Maddow On Sen. Bernie Sanders

"A super-human display of strength and endurance."

Bernie Madoff's Son Commits Suicide

The 46 year-old son of convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff was found hanging from a dog leash in his Manhattan apartment today.

Mark Madoff, in desperate early morning e-mails to his wife, said he could no longer live with the curse put on the family by his disgraced dad, sources told the Daily News. "At one point he said something like, 'You'll have a better life if I'm not around ... I love you ... Our son needs someone here,'" one source told the News. Madoff, 46, was discovered hanging from a pipe inside the living room of his luxurious Mercer St. home in Soho around 7:30 a.m. by his father-in-law, who immediately called 911, the sources indicated.

Mark Madoff was being sued by many of his father's clients, who claim that he benefited from the scheme to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. However he faced no criminal charges.

Pikachunes - Just A Boy

The video for this nicely retro electro single from New Zealand's Miles McDougall seems like it's going in some gay direction, what with the solo boy and the rainbow unicorn, but by the end it's not so clear. McDougall's voice reminds me a bit of that Crash Test Dummies dude.

Guest Post - Carl Siciliano

It has been a rough holiday season for the Ali Forney Center.

The day after Thanksgiving I received an e-mail from the City of New York, informing me that due to budget problems, they were slashing their support for homeless youth programs, greatly defunding street outreach efforts and drop-in centers. Our drop-in support is being cut in half.

I prefer to talk about our housing programs, and the remarkable resilience that so many of our residents show in rebuilding lives that have been shattered by homophobia and family rejection. The realities we deal with in our two drop-in centers are harder and more brutal.

In New York City, there are 3,800 youths who sleep on the streets every night. Over 1,000 of these youths admit to being LGBT. There are only about 250 shelter beds for homeless youth in NYC, so the great majority are left stranded on the streets. LGBT kids from all over the country flock to our drop-in centers for the food, showers, medical care, mental health treatment and other forms of support we provide.

Our case managers work valiantly to help find shelter for these kids, but the reality is there are so few safe options for LGBT youth that we are often forced to advise them on how to survive while sleeping in places like subway trains, parks, abandoned buildings and construction sites as they wait for one of our beds to open up. Yesterday one of our case managers described spending the afternoon trying to find shelter for a girl who had just come to us. When his efforts were exhausted and he had to tell her that she would be out on the street for the night, she sat in his office and cried.

I hate what I see our kids going through. So many thousands of vulnerable kids being cast out of their homes for being gay, deprived of all family support, and forced to fend for themselves without the resources to survive. I hate the way the suffer violence and degradation on the streets, the way they get gay bashed in mainstream shelters, the way so many have to survive through prostitution. I hate seeing youth be so deeply traumatized.

This phenomenon of thousands of LGBT youth being thrown out to the streets by parents who will not accept them is the most terrible face of homophobia in our time. Is there is a greater wrong being perpetrated against our community? I do not understand why protecting our terribly violated and abandoned youth is not the top priority of the LGBT movement. I do not understand why our advocacy organizations are not fighting to make certain that our tax dollars are allocated to supporting these abandoned kids. It is a nightmare that there are so few resources to protect these kids.

With these budget cuts, our ability to provide our drop-in centers is jeopardized, but I am not willing to reduce what little support these poor kids have. The drop-in centers are the safety net for the kids out on the street and I cannot imagine closing our doors. We desperately need an outpouring of support from the community to keep our drop-in centers open. Please be as generous as you can in this time of trial and, please, see if you can persuade friends to help.

Online donations can be made by clicking here.

Checks can be sent to:

Ali Forney Center
224 West 35th Street, Suite 1102
New York, NY 10001

Thank You!

Carl Siciliano
Executive Director
Ali Forney Center

Almost Nine Hours Later.....

Tony Perkins Rides The "Hate Group" Waambulance For Fox News

"Peer reviewed research," Miss Perkins? You mean your fake pediatricians group and their made-up statistics, right?

Maggie Gallagher: Prop 8 Could Mean The End Of Marriage In The United States

This had to be emailed to me because NOM has blocked me from subscribing to their YouTube channel. WhatEVER for?

Family Research Council Calls For Hate Group Solidarity Against Filthy Queers

Over at Good As You, activist Jeremy Hooper has somehow uncovered a not-yet issued press release from the Family Research Council in which they call for the nation's anti-gay hate groups to stand in solidarity against the Southern Poverty Law Center's designations of anti-gay hate groups.

In today's second death-of-irony alert, the document is titled Start Debating: Stop Hating. Because according to the Family Research Council, we are the haters in this game.

The surest sign one is losing a debate is to resort to character assassination. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal fundraising machine whose tactics have been condemned by observers across the political spectrum, is doing just that.

The group, which was once known for combating racial bigotry, is now attacking several groups that uphold Judeo-Christian moral views, including marriage as the union of a man and a woman. How does the SPLC attack? By labeling its opponents “hate groups.” No discussion. No consideration of the issues. No engagement. No debate

These type of slanderous tactics have been used against voters who signed petitions and voted for marriage amendments in all thirty states that have considered them, as well as against the millions of Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement. Some on the Left have even impugned the Manhattan Declaration-which upholds the sanctity of life, the value of traditional marriage and the fundamental right of religious freedom-as an anti-gay document and have forced its removal from general communications networks.

This is intolerance pure and simple. Elements of the radical Left are trying to shut down informed discussion of policy issues that are being considered by Congress, legislatures, and the courts. Tell the radical Left it is time to stop spreading hateful rhetoric attacking individuals and organizations merely for expressing ideas with which they disagree. Our debates can and must remain civil - but they must never be suppressed through personal assaults that aim only to malign an opponents character.

You can take action by adding your name to the following statement:

We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with Family Research Council, American Family Association, Concerned Women of America, National Organization for Marriage, Liberty Counsel and other pro-family organizations that are working to protect and promote natural marriage and family. We support the vigorous but responsible exercise of the First Amendment rights of free speech and religious liberty that are the birthright of all Americans.

Over at Right Wing Watch, People For The American Way reminds us exactly who the haters are with a link farm to recent statements by the above-listed groups.

• Gays should be exported from the country;
• The federal government must be overthrown if its allows gay marriage;
• "Moral perverts" need to be kept out of the military;
• There is nothing "conservative" about "one man violently cramming his penis into another man’s lower intestine and calling it 'love'";
• Gay sex ought to carry criminal penalties;
• Gays ought to be prohibited from serving in public office;
• Gay sex is domestic terrorism;
• "Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Stormtroopers ... [because] homosexual solders basically had no limits and the savagery and brutality they were willing to inflict."

Dow Chemical Staffers - It Gets Better

Photo Of The Day - Mission Incomplete

Metro Weekly has tweeted out a few photos from today's Mission: Incomplete rally in DC where over a dozen pro-DADT repeal groups gathered to denounce yesterday's action by the Senate.

MARYLAND: Marriage Equality Vote Likely To Come Before End Of Year

The Baltimore Sun reports that a vote on same-sex marriage will likely be put to the Maryland legislature before the end of the year.

In the march toward equal rights for gays and lesbians in Maryland, small things can make a big difference. A couple of Republican state senators were replaced by Democrats, giving the majority party an extra seat in a key committee. One socially conservative Democrat asked to be reassigned, and suddenly a 6-5 split against same-sex marriage in the Judicial Proceedings Committee looks like it could turn into a 6-5 vote in favor of it. [snip] That’s a lot of chickens to count before they hatch, but the path toward legalizing gay marriage here looks clearer than ever — not because of any extraordinary event, or landmark court case, or massive protest march, but because one by one, Marylanders have grown comfortable with the idea that homosexuality is no reason to deny someone’s fundamental rights.

The above-linked article cautions that should lawmakers approve marriage equality, opponents need only get 3% of Maryland's electorate, about 56,000 people, to sign a repeal petition that would place the issue on the 2012 ballot.

EU To Czech Republic: Stop Boner Tests

The European Union is telling the Czech Republic to cease testing the homosexuality of gay asylum seekers by hooking them up to a penile tumescence monitor while they watch straight porn. According to Czech immigration officials, getting an erection while watching heterosexual porn meant the applicant was lying about escaping gay persecution in their home country. The Czech Republic is the only EU nation performing such tests.

Mr. Smith Sanders Goes To Washington

If you've got access to a television, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is approaching the fourth hour of an EPIC filibuster of the tax cuts bill. I picked it up in the second hour and have been riveted. At this writing, Sanders has just invited Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) to "colloquy" with him. Watch on C-SPAN2 at the above link. Business Insider is calling this "historic."

SAN FRANCISCO: Street Preachers Perform Exorcism On Transgender Woman

Blowing horns and screaming over a public address system, a group of Move Of God street preachers descended on a transgender woman to "lay on hands" and perform an exorcism. They announce on YouTube: "Believed he was a woman for 20 years. In fifteen minutes he is totally set free." Based on this clip, it appears their hapless victim is either drunk or mentally ill.

Tweet Of The Day - Scott Hurst

How To Buy Wine In Pennsylvania

Engadget explains how one now buys wine in Pennsylvania's grocery stores:

It's illegal to sell alcohol in grocery stores in Pennsylvania, but it's not illegal to install a vending machine that dispenses wine: as long as the user is asked to take a breathalyzer test, swipe their state issued ID or Driver License, and then show their mug to a state official sitting somewhere in Harrisburg, who is keeping an eye on the proceedings via CCTV. Simple, right? Maybe not, but it does protect the state's monopoly on liquor sales. The Pronto wine vending machine is currently only available in select grocery stores in the state, but it's just been announced that the PA Liquor Control Board has given Walmart preliminary approval to put the things in some of their locations outside of Pittsburgh.

Lieberman And Collins Introduce Stand-Alone DADT Repeal Bill

With co-sponsors Sen. Mark Udall, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and GOP Sen. Susan Collins, independent Sen. Joe Lieberman has introduced the stand-alone DADT repeal bill he promised yesterday. The above-linked bill-tracking site indicates that Lieberman's measure has been referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee, although Lieberman has promised that his bill will go directly to a floor vote without Committee approval.

JMG Reader Joe Shaw Elected To Huntington Beach City Council

JMG reader Joe Shaw, who comments here as "Another Joe," has been elected to the Huntington Beach, California city council and is currently the only openly gay elected official in all of Orange County. From earlier this week, here's his opening speech to the council. Congratulations, Councilman Shaw!

Cleve Jones: Harvey Milk Would Be Horrified To See HRC In His Castro Store

(Via - Queerty)

Do As They Say, Not As They Do

Billboard Issues 2010 Year-End Charts

Billboard Magazine has issued its annual rankings of the biggest hits of the year. Here's the 2010 pop Top Ten.

1. Tik-Tok - Kesha
2. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
3. Hey Soul Sister - Train
4. California Gurls - Katy Perry
5. OMG - Usher
6. Airplanes - B.O.B.
7. Love The Way You Lie - Eminem/Rihanna
8. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
9. Dynamite - Taio Cruz
10. Break Your Heart - Taio Cruz

Other list toppers: Artist Of The Year: Lady Gaga. Album Of The Year - Susan Boyle, I Dreamed A Dream, Dance Single Of The Year - Goldfrapp, Rocket.

Erasure & Hetrick-Martin NYC LGBT Youth Chorus - A Little Respect

Here's the new Erasure single that I mentioned a couple of days ago. Get it now on iTunes.

Proceeds from the track will be donated to The Hetrick-Martin Institute, the home of the Harvey Milk High School, in New York, and the True Colors Fund. The Hetrick-Martin Institute, the nation's oldest and largest LGBTQ youth service organization, provides a safe and supportive environment to all young people -- regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity so that they can achieve their full potential. The HMI Redux features a youth chorus from the Hetrick-Martin Institute who also appear in the music video, directed by filmmaker Jason Stein.

Lots of cameos including Michael Musto and (I think) Broadway star Tituss Burgess.

IOWA: Focus On The Family Files Federal Lawsuit To Stop Court Appointments

Focus On The Family has filed a federal lawsuit demanding that the public have a say in the appointments of state Supreme Court justices. After a NOM-led campaign succeeded in deposing three justices in the 2010 retention vote, the Christianist hate group Focus is intent on thwarting the replacement of those pro-marriage justices with similarly equality-minded people. And in a death-of-irony moment, the suit alleges that the plaintiffs have been denied equal protection.

The Des Moines Register reports:

Four Iowans allege in a federal lawsuit that the commission process used to select finalists for the Iowa Supreme Court denies them a chance to participate equally in the selection of justices and judges. The lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeks a judge’s order to prevent seven lawyer members of the state judicial nominating commission from selecting finalists to replace three Iowa Supreme Court justices, who were denied new terms by voters last month. The four plaintiffs contend that including the lawyer members — who are elected by other bar-member attorneys — violates their constitutional equal-protection rights. The lawsuit was filed by a James Bopp Jr., a lawyer from the conservative James Madison Center for Free Speech in Terra Haute, Ind.

Currently a 15-member commission nominates appellate and Supreme Court justices, who are then appointed by the governor. That system was adopted by a state constitutional amendment in 1962.

NOTE: JMG reader Enzo, whose blog is linked below, clarifies that the suit was filed by Focus On The Family lawyer James Bopp Jr on behalf of the Indiana-based James Madison Center for Free Speech.

(Via - Aksarbent)

HomoQuotable - Pam Spaulding

"Joe Solmonese should do the honorable thing and step down. It is shameful to cash all those checks without the follow through on the job. The White House was never put under serious pressure; the late calls now in the e-blasts for the President to do something ring hollow after the toadying that has gone on for two years.

"As we saw, Reid couldn't get it together in the Senate and the wingnuts will have more control in January. The watered-down repeal doesn't do much of anything at this point (even if it passes as a separate bill during the lame duck session -- good luck with that), and we're still dealing with all the GOP squawking by McCain and others who want a 'do-over' of the Pentagon's implementation report. It's a big f'ing mess because there has been piss-poor leadership by those who are lobbied in government.

"In turn it's the unelected, highly marketed, well-tailored representative of the entire LGBT community, Joe Solmonese of HRC, who also has to be held accountable for these failures. It's clear that those in power had no fear of the vast war chest of HRC being used to turn up the heat." - Pam Spaulding, calling a Solmonese resignation a "New Year's wish for the community."

American Family Association: The Federal Government Needs To Call For Abstinence From All Gay Sex

Responding to a new Surgeon General report that even one cigarette could spur fatal heart attacks in some people, the American Family Association hate group says that it's time that the government issues similar warnings about gay sex. Because that first cock you suck can be the one that kills you.

What the surgeon general did not say but should have is that the same is true of homosexual behavior: the first act of gay sex can be the one that kills you. While drugs have been found to mitigate the damage done by HIV, there is no cure. Once someone contracts it, he has it for life, a life often tragically shortened by between eight and 20 years, according to the International Journal of Epidemiology. Smoking will cut six to seven years from the lifespan of the smoker, meaning a cigarette habit is less dangerous to human health and longevity than gay sex.

According to the Associated Press, “[T]here is no safe level of exposure to cigarette smoke.” Same goes for participation in gay sex - there is simply “no safe level of exposure.” If a case can be made that cigarette smoking should be made illegal, a far better case can be made for making homosexual sex contrary to public policy, as it was in every state in the Union until 1962, and in 49 states until 1972. It’s still against the law in 12 states, although the Supreme Court, in another egregious act of judicial activism, prohibited states from governing themselves in this matter in the Lawrence ruling of 2003.

The goal of the surgeon general’s office, since it can’t make smoking illegal, is to reduce the smoking rate from its current 20 percent to 12 percent by 2020. We currently have between two and four percent of the population engaging in gay sex. How about we ask the surgeon general to launch a crusade to reduce the gay sex rate from four percent to one percent by 2020? Says the surgeon general, in words that can and should be addressed to practicing homosexuals, “It's never too late to quit but the sooner you quit the better.” In other words, the official administration policy on cigarette smoking is abstinence. Let’s make it the official government position on gay sex.

IHOP Coming To Times Square

Eater reports that IHOP has inked a deal to open 24 restaurants in the NYC area, including a flagship outlet in Times Square. Currently the only IHOP in NYC is in Harlem. Among the other glamorous restaurants in glittering fabulous Times Square: Applebee's, Olive Garden, Sbarro, Chili's, TGI Friday's, and Red Lobster. And don't forget Pop Tarts, the cafe.

Olbermann: Would Hillary Clinton Have Been That Much Different?

Rep. Barney Frank On House Democrats' Rejection Of Obama's Tax Compromise

More Maddow Vs. David Bahati

Last night Rachel Maddow concluded her interview with Uganda's David "Kill The Gays" Behati. Maddow also interviews the author of a book about the GOP's secretive Christianist group, The Family.

HRC's Joe Solmonese On DADT Vote

Tweet Of The Day II - Nancy Pelosi

Hate Groups React To DADT Vote

Porno Pete LaBarbera

We are gratified that enough Senators acted to prevent a lame-duck vote to effectively homosexualize the American military -- a Democratic-led effort that is all about Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), President Obama and the Democrats pandering to their 'gay' activist base and NOT keeping our military strong, nor defending the best interests of our fighting men and women. 'Gay rights' and religious freedom (defense of Judeo-Christian morality) cannot co-exist -- as the persecution of Christians who oppose homosexuality in America and the world over clearly demonstrates -- so we can only deduce that they will not be able to co-exist in a 'homosexualized' military. The military would bring in scores of pro-homosexual activists to effectively 're-educate' the troops in pro-gay 'tolerance and diversity' -- the very same LGBT activists that regularly demonstrate their anti-religious bigotry and animus by falsely equating the defense of biblical sexual morality with 'hate' and 'homophobia.' The introduction of pro-'gay' propaganda into the military would undermine morale and cohesion in the Armed Forces.

Family Research Council

“This is the second time in 2010 that the U.S. Senate has rejected an insistent liberal social agenda and delivered a victory for the men and women of our Armed Forces. Despite continued attempts by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to use the military to advance this agenda, a bi-partisan group of senators has soundly declared that they will side with the priorities of the American people. First and foremost, Congress must address the impending tax increases and budget issues. Senator Susan Collins broke her pledge to first stop the looming tax hikes before moving to consider any other legislation. Senator Collins hasn’t been listening to voters who sent a clear message on Election Day that they have had enough of politicians who break their word only to side with liberal special interests,” concluded Perkins.

More reactions will be added to this post as they come in.

Joe Manchin Apologizes For DADT Vote

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has issued an explanation and apology for his DADT vote today.

"While I believe the 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' policy will be repealed someday, and probably should be repealed in the near future, I do not support its repeal at this time," Manchin said in the statement. "I truly understand that my position will anger those who believe repeal should happen now and for that I sincerely apologize. While I am very sympathetic to those who passionately support the repeal, as a Senator of just three weeks, I have not had the opportunity to visit and hear the full range of viewpoints from the citizens of West Virginia."

Manchin went on to say that the president should end DADT discharges by executive order.

President Reacts To Senate DADT Vote

"A minority of Senators were willing to block this important legislation largely because they oppose the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' As Commander in Chief, I have pledged to repeal this discriminatory law, a step supported by the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and informed by a comprehensive study that shows overwhelming majorities of our armed forces are prepared to serve with Americans who are openly gay or lesbian. A great majority of the American people agree. This law weakens our national security, diminishes our military readiness, and violates fundamental American principles of fairness, integrity and equality.

"I want to thank Majority Leader Reid, Armed Services Committee Chairman Levin, and Senators Lieberman and Collins for all the work they have done on this bill. While today's vote was disappointing, it must not be the end of our efforts. I urge the Senate to revisit these important issues during the lame duck session." - President Barack Obama, in a press release expressing his "extreme disappointment."

Senate DADT Roll Call

Democrats Voting No
Manchin (D-WV)

Republicans Voting Yes
Collins (R-ME)

Independents Voting Yes
Sanders (I-VT)
Lieberman (I-CT)

Not Voting
Brownback (R-KS)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Lincoln (D-AR)

Submitted Without Comment

SAN DIEGO: Publisher Of Defunct LGBT Newspaper Dead Of Apparent Suicide

The body of Michael Portantino, the publisher of San Diego's recently defunct Gay & Lesbian Times, has been found outside a local gay hotel. The San Diego County coroner is calling it an apparent suicide.

The decedent was a 52 year old single White male who resided in a home in San Diego. On 12/08/10, he apparently jumped from a building and landed on the cement walkway before his body was discovered by passersby. 9-1-1 was called and medics arrived and confirmed the death without intervention due to the obvious signs of trauma. The examination is being conducted today 12/09/10.

The hotel has only six floors. Prior to his paper's closure, Portantino's competitors had publicly accused the title of inflating its circulation numbers to advertisers.

UPDATE: San Diego's "ex-gay" loon and multiple felon James Hartline is celebrating Portantino's death on Twitter and has posted the below 2008 clip of a group of Hartline-led Christianists protesting a proposed declaration of Gay & Lesbian Times Day by the San Diego city council.


(Via - Rex Wockner)

Tweet Of The Day - Sen. Joe Lieberman

Lieberman follows that up with this: "Senator Reid told me he will bring our free-standing #DADT repeal up for a vote before end of session."

So NOW what? Oy, I've been blogging since 6AM and I'd really like to be able to lie down for a few minutes. That ain't gonna happen.

DADT Failure Reactions

GetEQUAL

I have to be honest -- I just vomited a little in my mouth. The Senate just voted on whether to bring the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) up for conversation. Not for passage -- just for conversation. It failed. We all laid everything we could on the line for this bill -- a piece of legislation that would have repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." We all know that gay and lesbian Americans are just as patriotic and capable as straight Americans -- but dysfunctional Senate processes, a homophobic Republican Party, and a spineless Democratic Party got in the way of equality once again.

Human Rights Campaign

"The Senate’s apparent refusal to act on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal makes Presidential action imperative in order for him to fulfill his state of the union promise,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “The only measure of success is an end to the discharges and anything less is unacceptable.” Under his powers to ensure national security following the September 11 attacks, the President has the ability to issue stop-loss orders preventing certain service members from discharge. Pending an enduring solution to this unjust and discriminatory law, the President can and should suspend DADT-related discharges under the stop-loss provision. “In this time of war, we cannot sustain a policy that has already deprived our military of thousands of service members, many with critical skills in fighting terrorism,” said Solmonese.

OutServe

Today’s vote is heartbreaking and demoralizing to all members of OutServe - and the tens of thousands of gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members - who must continue to serve in silence and live a lie. No words can describe how it felt to watch our U.S. senators uphold discrimination and perpetuate the deceit and compromised integrity that consistently result under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." We had more faith in our elected officials to heed the advice of military leadership and vote against prejudice. Instead, a minority of senators have successfully blockaded the entire defense spending bill on the basis of prejudice and politics.

Servicemembers United

"This was a major failure on the part of the Senate to simply do its job and pass an annual defense authorization bill. Politics prevailed over responsibility today, and now more than one million American servicemembers, including tens of thousands of gay and lesbian troops, are worse off as a result," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former U.S. Army interrogator who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "Since the votes are there in isolation, the Senate should still consider a stand-alone bill to repeal the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law before adjourning for the winter holidays."

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force

The Senate’s failure to allow a vote on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal is a huge disgrace and disservice to our country. Senators had an opportunity — and an obligation — to move toward ending an outdated, unnecessary and costly policy that discriminates against courageous and qualified people willing to risk their lives by serving in the military. How many more personal and painful stories of discrimination must these lawmakers hear before they act to end this harmful policy? How many more exhaustive Pentagon studies need to be done that affirm it's time to end the ban? Three-quarters of Americans say ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ should be repealed, as do top military leaders. People from every background, every faith, every community across the country know that qualified, patriotic Americans willing to risk their lives by serving in the military should be able to do so, free of discrimination.

People For The American Way

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has been a failed experiment in discrimination—it has kept countless patriotic Americans from serving their country in the military, and sent thousands of brave men and women packing after honorable careers in the armed forces. For too long, an unjust, ineffective, and unpopular policy has been kept in place by the divisive politics of the far-right fringe. As Sec. Gates has acknowledged, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell won’t hold up for long in the court of law. The Senate’s refusal to end the policy at Sec. Gates’ request—and to sink an important Defense bill along with it—is short-sighted and irresponsible, and puts right-wing politics ahead of national security.

Motion To Consider DADT Fails 57-40

Sen. Susan Collins did vote YES. Sen. Scott Brown voted NO. I'll have the full roll call shortly.

DADT Vote Scheduled For Today

AmericaBlog reports that the cloture vote on the Defense Authorization Act is now scheduled for noon today. As we know, that could change. [Obviously, it did.] Right now the Senate is voting on the DREAM Act, which passed in the House yesterday. Watch live on C-SPAN.

UPDATE: The Senate has voted to table the DREAM Act until next week by a vote of 59-40.

UPDATE II: I've been bumping this post back to the top of the blog as we keep getting hints that the vote is imminent. Or that it won't happen at all.

UPDATE III: Sen Harry Reid just announced that DADT is effectively DEAD. "We can't win because the rules keep getting changed."

UPDATE IV: And THEN we follow up that doom with an actual vote on Reid's motion to end debate on cloture!

UPDATE V: The live stream is concluded (for now).

Crazy Eyes Will Have Christianist Nutbag Teach Congress Classes On Constitution

Polari Listed As Endangered Language

Polari, the inventive and colorful slang language once used by some British homosexuals, has been listed among thousands of languages headed for extinction.

The slang, used as a code among some gay people when homosexuality was illegal, is on an online database created by University of Cambridge researchers. The free website has been developed by researchers at the World Oral Literature Project and includes records for 3,524 world languages, from those deemed “vulnerable”, to those that remain well understood but are effectively extinct, like Latin. [snip] Polari was originally used by market traders and sailors and some believe can be traced back as far as the 16th century. It has its roots in English, Italian, Yiddish, canal, theatre and Gypsy languages. Until the 1970s, it was used by a small number of gay people as a private communication method to avoid hostile attention and develop an identity. Some words, such as ‘naff’ and ‘camp’, are now in general usage.

Here's a couple of clips about the hit British radio show Round The Horne, in which two of the characters spoke mostly in Polari.

Google Recaps The News Of 2010

Double rainbows, Jimmy McMillan, Antoine Dodson, Alexander McQueen, Haiti, BP, Pakistan, vuvuzelas, and more.

Activists Deliver 528,000 DADT Petitions To DC Office Of Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Via press release: "The folks who made the delivery on behalf of the 582k proponents of DADT repeal were Saif Khan, an Iraq War veteran; Colonel William Cline, a retired Army physician; and Brad Reichard, the spouse of a West Point graduate."

The Snooki Ball

As part of MTV's New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, the network will lower Jersey Shore cast member Snooki in a giant hamster ball. The ball will drop (violently, some would hope) from the seventh floor balcony of MTV's studios.

Manhattan Declaration Authors Beg For Money To Continue Their Battle With Apple

Saying that gay activists have forced them to redesign their iPhone app, the backers of the Manhattan Declaration today asked for more donations.

This controversy has caused us a lot of unanticipated expenses: The servers of the Manhattan Declaration website couldn't handle the crush of visitors to the site, so we had to upgrade the servers; we engaged in a public relations battle-a battle we had to win. By the way, we placed an op-ed with the San Francisco Chronicle-right in Apple's back yard. We have also had to pay to re-design the app. The questionnaire that we included in the app was a lightning rod for gay activists, so we deleted the questionnaire. All of this has put us behind budget by $30,000.

As you know, we operate on a shoestring, depending on ministries and organizations to donate their employees' time. But we must meet these unexpected expenses we just mentioned. We don't have any choice but to carry on this fight and win it. If Apple can arbitrarily block the Manhattan Declaration from its app store, then it can do so with any organization that bases its work on the Bible. I truly believe that the Manhattan Declaration was targeted by activists as a test case. If they succeed this time, they will be emboldened to target others.

RELATED: From Manhattan Declaration co-author Chuck Colson's op-ed in today's San Francisco Chronicle:

If the Manhattan Declaration's positions are offensive, then so are those of mainstream Christianity for the past 2,000 years. There is no doubt that the half a million signers of the Manhattan Declaration - along with the 50-plus Catholic bishops, numerous evangelical leaders and the metropolitan of the American Orthodox Church - would disagree strongly with those who support same-sex marriage. But disagreement is not hate. If the Manhattan Declaration's positions alone are enough to have its app removed, then I have to wonder whether Apple is considering removing other Bible-based - or even Jewish or Islamic - apps from its store.

Signers of the document vow to "civilly disobey" any law granting discrimination protections to LGBT Americans.

Salvation Army Trashes Harry Potter Toys

Saying that the toys violate the organization's Christian beliefs, the Salvation Army is throwing all donated Harry Potter items in the garbage. Anything related to the Twilight movies goes in the trash too.

"I asked if these toys went to another charitable organizations but was told no, that by passing these toys on to another agency for distribution would be supporting these toys," said the man, who wouldn't give his name due to his occupation. The man called himself an admirer of the Salvation Army and was impressed by the massive quantity of toys collected in city malls, schools and police stations through the Toy Mountain campaign. But he questioned why the charity would be sifting out Harry Potter and Twilight toys, which involve sorcery and vampire themes, respectively. "I was told to withhold a six-inch Harry Potter figure, but when I picked up a plastic M-16, I was told, 'That's for the 10-year-olds,'" he said. "I was shocked...war-themed toys and toys from TV shows and movies with far more violence than Harry Potter and these were considered appropriate toys?"

UTAH: Parents Upset Over Gay Suicide Signs Posted Near Elementary School

Administrators and parents at a Utah elementary school are upset because a man who lives adjacent to the school has posted the above signs.

Leonard Ridley lives next to Art City Elementary in Springville. He recently posted three signs on his fence, facing the playground after he read news about the recent rash of gay suicides. "The signs of course say stop gay suicide, tell the truth, gays are born gay," Ridley said. "I realized at that point that I was in an enviable location in back of the school and this would be an opportunity to provide information to the children tat would be carried to the adults in their lives, to the teachers, to their parents in particular and carry information concerning homosexuals and homosexuality that would perhaps contradict with the mistaken ideas that they already had."

Saying that many parents had complained, school officials said that suicide was an inappropriate subject for elementary school students. The city has declared that the size of the signs exceed zoning codes and Ridley has agreed to post only one sign at a time.

(Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Sen. Carl Levin: DADT Repeal Timeline May Be Insurmountable

Westboro To Picket Edwards Funeral

(Via - Towleroad)

All Out: New LGBT Rights Group Launches

A new global LGBT rights group called All Out has announced their launch in early 2011.

Established by former leaders and founders of some of the world’s most successful movement building organizations, All Out will add global people power to the historic fight for LGBT equality. All Out will rapidly respond to moments of crisis and opportunity, so governments, corporations and other institutions with the power to change the lives of LGBT people hear us - in huge numbers. We'll also work to change our families and communities so that LGBT people win not just rights but also come to feel truly embraced wherever they are.

BRITAIN: Students Riot Over Tuition Plan

At this writing, hundreds of British riot police are marching through Westminster with shields and horses as tens of thousands of students protest plans to triple tuition at universities. Students in Parliament Square have been tossing smoke bombs and fireworks in an attempt to break through the line of horses. Parliament is expected to raise annual tuition fees to about $18,000.

Offspring Created From Two Male Mice

Using stem cell technology, scientists have been able to create male and female baby mice from two male parents. Most notably for us here, the breakthrough raises the possibility of same-sex couples having children genetically related to both parents.

In the work reported today, the Behringer team manipulated fibroblasts from a male (XY) mouse fetus to produce an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line. About one percent of iPS cell colonies grown from this XY cell line spontaneously lost the Y chromosome, resulting in XO cells. The XO iPS cells were injected into blastocysts from donor female mice. The treated blastocysts were transplanted into surrogate mothers, which gave birth to female XO/XX chimeras having one X chromosome from the original male mouse fibroblast. The female chimeras, carrying oocytes derived from the XO cells, were mated with normal male mice. Some of the offspring were male and female mice that had genetic contributions from two fathers.

This work could also help in the battle to preserve endangered animal species.

UPDATE: The Family Research Council is reassuring their followers that nothing will come of this in human terms.

Atlanta Mayor Apologizes For Eagle Raid

(Via - Georgia Voice)

NJ Approves Anti-Abortion License Plates

New Jersey's DMV has approved an anti-abortion specialty license plate. Sales from the plate go to a Christian "pregnancy care center" where women are counseled about the "moral choice" before them. (In other words, probably one of those fake abortion clinics.) New Jersey becomes the 26th state to approve such a plate since the Supreme Court refused to block them several years ago.

Crazy Eyes Lies About Tax Cuts

Hate Group Head Tony Perkins Whines More About Being Head Of A Hate Group

"Yesterday, to try and legitimize their smear campaign, SPLC held an audio webcast focused almost entirely on FRC. Among other things, they backpedaled from the notion that FRC belongs in the same category as the KKK, agreeing that we are 'the most mainstream of the organizations' SPLC has ever criticized. Richard Cohen, SPLC's President, revealed what this whole attack on FRC was really about. 'We don't believe that some of these people should be put on national TV.'

"According to Cohen, FRC's position on marriage should disqualify us from any media appearances. (Is it really our position on marriage or that the facts are just not on their side?) Even Tom Brokaw, who is unapologetically liberal, told a gay newspaper this week, 'I don't think you can shut down free speech." Asked how to deal with pro-family groups, Brokaw said, "We're a free speech society. They're entitled to their positions.... How do you begin to censor things?' Easy, says SPLC. Start 'inoculating the public against FRC's propaganda.' In other words, do everything possible to keep the public from hearing FRC's rational arguments." - Family Research Council head bigot Tony Perkins.

These hate groups sure are devoting a lot of time and effort into complaining about something which they claim is a badge of honor!

Facebook To Reimburse Gay Staffers For Partner Benefit Tax Inequities

Facebook is joining the small but growing list of companies who are reimbursing their gay employees for the tax inequities incurred by carrying their partners on their insurance.

The new policies follow similar announcements by Barclays, and also this year, Google. A handful of other large organizations, including Cisco, Kimpton Hotels and the Gates Foundation also cover these costs. Under federal law, employer-provided health benefits for domestic partners are counted as taxable income, if the partner is not considered a dependent. The tax owed is based on the value of the partner’s coverage paid by the employer.

Gay employees pay about $1100 more annually than heterosexual married employees who insure their spouses.

PETA Vs. Sarah Palin

Friendly Voices - Nelly Furtado

"I'm proud to live in Canada, a country that supports gay marriage, because I can speak openly about it to my child. Children shouldn't be raised in a bubble. There's nothing wrong with it, so why wouldn't I treat it as normal? Nothing makes me more brokenhearted than seeing people who feel they can't be themselves. It's such a crime. God, it's so hard and horrible to be a teenager, and the virtual way young people communicate nowadays makes them feel even more disconnected. My advice [to troubled gay teens] is to reach out and find somebody you can relate to, because human interaction can heal those wounds." -Multiple Grammy winner Nelly Furtado, speaking to South Florida's She Magazine.

Tired Old Queen At The Movies #61

1959's Separate Tables starring Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, Deborah Kerr, David Niven and Wendy Hiller.

Coulter Vomits Up Another DADT Column

"Maybe we could have an all-gay service! They'd be allowed to wear camouflage neckerchiefs (a la Paul Lynde) and camo capri pants. To avoid any sexual harassment claims, they'd have to have their own barrack, which we could outfit with a dance club, a cosmo bar and a counseling center called 'The Awkward Place.' Their band would mostly play show tunes, and soldiers captured by the enemy would be taught to reveal only their name, rank and seasonal color analysis ('I am Private First Class Jeffrey Smith, and I'm a 'winter.'') They wouldn't be allowed in combat, however, for the same reason women aren't – it takes them too long to get ready." - GOProud's BFF Ann Coulter, writing for World Net Daily.

Anti-Gay Wingnut Calls On All Remaining Iowa Supreme Court Judges To Resign

Bob Vander Platts, who led the successful effort to vote out three Iowa Supreme Court justices for endorsing marriage equality, wants the remaining four justices to resign. Iowa's ACLU chapter responds:

Calling for these resignations is premature. These four justices will eventually come up for retention votes. Until those elections take place, the justices should do their jobs to the best of their abilities. Calling for their resignations now demonstrates little more than a push for retribution. Urging resignations also is irresponsible. The current court has been gutted by nearly half, slowing important cases and disrupting the ability of this critical court to function. It’s also just plain unwarranted. These justices, no matter what one thinks of marriage equality, were simply doing their job–applying the Iowa Constitution to the best of their ability.

RELATED: A local Iowa television station is polling viewers whether they agree with the call for the four justices to resign. You know what to do.

(Tipped by JMG reader Enzo)

Open Thread Thursday

What are your plans for the holidays? Bio-family or gay family? Or both? What are your traditions?

Rachel Maddow Vs. Uganda's "Kill The Gays" Bill Author David Bahati

Tonight the author of Uganda's "Kill The Gays" bill, David Behati, appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show where Maddow repeatedly called Behati out on his ridiculous claims about wealthy American homosexuals "paying Ugandan schoolchildren to become gay." Behati's bill came about after The Family, a powerful GOP-based lobby of anti-gay Christianists, visited Uganda to preach against homosexuality. Watch this.

Homocon Tweet Of The Day - GOProud

KANSAS: "Little Apple" Gets LGBT Rights

With the backing of Kansas State University, the city commission of the small town of Manhattan, Kansas, known locally as the "Little Apple," has narrowly approved a sweeping LGBT rights ordinance by a vote of 3-2. The vote was hotly followed across major anti-gay websites as a possible harbinger of the continued march for equality out of the big cities and into the heartland.

The American Family Association laments:

In Manhattan, Kansas, city commissioners have passed a controversial "anti-discrimination" ordinance creating a special protected class for the sexually confused. The move has many Christian leaders dismayed at the direction of their rural Kansas town. Kansas Family Policy Council director Donna Lippoldt attended the meeting. She shares her reaction to the vote. "I don't think that the rest of the people in the state have any idea that they're sending their children to a university that has [endorsed] the gay agenda -- and [that] they just want more and more people to come who have this lifestyle," laments the family advocate. "It was very, very disappointing."

The virulently anti-gay Canada Free Press weighs in:

If you are simply shaking your head and giving thanks this debacle is not taking place in your town, be ready for a scary surprise in your morning paper. In April of 2010 Manhattan, Kansas, deep within the Bible Belt of the heartland, had its first gay pride parade. Then, by political fiat, the month of June was name by the Manhattan mayor pro tem as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. Now in December, three out of five liberal politicians, on behalf of a minority group with a political agenda, are about to create a liberal city ordinance more extreme than anything seen in San Francisco. This new ordinance will be used as a civil hammer to beat traditional values into submission, and the shock waves will be felt around the country. Toto, we are in a big fix, because Kansas is about to be no longer in Kansas anymore.

Welcome out of the woods, Little Apple.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Readers from Manhattan, Kansas point out that the above celebration may be premature as the bill must undergo a "second reading" next month before it becomes law. Fingers crossed, everybody!

LIVE VIDEO: "Possible" DADT Senate Cloture Vote To Take Place At 5:30PM

Nobody seems to be sure it will happen, but the Family Research Council is claiming on Twitter that a cloture vote on the Defense Authorization Act is scheduled for around 5:30PM. The FRC has spent the day marshaling their followers to deluge Senate offices with protesting calls, so this could be a panicked push to generate more calls while folks are still in their offices. We've also heard that if Sen. Harry Reid is unhappy with proposed amendments to the bill, he'll vote against it on procedural grounds (as he did in October) in order to bring it up again later. Here's the Senate live video stream, in case the FRC is right about the time.

UPDATE: The Senate has adjourned and there will be no vote tonight as negotiations with Maine's GOP Sen. Susan Collins have broken down.

HomoQuotable - Dustin Lance Black

"Harvey Milk spent the last years of his life fighting not only for rights for gays and lesbians across the nation, but also against the idea that the only way to achieve those rights is to lobby the government and financially support so-called 'straight allies'. Harvey believed the best way to secure our rights was through grassroots action, coalition building and the election of LGBT people to office at all levels of government. He encouraged people to come out of the closet and be vocal about who they were and why they deserved full equality, not partial equality or crumbs. For the HRC leadership, which still advocates a piecemeal, wait-and-see approach to try and co-opt and profit from Harvey's legacy is an outrage." - Oscar winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, in a joint statement with the Log Cabin Republicans denouncing HRC's move into Harvey Milk's camera store.

RELATED: Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out is denouncing the LCR's denouncement.

Before I hear the Log Cabin Republicans whine about HRC, I want to see these Uncle Marys pave the way by making the Republican Party more friendly towards LGBT Equality. When Log Cabin recruits and puts forth viable candidates that can actually be endorsed, we can begin an honest discussion. Until then, they are just blowing smoke where the sun don’t shine. As for Black, he ought to pick his fights and friends more carefully. Right now he is a hero. I would hate to see his moral authority erode by getting bogged down in community infighting when he ought to keep his eye on the ball by battling our real enemies — most of whom happen to be Republicans.

TENNESSEE: Christian University Fires Coach For Being A Lesbian

Tweet Of The Day - Greg Sargent

PETA: Buy A Dog And You Kill A Shelter Dog (And Will Drag It Around Forever)

According to PETA, if you purchase your dog, you are effectively killing the shelter dog you didn't adopt. And you'll drag that dead unadopted dog behind you forever. In spirit, one presumes they mean. I've never bought a pet in my life and my FIV+ cat was adopted as an adult from the East Harlem ASPCA. But I've never begrudged pure breed aficionados who patronize responsible sources.

Obama Calls Senators On DADT

Metro Weekly's Chris Geidner reports that President Obama today contacted members of the Senate asking for their support of the Defense Authorization Act, which includes the repeal of DADT.

White House spokesman Shin Inouye tells Metro Weekly, "The President has been reaching out to Senators from both sides of the aisle to reiterate his desire to see Congress pass the National Defense Authorization Act, including a repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', during the lame duck."

This morning Sen. Harry Reid indicated that he may bring the cloture vote on the bill to the floor this evening.

Aubrey Sarvis, the executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said in a statement this morning, "Reid is actively reaching out to his Republican colleagues to reach an agreement on how to proceed. We also know from Hill sources the President is actively working today's vote with key Republican senators. Today the Senate has an opportunity to make the nation's defense funding and our service members a higher priority than tax cuts for millionaires."

Adele - Rolling In The Deep

The remixes on this will be killer.

(Via - Pop In Stereo)