Saturday, December 26, 2009

Afternoon View - Gun Control

On display in the lobby of an Orlando Sports Authority are these safes for storing your rifles and automatic weapons in advance of the coming teabagger-led revolution.

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Non-Authentic Glee

Likely every social phenomenon in history, the flash mob was long ago co-opted by marketing and advertising firms. Here's how Fox is promoting GLEE in Italy.

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Palpatine Forgives Attacker

Pope Palpatine says he forgives the woman that attacked him on Christmas Eve.
Appearing for his Christmas "Urbi et Orbi" blessing to tens of thousands of congregants in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made an appeal to "abandon all logic of violence and revenge" and lead with "generosity" on "the path of peaceful coexistence." The plea came less than a day after Susanna Maiolo, 25, pushed past security guards to reach the Pope, knocking him down in a chaotic papal mishap. The Pope was uninjured, but a prominent French cardinal who was near the Pope also fell, and was hospitalized with a broken hip. Maiolo, a Swiss-Italian, has been hospitalized and apparently told doctors she did not mean to hurt the Pope, La Republica newspaper reported. A Vatican spokesman said the girl was "apparently unbalanced," but they would be "very lenient" with her and she would be pardoned. "It was an assault, but it wasn't dangerous because she wasn't armed," the spokesman said.
All she wanted was those ruby Prada slippers.

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Please Remove Your Pants

Is that what's next at airport security checkpoints?
During 19 hours of travel, aboard two flights across three continents, law enforcement officials said, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab bided his time. Then, just as Northwest Flight 253 finally began its final approach to Detroit around noon on Friday, he tried to ignite the incendiary powder mixture he had taped to his leg, they said. There were popping sounds, smoke and a commotion as passengers cried out in alarm and tried to see what was happening. And then history repeated itself. Just as occurred before Christmas in 2001 when Richard C. Reid tried to ignite the plastic explosives hidden in his shoe on a trans-Atlantic flight, fellow passengers jumped on Mr. Abdulmutallab, restraining the 23-year-old Nigerian. Crew members poured bottled water on the flames, snuffing out the sparks of what could have been a planewide conflagration.
Check out these coming new safety measures from the TSA, apparently leaked on Air Canada's site.
Although transportation officials had not announced new security measures yet, Air Canada said the Transportation Security Agency would make significant changes to the way passengers are able to move about on aircraft. During the final hour of flight, customers will have to remain seated, will not be allowed access to carry-on baggage and cannot have personal belongings or other items on their laps, according to a notice on Air Canada’s Web site.

In effect, that means passengers on flights of about 90 minutes or less will not be able to get out of their seats, since they are not allowed to move about while an airplane is climbing to its cruising altitude. Air Canada also told its United States bound customers that they would be limited to a single carry-on item and that they would be subjected to personal and baggage searches at security check points and in the gate area. It said this would result in significant delays, canceled flights and missed connections. Air Canada said it would waive the baggage fee for the first checked bag as a result of the new policy.

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The Porno Pete Anthem

The Cross-Eyed Iguana's pay tribute to America's #1 homobigot, Peter Labarbera. Like Petey's blog, this clip is possibly NSFW.

(Via - Wayne Besen)

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Friday, December 25, 2009

She's Got The Holiday Spirit

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Dance Of The Sugar Plum Lesbians

This story makes its sixth annual appearance on JMG....

Grand Central Terminal functions as the mechanical heart of midtown New York City, pumping out several thousand workers and tourists on one beat, then sucking in several thousand more on the next.

The rhythms of the terminal are fascinating.

Beat. Four thousand, inbound from New Haven.

Beat. Three thousand, outbound to Westchester.

Worlds collide on the main floor.

The tourists gawk up at the gloriously ornate ceiling and uselessly flash their digital cameras at objects hundreds of feet away.

The commuters rush up to the track displays to determine their track number, then dart across the terminal floor, dodging the milling tourists, heads down, like running backs heading for the end zone.

It's mesmerizing. It's majestic.

And sometimes, like tonight, it's magical.

I'm walking through the massive main room just as the holiday laser show begins on the ceiling. To the tune of Take The "A" Train, the laser depicts two trains arriving from different directions. The trains stop opposite each other and a reindeer leaps out of each one and crosses over to the opposite train.

The laser traces the outline of one of the zodiac constellations painted on the ceiling. The Cancer crab leaps to life and becomes the Crab Conductor, waddling down the center aisle of the car, punching the reindeers' ticket stubs with his claws.

I move over to the edge of the room, near the entrance for Track 25, so I can watch the reaction to the show. As usual, I'm more entertained by watching the audience than by watching the actual show.

At the ticket windows, standing in front of signs that say "Harlem Line" or "Hudson Line", commuters tilt their heads painfully back to view the show directly overhead. The tourists cluster in delighted circles, holding each others' elbows for balance as they nearly bend over backwards.

Some people move to the edges of the great hall, as I have, to remove themselves from the traffic flow while they watch. Among those that come to join me on the perimeter of the room is a lesbian couple. They stand quite close to me, the taller woman behind the shorter one, with her arms wrapped around her, supporting her a bit as they both lean back on the marble wall.

The shorter woman is stout with a large firm chest. Her hair is short and brushed back into what might have once been called a ducktail. She has an ornate tattoo on her left forearm and she has a leather wallet protruding from the rear pocket of her jeans, attached to her leather belt by a short silver chain. She has more than a passing resemblence to Tony Danza, her big boobs notwithstanding, so naturally (in my head) I name her Toni.

Toni's girlfriend is blond and her short ponytail dangles just above her collar. She is wearing long Christmas tree earrings which nearly brush her shoulders. Her lanky, sinewy limbs are bound in a tight running outfit, over which she is wearing a school athletic jacket. I imagine that she might be a coach at Yale or Harvard, perhaps a girls lacrosse coach, or maybe track and field.

Coach is squeezing Toni tightly and they bounce together to the music a bit. Coach looks over at me and catches me smiling. She nudges Toni, who looks over at me too, and we all grin goofily at each other for a moment.

Overhead, a new show begins. The familiar opening notes of Tchaikovsky's Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies ring out as the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings sprout arms, bow to each other, and begin waltzing across the ceiling.

I look around the room and it's as if time was frozen for just a second, every person stopped in mid-stride, eyes cast upward, mouths open in silent joy.

Toni pushes away from Coach, turns around and delivers her a bow as deep and as elegant as the one just depicted overheard.

"Madame, may I please have this dance?" she asks Coach.

Coach looks around a bit awkwardly. "You are TOO much!" And she giggles.

"Madame, I must insist!" says Toni, as she takes Coach's hands into hers.

Coach relents and she and Toni begin a beautful, slow waltz, moving in half-time to the music. As you might have guessed already, Toni leads.

As they dance, their eyes remain locked on each other. Toni is giving Coach an intense look, her lips tightly curled into a satisfied smile. Coach is grinning from ear to ear and again, she giggles.

All around Coach and Toni, the tourists, the businessmen, the students, the conductors, even the guy with a broom...they're all watching. Some are expressionless, but more are smiling, and some of them...some of them are frantically fussing with their cameras, eager to capture this magical New York Moment.

Serendipity prevails, the tune ends, and Toni dips Coach backwards with a dramatic upsweep of her free arm as a firestorm of camera flashes erupt around them. Toni pulls Coach up and close to her and they hug. There's another camera flash and the crowd begins to move along.

Then.

"Hey, look!"

The laser show is being concluded with giant sprigs of mistletoe appearing over our heads. This time it's Coach who bends down and plants a long tender kiss on Toni's non-lipsticked mouth. There's another flash of cameras from the delighted audience.

Toni takes Coach's hand and they begin to move off towards the exit.

"Oh, don't stop!" says a disappointed woman, still rummaging for her camera.

Toni looks back over her shoulder and says, "I never will."

Grand Central Terminal, the mechanical heart of New York City, beats again. But this time I hear a different rhythm. This time I hear a double beat.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYBODY!

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Darlene Love On Letterman

Last night Darlene Love made her 23rd annual holiday appearance on the David Letterman show to sing her classic Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). It's really hard to believe that her first hit record, 1962's #1 smash He's A Rebel, was 47 years ago.

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A Very Hiram Christmas

A group of gay protesters crashed the holiday party of NY Sen. Hiram "Slasher" Monserrate last night on the one year anniversary of his assault on his girlfriend. Monserrate is still not allowed to see her, you may recall his recent insanely hypocritical complaint about that: "Two adults who are consenting and who are like-minded and within their mental capacities should be allowed to be with each other. I think it's an outrage." Stay for the end of the clip for some commentary from his chief of staff.

(Via - JMG reader Jon)

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Senate Passes Health Care Bill

It's definitely not the bill we wanted, but this morning the Senate voted 60-39 to approve its version of health care reform.
The Senate voted Thursday to reinvent the nation’s health care system, passing a bill to guarantee access to health insurance for tens of millions of Americans and to rein in health costs as proposed by President Obama. The 60-to-39 party-line vote, on the 25th straight day of debate on the legislation, brings Democrats a step closer to a goal they have pursued for decades. It clears the way for negotiations with the House, which passed a broadly similar bill last month by a vote of 220 to 215.

If the two chambers can strike a deal, as seems likely, the resulting product would vastly expand the role and responsibilities of the federal government. It would, as lawmakers said repeatedly in the debate, touch the lives of nearly all Americans. The bill would require most Americans to have health insurance, would add 15 million people to the Medicaid rolls and would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people, at a cost to the government of $871 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Senator Robert Byrd voted this way: “This is for my friend Ted Kennedy. Aye!”

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Morning View - Blue Skies & Palm Trees

From frightful to delightful, as the song goes.

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Westboro: God Hates Gaga

Everybody's favorite Clowns For Jeebus will be picketing a Lady Gaga concert next month. Although there is "nothing new or different" about her. OK then. Also on the Westboro picket tour are stops at a couple of synagogues, Joel Osteen's megachurch, and a hockey game in New Hampshire. Because hockey in the winter is "lazy and unimaginative." They are seriously running out of ideas over at Westboro.

Meanwhile Lady Gaga is teaming up with Virgin Mobile to help homeless LGBT youth.

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

LGA Reading Material

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Sky High Subway

Today a portable Subway sandwich shop was attached to a crane at Ground Zero where it will rise with the Freedom Tower, ultimately feeding the hardhats at more than 100 stories. Pretty cool.

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IOWA: Haters Working On Marriage Repeal

It may take a few years, but the Iowa Family Policy Council is laying the groundwork to repeal same-sex marriage.
The Iowa Family Policy Council’s Bryan English told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier that the group is asking 150 state lawmakers where they stand on a ballot measure similar to California’s Proposition 8 and Maine’s Question 1 — both of which stripped same-sex couples of state marriage rights. The group also intends to hold a “two days for marriage” rally next month in Des Moines. A proposed constitutional amendment has to be approved by the general assemblies in two consecutive sessions before it goes to voters. If the legislature does not act on the matter in 2010, the earliest the amendment could be before Iowan voters would be 2013 or 2014. "Our passion about it is stronger than it maybe even was last April,” English said, referring to the Iowa supreme court’s unanimous decision to overturn a state gay marriage ban. “Folks have had a chance to think about the implications of what's going on here and they're becoming more and more convinced here that the only remedy here is to let us vote."
(Via - Advocate)

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Caption This

(Tipped by JMG reader Ted)

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Staff Of Chicago's Gay Paper Quit

The woes of queer print media appear unending. Staffers of the long-running LGBT paper Chicago Free Press have quit because their salaries weren't being paid.
The art director, graphic designer and most of the writers at the Chicago Free Press left the gay publication Monday after the company stopped paying its employees, according to Matt Simonette, who also left his position as editor. The news follows financial struggles and decreased ad sales for the paper, which is geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Simonette said Tuesday that editorial contributors had not been paid since mid-November and staff members had not received paychecks that were due Dec. 15. Other former employees said paychecks had not come on time in the past. "The senior staff did not resign; it was just simply a matter of leaving because of non-payment," Simonette said.
The paper is owned by Rainbow Media.

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The Family Research Council Holiday Variety Show, Starring Tony Perkins

Good As You points out the lamest thing to lame out of Lametown, since like, ever.

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Santa's Got A Boyfriend

DaddyHunt.com writes to tip us to their depiction of Santa getting home after a day on the streets of NYC. As ads for social networking/hook-up sites go, this is pretty sweet.

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Miike Snow - Silvia

Strange and lovely electro-pop from Sweden's Miike Snow. You might remember lead singer Andrew Wyatt as one half of the Funkraphiliacs, the other half formed The Bird And The Bee, who had a minor hit a couple of years ago with the fantastic Fucking Boyfriend. This is produced by Bloodshy & Avant (Madonna, Kylie) who won a Grammy for Britney Spears' Toxic.

(Via JMG reader Andrew)

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Tbilisi: Georgian Police Raid LGBT Center

Georgian LGBT organization The Inclusive Foundation reports that numerous members were detained by the police in a raid that occurred last week in Tbilisi.
On December 15 2009 the office of the Inclusive Foundation, a well known Georgian LGBT organisation, was raided by the police. They did not wear police uniforms, did not provide a search warrant, did not inform about their identity or agency they represented and did not explain the purpose of their intrusion. Members of the LGBT community were present in the office during the raid for a regular meeting of the "Women’s Club". The men confiscated cell phones of all those present in the office, did not allow them to contact their families, and made degrading and humiliating remarks, such as ‘perverts’, ‘sick persons’, Satanists. They threatened to take photos of the women and disseminate them to reveal their sexual orientation. They also threatened ‘to kill’ and ‘tear to pieces’ one of the leaders of the organisation, Eka Agdgomelashvili, if she did not stop demanding the search warrant and identification documents of the police.

Paata Sabelashvili, the leader of the organization, was arrested as a result of the raid. Soon after arrest he confessed to the possession of 8 grams of marijuana. However, because he made the confession before seeing his lawyer, without the presence of anyone except law enforcement officials, the validity and voluntary character of the confession is highly suspicious. Staff members of the organization are under continuous surveillance up till now. Their homes, movement in the city and office are under constant surveillance by cars full of men without uniform. One such car is permanently stationed outside the entrance to the house of one of the staff members.
A full accounting of the raid and its aftermath is here. (PDF)

(Tipped by JMG reader Sheepy)

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Tweet Of The Day

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Obama's Scorecard

The breakdown on the president's campaign promises is here.

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

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Ad Attacks Obama On Public Option

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U.S. State Department Says Uganda President Will Veto "Kill Gays" Bill

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Penn Station Shut Down

If you're traveling via Amtrak today, be advised that Amtrak and NJ Transit have temporarily suspended service to Penn Station due to an electrical problem. Check Twitter for updates. At the moment it looks like some trains are returning to New Jersey because they can't enter Penn. What a mess. Expect delays to ripple up and down the east coast all day.

UPDATE: The AP has issued a bulletin:
Amtrak power problems have halted trains and stranded commuters in and out of New York City. NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said the low-voltage problem halted Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and Midtown Direct trains into and out of New York's Penn Station. Some trains are stranded just outside Penn Station and others are stuck between Newark and New York City. Stessel said there is enough electricity to power the lights and heat on the trains, but not the engines. PATH trains and Port Authority buses are honoring NJ Transit rail passes.

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Submitted Without Comment

(Via - JMG reader Foxy)

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Your Dog Is Not Green

According to two studies, the environmental impact of owning a dog is twice that of driving an SUV.
Man's best friend could be one of the environment's worst enemies, according to a new study which says the carbon pawprint of a pet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle. But the revelation in the book "Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living" by New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale has angered pet owners who feel they are being singled out as troublemakers. The Vales, specialists in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington, analysed popular brands of pet food and calculated that a medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year. Combine the land required to generate its food and a "medium" sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) -- around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a year, including energy to build the car. To confirm the results, the New Scientist magazine asked John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, Britain, to calculate eco-pawprints based on his own data. The results were essentially the same.
Hmm. I guess my cat is the pet equivalent of driving an electric car.

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Heathen's Greetings

Ho-hum. Another billboard promoting atheism, another "outrage." Laura Ingraham seems to think that Christianity predates the celebration of the Winter Solstice.

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Morning View - Fifth & East 62nd

Note the pretty black snow.

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Happy Festivus

As the grinchiest Grinch that ever grinched out of Grinchtown, allow me to wish you a Happy Festivus. I don't own any holiday decorations, of course, but I'm allowing the steam pipe in my kitchen to stand in as a Festivus Pole. And now, the Airing Of Grievances...

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tempest In A Treepot: Simon Doonan's White House Ornaments

Simon Doonan, the openly gay creative director of Barney's, was hired last month to decorate the White House for the holidays. Cue the wingnuts, who are now completely losing their shit because of a few ornaments Doonan hung on one of the White House's many Christmas trees. Adorning one of the ornaments is a signed photo from NYC drag star Hedda Lettuce, surrounded by rainbow flags. Another features a tiny replica of Andy Warhol's dragged-up portrait of Chairman Mao. Patriotic Resistance is spearheading a complaint campaign to Doonan's agent, who is surely delighted. And of course, Fox News is all over it.

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Dutch Manhattan

Gothamist points us to this cool map showing how New Amsterdam looked 350 years ago. The defensive "Wall" on the northern border, of course became the global center of commerce. Those rotten Brits tore most of the wall down in 1699. The Chinese are finishing the job right now.

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Sean Bell Way

The NYC Council is fighting amongst themselves over the decision to rename a Queens street after Sean Bell, the twice-arrested drug dealer who was shot at 50 times by the NYPD after they mistakenly (they say) thought he was reaching for a gun. Bell was killed and his case resulted in major reforms in NYPD procedures, although the firing officers were found not guilty of manslaughter.
Council members who voted in favor of the bill argued that the renaming was not simply a remembrance of a life cut short, but also a reminder of the steps the city took in the aftermath of the shooting. The department created a special panel to examine procedures for undercover police officers and made changes, including requiring breath tests for officers who fire their weapons. “This is a commemoration of a tragic event that got international attention and created a lot of reforms,” said Councilman Leroy G. Comrie Jr., a Democrat who represents the neighborhood where the shooting took place. A handful of council members opposed the measure, arguing that the Bell case did not fit the criteria for street memorials. “We use a street renaming as a way of recognizing someone’s heroic actions, whether in life or death,” said Councilman Eric Ulrich, a Queens Republican. “However tragic Sean Bell’s death was, I don’t believe his life or his death was heroic.”
Sean Bell Way was included in a bill authorizing numerous other name changes and could not be voted on independently. Queens Councilman Peter Vallone: "It's a despicable position we're being placed in. There is nothing about [Bell's death] that reflects positively on the city. He's a criminal. He was driving drunk."

Led by Al Sharpton, protesters poured into the NYC streets after the officers' 2008 acquittal. A multi-million dollar civil suit against the city and the NYPD is proceeding. Since his death, Sean Bell has been paid musical tribute by numerous rappers. And now, by a street sign in Queens.

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Sen. Coburn's Prayer Backfires, Other Oklahoma Senator Misses Health Care Vote

Remember when Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) asked for prayers that a fellow Senator miss the crucial cloture vote on health care reform, presumably due to illness or death? This morning, teabaggers were wondering if their prayers backfired when Coburn's Oklahoma GOP colleague Sen. James Inhofe failed to show for a second procedural vote. From a caller to Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) during a C-SPAN show:
CALLER: Yeah doctor. Our small tea bag group here in Whitecross, we got our vigil together and took Dr. Coburn’s instructions and prayed real hard that Sen. Byrd would either die or couldn’t show up at the vote the other night. How hard did you pray because I see one of our members was missing this morning. Did it backfire on us? One of our members died? How hard did you pray senator? Did you pray hard enough?

(Via - Think Progress)

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Health Care Reform Chart

Embiggen the image for a breakdown of the positive changes some claim will result from the pending health care reform bill.

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

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Microsoft Loses Word Patent Appeal

Microsoft has lost its appeal of a patent claim against Word, meaning they can no longer sell the disputed version of the word processing software. (Until they pay off the people who actually invented it.)
The ruling, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit -- which handles many patent and trademark cases -- may signal the endgame of a long-running dispute between Microsoft and Toronto-based i4i Ltd. On August 12, a jury in a federal U.S. district court in Texas ruled in favor of i4i Ltd against Microsoft, for infringing a patent relating to the use of XML, or extensible markup language, in the 2003 and 2007 versions of Word. The jury slapped more than $290 million in damages on Microsoft and the court granted i4i's motion for an injunction preventing the world's top software company from selling versions of Word that contain the disputed patent technology. That injunction was stayed while Microsoft appealed the case with the Court of Appeals. According to Tuesday's ruling, which upheld the injunction, Microsoft will be prevented from selling infringing versions of Word from January 11, 2010. However, industry experts say the most likely outcome is a settlement between the two parties that allows Microsoft to pay a royalty to i4i and continue selling Word.

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PhoboQuotable - Tim Pawlenty

"That statute is not worded the way it should be. I said I regretted the vote later because it included things like cross-dressing, and a variety of other people involved in behaviors that weren't based on sexual orientation, just a preference for the way they dressed and behaved. So it was overly broad. So if you are a third-grade teacher and you are a man and you show up on Monday as Mr. Johnson and you show up on Tuesday as Mrs. Johnson, that is a little confusing to the kids. So I don't like that." - Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), saying he regrets his vote on LGBT rights as a state legislator. Pawlenty is backtracking on his previous support in order to better his chances for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

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I Find Your Lack Of Faith In Ben Bernanke Disturbing (Chokes Investors)

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You Too Can Do The Jersey Do

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Sesame Street's Alaina Reed Dies

Alaina Reed, known to millions as Sesame Street's Olivia, has died of breast cancer in Los Angeles.
Previously known as Alaina Reed Hall, she remarried in 2008. Her stage credits include "Chicago" and "Hair." She appeared in several movies, including "Cruel Intentions" and "Death Becomes Her," and in guest-starring roles on numerous TV shows such as "ER," "NYPD Blue," "The Drew Carey Show" and "Ally McBeal." Reed-Amini joined the "Sesame Street" cast in 1976 and played Olivia, a photographer and sister of the character Gordon. She remained on the show until 1988. She starred on NBC's "227" from 1985 to 1990, playing the landlady and best friend of the show's main character. On the show's final season, Reed-Amini married a character played by her real-life husband, Kevin Peter Hall, who died in 1991.
I loved her on 227. Here's a great clip from Sesame Street.

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Satan Jr. Demands That GOProud Be Booted From CPAC 2010

Jerry Falwell Jr. has joined the call to ban GOProud from co-sponsoring the wingnut confab CPAC-2010 and has cosigned a letter threatening to pull out of the event if the dirty homos are allowed to appear.
A pro-family leader says organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference are engaging in "moral surrender" by allowing a Republican homosexual activist group to co-sponsor the prestigious event. Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr., and Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver have sent a letter to American Conservative Union chairman David Keene, warning him they will boycott CPAC 2010 if the homosexual activist group GOProud is allowed to remain as a co-sponsor of the February event. The letter, which was signed by other conservative Christian leaders, asks Keene to respond by 5:00 p.m. today. Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, was one of the first social conservative leaders to sign the letter. He believes CPAC's embrace of GOProud is symptomatic of a broader problem -- what he calls the "dumbing down of the pro-family stand in the public policy arena."

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UGANDA: Hundreds Picket Capital In Support Of "Kill Gays" Bill

Hundreds of anti-gay protesters demonstrated in Kampala today in support of Uganda's pending "kill gays" bill.
The protesters, led by born-again clerics, cultural leaders, and university undergraduates, marched to the parliament where they presented a petition. The bill - introduced by parliamentarian David Bahati - would see gay men and lesbians sentenced to life imprisonment for having sex, and a death sentence for sex with minors. Anyone failing to report a homosexual act committed by others would face up to three years in jail. Despite some local opposition and international outrage to the proposed law, the Ugandan government seems determined to push it through. In a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the general secretary of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, Samuel Kobia, said he was 'saddened and distressed to receive the news from Uganda regarding a proposed law against homosexual individuals.' As the demonstrators were marching to parliament, Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo told a news conference that foreigners were promoting opposition to the anti-gay bill.
I'll have photos/video of the protest when they become available.

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VIDEO: Mexico City Approves Marriage


(Via - Towleroad)

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Giuliani: No 2010 Run For U.S. Senate

Rudy Giuliani has announced that he will not be challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010.
The decision by Mr. Giuliani, 65, leaves Senator Gillibrand — who was appointed to her seat less than a year ago, has never run in a statewide election, and is still unfamiliar to many voters — without a high-profile Republican opponent as she faces election to the seat. As recently as a week ago, a Quinnipiac University poll showed Mr. Giuliani leading Ms. Gillibrand in a hypothetical matchup, 50 percent to 40 percent. Mr. Giuliani, whose decision to forgo a race for governor was reported a month ago, plans to endorse Rick Lazio for governor of New York on Tuesday afternoon at a news conference in Manhattan, the Republicans said. Mr. Giuliani’s intentions were reported by The Daily News on its Web site Monday evening.
No Senate seat, no governorship. What's Rudy planning? Could it be that Bernie Kerik has sunk him forever in New York?

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Jews Outraged: Palpatine Wants Holocaust Pope Pius XII To Be Named A Saint

Jewish groups are furious over Pope Palpatine's announcement that he is submitting Pope Pius XII, infamously known as "Hitler's Pope," for beatification.
Jewish leaders from around the world expressed their outrage today after the Pope opened the way for his controversial wartime predecessor to be made a saint, with some calling the possible beatification of Pius XII as "inopportune and premature". Benedict signed a decree last Saturday on the virtues of Pius, who has been criticised for not doing enough to stop the Holocaust. The decree means he can be beatified once a miracle attributed to him has been recognised. Beatification is the first major step towards sainthood. But Benedict, who has long admired Pius, continues to draw fire for ignoring concerns over the controversial pontiff. Among those to criticise him was the World Jewish Congress, whose president, Ronald Lauder, said: "As long as the archives about the crucial period 1939 to 1945 remain closed, and until a consensus on his actions ‑ or inaction ‑ concerning the persecution of millions of Jews in the Holocaust is established, a beatification is inopportune and premature."
The Vatican has long claimed that Pius 12 worked "behind the scenes" to lessen the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. The degree to which that may have happened has been disputed by Jewish and other historians. The Jewish Virtual Library contains numerous accounts of refused pleas for Pius 12 to intercede or at least condemn the actions of the Nazis. The site does note several instances where Pius 12 helped Jews obtain foreign passports, but maintains that he did so only under pressure from the Allies and very late in the war after it was clear that the Axis powers would lose. The Vatican has consistently declined to open its Holocaust-era archives.

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Relationship Advice From Google

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Morning View - Yield To Horses

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The CHRIST-Mas Tree

From Boss Creations:
In recent years, our Christmas holiday has been made to become a generic holiday for all religions with many being forced to call it a "Holiday" season instead of Christmas season. We, as Christians, must take a stand and rescue our religious holiday. We at Boss Creations believe that one way to do this is to decorate with more Christian-themed holiday decorations including The CHRIST-mas Tree. We have figured a way to enhance the tradition of decorating a tree for Jesus at Christmas by adding a cross that acts as a reminder of Him. By changing our tree to include a cross, we are making a statement that we want to keep our Christmas holiday! Our new tree and decorations ideas will not only help to enhance our celebration of the Christmas holiday but will help to enlighten those who may decorate for Christmas but may not be "Christians."
When the holidays are over, you can crucify your heathen neighbors! Convenient! Well, maybe their kids. It looks a little small. But it's only $299.99!!!

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Progressives Want To Kill Health Bill

Well, some progressives. Like bloggers from Firedoglake and Daily Kos.

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You Don't Bring A Nun To A Snowball Fight

Sorry. Some of you will get this.

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Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of Art Meets Commerce, today's Swag Tuesday prize is two tickets to the Broadway smash Finian's Rainbow, starring openly gay heartthrob Cheyenne Jackson. This week the show made TIME Magazine's list "The Top Ten Everything Of 2009."
A Broadway revival for this 1947 musical was a long time coming. And with good reason: its book, featuring a leprechaun looking for a pot of gold and a bigoted Southern politician who is turned black, is just too loony to take seriously. But director Warren Carlyle's spunky Broadway revival does right by the great Burton Lane-Yip Harburg score, whose mixture of Irish lyricism, social commentary and Tin Pan Alley pizzazz is something really grandish.
A special discount ticket rate for JMG readers has been created on the Finian's Rainbow site. Click on this link for tickets at $69 (Tues-Thurs) and $85 (Fri-Sun.) The discounted rate is available through January 31st. (A handful of dates are already sold out.)

Enter to WIN two tickets by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your comment. Entries close at midnight on Wednesday, west coast time. If you cannot be in NYC to attend the show, your winning entry is transferable to another party. (Instant Xmas present!) Publicists: If you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Evening View - Toys R Us Times Square

I don't know what I was thinking.

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Mexico City Approves Gay Marriage

Today lawmakers in Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage! Mexico City is now the largest city in the world to approve marriage equality and is the second national capital to do so in less than a week, following Washington DC.
Mexico City lawmakers on Monday made the city the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, a change that will give homosexual couples more rights, including allowing them to adopt children. The bill passed the capital's local assembly 39-20 to the cheers of supporters who yelled: "Yes, we could! Yes, we could!" Leftist Mayor Marcelo Ebrard of the Democratic Revolution Party was widely expected to sign the measure into law. Mexico City's left-led assembly has made several decisions unpopular elsewhere in this deeply Roman Catholic country, including legalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. That decision sparked a backlash, with the majority of Mexico's other 32 states enacting legislation declaring life begins at conception.

The conservative Nation Action Party of President Felipe Calderon has vowed to challenge the gay marriage law in the courts. However, homosexuality is increasingly accepted in Mexico, with gay couples openly holding hands in parts of the capital and the annual gay pride parade drawing tens of thousands. The bill calls for changing the definition of marriage in the city's civil code. Marriage is currently defined as the union of a man and a woman. The new definition will be "the free uniting of two people." The change would allow same-sex couples to adopt children, apply for bank loans together, inherit wealth and be included in the insurance policies of their spouse, rights they were denied under civil unions allowed in the city.
Mexico City approved civil unions in 2007. In November a court in Buenos Aires approved the marriage of a same-sex couple, but that ruling was stayed by another judge and remains in limbo. Some Mexican and Brazilian states have legalized civil unions for gay couples, but Uruguay is the only Latin American nation with civil unions nationwide. Mexico City is an amazing first!

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Tarmac Delays Limited To 3 Hours

The feds have ruled that the longest an airline can hold you prisoner on a delayed airliner is three hours.
The Obama administration took aim Monday at tarmac horror stories, ordering airlines to let passengers stuck in stranded airplanes get off the plane after three hours. With its new regulations, the Transportation Department sent an unequivocal message on the eve of the busy holiday travel season: Don't hold travelers hostage to delayed flights. The Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents U.S. airlines, said in a statement that carriers would comply with the new rule even though the group contends it will lead to canceled flights and greater passenger inconvenience. Under the new regulations, airlines operating domestic flights will be able only to keep passengers on board for three hours before they must be allowed to disembark a delayed flight. The regulation provides exceptions only for safety or security or if air traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.
Foreign carriers are not covered by the new rule.

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Glenn Beck: Misinformer Of The Year

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Friendly Voices - Dennis & Christine Wiley

"A final piece that shapes black attitudes toward same-sex marriage is the preoccupation with racism in the black community. This obsession, although justifiable, has led to a failure to appreciate how racism is inextricably connected to all other forms of oppression. Those who fail to see this connection may resent the comparison of gay rights with civil rights. But as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"Last week, two black D.C. Council members voted against the same-sex marriage bill. But five black council members voted for it. Our black mayor signed it on Friday, and our black congressional representative has promised to defend it on Capitol Hill. Although the bill faces the possibility of intervention by Congress, something revolutionary is happening in this city to debunk the notion that the black community's homophobia is entrenched.

"Many new members are joining the church, excited by our vision. The couple for whom we performed the first union ceremony at our church are still together and doing well. And the man who aspired to the ministry was ordained a few weeks ago and is now a chaplain supervisor at a local hospital. Some who disagree with us have condemned us to hell. But we believe that God has granted us the courage of our convictions." - Pastors Dennis and Christine Wiley, in a lengthy Washington Post editorial explaining why their black DC church supports marriage equality.

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Will New Mexico Be #32?

Feeling left out of the nationwide cavalcade of hate, a New Mexico lawmaker has pre-filed a bill which would amend that state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
Senator William Sharer, a Republican from Farmington, has pre-filed legislation that would define marriage as a heterosexual union in the New Mexico Constitution. The bill proposes adding the following text to the constitution: “Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.” Voter approval is needed to alter the state's constitution. Similar attempts in the last two sessions of the Legislature have died in committee. In previous legislative sessions, the New Mexico House has approved bills recognizing gay and lesbian unions as domestic partnerships, but the more conservative Senate rejected the measures. In this year's session, the bill failed by eight votes.
Same-sex marriage is presently banned in 31 states.

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Amazon's Ten Best Dance Tracks Of 2009

Amazon has posted their picks for the best dance tracks of 2009. (Sample tracks here) I can't say I'm familiar with much of the list, but I'm happy to see Pet Shop Boys on there as well as my personal favorite track of 2009, Deadmau5's beautiful I Remember, the only song on my iTunes player to reach triple-digit plays this year. And the drum-n-bass mix is killer.

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Catfight! Porno Pete Vs. Bam Bam Barber

America's two most-reviled homophobes are battling each other about a repulsive remark that Peter LaBarbera attributed to the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber. It all started over Barber's announcement that he would lead a wingnut boycott of CPAC if GOProud was allowed to remain a co-sponsor.

Round One, Porno Pete:
It boils down to this: there is nothing “conservative” about — as Barber inimitably puts it — “one man violently cramming his penis into another man’s lower intestine and calling it ‘love.’” Or two women awkwardly mimicking natural procreative relations or raising a child together in an intentionally fatherless home. This does not mean that people practicing those and other immoral (and changeable) behaviors cannot think and act conservatively on other issues like lowering taxes, cutting government spending, ending abortion, etc. But let’s be honest: the “proud” in GOProud is not about pride in opposing the death tax, or defending the right to bear arms; it’s about proudly embracing sinful homosexual behavior – and that is hardly a conservative value.
Round Two: Bam Bam Barber:
Neither Matt Barber nor anyone with Liberty Counsel wrote or made any such public statement that is being alleged in this blog. Liberty Counsel promotes the traditional family of one man and one woman because we believe that such relationships are best for society and for children. While we strongly disagree with the sexual politics and agenda of activist organizations and individuals, we also believe that each person is entitled to respect. While there are some that hate us because of our message of sexual integrity, redemption, change, and hope, we have never, and will never, confuse the person with the agenda. We have never sought to dehumanize people to promote our message. Our message is one of redemption through the power of Jesus Christ
Round Three, Porno Pete:
The quotation in question by Matt Barber — a brutally honest and necessarily accurate description of homosexual sodomy — is printed verbatim and was made in conversation between the two of us years ago — long before he went to work for Liberty Counsel. I asked Matt at the time if I could quote him on it and he gave me permission to use it, and ultimately I did — in the context of showing how CPAC or any organization that defends sodomy (as GOProud and countless other GLBT organizations implicitly and explicitly do) cannot call itself “conservative.” I presume and hope that what Mat Staver and Liberty Counsel meant to say was that Matt Barber’s quoted words were not uttered or published under the auspices of Liberty Counsel — as they were made several years ago in private conversation long before Matt came to work there.
Round Four, Bam Bam Barber:
This is for clarification only. As affirmed in Liberty Counsel’s statement, neither I nor anyone with Liberty Counsel ever publicly ‘wrote or made’ the comment in question – an unapologetically direct and accurate depiction of the sin of sodomy (a sin that God directly and accurately calls both an ‘abomination’ and ‘detestable’). Some years before I began working with Liberty Counsel, I made the comment in private conversation with Peter LaBarbera. At the time, Peter asked if he could ‘quote me on it’ and I said yes.
Basically, Barber tried to backpedal from his hate-speech but finally caved and admitted saying it after LaBarbera fired back. Much of this played out in the comments of the "ex-gay" Exodus International's blog, the day after its author Randy Thomas condemned both parties. Haters fighting haters about who said something hateful. Funny, disgusting, funny disgusting.

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Citadel Broadcasting Declares Bankruptcy

Citadel Broadcasting, the massive national radio network of over 200 stations, has filed for bankruptcy. Citadel syndicates wingnut Don Imus and some of its stations, such as flagship New York City-based WABC, are home to Rush Limbaugh.
Citadel owns and operates 224 radio stations, including KABC-AM in Los Angeles, WLS-AM in Chicago, WABC-AM and WPLJ-FM in New York and KGO-AM in San Francisco. Citadel's WABC is home to several syndicated hosts, including Don Imus, Rush Limbaugh, Joe Scarborough and Mark Levin. In documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Las Vegas-based Citadel listed total assets at Oct. 30 of $1.4 billion and total debt of $2.46 billion. The company said in a statement it has reached an agreement with more than 60 percent of its lenders on a deal that would erase about $1.4 billion of debt in exchange for control of the company. "Our business will continue as usual and the company will work to emerge from the restructuring process as quickly as possible," CEO Farid Suleman said in a statement. Citadel has retained turnaround specialist Alvarez & Marsal North America LLC as its restructuring adviser. Such deals usually wipe out shareholders completely.
Most of Citadel's debt comes from its 2007 acquisition of ABC Radio from Disney.

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The Gay(er) Gap Ad

Queerty directs us to this gay-gay-gay parody of Gap's cheerleader holiday ad. Warning: There is some screaming here. Turn it down a bit.

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Out Rugby Star's Wife: I Forgive Him

Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas, his nation's most revered sports hero, came out publicly this weekend. In a lovely interview with the UK's usually not-so-nice Daily Mail, his ex-wife says she forgives him for cheating with men and is proud of him for coming out.
"I'm incredibly proud of him for coming out and if anyone thinks any less of him because of it, then they are stupid. I know it was a massive relief when he told me, his family and close friends three years ago, and it will be even more of a relief now that everyone knows. He is now free to be who he is and I, and everyone else who knows and loves him, am happy for him because he is a very special person. I don't feel angry, embarrassed or humiliated, nor do I regret marrying Gareth for a second. I know with all my heart that he adored me as much as I adored him on our wedding day, and I had the most fantastic years of my life with him. It would be easy to wallow in self-pity and dwell on the negatives, but I am a positive person and I'm grateful that he loved me so much he had to tell me the truth because he felt I deserved better. He released me and in doing so he released himself."
Gareth Thomas is the most-winning and publicly adored sports star in Welsh history. His coming out is the Welsh equivalent of having Derek Jeter or Michael Jordan announce they are gay. And he is still playing. Amazing.

RELATED: Check out AfterElton's great photo gallery of Gareth Thomas.

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Pending Senate Health Care Vote Fosters More Wingnut Calls For Civil War

Above is today's World Net Daily poll asking readers what they'd like to give the president for Christmas. Charming. And over on the ever-reliable Free Republic, the calls for revolution are racheting up in the face of the Senate's coming vote on health care reform. A mere sampling:

-"My prediction: there will be no free/fair elections in 2010, or ever again until Civil War II is over. The Dems have shown they have the power to do anything they want. They can put anything they want in this bill in conference, and nobody, but nobody can stop them short of bodily harm, which nobody is willing to try because of fear of the consequences. Beans, bullets, and band-aids. Stock up. You will need them all soon."

-"If you have not yet prepared yourself with: a weapon; ammunition; food; water; hard currency; something to carry these in; outdoor clothes and boots/shoes . . .then you are a complacent FOOL. Civil strife is coming; probably civil war. If you live in a city, it is coming there first. If you are a member of the military or police, remember your oaths, and gaze upon the rape of our Constitution and our freedoms. You will soon be forced to decide if your oath reflects who and what you are - or was just noise."

-"A violent overthrow of the socialist bastard traitors BEFORE this hellish health care debacle gets enacted is the only way we will ever be able to stop our plunge into socialist-fascist tyranny. I only hope that we have enough patriotic military officers & soldiers who will fight with us & for us. The commie pig 0bozo & the rest of the demoRAT socialists will not go down easily without a bloody violent fight. We have got to destroy the socialist demoRATs so badly that they will never resurrect their ugly commie socialist ideology or faces again!!! American Revolution II needs to happen NOW!!"

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The Drums - I Felt Stupid

You might remember the short-lived Brooklyn-based band Elkland, who opened for Erasure on their U.S. tour a few years ago. Reformed with a couple of new members as The Drums, their retro-New Wave sound is even more evocative of the early '80s. I'm hearing shades of Modern English, The Cure...who else? Loves it. Free download here.

(Via - JMG reader Rey)

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Candy Samples - Promise (Of A New Year)

Queens drag star Candy Samples turns in a sweet tribute to gay families and optimism for 2010. Featuring cameos from activist Brandon Brock and regular JMG commenter Ish (in the burgundy sweater) and his boyfriend (with the guitar.) Sweet.

HomoQuotable - Ricky Martin

"As a defender of human rights, my goal is to find solutions for the injustices that exist in the world today. I am speaking about discrimination of any kind, whether it is because of race, gender, nationality, religion, ethnicity, handicap, sexual orientation or political affiliation.

"SO I SHOUT: WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE WORLD TODAY?

"I'm sure you all have different answers. But at the end of the day, it seems that the collective response usually comes back to one thing: 'WE WANT PEACE.' Well, when we believe in peace, there is simply no room for complacency. The murders of James Byrd, Matthew Shepard, Jorge Steven Lopez [Mercado], Marcelo Lucero, Luis Ramirez and countless others who were victims of violent 'hate crimes' should be completely unacceptable to every human being; because we're all human beings. It's up to us to change the paradigm. I hear the world 'tolerance' thrown around in the media when it comes to cases like the ones I mentioned above. One of the meanings of tolerance is 'the capacity to endure pain or hardship.' Another is 'the act of allowing something.' To me, those don't seem to encompass acceptance, by any definition. So how about this? Instead of saying 'we need to tolerate diversity' why not say, 'we need to accept diversity.'

"Accepting diversity is the first and most important step we can take towards eliminating hate crimes and uniting humanity. If we ACCEPT, humanity unites. If humanity unites, equal human rights will become a reality. And if equal human rights become a reality, peace will be within our reach." - Ricky Martin, denouncing hate crimes in a holiday message on his website.

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Mike Lux Wins Air America Contest

Well, it was a fun distraction for a couple of weeks, but Open Left's Mike Lux has won Air America's "Favorite Progressive Blogger" contest. I came in second, which is pretty damn good considering I didn't know about the contest until I was a semi-finalist! Congratulations, Mike!
After five weeks of competition, dozens of tweets, emails, and blog posts -- the time has come to announce the winner of the Air America Cruise Contest. While only one contestant could win the claim to fame as Air America's favorite progressive blogger, it has been an amazing experience to see all the support that every nominee for this contest received from their friends, fans and family as well as Air America readers. But after weeks of voting and commentary, the final winner has been chosen to go on the seven-day Air America Cruise through the Mexican Riviera. The winner is...Mike Lux from Open Left!
Thanks very much to all of you for your supportive Tweets, Facebook entries, and blog posts. I feel the love.

RELATED: Read Mike's Ten Reasons post arguing his case.

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