Erasure - Be With You

This first cut on Erasure's just-released 14th album is the best thing they've done since the early 90's. And that's coming from an obsessive fan. Cannot wait for the remixes, which should be epic.

Obama Rolling In Campaign Cash

President Obama already has almost twice the campaign funds of all the GOP candidates combined. But November 2012 is a very long way away. (Bachmann, Gingrich, and Santorum have not yet filed their quarterly reports.)

Tweet Of The Day - Jane Wiedlin

Sister Reverend Go-Go is available to officiate.

Magazines: iPads That Don't Work

OCCUPIED: Rome, Berlin, London

Cops May Charge OWS Protester

Yesterday an Occupy Wall Street protester was bloodied by an NYPD supervisor who now claims that the protester attempted to elbow him as the crowd passed. The cop's attack on Felix Rivera-Pitre was caught on camera and became an internet sensation at once.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said in a statement that cops are looking to arrest Rivera-Pitre for attempted assault on a police officer, obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Rivera-Pitre was "sucker-punched in the jaw with sufficient force to knock him to the ground," Kuby wrote. The officer - identified by police sources as Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona, 47 - should be charged with assault, Kuby insisted. But Browne, the NYPD's top spokesman, said Rivera-Pitre provoked the confrontation by trying to elbow Cardona in the face - a blow the officer deflected.

Rivera-Pitre has hired a civil rights attorney.

O'Donnell On NC Marriage Campaign

Log Cabin Republicans Shut Down Dallas Chapter Over Charges Of Racism

The Log Cabin Republicans have dissolved their Dallas chapter after its president told a national radio audience that businesses should have the right to fire people for being black. Lucas Grindley reports at the Advocate:

Robert Schlein, who was president of the defunct Dallas chapter, regularly writes op-eds for the Dallas Voice that cause a stir, and one such column got him to be a guest on the Michelangelo Signorile radio show in September. During the back-and-forth, somehow Schlein got on a train of logic that concluded this way: "Texas is a right-to-work state. So as an employer, which I am, I can fire anybody at will," Schlein claimed. "You cannot fire somebody for being African-American," Signorile objected. "Well, I wouldn’t tell them," Schlein said. "You wouldn’t tell them, but you’d do it anyway?" Signorile asked. "I’d find a reason if I wanted to fire them," Schlein said, defending discrimination against black people while trying to prove an antidiscrimination law would make no difference to LGBT people.

Schlein claims he's actually being fired because he invited the leaders of GOProud to speak to his chapter. He has joined in the comments thread at the above-linked Advocate article.

UPDATE: Gay Patriot (who is a board member of GOProud) manages to blog the situation without any mention of the radio show or the racism angle.

Gays Want To Rule The Military!

"This is exactly what we knew would happen. We’re not especially clairvoyant, we can’t see into the future, but the homosexual lobby isn’t simply pressing to have equal status in the military with people that are heterosexual. They would like a military takeover by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community, and that’s what they’re going to keep pushing for until it happens." - GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, speaking on Tony Perkins' radio show. Hunter has sponsored numerous last-ditch bills intended to thwart the repeal of DADT and related changes.

OWS At London's Stock Exchange

Renowned British activist Peter Tatchtell is live-tweeting the ongoing OWS solidarity protest at London's stock exchange.

MISSOURI: Catholic Bishop Indicted For Ignoring Pedophilia Claims

For the first time a Catholic bishop has been indicted for ignoring complaints that a priest under his authority was molesting children. The charge, outrageously, is a mere misdemeanor.

The indictment of the bishop, Robert W. Finn, and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph by a county grand jury was announced on Friday. Each was charged with one misdemeanor count involving a priest accused of taking pornographic photographs of girls as recently as this year. They pleaded not guilty. The case caused an uproar among Catholics in Kansas City this year when Bishop Finn acknowledged that he knew of the photographs last December but did not turn them over to the police until May. During that time, the priest, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, is said to have continued to attend church events with children, and took lewd photographs of another young girl.

Despite the petty charge, victim advocates hailed the indictment as a long overdue move.

Britain May Soften Hate Speech Laws

After criticism from both sides regarding the arrests of anti-gay street preachers, Britain is considering a softening of what constitutes public hate speech.

An amendment is contained in the Protection of Freedoms Bill and Home Office consultation was published yesterday. Civil rights groups – and gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell – have called for the law to be changed because it “criminalises free speech”. Gay rights charity Stonewall has opposed any change to the law. Speaking in July, Ruth Hunt, Stonewall’s director of public affairs, said: “We believe that the law is currently settled in the right place balancing freedom of expression with people’s right to live free from abuse which can be hugely intimidating. We will continue to express this view firmly to ministers.”

OWS Movement Spreads To Europe

Afternoon View - Lex & East 69

Ingredients Disclosure

(Via - Betty Bowers)

Are You Out At Work?

Think Progress points to this study which reports that only 52% of LGBT people are out at work, which is not surprising considering that one can be fired for being gay in 29 states. Today the survey's author appeared on MSNBC to discuss the results.

NOM Prays For God To "Forbid" The Existence Of Gay-Friendly Republicans

"In New York this week, the four Republicans senators who betrayed their constituents to vote for gay marriage are getting a very public payoff. They're getting a fundraiser, according to the New York Times, which will raise more than forty pieces of silver—a million bucks. Expect to hear a lot about in in the mainstream media. This is part of a sophisticated plan by major GOP donors to remake the Republican Party, as the Conservative Party has been remade in Great Britain—so that voters who care about marriage have no party to represent them, and therefore no voice. God forbid it! Truth forbid it! You and I know that millions of decent, loving law-abiding American believe in the core truths expressed in Genesis (and repeated by Jesus): We are made male and female." - NOM spokespig Brian Brownshirt, writing on their hateblog.

The Tea Party Ended Slavery

Related: The KKK was and remains 100% evangelical.

A Tweet From Bizarro World

TRANSLATION: A group which opposes hate crimes prosecutions makes highly dubious hate crimes claims and then accuses those who question those claims of inciting hate crimes against them.

Rights Groups Jointly Demand That Canada Arrest George W. Bush For War Crimes

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued to a joint call for Canadian authorities to arrest former president George W. Bush on war crimes charges. Duyba is scheduled to visit a British Colombia economic summit next week.

There is overwhelming evidence that Bush and other senior administration officials authorized and implemented a regime of torture and ill-treatment of hundreds of detainees in US custody,including at least two Canadian citizens. Under the Convention against Torture, Canada is obligated to prosecute individuals suspected of committing torture found in its territory if other countries have failed to do so. The Obama administration has failed to investigate allegations of involvement in torture by Bush or other senior administration officials, and none are expected.

The Vancouver Sun reports that Canada plans to ignore the demands.

"Amnesty International cherrypicks cases to publicize based on ideology. This kind of stunt helps explain why so many respected human rights advocates have abandoned Amnesty International," Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said. Kenney noted in an email that in the past, Amnesty had not asked for Canada to bar former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, even though the rights organization itself said he had presided over "arbitrary arrests, detention, and criminal prosecution."

She's Got A New Hat!

Go-Go To Cool Places For Weddings

Reverend Sister Go-Go, aka Go-Go's drummer guitarist Jane Wiedlin, married two women in Central Park this week. And you too can have Reverend Sister Go-Go officiate your nuptials.[Photo Credit: Big Gay Ice Cream @ Twitter ] (Tipped by JMG reader Fritz)

Cop Bloodies Poz OWS Protester

"The cop just lunged at me full throttle and hit me on the left side of my face. It tore my earring out. I remember seeing my earring on the ground next to me and it was full of blood. I was completely dumbstruck. I'm HIV positive and that cop should get tested." - Occupy Wall Street protester Felix Rivera-Pitre, recounting this morning's scuffle for Gothamist, whose reporter witnessed the incident. Below is the video of the cop's attack.

Concerned Women Are Concernstipated About Homosexuals On Television

Concerned woman Janet Shaw Crouse longs for the days of nursery rhyme romances. Because all those homosexuals on television are destroying true love. Or something!

Looking back, it’s amazing how much our simple nursery rhymes taught us about life, including the natural progression of relationships. Intuitively, we knew these axioms to be true and passed them down throughout the generations. But these days, as conventional wisdom is increasingly convoluted, it isn’t surprising that many have rejected the order of romance first, marriage second, and finally childbearing, instead creating their own rules of the game. Indeed, gone are the days of Brady Brunch families and June Cleaver-style households; they have morphed into ABC’s “Modern Family“ — a show promoted as “redefining what family means,” and portrayed as “one big straight-gay, multicultural, traditional, happy family.” Hence, every day it seems, a new tide of case studies surfaces on the shores of our Hollywood-esque world of hook-ups, shack-ups, babydaddys, and babymommas, attempting to prove how “liberated” we are, unbound by the shackles of tradition.

November 17th: GMHC's Fashion Forward

Information and tickets.

Quote Of The Day - Pastor Mark Driscoll

"Masturbation can be a form of homosexuality because it is a sexual act that does not involve a woman. If a man were to masturbate while engaged in other forms of sexual intimacy with his wife then he would not be doing so in a homosexual way. However, any man who does so without his wife in the room is bordering on homosexuality activity, particularly if he's watching himself in a mirror and being turned on by his own male body." - Pastor Mark Driscoll of Seattle's Mars Hill Church.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino: Protesters Are Rabble Rousers From Other Countries

Girls Cartoons That Boys Watched

"It's cartoon coming out day!"

Art Or Not Art?

As part of an ill-conceived art installation, last weekend New Yorkers saw the words "LAST CHANCE" written in smoke over Manhattan, sending thousands of worried residents to Twitter. NYC Councilman Peter Vallone is furious, but the group behind the idea is defending it.

"We did not intend for the artwork to be alarming in any way," Friends of the High Line officials said in a statement. "We received overwhelmingly positive feedback to what we think was an innovative and thought-provoking piece about the current state of our economy." The High Line's website says the park's public art projects receive taxpayer money from the city and state. The group received $75,000 this year from the City Council for public programming and other uses, records show. But the park's website was changed Monday to specify that the skywriting project was privately funded.

NH Poll: Marriage Repeal Support Low

According to a just published poll of New Hampshire residents, folks there are strongly disinclined to to repeal same-sex marriage.

The WMUR Granite State poll shows that only 27 percent of New Hampshire adults support repealing same-sex marriage, while 50 percent strongly oppose repeal. The percentages are similar to a poll asking the same question in February. The poll of 500 randomly selected New Hampshire adults was conducted by phone from Sept. 26 through Oct. 2 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percent. "Strong opponents of repealing same-sex marriage continue to outnumber strong proponents by more than 2 to 1," said Andrew Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center. "The New Hampshire public is not showing any strong desire to repeal this law."

New Hampshire's GOP-dominated state legislature is expected to take up the repeal attempt when they reconvene in January.

Fun Pranks With iPhone4S

(Source)

The Opiates - Anatomy Of A Plastic Girl

The latest from JMG reader Billie Ray Martin. NSFW.

(Via - Allure Of Sound)

Mrs. Rick Perry: We're Being Oppressed!

"It’s been a rough month. We have been brutalized and beaten up and chewed up in the press to where I need this today. We are being brutalized by our opponents, and our own party. So much of that is, I think they look at him, because of his faith. He is the only true conservative – well, there are some true conservatives. And they’re there for good reasons. And they may feel like God called them too. But I truly feel like we are here for that purpose." - Anita Perry, saying that her husband is being targeted for his devout faith.

Perkins: Marriage Pollsters Are Lying

Christian Hell House Auditions

LAS VEGAS: Out Military Members Gather To Discuss Post-DADT Life

A small convention of out members of the military takes place in Las Vegas this weekend as attendees work through the new issues of a post-DADT life.

The OutServe Leadership Summit is designed to highlight the diversity of gays in the military and the challenges they face, and marks the largest gathering of gay troops in one location since the ban was lifted last month. OutServe is a formerly clandestine network of gay and lesbian service members that lobbied the Pentagon to support repealing "don't ask, don't tell." The four-day conference kicked off Thursday at the New York, New York hotel/casino with private meetings for leaders of the group's 48 chapters around the world. At least 215 service members, veterans and civilian supporters — registration was capped to make the event manageable — have signed up to mingle and to attend panel discussions that range from marriage and the push to secure benefits for gay military spouses to post-military careers and the remaining ban on transgender troops. The CIA is among the event's sponsors, and other scheduled workshops include topics such as Scriptures and Homosexuality.

(Tipped by JMG reader Philip)

MOVIE STILL: The New Superman

(Source)

Tweet Of The Day - Russell Simmons

Out Lesbian Confirmed As Federal Judge Despite Strong GOP Opposition

Without a single vote from any Republican, today the U.S. Senate narrowly approved the nomination of Alison Nathan to the federal bench. Chris Geidner reports at Metro Weekly:

Nathan, an out lesbian, will be the second out lesbian federal judge with lifetime tenure in the country, joining U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts on the bench of the Southern District of New York. White House spokesman Shin Inouye praised the Senate action, writing, "The President welcomes the confirmation of Alison Nathan. She will serve the American people well from the District Court bench." Five members of the Democratic caucus did not vote for Nathan's nomination, and no Republicans voted for it. Less than three months ago, U.S. District Court Judge J. Paul Oeken, was confirmed with the support of 28 Republicans. Oetken also sits on the Southern District of New York bench and currently is the only out gay male judge serving in one of the lifetime tenure positions in the federal judiciary.

GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions spoke against Nathan's confirmation, saying she would be an "activist judge" who would be more likely to follow the laws of foreign countries.

Bloomberg To OWS: Get Out Of The Park

At least long enough for it to be cleaned.

Last night, Mayor Bloomberg delivered a message to Occupy Wall Street protesters who've been camped out at Zuccotti Park the past several weeks: the park needs to be cleaned. And protesters, their signs, sleeping bags, and, presumably, portable libraries need to temporarily vacate the premises while the park's property owner can go in with a cleaning crew.

And don't bring your stuff back, either.

Wall Street protesters won’t be allowed to return gear such as sleeping bags to Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan after the privately owned space is closed for cleaning beginning tomorrow, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. “People will have to remove all their belongings and leave the park,” Kelly said today after a memorial ceremony in Battery Park. “After it’s cleaned, they’ll be able to come back. But they won’t be able to bring back the gear. The sleeping bags, that sort of thing, will not be able to be brought back into the park.”

Tomorrow should prove interesting.

ADAP: Beyond The Numbers

From the National Minority AIDS Council:

The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has released a new video highlighting the crisis facing our nation's AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. Currently, more than 7,400 individuals in 10 states who have been placed on ADAP wait lists, while another 17 states and Puerto Rico have instituted various cost containment measures, including reduced formularies and program eligibility. NMAC launched its ADAP campaign to focus attention on this issue and put a human face on this crisis.

GLAAD Launches Anti-Bullying Campaign

More celebrity-laden clips are here.

Limbaugh Vs. Wall Street Protesters

(Source)

Sword Rattling Ramps Up

Church Sign Of The Day

(Tipped by JMG reader Rich)

FRC Prays Against Wall Street Protesters

The Family Research Council would like you to pray that God smites those dirty hippies of Occupy Wall Street.

May God prevent these radical organizers from stirring revolution and distracting voters from the elections and keeping watch on our elected leaders (Num 16:1-14; Is 1:4-6; Pr 12:11-12; Mt 26:41; Eph 4:28; 1 Tim 6:3-10; Heb 13:5-6).

God has a lot on his plate, because today's FRC prayer list also asks that he stop gay marriage on military bases and that he stop the media from paying attention to Ron Paul.

More From NC's Marriage Activists

NEW YORK CITY: Hasidic Jewish Group Claims Gay Marriage Leads To Pedophilia

The Failed Messiah blog reports that one of Brooklyn's fringe Jewish groups wants to put up signs warning against gay pedophiles. According to this hate group, molestations of boys "has surged since gay marriage became legal." (This is not the same group that last week posted signs ordering women to step aside when men approach.)

JPAC (Jewish Political Action Committee) is offering free anti-gay signs. From their email:

The Jewish Political Action Committee is now organizing an awareness program to stop Gay molesters from attacking children and teens. Since the gay marriage bill in New York was introduced,there has been a surge of gay attacks against youngsters in New York. Children and teens are now at the mercy of the militant gay liberals who are brainwashing society to their evil. We in JPAC have been flooded with complaints of this type of wicked behavior even in orthodox circles. It was modern orthodox politicians as well as materialistic orthodox individuals who aided or kept silent on the gay marriage bill in exchange for a kool 25 million dollars. We are not here to expose these individuals and groups but to let the honest orthodox G-d serving Jew know what to watch out for.

According to JPAC, "God sent AIDS to punish homosexuals."

New From Mittens

NEW YORK: Donations Flood In For Pro-Gay State Senate Republicans

While NOM erects sinister "You're Next" billboards, big money is flowing into the campaigns of the four GOP New York state senators who voted to legalize same-sex marriage.

As the State Legislature this year debated the legalization of same-sex marriage, a group of wealthy financiers who support both gay rights and Republican causes offered a reassurance to Republican lawmakers: Stand with us now, and we will stand with you later. This week, the four Republican state senators who provided the decisive votes to pass the marriage bill are to get a big financial boost from those donors, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. A fund-raiser planned for Thursday night in Manhattan is expected to raise about $1.25 million to help finance their re-election bids next year.

A spokesman for NOM dismissed the financial support for the four senators, adding, "The people of New York will not forget what these senators did."

Tens Rally Against NH Marriage

The Family Research Council's hate bus rolled into Concord, New Hampshire yesterday where tens of people turned out to watch Tony Perkins goosestep around the parking lot of Holiday Inn Express.

Perkins and other opponents of gay marriage made clear yesterday morning at a "Restore Marriage Rally" in downtown Concord that they'll fight at the State House next year to repeal gay marriage in the state. Christopher Plante, northeast regional coordinator for the National Organization for Marriage, said New Hampshire was the first state to legalize gay marriage through legislation. (Vermont had passed same-sex marriage legislation a few months earlier in 2009 over a gubernatorial veto.) Six states now allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

According to Perkins, the economy is failing because people aren't breeding fast enough: "You want to get the economy going again? We need to put a focus on marriage and on children, because that is our future. Look at the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and growing the GDP - we'll never grow the GDP with a shrinking population."

Smithsonian Remembers Frank Kameny

Today the official blog of the Smithsonian remembers late gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny and provides a link farm to his donated items and his papers on file at the Library of Congress.

NEW YORK CITY: Second Lesbian Dies After East River Helicopter Crash

The longtime partner of the lesbian killed in last week's sightseeing helicopter crash has also succumbed to her injuries.

Disabled Sailor Sues Over DOMA

Yet another anti-DOMA lawsuit, but this one's from a new angle.

The former sailor, Carmen Cardona of Norwich, married her partner in Connecticut last year. But when she applied for an increase in her monthly disability compensation because she was newly married, the Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in Hartford rejected her application, citing a federal statute that defines a spouse as “a person of the opposite sex.” In a case to be filed before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, a special federal court in Washington that handles disputes over veterans benefits, Ms. Cardona’s legal team from the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School will argue that the government’s definition violates her Fifth Amendment right to due process. The lawyers intend to file their notice to appeal on Thursday.

Customers of Size

Saying they are responding to an increase in "valid complaints," AirTran revealed yesterday that it will begin asking "customers of size" to buy tickets for two seats.

The airline will begin enforcing the policy March 1. Any coach passenger who, "in the carrier's sole discretion, encroaches on an adjacent seat and/or is unable to sit in a single seat with the armrest lowered" will be told they must pay for an additional seat, AirTran's contract of carriage states. Southwest Airlines, which completed its takeover of AirTran in May, says on its website that it has followed the "customers of size" policy for 30 of its 39 years of operation.

Customers asked to buy an additional ticket will be given the option of a full refund.

Victoria Jackson Visits OWS

(Tipped by JMG reader BStewart23)

B.A.R. Endorses Bevan Dufty

San Francisco's Bay Area Reporter has endorsed Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who would become the city's first openly gay mayor if elected.

We're not endorsing Dufty just because he is gay. But political recommendations are part of our responsibility as the leading LGBT newspaper and it would be significant for America's gayest city to have an out mayor. It's important to us that one day San Francisco have a gay mayor and Dufty is as qualified as anyone else in the field. The late Harvey Milk often urged LGBTs to elect their own. We find it curious that Dufty could not secure the top spot from either of the city's LGBT Democratic clubs; the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club left him off entirely.

Last week Dufty made national news when he launched an ad campaign featuring his young daughter, the first such political ad from a gay candidate.

Evolution Is A Lie

And it was invented by scientists who just want to commit adultery, drink alcohol, and watch porno.

(Source)

Red-Caped Catholic Loons Plan National "Rosary Rallies" Against Gay Marriage

The red-caped Catholic loons of the virulently anti-gay Tradition, Family, & Property plan to hold 7500 simultaneous "public rosary rallies" where their followers will mumble over their beads as they exhort the BVM to stop gay marriage. And other things!

"Our culture is in turmoil. Society is really feeling the negative effects of abortion, same-sex 'marriage,' pornography, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and terrorism," Ritchie said. "That's why so many people are turning to God and His Blessed Mother for courage and hope. The need for conversion, prayer and penance is more pressing today than it was in 1917 when Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children, Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia." "Prayer is very powerful. I firmly believe that the holy rosary in particular is the key to restore society. It gives us the spiritual fortitude to follow God's law," said Mr. Ritchie. "Over 7,500 Public Square Rosary Rallies will certainly attract God's blessing on America and the world."

Get out your beads and meet them at noon on Saturday.

Herman Cain Leads New NBC Poll

(Source)

Infighting Is Funny, Part 94

World Net Daily continues their assault on Mormonism today by promoting a book that mocks Mitt Romney for his faith.

"Mormonism teaches we pre-existed on God the Father's planet as spirit children before we were planted in our mother's wombs," Erickson told WND. "And the reason why we're here according to Mormonism, is so that we can work out our own progression to godhood and our own planets themselves." The author, who herself was married in a Mormon temple at age 19 but now considers herself a non-denominational Christian, says there's a secret agenda Mormon officials don't like to talk about publicly.

"A complete takeover of the government," she said. "They have more people in the CIA, the FBI. They have an employment office for Mormons in D.C. to be able to infiltrate them into the government." "They've been trying since the beginning to get someone in the presidency, because they believe they have to establish their authority so when Jesus comes to Earth, the Mormon Church will take control of the government and the Mormons will be the government of God on Earth," she continued.

Christian TV Laments SB 48 Fail

Rachel Maddow On Frank Kameny

Teabaggers Vs. OWS, Part Four

From a comment on the wingnut Pajamas Media:

SSgt Rock

Only problem with kent state was the shooting accuracy of the Ohio National Guard was very poor. 868 shots and only 4 kills. These socialists will not be allowed to reign supreme in America. It IS THE LAND of THE FREE and THE HOME of THE BRAVE!!!! If they want a violent revolution they better look around them first. I do not see many of the protestoers that look able to take up arms… BTW, the Ohio National Guard is MUCH better shots now…

Betty White & Luciana - I'm Still Hot

We got the audio two weeks ago. Here's the video.

Open Thread Thursday

What, if any, religious training did you get as a child? Did it stick?

It's Official: Stop SB 48 Was A FAIL

This just hit my inbox:

We Fought the Law and the Law Won

Unfortunately we did not collect enough signatures to qualify the referendum to overturn SB48. That law will be in place in our schools at the first of next year. We thank all of you that worked so hard to provide the hundreds of thousands of signatures received. In the end, 90 days was too short a time to accomplish such a large task. In the coming days you will see the celebration of our opponents. We know this because it has already started in social media and other places. And some of the rhetoric will be harsh. Remember, despite what they say about us, we opposed SB 48 simply because we do not believe that children should be exposed to an intentionally one-sided argument about lifestyles and values we do not hold.

You may now resume your chortling.

Rep. Peter King: Iran Has Declared War

King really wants another war.

Tweet Of The Day - Huntsman's Daughters

In April their dad resigned as Obama's ambassador to China to run for president.

Tipping Win?

A bigger tip wouldn't have been funny. (Source)

FOTF Reveals Shocking News That Major GOP Candidates Hate Gay People

Focus On The Family's Stuart Shepard really wants you to find his YouTube clips and therefore tags them with seven different spellings of his name.

Afternoon View - UES Bike Share Demo

Last month we learned that NYC will join other major cities by launching its own bike sharing system. The program isn't scheduled to begin until summer, but community boards and the public are getting demonstrations this week. Hit the link for demos near you. (Photo by Dr. Jeff.)

Evil Gays Are Brainwashing America!

Rick Perry's BFF and Dallas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress says that gays are using Chinese brainwashing techniques to zombify America into accepting their evil agenda. Jeffress made the networks last week for telling the nation that Mormonism is a cult. He also says the Catholic Church is run by Satan.

Life Expectancies Soar For HIV+

According to a study by Britain's University of Bristol, life expectancies for people with HIV have increased by 15 years. The average person who begins anti-HIV therapy at age 20 can now expect to live at least another 46 years.

A team led by Dr Margaret May looked at the average 20-year-old starting treatment with anti-retroviral drugs between 1996-1999 and 2006-2008. Between 1996 and 1999, the average life expectancy was 30 years. Ten years later, this had risen to almost 46 years. The research found substantial differences in life expectancy for men and women. Between 1996 and 2008, men had a 40-year life expectancy, while women’s life expectancy was 50 years. Life expectancy is calculated as the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age.

NOTE: You can expect that the NARTH crowd and their ilk will misquote this study to claim that HIV-positive people die at age 46.

NC Couples Ask For Marriage Licenses

The poor clerks were as sweet as can be when rejecting the applications. You need to watch this and you might need a tissue. About this campaign.

Glenn Beck Launches Clothing Line

Polo shirts start at $65. Power to the people, y'all.

Today In Teabagger Irony

Remember when Tennessee's teabaggers passed a law making it legal to bring loaded guns into bars and nightclubs? Guess who just got arrested for driving drunk with a loaded gun on the front seat?

Tennessee state Rep. Curry Todd, a lead sponsor of a law allowing handgun carry permit holders to bring guns into bars, has been arrested on charges of drunken driving and possession of a gun while under the influence. Police say in court documents that the Collierville Republican was pulled over in Nashville late Tuesday. He allegedly failed a roadside sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer. A loaded Smith & Wesson 38 Special was found in a holster stuffed between the driver seat and the center console.

Anybody shocked? Anyone?

REPORT: Gay Friendly GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Has A Transgender Son

Two weeks ago Miami-based Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen became the latest top enemy of the Christian right when she became the first GOP member of the U.S. House to co-sponsor the repeal of DOMA. While Ros-Lehtinen typically hews closely to other GOP goals and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, of late she has consistently been on the side of good when it comes to LGBT rights. Today the Miami Herald notes that Ros-Lehtinen has a transgender son named Rodrigo, news that NOM immediately pointed to as the source of her treason.

OCCUPIED: Upper East Side

Yesterday hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters marched on the Upper East Side townhouses of several billionaires, including News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch, who paid $44M for his home. Other stops included the homes of Tea Party puppeteer David Koch and hedge fund titan John Paulson, where a check for $5 billion was waved in front of his door. Gothamist has many more photos.

Email Of The Day - Eugene Delgaudio

"Dear Joe, The radical Homosexual Lobby is taking over! State by state, they are sweeping through our nation and making a mockery of the holy institution of marriage by forcing their perverted version of marriage on God-fearing Americans. And do you know the Homosexual Lobby’s ultimate goal? The complete eradication of marriage and morality in our nation.

"They want every pastor, priest and chaplain forced to go against their creed and unite two men in an unholy 'matrimony'. The Homosexual Lobby knows you hold the Gog-given institution of marriage close and they want nothing more than to strip it from your hands and twist it to their own depraved image." - Eugene Delgaudio, Supervisor for Loudon County, Virginia and self-proclaimed Public Advocate of the United States. (And yes, he wrote "Gog.")

Heterosexual Guys Who Like Glee

Naughty words: NSFW.

NEW YORK CITY: Gay Councilman Daniel Dromm Proposes Local Version Of SB 48

If openly gay NYC Councilman Daniel Dromm gets his way, public schools in Gotham may see their own version of California's LGBT history bill.

Queens City Council Member Daniel Dromm, who is openly gay, introduced a resolution asking the Department of Education to implement such a curriculum and acquire the textbooks needed to teach it. The announcement came on National Coming Out Day, an event held every year since 1988 that encourages gay people to open up about their sexuality. Proponents said teaching students about the contributions of gay individuals would lead to a greater feeling of safety among all students regardless of sexual orientation.

New York City's public school system is by far the largest in the nation, with over 1.1 million students at more than 1700 schools.

Barney Frank Vs. Gingrich, Part Two

"I wish I knew that he was willing to listen to my advice, I would have given him some: I would have told him not to impeach Clinton, I would have told his successors not to go to war with Iraq, and I would have told DeLay not to go on the dance show. He’s been having a bad year, you know — this self-styled intellectual leader of the free world struggling to stay ahead of Michele Bachmann in the polls is unsettling him so he talks even sillier than he sometimes does." - Rep. Barney Frank, firing back at Newt Gingrich, who last night called for his imprisonment.

Photo Of The Day: Salt Lake's Pink Dot

Inspired by Singapore's event of the same name, yesterday Salt Lake City residents gathered for their first Pink Dot celebration. [Photo credit: Steve Griffin/Salt Lake Tribune]

Prop 8 Repeal Fight May Go Forward

As Equality California is mired by internal turmoil and the loss of its second executive director in several months, another LGBT rights group says they are moving forward with plans to place a repeal of Proposition 8 on California's 2012 ballot. Rex Wockner reports:

Love Honor Cherish will submit language to the California attorney general by Friday for a ballot measure to overturn Prop 8. The attorney general will write a petition title and summary, and then LHC can collect voter signatures for 150 days. The group would need to collect valid signatures from 807,615 registered California voters. The initiative would amend the California Constitution to delete or overturn Prop 8, via which voters amended the Constitution in 2008 to re-ban same-sex marriage. The Los-Angeles-based organization's outreach director, Lester Aponte, said Oct. 11 that LHC already has launched efforts to build a statewide campaign structure.

New Rassmussen Poll

Venn Diagram

(Source)

Rights Groups React To Kameny Death

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force

“The death of Frank Kameny is a profound loss and he will be greatly missed. No Washington LGBT event or White House meeting was complete without Frank. Yet, he never slowed down in demanding what should be, showing us what was possible and pushing for the very equality and liberation we are still fighting for. As the history books are written on the LGBT movement, no doubt Frank's life will serve as an inspiration to those who will never have the honor of meeting him, but who embody the very future he knew would come true one day. Indeed, Frank, Gay is Good.”

GLAAD

"Frank Kameny sparked national change and set the example for gay and lesbian Americans to live their lives openly and proudly," said Mike Thompson, Acting President of GLAAD. "He taught us the power that our visibility and stories have in changing hearts and minds. Today on National Coming Out Day, we honor Frank's legacy not only by remembering this pioneer, but by continuing his work to speak out and share our own stories."

American Foundation for Equal Rights

President of AFER’s board of directors, Chad Griffin, released the following statement about Mr. Kameny and the long legacy of hope and optimism he leaves behind, "America has lost a hero today. Out and proud, Frank Kameny was fighting for equality long before the rest of us knew we could." He added, "Because there was one Frank Kameny, trailblazing and honest enough to speak out 50 years ago, there are now millions of Americans, coming out, speaking out and fighting for their basic civil rights. His is a legacy of bravery and tremendous impact and will live on in the hearts and minds of every American who values equality and justice."

Human Rights Campaign

“Frank Kameny led an extraordinary life marked by heroic activism that set a path for the modern LGBT civil rights movement. From his early days fighting institutionalized discrimination in the federal workforce, Dr. Kameny taught us all that 'Gay is Good.' As we say goodbye to this trailblazer on National Coming Out Day, we remember the remarkable power we all have to change the world by living our lives like Frank -- openly, honestly and authentically.”

Sally Kern: Gays Might Try To Kill Me

"I have to be honest with you Rick, when I was sitting there in my car that day and when she told me that those emails were coming from homosexuals, honestly, fear gripped by whole body, because I was very aware of the homosexual lobbyists and the power that they have. And people say, ‘oh you’re so brave, so heroic,’ but I’m not, I’m just a sinner saved by grace and I was gripped with fear that day. I just said, ‘Lord, what have I done?’ It entered our mind but honestly, and I mentioned this in the book, the Saturday night when my husband and I sit down and really talked about this and prayed about it, when we asked ourselves the question, are we willing to even lose our lives over this?" - Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern, speaking on Christian radio.

Perry Quotes Gay Poet Langston Hughes

Just as Rick Santorum did several weeks ago, during last night's GOP debate Rick Perry quoted legendary gay poet Langston Hughes. Santorum never used the quote again when told of its source.

Limelight To Become IHOP

Chelsea's iconic Limelight nightclub, which became a mini-mall a few years ago, is getting a new tenant: IHOP. The pancake house will occupy the bottom two floors of the former Episcopalian church. IHOP expects the site to become one of their top-grossing locations.

Gingrich: Put Barney Frank In Jail

Perkins: Homo Feet Are In The Door!

Debate Watch: Repeal Everything!

Gay Pioneer Frank Kameny Dies At 86

The Washington Blade is reporting on Twitter that gay rights pioneer and Mattachine Society co-founder Frank Kameny has passed away at the age of 86. I'll have more details when they become available. In the meantime, please read Kameny's Wikipedia entry. We all owe Kameny our deepest gratitude for a life lived well.

UPDATE: Some details from the Blade.

Franklin E. Kameny, one of the nation’s most prominent gay rights leaders, died in his home today from apparent natural causes. He was 86. The death came less a month before the planned celebration of the 50th anniversary of Kameny’s founding of the Mattachine Society of Washington, the first gay rights organization in the nation’s capital. LGBT rights advocates Charles Francis and Bob Witeck, who were longtime friends of Kameny’s and established the project to preserve Kameny’s papers over a 50-year period, said they would be announcing soon plans for a memorial service to honor the gay rights leader’s life.

Christie Endorses Mittens

(Via - Think Progress)

Trial Setback For Dan Choi

Via Washington Post, a setback for Dan Choi's at his trial for chaining himself to the White House fence.

The chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington ruled Tuesday that a judge overseeing Dan Choi’s trial cannot take into account whether prosecutors were treating Choi’s November 2010 protest differently because its subject was “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Choi’s lawyer had previously argued that his client was being treated more harshly, and Magistrate Judge John Facciola said that appeared to be the case.But Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote in an opinion Tuesday that Choi’s attorney should have raised the issue of harsher treatment before trial and he cannot now use it as a defense.

Unlike the others arrested that day, Choi alone refused a plea bargain and insisted on a trial. Choi has since been re-arrested at the same scene while protesting another issue.

WASHINGTON: Anti-War Protesters Arrested In U.S. Senate Building

The Romney Writing Is On The Wall

"We can not let presidential politics divide us or distract us from the task of building a winning majority of people with shared values. In particular, members of the LDS church should not be attacked or made to feel unwelcome for their faith by the left or the right. People of all faiths, and no faith, are welcome to join us to fight to protect marriage as the union of husband and wife-- Evangelicals, Catholics, Jews, LDS, Eastern Orthodox, African-Americans, whites, Hispanics, we are the true diverse rainbow coalition: fighting for the rights of all Americans to vote for marriage. We welcome Pastor Jeffers' acknowledgement that Romney is a 'good and moral man' and that he would support Romney if he were the GOP nominee." - NOM president Brian Brown, who has taken a shitload of (undisclosed) anti-gay donations from the Mormon Church.

RELATED: NJ Gov. Chris Cristie will announce his endorsement of Mitt Romney at a press conference this afternoon.