Christian Haunted House

Where AIDS, porn, and abortion are the topics.

Afternoon View - Central Park Traverse

The snow wasn't supposed to start until tonight, but it began pummeling down by 11am. The flakes have been huge and mixed intermittently with driving wind/rain. I spotted two downed trees on the short ride through the park.

Unfeasible

(Via - Think Progress)

Union Dispute: Qantas Grounds Fleet

United States: Bottom Of The Heap

(Source)

Porno Pete + Red-Caped Catholic Loons

Porno Pete LaBarbera has launched yet another sure-to-fail petition campaign to place an anti-gay amendment before the voters of Illinois. Central to Porno Pete's petition is the above ten-point list, which is lifted verbatim from the red-caped Catholic loons of Americans for Tradition, Family & Property.

NOTE: LaBarbera's petition instructions include a rather stern set of directions about the proper way to gather signatures. This, no doubt, is in reaction to the criminal petition gathering tactics we saw committed by the good Christians that oppose California's SB48.

Perry Backs NH Marriage Repeal

"As conservatives we believe in the sanctity of life. We believe in the sanctity of traditional marriage. And I applaud those legislators in New Hampshire who are working to defend marriage as an institution between one man and one woman, realizing that children need to be raised in a loving home by a mother and a father." - Rick Perry, speaking at a banquet staged by the New Hampshire hate group, Cornerstone Action.

Delivered: Hugging Towers

Yesterday afternoon I delivered Hugging Towers to the administrators of the World Trade Center Memorial & Museum. (Interestingly, their offices are in the building owned by the company that is allowing the protesters to camp at Zuccotti Park.) Hugging Towers was received with appropriate reverence and after I signed a couple of legal documents surrendering ownership, we had a nice chat about their plan to seek out its artist.

Then I was taken downstairs for a tour of the Memorial, where the very first name I came across was Father Mychal Judge, the quietly gay priest killed on 9/11. The museum isn't open yet and the security ritual to enter the Memorial rivals anything you've been through at the airport. It would have been comical were the cause not so somber.

Bad Lip Reading: Herman Cain

Same-Sex Marriage Or Marriage Equality?

Polling results depend on the term used.

Fifty-two percent of New Jersey voters believe same-sex marriages should be legal, according to today's Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. Support for legalizing gay marriage jumps to 61 percent when the issue is framed in terms of “marriage equality,” the favored description of advocates for same-sex couples. Almost four-in-10 respondents (39 percent) oppose legalizing gay marriage while 9 percent are unsure. Twenty-seven percent are against marriage equality, while 3 percent are unfamiliar with the term and 9 percent have no opinion.

Plus Motherfucking Doughnuts

Jon Huntsman Vs. Mitt Romney

Crazy Eyes Vs. Rick Perry

"If Governor Perry has something to say to me, he can come out to the debates and he can say it. But this was clearly — this is egg on the face, unfortunately, for the Perry campaign. It certainly isn't a blow to my campaign because I've had non-stop support coming out of the woodwork from Tea Partiers all across the country ever since this came out." - Michele Bachmann accusing Rick Perry of planting a story that the Tea Party wants her to withdraw from the campaign. A spokesman for Perry responded, "We have no idea what the fuck that crazy bitch is talking about." (Something like that.)

AFA's Poll Of The Day

Obama 2012 In 100 Seconds

Tonight

Gay Marriage Will Destroy America

So sez Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ).

IRELAND: Norris Concedes

Openly gay Sen. David Norris has conceded his loss in Ireland's presidential election. An early favorite, Norris would have been the world's first gay president, but his campaign was damaged by the revelation that he'd pleaded for clemency for an ex-boyfriend accused of having a relationship with an underage boy.

RELATED: In 2009 Iceland's Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became the world's first openly gay prime minster when her party appointed her to lead the new coalition government.

PERU: 6.9 Earthquake Near Lima

CNN is saying the quake was deep enough and far enough away so that Lima should not have great damage.

Spain Sees Marriage Repeal Battle

The campaign to repeal same-sex marriage is not limited to the United States.

Next month's general elections threaten to undo Spain's 6-year-old gay marriage law. The Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which swept into office in 2004, looks to be on the outs. Polling shows the conservative Popular Party (PP) with a 15-point lead over Socialists. Zapatero's government legalized gay marriage over the objections of the Catholic Church and the PP, which filed a legal challenged to the law based on technical grounds. Mariano Rajoy, the leader of the PP, has previously said he believes the law is unconstitutional and that he would “change” it even if the nation's highest court ruled it constitutional.

We'll follow this closely here on JMG, of course.

Afternoon View - One World Trade Center

Another New Ad From Equality Maine

NH Anti-Repeal Effort Underway

A bipartisan group is battling the attempt to repeal same-sex marriage in New Hampshire. Last week the repeal bill was approved by the House Judiciary Committee.

Standing Up for New Hampshire Families leaders told reporters that Republican lawmakers should focus on helping businesses create jobs and not on repealing the gay marriage law that has been in effect almost two years. The group counts among its 200 supporters former New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick. Broderick, now dean of the University of New Hampshire Law School, was not present but issued a statement saying "it would be tragic to turn back the clock to the dark days of discrimination, intolerance and false stereotypes." The group plans to network with friends and family as well as operate a phone bank to call lawmakers urging them to vote against the bill.

Visit the group's website for information on how you can help. I see longtime JMG participant Will Fregosi in their slideshow.

Beaten To Death For Jesus

UFC: Gay Fighters Should Come Out

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White says that if his league has any gay fighters, he wishes they would come out. The UFC is under fire for homophobic comments made by its members. The league presently has almost 400 fighters.

"I'll tell you right now, if there was a gay fighter in UFC, I wish he would come out," UFC President Dana White said Thursday. "I could care less if there's a gay fighter in the UFC. There probably is and there's probably more than one." White was responding to criticisms levied by the Las Vegas chapter of the Culinary Union and other groups who accuse UFC of being an anti-gay organization. In a letter to Anheuser-Busch and an online petition to Fox, the union and its allies cited statements by White and fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as proof that UFC has "a history of tolerating homophobic conduct."

White himself has a track record of making anti-gay comments, for which he has apologized.

A Biblical Nation Is Best For Women

The Handmaid's Tale is coming to life.

Cain: No Federal Money For College

"I do not believe that it is the responsibility of the federal government to help fund a college education because herein, our resources are limited and I believe that the best solution is the one closest to the problem. The people within the state, the people within the communities, ultimately, I believe, are the ones who have that responsibility. If you want an education, a college education in America, I believe that people can get it if they are determined to get it." - Herman Cain.

I wonder how the folks at Dead Jerry Falwell's Liberty University feel about that.

Gillibrand Pushes Federal Adoption Bill

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is throwing her weight behind a federal bill granting adoption rights to all LGBT couples nationwide.

"This legislation would open thousands of new foster and adoptive homes to children ensuring they are raised in loving families," Gillibrand said of her "Every Child Deserves a Family Act." New York, particularly New York City, has led the nation in allowing gay individuals, and now married gay couples, to become foster and adoptive parents. But 11 states currently ban gay individuals and same-sex couples from adopting. Some conservative groups have fought the idea, arguing homosexual parents cannot provide a sound family.

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) reintroduced the bill in the House back in May. The bill has languished in the House since 2009.

New From Equality Maine

Tom Of Sinland

Copyranter today posts some very NSFW takes on Tom Of Finland's famed style, but reimagined with designers Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford as models.

FOTF Recaps GOP 2012 Race

Focus On The Family's Tom Minnery, who testified before Congress in opposition to civil rights, joins video smarmster Stuart Shepard in handicapping all the not-Romney candidates.

Linda Harvey Vs Wayne Besen, Part 2

After her threat yesterday to sue Wayne Besen, today Truth Wins Out posts a lengthy quote farm of Linda Harvey's hateful assholery. Check it out, but have breakfast first.

Today In Wingnut Cruelty

Earlier this week I mentioned the campaign to allowed loaded concealed firearms on Virginia's campuses. Unbelievably (or not) the group behind the effort will stage a rally at Virginia Tech.

Supporters of concealed carry on college campuses have scheduled an all-day demonstration for Nov. 17 at Virginia Tech, the university where in 2007, 33 students and faculty were killed in the worst school shooting in U.S. history. The pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League announced the date in a message sent this morning to its members and e-mail news subscribers. The group announced last month plans to demonstrate at more than a dozen public colleges and universities across the state in opposition to efforts to ban concealed carry in campus buildings. The Tech protest is set for 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with speakers from noon to 1:30 p.m., league President Philip Van Cleave wrote in the message.

Maybe they can sell t-shirts with this guy on them.

More Lawsuits Against Obama 2012

The birthers continue to pester state election boards to bar Barack Obama's name from appearing on 2012 ballots. And they have a new tactic. Via World Net Daily:

The Liberty Legal Foundation has filed a pair of lawsuits in state and federal courts that don't ask anything about Obama's birth or for any determination from the court about his eligibility. Or his birth certificate, for that matter.Instead, they name the national Democratic Party as a defendant, and ask the court to enjoin officials there from certifying that Obama is eligible for the office for the 2012 election.

"This complaint does not request or require this court to find that President Obama is not qualified to hold the office of president of the United States. Instead, this complaint is directed toward defining the term 'natural-born citizen' under the Constitution of the United States, and toward negligence or intentional misrepresentations of the Democratic Party. "This complaint requests this court to affirm the Supreme Court's definition of 'natural-born citizen' as 'all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens.'"

RELATED: Arizona's infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio has assembled a "posse" to thwart any attempt to place Obama's name on his state's ballot.

Orbital - Never

Loved them since 1991's Chime. Their first new album in eight years is due in the spring of 2012.

FRC Prays Against DOMA Repeal

The Family Research Council's daily prayer request again focuses on LGBT rights. This time they want their followers to ask Jeebus to stop the DOMA repeal attempt.

Pray that DOMA will be preserved! May the people elect a President and Congress next November who will pass, and may the states ratify a Federal Marriage Amendment that will protect the definition of natural marriage as found in the Bible (Gen 2:18-24; Ex 20:14; Lev 18:all; Pr 22:28; Mt 19:4-6; Heb 13:4).

Rama-lama-ding-dong! (Edsels 19:58)

Lousy Debater Wants To Skip Debates

Rick Perry's handlers say he's likely to skip future debates. And that's totally NOT because he turns into Porky Pig when given a direct question.

“These debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down the candidates,” Mr. Perry told Bill O’Reilly on Fox News. “It pretty hard to be able to sit and lay out your ideas and your concepts with a one minute response. “So, you know, if there was a mistake made, it was probably ever doing one,” Mr. Perry added. Mr. Perry’s campaign has struggled in the wake of several debate performances that were widely criticized. But whether Mr. Perry could get away with skipping a debate is an open question.

AUSTRALIA: Former "Ex-Gay" Leader For Exodus Denounces Anti-Gay Movement

Longtime JMG readers will recognize a certain nutcase.

Cuomo Calls For Gay Marriage Everywhere

As last night's annual fall gala for the Empire State Pride Agenda, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for all states to legalize same-sex marriage.

Shifting his sights beyond New York in a way he has not done before, Mr. Cuomo demanded that the federal Defense of Marriage Act be repealed. His voice rising in intensity as he spoke, he also called for federal legislation that would bar discrimination against gay men and lesbians in housing and employment. And in his most forceful terms to date, Mr. Cuomo called for his counterparts across the country to embrace what he framed as an issue of equal rights and to push for the legalization of same-sex marriage in their own statehouses. “We need marriage equality in every state in this nation,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Otherwise, no state really has marriage equality, and we will not rest until it is a reality.”

(Video via - Think Progress)

Church Sign Of The Day

(Source)

Christian TV On DOMA Repeal Attempt

Snowtober

Record early snow all over the northeast this weekend.

New From Frothy Mix

FRC: Help! We're Being Bullied!

Abortion Laws Of The World

The GOP is slowly but surely moving to turn America red. Huge interactive version.

AFA's Poll Of The Day

Buchanan: Gays Are Unnatural & Immoral

"I believe that homosexuality is -- that it is unnatural activity. Unnatural and immoral. I realize individuals are maybe born -- nature or nurture, I don't know what it is -- I assume nobody actually gets to be 13 or 14 and suddenly chooses this. But I do think -- and people may not be able to control their orientation -- but I do believe as a Catholic that people can control their conduct. And that is where I think, I would say, that kind of conduct should be discouraged in a good society, in a healthy society. And it used to be discouraged. And I do think that the idea that men can marry men and women marry women in the USA is a sign of a civilization in its final throes. I mean, we saw things like this at the end of the Weimar Republic. Things like this at the end of the Roman Empire. And they are attendant to a declining nation and a declining civilization." - Pat Buchanan, speaking to NPR.

RELATED: The Human Rights Campaign and Media Matters have called for disciplinary action from MSNBC and its parent company NBC Universal. Via press release:

Every credible major medical and mental health organization in the United States has stated that homosexuality is normal, and attempts to alter or oppress a person’s sexual orientation can be dangerous and damaging. “While Pat Buchanan is free to hold and express his views, that fact that MSNBC has given him a public platform to spew this sort of dangerous rhetoric is unacceptable, “said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “MSNBC should sanction Mr. Buchanan, as his extremist ideas are incredibly harmful to millions of LGBT people around the world.” During his tenure as a political commentator for MSNBC, Buchanan has made a number of bigoted, racist, and anti-Semitic comments for which he has been reprimanded.

WALES: Pro Rugby Player Comes Out

Wales has another out pro athlete.

Old Redcliffians captain Jed Hooper has become the first Combination player to publicly announce that he is gay. The 22-year-old back row forward came out to family and friends earlier this year. And Hooper has now spoken exclusively to the Evening Post in the hope that his story can help other young rugby players come to terms with their sexuality. In recent seasons, former Welsh international Gareth Thomas and top referee Nigel Owens have both broken one of the great taboos in arguably the most macho sport of all. And Hooper, a fierce competitor who speaks as directly off the pitch as he does in his pre-match team talks, has now also chosen to come out of the closet after years of anxiety connected to grappling with his true identity. The decision, he said, was still far from easy. "I met someone earlier this year who said he could not be with someone who was in the closet. That, basically, was the catalyst that I needed."

Hit the link for the rest of a great story. (Tipped by JMG reader Leif)

Pat Robertson Vs OWS

The Strange Goal Of Mister PeePee

Starbucks Gossip reports that some dude with the Twitter handle Mister PeePee is working on his goal of masturbating in every Starbucks in New York City. Presumably only in the bathrooms, but who knows? And as things go these day, Mister PeePee has a podcast. Remember, gay people are the weird ones. (Via - Gothamist)

Rosie: Media To Blame For Bullying

Rosie O'Donnell appeared on Thomas Roberts' MSNBC show this afternoon to plug her new show and talk about bullying, which she says is fueled, in part, by cable news. "Some of the 24-hour news networks seemed to take pride in the fact that they bully people."

(Via - Think Progress)

OHIO: Gay Student Assaulted By Bully, Attack Caught On Cell Phone

Equality Ohio sends us this press release:

This week, a 15-year-old teenager was severely beaten in his high school class room for being gay. The attack occurred at Union-Scioto High School in Chillicothe, Ohio, and was caught on camera as fellow class members watched one teen wait for the victim to enter the room, push him to the ground and continually punch him in the face. Two days prior to the attack, the perpetrator harassed the victim via Facebook regarding his sexual orientation. The victim has suffered a possible concussion and dental damage. The attacker was suspended from school for just three days.

Union-Scioto has no policy in place that specifically protects students from being bullied or attacked based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The Union-Scioto Local School District does have a policy that prohibits harassment based on sex, race, color, national origin, religion, disability, among others, but it does not specifically protect against harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Local news interviewed the boy's mother.

Joel Osteen: Love The Gay Away

"Somebody that maybe had this certain difficulty now, maybe in five years they’re not if we will love them. You know, I think one of the messages I speak on sometimes is, you know, we can love people back into wholeness. But sometimes we want to beat them down — you got this addiction and you shouldn’t have that, or you did this — I just don’t think that’s the best way." - Pastor Joel Osteen, speaking to the Washington Post.

Class Warfare Vs Class Surrender

Former Rep. Alan Grayson nails it as usual.

Linda Harvey: I Should Sue Wayne Besen

Linda Harvey is threatening to sue Wayne Besen for a post published yesterday on Truth Wins Out. In the post, Besen notes that Harvey has endorsed Uganda's still-pending "kill gays" bill. Her exact words:

“The fact they are re-criminalizing homosexuality is (a) their business, (b) it is patronizing for white Westerners to be telling these folks — they are seeing George Soros funded gay groups going into Uganda. They are all through the schools, lots of promotion to kids. Poor kids, poor kids are being offered money and favors and gifts to have sex. That’s exploitation. That’s sex trafficking. And it’s being done mostly homosexually. By Western homosexuals coming in and trying to get involved in Uganda.”

That sure sounds like "advocating killing" to ME.

Nielsen: 28% Of TV Is LGBT-Inclusive

According to a report issued today by Nielsen, 28% of TV watching is spent on LGBT-inclusive shows.

Audiences and advertisers alike are flocking to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT)-inclusive programs. Representing 24 percent of broadcast primetime scripted and reality shows last season, these series garnered 28 percent of broadcast primetime TV viewing and 22 percent of ad dollars, according to Nielsen data. According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the presence of regularly-appearing LGBT characters accounted for 3.9 percent of all scripted series regular characters during the 2010-2011 season, reaching a record high.

India's $35 Tablet

A new $35 tablet (subsidized by India's government) is in the hands of some tech sites and the reviews are surprisingly positive.

What makes the Aakash tablet different is that its creators didn’t strive for perfection. Instead, the emphasis was on getting the product into the market quickly so it could be adopted, tinkered with, and improved over time. As Wadhwa said, “to get the cost down, you have to make some compromises.” The unmistakable impression we all got from using the Aakash tablet was that it is built for performance. Every design choice that might seem like a negative reveals three, four, five — or more — net benefits. Why does it have two USB ports? So you can plug in a keyboard, of course, and still have a free slot for an external hard drive, or some other device. What about that screen cover that seems like it’s made from laminating material? If the tablet is meant for educational use, it’s probably going to have to contend with some pretty rough handling, dirt, dust and moisture. Better that it should withstand damage than look the extra bit nicer.

CNN Calls Out Linda Harvey

100% True Except When It's Not

Spending Chart

(Source)

Bristol: Levi Stole My Virginity

David Barton: We Must Teach Children To Fear God Or Else They'll Be Stupid

"If you want education you better include the fear of God, if you want to be a good scientist you better include the fear of God, if you want to be a good musician—1962, ’63, the U.S. Supreme Court in three decisions said no more fear of God in education, we want education to be secular. All right, that’s a theological issue. How’s that working out? In 1962, ’63, America was number one in the world in literacy, we are now number sixty-five in the world in literacy. We don’t have the fear of the Lord, because guess what, we don’t have knowledge, it goes down." - "Historian" and dominionist David Barton, who says the Bible should be the basis of all school courses.

Gay Troops Sue Over DOMA

Today the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network will file a suit against DOMA on behalf of gay active duty soldiers. The lead plaintiffs include Massachusetts Army National Guard Maj. Shannon McLaughlin and her wife, Casey.

Lawyers plan to sue in federal district court in Boston, the same court that ruled last year that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it interferes with a state’s right to define marriage. That decision is being appealed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. The 1996 law bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages performed in states that allow them. The suit also challenges provisions of federal code regarding spouses that lawyers said bar gay couples from accessing benefits provided by the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Those benefits include military identification cards, access to bases, recreational programs, spousal support groups and burial rights at national cemeteries.

The above-linked story notes that dozens of DOMA suits are presently working their way through the courts, but a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is not expected until 2013.

More Rough Stuff At OWS

The NYPD clashed with protesters at last night's solidarity march for Occupy Oakland.

AFA's "One Million Moms" Vs Target

The American Family Association has handed off their campaign against Target to their new One Million Moms group. Last week the AFA denounced the retail giant for advertising alongside a Trevor Project PSA on LGBT suicide.

The Trevor Helpline promotion aired during the "Beat It" episode of Teen Nick's Degrassi series when teen Riley, the openly gay football captain and starting quarterback, declined reparative therapy for his homosexuality. Not only is Teen Nick now featuring a show that encourages the nation's youth to embrace alternate lifestyles, but the family retail chain Target Corporation is helping through sponsorship. Upon discovering that Target Corporation is one of the main advertisers during the shameful and inappropriate program Degrassi, OMM is disappointed and the retail chain needs to be held accountable. At least three Target advertisements appeared during each episode of Degrassi this past weekend. They are openly recruiting teens and children to become 'gay' on a program that also promotes the transgender and homosexual lifestyle.

If you register, you can edit the OMM letter to Target.

Family Research Council: Don't Vaccinate Boys For HPV, Only Queers Get It

The Family Research Council has issued a statement in reaction to yesterday's CDC recommendation that boys get the HPV vaccine too.

The CDC is quick to point out that the vaccine also protects against anal, mouth, and throat cancer--but they downplay the fact that these cancers are almost entirely the result of men having homosexual sex! Apart from the cost of the shots (upwards of $140 million a year), perhaps the most infuriating aspect of all this is the government's insistence that we look for ways to minimize the impact of promiscuity instead of working to encourage the end of it. Rather than asking young people to change their behavior, society is scrambling to enable it. It's like trying to address the problem of drunk driving by making better airbags. We can't tackle long-term safety with short-term solutions. And unfortunately, tiptoeing around the fundamental problem--premarital sex and homosexual sex--shows how far off course we are.

They really truly want gay men dead.

Koch Bros: Buying A Presidency

Open Thread Thursday

It's time for our quarterly book review. What are you reading? Authors, feel free to pimp your own work.

Tony Perkins: All Whores Must Die

Ten Years Of Changing Attitudes

Think Progress has more charts from Pew Research.

New Report On Gay Families

The Center for American Progress has posted an in-depth analysis of America's gay families. Lot of interesting stuff there.

He Carried Yellow Flowers

Yet another bizarre clip from Herman Cain. This was posted to YouTube in late August, but is getting passed around again in the wake of this week's strange smoking ad.

Reasons To Hate PETA, Part 88

PETA is suing Sea World for violating the Thirteenth Amendment, which bans slavery. And Shamu? That's his SLAVE name.

The chances of the suit succeeding are slim, according to legal experts not involved in the case; any judge who hews to the original intent of the authors of the amendment is unlikely to find that they wanted to protect animals. But PETA relishes engaging in the court of public opinion, as evidenced by its provocative anti-fur and pro-vegan campaigns. The suit, which PETA says it will file Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Diego, hinges on the fact that the 13th Amendment, while prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude, does not specify that only humans can be victims. Jeff Kerr, PETA's general counsel, says his five-member legal team — which spent 18 months preparing the case — believes it's the first federal court suit seeking constitutional rights for members of an animal species.

Black folks are already going ballistic on Twitter.

Canadian Comedian Rick Mercer's Most Righteous Rant On Anti-Gay Bullying

Thanks to all the Canucks who sent this today.

Missouri Public School Teacher: We Need More Gay Kids To Kill Themselves

Yet another teacher is in trouble for posting viciously anti-gay comments to Facebook. The school board is investigating, but Family Research Council head Tony Perkins says this is just another witchhunt by intolerant radical homofascists. First Amendment! More dead gay kids! Praise! Glory!

Brian Brownshirt: Herman Cain Needs To Sign NOM's Marriage Hate Pledge

"I applaud Herman Cain's growing recognition of the need to protect marriage, not just at the state level, but at the federal level as well. Herman Cain has always been outspoken in support of marriage, but actions speak louder than words. It's time for Herman Cain to sign the NOM Marriage Pledge and join Rep. Michele Bachmann, Gov. Rick Perry, Gov. Mitt Romney, and Sen. Rick Santorum as true leaders for marriage. One gets the sense that Herman Cain may be just figuring out exactly how important marriage is to Republican voters. But his piecemeal and evolving positions on marriage do not serve his campaign well. The one way for Herman Cain to put this issue behind him is to sign the Pledge today." - NOM's head fascist, Brian Brownshirt.

REMINDER: By signing NOM's hate pledge, candidates vow that if elected they will pursue a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. They also promise to create a special federal commission to "investigate harassment of traditional marriage supporters."

Oscar Winner Mo'Nique For Marriage

TODAY: Protest March To St. Vincent's

Occupy Wall Street protesters will march at 3PM today to the former site of St. Vincent's, the public hospital which closed in a suspicious bankruptcy last year. Via press release:

St. Vincent’s was a Catholic-run hospital, which had a charity mission to serve the under-insured and uninsured. St. Vincent’s lacked the corporate clout to negotiate fair reimbursement rates from profit-driven insurance companies, leading to financial instability. Moreover, the short-term focus of the highly-paid executives and consultants pushed St. Vincent’s into bankruptcy – leading to a public health emergency: there is now no hospital on the Westside below 57th Street.

Two months ago, The New York Post reported that the Manhattan District Attorney was investigating whether hospital executives intentionally let St. Vincent’s fail, so that the Rudin Management Company could buy the hospital’s real estate as part of a controversial luxury condominium development project. Rudin paid pennies on the dollar to buy the hospital’s real estate, and Rudin now stands to sell luxury condominiums and townhouses, once constructed, that are expected to have a combined fair-market value of over $1 billion.

RELATED: Thousands of gay men died at St. Vincent's over the worst of the AIDS years. Despite horror stories about mistreatment at other hospitals, gay men were always treated respectfully at St. Vincent's, whose AIDS ward became a national model. When the hospital closed, its front door was festooned with grateful notes from survivors and loved ones.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Observers note that both ABC and CBS suspended their live video feeds moments before the Oakland police unleashed "flash-bang" grenades on protesters. Obviously, the cops didn't want their actions transmitted to America's living rooms. Pity about that iPhone thing, huh?

Brazil Approves Gay Marriage?

A Brazilian appeals court has ruled in favor of a lesbian couple who claimed that the national constitution ensures their right to marry. But it's not clear if the ruling applies to anybody but this one couple.

In a 4 - 1 vote, the highest federal court ruled that the Constitution "makes it possible for stable civil unions to become marriages". Indeed "sexual orientation should not serve as a pretext for excluding families from the legal protection that marriage represents", the court said in a statement. Brazilian federal law has not specifically legalised same-sex marriage. And while state courts are not required to follow the same line as the highest court, the Supreme Court ruling should play some role in discouraging Brazil's states from blocking same-sex marriage, legal experts say.

Several other court rulings have granted marriage rights to other couples, but the issue of precedence continues to be murky. Maybe one of our Brazilian readers can explain the situation?

Rick Perry Issues First Campaign Ad

I'm Rick Perry and I approve raping the environment.

Ron Paul On DADT: Straight Soldiers Cause More Problems Than Gay Ones

"Well, like I said, everybody has the same rights as everybody else, so homosexuals in the military isn't a problem. It's only if they're doing things they shouldn't be, if they're disruptive. But there's men and women getting into trouble with each other too. And there's a lot more heterosexuals in the military, so logically they're causing more trouble than gays. So yes, you just have the same rules for everybody and treat them all the same." - Rep. Ron Paul, who voted for the repeal of DADT.

DC's 25th Annual High Heels Drag Race

Last night was the 25th installment in one of Washington DC's most beloved institutions, the High Heels Drag Race, a combination Halloween fashion show, parade, and painful foot race. Video by Zack Ford of Think Progress.

New Jersey Reps - It Gets Better

Upon the urging of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, many members of New Jersey's congressional delegation have issued a joint It Gets Better clip which includes messages from the first three elected GOP officials to join the campaign. Which IS great. However it must be noted that all of these GOP reps also voted against the repeal of DADT and support DOMA.

European Parliament Calls For LGBT Rights Across All EU Nations

The European Parliament has repeated its 2008 call for a comprehensive LGBT rights law that covers all European Union member nations. A bill on that subject has languished for three years.

The draft horizontal anti-discrimination Directive would forbid discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in access to goods and services, education, and access to social benefits. It still requires approval from all 27 EU Member States. Germany and others have refused any dialogue on the draft law, despite examining the proposals since July 2008. On Tuesday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution in which it “notes that the Member States should, as a priority, agree and adopt as soon as possible the proposal for a Council directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment”. The text further ”calls on the [European] Commission to continue to support the overcoming of technical difficulties [between Member States] in order to ensure that a swift agreement is reached”.

Perry Attacks Romney On Gay Rights

Rick Perry says Mitt Romney suddenly decided at "age 50 or 60" that he was changing his mind on "life, guns, and traditional marriage."

(Via - Think Progress)

Linda Harvey: Gay People Don't Exist

"Once you buy into the ‘born that way’ idea then self-delusion is not that far behind. There’s no evidence there are different humans called LGBTQ people, these are sinful behaviors, not in-born identities. And people do not have to cower in fear or depression or shame, if you truly love God you accept His will knowing it’s best for your life and it’s His design that will make you happy. God’s grace can and will help anyone who resolves to go beyond these feelings, to put them aside, and decide that He is sovereign." - Hate group leader Linda Harvey.