Tweet Of The Day - DC Mayor Gray

NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn Demands Apology From Chick-Fil-A, Calls For Closing City's Only Franchise

Openly gay NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn is bucking the lead of her boss Mayor Bloomberg, who yesterday said that he would not stand in the way of Chick-Fil-A opening new franchises in the five boroughs. Via press release from the City Council:

City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn responded today to Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s recent anti-gay remarks, stating that New York City is not a place that welcomes intolerance and homophobia, and that Chick-fil-A establishments are not welcome as long as Cathy maintains his discriminatory views.

Quinn launched a social media campaign for New Yorkers to voice their opposition to Cathy’s discrimination against the LGBT community. Calling on all New Yorkers to take action, the Speaker launched an online petition that declares Chick-fil-A is not welcome in New York City as long as the company’s president continues to uphold and promote his discriminatory views.

The social campaign is being promoted through Twitter, Facebook and on the Council's website. The petition can be found here. Separately, in a letter to NYU President John Sexton, Speaker Quinn called on NYU to take action to remove Chick-fil-A from the university’s campus. She noted that current employees of NYU’s Chick-fil-A should be hired at any new establishment that replaces the chain.

Quinn's letter to NYU's president reads in part:

Let me be clear - I do not want establishments in my city that hold such discriminatory views. We are a city that believes our diversity is our greatest strength and we will fight any anything and anyone that runs counter to that. I know from our long relationship that you and your university elebrate the diversity of NYC. Your history is in this area is exemplary. As such I urge you to sever your relationship with the Chick-Fil-A establishment that exists on your campus. This establishment should be replaced with an establishment where ownership does not denigrate a portion of our population.

Caption This

Chick-Fil-A Staffer Agrees With Customer: This Gay Boycott Is Purging The Filth

Asshat YouTube user GodsGunsGutsGlory, who has been on a years-long campaign against gay people, took his six year-old daughter to a local Chick-Fil-A where he told a staffer that the boycott against her employer was "purging the filth" from the customer base. Her response: "Yeah! Yeah!" Then the two of them laughed about the lie that Muppets toys had been recalled because they are a "safety hazard."

Sorry About That

Protests At Kirk Cameron's NJ Speech

More photos here.

Ann Romney Goes For The Gold

100 Days From Today

London's Olympic Opening Ceremonies Praise Universal Health Care

One of the most interesting moments in last night's opening ceremonies was the lavish tribute to Britain's National Health Service. Teabaggers went nuts on Twitter, of course. Check out the below commentary from one American, whose clip has (so far) evaded the the IOC, which has been furiously scrubbing YouTube of Olympics-related clips.

Matt Alber For Homeless LGBT Youth

Popular gay crooner Matt Alber has released a cover version of Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody with proceeds to benefit San Francisco's Larkin Street services for homeless LGBT youth. Get it now on iTunes or at CD Baby. Below is an acoustic version of the track Alber performed earlier this year.

Target: We're Still Neutral On Marriage

Despite the invitation for gay people to use their gift registry, yesterday a Target spokesman declared that the company is "remaining neutral" on the pending anti-gay marriage bill in their home state of Minnesota.

"Be yourself, together," the text of the ad reads. "Build a Target Wedding Gift Registry as unique as the two of you." Does this mean Target Corp. is ready to make a commitment, too? Is Minnesota's most prominent corporation taking a public stand supporting gay marriage -- and opposing the Minnesota marriage amendment, which is coming to a vote in November? Nope. Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder confirmed Friday, July 27, that Target hasn't changed its neutral stance on the amendment, which would add existing state law to the Minnesota constitution stating that marriage is legal only between one man and one woman. "We recognize that there is a broad range of strongly held views on the MN Marriage amendment," Synder said in a statement. "Consistent with our longstanding support of civic engagement, we strongly encourage our team members to exercise their right to vote in November."

Now neither side will be happy with Target. Oh, well done.

A Short List For Romney's Veep?

CNN speculates:

Beth Myers, the woman leading Mitt Romney's running mate search, tweeted a list of names on Friday–all of whom have been speculated as potential VP picks. The tweets come as a surprising post for a campaign that has been strictly tight-lipped about its search process. Romney has repeatedly said only he and Myers were the two who knew the most intimate details about the search process. So far, he has only admitted to vetting Rubio, after a firestorm erupted over reports that the Florida senator was not on the list. The tweets appeared to come at random, as Myers last posted on Twitter back in April–her first and only tweet until Friday. Romney's campaign confirmed that the Twitter posts were authentic.

(Tipped by JMG reader Todd)

Scott Lively Defends Chick-Fil-A

What took him so long?

The brouhaha over Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy’s defense of authentic marriage has caused a fender-bender on the political left. Classic free-speech liberalism has apparently met for the first time the new generation of homo-fascists. Heady with empowerment by President Obama and a long string of political and legal victories, the “gay” activist movement and its homosexualist allies are flexing their muscles like never before. Two such allies, Mayors Tom Merino of Boston and Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, announced plans to use the powers of their respective offices to prevent Chick-fil-A from expanding its business in these two cities. Their blatant disregard for the First Amendment was so egregious that it apparently shocked a number of classic liberals into action.

Tweet Of The Day - Nancy Pelosi

Queen Elizabeth Arrives At Olympics

Major spoiler alert!

Bloomberg: No Chick-Fil-A Ban Here

Today NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he would not stand in the way of Chick-Fil-A opening any new franchises here. Presently the chain only has the above "express" counter in the downtown NYU food court.

“They’re all friends but I disagree with them really strongly on this one,” Mr. Bloomberg said of his mayoral colleagues. “You can’t have a test for what the owners’ personal views are before you decide to give a permit to do something in the city. You really don’t want to ask political beliefs or religious beliefs before you issue a permit, that’s just not government’s job.” Mr. Bloomberg went on to argue that blocking a business based on their political beliefs opens a potential slippery slope where liberal cities block conservative establishments and vice versa with conservative cities. “Freedom of speech — everybody’s in favor of it as long as it’s what they want to hear,” he explained. “Well the only way that you have your freedom of speech is if you give other people freedom of speech. … This is just a bad idea and it’s not going to happen in New York City.”

The mayor and city council have worked strenuously to keep Walmart out of the five boroughs, but on grounds other than the political positions of the retail giant.

The Third Eagle Of The Apocalypse Is Super Pissed At Anderson Cooper

Mitt Romney's Olympic Theme Music

(Via JMG reader Ray)

FLORIDA: Former GOP Chair Accuses Party Of "Scheming" To Suppress Black Voters

The former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, Jim Greer, is claiming that other leaders of the state GOP strategized on ways that they could suppress the votes of black citizens. Today's revelation comes from Greer's deposition in his lawsuit to be paid back salary from the state GOP.

Greer's animosity was evident on almost every page of the deposition as he described the inner workings of a party that has controlled Florida since 1998. On voter suppression, Greer said he had just completed a December 2009 meeting with party general counsel Jason Gonzalez, political consultant Jim Rimes and Eric Eikenberg, Crist's chief of staff, when questions arose about fundraising. "I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting. It had been one of those days,'' he said. Rimes said he recalls no discussion of suppressing votes at any meeting. Eikenberg did not return phone calls.

Two months ago Florida Gov. Rick Scott launched an attempt to purge the state's voter rolls of alleged non-citizens, a move widely seen as a transparent attack on the state's minorities. Scott is now suing the federal government for thwarting that plan.

RELATED: Two years ago Greer was arrested on charges of six felony charges of embezzling campaign money. His trial date on those charges has just been moved back until November, "sparing Florida Republicans the embarrassment of intense scrutiny of the party's inner-workings just weeks before Tampa hosts the Republican National Convention."

Wonderful New Maine Marriage Ad

Kleenex alert!

Federal Natural Disaster Areas Of 2012

Unreal. Source.

We'll Get Blamed For This

TMZ reports:

A key member of the Chick-fil-A public relations department died of a heart attack this morning ... this in the middle of the biggest PR crisis the fast food chain has ever faced. Chick-fil-A released a statement saying, "We are saddened to report the news to you that our dear friend Don Perry, vice president of public relations, passed away suddenly this morning."

Somebody at PETA just won their betting pool.

NOTE: As always, please remember that your comments on this post are being harvested for publication on anti-gay sites.

NYC's LGBT Film Festival Starts Tonight

Schedule.

No Olympics Live Stream

I'd love to post a live stream of the London Olympics opening ceremonies, which start momentarily, but the BBC is kindly blocking that signal to the U.S. If you try to work around that block, you get redirected to NBC's site, where you can only view (and not embed) the festivities after you enter your cable provider account number. Fuckers.

From Mitt Romney's Latest Book

"England is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn't make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy. And if it hadn't been separated from the continent by water, it almost certainly would have been lost to Hitler's ambitions. Yet only two lifetimes ago, Britain ruled the largest and wealthiest empire in the history of humankind. Britain controlled a quarter of the earth's land and a quarter of the earth's population." - Mitt Romney in his book No Apology, which was published last year.

CNN Head Resigns Over Ratings

CNN president Jim Walton resigned today and he was quite frank about the reason.

"There's always pressure," he said. "I've been doing this a long time and CNN has had its ups and downs, like all companies have had ups and downs. I feel really strongly about a number of parts of this company. We're having a really strong year internationally and in mobile. It's clear there's a lot of spotlight on CNN's U.S. performance and it's reasonable that there is that spotlight." CNN's U.S. network had its worst-ever ratings for a second quarter, down 40 percent for some of its prime-time shows. The decline was particularly notable in May, when CNN faced tough competition from broadcast networks during a slow news period and its ratings were compared to a year earlier, in the aftermath of the Osama bin Laden killing.

Walton's departure is being celebrated across the wingnut-o-sphere. Breitbart blogger John Nolte cheers: "Pardon me while I stand to applaud and holler 'Good riddance!'" Below are the cable news viewership figures for Wednesday of this week. As you can see, Fox News is scoring more than triple the audience of CNN.

Submitted Without Comment

Source.

Pew Poll: Number Of Conservatives Who Claim Obama Is Muslim Doubles

And then there's this curiously conflicting result.Source.

Madonna's Anti-Aging Machine

Madge's stalkers have noted that when she leaves hotels her handlers follow with the above machine which is called the Intraceuticals Rejuvenate Oxygen Infuser. Product description:

Hyaluronic Acid is an ingredient found naturally in the skin. The lightweight version of Hyaluronic Acid in the Rejuvenate Serum is absorbed quickly by the skin for maximum dispersion of nutrients. Follow with Rejuvenate Hydration Gel with multi-weight Hyaluronic Acid that offers a reservoir of nutrients for the skin, finish with Rejuvenate Moisture Binding Cream containing multi-weight Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate the skin’s surface. The ultimate in intense hydration is now achieved and we call this Hyaluronic Layering.

One commenter on Buzzfeed snipes: "Well, the 'machine' is a plain, old oxygen concentrator found in nursing homes everywhere. This system is brilliant if you define 'brilliant' as 'a great way to get stupid people to part with their money.'" As for me, I think she looks great.

God Knew Gay Marriage Was Coming So He Murdered Millions With The Great Flood

You Are A Homo-Terrorist

And Matt Barber follows the lying cue of lying liar Tony Perkins. As I noted yesterday, Maryland's petitions are BY LAW public record. (Via Good As You)

Scissor Sisters: This Is How You Kiki

Today the Scissor Sisters released an "instructional video" to support their unexpected smash album track, which is outselling the official single. Look at Jake strut in that mesh tank top!

"Father Of Prop 8" Salvatore Cordileone Named Archbishop Of San Francisco

One of the most virulently anti-gay Catholic officials in the United States, Salvatore Cordileone, who is considered the father of Proposition 8, has been named the new Archbishop of San Francisco. Highly-regarded Whispers In The Loggia blogger Rocco Palmo is stunned.

Depending on how one looks at things, this Friday morning brings either the most courageously bold -- or stunningly brazen -- American appointment in the seven-year reign of Pope Benedict XVI. [snip] After a half-century of occupants accused by conservatives of soft-pedaling church teaching in favor of a more conciliatory approach toward constituencies ranging from gays and lesbians to Nancy Pelosi -- a group of prelates among which even the recently-retired lead guardian of church doctrine, Cardinal William Levada, was not exempt from stinging criticism -- the move delivers the long-desired "Holy Grail" of the American Catholic Right firmly into the faction's hands, in the form of a prelate already known widely both for his forcefulness and a stringent doctrinal cred almost unequaled among his confreres on the national bench. For liberal Catholics, meanwhile, the appointment is likely to be received as something akin to the city's Great Earthquake of 1906, or even more apocalyptic events.

Bolding is mine. And naturally the Vatican front group NOM is doing handsprings.

Alabama Seeks To Circumvent 1965 Voting Rights Act, Files Federal Lawsuit

As one of several southern states that traditionally repressed minority voters, Alabama is specifically required by the 1965 Voting Rights Act to request federal approval any time it changes its congressional districts. Yesterday Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange (GOP) filed a federal lawsuit demanding exemption from that law.

The Alabama attorney general’s office has for years taken the position in legal filings that the section of the Voting Rights Act requiring preclearance in unconstitutional. Staff in the attorney general’s office declined further comment. Attorney General Luther Strange could not be reached for comment. Democrats in the Legislature have complained that the plan passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature was written to favor Republicans and packed black voters in some districts while leaving them with little influence in other districts.

Senate Minority Leader Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, said the attorney general’s office wants to avoid the justice department’s preclearance process because the Legislature “passed a racially gerrymandered plan.” “It’s a ridiculous waste of taxpayer’s money,” Bedford said of the lawsuit. He said Republicans are trying to circumvent the way voting changes have been approved in Alabama for the last 40 years. House Minority Leader Craig Ford said he believes Republicans want to avoid going to the Justice Department because they are “ashamed of the way they drew the lines.”

Think Progress notes that in the two years since the 2010 Tea Party wave into Congress, there have been more challenges to the Voting Rights Act than in the previous 45 years combined.

New TV Ad From The RNC

JFK: #1 Airport For Disease Contagion

You know how every "deadly virus breakout" movie focuses on airports and usually depicts scientists tracking the air travel of the bug's first carriers? Now there's a study that ranks U.S. airports in terms of their "disease contagion spreading influence." Interestingly, the results don't track exactly with how busy the airports are. Honolulu, the nation's 25th busiest airport, ranks third in disease-spreading potential.

A simplified model using random diffusion might say that half the travelers at the Honolulu airport will go to San Francisco and half to Anchorage, Alaska, taking the disease and spreading it to travelers at those airports, who would randomly travel and continue the contagion. In fact, while the Honolulu airport gets only 30 percent as much air traffic as New York's Kennedy International Airport, the new model predicts that it is nearly as influential in terms of contagion, because of where it fits in the air transportation network: Its location in the Pacific Ocean and its many connections to distant, large and well-connected hubs gives it a ranking of third in terms of contagion-spreading influence. Kennedy Airport is ranked first by the model, followed by airports in Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco, Newark, Chicago (O'Hare) and Washington (Dulles). Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which is first in number of flights, ranks eighth in contagion influence. Boston's Logan International Airport ranks 15th.

Bad Weather Threatens Ozone Layer

According to a new study, this summer's waves of ferocious thunderstorms are threatening the ozone layer over North America.

Strong summer thunderstorms that pump water high into the upper atmosphere pose a threat to the protective ozone layer over the United States, researchers said on Thursday, drawing one of the first links between climate change and ozone loss over populated areas. In a study published online by the journal Science, Harvard University scientists reported that some storms send water vapor miles into the stratosphere — which is normally drier than a desert — and showed how such events could rapidly set off ozone-destroying reactions with chemicals that remain in the atmosphere from CFCs, refrigerant gases that are now banned. The risk of ozone damage, scientists said, could increase if global warming leads to more such storms. “It’s the union between ozone loss and climate change that is really at the heart of this,” said James G. Anderson, an atmospheric scientist and the lead author of the study.

Scientists warn that a thinning of the ozone layer will affect crops and farm animals and lead to an increase in skin cancers.

US Swim Team Performs Lip-Dub

I have bravely resisted the previous 300 million lip-dubs of Call Me Maybe, but since the Olympics starts today, I'll make an exception.

(Via Zack Ford)

Boston Mayor Backs Down On Chick-Fil-A

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has backed down on his vow to block Chick-Fil-A from opening a new franchise across from City Hall.

“I can’t do that. That would be interference to his rights to go there,” Menino said, referring to company president Dan Cathy, who drew the mayor’s wrath by going public with his views against same-sex marriage. The mayor added: “I make mistakes all the time. That’s a Menino-ism.”

The ACLU has warned governments against actions such as those threatened by officials in several cities.

The ACLU “strongly supports” same-sex marriage, Schwartz said, but noted that if a government can exclude a business for being against same-sex marriage, it can also exclude a business for being in support of same-sex marriage. “But we also support the First Amendment,” he said. “We don’ think the government should exclude Chick-fil-A because of the anti-LGBT message. We believe this is clear cut."

Liberty Counsel: Pissed At The Olympics

The Liberty Counsel is furious that the official website for the London Olympics depicts East Jerusalem as "the intended seat of the government of Palestine."

"This is absolute, clear anti-Israel, anti-Jewish bias by the BBC," he contends. "This is unbelievable that political correctness has gotten into the Olympics. I thought the Olympics were supposed to transcend politics and bring countries together." But he reports that the BBC website's picture of Jerusalem displays another example of blatant, anti-Israel bias. "As compared to, for example, the pictures of Iran … Syria and Libya -- which had pictures of peaceful, cultural settings -- the one depicting Israel was a soldier with a Palestinian protester," Staver details. "So there was obvious bias there."

Meanwhile other wingnuts continue to press the White House about which city the president considers to be the capital of Israel.

It has been a matter of contention for years. Though Israel has established its capital in the Holy City of Jerusalem, the United States and other nations continue to maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. During Thursday's White House news conference, Carney was asked numerous times to tell which city the administration considers Israel's capital. His response: "I haven't had that question in a while. Our position has not changed…" When one reporter insisted that she did not know the answer, Carney continued to offer a vague "you know our position." That prompted a second reporter to chime in. "She doesn't know. That's why she asked," he voiced, before admitting that he did not know the answer, either. Still, Carney would merely state, "Our position hasn't changed.

Palestinian To Compete In Olympics

Al Jazeera reports:

Palestine will be sending five participants at the London Olympics 2012. Maher Abu Rmeileh, the first Palestinian to make it to the Olympics by qualifying in competition, aims to bring glory to his country in Judo. But because Abu Rmeileh lives in East Jerusalem he has had difficulty in co-ordinating events with Palestinians on the other side of the separation wall.

Norman Lear Turns 90 Today

Today is legendary television producer Norman Lear's 90th birthday so I thought I'd note the occasion with the below 1971 clip from All In The Family, which is considered by some to have been the first sitcom to realistically grapple with gay issues. I was eleven years old when this episode aired and I distinctly recall wondering if I was going to have to move to England.

RELATED: A few years ago I was lucky enough to meet and sputter out a few words of thanks to Mr. Lear in the lobby after Bea Arthur's memorial. He was very kind to me.

NEW JERSEY: Kirk Cameron Rejects Meeting Request By Bullied LGBT Youth

Probably to no one's surprise, newly-hired NOM staffer Kirk Cameron has rejected the request of a meeting by a group of bullied New Jersey kids. Cameron's spokesman sent the group an email:

I promise you his goal is not one of trying to hurt people in any way, in fact it is just the opposite. He has a concern for their well being - not only now, but eternally. He goes out to share a positive message through events like this weekend and I assure you he will only be presenting a positive/ inspiring message. I would like to suggest if you really are interested in Kirk's thoughts on the matter, you can listen online to the interviews and comments Kirk has shared where he was given ample time to communicate his heart and thoughts. I hope you can attend the event and see for yourself.

Garden State Equality responds: "Kirk Cameron has asked us to look into his heart. Now we know the sentiment there: ‘Let Them Eat Hate.’" (Tipped by JMG reader Brian)

Poll: Rice Would Help Romney

Washington Post:

The former secretary of state is the clear choice of Republican voters to be Romney’s vice president, according to a new Fox News poll that shows her garnering the support of 30 percent of them. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is second with 19 percent. The more interesting number, though, is what Rice could do for Romney on the ballot. While President Obama leads Romney overall 45 percent to 41 percent, adding Rice to Romney’s ticket shifts many of the remaining undecided voters to the Republican side, creating a 46 percent to 46 percent tie. That shift, as it happens, is statistically significant. In other words, the poll shows that Rice would move votes into Romney’s column.

Linda Harvey Vs Pentagon

"The uniform of our country was allowed to honor a display featuring men dressed as women, people in virtually no clothing at all and in your face advocacy of every aspect of homosexuality. How low will this present administration stoop before Americans say ‘we’ve had enough’? Here’s how the decision went down: there were concerns that some military members would march in uniform with or without permission so the big brass caved and said OK. Now think about that, because men and women who have taken an oath were planning to disobey standing protocol, their superiors decided to let them. The Pentagon says the exception is only for this parade but do any of us truly believe that? This signals much more than an endorsement of deviance, it signals a breakdown of order." - Hate group leader Linda Harvey, speaking on her radio show.

WASHINGTON: Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos Donates $2.5M To Marriage Equality

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife have donated $2.5M to help Washington state's marriage equality movement.

With the gift, the couple have doubled the money available to the proponents of Referendum 74, which would legalize same-sex marriage in the state by affirming a law that passed the Legislature this year. Courts or lawmakers have declared gay marriage legal in six other states, but backers of such measures have never succeeded at the ballot box. Proponents of the effort in Washington State called it a game-changing gift that gives them a fighting chance in November. “To get this from a straight, married couple sends a powerful message that marriage is seen as a fundamental question of fairness,” Zach Silk, the campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, said Thursday in an interview.

The New York Times reports that the donation came about after a former Amazon employee who is a lesbian mom of four directly emailed Bezos.

In the e-mail, Ms. Cast described in detail the pain she endured as a young adult and the difficulties she faced publicly acknowledging her sexuality. At the end, she pointedly asked him to donate between $100,000 and $200,000 to the referendum cause. “Jeff, I suspect you support marriage equality,” she wrote. “I beg you not to sit on the sidelines and hope the vote goes our way. Help us make it so.” She hit “send” and waited. Two days later, on Tuesday, she received a reply while in a car with her family. Recalling that moment, she said she had to read it out loud twice to make sure she had read it right. “Jen,” the e-mail said, “this is right for so many reasons. We’re in for $2.5 million. Jeff & MacKenzie.”

Amazing!

Nate Silver's Electoral Update

Day Four At The 2012 AIDS Conference

This is JMG reader Mark King's fourth installment in his series of reports from AID Conference 2012 in Washington DC. Today he investigates the giant "global village" of exhibitors in the main hall.

Food Costs To Rise Due To Weather

Unsurprisingly, these unrelenting heat waves and the worst drought in five decades is going to make itself known in your shopping cart.

“It is one extra kick in the stomach” for low-income families, said Chris G. Christopher, senior principal economist at IHS, a consulting firm. “There’s a lot of people in this country living paycheck to paycheck. This is not a good thing for them.” Higher food prices might also damp consumer sentiment. “Consumers are very sensitive to the price of gas and food,” said Jeet Dutta, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics. “But overall inflation will still look pretty moderate for the rest of the year.” Economists fear a far greater impact outside of the United States because America is a major exporter of a broad variety of agricultural products. Lower production at home means less supply and higher prices abroad. “We’re seeing the price of wheat, corn and beans go up,” said Marc Sadler, the head of the agricultural risk management team at the World Bank, noting that in other regions of the world, like Eastern Europe, yields were also falling.

The above-linked New York Times report also notes that many roads, rails, and power systems are buckling, sometimes literally, under the stress of severe weather.

AbFab Olympics

Earlier today Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley carried the Olympic torch on one of its final legs to London's stadium.

OLYMPIC GAFFE-ATHON: London Mayor Slams Romney Before Massive Crowd

From One Million Mothercluckers

Is There Anything Sadder Than A Faded Internet Star Trying To Make News?

I hate it break it to you Antoine, but the Gregory Brothers are never going to remix this bit of assholery so that you can get another house.

RELATED: The above clip is already being paraded around on Breitbart, Daily Caller, and other anti-gay hate sites.

Target Wedding Gift Registry

Values Voters Summit 2012

All the major wingnuts and hate groups will attend.

HIV Eradication Breakthough?

Interesting news out of the AIDS Conference.

Scientists in the United States said Wednesday they had used a cancer drug to flush out the AIDS virus lurking dormant in trial patients' white blood cells -- a tentative step towards a cure. The ability of the HIV genome, or reproductive code, to hide out in cells and be revived after decades poses a major obstacle in the quest for a cure. Being able to expose the virus in its hiding place would allow scientists to target the host white blood cells in a killing blitz. "It is the beginning of work toward a cure for AIDS," David Margolis, co-author of the study published in the journal Nature, told AFP as the International AIDS Conference was under way in Washington.

Hit the link for a more detailed analysis. (Tipped by JMG reader Achilles.)

New Yard Signs From Romney

The Romney campaign is encouraging people to download the above sign for placement in the businesses "they built." The festering egg on the face of this nonsense, of course, is that the guy featured in Romney's "We Built This" ad actually created his business with federal loans to the tune of a couple of million dollars.

Transmen Marry In Illinois

JMG reader Birdie sends us the above photo and an explanation:

"John (right) is acknowledged by his birth state of Illinois to be male and has changed his Illinois state ID and Social Security card to match. James’ California driver’s license has 'female' as his legal sex. (He does not want to change his legal sex unless they offer T for transgender.) By marrying in Illinois, the marriage is registered as between bride and groom, thereby being recognized in all 50 states and by the federal government."

Congrats to the happy grooms!

Sister Wives Sue Utah, Claiming Law Against Polygamy Is Unconstitutional

The cast of the Sister Wives reality show has filed a federal lawsuit against Utah, claiming that the state's ban on polygamy is unconstitutional.

The case could potentially decriminalize a way of life for tens of thousands of self-described Mormon fundamentalists, most of whom live in Utah where bigamy is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The state, meanwhile, has publicly said it won’t prosecute consenting adult polygamists unless there are other crimes involved, but insists the law doesn’t overreach. “It is not protected under religious freedom because states have the right to regulate marriage,” said Paul Murphy, spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.

You know where this is going for us.

Quote Of The Day - David Cameron

"I think marriage is a great institution – I think it helps people to commit, it helps people to say that they’re going to care and love for another person. It helps people to put aside their selfish interests and think of the union that they’re forming. It’s something I feel passionately about and I think if it's good enough for straight people like me, it’s good enough for everybody and that’s why we should have gay marriage and we will legislate for it." - British Prime Minister David Cameron. (Via Queerty)

Today In Lying Liars Who Lie

Perkins knows well that those names are Maryland public records and that all the Washington Blade did was post a link to the state-provided PDF. But you can bet that the OUTRAGED the money will roll in.

Boston, Chicago, And Now Philadelphia

"As an American you are legally entitled to your opinion, regardless of how insensitive and intolerant it may be, but as a fellow American and an elected member of Philadelphia City Council; I am entitled to express my opinion as well. So please – take a hike and take your intolerance with you. There is no place for this type of hate in our great City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection." - Philadelphia City Coucilman Jim Kenney, in a letter to Chick-Fil-A. (Via Andrew Belonsky)

A Song For Chick-Fil-A

From YouTube's "song a day man" Jonathan Mann.

(Tipped by JMG reader Beeblemeyer)

Outed Christian Author Jonathan Merritt: Yes, I Had Sex With Azariah Southworth But I Swear I Am Totally Not Gay!

"In 2009, I was contacted by the blogger [Azariah Southworth] in response to an article I wrote about just that--that Christians must love people who experience sexual brokenness. We corresponded several times by email and text for a couple of weeks, some of them inappropriate. When I was traveling through a city near him, we met for dinner because we'd corresponded so recently. As we were saying goodbye, we had physical contact that went beyond the bounds of friendship. I was overcome with guilt, knowing I had put myself in an unwise situation. We never saw each other again and we ceased contact after a period of time.

"When I returned home, I saw a Christian counselor to address the events in my life and sort through my childhood and what I believed God wanted for me. I also began to acknowledge to myself that I have sin in my past, sin for which I accept responsibility. Inappropriate texting, inappropriate actions are inappropriate no matter who the other party is. These were my decisions and no one else's. It's from my brokenness, that I feel I can now be transparent, honest, and authentic about these accusations. Those close to me know I have actually been planning to share the story of my brokenness for some time. Because it is part of my spiritual journey. And because it underscores the power of the Gospel to transform lives." - Anti-gay Christian author Jonathan Merritt, in an interview just posted to the blog of evangelist Ed Setzer.

RELATED: I guess that special announcement to Daddy's congregation will be old news by the time those pews fill up this Sunday.

It's As If Millions Of Voices Cried Out In Terror And Were Suddenly Silenced

That's my least favorite reason!

Outed Atlantic Columnist Jonathan Merritt Has A "Special" Announcement To Make

Earlier this week gay evangelical Azariah Southworth published a blog entry outing well-known Atlantic columnist and Christian author Jonathan Merritt. This morning JMG reader Dwight tipped us that Merritt will be making a "special announcement" at the Georgia church where his father, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is head pastor and where the younger Merritt had been scheduled to continue a four-week series of sermons.

Update! A Special Message This Sunday, July 29
Join us this Sunday for a special and heartfelt message by the Pastor and Jonathan Merritt. Services are at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.

Merritt's Twitter feed has been uncharacteristically silent since Southworth's revelation. I'll have an update on his "special announcement" when it's available.

Stop Homofascist Economic Bullying!

Via the invaluable Jeremy Hooper at Good As You.