Saturday, September 26, 2009

Birther-mercial!

Talking Points Memo directs us this birther-mercial, which is now playing around in the country.

One of the men behind the infomercial is attorney Gary Kreep, executive director of the Ramona, CA-based Birther group United States Justice Foundation. He told TPMmuckraker in an interview today that the initial buy was for two and half weeks at TV stations around the country, and he's now looking into a second round buy. He says he'll give us a list of stations playing the infomercial. One of them is CBS affiliate KLBK in Lubbock, Texas. That's where Lubbock resident Jim Schermbeck saw the infomercial last night at around 12:30 a.m., after The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, he tells TPMmuckraker.

A scheduler at the station confirmed to us that the infomercial is running, but the employee in charge of paid programming did not immediately return our calls. In its first week on the air, the infomercial generated "something like 1500 to 2000 faxes," Kreep says. The money goes to the price of the faxes and to the cost of airing the program, with any extra money going to the United States Justice Foundation. As a side note, it's worth noting that Kreep is currently engaged in an intra-movement feud with the pioneering Birther attorney Orly Taitz.) The program was produced by LivePrayer.com, a Web site affiliated with Bill Keller, a fundamentalist Christian minister who also hosts the infomercial.

I demand to know those horrible wigs wigs were born. SHOW US THE WIG CERTIFICATES!! And make them long-form.

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National Equality March Song Contest

Song ContestSpeech ContestI Believe
Just in via press release:
The National Equality March is just two weeks away, and we need your help choosing a speaker and a song for our rally on October 11! After reviewing a lot of incredible submissions for our Equality Idol speaker contest and our Equality Song performer contest, our judges have narrowed it down to four songs and five speakers. Voting is easy. Just check these links on YouTube, and rate the song and the speaker you like the most. You can also send a text message with the name of your favorite speaker or singer to 37686. When the contest ends, the song and speaker with the most text votes and positive feedback on Facebook and YouTube will be invited to take the stage in DC. The deadline for voting is October 1 by 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST.

Equality Song Contest
"Courage of Our Convictions" by Julie Clark,
"Equality" by Todd (Tif) Fernandez
"Our Time Has Come" by Sean Chapin
"Stand for Love" by Toby Madigan

Equality Idol Contest

Wayne Blackburn, Michael Buchannon, Mario Nguyen, Jerry Pritikin, Sam Sussman
Click and pick your winner. So far I'm leaning toward's Sean Chapin or Toby Madigan.

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Memphis: Vandals Destroy National Coming Out Day Billboard

A billboard marking next month's National Coming Out Day was ripped down by Memphis vandals, leaving only the previous ad for a Patti LaBelle event visible. The Triangle Journal reports:
The billboard, which contained a picture of community member Tim Smith dressed in his marine uniform proclaiming “I’m gay, and I defended your freedom,” was completely torn from the Clear Channel Billboard frame, exposing remnants of prior postings. No identifiable portions of the MGLCC billboard remained. The MGLCC billboard campaign honoring National Coming Out Day on October 11 has been underway for one week and will continue for three more weeks. The initiative aims to clarify to the Mid-South that our community is not afraid of being out and that we are unashamed of being who we are. The billboard that was defaced is one of five erected throughout the city as part of the initiative. MGLCC Executive Director Will Batts, who is in Philadelphia attending a national conference for LGBT community centers, was contacted by phone by Triangle Journal and informed of the defacement. He stated, “Some people choose tactics of violence and intimidation in an attempt to silence minority voices. What will happen, though, is that our voices will become louder and stronger and we will become even more relentless in our fight for full equality.”
National Coming Out Day is October 11th.

UPDATE: Via By The Bayou, here's the billboard before it was torn down.

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Bill Clinton: Why I Changed My Mind On Same-Sex Marriage

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Program Description Win

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All Heterosexuals Have Sex With Animals And Small Children!1!!!

Well, you all know how that headline would have read in Wingnutistan if this had been a GAY couple.
A New Jersey judge has dismissed animal cruelty charges against a cop accused of committing a sex act with young cows, saying a grand jury had no way of knowing whether the animals were "tormented." Moorestown police officer Robert Melia, who is currently suspended, allegedly engaged in oral sex acts with five calves in Southampton in 2006. Since New Jersey currently has no law explicitly banning such an act, prosecutors in Burlington county brought animal cruelty charges against Melia, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Judge Morely said it was questionable that Melia's acts, though "disgusting," constituted animal cruelty. "I'm not saying it's OK," Morely said. "This is a legal question for me. It's not a questions of morals. It's not a question of hygiene. It's not a question of how people should conduct themselves."

The dismissal reportedly irked the prosecution. "I think any reasonable juror could infer that a man's penis in the mouth of a calf is torment," a Burlington County assistant prosecutor, Kevin Morgan, said. "It's a crime against nature." The judge's dismissal does not mark the end of Melia's legal woes. He, along with girlfriend Heather Lewis, was arrested in April 2008 for sexually assaulting three girls over a five-year-period.
Moo means moo, people!

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Friday, September 25, 2009

Kirk Cameron, Part 2

Wait for the ending....

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Carrie Prejean, Halloween Model

Before she was a modest, chaste, virtue-spouting, God-speaks-through-me hero of Christian-only opposite marriage, Carrie Prejean modeled trampy low-cut Halloween costumes. Which, of course, are now on sale.
Photos of former Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, posing in skimpy Halloween costumes have surfaced on a Web site, according to TMZ.com. The photos on Disguise.com, which show the notoriously conservative and self-proclaimed Christian wearing knee-high shiny boots, a black mini skirt and belly-baring low-cut top in one ensemble, were taken last year when Prejean modeled for the Women of Marvel costume line, according to TMZ. Prejean also apparently wore the sultry get-ups during a live runway show at Comic Con 2008, a video posted on TMZ.com revealed.
Lady Bigotry! Beaming lasers from the nipples of her fake tits, mowing down justice and equality anywhere she finds it!

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Ohio Mayor In Drag Scandal

The mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio has found himself in the middle of a controversy after photos of him in drag (NSFW) were leaked, presumably by his opponent. Barring the possibility that he's campaigned against LGBT rights, who the hell cares how the mayor gets his private jollies? Cross-dressing is not a crime, but it will surely be the end of his career.

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80's Flashback

Kraftwerk, Numbers, 1981. Arguably the most influential electronic act in history, it was 1981's Numbers that brought Germany's Kraftwerk to mass notice in the U.S. after several critically raved (but low selling) albums in the 70s. The track was an immediate smash with break dancers and has been sampled uncountable times. You can finder snippets of Numbers in Soulsonic Force's epic Planet Rock, in Meat Beat Manifesto's Strapdown, and perhaps most notably, in Westbam's fantastically frantic Monkey See, Monkey Do. Numbers came from Kraftwerk's brilliant Computer World, whose first single, Pocket Calculator, I had on a green glow-in-the-dark 45. The below clip is from a live 2004 performance.

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Broadway Friday

-Next Fall, playwright Geoffery Nauffts' "exploration of faith in a modern gay relationship" moves to Broadway in the spring. Previews begin at the Helen Hayes in mid-February. The show got rave reviews in its Off Broadway run earlier this year, where it was extended three times. You probably recognize Nauffts from his numerous Law & Order bad guy appearances.

-Costumes from Disney's eternally-running The Lion King are headed for display at the Smithsonian.

-Catherine Zeta-Jones has been added to the cast of the revival of Sondheim's A Little Night Music. My BFF Angela Lansbury co-stars. The show opens December 3rd at the Walter Kerr.

-Playwright and actor Charles Busch will host A Place At The Table, a benefit for the Ali Forney Center starring a performance by Rufus Wainwright. The October 3rd event at the Chelsea Art Museum also features a cocktail party, food tastings, and a silent auction. Purchase tickets here. The Ali Forney Center provides shelter to homeless LGBT youth.

-Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS presents their annual Broadway Flea Market this Sunday on Times Square's Shubert Alley. Major Broadway stars will be on hand, including the "tribe" of Hair.

-The Diary Of Anne Frankenstein begins previews on October 1st at Off Broadway's 13th Street Rep. "Mary Shelley meets Adolph Hitler." Starring drag queen Mimi Imfurst in the title role.

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HomoQuotable - NY Sen. Thomas Duane

"Once again Mike Bloomberg is talking out of both sides of his mouth. The fact of the matter is Mike will stand up in press conferences and talk the talk but at the end of the day he never walks the walk. Mike Bloomberg has consistently supported the Republican Party and its anti-gay marriage agenda. As far as I know, the mayor hasn’t been in on any discussions with Senate Democrats or with Senate Republicans on strategy for getting marriage passed. There have been people involved with his administration that I’ve talked with and others may have spoken to, but I don’t know of the mayor personally speaking to anyone." - Openly gay NY state Sen. Thomas Duane, talking to Paul Schindler at Gay City News.

Last week Bloomberg said that marriage equality is dead in New York for 2009, but that he is pressuring the state Senate the move forward.

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Maine: New From No On 1

Protect Maine Equality has just issued a much stronger ad condemning the lies of the opposition.

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UK: Elementary School Teacher Suspended Over Gay Porn Site Photos

The headline on British tabloid The Sun screams Grammar Sir Gay Porn Pics after an elementary school physical education teacher was suspended after students found his nude shots on a gay porn site.
Shamed Sam Handley, 25, turned up for lessons unaware the link to the snaps had spread round the school like wildfire. He was hauled in by the deputy head and sent home. Last night he was facing the sack - as pupils at prestigious Harvey Grammar School, in Folkestone, Kent, told how a gleeful classmate stumbled on the pictures. They show hockey-loving Mr Handley starkers while posing under the pseudonym "Mike". In one snap he reclines naked on a bed with his legs apart. In another he titillates men who flock to the site - which also features hardcore gay porn - by grabbing his manhood through his boxer shorts One pupil said: "I got sent the link on my Facebook site. As soon as I opened it my jaw hit the ground. Within an hour everyone was looking at it on their phones and computers." A drooling profile describes the teacher as "straight" but "not shy about showing off his body." It adds: "Mike is new to modelling and works as a PT (physical trainer)."
The first question, of course, is why grammar school students were surfing gay porn.

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Bono Shills For Bloomberg

At last night's U2 concert at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, Bono praised Mayor Bloomberg and urged the crowd to "give it up" for him. Bloomberg's campaign rushed the clip onto their website, noting without irony that the next song was I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

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FlashForward

What did you think of last night's debut episode of FlashForward? I tend to love sort of cataclysmic sci-fi and thought the special effects were excellent, but with all those Ghost Of Christmas Future visions, I have a feeling we might be headed into Lost-style plot madness. On the upside, we get Joseph Fiennes.

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"Ex-Gay" Teen Tells Tyra: Exorcism Works

Back in March we learned of the church in Connecticut that had posted YouTube clips of its bizarre "homosexuality exorcism" rituals. It took a few months, but eventually the mainstream media picked up on the story, prompting Connecticut to investigate the church for abusing children. This week the 16 year-old focus of the inquiry, who was seen flopping around on the floor as church members screamed at him, appeared on Tyra Banks' show to claim that the exorcism worked and he is no longer gay. Via Rod McCullom:
"Jeffrey" tells Tyra: "I am healed by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit that came into me that day .. and removed the unclean spirit from me. Because I do not want to live the homosexual lifestyle. I have nothing against them if they want to live that way but they have a choice to serve ... the Lord." The teen says that he has been struggling" with his "sexuality since [he] was five years old" and adds that in his teens he began to "cross-dress" and wear women's clothing. The teen also defends Patricia McKinney, the self-proclaimed "prophet" and pastor of Manifested Glory Ministries in Bridgeport, and explains the convulsions and vomiting seen on tape: "That is the unclean spirit moving ... out of our body. It tends to shake and move in ways that are not natural." The boy appears unsure of himself and coached. He is also concealing his identity and wearing a "beard". (It probably won't be the last time, either.)

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Kirk Cameron: Evolutionists Are Hitler

After born-again child star Kirk Cameron discovered that the rights to Charles Darwin's Origin Of Species were in the public domain, Cameron decided to republish the book with a deranged 50-page foreword. Cameron has printed 50,000 copies of his altered book and is distributing them to the "top elite universities" of the country. According to Cameron, if you believe in evolution, you're like Hitler.
“You can see where (Hitler) clearly takes Darwin’s ideas to some of their logical conclusions and compares certain races of people to lower evolutionary life forms,” Cameron says. “If you take Darwin’s theory and extend it to its logical end, it can be used to justify all number of very horrendous things.” But academics dismiss such arguments as ludicrous. “This has been refuted many, many times. The anti-evolutionist fearmongers have to link Darwin to every perceived evil from mankind,” says Kevin Padian, professor of paleontology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Berkeley. “The two kinds of people who believe that religion and evolution can not coexist are extreme atheists and extreme religious fundamentalists. Everyone else doesn’t really have a problem. (A majority) of Americans believe that a belief in god is compatible with evolution.”

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Feds Overturn Westboro Judgment, Rule Freedom Of Speech

On the same day that the Westboro Baptist Church staged an anti-Semitic rally in Brooklyn, a federal appeals court overturned a $5M judgment against them won by the father of a soldier whose funeral they had picketed. The judge ruled that even "distasteful and repugnant" speech is protected by the First Amendment. Last June a lien was placed on Westboro's properties for non-payment of the judgment, but none were ever seized. The original amount was $11M, but was reduced on the first appeal.

(Photo by Alison Bowen)

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Maine's Catholics Fast For Marriage

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine is encouraging the state's Catholics to take part in a 40-day "prayer and fasting" campaign to convince God to stop gay marriage. I guess they don't really believe that God so adamantly hates queers and needs a little nudge.

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Wingnuts Freaking Over 2010 Census

As I've mentioned here, the right wing is losing their shit over the coming 2010 census, claiming that Obama plans to use the information to round up dissidents. Unsurprisingly, Rep. Michele Bachmann is leading the crazies. Via Right Wing Watch:

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And His Last Name Is Herrera?

The moran who founded some outfit calling themselves California's Crusaders, has launched a petition drive in California to stop Wells Fargo from advertising in Spanish.
"It is incumbent upon all Americans that when you see a decadence arise that will threaten our language and culture, our national identity, to rise to the occasion and push the awareness button and alert the people," Herrera said, speaking both as a resident and founder of We the People, California's Crusader. We the People's Web site says the organization seeks to influence "institutions of political corruption" and "the corporations and employers that unlawfully hire and exploit illegal aliens."
How many hundreds of years was it before the U.S. took over California from Spain/New Spain/Mexico?

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Tomorrow At NYC's LGBT Center

Saturday 9PM: Dance 208, Fire Island Classics with DJ Michael Fierman at NYC's LGBT Community Center. $10 at the door.

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Liberty Counsel: Adopt A Liberal!

The Liberty Counsel, the Christianist outfit behind any lawsuit for Jeebus, has launched an "Adopt A Liberal" campaign, asking for prayers for people they judge to be working for Satan.
Since the landmark 2008 general election, there can be no doubt that a very large percentage of our Nation's leaders have a liberal mindset. The undeniable fact is that the 111th Pelosi-Reid Congress and the Obama Administration demonstrate a far left political philosophy. And since the President nominates federal judges and Justices of the United States Supreme Court, the judicial branch of government could take on a decidedly more liberal bent as the Obama Administration wears on. Liberty Counsel has therefore named this special new prayer-in-action program Adopt a Liberal. And that's exactly what we invite you to do -- adopt a liberal who is in authority for regular, intense prayer in accord with St. Paul's admonition to his disciple, Timothy. In fact, we expect that many of our friends and supporters will choose to adopt many liberals as subjects of regular prayer!

Pick one or more of the liberals from the list we have posted online at www.LC.org, or choose your own liberal(s) to adopt. If you are led to choose one or more of the liberals we have selected for consideration, please read their brief biographical statement, including the reasons they stand in need of prayer. Pray earnestly and intensely for them! Pray that the Lord would move upon them and cause them to be the kind of leaders who will encourage others to lead "a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." We encourage you to seek the Lord's guidance on how to pray for your liberal(s), always allowing Him to temper your prayer with His love and mercy.
The suggested list:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Congressman Barney Frank, Director John Holdren, Mr. Barry Lynn, Secretary Janet Napolitano, President Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Olympia Snowe, The "Unknown Liberal".
I suppose we could launch our own Adopt An Asshat™ program and ask the Flying Spaghetti Monster to touch them with his Noodley Appendage of Reason, but the list would be soooo long: Mat Staver, Matt Barber, Porno Pete LaBarbera, Sally Kern, Tony Perkins, Maggie Gallagher......and on to infinity.

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Ten Thousand

This is my 10,000th post. Unfuckingreal.

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Morning View - 42nd & Vanderbilt

From 2001-2007 my company was on the 16th floor of the center building. My office windows are circled. I miss that place.

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Sonic Weapon Used On Protesters At G20 Summit In Pittsburgh

Police used a sonic weapon to drive back the protesters at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon. It's believed to be the first time such a weapon was used on a crowd in the United States.

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

New UN President Ali Abdussalam Treki Calls Homosexuality "Not Acceptable"

The just-installed Libyan president of the United Nations, Ali Abdusalam Treki, told reporters at a press conference that he considers homosexuality to be "not really acceptable" after being asked about the recent UN resolution calling for its global decriminalization.
Treki said: "That matter is very sensitive, very touchy. As a Muslim, I am not in favour of it . . . it is not accepted by the majority of countries. My opinion is not in favour of this matter at all. I think it's not really acceptable by our religion, our tradition. “It is not acceptable in the majority of the world. And there are some countries that allow that, thinking it is a kind of democracy . . . I think it is not,” he added. The ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs committee, Florida's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, told On Top Magazine: "The anti-gay bigotry spewed by this Qaddafi shill demonstrates once again that the UN has been hijacked by advocates of hate and intolerance."
The president of the UN should not be confused with its actual head, the Secretary General, who is presently South Korea's Ban Ki-Moon. The UN presidency rotates annually between five major geographic areas. It's Africa's turn and Treki was chosen in June.

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80's Flashback

Hugh Masekela, Don't Go Lose It, Baby, 1984. Yesterday's post about Mory Kante reminded me of this huge hit from South Africa's Hugh Masekela, who first charted in 1968 with his Grammy-winning #1 pop instrumental smash Grazing In The Grass, one of my favorite tracks from that era. Cowbells! The next year Friends Of Distinction covered Grazing and their almost-as-good (with vocals) version went to #3. But I digress. Some house music fans consider Don't Go Lose It, Baby one of the earliest examples of the genre (I disagree) and it just missed hitting #1 on the Billboard dance chart. Best bassline of that year. The track was produced by longtime Crusaders mastermind Stewart Levine. Triva: In the 60's Masekela was married to legendary singer/activist Miriam Mekeba. His son Sal Masekela is the host of E! Channel's Daily 10 Show.

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NOM Subpoenas Fred Karger

NOM has subpoenaed Californians Against Hate's Fred Karger, demanding that he submit "any and all financial records" from his campaign to unearth their financing. That's something that they themselves have refused to provide to the IRS and state groups as required by law. Karger writes in the Huffington Post:
By subpoenaing me, they are forcing me to spend lots of money on attorneys to represent me throughout the proceedings. The subpoena calls for me to produce all emails, correspondence, faxes and all stored information that deal with my activities with Californians Against Hate from January 18, 2008 to the present. They demand to see all correspondence pertaining to three of my four web sites. They left one out. It is our second most visited web site: www.Mormongate.com. Must have been an oversight.

They have also demanded to know how I received all of our research information and how it was disseminated. They also want to see "any and all" financial records. How ironic, I have been trying to view the required financial information from NOM for over 6 months. NOM refuses to release any of its finances, even to the IRS, as required by federal law. The Mormon Church will also not reveal any of its expenditures. So what better way to persecute me, than to drag me through the legal system.
Karger says he's been overwhelmed by offers of help from sympathetic lawyers. That's fantastic. Here's hoping he can enlist to them in his rightful crusade to force NOM's twin pillars of evil, Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown, to do themselves what they expect from others. What are they afraid of, exposing their massive support from the Mormon Church? Oh, wait.

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Could GOP Retake House In 2010?

Andrew Sullivan points us to this piece by the Kreskin of politics, Nate Silver, who says that the GOP stands a decent shot at retaking the majority in the U.S. House in 2010.
The current state of the generic polls gives the Democrats .412/(.412+.377) = 52% of the two-party vote. Going to the graph, we see, first, that 52% for the Democrats is near historic lows (comparable to 1946, 1994, and 1998) and that the expected Democratic vote--given that their party holds the White House--is around -3%, or a 53-47 popular vote win for the Republicans. Would 53% of the popular vote be enough for the Republicans to win a House majority? A quick look, based on my analysis with John Kastellec and Jamie Chandler of seats and votes in Congress, suggests yes. It's still early--and there's a lot of scatter in those scatterplots--but if the generic polls remain this close, the Republican Party looks to be in good shape in the 2010.
All the more reason to hold the Democrats' feet to the fire on LGBT rights right now.

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Approve Referendum 71 Ad

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Prop 8 Repeal Coalition Submits Ballot Language For 2010

The coalition of California groups working for a repeal of Prop 8 in 2010 has filed the language to appear on the ballot, should their petition drive be successful.
“Starting today, there is new hope for committed gay and lesbian couples who want to get married,” said John Henning, Executive Director of Love Honor Cherish, a grassroots group that is spearheading the effort to place the measure on the 2010 ballot. “We’re back on the path toward full equality.” Love Honor Cherish is one of more than 40 groups that support repealing Prop 8 at the next general election in November 2010. The groups include Stonewall Democrats, the Latino Equality Alliance, the Mexican American Bar Association, and the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality, among others. For a full list, go to www.RepealProp8.com. Today’s filing is the first step in a process that will place the measure on the November 2010 ballot. In November, the broad coalition of groups supporting the initiative will begin circulating petitions to gather the 1 million signatures needed to qualify the initiative.
Here's what the proposed measure says:

This amendment would amend an existing section of the California Constitution. Existing language proposed to be deleted is printed in strikeout type. Language proposed to be added is printed in underlined type.

Section 1. To protect religious freedom, no court shall interpret this measure to require any priest, minister, pastor, rabbi, or other person authorized to perform marriages by any religious denomination, church, or other non-profit religious institution to perform any marriage in violation of his or her religious beliefs. The refusal to perform a marriage under this provision shall not be the basis for lawsuit or liability, and shall not affect the tax-exempt status of any religious denomination, church or other religious institution.

Section 2. To provide for fairness in the government’s issuance of marriage licenses, Section 7.5 of Article I of the California Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Marriage is between only two persons and shall not be restricted on the basis of race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

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The Maine Echo Chamber


UPDATE: Good As You's Jeremy Hopper digs further into Stand For Marriage's new liar icon.

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Coming Out In Middle School

This weekend's New York Times Magazine features a lengthy Benoit Denizet-Lewis piece on kids that come out in middle school. An excerpt:
Though most adolescents who come out do so in high school, sex researchers and counselors say that middle-school students are increasingly coming out to friends or family or to an adult in school. Just how they’re faring in a world that wasn’t expecting them — and that isn’t so sure a 12-year-old can know if he’s gay — is a complicated question that defies simple geographical explanations. Though gay kids in the South and in rural areas tend to have a harder time than those on the coasts, I met gay youth who were doing well in socially conservative areas like Tulsa and others in progressive cities who were afraid to come out.

What is clear is that for many gay youth, middle school is more survival than learning — one parent of a gay teenager I spent time with likened her child’s middle school to a “war zone.” In a 2007 survey of 626 gay, bisexual and transgender middle-schoolers from across the country by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (Glsen), 81 percent reported being regularly harassed on campus because of their sexual orientation. Another 39 percent reported physical assaults. Of the students who told teachers or administrators about the bullying, only 29 percent said it resulted in effective intervention.

A middle-school counselor in Maine summed up the view of many educators I spoke to when she conceded that her school was “totally unprepared” for openly gay students. “We always knew middle school was a time when kids struggle with their identity,” she told me, “but it was easy to let anti-gay language slide because it’s so imbedded in middle-school culture and because we didn’t have students who were out to us or their classmates. Now we do, so we’re playing catch up to try to keep them safe.”
I was out to a handful of schoolmates by 11th grade, but I can't imagine having had the nerve in middle school. Read the entire piece, overall it's much more positive than the above bit about combating bullying.

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The 21st Century Horror Films Cliche'


(Tipped by JMG reader Matt)

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PhoboQuotable - Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

"If there's a push for a socialist society where the foundations of individual rights and liberties are undermined and everybody is thrown together living collectively off one pot of resources earned by everyone, this is one of the goals they have to go to, same sex marriage, because it has to plow through marriage in order to get to their goal.

"They want public affirmation, they want access to public funds and resources. I said that if this is allowed to happen, Iowa would become the Mecca for same sex marriage, and that has begun to happen. Not only is it a radical social idea, it is a purely socialist concept in the final analysis." - Wingnut Rep. Steve King (R-IA), speaking on a World Net Daily internet radio program. King went on to say that former Sen. Rick Santorum's infamous quote that same-sex marriage would lead to incest and bestiality was correct. Clearly, King has santorum in his brain.

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Kennedy Aide Picked As Replacement

Paul Kirk, a longtime aide to Ted Kennedy, has been chosen by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to be Kennedy's interim replacement in the U.S. Senate.
Kirk was a longtime senior aide to Kennedy and served as chairman of the national Democratic Party in the late 1980s. Patrick is to announce his selection for the Senate seat at 11 a.m. at the Statehouse in Boston. One of the two sources who told CNN that Patrick will name Kirk is close to the Kennedy family. Two Kennedy family associates told CNN on Wednesday that Kirk is the family's favorite to fill his vacant Senate seat, and that the late senator's sons have relayed this view to Patrick. One source said Kennedy's widow, Vicki Kennedy, was among the family members supporting a Kirk appointment. The appointment would give Democrats a crucial 60th vote in the Senate as the chamber weighs President Obama's health care proposal. Massachusetts lawmakers voted Wednesday to approve a measure giving Patrick the power to appoint an interim replacement for Kennedy until a new election can be held.
Kirk will have a short run - the special election primary to pick Kennedy's full-time replacement is December 8th.

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Cleve Jones At NYC LGBT Center

National Equality March founder Cleve Jones spoke long and passionately to an enthusiastic overflow crowd at NYC's LGBT Center last night. Numerous well-known activists were in attendance, including Brendan Fay, Gilbert Baker, Lt. Dan Choi, Brandon Brock, and Jeff Campagna, but the only real dissent came from Gay City News' Andy Humm (pictured above on the right, Father Tony on the left). Humm demanded to know what the concrete goals of the March were, leading Jones to repeat his earlier call for "full civil equality in all 50 states."

Mentioning complaints about the March's short lead time, Jones criticized earlier March On Washington events (which had many notable problems), prompting the organizer of the 1987 MOW to lengthily defend its tactics. Jones responded by citing Facebook and other tools of the digital age as obviating the need for yearlong planning. Father Tony provides the video clip below of Jones opening his speech.

UPDATE: Here's World Of Wonder's Wayne Anderson's report from the evening.

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Barney Frank At ENDA Hearings

Barney Frank spoke as bluntly as always at yesterday's House ENDA hearings. Watch this. Good As You has many more clips.

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Thailand: AIDS Vaccine Breakthrough

Scientists in Thailand are reportedly "surprised" by their finding that an AIDS vaccine actually appears to work, reducing the risk of infection by 31%.
For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible. The vaccine cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by more than 31 percent in the world’s largest AIDS vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday in Bangkok. Even though the benefit is modest, “it’s the first evidence that we could have a safe and effective preventive vaccine,” Col. Jerome Kim said in a telephone interview. He helped lead the study for the U.S. Army, which sponsored it with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The institute’s director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned that this is “not the end of the road,” but said he was surprised and very pleased by the outcome. “It gives me cautious optimism about the possibility of improving this result” and developing a more effective AIDS vaccine, Fauci said in a telephone interview. “This is something that we can do.” Even a marginally helpful vaccine could have a big impact. Every day, 7,500 people worldwide are newly infected with HIV; 2 million died of AIDS in 2007, the U.N. agency UNAIDS estimates. “Today marks an historic milestone,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, an international group that has worked toward developing a vaccine. “It will take time and resources to fully analyze and understand the data, but there is little doubt that this finding will energize and redirect the AIDS vaccine field,” he said in a statement.
All the vaccine's recipients were followed for three years after receiving double-blind shots, which were delivered in six doses over six months. Optimism over this development must be tempered by the low number of those protected, of course.

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All The Single Linebackers

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Openly Gay SF Supervisor Bevan Dufty To Run For Mayor In 2011

San Francisco City Supervisor Bevan Dufty has announced his bid to become San Francisco's first openly gay mayor. Via the Bay Area Reporter:
Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who will be termed out of his District 8 seat in January 2011, will officially declare his candidacy to be San Francisco's next mayor when he pulls papers to enter the race this morning, Thursday, September 24. He is the first person to do so for an election that is more than two years away. Dufty, 54, has made no secret of his desire to succeed Mayor Gavin Newsom, who will be termed out of office in January 2012. Should he be elected, Dufty would be the first openly gay person to be San Francisco's mayor. "Having worked 16 years in city government I have a lot of experience in addressing the day-to-day needs of people in our city," Dufty told the Bay Area Reporter during an exclusive interview at his Lower Haight home Sunday, September 20. "I am excited about being a leader of city government and creating a dynamism and responsiveness that will make people proud of their city."
Dufty's campaign will be run by Steve Hildebrand, Barack Obama's 2008 deputy campaign manager. Hildebrand has been extremely critical of Obama in recent weeks.

RELATED: I first met Dufty at last year's premiere of Milk and found it fascinating to sit behind him watching a movie about the murder of the man who had the job Dufty now holds.

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Maddow: Senators Opposed To Health Care Reform Are "Losing It"

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Morning View - L Train Platform

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Open Thread Thursday

What's on your DVR/Tivo right now?

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Poll: Most NYers Don't Want New Airport

Despite the delays, the cancellations, and the dangerously overcrowded skies, a newly-released poll shows that two-thirds of the residents of the 31-county NYC metropolitan area don't support the building of a new airport.
The survey found, over all, that respondents tended not to prioritize lower airfares or increasing the number of destinations reachable from the area’s airports. In fact, a slight majority supported banning smaller planes with fewer than 80 seats during the peak hours, and 51 percent favored banning flights of less than 300 miles during those same hours. New York City, which serves as a gateway for many international flights into North America, is among the busiest aviation hubs in the world. Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration declared that two of the three New York City-area airports had reached operational capacity. A result of the congestion is more and more delays. Only two-thirds of the aircraft at New York City’s major airports had on-time departures in 2007, and only 60 percent had on-time arrivals. Each New York delay causes more than two delays elsewhere, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the three airports. As a result, nearly three-quarters of nationwide delays originate in New York area airspace, officials say.
According to a study performed by a business association, NYC-based flight delays cost the local economy almost $3B annually in lost productivity. The above-linked story says nothing about the shabby physical conditions of LGA and JFK.

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80's Flashback

Mory Kante, Yeke Yeke, 1988. With this global #1 hit, Guinean Mory Kante became the first African to score a million-selling single. The remix was a monster smash in gay clubs; my late pal Daniel literally broke his foot dancing to it at Miami's Cheers, where DJ Danny Tenaglia often made it a cornerstone of his sets. In 1994 the German techno duo Hardfloor released a remix of Yeke Yeke to decent success here, much better overseas. This is one of those songs that you sing along to, even though you don't even know its language. Btw, I've always wondered if that's Sade making a cameo around the 30-second mark.

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HomoQuotable - Larry Kramer

"We get what we fight for. And we are not fighting. Every single one of us is not fighting. They fight better than we do. There is a concerted and never ending vein of hate in this country and in this world dedicated to keeping us in our place. It is evil to force people to be what we are not -- free. We are not free.

"I love being gay. I love gay people. How can I say this without offending everyone else, I think we're better than other people. I think we are smarter. I think we are more talented. I think we are more aware. I think we make better friends. I think we make better lovers. I think we're more tuned in to what's happening, tuned into the moment, tuned into our emotions, and other people's emotions.

"Yes, I think that gay people are better than other people. I think the only thing we are not so good at is fighting back. I hear talk of the new generation of gays and the old generation of gays, and how different we are. That is not true. We are all one generation. We are all related. We are all each other's brothers and sisters. We are all one family, the gay family. And I passionately and desperately want all my brothers and sisters to stay alive and well and on this earth, with total equality with every straight person. Being gay is the most important thing in my life. I love being gay. I hope you do, too.
" - Legendary gay/AIDS activist and author Larry Kramer, telling the audience at Dallas Pride to fight harder.

(Via - Rex Wockner)

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HIV Travel Ban To Be Finally Lifted

The United States' ban on immigration for HIV+ persons is finally about to be history. The Customs and Immigration Service has advised workers to stand by for the ruling.
Currently HIV qualifies as an exclusionary communicable disease, and applications may be turned down by the US authorities if a person wishing to travel to the country, or settle there permanently, is HIV positive. The policy was overturned last year in what became known as the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, but the Bush administration did not enact the new rules before leaving office. The Health and Human Services body published the regulations this summer, and is currently reviewing public comment. Commentators have suggested that the pausing of green card applications which come down to the applicant's HIV status is a strong indicator that the rule change will be implemented soon, and that HIV will be removed from the list of exclusionary communicable diseases.
More on the story here.

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Obama's UN General Assembly Speech


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Joe Wilson, The Action Figure

A company called Herobuilders has rushed out a Joe Wilson action figure. Other figures in the line include Sarah Palin, Joe The Plumber, and Obama The Joker. HuffPo rants:
Look who got an action figure! South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson, that's who! Thanks to the good people at HeroBuilder.com, if you are looking to part with a cool $39.95 on a needless recession-era purchase, you can now be the proud owner of a mini-fig that ably chronicles that time in American History where a guy yelled at the President during a speech to a joint session of Congress. While the figure is so cheaply made that it sort of looks like a repurposed Howard Dean-on-ecstacy action figure, the Joe Wilson mini-fig is programmed to utter "You Lie!" You can listen to it here. Then, after fifteen minutes of shouting "You Lie!" the Joe Wilson action figure starts whining like a milquetoast and starts asking your other action figures to fight his battles for him.
You may recall that the same company sells a Larry "I Am Not Gay" Craig doll.

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Ukraine's Got Talent

John Aravosis at AmericaBlog tips us to this strangely hypnotic demonstration of sand painting by a contestant on Ukraine's Got Talent. There seems to be a lot of Soviet references, some of which I don't get, but it really gets cool after the first minute.

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Daily Grumble

As I mentioned yesterday, the streets of Manhattan's East Side are completely gridlocked this week due to the UN General Assembly. Notices of street closures have been posted everywhere for weeks, but that doesn't matter to the heavily botoxed woman who at this writing is completely blocking all three lanes of Second Avenue with her SUV "until someone in real authority" arrives to overrule the poor traffic cop who won't let her get to the parking garage of her luxury high-rise condo. I had to fight through the crowds watching her ranting just to get to the post office. It's sort of hilarious in a typically UES way, but I also sort of want to kill her. I suspect someone may beat me to that. I'm listening for the Homeland Security chopper right now.

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Poll: Approve R-71 Winning 51-44, Voter Turnout Will Be Crucial

A just-released poll shows that support for maintaining Washington state's domestic partners law is ahead by 51-44. But gay organizers are concerned.
When voters are read the exact ballot language, 51 percent approve referendum 71 and 44 percent reject referendum 71. The discrepancy may because this new poll looks only at voters likely to cast ballots in the 2009 off year election. As many as half of all voters don't vote in off year elections, and those who do tend to be more conservative. Considering the importance of these rights and obligations to so many Washington families it is troubling the race is going to be so close. If referendum 71 is rejected families will lose vital rights that protect families in times of crisis. You need to vote to approve referendum 71 to keep the domestic partnership law. Clearly the winner of this election will be determined by voter turn out. We need to turn out the vote and encourage our friends, family and neighbors to vote. If would be a tragedy if families in Washington lost protections because people didn't mail in their ballots.
RELATED: Yesterday a federal court agreed to hear the appeal brought by the state Attorney General's office demanding that the names of R-71's petition signers be made public. Via Slog's Dominic Holden:
A three-judge panel will hear oral arguments on October 14 in Pasadena, California. Each side will have 15 minutes to present their case. By signing R-71 petitions, voters indicated that a law to extend the state-granted rights of marriage to same-sex partners should be put on the ballot, ultimately in an attempt to repeal them. But in a bizarre twist of hypocrisy, anti-gay Protect Marriage Washington now claims that the signers are a minority—because they were trying to limit rights of a minority, you see—at risk of harm if their identities are released. Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna doesn't buy the claim—arguing the state's open-government laws trump fears of people who put their name on a public document—and attorneys from his office will argue before the federal court. The Washington Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit run by former state representative Toby Nixon, is also arguing to release the names of R-71 signers.

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How The Freepers See America

From the Free Republic post on the ENDA hearings. The post quotes a blog called The Last Crusade:
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is designed to make homosexuals, bisexuals, drag queens, cross-dressers and transsexuals into federally-protected minority groups. Once enacted, the latest legislation from the Obama Administration will produce the following results:

A. Businesses, as well as local, state, and federal governments, including public schools, will be forced to hire gays, lesbians and transgenders.

B. Christian-owned businesses will have to make accommodations for gay, lesbian, bisexual and individuals with a Gender Identity Disorder who believe they are the opposite sex.

C. The Act will forbid any employer from refusing to hire or promote a person because of his “sexual orientation” or his “gender identity” (cross-dressers, transsexuals, drag queens). A deviant from traditional morality who is turned down for a job or promotion can claim discrimination as a member of a federally-protected minority – and the employer can be prosecuted by the federal government. Every business owner will be liable for criminal prosecution if he or she fails to hire or promote a transgender person. Under ENDA, businesses throughout the country will face an army of federal lawyers to fight claims of discrimination from gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders. Defense costs will force most of these workplaces out of business.

D. ENDA will provide no exemption for Christian businesses or Christian camps, religious broadcasters and other religious entities! An independent Christian camp with 15 or more employees will be obliged to operate in accordance with the standards of the new legislation. Such a camp will be in violation of federal law for not hiring homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals or cross-dressers.

E. The new Act will be handled by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. President Obama has nominated lesbian activist lawyer Chai Feldblum to serve a 5-year term on the EEOC. Ms. Feldblum wrote ENDA and is expected to be ruthless in the enforcement of its stipulations.
How many lies can you find in the above?

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ENDA Hearing Live Stream

The ENDA hearings begin today in the U.S. House.

View the proceedings live here.

UPDATE: C-SPAN is not yet covering the hearings on the above link. I'm hunting for another video source. Follow along with the NGLTF's executive director Rea Carey, who is live-Tweeting from the U.S. Capitol.

UPDATE II: Watch it live here right now.

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London Police Invite Gay Cops To Join Detail To Protect Royal Family

London's Metropolitan Police are seeking LGBT applicants to join a special detail that protects the royal family.
Advertised internally, the positions are available to current armed officers, and involve residential protection in London, Windsor and Scotland for the SO14 branch. The listing states that the groups specified are currently under represented. The advert has sparked criticism from numerous quarters. John O'Connor, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner said: "From a political correctness point of view, it's just window dressing. These are terrible jobs which no one wants to do. What could be more soul-destroying than to sit in a rusty old sentry box for hours on end?" But Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, West Yorkshire criticised the move more seriously. "'I don't know whether the Royal Family are going to feel that much safer knowing there's a transgender outside protecting them," he said. "This is absolutely ludicrous. What's wrong with just employing the best for the job?
The police say that although they promote diversity, applicants will be selected "solely based on merit."

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More Lies: Maine's New Anti-Gay Ad

Stand For Marriage Maine has released its latest anti-gay ad. Commenter Maine4Marriage via YouTube:
More lies. All they did was redo an ad from California. And this Charla Bansley? She's a member of the Stand For Marriage Maine team. She works for the Concerned Women For America of Maine, and has spoken at several SFMM rallies. And she teaches at a CHRISTIAN school, not a public one!

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Fire Damages Cherry Grove Hotel

Fire Island's famous Cherry Grove Hotel, home to the Ice Palace nightclub, was severely damaged in a fire last night.
The blaze broke out inside a housekeeping shed along the north side of the two story Grove Hotel around 2 a.m. Firefighters from Cherry Grove, the Fire Island Pines, Point O’ Woods, Ocean Bay Park, Ocean Beach, Saltaire and Sayville responded to the scene. The four people inside the hotel evacuated safely, but Ocean Beach firefighter Ian Levine said the thick smoke made it difficult to find the fire’s source. "The smoke ran through the entire building," he said. Grove Hotel manager Ramón Peña-Sierra further described the scene. "The north end of the hotel is completely burned down," he said.
The hotel was scheduled to close for the season next week. Owners vow to rebuild in time for summer 2010.

(Via - Edge Boston)

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France: Let's Put Health Warnings On Airbrushed Models

A coalition of 50 prominent French politicians wants to require that advertisers place "bold notices" on airbrushed images of models. The pols say that women need to know when the photos have been digitally altered and that trying to become one of those skinny bitches can be bad for your health.
Campaigning MP Valerie Boyer, of President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party, said the wording should read:"Retouched photograph aimed at changing a person's physical appearance". Mrs Boyer, who has also written a government report on anorexia and obesity, added: "We want to combat the stereotypical image that all women are young and slim. "These photos can lead people to believe in a reality that does not actually exist, and have a detrimental effect on adolescents. "Many young people, particularly girls, do not know the difference between the virtual and reality, and can develop complexes from a very young age. "In some cases this leads to anorexia or bulimia and very serious health problems. "It's not just a question of public health, but also a way of protecting the consumer." She said the law – which had its first reading in the French parliament last week – should also have a wider scope than simply photos used in newspaper and magazine advertising. Mrs Boyer added: "Billboard photos and those on product packaging, as well as photos used in political campaigns or artistic photos, should also be included."
The proposed fine for not publishing the warning is 50% of the cost of the ad campaign.

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Will The "All Porn Makes You Gay" Guy Sink Bob McDonnell (R) In Virginia?

It turns out that the 2009 GOP candidate for Virginia governor, Bob McDonnell, cited Michael Schwartz (the "all porn makes you gay" guy) two times in his master's thesis at Liberty University. As has been noted here, McDonnell's thesis also rails against "cohabitators, homosexuals and fornicators" and says that women shouldn't work outside the home. Since Bob McDonnell thinks Schwartz is a genius, lets hope the Dems pick that up and run with it.

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