suddenly in fashion. Only they're no longer "beer bellies" or a "paunch," they're called a "Ralph Kramden."

Too pronounced to be blamed on the slouchy cut of a T-shirt, too modest in size to be termed a proper beer gut, developed too young to come under the heading of a paunch, the Ralph Kramden is everywhere to be seen lately, or at least it is in the vicinity of the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene, the McCarren Park Greenmarket and pretty much any place one is apt to encounter fans of Grizzly Bear. What the trucker cap and wallet chain were to hipsters of a moment ago, the Kramden is to what my colleague Mike Albo refers to as the “coolios” of now. Leading with a belly is a male privilege of long standing, of course, a symbol of prosperity in most cultures and of freedom from anxieties about body image that have plagued women since Eve.

The article says that "hypertrophied He-Men with grapefruit biceps and blister-pack abs" are now a sign of too much time on your hands, an obsession with physical perfection that "got so prissy it stopped being masculine." So I guess I'm hip and butch. Yeeeah, right. Do kids today have any idea who Ralph Kramden was anyway?

MN: Student Wins $25K Judgment For Anti-Gay Slurs By Teachers

A Minneapolis-area high school junior has been awarded a $25K settlement after two teacher harassed him and made him the brunt of classroom jokes about his perceived sexual orientation.

The boy's "fence swings both ways," teacher Diane Cleveland commented during a class in the 2007-2008 school year, according to an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. When the boy wrote a report on Ben Franklin, Cleveland allegedly said before the entire class that the boy had a "thing for older men." Another teacher, Walter Filson, said in front of other students that the boy "enjoys wearing women's clothes." When the boy decided to report on Abraham Lincoln, Filson allegedly said, "Since you like your men older ..." the Human Rights report said. The school district, which has denied it violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act, agreed last month to pay the boy's family $25,000.

The student has been transferred to a school 25 miles away in order to escape further tormenting.

UK: Dennis No Longer A Menace

An animated British version of Dennis the Menace has been tweaked so that Dennis no longer tortures Walter the Softie. The changes come after producers became concerned that Dennis' behavior was too much like homophobic bullying.

Walter the Softie was usually seen being tormented by Dennis for peaceful pastimes such as picking flowers and holding tea parties for his teddybears but this will now change. Last year, former Beano editor Euan Kerr said he was concerned children could be led to copy Dennis' bullying. He said: "The relationship between Dennis and Walter was always one that worried me. There were accusations from certain quarters that it was a little like gay-bashing - this obviously wasn't the way we intended it to be perceived. We decided the best way to approach it was to make sure that even though he and Dennis didn't get along, Walter was completely happy about who he was and a confident, likeable character in his own right."

The British and American versions of Dennis the Menace debuted three days apart in 1951. They are unrelated.

Ask A Gay Family

Quote Of The Day - Lady Gaga

"I just want to be clear before we decide to do this together: I’m gay. My music is gay. My show is gay. And I love that it’s gay. And I love my gay fans and they’re all going to be coming to our show. And it’s going to remain gay." - Lady Gaga to Kayne West before agreeing to tour with him. From her Out Magazine cover story.

(Via - Towleroad)

Sign Of The Day

"Keep the guv'mint out of my Medicare." (Via - Slog)

Maine Teabagger Goes Nuts

Dig his NRA hat.

Federal Judge Boots Case Of Birther G.I.

Major Stefan Cook, the Army reservist who refused to deploy to Iraq because he claimed Obama was not his legitimate commander-in-chief, got his head handed to him in court. Via World Net Daily:

An American soldier questioning the eligibility of President Barack Obama to hold office has had his latest legal challenge dismissed "as frivolous and wholly without merit." The Aug. 6 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara came less than two hours after motions were filed by Maj. Stefan Cook, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve who is seeking a firm determination whether the commander in chief of the Armed Forces is a "natural born citizen," a constitutional requirement for those holding the presidency. "There was no reasoning, no nothing," said Maj. Cook, who noted previous legal decisions in his case included three or four pages of legal explanations. "It's ridiculous. They're not even saying why it's frivolous and without merit. You can say that to anything with no justification or reason. That's crap. So much for jurisprudence in this country."

Cook was terminated from the Army for refusing to deploy and says he remains unemployed with no job prospects. Cue the sad trombone.

"Defender Of Marriage" Hotel Kingpin Doug Manchester Embroiled In Ugly Divorce

San Diego hotelier Doug Manchester, whose $125,000 donation kick-started funding for Yes On 8, is in the midst of an ugly divorce with his wife of 43 years. Manchester's wife has accused him of hiding his assets and cutting off her access to living expenses. She also alleges that Manchester forged her endorsement on a joint $8.2M tax refund check and refuses to give up her share.

Several months ago, Manchester offered $125,000 in room credits for his hotels to LGBT activists, hoping to end the successful year-long boycott of his properties. Nobody bit and the boycott continues.

Ooh, I can't wait to hear what prompted the divorce.

Deathers* In North Carolina

"Hitler used the ovens and Obama is going to use hospices to get rid of people he finds undesirable."

*Yes, apparently we're now calling them "deathers."

Open Thread Thursday

So what's your health insurance situation?

Presidential Medals Of Freedom Awarded To Billie Jean King & Harvey Milk

Accepting Harvey Milk's posthumous award was his nephew, Stuart Milk.

HRC To Support National Equality March

The Human Rights Campaign announced today that they would be supporting the National Equality March, which takes place in Washington DC on October 11th, just less than 60 days from now. HRC head Joe Solomonese explains:

“With thousands of LGBT people and allies coming to Washington to make a difference, it’s our mission to help them become the citizen lobbyists that they want and need to be,” said Solmonese. “Cleve Jones’s vision of bringing us together at this important time is an extraordinary opportunity to capitalize on the energy and commitment of our community and achieve results. I’ve heard criticism about this gathering diverting resources from existing goals such as marriage equality in Maine and New Jersey,” added Solmonese. “It’s our intention and our obligation to ensure that in October, we amplify our energy not divert it. Will and commitment are unlimited resources. We intend to ensure that when the event in Washington is over, many more of us will know not only the work that lies ahead, but how to turn that energy into action.”

When I interviewed Solmonese in early June, he waffled on HRC's possible support for the October event, saying that he could not commit to backing an event that he wasn't yet confident would take place.

Equality California: We'll Wait For 2012 Before Attempting A Repeal Of Prop 8

In a conference call with activists and reporters, this afternoon Equality California announced their decision not to pursue a repeal of Proposition 8 until 2012. Veteran reporter Rex Wockner was on the call and quotes Equality California head Geoffrey Kors as saying that if another group pursues the repeal in 2010 and qualifies for the ballot, Equality California will support them.

Over on EQCA's blog, they make this demographic justification for their decision (among other reasons):

Younger, more supportive voters are much more likely to vote during the presidential election in 2012 than in a gubernatorial election in 2010, which will be comprised of more older, unsupportive voters. And the extra three years will add young people who are now 15, 16 and 17 to the voter rolls. All together, analysis demonstrates that we go in with 4% more support in 2012 than 2010 on these factors alone.

As other marriage equality groups react to EQCA's decision, I'll add what they have to say to this post. Be sure and read Rex Wockner's play-by-play of today's conference call.

UPDATE: Protect Marriage executive director Ron Prentice responds to EQCA's decision:

"Notwithstanding the decision by EQCA to shift focus to a 2012 election, which they readily admit is a crass political decision, they will lose then just as surely as they would in 2010 or any other year. The people have spoken twice on this issue, both times reaffirming traditional marriage. If asked to do so, they will indeed vote again to protect traditional marriage."

"The pro-gay marriage advocates had all the advantages they could ever hope for in 2008, including a misleading ballot title and summary, the sympathetic (and ultimately proven to be false) claim that a vote for Prop 8 would be a vote to "divorce 18,000 couples," the benefit of asking for a "no" vote, and a very favorable electorate driven by the historic election of Barack Obama as President. They will never have these advantages again. But for all they had going for them in 2008, they failed, because the people are not with them.

UPDATE II: Yes! On Equality is very unhappy. Via press release:

We are extremely disappointed, but not surprised, by Equality California’s decision today to wait until 2012 to go back to the ballot for marriage equality in California, especially since every poll we conducted shows majority support within the LGBT community (including 70 percent of EQCA’s own membership) to put a marriage equality initiative on the ballot next year. Every indicator and every consultant we’ve met with (including those that ran Barack Obama’s campaign and Winner Mandabach Campaigns, which has run more “yes” ballot initiatives than any other consultant or firm in the country) tells us we can win marriage equality back in 2010.

The latest poll figures show that support for gay marriage has gained two percentage points. The polling does not take into account additional provisions we will be including in the ballot language, which have shown to boost support well above 53 percent. Grassroots support and momentum for a ballot measure in 2010 is extremely high. Equality California has raised $1 million in three months and the Courage Campaign, which supports 2010, raised $200,000 in just the past seven days. We are confident some of our large donors, who are reluctant to support us right now, will be with us when we begin the campaign. We already have submitted ballot language to the Attorney General’s office for November 2010 and we are meeting on August 29 to begin planning strategy, a full seven months before any campaign strategy was developed to defeat Proposition 8 in 2008. We are disappointed that Equality California will not be joining us, but the “Coalition for 2010” will be moving forward and will win back marriage equality next year.

PhoboQuotable - Peter Sprigg

"Pro-homosexual activists will describe the issue as one of identity – 'who they are.' But the real issue is one of behavior – what they do. And what Harvey Milk (like other homosexual activists) wanted was not only the freedom to engage in homosexual sex, but the right to do so without ever being criticized. Milk told one audience that 'it is madness to ... be ashamed of the sexual act, the act that conceived you. ...' Yet homosexual acts never conceived anyone, which is what separates them, undeniably, from heterosexual acts. Since Harvey Milk died from an assassin's bullet, over a quarter million American men have died of AIDS, which they contracted because they had sex with other men. What's truly 'madness' is that someone whose only claim to fame is that they promoted such deadly behavior should be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom." - Family Research Council "senior fellow" Peter Sprigg, writing for World Net Daily.

80's Flashback

Gwen Guthrie, Ain't Nothing Going On But The Rent, 1986. Known as the "First Lady Of The Paradise Garage" for her close relationship with DJ Larry Levan, this was Guthrie's biggest hit, landing at #1 on the U.S. dance and R&B charts. Guthrie, who tragically died of uterine cancer in 1999 at the age of 49, was also an HIV prevention activist, donating the proceeds of her 1988 single, Can't Love You Tonight, to the AIDS Coalition. TRIVIA: Some of you might remember that Guthrie's vocal in Ain't Nothing was heavily sampled in the Utah Saint's 1993 hit What Can You Do For Me. MORE TRIVIA: Guthrie's title for this track comes from James Brown's 1972 hit Get On The Good Foot.

No Treats From Obama!

No Evidence Our Soldiers Killed Gay Iraqis

Last month, two gay Iraqis spoke to a group of Washington LGBT activists, claiming they had evidence that American soldiers had taken part in the murders of gay men in Iraq. Yesterday the Washington Blade reported that U.S. Army officials have investigated the claim and found no evidence to support the charges. Additionally, one of the gay Iraqis making the accusation has recanted, saying language barriers caused him to be misunderstood.

Chris Grey, a U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesperson, said in an e-mail Tuesday that special agents determined there was no “credible evidence” to support such claims after receiving a sworn statement from the gay Iraqi refugee who made the accusations. Grey noted that the refugee, who went by the alias “Hussam” during the public presentation in which he made the allegations, said in the statement that “his words were taken out of context, he was misunderstood due to language barriers and he was misquoted.” The Blade first reported Hussam’s allegations, and in subsequent correspondence with the Blade he never identified inaccuracies in previous articles. The charges surfaced July 24 when Hussam spoke during a benefit held at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters intended to raise money for Helem, a Lebanon-based center that works to address the plight of LGBT people in the Middle East.

The Human Rights Campaign praised the Army for promptly launching an investigation.

HomoQuotable - George Takei

“Gay men and lesbians are in the military, fighting and sacrificing, and yet there is this discriminatory law: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. At a time of urgent national security, when we need good security and intelligence, we have Arabic-speaking intelligence officers who are found to be gay and fired. It is the most dangerous thing to national security, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. So I draw all of these parallels. I draw the parallel between the barbed-wire fences that confined us [his family] to the legalistic barbed-wire fences that confine us now.” - Out Star Trek actor George Takei, comparing DADT to the Japanese internment camp that his family was confined to during WWII.

Read the full interview with Takei at Spangle.

NYC By Day And Night

Gothamist tips us to this neat map showing how the population density of Manhattan changes by day and night. I think that giant spike above midtown is the Bloomingdale's shopping area.

And Then She Floated Home In Her Ark

Tulsa, Oklahoma mayoral candidate Anna Falling is running on the platform of forcing the city's zoo to include the book of Genesis in its displays, in order to explain to children where all the animals came from.

"Some may ask why this issue during a Mayoral campaign? And I say why not?" said candidate Anna Falling. For Anna Falling, the road to city hall runs through the Tulsa Zoo. She's made her Christianity central to her platform and now the exhibit depicting the Christian story of Creationism is her first campaign promise. "Today we are announcing that God will be glorified in this city. He shall not be shunned. Upon our election, we hereby commit to honoring Him in all ways that He has been dishonored," said Anna Falling. Falling says God was dishonored four years ago, when the Tulsa Parks Board rejected an exhibit which borrows heavily from the first book of the Bible.

Four years ago Tulsa went through a protracted battle with Creationists over the same issue.

Saturday: Great Nationwide Kiss-In

The Great Nationwide Kiss-In, an event created in response to a spate of anti-gay incidents that arose out of gay men being publicly affectionate, takes place this Saturday, August 15th. Activists across the country have signed-on to take part, check out this Facebook action page for times and locations in your town.

Laurie Higgins of the vile Illinois Family Institute has issued a warning to Chicago families, saying they should be alert and avoid accidentally running into kissing homos. Higgins adds: "We're also urging that pro-family organizations find out if this event is taking place in cities near them, and that they would issue the same warning to families [regarding] what time the event will take place and where so that they can avoid this public spectacle."

Stephen Hawking On Health Care Reform

Several days ago Investor's Business Daily said this about Obama's health care reform plan:

"The controlling of medical costs in countries such as Britain through rationing, and the health consequences thereof, are legendary. The stories of people dying on a waiting list or being denied altogether read like a horror script … People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the UK, where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless."

The problem with that is that Hawking is from the UK and has lived there his entire life. He responds: "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived."

Malaysia: Gay Sex Leads To Swine Flu

Breaking news:

Malaysia's state-run news agency is urging its readers to avoid homosexual sex and masturbation if they want to remain free of swine flu. An article published Sunday by Bernama, the Malaysian government news agency, singles out homosexual sex as an activity that can cause people to contract swine flu, while also emphasizing that "normal sexual union between members of the opposite sex was absolutely safe." Quoting a Dr. V. M. Palaniappan, the article states that homosexual sex "caused the body to develop friction heat which in turn, produced acid and made the body hyperacidised."

Gay sex is illegal in Malaysia..

Anchorage Passes Gay Rights Bill

After weeks of often ugly debate, the Anchorage, Alaska city council has voted to approve an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Anchorage Assembly members fought back tears Tuesday night before a decision three months in the making -- approval of a city-wide ordinance making it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation. The 7 to 4 decision came down Tuesday night after the assembly heard from more than 600 people who signed up to testify throughout the summer. The evening was emotional even before the decision, but this time it came from the other side of the testifying podium -- the assembly members themselves. After months and months of listening to public testimony on the controversial anti-discrimination ordinance, it was the assembly's turn to talk -- and they rivaled the emotion of the 600 speakers before them. "The rest of the people in this community deserve equal rights just like the rest of us," said assembly member Elvi Gray-Jackson. "We need to treat each other well in this world, and we don't, and I wish we did," assembly chair Debbie Ossiander said.

Anchorage's mayor has seven days to decide whether he will veto the bill.

Quote Of The Day - John Cook

"Anyone watching the mounting rage over, of all things, health care - perhaps one of the most boring and complex policy subjects - has to worry that these people are going to try to kill Barack Obama. That's not an extrapolation from unhinged rhetoric, or a partisan reading of the imagined intentions of our political enemies. It's a rational reading of the anticipated behavior of a man who brandishes a gun at the location where the president is expected to imminently arrive while holding a sign that openly advocates his assassination. And the astonishing, breathtaking, maddening fact that he hasn't been violently taken to the ground by large men wearing suits and earpieces is an open encouragement to anyone else so inclined to give it a shot.

"There are always people who want to kill the president. Generally speaking, they are politically marginalized, insane, and/or too incompetent to come close to achieving their ends. But in the past six months, people who would be inclined to do violence to our political leaders have been affirmatively embraced by the Republican Party and its messaging operation." - Gawker blogger John Cook.

(Via - Pam Spaulding)

Olbermann: Racism In The Town Hall

Santorum Considering Presidential Bid

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), whose infamous homophobia resulted in an occasional by-product of anal sex being named after him, is considering a presidential run in 2012. Santorum will begin testing the waters with a trip to Iowa this fall. “

I’m very concerned about the state of affairs in this country and how Republicans are dealing with [issues], so this is an opportunity for me to go out and talk about things I think we need to be doing to turn this country in the right direction,” Santorum said of the Iowa trek—a visit invariably seen as presidential water-testing for any ambitious politician.

Some of the Freepers are already chanting "Palin/Santorum 2012!"

Chris Matthews Vs. NH Gun Guy

Oh, surprise! He's a Ron Paul supporter. And he thinks it's totally fine to bring a loaded gun to a presidential event.

How To Get Fired Via Facebook

At Obama's New Hampshire Event

Protester on illegal immigrants: "Send them home with a bullet in their head."

Budget Crunch: Focus On The Family Hands Off Its "Ex-Gay" Program

In the midst of a $6M budget shortfall, the cash-strapped Focus On The Family is transferring the operation of its Love Won Out series of "ex-gay" conferences to Exodus International.

“Exodus is the ideal organization to transition Love Won Out to,” said Melissa Fryrear, director of Love Won Out. She noted that Focus on the Family and Exodus have been closely aligned for years. That move comes at this time in part, Fryrear said, because Focus on the Family’s income is down $6 million from what was expected for this year. The shortfall was recently cited in an e-mail appeal to donors. Alan Chambers, director of Exodus, said his group is financially equipped to take over Love Won Out, but the move was in the making for years. Focus on the Family planned to provide financial support by providing speakers and marketing assistance.

Wayne Besen, whose Truth Wins Out organization was named in opposition to FOF, says, “If they are downsizing, it is because the market for such misinformation has continued to shrink.”

Man With Gun Protests Outside Of Obama's New Hampshire Town Hall Venue

Apparently it was legal for the man to have the gun, but even more disturbing, his sign referenced this Thomas Jefferson quote: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants." The president had not yet arrived when news crews discovered the man with the gun, but it's unclear if he was allowed to remain.

Obama Takes On "Death Panels" Lie

80's Flashback

Black Flag, TV Party, 1982. I never got into very many American punk bands other than the original, The Ramones. (Unless you consider X to be punk.) But the presence of Henry Rollins made Black Flag a notable exception, especially for their funnier numbers like TV Party. I love the roll call of 80's television shows: That's Incredible! Hill Street Blues! Dallas! Anybody remember Emilio Estevez singing TV Party in Repo Man?

Gay Bashing Victim: I Deserved It (And Thanks For Beating The Queer Out Of Me)

Well, this has got to be the strangest story of the year. Dwan Prince, 31, has sent an apology to the man whose 2005 attack in Brooklyn left Prince partially paralyzed, telling him that it was Prince's own flirtatious behavior that brought on the assault and that thanks to the beating, he is no longer gay. Duncan Osborne at Gay City News:

In a move that may complicate the retrial of Steven Pomie in the 2005 attack on Dwan Prince, Prince sent Pomie a letter in which he blamed himself for the brutal, anti-gay assault and expressed the hope that Pomie serve just five years in prison, with five years post-release supervision for the crime. “First please allow me to deeply apology for my hated comment,” Prince wrote in the July 20 letter, which Gay City News is quoting verbatim. “Please I do hope you know I am truly deeply sorry for what ever was sayed that night. I have made some big mistakes in my life and that was the stupidiest and biggest one of all.”

Pomie, now 26, allegedly attacked Prince in Brooklyn’s Brownsville section after the now 31-year-old flirted with him. Pomie first beat and kicked Prince with two other men, and then made a second assault with another man, witnesses said during Pomie’s 2006 trial. When Pomie returned alone to deliver a third beating, witnesses prevented him from attacking Prince, who was lying unconscious on the sidewalk. One witness testified that as Pomie walked away from the scene, he quickly turned back and “kicked [Prince] with his Tims,” referring to the Timberland brand of boots. “Then blood started gushing,” the witness said.

Pomie was originally sentenced to 25 years in prison for first degree assault as a hate crime, but his conviction was overturned last year and Pomie was ordered to be retried on lesser charges. He remains in prison awaiting that trial. Since the attack, Prince says he has been attending bible studies and told Pomie in his letter that the beating turned him straight, saying, “Steve you changed me! So hopefully when you get out we can hang out. You know me. I know you. I help you calm that angry machine down. And allow you to know I am not gay but a lover, and you can find me a female I can love and can love me.”

Read Duncan Osborne's entire story to get all the crazy details. I don't know what to say about this.

Town Hall Disruptions For Sen. Specter

Sen. Arlen Specter's town hall meeting today went as the others have, with one man screaming that "God's gonna stand before you and he's gonna judge you and the rest of your damn cronies up on the Hill!" Later Specter called out a woman in the audience for spreading "vicious, malicious rumors" when she claimed that a 75 year old man with cancer would never receive treatment under the health care reform bill because he was no longer in the workforce.

Nomenclature

When two men get married and one takes the other's last name (rather than creating one of those hyphenated thingies), how do you refer to his former last name? JMG reader Vincent in Connecticut recently married and was amused that his partner's insurance form asked him for his "maiden name." Vincent says his partner's employer is open to suggestions. "Birth name" seems logical, but I have no idea how companies have been handling this. Anyone?

Palin Eyeing Hamptons Home?

New York Social Diary reports a rumor that Sarah Palin is shopping for a new home in the Hamptons.

The rumor going around is that Sarah Palin, the now ex-governor of Alaska, has been looking at real estate in the Hamptons and is considering three different properties in Hampton Bays. The presumed projection is that Ms. Palin is going to write a multi-million dollar best seller, then have a talk radio show and then will rally the troops and run against Obama in 2012. Supposedly she resigned her office because she found out she could make a lot of money and great political strides in the aforementioned way. If so, she will be the first governor of a state in the history of the Republic to leave office before it was over so that she could make a bundle and prepare for the Presidency.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

My Gay Agenda - iPhone App

For some reason I get a lot of PR requests from iPhone app developers, but this one seems pretty cute.

We've always suspected what your plans were: destroy marriage, recruit children and do lots of cardio. Well, here’s the proof: My Gay Agenda is a first-class personal calendar application and hilarious take on what the well-organized "Velvet Mafia" operative would carry. My Gay Agenda is a powerful personal calendar app complete with ubiquitous event features for all-day events and events that span multiple days. MGA also has a stylish and robust Notes feature and "Today In Gay" - a daily historical synopsis of key "historical events". You also may occasionally come across handwritten notes unveiling nefarious plans to take over the world (or make it a bit more fabulous).

Tagline: "Witty, discreet, and virtually leather bound. Sort of like that married advertising executive you met on Craigslist."

Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of Fly Life Inc, today's Swag Tuesday prize is the new album by British dance artist La Roux. If you've attended any of the Blowoff parties around the country in the last month or so, you've probably heard La Roux. (I think there even might be a Rich Morel remix on the way. Squeal!)

The highly anticipated 2009 debut album from Elly Jackson (AKA La Roux), who has everyone from Franz Ferdinand to Daft Punk hailing her as a talent to watch. This self-titled album is a kaleidoscope of emotions, touching on everything from heartbreak to disappointment to invincibility: all in true spine tingling La Roux measures that create an instant resonance. Ranging from the high crystal-clean falsettos of Fascination to the brooding lulls of ballad Cover My Eyes (that features London Community Gospel Choir), the breadth of the album and La Roux s diversity is clear. For Elly and co-producer/ writer Ben Langmaid, La Roux has never been about producing disposable dancefloor fodder. Since meeting four years ago the talented duo's goal was clear - they wanted to bring classic songwriting back into the clubs and charts, and with this album they ve accomplished that and far more

We have five copies of La Roux' debut album to give away. Enter to win your copy by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your comment. Entries close Wednesday at midnight, west coast time. Publicists: if you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

New Field Poll On Marriage In California

A new Field Poll (PDF) unsurprisingly demonstrates that over the last 30 years, Republicans in California have become even more opposed to marriage equality.

Californians’ greater acceptance of allowing same-sex marriage has come entirely from the changing views of registered Democrats and non-partisans rather than Republicans. Democratic voter views have shifted from greater than two-to-one opposition in 1977 to greater than two-to-one support this year. Similarly, where non-partisans opposed allowing same-sex couples to marry three decades ago by a five-to-three margin, now they support it five to three.

Republicans, on the other hand, have not changed their views on this issue, and if anything, are now more opposed than they were thirty years ago. A nearly three to one majority of Republicans (68% to 23%) currently opposes allowing same-sex marriage in California. This is slightly greater than their 65% to 30% opposition found in a 1977 Field Poll.

(Via - The Mad Professah)