Saturday, March 20, 2010

Teabaggers "Storm" U.S. Capitol

A huge crowd of Tea Party protesters attempted to "storm" the U.S. Capitol and Congressional office buildings this afternoon, prompting DC police to close the buildings. Teabaggers also hung "Don't Tread On Me" and "American Revolution II" flags from the outer balcony of the Capitol. Reactions to the building closures on Free Republic:

- "Looks like the commie 'RATS are going to need a "teachable moment" similar to the one Americans gave King George and his bunch."
- "This is BS. We paid for that building and the salaries of those that work within to represent us."
- "All we need to complete the Obama vision is the Military surrounding the Capital. After all, that's how they do it in Venezuela."
- "Communism is here. We have no voice and will be slaves to the establishment. The boldness of those that own us should be a wake up call to what is left to America."
- "We are now oppressed by a tyrannical oligarchic government. These potentates will ignore every aspect of the Constitution, which they recognize in name only."
- "Storm the damn building. Apparently, “peacful” isn’t working."

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Rep. Anthony Weiner SLAMS GOP For Presenting Hoax Documents

And as a bonus, he shuts down crazy-face homophobe Virginia Foxx. Dream ticket: Weiner/Grayson 2016.

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Teabaggers Threaten Gun Violence Over Health Care Reform

"If Brown can't stop it, a Browning can!" Teabaggers continue to threaten violent revolt over health care reform. Via ePluribus Media:
This is the type of violence that the Republicans and their anti-American supporters have been striving for ever since the Obama Administration took office with the pledge to clean up the GOP's mess. In attendance and apparently proud to be part of a group of anti-American traitors engaged in seditious behavior were Republican Reps. Steve King (IA), Michele Bachmann (MN), and Mike Pence (IN), and the insanity was in part organized by Dick Armey's Freedomworks and Art Pope's Americans for Prosperity. Americans for Prosperity "advocates pro-tobacco industry positions on issues like cigarette taxes and clean indoor air laws"

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Teabaggers: "Barney, You Faggot!"

At the behest of wingnut Rep. Steve King (R-IA), teabaggers are flooding the office buildings of Congress today. And things are getting very ugly.
Things seem to be getting pretty heated in the Capitol with crowds of anti-Reform/Tea Party activists going through the halls shouting slogans and epithets at Democratic members of Congress. As our Brian Beutler reports, a few moments ago in Longworth office building, a group swarmed a very calm looking Henry Waxman, as he got on the elevator, with shouts of "Kill the bill!" "You liar! You crook!" Not long before, Rep. Barney Frank got an uglier version of the treatment. Just after Frank rounded a corner to leave the building, an older protestor yelled "Barney, you faggot." The surrounding crowd of protestors then erupted in laughter. At one point, Capitol police officer threatened to throw a group of protesters out of the building but that only seemed to inflame them more; and apparently none were ejected.
None were ejected. After calling a member a "faggot" they still got to stay. Unbelievable.

UPDATE: The teabaggers also called Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) the n-word.

Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) claimed Saturday that healthcare protesters at the Capitol directed racial epithets at Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) as he walked outside. Carson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus along with Lewis, told The Hill that protesters called Lewis the N-word. Tea Party protesters held a rally outside the Capitol on Saturday, which included speeches by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and actor Jon Voight, and then proceeded into the halls to lobby members at the 11th hour.Lewis was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement alongside Martin Luther King. Jr.

(Tipped by JMG reader Andrew)

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Mormon Church And Boy Scouts Sued In Massive Molestation Cover Up

The LDS Church and national Boy Scouts organization have been sued by a man claiming that both covered up evidence of his molestation. The case has uncovered extensive files kept by both groups cloaking sexual predators.
The Boy Scouts of America has long kept an extensive archive of secret documents that chronicle the sexual abuse of young boys by Scout leaders over the years. The "perversion files," a nickname the Boy Scouts are said to have used for the documents, have rarely been seen by the public, but that could all change in the coming weeks in an Oregon courtroom. The lawyer for a man who was molested in the 1980s by a Scout leader has obtained about 1,000 Boy Scouts sex files and is expected to release some of them at a trial that began Wednesday. The lawyer says the files show how the Boy Scouts have covered up abuse for decades.
Membership in the Boy Scouts is strongly encouraged by the LDS Church and they are accused of having collaborated in the cover-up.
The Mormon bishop who also served as head of the Scout troop, Gordon McEwen, confronted [accused pedophile Timur] Dykes after receiving a report of abuse by the mother of one boy in the troop in January 1983. In a video deposition played for the jury, the bishop said Dykes admitted abusing 17 boys. But McEwen said he contacted the parents of all 17 boys and the boys themselves, and none would confirm any abuse. Dykes was arrested in 1983 and pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse, received probation and was ordered to stay away from children. Clark told the jury Dykes continued with his scouting activities until he was arrested in July 1984 during a routine traffic stop while he was driving a van full of Scouts on a camping trip. A spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America at its headquarters in Irving, Texas, said in a statement the organization cannot comment on details of the case. But it has worked hard on awareness and prevention efforts, including background checks.
The Catholic Church is doubtlessly happy for this momentary diversion from their own boy-fucking scandals.

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HCR Update: Dems Drop Deem & Pass

The magic number is 216. Cross your fingers, kids.

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Scissor Sisters - Fire

Scissor Sisters performed two nights at NYC's Bowery Ballroom this week where they debuted their (rumored to be) new single Fire. I gotta say: Jake Shears is looking foine. Photos and set list are here.

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HomoQuotable - Michael Kirby

"Openness about sexuality helps to destroy the foundation for prejudice and discrimination. One day there will be a big parliamentary apology to gay people for the oppression that was forced on them and the inequalities that were maintained in the law well beyond their use-by date. Just like the delayed 2008 apology to the Aboriginal people of our country.

"I also do not doubt that, in a comparatively short time, Australia will move towards same-sex civil unions and gay marriage. No one has satisfactorily explained how my 40-year loving relationship with my partner Johan in any way affects (still less undermines) heterosexual marriage. If Australians are now more homophobic than racist, as some recent public opinion polls suggest, this is because Australians have lacked good leadership on this issue." - Former Australian High Court Justice Michael Kirby, from a book of essays about justice issues just distributed to high schools and universities. Kirby came out as gay in 1999 during his 13-year tenure on the High Court, which is Australia's version of the U.S. Supreme Court.

(Tipped by JMG reader Arthur)

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Constance Not Invited To Private Prom

Constance McMillen's school board in Mississippi yesterday filed a court brief claiming that her prom had been canceled to settle the "very explosive and disruptive issue" of their ban on same-sex dating. ACLU attorney Christine Sun calls bullshit on that, saying it was the cancellation itself that catapulted the story into the national news. Sun notes that the filing includes notice that parents at McMillen's school have now organized a private prom. And Constance isn't invited.
The school board's response states parents have organized a private prom at a furniture mart in nearby Tupleo. Now that the school district has withdrawn from the event, any constitutional claims are irrelevant, Griffith wrote. Sun saw information about the private dance in the filing. "Constance has not been invited, so it is clear to me that what is happening is that the school has encouraged a private prom that is not open to all the students," she said. "That's what Constance is fighting for - a prom where everyone can go."
Tonic.com is raising money for a "second chance" prom open to all students in Mississippi. That dance will be organized by the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition.

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Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli: Gays Are A Detriment To Our Culture

 

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Friday, March 19, 2010

MSNBC Covers Westboro SCOTUS Case

Westboro Baptist Church's freedom of speech case is coming up in the Supreme Court. Tonight the pundits on Hardball discussed whether Westboro "should be shut down."

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Gilbert Baker's Take On Yesterday

Rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker showed Times Square what he thinks of staging a reality show episode around a critical LGBT rights issue. Click over to Wayne Anderson at World Of Wonder for more photos from today's protest in NYC. Andy Humm at Gay City News has the story.

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HCR Bill Ditches LGBT Health Provisions

The reconciled health care reform bill posted by the House is stripped of previously included provisions addressing LGBT concerns, such as the taxation of employee partner benefits. The HRC is disappointed, but supports the bill.
While we are saddened that the House has abandoned provisions that would make care more accessible and affordable to our community, we recognize that the health reform measure will still help all Americans, including LGBT people. Important reforms like eliminating pre-existing condition limitations and expanding Medicaid will significantly impact people living with HIV and AIDS. We urge Congress to pass this legislation, addressing the nation’s dire need for reform in our health care system and clearing the way for Congress to act on the many issues it needs to address, including ones of great importance to the LGBT community.
Lawmakers did manage to find $50M to fund abstinence-only sex education.

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Court: New York Can Annul Civil Unions

The appellate division of the New York Supreme Court has ruled that the state may annul civil unions made in other jurisdictions. The case involved a lesbian couple that was civil unioned in Vermont seven years ago. They had been told they'd have to live in Vermont for one year before the state could make their separation legal.
''Today, the public policy of our state protects same-sex couples in a myriad of ways,'' justices wrote in their decision. ''Two provisions of the Public Health Law define a domestic partner to include one who is 'formally a party in a domestic partnership or similar relationship with the other person, entered into pursuant to the laws of the United States or of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction.'"
Lambda Legal called the ruling important, saying, "A different ruling here would leave the persons legally entangled with each other and people have to move on with their life."

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Marriage Repeal Fails In New Hampshire

The attempt to place a marriage equality repeal resolution before every town council in New Hampshire has been judged a failure after an overwhelming majority of the state's municipalities refused to take part or voted the resolution down. Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) exults via press release:
New Hampshire citizens this month said no to an anti-equality campaign to create pressure for a statewide vote on marriage equality through non-binding resolutions at town meetings. Of the 139 communities that have considered these resolutions, a clear majority of 80 towns (57.6%) have rejected it. Another 86 communities did not discuss the anti-marriage petition at their town meetings. Nine more towns will take up the issue in the coming months. “We are thrilled that legislators and New Hampshire’s citizens have not wavered in their support for the equality of all families,” said GLAD staff attorney Janson Wu. “Finally, New Hampshire can move on to more pressing issues, like jobs and the economy.”
Get ready for NOM to rev up that waahbulance!

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Not Guilty, Not Ashamed, And Not Finished

The above was Lt. Dan Choi's court plea just now as tweeted by MetroWeekly. After pleading not guilty, both Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo, pictured above just after their release, will face an April 26th trial date. I'll have photos from the court appearance as soon as possible. Reportedly both men were brought in wearing cuffs and leg irons.

UPDATE: Via Joe Sudbay at AmericaBlog, here's Choi with Pietrangelo, talking about their arrest and night in jail. Choi makes a thinly veiled complaint about the HRC: "We may be been caged physically, but the message is clear to those that think equality can be purchased with a donation or with a cocktail party."

(Photo via Robin McGehee)

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Today On Ellen DeGeneres: Constance McMillen Gets $30K Scholarship

Mississippi teen Constance McMillen will appear on today's episode of Ellen where she'll be awarded a $30K scholarship in recognition of her activism on behalf of gay youth. McMillen's school board canceled her prom several weeks ago rather than allow her to attend with her girlfriend. Since then she's appeared on countless media outlets talking about discrimination against LGBT youth. The scholarship fund was raised by the readers and owner of Tonic.com. Here's a clip from today's show.

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The Dutch Are PISSED At Gen. Sheehan

Led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch government today blasted retired U.S. Gen. John Sheehan over his claim that gay Dutch soldiers caused the Bosnian genocide.
"The remarks were outrageous, wrong and beneath contempt," Balkenende told a news conference. The Dutch Defense Ministry called Sheehan's claims "absolute nonsense" and added that gay Dutch soldiers routinely cooperate with the U.S. military in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen called the claim "the bizarre private opinion of someone without an official function". Renee Jones-Bos, the Dutch ambassador to the United States, said in a statement, "I couldn't disagree more" with Sheehan, adding there was no evidence of his claims in the extensive record of research on Srebrenica. Military unions were equally angry. Dutch news agency ANP quoted the head of the military union AFMP as saying Sheehan's comments were "out of the realm of fiction", while the head of the gay soldiers' group SHK called his comments "the ridiculous convulsion of a loner".
The Dutch commander that supposedly informed Sheehan about those weak gay soldiers has not come forward, if he exists at all.

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Lambda Legal Sues NJ On Marriage

Yesterday Lambda Legal filed suit in the New Jersey Supreme Court arguing that the state had failed to comply with a 2006 ruling from the Court requiring that gay couples be treated the same as straight couples.
"We come back to the court to turn equal rights on paper to equal rights in the real," said Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal's deputy legal director. "We're asking the court to enforce its order - to give equality, which must be marriage." The return to the Supreme Court is the latest step in a legal fight that opened in 2002 when seven gay and lesbian couples sued the state for the right to marry. The motion came two months after the state Senate rejected a bill to allow same-sex marriage. Some who oppose same-sex marriage say the issue should be decided in a public vote, not the courts. "The people should be able to decide the definition of marriage," said John Tomicki, president of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage. He said a ruling allowing same-sex marriage could open the door to polygamy or marriages with minors. Gorenberg said the case dealt only with marriage between two adults.
In 2006 New Jersey legalized civil unions, which a state commission later conclusively established was inadequate and unequal.

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Obama Disses Press On HCR Coverage

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DADT Protest Underway In Times Square

Here's an early shot of the DADT protest getting underway in Times Square, via JMG reader Scott. That's rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker on the right, getting ready to unfurl one of his banners. Just to Baker's left is Oscar-nominated art director Charley Beal.

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Sarah Palin May Get Reality Show

The major broadcast networks all passed on Sarah Palin's pitch for an Alaska-based reality show, but it looks like the show may happen on cable. Pundits are characterizing the show as an infomercial for Palin's 2012 presidential run.
Much was made of Palin's visits to the major broadcast networks a few weeks ago, when she and producer Mark Burnett pitched an Alaskan-themed travelogue that Palin would narrate. At the time, industry skeptics balked at the notion that such a show would ever be bought by a broadcaster-- and it looks like the skeptics were right. According to Variety, Discovery and A&E are emerging as the two networks most likely to fork over cash to help Palin launch her 2012 presidential campaign. (The de facto assumption is that the Big 4 clearly were not significantly interested enough in the project or they would be actively bidding.) The publication's On the Air blog claims the show would cost an eye-popping $1 million per episode for either network -- a major commitment for an unscripted series. A sale could be made by week's end, Variety reports.
Enter your suggestions for the show's title.

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Sean Hannity Accused Of Charity Scam

Media Matters reports that a conservative blogger has accused a charity affiliated with Fox News' Sean Hannity of deceptive fundraising practices. The blogger claims:
For the last several years, Sean Hannity and the Freedom Alliance "charity" have conducted "Freedom Concerts" across America. They've told you that they are raising money to pay for the college tuition of the children of fallen soldiers and to pay severely wounded war vets. And on Friday Night, Hannity will be honored with an award for this "Outstanding Community Service by a Radio Talk Show Host" at Talkers Magazine's convention. But it's all a huge scam.

In fact, less than 20%-and in two recent years, less than 7% and 4%, respectively-of the money raised by Freedom Alliance went to these causes, while millions of dollars went to expenses, including consultants and apparently to ferret the Hannity posse of family and friends in high style. And, despite Hannity's statements to the contrary on his nationally syndicated radio show, few of the children of fallen soldiers got more than $1,000-$2,000, with apparently none getting more than $6,000, while Freedom Alliance appears to have spent tens of thousands of dollars for private planes. Moreover, despite written assurances to donors that all money raised would go directly to scholarships for kids of the fallen heroes and not to expenses, has begun charging expenses of nearly $500,000 to give out just over $800,000 in scholarships.
Media Matters notes that the blogger making the accusation has a spotty track record, but after reviewing the charity's financials, they conclude that there may be something to this claim.

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Traditional Values Coalition: Massa Attack

Andrea Lafferty at the Traditional Values Coalition took a little longer than expected to issue this bit of predictable blather.
The ex-Congressman from New York is now the new poster child for upholding the 1993 law banning gays and lesbians from serving in the military. His former Navy colleagues are coming out of hiding to expose his decades-long habit of trying to seduce his subordinates – known as “snorkeling” in the Navy. As the public learns more about Massa’s aggressive homosexual advances toward his subordinates, his former Navy colleagues are going public with lurid tales of his gay exploits aboard Naval vessels.

Here is a clear case of a gay sexual predator assaulting his subordinates in the Navy and getting away with it. Massa’s shipmates were afraid of turning him in for fear of retaliation. If the Congress overturns the 1993 law banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military, lechers like Massa will have free reign to aggressively stalk and conquer young subordinates. Does Congress really want to legalize the predatory behaviors of such men? Overturning the 1993 law will give gays and lesbians license to go after young soldiers, sailors and Marines. Men like Massa will then multiply in the Armed Forces – undermining unit cohesion and military readiness.
Lafferty omits the extremely inconvenient fact that Eric Massa is a straight-identified opposite-married man with four children. Just the type that commits the very offenses she claims to fear and someone that would be unaffected by a repeal of DADT.

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Robin McGehee Talks About Her Arrest

GetEQUAL's Robin McGehee talks about her arrest at the White House yesterday and GetEQUAL's strategy going forward.

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Friendly Voices - Miley Cyrus

"There has been so much controversy sometimes about what I’ve said or done because I believe there are no mistakes because God is the only one who can judge us. That’s the reason I deleted my Twitter account because I said on there that I believed in gay marriage because everyone should have the right to love each other, and I got such hate mail about my being a bad person." - Teen pop star Miley Cyrus, talking to People Magazine.

Miley adds: "I don’t really watch television at all. But there is one show I’m addicted to: RuPaul’s Drag Race. I love me some RuPaul. I love RuPaul’s motto. It goes something like, ‘A real lady is never bitchy, a real lady is sassy.'"

(Tipped by JMG reader Arthur)

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PhoboQuotable - Jeff Walton

"Last week there were over 500 people who were killed in three villages surrounding Jos, Nigeria. These Christian villagers were killed for their faith. The people who attacked them were yelling 'God is great' in Arabic, and one of the charges against the Christians was that they were immoral. When a Muslim sees the newspaper headline, 'Anglican elects partnered lesbian bishop,' they don't draw a distinction between African Christians and European or American Christians." - Jeff Walton of the Institute on Religion & Democracy, saying that the promotion of Mary Glasspool to Anglican bishop will result in the murders of Christians.

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We Can Do It

Reichen Lehmkuhl appears in a new campaign from the Open Artist Movement along the lines of the NOH8 photo series.
We Can Do It! is a photo campaign to build solidarity and personal strength through positive messaging. The goal is to bring to life modern iconic individuals, by depicting them as powerful and not victims in support of the global LGBT movement worldwide.
Prints sell for $10 and you can be photographed too, although it's not clear how much that costs. Hit the link above for a gallery of other well-known activists. I like this, but I'm not about to showcase my ballerina arms.

(Via - Towleroad)

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Jon Stewart's Glenn Bleck Impression

One of his best. Instant classic.

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HomoQuotable - Rob Smith

"Dan Choi will always be that rock star activist that handcuffed himself to the gates of The White House. Of course Dan Choi jumped the shark, and he did it in his military uniform for all the cameras to see. You know what, though? I think what we needed was to see something like this to light a fire under each and every one of us that cares as deeply as he does about Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal, and about full equality in general. This movement needs him as much as it needs me, or Jarrod Chlapowski, or Lt. Col Victor Fehrenbach, or any of the other gay veterans who share our past of silent service knowing that it reflects the present of thousands of gay soldiers currently serving. Maybe it's time to act up all over again. Maybe the rumblings of this being a part of a more coordinated activist effort are true. Maybe it is time to Get Equal.

"People keep wondering who's going to be the Martin Luther King of the gay rights movement, and that I still don't know, but I think yesterday's actions may have put us one step closer to finding our Malcolm X." - Huffington Post blogger and armed services veteran Rob Smith, who says he finds Dan Choi's action yesterday to be both inspiring and baffling.

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Atlanta Eagle Lawsuit Expands

Several days after all of the Atlanta Eagle bar raid patrons and employees were found not guilty or had their charges dismissed, the lawsuit against the Atlanta police has expanded. Attorneys have now named 35 individual Atlanta police officers in the suit and have added six more Eagle patrons as plaintiffs. (PDF.)

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Judy's Cream Of Wheat

This is some pretty amazing vocal impression and video work by the Punchy Players, two guys named Jeff and Chris.

(Tipped by JMG reader Fred)

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Viacom Vs. Google

Viacom's billion-dollar lawsuit against YouTube for copyright infringement is yielding some fascinating details. Even as Viacom was sending Google takedown notices for clips from their shows such as the Colbert Report and the Daily Show, their own marketing teams were posting clips from those very shows and many others. According to a trial claim by YouTube:
For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately "roughed up" the videos to make them look stolen or leaked. It opened YouTube accounts using phony email addresses. It even sent employees to Kinko's to upload clips from computers that couldn't be traced to Viacom. And in an effort to promote its own shows, as a matter of company policy Viacom routinely left up clips from shows that had been uploaded to YouTube by ordinary users.

Viacom's efforts to disguise its promotional use of YouTube worked so well that even its own employees could not keep track of everything it was posting or leaving up on the site. As a result, on countless occasions Viacom demanded the removal of clips that it had uploaded to YouTube, only to return later to sheepishly ask for their reinstatement. In fact, some of the very clips that Viacom is suing us over were actually uploaded by Viacom itself.
Viacom had made attempts to buy YouTube before Google's successful bid in 2006.

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Maddow On DADT Hearings

Last night Rachel Maddow covered the DADT repeal testimony of retired Gen. John Sheehan, who outrageously claimed that openly gay soldiers in the Dutch military caused the failure of the NATO peacekeeping force in Bosnia, resulting in the genocide of thousands of Muslim men and boys. The second half of this clip is an interview with well-spoken former Air Force Maj. Mike Almy, who was fired for being gay.

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DC: The Teabaggers' Last Stand

NewLeftMedia lets the teabaggers speak for the themselves. The results are as you'd expect.

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Today At Noon In Times Square: Stand In Solidarity For Choi & Pietrangelo

Via Queer Rising:
In an act of civil disobedience, Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo and Robin McGehee have been arrested at the White House gates on Thursday while protesting the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. We are in solidarity with Choi, Pietrangelo, Robin McGehee and all other protesters nationwide. Join us as we protest the Army Recruitment center in Time Square for not allowing LGBTQI citizens the right to join the military.
The protest starts at noon and is slated to run until 2pm. If you're near midtown, try and swing by on your lunch hour. At this writing, Choi and Pietrangelo are still in custody. And something fishy appears to be going on. Via AmericaBlog:
We have more information. This is increasingly disturbing. It increasingly looks as though someone has decided to play hardball with Dan and James. The Park Police say that Dan is not being released on bail. Dan also has not made his phone call to the person designed to pay his bail - the person's phone number is written on Dan's arm, so there's no chance he doesn't have it. That means that Dan apparently is not being permitted a phone call, and thus not being permitted to have anyone pay his bail. Why not? We have just learned that Dan is in fact being charged with "failure to obey a lawful order," yet that charge usually means you get processed, you pay bail, and you leave. Then why are they not letting Dan Choi leave, but instead are holding him to be arraigned? Why are they apparently not permitting Dan his phone call?
(Photo via Pam's House Blend)

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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Mrs. Witten

[Below is a very short story I wrote for the blog five years ago. I was reminded of it tonight during a rerun of Keith Olbermann's epic hour-long rant on health care reform. So here's a rerun of my own.]

Rite Aid Pharmacy, Grand Central Terminal

There's a woman in line ahead of me who has just handed over a huge sheaf of prescriptions. She is a middle-aged business woman wearing a navy suit. She has a Blackberry clipped to her messenger-style bag. The two clerks seem to know her and they immediately pick up their pace and begin darting amongst the shelves, pulling her order.

After a couple of minutes, the pharmacist appears. He's a looming young man with severe black eyeglasses. He motions for the customer to step to the side of the window, which she does. He reaches across the beat-up laminated counter and touches her hand.

"Hi Mrs. Witten, how are you doing?" he asks her.

"Well, you know. One day at a time. One day at a time," she replies with a resigned shrug.

"Right, right. I understand," he nods. "Is he feeling any better?"

"Well, he has good days and he has bad days. You know how it is."

The pharmacist nods silently. One of the clerks comes over and confers quietly with him for a moment, showing him a few slips of paper. Mrs. Witten looks around apologetically at the customers waiting behind her. The pharmacist lays a few of the slips on the counter between them.

"So there's some good news and some bad news today."

"OK."

"The good news is that three of these are completely covered by Medicare. 100%. No co-pay."

"But...." Mrs. Witten says, waiting.

"But two of these are only partially covered and the Thalomid isn't covered at all. You'd have to pay up front for the Thalomid if you want it today. I'm really sorry about that."

"How much is it? A lot?"

"Yes. I'll have to check my chart on the dosages, but it's going to be over $1000. That plus the partial coverage on these other two.....you're looking at about $1400, maybe $1500 out of pocket today. Is that going to be.....um, what you want to do?"

Mrs. Witten looks down at the slips. "Do think it would be better...I mean... might it be cheaper for me to get it outside the city? Nothing against you guys or anything, it's just...."

The pharmacist shakes his head, "No, I'm sure it will be pretty much the same everywhere. This is a very expensive medication, nobody really discounts it."

Mrs. Witten puts her shoulders back and reaches into her purse. "Well, it is what it is, I guess. What am I going to do? Not get it for him? He's my father."

I watch her flip past a few credit cards in her wallet, selecting one, then changing her mind and pulling out a different one and laying it on the counter. The clerk slips it away and moves over to begin ringing up the order.

The pharmacist touches her hand another time. "Do you want me to keep the Thalomid in stock? He's going to need it again in a couple of weeks."

"Um, I guess. Yeah. I'm going to have to talk to his oncologist again."

"OK, I understand. "

A few minutes later, I see Mrs. Witten standing in the terminal. She's staring at the monitor that shows the train schedule, but I can tell she's really looking at her own reflection in the glass. When I get to the top of the ramp, I look back one more time. She's still standing there, staring.

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JMG EXCLUSIVE: Kylie Minogue To Host NYC amfAR Benefit On June 3rd

The folks at amfAR have tipped JMG exclusively that gay icon Kylie Minogue will host their June 3rd benefit, The Inspiration Gala, which will be held at the New York Main Library on Fifth Avenue.
In a first-time collaboration, amfAR and Josh Wood Productions are initiating a new event series—the Inspiration Gala—a celebration of fashion and creativity that will benefit amfAR’s innovative AIDS research programs. Beginning in 2010 in New York, Paris, and Los Angeles, the Gala series will grow to include events in multiple cities and will feature a different design “Inspiration” each year. The design inspiration for 2010 is “Black Tie//Black Leather.” Each participating major designer will donate a piece inspired by the “Black Tie//Black Leather” theme to be presented in a runway show. The designer items will then be auctioned off, with proceeds to benefit amfAR. The evening will also include a formal dinner with an exclusive performance and special presentations. Guests are encouraged to dress inspired by the theme.
CONFIRMED BLACK TIE/BLACK LEATHER RUNWAY SHOW DESIGNERS: Atelier, Band of Outsiders, Neil Barrett, John Bartlett, Michael Bastian, Bess, Bottega Veneta, Thom Browne, Kenneth Cole, Tom Ford, Robert Geller, Tim Hamilton, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld, Ralph Lauren, Rick Owens, Y3, Yves Saint Laurent.

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Teabaggers Mock Man With Parkinson's

A man with Parkinson's disease attended a teabagger rally in Columbus, Ohio yesterday, holding a sign asking attendees to consider people with debilitating illnesses as they protested health care reform. Watch how they treated him.

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Gen. John Sheehan: The Bosnian Genocide Happened Because Of Gay Soldiers

Retired Gen. John Sheehan testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, claiming that openly gay soldiers in the Dutch military were partially responsible for the failure of the NATO peacekeeping action in Bosnia, a failure which resulted in the genocide of thousands of Muslims.
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin, pressed him to clarify his comments about Srebrenica. "Did the Dutch leaders tell you it (the fall of Srebrenica) was because there were gay soldiers there?" asked an incredulous Senator Levin. "Yes," Gen Sheehan said and added: "They included that as part of the problem." Gen Sheehan, who retired from the military in 1997, said he had been told that by the former chief of staff of the Dutch army. Senator Levin vehemently rejected Gen Sheehan's allegation, saying that drawing a connection between the massacre at Srebrenica and gays in the Dutch military was "totally off-target". The failure of the Dutch UN troops to fend off an attack by Bosnian Serb forces had "nothing to do with sexual orientation" but was related to "their training and the rules of engagement", Senator Levin said. Nearly 8000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed after Serb forces captured the eastern town on July 11, 1995, in the worst massacre in Europe since World War II.

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The HRC Wants You To Know Their Side

Concerned about the "Lt. Dan Choi Kanye'd the HRC" story being reported on some blogs (including this one), the HRC has posted the following elaboration of their earlier comment.
Singer Tom Goss kicked off the event followed by the first American wounded in the Iraq war, retired Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva. Also speaking were Ben Mishkin of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Alex Nicholson of Servicemembers United. Finally, Kathy Griffin took to the stage, talking about her experiences this week in Washington, welcoming Lt. Dan Choi to the stage to make a few remarks and then calling for a moment of silence to honor our troops who serve in silence.

There’s been some confusion about Lt. Dan Choi’s role in the rally. As Joe Solmonese was walking to the stage, Lt. Choi asked Joe if he could have a speaking role. Joe explained that it wasn’t his sole decision to make on the spot given that there was already an established program that included Kathy Griffin, other organization and veterans. After Choi then spoke with Kathy Griffin, she agreed to bring him up on stage and speak to the crowd during her remarks.
So basically, it appears that it was Kathy Griffin who made the call to override Joe Solmonese and bring Choi to the podium. Good for her. I have to wonder why a DADT protest in the nation's capital wouldn't have included the nation's most famous and well-spoken gay veteran in the first place. (Not to disparage Sgt. Eric Alva in the least, whom I think is fantastic.)

UPDATE: John Aravosis at AmericaBlog says the HRC statement is "utterly untrue."
That is simply untrue. I was there, standing next to Dan, about 10 feet from Kathy Griffin and Solmonese. They were behind a rope line, to keep them from the rally attendees. They looked over at Dan when he asked them, for the second time, to come with him to the White House (mind you, they had no idea that he was planning to handcuff himself), and they just stared back at him. They were not helping engage the rally about how to build pressure - the rally was over, they were already off the stage, behind it actually, getting ready to leave behind a secure rope line to separate them from the crowd. I'm sorry, but this statement is flat out untrue. They were getting their photos taken. Unbelievable.
UPDATE II: It looks like Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo will be spending the night in jail.

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GetEQUAL To Sit-In At Pelosi's Offices

Members of new activist group GetEQUAL is preparing to sit-in today at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's offices in San Francisco and DC. Follow on Twitter at #GetENDA and #GetEqual.

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VIDEO: Lt. Dan Choi's Arrest


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Dan Choi Kanye's Kathy Griffin & The HRC

According to some reports, Lt. Dan Choi was not scheduled to speak at the HRC press conference with Kathy Griffin at DC City Hall today. We're hearing that he asked to appear at the podium, but was told "this is Kathy's show." (Or something to that effect.)

Apparently, Choi took the podium anyway. Via Kerry Eleveld at the Advocate:
"You've been told that the White House has a plan," Choi told rally protesters. "But we learned this week that the president is still not fully committed. ... Following this rally, I will be leading [the protest] to the White House to say 'enough talk.' ... I am still standing, I am still fighting, I am still speaking out, and I am still gay." Kathy Griffin, who was in Washington at the behest of HRC to meet with members of Congress about DADT repeal, was also at the rally. When asked by Choi if she would march with him to the White House, Griffin responded, "Of course!" Neither Griffin nor Solmonese was seen at the White House protest, however.
Lez Gets Real reports that some tried to talk Choi out of the White House protest.
According to this source, who is close to Lt. Choi, a number of people tried to talk him out of his plan. With the repeal underway and the study going full throttle, it is a delicate time in the repeal of DADT. This means that anything that could be seen as being problematic or aggrandizing or taking this issue less than seriously could bolster the position of those in opposition to the MREA and make passage that much more difficult.
UPDATE: The HRC has issued a statement essentially confirming the above.
"Today more than 1000 people showed up at a rally - 500 of which signed up to become more involved in the fight to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Joe Solmonese along with Eric Alva and others felt it was important to stay and engage those at the rally in ways they can continue building the pressure needed for repeal. This does nothing to diminish the actions taken by Lt. Choi and others. This is the nature of social change and everyone has a role to play."
(Photo via Durban Bud)

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DADT PROTEST: Gay Activists Are Chaining Themselves To The White House Fence

The Secret Service and DC police are on the scene this afternoon as Lt. Dan Choi (above) and others are chaining themselves to the White House's fence to protest Obama's inaction on DADT. Story developing, I'll add to this post shortly. Follow along at Twitter at the hashtag #DADT.

UPDATE:
Arrests are being made. The person below is being identified as Twitter user @speechadvice. MORE: I'm told that's activist Robin McGehee.UPDATE II: The police have moved the crowd back, but Choi and fellow DADT victim Capt. Jim Pietrangelo remain chained to the fence.UPDATE III: Choi and Pietrangelo have been arrested and placed in a police van.

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Quote Of The Day - Alec Baldwin

Yes, he IS a goat-footed, wheezy, old queen, and all my male lovers agree with me." - Alec Baldwin, responding to National Enquirer reporter Mike Walker, who claims that Baldwin is a "raging closet homophobe." Walker had reported that the famously short-tempered Baldwin yelled at Tina Fey on the set of 30 Rock, prompting Baldwin's first "queen" shot.

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Out Like A Lamb

For the first time since arriving in NYC, I actually made it all winter without losing my gloves, although as per tradition, I contributed a few tuques to my fellow cab riders. Boxing it all up today. Despite all those snowpocalypes, we only had a few days of single-digit weather this year and the slush piles were usually gone within a couple of days. Not the worst winter ever, although folks in DC and Baltimore might disagree.

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Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli: I'm Suing The Feds Over Health Care Reform

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has announced that he will be suing the federal government to block the implementation of the health care reform bill in his state.
Cuccinelli has long said he was examining the legal issues and suggested he would likely file suit. Brian Gottstein, a spokesman for the office, said this afternoon that a lawsuit is now a definite. Gottstein would provide no details of the legal rationale for such a suit, indicating the process is "still being worked out." Virginia last week became the first state in the country to pass a state bill declaring it illegal for the government to require individuals to purchase health insurance, a key part of bills under consideration on Capitol Hill.
Cuccinelli is also following the teabagger claim that the "deem and pass" tactic of approving the bill is unconstitutional.

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The Pit And The Pendulum

America's Next Top Model meets Wipe Out.

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DADT Hearings Continue In Senate

Click over for a live video stream of today's DADT hearings with the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Senate, where outed gay members of the military are testifying.

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Jon Stewart On Teabagger "Revolution"

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Tired Old Queen At The Movies #23

Auntie Mame!

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BLOG SWARM: Contact Nancy Pelosi And Demand ENDA's Passage

LGBT bloggers and allies are today coordinating a national blog swarm, asking readers to contact their members of Congress and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to demand the passage of ENDA. The Bilerico Project's Dr. Jillian Weiss is leading today's charge.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, first introduced in 1994, would prohibit job discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. But LGBT people have never been able to achieve the enactment of the bill, known by the acronym of "ENDA".Last year, the Administration's highest ranking gay official, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, indicated that ENDA was highest priority on the LGBT civil rights agenda.

"If we can get ENDA enacted and signed into law, it is only a matter of time before all the rest happens," he said. "It is the keystone that holds up the whole bunch, and so we need to focus our energies and attention there."

Hearings were held last Fall in the House and in the Senate to demonstrate the need for the bill, and testimony was heard on the severe unemployment, underemployment and harassment experienced by LGBT workers. Witnesses testified to the scientific studies demonstrating this. But nothing has happened. Click here to find out why and join us in swarming Speaker Pelosi's office.

Please call Speaker Pelosi at 202-225-4965. Ask that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, HR 3017, move to a vote. Please be polite, but firm. After you call, please tell us how the call went in the comments. If you get a busy signal or hang up, let us know that too. Let's work together to let Speaker Pelosi know that we want action now!

Among the blogs participating today: Daily Kos, Open Left, Bilerico Project, Pam's House Blend, Joe My God, Michelangelo Signorile, Americablog, David Mixner, Daily Gotham, Culture Kitchen, Taylor Marsh, PageOneQ, Dan Savage, Good as You, Towelroad, and others.

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It's Tough To Be Old And Gay

Aging is tough on everybody, but particularly for senior LGBT people, who face unique financial and social challenges. Via CNN:
According to the report, Improving the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Older Adults, issues that disproportionately affect LGBT older adults include stigma, isolation and unequal treatment. Together, they translate into their being poorer and sicker and having fewer opportunities for social and community engagement than do their heterosexual peers, according to the report. Many older LGBTs' financial woes can be traced to the fact that discrimination was legal during their working lives, which often meant thinner paychecks, limited access to health care, fewer chances to build pensions and smaller Social Security payments, the report said.

For example, lesbian couples' Social Security benefits are typically 31.5 percent smaller and gay couples' benefits are 17.8 percent smaller than are those of heterosexual couples, the report said, citing a 2009 study. Family members provide about 80 percent of long-term care in the United States, but that's not the case with LGBT elders, since they are more likely to be single, childless and estranged from their biological families, said the report. Instead, many of them wind up relying on friends and the community, so-called families of choice, it said.
CNN did a great job with the article, which you should read, right up until the final paragraph when they quote the Family Research Council's Peter Spriggs, whom they note is "unmoved" by the plight of elderly gays: "Some of these problems that they face are the result of their own choices. In other words, the fact that they choose not to marry based on how society defines the institution of marriage leaves them without the support that married people have."

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Interrupt-A-Rama: Obama Goes On Fox To Defend Health Care Bill

The president made a rare appearance on Fox News yesterday to debate his health care bill with Bret Baier. You should watch this, if only to make a count of how many times Baier interrupts him.

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Three Chicago-Area Men Charged With Hate Crimes For Train Attack

In January I told you about Daniel Hauff, the Chicago gay man who fended off three homophobic attackers on Chicago's public transit by falsely telling them he was HIV-positive. Hauff had come to the defense of a gay kid whom the men had been harassing and was beaten and called a "faggot" for intervening. Yesterday all three men were indicted on hate crimes charges.
Kevin McAndrew and Benjamin Eder, both 23, and Sean Little, 21, all of Evanston, originally faced misdemeanor battery charges stemming from the Jan. 10 incident. Those charges were dropped and the three were immediately re-arrested as they left court on Feb. 24., police said. On Wednesday, the three men were each indicted on one count of hate crime and two counts of aggravated battery, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokesman Andy Conklin. The men will appear for arraignment on March 26.

Little, Eder and McAndrew were riding the CTA Red Line train when Little allegedly began verbally harassing and shoving a gay youth, according to a release from the attorney for Daniel Hauff, a Rogers Park man who tried to intervene. At that point, Little allegedly began directing anti-gay slurs at Hauff and pushed him. Eder and McAndrew, who had been watching, joined in the assault, calling Hauff a "stupid faggot" and all three began punching Hauff's face, bloodying him in front of train passengers, according to the release.
The men face five years in state prison.

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Alex Chilton

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Episcopal Church Names Mary Glasspool Its Second Openly Gay Bishop

Rev. Mary Glasspool has been named the second openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church.
A majority of bishops and dioceses of the Episcopal Church have approved the election of the church’s second openly gay bishop, the Rev. Mary D. Glasspool, a decision likely to increase the tension with fellow Anglican churches around the world that do not approve of homosexuality. The worldwide Anglican Communion, the network of churches connected to the Church of England, has been in turmoil since the Americans elected their first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, in New Hampshire in 2003. Theological conservatives in the Communion say the Bible condemns homosexuality, while liberals say the Scripture is open to interpretation. Bishop Glasspool, 56, is to be consecrated as one of two new assistant bishops, known as suffragan bishops, in Los Angeles on May 15. Both elected suffragan bishops are women — the first ever to serve in the diocese.
In October of last year, the Pope invited Anglicans to join the Catholic Church if they were disgusted with open gays and women in the pulpit. The Freepers are already losing their shit over Glasspool's promotion. A sampling:

-"A God scorned will unleash the fury of hell!"
-"It is the new American plan. The Gays take over the church, and the Marxist take over the government."
- "Lucifer must be laughing has ass off."
- "Mary Cesspool — the dyke version of Vikie Gene Robinson."

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Robyn - Fembots Have Feelings Too

New music from Swedish popster Robyn, who says she's releasing three albums in 2010.

(Tipped by JMG reader Kevin)

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Rep. Michele Bachmann: If Health Care Reform Passes, Don't Pay Your Taxes

Rep. Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann says that if the president's health care reform bill passes, Americans should not pay their taxes.
"But mark my words, the American people aren't gonna take this lying down," Bachmann later said. "We aren't gonna play their game, we're not gonna pay their taxes. They want us to pay for this? Because we don't have to. We don't have to. We don't have to follow a bill that isn't law. That's not the American way, and that's not what we're going to do." Bachmann continued. "Because it's one-party rule now in Washington, D.C. Their Chicago tactics, their Chicago friends, twisting Democrats' arms, threatening their own team members with ethics charges and a submission. This handful of people thinks they can enforce their will on 300 million Americans? They're not gonna do that. This is dictatorial, what they are doing. We are not compelled to follow a non-law just because Obama and Pelosi tells us we have to.

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PhoboQuotable - Bryan Fischer

"Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been suggesting that the military might not expel a service member whose sexual preference is revealed by a third party. That's utterly irrelevant. The law - and Gates knows this - simply says that homosexuality is incompatible with military service. You don't get a pass on the law just because your crime comes to the attention of somebody besides yourself.

"Gates' theory - you get to break the law as long as you don't rat yourself out - is absurd. Imagine if we applied that to any other realm of law enforcement. You, sir, get to go right on holding up banks because all we have to go on is ironclad eyewitness testimony from tellers, managers and other bank patrons. Please, please, pretty please admit you did it so we can lock you up. Otherwise, we will be forced to let you go so you can rob and pillage some more. That, of course, makes no sense in the real world. And it doesn't in the military either." - American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer, saying that because Air Force Sgt. Jane Newsome was stupid enough to leave her marriage license in plain view in her home, local police were justified in turning her in.

Fischer has recently called for the imprisonment and forced mental therapy of LGBT people. He also says the Bible calls for the death of Sea World employees.

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NOM Goes After DC Marriage Architect

NOM is opposing the reelection of openly gay Washington DC City Councilman David Catania, who authored the bill that legalized same-sex marriage in the nation's capital. Via Metro Weekly:
NOM is supporting Rev. Anthony J. Motley for the 2010 City Council election to de-seat gay Councilmember David Catania (At-Large), author of the bill that made marriage equality a reality in Washington. Motley has accepted two campaign contributions from NOM, and another from the Committee to Elect Delano Hunter. Hunter is running for a seat to represent Ward 5. He has also been supported by NOM. ''Obviously we're interested in electing candidates that will support traditional marriage and allowing voters of D.C. the right to have their say on the issue,'' Brian Brown, executive director of NOM, says. ''Rev. Motley does.'' Motley could not be reached for comment as of Friday, March 12.Local gay activist Bob Summersgill says he's not concerned that Motley will put up much of a fight against Catania, who is seeking reelection. Still, Summersgill adds, it's important to raise awareness about the origin of Motley's funds and what those contributions mean for LGBT residents of the District.
Records show that NOM has contributed twice the legal limit to Motley's campaign, which they are calling an oversight.

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