Saturday, March 19, 2011

JMG Wins 2011 GLAAD Media Award!

Tonight this here website thingy won the first-ever Outstanding Blog category at the 2011 GLAAD Media Awards! The word went out on Twitter hours ago while I was still working the red carpet downstairs and I totally didn't know I'd won until at the after party when I congratulated another winner on the escalator and they said, "Oh, you too!" That sent me running to one of the video screens where the names of the winners were scrolling. Totally worth missing my traditional pre-Black Party disco nap! Many photos of the evening to come!

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Sarah Palin: I Would Have Won In 2008 If I'd Been The Top Of The Ticket

Yup, she said it.
Sarah Palin was in New Delhi, India March 19 for the annual India Today conclave, where she gave a speech on “My Vision for America.” The theme for this years conclave was “The Changing Balance of Power.” After her speech, Palin sat down for a Q and A session with India Today Editor-in-Chief and Session Chairman Aroon Purie, during which she blamed McCain for losing 2008, among other mildly amusing indications that she is running for President in 2012. When asked why she lost 2008, Palin snapped, “I wasn’t the top of the ticket!” Palin’s speech, by the way, was nothing new: Palin bashed green energy, called for more oil drilling, and made sure to blame Obama again for high gas prices (I suspect they know about the global market in India and might not be as prone to buying this jingle as Americans are). I have no idea how they translated her word salad; I couldn’t follow it in English.
(Via - Pam's House Blend)

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Sean Chapin - Prop 8, Prop 8

I'll confess I had to look up the song JMG reader Sean Chapin is parodying here after I saw the young lady interviewed this morning on CNN. I don't think the original is the "worst song in pop history," as the rest of the interwebs seems to feel. In fact, it seems pretty much in line with the rest of today's pop charts. But Sean's version did make me smile.

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"In God We Trust" Bill Advances

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee approved the bill requiring the placement of "In God We Trust" on all "public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions." The bill was introduced by Tea Party-backed GOP Rep. Randy Forbes (VA), who in recent years introduced bills demanding that the federal government "recognize the Holy Bible as the inerrant word of God." Forbes' bill has a good shot of passage in the full House.

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Comparing China's Population

The Economist places other countries in the Chinese provinces with a similar population.

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

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Eurovision: Russia's Alexej Vorobjov

Not terrible. Instantly forgettable.

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Friday, March 18, 2011

The Anti-Christ Is Waiting

If you send Pastor Rod Parsley your money, he'll totally help you through these End Times heralded by the events in Japan. Cuz the Anti-Christ is "waiting in the wings" and about to take the world stage.

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MONTANA: House Committee Kills Bill Decriminalizing Homosexuality

It's still technically illegal to be gay in Montana, thanks to their GOP-led House Judiciary Committee which today voted down a bill which would have brought the state in line with the Supreme Court's landmark 2003 ruling in Lawrence Vs. Texas. Somebody needs to orchestrate an arrest by a gay-friendly cop and then sue the fuck out of Montana, pronto.

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War Number Three

"No ground troops." But there will be sanctions and probably within days, cruise missiles and drone attacks. Because two wars are not enough.

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KILLER CONFESSES: I Stoned That Homo To Death Just Like The Bible Says I Should

A Pennsylvania man is under arrest after confessing to beating an elderly man to death with a stone, just like the Bible instructs should be done with homosexuals.
A 28-year-old Upper Darby man has been charged with murder after telling police that he stoned a 70-year-old man to death when the man made homosexual advances toward him, authorities say. John Joe Thomas, 28, of Sunshine Road in Upper Darby, spent almost every day with 70-year-old Murray Seidman at Seidman’s Lansdowne home, police say. Days before Seidman’s body was found on Jan. 12, Thomas allegedly beat Seidman to death with a sock full of rocks. Thomas told authorities that he read in the Old Testament that homosexuals should be stoned to death. When Seidman allegedly made homosexual advances toward him over a period of time, Thomas said he received a message in his prayers that he must end Seidman’s life, according to court documents. Police say that Thomas struck Seidman in the head about 10 times with the sock of rocks. Thomas left Seidman dead in his apartment, and then threw his bloody clothing and the bloody sock in a dumpster, according to authorities.
The killer was the sole executor of the victim's will and returned to the scene of the murder several days later claiming to have discovered the body.

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WISCONSIN: Judge Issues Restraining Order Against Union Busting Bill

A Wisconsin judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the bill stripping state employee unions of their collective bargaining rights.
The decision, issued by Judge Maryann Sumi of the Dane County Circuit Court, temporarily bars Wisconsin’s secretary of state from publishing the controversial law, one of the procedural requirements for it to come into effect in the state. Publication had been expected late next week, but Judge Sumi’s ruling delays that until at least March 29, when she plans to hold a full hearing on a lawsuit that questions the validity of the collective bargaining law based on the speedy manner in which it was carried out earlier this month. An appeal is possible even before then. Opponents of the measure said they hoped the decision was but the first of many that would ultimately undo a measure that has split the state and has drawn tens of thousands of demonstrators to the state capital over a matter of many weeks. Supporters of the measure, however, said that the judge’s decision was merely a blip, certain to be overturned as various legal efforts make their way fully through the court system.
The bill was signed by Gov. Scott Walker last Friday.

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Can You Out Dance Kylie?

It's actually a video game commercial. Very cute.

(Via - Towleroad)

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Ann Coulter: Radiation Is Good For You

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Decade One

Ten years ago today I moved to New York City after six years in San Francisco (gay) and eight in Fort Lauderdale (gay). I spent my first year here living in Chelsea (gay), then I lived in Hells Kitchen (gay) for a year, then I spent a year in the heart of the West Village, one block off Christopher Street. Gay, gay, gay. But for the last seven years I've been on the Upper East Side, living a couple of blocks from the tallest building in the above photo. A neighborhood that is SO not gay. I've sometimes pondered why I'm now content to be living in relative remoteness from "the scene" which once had such an irresistible draw, lying to myself that it's inertia that keeps me on the UES. And certainly not, you know, aging. Ahem.

I don't think that on March 18, 2001 I seriously thought I'd be here three years, much less ten, but New York City has this strange power over you in which you become almost afraid to leave, lest you "miss" something. On the other hand, I never really fell in love with this town, not in that heart-stopping "OMG, this place is amaaaazing" way that I did with San Francisco. In fact, I spent my first year here mired in great regret, logging in every morning to look at live traffic shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. But still, everything you hear about NYC is true. It's the most, the least, the best, the worst. It's that funky stew that keeps me here. And probably will for a long time. Decade Two begins today.

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SWEDEN: Soccer Star Comes Out

Swedish soccer star Anton Hysen, 20, has come out. I missed this story when it first broke last week, but this morning a JMG reader in Sweden tips us to today's story in Britain's tabloid, The Sun.
Anton Hysen was a professional footballer dating a supermodel. Hardly a trail-blazing story, the son of former Liverpool star and Swedish heart-throb Glenn Hysen merely appeared to be a chip off the old block. Yet the youngster ended the relationship with this stunning woman after finally confronting the fact he is gay. Hysen, 20, has displayed enormous courage by making his sexuality public and is only the second professional footballer in Europe to do so after Justin Fashanu in 1990. England cricketer Steve Davies and rugby star Gareth Thomas are the only other prominent British sportsmen to come out, as the wait continues for a Premier League or Football League player to break this sporting taboo. Former Swedish Under-17 international Hysen plays for Utsiktens, the fourth-tier team managed by his dad. And he insists the reaction to his news has been extremely supportive. He said: "I have so many reasons to be positive about the situation."
Hysen's soccer coach father was accused of homophobia in a 2001 incident in which he punched a man he said came on to him in an airport restroom. Several years later the elder Hysen spoke at a Stockholm pride festival, encouraging young athletes to come out and leading the younger Hysen to suspect that his dad knew about him by then. Anton Hysen on his own ephiphany: "When you consider dumping a supermodel, you know you are gay."

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Liberty Counsel: Sex Education Will Bring About The Destruction of America

Matt Barber and Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel continue their campaign of outrageous lies against openly gay Safe Schools czar Kevin Jennings.

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On Those Banner Ads

Several times a day I get emails objecting to some of the banner ads here on JMG, which as I always explain are often triggered by the content of my posts. For example, if I mock Crazy Eyes, there's a good chance you'll see an ad for her reelection campaign or whatever. If it makes you feel any better, the same thing happens on wingnut blogs, where you're just as likely to see an ad for the ACLU or whomever. So please, enough with the screen shots, folks.

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UGANDA: Kill Gays Bill Back On Table

Box Turtle Bulletin alerts us that despite recent media reports that Uganda's "kill gays" bill had been shelved, in fact it will be debated in the national parliament next week. The bill came into being after American evangelicals visited Uganda with claims that foreign homosexuals wanted to pay Uganda's children to become gay.
The controversial Anti Homosexuality bill is one of several bills that Members of Parliament on the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee are set to debate when the House resumes business next week. Speaking to the media at Parliament today, the committee chairman, Stephen Tashobya said though the bill has created both local and international concern, it is up to Parliament to pass the bill. Tashobya says the committee will hold public hearings where stakeholders’ views will be heard and a report made to the House for debate and possible passing before Parliament closes the 8th Parliament.
RELATED: Earlier this week the U.S. House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would discourage the granting of American foreign aid to nations that "physically persecute" their LGBT citizens. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank, faces an uncertain future with the full House.

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POLL: Slim Majority Now Support Marriage

According to a national poll issued today by the Washington Post/ABC News, a slim majority of Americans now support marriage equality. NOM's Brian Brown is denouncing the wording of the poll's question.
Five years ago, at 36 percent, support for gay marriage barely topped a third of all Americans. Now, 53 percent say gay marriage should be legal, marking the first time in Post-ABC polling that a majority has said so. “This is very consistent with a lot of other polling data we’ve seen and the general momentum we’ve seen over the past year and a half,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, a leading pro-gay-marriage group. “As people have come to understand this is about loving, committed families dealing, like everyone, with tough times, they understand how unfair it is to treat them differently.” Opponents of same-sex marriage took issue with the poll, which asks respondents: “Do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?” Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, argued that the term “illegal” could be inferred to mean that violators could be imprisoned, which most Americans would consider harsh.
WaPo notes that it has used the same "legal/illegal" wording in every poll on marriage equality since 2003. So Brian Brown can suck it.

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PhoboQuotable - Victoria Jackson

"This new al-Qaida magazine for women has beauty tips and suicide-bomber tips! Gimme a break! That is as ridiculous as two men kissing on the mouth! And I don't care what is politically correct. Everyone knows that two men on a wedding cake is a comedy skit, not an 'alternate lifestyle'! There I said it! Ridiculous! Did you see Glee this week? Sickening! And, besides shoving the gay thing down our throats, they made a mockery of Christians – again! I wonder what their agenda is? Hey, producers of Glee – what's your agenda? One-way tolerance?" - Former Saturday Night Live cast member and Tea Party hero Victoria Jackson, in a rambling, deranged piece for World Net Daily.

(Via - Good As You)

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BROOKLYN: Gay Man Beaten By Six Teenagers In Brutal Hate Crime

An openly gay Brooklyn man required ten hours of surgery and three metal plates in his face after a February 22nd anti-gay attack by a group of six teenagers. Via yesterday's Brooklyn Paper:
Barie Shortell, 29, was on N. Fourth Street on Feb. 22 at around 10:10 pm when he brushed past six teenagers wearing hooded sweatshirts. “Oh s–t, is that a guy or a girl?” one of the teens yelled. Shortell thought to himself that the slur was “juvenile,” but he crossed to Wythe Avenue just to be safe. But the group followed and shoved Shortell against a wall, fracturing his jaw, nose and eye sockets. He has no recollection of the attack. “I feel pretty confident they perceived me as a gay man and attacked me, but I can’t understand why they did what they did,” said Shortell. “I looked horrible. Blood was everywhere.”
At the insistence of the NYC Anti-Violence Project, the police have classified the attack as a hate crime, although no suspects have been apprehended. Today the AVP issued a press release denouncing the recent spate of hate crimes in NYC, which have taken lives in Staten Island and Queens this month.

The AVP points out a coming fundraiser for the above victim, who has no medical insurance. "The Barie Response is organizing a benefit for Barie to assist him in paying his medical bills. The benefit will be at on Wednesday March 23, from 7PM to 10PM at Blackout Bar, 916 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. While AVP is not sponsoring the benefit, we will be present to provide safety and outreach information." You can donate directly via the above link.

[Image via Advocate]

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Human League - Never Let Me Go

Auto-tune from my beloved Human League? Noooooooo.

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Maggie Gallagher: Britain's War Against Christians Is Coming To America

"In Great Britain, Christians are now effectively second-class citizens, judged 'unfit' to care for foster children. If they are unfit to foster children, logically they are also unfit to adopt, and possibly as one British lawyer suggested to the press, unfit to parent their own children, too. Could it happen over here? Yes. We see the first steps of the muscular liberalism process at work already in the state of Illinois, in its probe of evangelical, Lutheran and Catholic foster-care agencies for discrimination against gay couples in foster care.

"For the ACLU and the gay rights community, suddenly the right to live as we choose isn't good enough. Any foster-care agency that does not place children with gay couples now must be discriminated against by the government in the name of anti-discrimination. The ACLU claims that legally requiring foster-care agencies to be inclusive would expand resources to help 16,000 kids currently in the Illinois foster-care system. This is just Orwellian doubletalk. The new 'inclusive' policy would exclude three religious foster-care agencies from recruiting parents. This cannot possibly expand resources available to needy kids." - NOM founder Maggie Gallagher, writing for Yahoo! News.

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Gov. Cuomo: Close NYC's Nuclear Plant

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has long been an opponent of Indian Point, the aging nuclear power plant just 20 minutes north of New York City. Yesterday he called for the plant's permanent closure in light of the disaster in Japan.
"The suggestion is that of all the [104] power plants across the country, that the Indian Point power plant is most susceptible to an earthquake because Reactor No. 3 is on a fault [line]," Cuomo said as nuclear meltdown fears deepened in Japan. "It should be closed. This plant in this proximity to the city was never a good risk." Cuomo, who has long opposed the plant, spoke after new data from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission show the Hudson River plant was the most vulnerable to a quake. It also came about two weeks after a judge let the Indian Point nuke plant - just 24 miles north of the Bronx - cut back on meltdown prevention. In its 40-year history, Indian Point has suffered radiation leaks, useless warning sirens, transformer explosions and oil spills.
Twenty million people live within 50 miles of Indian Point. Its license to operate expires in 2013.

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Perkins: We Can't Afford Gay Marriage

"Fortunately, Republican leaders understand that there are plenty of reasons to stick up for DOMA. Defending marriage is not only in the nation's cultural interest--it's in our economic interest. A few years ago, Georgia State University put together a cost analysis of marital breakdown. By their calculations, America spends $112 billion a year just from divorce and out-of-wedlock births. That's more than $1 trillion each decade! In other words, it would cost the country a lot more not to defend marriage than it would to invest in it now.

"What's more, if DOMA falls, the U.S. budget will become a free-for-all for domestic partner benefits and other perks that the law currently prevents. According to experts, the price tag--just for same-sex partner benefits--is roughly $670 million over the next ten years. Add that to the cost of family breakdown, and suddenly the legal fees don't seem that much. Liberals America can't afford to defend marriage--but in reality, we can't afford not to!" - Family Research Council spokesbigot Tony Perkins, in a press release mocking the "stinginess" of Democrats who don't want to pay for defending DOMA.

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Ed Koch For New York Marriage

Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch is 86 years old and he still won't come out, but at least he supports marriage equality. From a famed 2007 interview with Time Out New York:
TONY: Are you gay?

KOCH: When was the last time you performed oral sex on your boyfriend?

TONY: Well I’m single now so it was a long time ago.

KOCH: See, I don’t think you should answer that question. It’s an improper question, and so is yours. My sexual orientation is none of your business and whether or not you performed oral sex on your boyfriend is none of my business.
Here's his just-released clip for the HRC.

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Quote Of The Day - Barney Frank

"What do I say to the idea that this [DOMA] is a wedge issue? I say 'Hallelujah.' The fact that we've now evolved to the point where the Republicans are complaining about the fact that we introduced this bill because it causes them political problems is a great sign of progress. It used to be the other way around." - Rep. Barney Frank, in a Talking Points Memo piece speculating that gay rights is now a positive wedge issue for the Democrats.

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Crazy Eyes: All Republicans Didn't Vote Against It But All Hate Obamacare

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Hypothetical Matchup

(Source)

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Eurovision: Portugal's Homens La Luta

I suppose it's slightly interesting that they aren't really professional singers, but an improv comedy troupe that specializes in parodies of the songs of Portugal's 1974 Carnation Revolution. Normally I'd award extra points for non-English songs, but this is wretched. Of the dozen or so entries I've posted so far, I'm still liking Belarus purely for its cheesetasticness.

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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Scarlet's Little Moment Of Win

From the It Made My Day forum.

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Rep. Weiner Mocks GOP Over NPR Bill

I love this guy so much, it should be illegal.

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SLIDESHOW: Army DADT Guidelines

Still lots of discrimination here, thanks to DOMA.

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BRAZIL: Call 911 For Homophobia

Today NOM's Brian Brown has repeatedly tweeted the link to a story critical of a new PR campaign in Brazil which tells citizens to call the country's version of 911 to report homophobia-related crimes. From the Christianist outlet, LifeSite News:
Beginning in late February, the Brazilian government has begun to take complaints of “homophobia” on its Dial 100 emergency line, which was created to facilitate the reporting of human rights abuses. The system was announced along with a new government program with the slogan, “Make Brazil a country free of homophobia,” which includes a special logo. “If someone says ‘I need help’ in any Brazilian municipality, it is necessary to act together. It isn’t just acting quickly, but rather the development of an integrated policy for the protection of the citizen,” said Brazilian Human Rights Minister Maria do Rosário, during the presentation of the program.
Brazil's Father Luiz Carlos Lodi da Cruz:
“Note that, without legal forewarning, the minister now wants to punish those who do not regard unnatural conduct as natural. Whoever complains doesn’t have to worry, because the anonymity of the source is guaranteed,” writes Lodi da Cruz. “Therefore, at the end of the second month of the Dilma administration, her government has already established religious persecution based on free and anonymous telephone calls.”
From the NOMblog comments: "The slogan: 'Make Brazil a country free of homophobia,' is chillingly remeniscent of Hitler's slogan: 'Make Germany Jew free.'"

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Pet Shop Boys Score New Ballet

Six-time Grammy winning Pet Shop Boys have scored a film, written a musical, and sold over 100 million records. Now they've written the music to a new ballet.

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Tweet Of The Day

Oh, this will totally dampen the hysteria. Story here.

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Iowa Preacher: God Will Totally Destroy America For Allowing Gay Marriage

According to Pastor Cary Gordon of the anti-gay Cornerstone Outreach, Iowa's voters need to go to the ballots to "faithfully choose the same religion-sanctioned state our insufferable political enemies refuse to acknowledge." Cuz if you don't, the loving and almighty Jeebus is gonna kill the fuck out of you. They really need some new material. Starts at 14:00.

(Via - Right Wing Watch)

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Chart Of The Day

According to a "Christian preferences" poll on prospective 2012 GOP candidates, the outlook is bleak for unseating Barack Obama.

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$5 ATM Fees?

Yes.

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Plastik Funk - Everybody Dance Now

Not terrible, but you'll miss Martha Wash.

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Irish Eyes

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Tony Perkins Attacks Sen. Chuck Schumer

Perkins can't even tell the truth with his own YouTube headlines: "Tony Perkins Responds to Sen. Chuck Schumer's Praise of FRC." Praise? Where?

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New York Times Announces Paywall

Beginning March 28th, you'll be allowed to read exactly twenty New York Times articles per month. After that, you've gotta pay.
Once readers click on their 21st article, they will have the option of buying one of three digital news packages — $15 for a month of access to the Web site and a mobile phone app; $20 for Web access and an iPad app; and $35 for an all-access plan. All subscribers who receive the paper through home delivery will have free and unlimited access across all Times digital platforms except, for now, e-readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook. “A few years ago it was almost an article of faith that people would not pay for the content they accessed via the Web,” Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of The New York Times Company, said in his annual State of The Times remarks, which were delivered to employees on Thursday morning.
Even the Times itself is unsure if this will work.
The debate consuming the newspaper business now centers on the question that The Times hopes to answer: Can you reverse 15 years of consumer behavior and build a business around online subscriptions? Many believe the answer is no. No American news organization as large as The Times has attempted to put its content behind a pay wall after allowing unrestricted access. The move is being closely watched by anxious publishers, which have warily embraced the Web and struggled with how to turn online journalism into a profitable business.
This raises an interesting dilemma for bloggers, who even if they subscribe, may hesitate to excerpt articles that their readers may not be able to access in full.

UDPATE: Andrew Sullivan notes the exception for stories linked by blogs, which I totally missed.
If I read it correctly, it almost privileges links from blogs and social media against more direct access. Which makes it a gift to the blogosphere. Anyway, that's my first take: and it's one of great relief. We all want to keep the NYT in business (well, almost all of us). But we also don't want to see it disappear behind some Great NewsCorp-Style Paywall. It looks to me as if they have gotten the balance just about right.

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Donald Trump Goes Birther

"He grew up and nobody knew him. You know! When you interview people, if ever I got the nomination, if I ever decide to run, you may go back and interview people from my kindergarten. They'll remember me. Nobody ever comes forward about Obama. Nobody knows who he is until later in his life. It's very strange. The whole thing is very strange." - Donald Trump, working to earn his teabagger bona fides from World Net Daily.

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Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore Rips NYC's St. Patrick's Day Parade

"What these parades are about is a celebration of Ireland and Irishness. I think they need to celebrate Ireland as it is, not as people imagine it. Equality is very much the center of who we are in our identity in Ireland. This issue of exclusion is not Irish, let's be clear about it. Exclusion is not an Irish thing, I think that's the message that needs to be driven home." - Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore, speaking in NYC to Irish-American LGBT activists.

NYC's parade, the world's largest, is run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, who in 1995 won a Supreme Court battle to exclude gay groups from participating.

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CANADA: Florist Refuses Gay Wedding

A florist in New Brunswick has refused to provide flowers for a gay wedding because she "must respect her conscience before God."
After agreeing to provide the flowers for a wedding, Kim Evans of Petals and Promises Wedding Flowers sent an email last month to the couple, saying she didn't know it was a same-sex wedding and would have no part of the ceremony. "I am choosing to decline your business. As a born-again Christian, I must respect my conscience before God and have no part in this matter," the email said. Evans has not returned calls from CBC News to explain her decision. Mario Bourgeois Leduc, wedding planner for the couple, who didn't want their names released, said he was appalled by the florist's email, especially since "you're celebrating love and you're going against all of the odds to celebrate what is important in your life." "This is going to stay with them for years, because they were again told that their lives are not OK."
According to the New Brunswick Human Rights Act, businesses cannot refuse customers based on sexual orientation. This Saturday a group of LGBT activists will hold a protest at the shop.
A group of gays and lesbians form New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are planning a protest at Petals and Promises florist shop, 39 Glen Pine Drive, in Riverview, New Brunswick. The demonstration will take place on Saturday, March 19, from 3 to 6 PM. Protesters are encouraged to bring flowers to lay at the doorstep of the florist shop to make the point that the LGBT community is aware of the illegal actions of the florist in refusing services for a same-sex wedding, yet they are not condemning them for their religious beliefs.
Should the couple pursue a complaint, you can bet this incident will be heralded by the Christianist right as yet another example of the legalized homofacism coming to America.

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MONDAY IN NYC: Ali Forney Center's Fifth Annual Broadway Beauty Pageant

The Ali Forney Center holds its fifth annual Broadway Beauty Pageant this Monday at Manhattan's Symphony Space, where Broadway's hottest and most talented chorus boys compete to win the prized tiara. It's a fun, sweet show hosted by four-time Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh and the house is always packed with the movers and shakers of musical theater. Highly recommended.

Judges include Bruce Vilanch (six-time Emmy Award winner/comedy writer, who made his Broadway debut in Hairspray), Rachel Dratch ("Saturday Night Live") and Carson Kressley ("Queer Eye," "How To Look Good Naked," "Carson-Nation"). This year's contestants comprise Matt Anctil, La Cage aux Folles; Mikey Cusamano, Chicago; Ray Lee, Anything Goes; Brandon Rubendall, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark; and James Tabeek, Mary Poppins. Conceived by Jeffery Self and directed by Ryan J. Davis, The Broadway Beauty Pageant is musically directed by Christopher Denny. The evening is produced by Wil Fisher, Ryan J. Davis, Jeffery Self and Matthew Oberstein.

Get tickets here.

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NEW YORK: Tea Party House Candidate Wants To Bus "Lazy Blacks" To Farms

Tea Party-backed House candidate Jack Davis has New York's GOP leadership spinning in full reverse to disassociate themselves from racist remarks he made in recent interviews.
Congressional candidate Jack Davis shocked local Republican leaders in a recent interview when he suggested that Latino farmworkers be deported -- and that African-Americans from the inner city be bused to farm country to pick the crops. Several sources who were in the Feb. 20 endorsement interview with Davis confirmed his comments, which echo those he made to the Tonawanda News in 2008, when he said: "We have a huge unemployment problem with black youth in our cities. Put them on buses, take them out there [to the farms] and pay them a decent wage; they will work." When Davis repeated those sentiments in the recent interview, the Republican leaders -- who later delivered the party endorsement for the vacant seat in the 26th Congressional District to Assemblywoman Jane L. Corwin of Clarence -- said they couldn't believe what they were hearing. "I was thunderstruck," said Amherst GOP Chairman Marshall Wood. "Maybe in 1860 that might have been seen by some as an appropriate comment, but not now."
Davis is running in the special election to replace disgraced GOP Rep. Chris "Craigslist" Lee. He's run unsuccessfully for the U.S. House three times as a Democrat, but is running this time for the GOP/Tea Party.

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Nadler Intro's House DOMA Repeal Bill

With Freedom To Marry's Evan Wolfson looking on.

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SATURDAY: Extreme Supermoon

This Saturday the moon makes its closest approach to Earth in 18 years in what astronomers call an "extreme supermoon."
If no clouds get in the way, it should be a great night for stargazers. But the moon, which will appear about 10 to 15 percent larger than normal, could create abnormally high tides from Friday through Sunday, experts say. And that could mean beach erosion and minor flooding along the shoreline. "The tides are definitely going to be higher, not only in Florida, but worldwide," said astronomer Arnold Pearlstein. The best time to view the moon will be at sunset — about 7 p.m. — on Saturday, when it will be closest to the horizon and should look "huge and orangey," Pearlstein said.
There's a moon in the sky (called the supermoon.)

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AUSTRALIA: Armistead Maupin & Husband Denied Restroom For "Real Men'

Last week famed author Armistead Maupin and his husband Christopher Turner were treated shamefully by the bartender at an Alice Springs, Australia restaurant.
According to Mr Maupin, they were told to take a seat, after which Mr Maupin's husband Chris asked if he could use a rest room. "The guy said, sorry, we don't have one in here but you can go across the street to the public facility." Mr Maupin, who had used the toilet in Bojangles the day before, said he pointed in the direction of the toilet and said 'what's that over there?' "[The barman] gave me a very pointed look and said that's reserved for 'real men'," said Mr Maupin. "Neither one of us could quite believe he'd said it, and he actually repeated it, [he said] 'see the sign on the door, it says gents, it's for real men.'" Mr Maupin and Mr Turner immediately left the establishment and made an official complaint at the Visitor Information Centre. "I think it was less than 24 hours later that we got an email from Peter Griggs in the tourism office saying he'd spoken to the proprieter of the business who was just as shocked as we were and that the man had extended his apologies."
Last night Maupin commented on his Facebook page: "Just to be clear: There are no apologies necessary from either Alice Springs or Australia. I've never felt more welcomed by a country. This was a lone gunman, and we just handed him his balls on a platter. It's over."

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Eurovision: United Kingdom's Blue

A boy band from ten years ago? For Eurovision? Meh.

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Open Thread Thursday

What are you reading?

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Feinstein & Gillibrand Intro DOMA Repeal


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Westboro Baptist: Still Hacked?

JMG reader Thomas writes to observe that the websites of Westboro Baptist Church still appear to be offline more than three weeks after the live hacking done by Anonymous during a joint interview with Shirley Phelps.

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U.S. Warns Japan On Radiation

Via New York Times:
The chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave a significantly bleaker appraisal of the threat posed by Japan’s nuclear crisis than the Japanese government, saying on Wednesday that the damage at one crippled reactor was much more serious than Japanese officials had acknowledged and advising to Americans to evacuate a wider area around the plant than the perimeter established by Japan. The announcement marked a new and ominous chapter in the five-day long effort by Japanese engineers to bring four side-by-side reactors under control after their cooling systems were knocked out by an earthquake and tsunami last Friday. But it also created a split between Washington and Tokyo, after American officials concluded that the Japanese warnings were insufficient, and that, deliberately or not, they had understated the potential threat of what is taking place inside the nuclear facility.
Worse and worse and worse.

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Japan's Earthquake Will Unleash Demonic Nazism On The United States

So says Pastor Rick Joyner, as America's Christianists continue to out-do each other in the Crazy Olympics. The gold medal still belongs to Cindy Jacobs. So far.

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Japanese Diet Pills

Walgreens, Upper East Side, Monday 10pm

Old Lady: "Where can I get some of those nuclear pills?"

Clerk: "What, like, diet pills?"

Old Lady: "No! No! The ones they have in Japan!"

Clerk: "Japanese diet pills?"

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Quote Of The Day - Brian Camenker

"Early on, a pro-family group made an effort to pull all the Maryland groups into a 'coalition' under a unified leadership. They would dictate strategy. They also insisted that the pro-marriage message be tightly controlled, that it be 'moderate' and not anti-gay or otherwise 'fringe' sounding, be calm and not too emotional, and that they decide who testifies at the marriage hearings, and what the testimony would be.

"That's what happened in Massachusetts in 2005-2007 and it led to a huge failure. On our MassResistance conference calls we advised Maryland activists to ignore that -- and act independently with their own messages, and be as emotional and outspoken as they feel appropriate. Luckily eventually everyone did that and the coalition effectively fell apart. It was the best thing that could have happened." -Brian Camenker of the SPLC-certified hate group MassResistance, saying that marriage failed in Maryland because his side ignored moderate pleas that they not sound so rabidly anti-gay.

Read Camenker's Top Ten Reasons We Won.

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San Francisco: Earlier HAART Treatment Appears To Reduce New HIV Infections

According to a story posted on AIDSmap.com, San Francisco is seeing a decrease in new HIV infections because HIV+ people are going on medication sooner and therefore have a reduced period of infectiousness.
Dr Das presented more evidence from San Francisco to show a strong correlation between reductions in community viral load and the falling number of HIV diagnoses. The most recent CVL, defined as the average viral load of all HIV positive people being seen for care in the city, went down from approximately 25,000 copies/ml in 2004 to 10,000 copies/ml in 2009. Over the same time, new diagnoses of HIV decreased from 820 in 2004 to 500 in 2009. For CVL to decrease, a number of other things have to happen first, in a ‘cascade’ of events. Firstly, the frequency of testing in the at-risk population must increase; this must result in a lower proportion of undiagnosed cases; those diagnosed must be linked to care, and the majority must start treatment; and the time between diagnosis and viral suppression must reduce. Dr Das said all these indicators were strongly correlated. The average time from diagnosis to the start of treatment shrank from twelve months in 2004 to two months in 2009. The time between diagnosis and achieving an undetectable viral load went down from nearly three years in 2004 to eight months in 2009; and the percentage with an undetectable viral load within a year of diagnosis increased from 26% in 2004 to 82% in 2008.
Last April the San Francisco Department of Public Health adopted the controversial position that newly infected patients should immediately begin HAART therapy upon their diagnosis. Some AIDS activists strongly objected to that, citing the prevailing opinion that HAART treatment should be delayed as long as possible due to the long-term side effects of the medications. Many HIV specialists continue to recommend a closely-monitored delay in treatment, but the above result in San Francisco should not be discounted.

(Tipped by JMG reader Bill)

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House & Senate Get DOMA Repeal Bills

The Respect For Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA, was introduced today in both the House and Senate. The Task Force reacts via press release:
“It is shocking that in 21st-century America, legally married same-sex couples are being singled out and selectively denied fundamental rights by their own federal government. This is an outrage. The Respect for Marriage Act does just that — it respects and protects the rights of legally married couples to live free from this government-sanctioned discrimination. Today’s introduction marks an important step toward recognizing our common humanity and ending an egregious injustice against thousands of loving, committed couples who simply want the protections, rights and responsibilities already afforded other married couples. We thank the many House and Senate members who recognize that DOMA has no place on the books and support its full, swift repeal. DOMA has only served to belittle our country’s deeply held values of freedom and fairness. It has only served to hurt families, not help. This must end now.”
Plaintiffs in one of the federal suits to overturn DOMA appeared at a DC press conference this morning.
Nancy Gill and Marcelle Letourneau joined other married same-sex couples at two Capitol Hill press conferences today in support of a bill filed to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act. They were accompanied by GLAD Civil Rights Project Director Mary L. Boanauto, who is representing them and other Massachusetts couples and widowers in the DOMA Section 3 challenge Gill et al v. OPM. “Marcelle and I have been happily together for 30 years and happily married for five,” said Nancy Gill, a federal postal employee for 23 years. “We’re raising two kids. Unlike my married co-workers, I can’t put Marcelle on my health insurance because of DOMA. Our family should be treated the same as the families of our co-workers, and our children should be just as secure as theirs
While the Respect For Marriage Act has numerous cosponsors in both chambers, the bill is considered to have little chance of success.

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Iowa Preacher: Deviant Behavior Is Not The Same As Being Denied Your Vote

Good As You points us to more bigotry at yesterday's anti-gay marriage rally on the steps of the Iowa capitol building.

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NEW YORK: Activists Call On NYPD To Boycott St. Patrick's Day Parade

The world's largest St. Patrick's Day Parade takes place in Manhattan tomorrow and as always, gay groups are barred from participation. This year a coalition of LGBT groups are calling on the city's cops to boycott the parade. Via press release from Irish Queers:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists today announced plans to protest NYPD participation in the New York City St. Patrick's Parade, which takes place this Thursday. The parade is touted by organizers as an explicitly “anti-gay, Catholic” event, and has been defined in court as a “private, religious procession” in order to preserve the right to exclude LGBT marchers. Protesters, organized by the group Irish Queers, contend that NYPD participation in such a parade is a violation of New York City's human rights code. "Year after year, we watch thousands of uniformed NYPD participate in this anti-gay march. It reinforces everything LGBT people already fear about police: we're not safe with them, they haven't rejected discrimination, and they won't object when someone else discriminates,” said J.F. Mulligan, who plans to protest with Irish Queers.
A letter demanding that the NYPD not participate has been sent to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who has thus far ignored the message. Irish Queers and their allies will be protesting the parade from their annual position across from St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.

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Cindy Jacobs: God Devastated Japan Because They Worship Dragons

Whackadoodle "prophet" Cindy Jacobs piles on the growing Christianist claims that God deliberately devastated Japan, where the residents are godless heathens because the country is shaped like a dragon! Or something!
This island, Hokkaido, looks like the head of a dragon with the body being the rest of Japan. The people of Asia have worshipped the dragon for 5,000 years. If one looks at the place where the earthquake took place, it looks like the soft underbelly of most vulnerable part of the dragon. Let's pray that the deep idolatry and the worship of hundreds of idols under the guise of Shintoism, Buddhism, and allegiances to being "sons of the dragon" will be broken and thousands will turn to the Lord. My interpretation of this is that while God did not want people to perish, He is going to use this to "pierce" the darkness surrounding the Japanese people if we will cry out to God for them in the midst of this crisis ... If we respond correctly, the darkness and the grip of idolatry of all forms that has blinded the eyes of so many in Japan will be broken off of them. The faithful believers in Jesus Christ will be strengthened as they are used for great harvest across Asia and the face of the earth.
May Gojira smite Cindy Jacobs with his mighty tail.

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Playgirl Wants Naked Photos Of Anderson

Anderson Cooper better watch his back in his Manhattan gym, because Playgirl's Daniel Nardicio has offered a $10,000 payoff for naked photos.
Just days after someone tried to take Jake Gyllenhaal's picture in the bathroom at a movie premiere, skin mag Playgirl has confirmed to me that they've offered $10,000 to anyone who can get them a naked picture of CNN's Anderson Cooper. I know. Playgirl honcho Daniel Nardicio tells me that Anderson tops their list of 'Top 10 Guys We Want To See Naked,' which will be in their March issue. "He's got this charisma that a lot of our readers are attracted to, plus now he's all muscled, [so] he's not only smart but also hot," Nardicio says. "Both our male and female readers love Anderson."

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Gleeks Freak Out Over Gay Kiss


(Via - Good As You)

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George Takei On Japan: Please Help

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Tweet Of The Day - Darren Criss

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Anti-Gay Money Gingrich Sent To Iowa Went To American Family Association

Last week the Los Angeles Times revealed that thrice-married serial adulterer Newt Gingrich had arranged for $200K in donations to unseat Iowa's pro-gay state Supreme Court justices. Now it's been learned that Gingrich sent $125K of that money directly to the anti-gay hate group, the American Family Association.
Gingrich, the former U.S. House speaker who has aggressively courted the conservatives who dominate Iowa's lead-off presidential caucuses, raised the money for the political arm of Restoring American Leadership, also known as ReAL. That group then passed $125,000 to American Family Association Action and an additional $25,000 to the Iowa Christian Alliance — two of the groups that spent millions before last November's elections that removed three of the state's seven state Supreme Court justices. The court had unanimously decided a state law restricting marriage to a man and a woman violated Iowa's constitution. The financial transfers, which appear to comply with campaign finance laws, were part of a steady flow of cash into Iowa from conservative groups such as the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council.
Newt Gingrich would like to remind everybody that that marriage is between one man and one woman whom you abandon riddled with cancer on her hospital bed while you fuck the shit out of your mistress whom you later marry and cheat on with a third woman while screaming with Godly moral outrage about the infidelities of the president.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post mistakenly named Focus On The Family as the recipient of Gingrich's efforts. My apologies. That's what I get for working on multiple posts at the same time. /facepalm

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UTAH: Gay Rights Come To Ogden

Yesterday the city council of Ogden, Utah voted unanimously to approve an ordinance banning housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Last week Ogden's mayor had vowed to veto an earlier 4-3 vote, but Pride In Utah reports that three of the city council members moved the tally to a veto-proof 7-0 after intense lobbying from local activists and the insertion of language protecting freedom of speech. The seventh-largest town in Utah, Ogden becomes the state's 12th municipality to approve a bill banning anti-gay discrimination.

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LONDON: East End Pride Organizer Exposed As Founder Of Skinhead Group

Raymond Berry, one of the organizers of London's coming and first-ever East End Pride parade has resigned after being exposed as one of the founders of the English Defence League, a radical anti-Islamic skinhead group renowned for violent street clashes at its protest marches. East End Pride formed last month ostensibly in response to stickers which warned gays to "fear Allah" because the East End was now a "gay-free zone." Some local activists suspected at the time that the stickers had been planted by a group like the EDL in order to inflame tensions between gays and Muslims, although whether that is indeed the case has not yet been proven.

The remaining organizers of East End Pride have issued a statement to Pink News:
"It has come to light that Raymond has previously had dealings with the English Defence League, however he has assured us that he is no longer any part of the EDL group. [Mr Berry] stated that he has previously attended march’s [sic] organised by the EDL and UAF [Unite Against Fascism], however he found both organisations too extreme for his beliefs. None of this information was previously disclosed to the rest of the East End Gay Pride team, until it came to light late yesterday evening. The remaining members of the East End Gay Pride would like to state for the record that we do not support or condone anything that the EDL stand for."
Pride London, the city's main and long-running event, says that it continues to support East End Pride, which still intends to hold next month's planned parade.
"We have evidently been misled. Pride London remains committed to assisting any such event, and while we continue to accept that Raymond was not fronting the event for the EDL, and that the EDL remains unlinked to the event itself, we believe that his continued involvement would be inflammatory. East End Gay Pride asked our assistance to steward the event to ensure that the event remained only a pro-gay and not an anti-anything event."
What a fucking mess.

UPDATE: East End Pride has now been canceled. And noted activist Peter Tatchell has withdrawn his support for the group.
“We fear the march will be exploited and hijacked by the far right to create divisions and stir up intolerance against Muslim people. OutRage! opposes both homophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry. All forms of intolerance are wrong. The gay, Muslim, Jewish, Asian and black communities know the pain of prejudice and discrimination. We should stand together, united against hate. Let’s celebrate East London’s multicultural diversity. Don’t let bigotry divide us. Together, we can defeat the hate-mongers.”

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Crystal Cathedral To Choir: Sign This Anti-Gay Statement Or Leave The Group

The choir at California's famed Crystal Cathedral is being asked to sign an anti-gay statement or they'll be booted from the group. And that has some choir members very unhappy.
Former and current choir members say they are particularly offended by a statement in the document that refers to homosexuality. Long-time church members say this is the first time they have seen the cathedral take a firm stand against homosexuality and are disturbed by it. The covenant states: "I understand that in an era where images of family relationship and personal sexuality are often confused, Crystal Cathedral Ministries believes that it is important to teach and model the biblical view. I understand that Crystal Cathedral Ministries teaches that sexual intimacy is intended by God to only be within the bonds of marriage, between one man and one woman." Ann Moore Waltz, a long-time church member and the Cathedral's first soloist to stand and sing on top the snack shack in Robert H. Schuller community church at the Orange drive-in said, she does not agree with the statement in the covenant. "If I were still in the choir and if that was presented to me, and if a gay person had walked out, I would have walked out with him or her," she said. "If you are a Christian group and people come to you, you should be a good servant, love them and shine the light of Jesus on them – regardless of who they are."
A spokesman for the Cathedral says that gays are not banned from the choir, but they must sign the agreement that marriage is only for one man and one woman. The Crystal Cathedral declared bankruptcy last October and owes millions to over 500 creditors.

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IOWA: Haters Rally At State Capitol

Yesterday failed gubernatorial candidate and Christianist hate group leader Bob Vander Platts led an anti-gay marriage rally on the steps of the Iowa capitol.

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Perkins: Gay Marriage Is Political Suicide

"On Friday, one of the most liberal states in America killed a bill to legalize same-sex 'marriage.' That doesn't seem to register with a small group from Hollywood, who can't see past their agenda to the political reality: that counterfeit marriage is a losing issue. Some celebrities are still pushing the President to publicly endorse same-sex 'marriage,' despite some bruising losses on the state front. 'Say, 'I do,' Mr. President,' they wrote in a letter. The actors praised his decision to abandon the federal marriage law in court, and said that move calls for 'clarity' on the marriage question.

"Of course, it's easy to understand the confusion. This White House has done everything it can to promote homosexual 'marriage'--short of announcing its support. And the only reason the President hesitates to do so is the same reason the cosponsors of Maryland's bill walked away. Endorsing same-sex 'marriage' is political suicide. It puts you on the wrong side of an overwhelming number of American voters." - Family Research Council head Tony Perkins, via press release.

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HomoQuotable - Chris Barron

"A group of gay lefty organizations who CLAIM they exist to work on behalf of gay people actually put out a press release on Friday attacking Rep. Peter King’s hearings on Islamic radicalization. Nevermind that radical Islam teaches that the penalty for being gay is DEATH. Honestly, the Onion couldn’t have written this release. Signing on to this attack on the King hearings, a de facto defense of radical Islam, included the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality California (who might as well just become the Communist Party of CA) and Lambda Legal. I guess all the work of fighting FOR gay people is done so these lefties can now spend time defending the barbarism of radicalized Islam." - GOProud head Chris Barron, writing on his personal blog.

From the above-referenced press release:
LGBT Americans are no stranger to this type of scapegoating. In the 1950s, Joe McCarthy targeted LGBT people, and sought to portray them as dangerous and un-American. In a report titled "Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in the U.S. Government," a group of United States Senators concluded that "homosexuals and other sex perverts are not proper persons to be employed in Government" because "they are generally unsuitable, and they constitute security risks." Those hearings—like the "Muslim Radicalization" hearings—heard testimony from supposed experts that reinforced these prejudices. In the years that followed, thousands of LGBT civil service employees were harassed, terrorized, or fired from their jobs. [snip]

Added Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart: "Every American, regardless of ethnicity, religious belief or sexual orientation, should be asking 'where does this lead?' We've all been down this road before, most notably during World War Two and the Cold War, with tragic consequences for tens of thousands of American citizens. Singling any group out as a whole because of a suspected lack of loyalty on the part of a few of its members is wrong; doing it when the internment of Japanese-Americans and the spectacle of the McCarthy witch trials are still within living memory is simply repugnant."

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Eurovision: Iceland's Sigurjón's Friends

This sounds like the theme song to a 70s sitcom, yet it has enough of that Eurovision earnestness to make it tolerable. I do like the horns a lot. Here it is in Icelandic. So few acts seem to be competing in their native languages this year, which sucks.

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Sassy Gay Friend - Macbeth

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Glee Spoiler: Original Song

Stay out of the comments if you haven't yet seen last night's amazing episode. Otherwise, dive in and dish the dreaminess.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of the Saint-At-Large (NSFW) this week's Swag Tuesday prize is two tickets to the 32nd annual Black Party (NSFW), the longest-running and most famous leather dance party in the world, which this year stars DJ Boris of Berlin, DJ Manny Lehman, and legendary house music pioneer DJ Danny Tenaglia. Advance tickets are on sale here. Also on sale are tickets for the two Saint events that bookend the Black Party, Friday and Saturday's Black Party Expo and Sunday night's closing party, After Black: Asylum.

Enter to win tickets by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your comment. Entries close at midnight on Thursday, west coast time. If you cannot be in NYC on the day of the event, your winning entry is transferable to your favorite leather man or gal. Publicists: If you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

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