Saturday, January 12, 2013

Brian Brown Is In France

"A massive rebellion against gay marriage is brewing in France. I'm here now, and I'll report to you first hand from the rally planned for Sunday. To read the news accounts in the U.S., you would think gay marriage is inevitable here. Like everywhere. That's what they always say, right? Recognize that argument for what it is: a tactic to make you feel helpless and impotent and therefore submissive. To get you to give up and just submit to whatever they have planned. There are only two things we know for sure about the future: it hasn't happened yet. And for those of us who are people of faith—we know that God is in charge. But to be here is to recognize something extraordinary is happening, something totally unpredicted when French President Francois Hollande set out to pass gay marriage: a massive popular rebellion." - Hate group leader and Vatican stooge Brian Brown. (Remember how NOM screams about outsider interference?)

Labels: , , , , , , ,


Morning View - Teamsters HQ


Labels: , ,


Rachel Maddow On Jeanne Manford

You'll need a tissue for this.

Labels: , , ,


Perkins: Obama Wants To Shut Us Up

"As we learned yesterday, liberals are no longer satisfied by the church's silence on homosexuality. They will accept nothing less than the active embrace and celebration of what the Bible calls sin--or use totalitarian tactics to get it. What was once outrage over Christian activism has been replaced by outrage over Christian association. The White House has declared that anyone who holds to the belief--spoken or unspoken--that sexual immorality is wrong has no place at democracy's table.

"This should be a wake-up call to every evangelical who thinks they can pacify the Left by making the symptoms of immorality their sole focus and being silent on the cause: sin. As those who seek to emulate Christ, our approach must be holistic. We should help the hurting regardless of the cause, but we must also have the courage to go beyond the symptoms to the source. Engaging the world through social justice or conservationism may help us find common ground--but it will not mollify faith's detractors. Nothing less than one hundred percent capitulation will." - Hate group leader and white supremacist Tony Perkins, via press release.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,


Caption This


Labels: , ,


Friday, January 11, 2013

Alliance Defense Fund Seeks Donations

The Alliance Defense Fund is seeking donations to train the coming crop of anti-gay attorneys. (I may have tweaked the above image.)

RELATED: In March 2011 the ADF inducted Lisa Biron into their "Honor Corps."
Congratulations to allied attorneys Geoffrey Westmoreland, Kevin Snider, Mike Tierney, Rick Macias, Steve Sanders, Stephen Casey, Greg Terra, Steve Whiting, Steve Amjad, Steve Fitschen, Tim Swickard, as well as new Honor Corps members, Albertos Polizogopoulos and Lisa Biron, for their recent accomplishments and successes. Alliance Defending Freedom has created the Honor Corps to recognize those allied attorneys who have completed 450 hours of pro bono service, and offers special awards in recognition of significant milestones in reported service.
ALSO RELATED: Back in November, blogger Ed Brayton said we shouldn't be so quick to tie Lisa Biron around the ADF's neck.
Point to it as yet another example of an anti-gay, “pro-family” Christian covering up their sexual predation? Absolutely. But the “association” with the ADF is pretty weak here. It appears that she was the local attorney who worked with them on a single case. She didn’t work for them, she was involved in a single case. The ADF works just like the ACLU does in this regard, contracting with a local “cooperating attorney” to handle such cases. If an attorney in Keokuk, Iowa who once worked with the ACLU on a single case was caught doing something terrible, we would find it ridiculous if someone said that proved something bad about the ACLU; the same is true here. Hammer her, but the ADF has no real connection to this.
Does 450 hours of work, the equivalent of over eleven weeks, qualify as an "staffer" even if that work was done for free?

Labels: , , , , ,


Everybody Needs Machine Guns

Labels: , , ,


DC Hotel Gift Shop

The shelves in my DC hotel's gift shop are jammed with Inauguration 2013 swag of almost every imaginable type. Sadly, no snow globes. This will all be 80% off in two weeks, of course.

Labels: , ,


Crazy Eyes Owes Staff Money

Staffers from Crazy Eyes' presidential campaign say they never got all of the pay that is owed them.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is refusing to pay five Iowa staffers and asking that they sign non-disclosure agreements, a former campaign aide has alleged. Peter Waldron, who served as Bachmann’s national field coordinator, says that the former employees were repeatedly told they would be paid. But long after the campaign ended, still without their payments, he says they were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements that would prohibit them from discussing any immoral, unethical or criminal behavior with the media, the police or an attorney. “This agreement came out of left field,” he said. “I’m disappointed,” Waldron said. “Working with her, I know her to be a person of good faith. However, I also know that she is surrounded by what the Bible says is men of lesser sorts.”
(Tipped by JMG reader John)

Labels: , , ,


Wayne Besen Vs Peter Sprigg

Today Truth Wins Out head Wayne Besen appeared on CNN to counter Family Research Council spokesdouche Peter Sprigg, who is ever so pissed about the Louie Giglio flap. Note that Sprigg doesn't attempt to deny his calls for the imprisonment and deportation of gay Americans.

UPDATE: Think Progress reporter Zack Ford reacts.
Jeremy Hooper is right to celebrate this as a victory for GLAAD’s Commentator Accountability Project, which seeks to expose the anti-LGBT records of conservative spokespeople whose positions are typically not given proper context by the news outlets that interview them. Sprigg’s presence on CNN is the quintessential example of this whitewashing, because as Besen pointed out, his positions are seemingly even more anti-LGBT than Pastor Giglio’s. Sprigg has proven time and time again that he does not even have the most basic understanding of sexuality but does have a significant antipathy toward the very existence of gays and lesbians. He has no authority to speak about LGBT issues, and CNN should learn from this interview not to provide a pedestal for his bigoted point of view again.

Labels: , , , , , ,


Netflix For Neck Ties

Lifehacker tips us to Freshneck, a new website that it calls the "Netflix for neck ties."
If you put on a tie every day or the dress code at work is formal enough that you could use help keeping your wardrobe fresh, FreshNeck can help. It's a subscription service that lets you select up to three ties, cufflinks, pocket squares or other items and have them shipped to you to wear. When you're tired of them, send them back to have the next three on your queue shipped out. When you sign up for an account, you fill your queue—or "My Closet"—with your selections. Each shipment takes 1-3 business days to get to you, after which you can wear them to your heart's content. FreshNeck takes care of shipping—your ties, pocket squares, cufflinks, or other accessories come with a postage paid mailer that you can use to return them when you want something new.
Subscriptions range from $15-$55 a month.

Labels: , ,


Press Release Of The Day

Eugene Delgaudio today issued a press release claiming victory over the SPLC because a judge ordered them to take his home address off some portion of their copyright lawsuit against him. The SPLC put that address on there, you see, so that violent homofascists like the FRC shooter would know where to find him.
After SPLC attorneys refused a request to immediately remove the home address, Public Advocate asked the Court to order its removal and to bar SPLC's use of his address in other ways. The Court granted Public Advocate's motion, ordering SPLC attorneys to file a redacted version so that the private address would not be disclosed. In its request to the Court, Public Advocate explained that SPLC had labeled it an "Anti-Gay" Hate Group because of its position against homosexual marriage. Public Advocate pointed out to the Court that after Family Research Council was identically labeled a "Anti-Gay" Hate Group by SPLC, a homosexual activist attacked the FRC offices in Washington, D.C., shooting and wounding a security guard. The activist was later indicted for committing domestic terrorism.  In fact, this activist was the first person ever indicted under the District of Columbia's anti-terror statute. In the investigation of the shooting, Public Advocate was advised by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that the shooter possessed a list of pro-Family organizations he had obtained from the Internet, including FRC and Public Advocate. Further, the FRC shooter had been seen at Public Advocate's office.
Bolding is mine. I've not seen any news reports that back that final claim.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,


Lawrence O'Donnell: Why Do We Need ANY Religion At The Inauguration?

I watched this live last night and then played it again this morning. He nails it. Totally.

(Via Towleroad)

Labels: , , , , ,


Buzzfeed Interviews Edith Windsor

Go read Chris Geidner's wonderful interview with DOMA heroine Edith Windsor. No excerpts here, just go read it.

Labels: , , ,


Afternoon View - Union Station DC

My second-favorite train station after Philadelphia's 30th Street Station.

Labels: , ,


Homocon Tweet Of The Day

Labels: , , ,


LGBTQIA

The New York Times yesterday noted our movement's growing alphabet soup of abbreviations, which some say is necessary because of the young people that just "don't identify along the LGBT spectrum." After telling the stories of several gender non-conforming college students, the piece concludes:
If history is any guide, the age gap won’t be so easy to overcome. As liberated gay men in the 1970s once baffled their pre-Stonewall forebears, the new gender outlaws, to borrow a phrase from the transgender writer Kate Bornstein, may soon be running ideological circles around their elders. Still, the alphabet soup of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. may be difficult to sustain. “In the next 10 or 20 years, the various categories heaped under the umbrella of L.G.B.T. will become quite quotidian,” Professor Halberstam said.

Even at the open mike, as students picked at potato chips and pineapple slices, the bounds of identity politics were spilling over and becoming blurry. At one point, Santiago, a curly-haired freshman from Colombia, stood before the crowd. He and a friend had been pondering the limits of what he calls “L.G.B.T.Q. plus.” “Why do only certain letters get to be in the full acronym?” he asked.

Then he rattled off a list of gender identities, many culled from Wikipedia. “We have our lesbians, our gays,” he said, before adding, “bisexual, transsexual, queer, homosexual, asexual.” He took a breath and continued. “Pansexual. Omnisexual. Trisexual. Agender. Bi-gender. Third gender. Transgender. Transvestite. Intersexual. Two-spirit. Hijra. Polyamorous.” By now, the list had turned into free verse. He ended: “Undecided. Questioning. Other. Human.” The room burst into applause.
Twenty years ago I had thought we'd settled this with "queer." I was very wrong.

Labels: , ,


The AFA Hates Gay Bloggers

"Think Progress, The New Civil Rights Movement, Right Wing Watch, how many other places, how many supported groups in what Bryan Fischer has aptly named the Big Gay movement, think themselves wiser, smarter, more proficient in life than God almighty or the great Apostle Paul. For they take anybody, even pastor Louie Giglio, with the influence that this man has in the world today, they think that anybody, even this man, if they say what the Bible says about homosexuality that they are a dangerous, lying, hateful individual and you should shun them. Make no mistake about it church, that’s where we are today. We are at the place, maybe we’re not thrown in jail for it like pastor Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran, maybe we’re not slaughtered or beheaded for it yet, but make no mistake about it, if you stand and proclaim what the word of God says about certain things, primarily about homosexuality, you are going to be ostracized, you are going to be mocked and ridiculed, you are going to be called names, you are going to be marginalized and you are going to be cast out." - American Family Association radio host Buster Wilson, saying that nobody is more hateful than the above-named blogs. Nobody? Dammit.

Labels: , , ,


Former Rep. Barney Frank Endorses Rep. Ed Markey For Special Senate Election

Former Rep. Barney Frank, who still wants to be appointed interim Senator, has endorsed Rep. Ed Markey for the special election that will be held in several months assuming that John Kerry is confirmed for Secretary of State.
Markey was the first candidate to announce that he is running in the special election. Frank’s endorsement comes days after Kerry, Victoria Kennedy, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other Democratic groups announced that they are backing Markey, in an apparent attempt to coalesce around one Democratic nominee and avoid a contentious primary. However, not all Democrats are ready to unite around Markey. U.S. Reps. Michael Capuano of Somerville and Stephen Lynch of South Boston and state Sen. Benjamin Downing of Pittsfield are all still considering running.
Markey has been a member of the House for 36 years. He has a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign.

Labels: , , ,


Fox News Gun Control Segment Followed Immediately By School Shooting Report

This happened yesterday afternoon.

Labels: , ,


DC Gay Center To Help Asylum Seekers

Washington DC's LGBT Community Center has launched a program to aid asylum seekers who are escaping anti-gay persecution in their home countries. Via Washington Blade:
The program, called Center Global, is aimed at providing temporary housing, financial assistance and referrals to service providers for LGBT foreigners in the D.C. area who are going through the complicated process of applying for and awaiting approval for political asylum, according to Center director David Mariner and Center Global coordinator Matthew Corso. The two noted that legal groups have long provided pro bono legal representation for people going through this process, some of whom have fled their home countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Jamaica after encountering violent assaults and death threats due to their sexual orientation.
Donations are being accepted.

Labels: , , ,


The Origin Of "Woof"

In a long Washington City Paper piece about the advent of bear culture, much of which will likely be familiar to many of you here, the author drops an interesting theory about the origin of "woof."
When I run into Tyler and Witzkoske, who are partners, I bring up their standard greeting among friends: the kiss, belly rub, and occasional “woof.” Some bears say it stems from the actress Madeline Kahn—perhaps not a gay icon, but close enough—in her role as Elizabeth in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. When the monster wordlessly propositions her, and after an initial shock, she notes the impressive bulge in his pants and exclaims, “Woof!” The same humor and insinuation underlie the term today, which is an apt fit for a bear gathering: an atypical but exciting sexual situation that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
I've never heard that explanation, but I kind of love it.

Labels: , ,


Natural Pussy

From the sales materials: "Pussy packs a punch. Punch? Actually, it’s more like being gently placed on a huge velvet cushion then being carried around the whole night with a back rub and table service thrown in for good measure." Pussy is grape flavored. So now you know. (Tipped by JMG reader Iain)

Labels: , ,


Punched Occupy Protester Sues NYPD

You may recall the video I posted in 2011 which clearly showed an Occupy Wall Street protester being sucker-punched by a member of the NYPD. Yesterday the victim filed a federal lawsuit.
Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona punched Felix Rivera-Pitre — an HIV-positive activist — in the face, ripping an earing from his ear during an Oct. 14, 2011 protest in Downtown Manhattan, according to lawyer Ron Kuby. Rivera-Pitre appears in the footage to then fall to the ground, where Kuby said Cardona continued to hit him. "The assault was a completely well-documented criminal act by a deputy inspector captured on video tape losing his temper and punching someone," Kuby said. Kuby added that the suit is not requesting a specific amount of money but will be left up to a jury to decide. Cordona opened a complaint against Rivera-Pitre after the incident, claiming the activist assaulted him prior to the scuffle. But the NYPD agreed to not charge Rivera-Pitre until after the Manhattan District Attorney's Office finished an investigation into the incident, according to Kuby.
Here's the video again.

Labels: , , ,


Celebrities: Your Social Superiors

Labels: , ,


Royal Decree: If Kate & William's Baby Is A Girl, She'll Be A Princess

Queen Elizabeth has ruled that her future great-grandaughter (if there is one) will be called a "princess."
The Queen has spoken! Wanting to ensure that if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a daughter that she will have a proper title, Her Majesty has issued a formal decree that the royal arrival would be known as a princess. Up until now, following a century-old decree by George V, only the eldest son of the Prince of Wales's eldest son could have the title prince. That would have meant that any daughter born to William and Kate would have been called "lady." The declaration was signaled in the London Gazette Wednesday, although the Queen made the decision on New Year's Eve. And the decree covers all future children of the couple.
Apparently this is all a very big deal for royalists.

Labels: , ,


Trans Beauty To Compete In Miss CA

Transwoman Kylan Arianna Wenzel, 26, will compete in this weekend's Miss California pageant. Karen Ocamb reports at Frontiers:
In April, following international fallout when pageant officials disqualified 23-year-old Miss Canada Jenna Talackova after learning she was a transgender woman, Donald Trump and his Miss Universe Organization announced a significant rule change to allow trans women to compete for any of their pageant titles. Because of that rule change, 26-year-old Kylan Arianna Wenzel of Century City left her job as a shift manager at Jamba Juice, moved her sex reassignment surgery up six months and decided to pursue her life-long dream of confidently entering the Miss California beauty pageant. “The first time I watched a beauty pageant was when I was 11, in 1997, when Miss USA won Miss Universe. And ever since then, it’s kind of been implanted in my brain,” Wenzel told Frontiers during a Jan. 3 phone interview. “I wasn’t sure how it would happen for me, but it was something I put out there.
Saturday's preliminaries will feature 229 contestants. Only 20 will go on to compete in the televised finals on Sunday night.

Labels: , ,


NY Gov. Cuomo Backs Pot Law Reform

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week that one of his top priorities for 2013 will be the further decriminalization of marijuana possession. Raw Story reports:
Even if the governor fails to convince the legislature to go along on decriminalization, marijuana arrests are already destined to begin falling dramatically thanks to a recent court decision barring so-called “stop and frisk” searches initiated without reasonable suspicion. Roughly half of the marijuana arrests in New York City were people who did not display the drug publicly but were ultimately charged as doing so thanks to a “stop and frisk” search, according to a survey by the civil rights group Bronx Defenders. In other words, most marijuana users aren’t flagrantly toking up in public, and a slight change of policy would dramatically affect how many of these people get arrested every year.
Via NORML, below are the current penalties for minor marijuana possession arrests in New York state.  Cuomo apparently wants to completely decriminalize the possession of less than 15 grams, which constitutes the vast majority of arrests.  It's unclear if Cuomo intends to attack the "public view" portion of the law.

Labels: , ,


Choose The Robot

Labels: , ,


Thursday, January 10, 2013

James Holmes To Stand Trial

Labels: , , , , , ,


Tony Perkins Is Pissed About Giglio

"The President's endorsement of same-sex 'marriage' wasn't the culmination of the homosexual agenda--in many ways, it was just the beginning of a sweeping zero tolerance policy for any American with a biblical view of sexuality. The country is witnessing that for itself in the breaking news that the President's inauguration no longer includes Pastor Louie Giglio, an evangelical minister who, years ago, delivered a sermon on the Christian response to homosexuality. Gay activists brought the comments to the President's attention and demanded his removal from the ceremony. Although it's unclear whether the White House forced him to withdraw or not, Pastor Giglio formally dropped out less than 24 hours later. In a press release, he insists that his participation and prayer 'would be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration.'

"What a difference four years makes! In 2009, when the Left was in an uproar about Pastor Rick Warren's prayer, the President was quick to come to his defense. 'We have to disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things we hold in common as Americans.' Now, having revealed his true position on same-sex 'marriage,' the President seems determined to create even more division. If anything, this pulls back the curtain on the Left's real agenda. And it's not about tolerance. It's about forced acceptance. Americans need to wake up and realize that the homosexual movement cannot be appeased--not by marriage, not by special benefits, not by anything but the sanitization of Christianity from the public square." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via press release.

Labels: , , , , , , ,


RI Gov. Chafee: Pass Marriage Now

Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee today said that he will likely veto any attempt to put same-sex marriage to a public vote.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee told reporters Thursday that lawmakers owe it to voters to decide themselves. The state House of Representatives is expected to vote within weeks on legislation that would allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. But some opponents have voiced support for alternative legislation that would put the question before voters. Same-sex marriage supporters say the issue is one of civil rights and shouldn't be decided by a vote. Rhode Island is now the only state in New England without same-sex marriage.
Zoom, zoom, zoom!

UPDATE: Through a White House spokesman, President Obama has endorsed marriage equality in Rhode Island. 
“While the President does not weigh in on every measure being considered by the states, he believes all couples should be treated fairly and equally, with dignity and respect,” said White House spokesperson Shin Inouye. “As he has said, his personal view is that it’s wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so.”
That's the boilerplate response we've seen in the past, but it's welcome nonetheless.

Labels: , ,


Gun Company CEO: If Obama Bans Assault Weapons, I'm Gonna Start Killing People

John Aravois: "James Yeager, the CEO of Tactical Response, a Tennessee company that specializes in weapons and tactical training, posted a video on Facebook and YouTube yesterday, detailing what he’ll do if President Obama issues any executive orders on gun control."

Labels: , , ,


From All White GOProud

Labels: , , ,


Gun Appreciation Day Chairman Talks Logical Circles With David Pakman

Watch radio host David Pakman try and make sense of the words of the Gun Appreciation Day chairman.

Labels: , , ,


Alliance Defense Fund Lawyer Found Guilty On Eight Felony Child Porn Counts

In her day job, Alliance Defense Fund-affiliated lawyer Lisa Biron provided free legal work for Christians working to thwart LGBT rights.  But her other job of producing child pornography just won her eight felony convictions.
A Manchester lawyer has been found guilty of exploiting a 14-year-old girl to produce child pornography, The Associated Press reported. Lisa Biron, 43, was accused of videotaping the girl having sex with two men. Biron faced eight federal indictments on charges of child sexual exploitation, transporting a child across state lines to produce child pornography and possession of child pornography, and was convicted on all of them after the jury deliberated for less than an hour. The trial began Wednesday, with prosecutors calling to the stand two men who said Biron videotaped them having sex with the 14-year-old. The final witness for the prosecution was an FBI agent who specializes in computer forensics. He testified that he retrieved pornographic images from a computer that had Biron listed as the owner. He said a confiscated iPhone also had a sexually explicit video involving the girl.
As she was being led away to await her likely lengthy prison sentence, Biron was heard blaming her 14 year-old victim.

RELATED: The Alliance Defense Fund is continuing to scrub their Facebook page of mentions of their star attorney and is banning anybody who dares mention her name.

UDPATE: The identity of the victim in the case had been shielded ever since Lisa Biron was arrested as is the standard for victims of sexual abuse. The Associated Press is now reporting that the victim was her daughter.
A New Hampshire mother wept openly in court as prosecutors played video of an alleged sexual encounter between her and her own 14-year-old daughter as a child sexual exploitation and pornography case got under way Wednesday with graphic testimony about sex acts the girl allegedly performed while her mother videotaped them.  Jury deliberations in the child exploitation trial of the Manchester lawyer could begin as early as Thursday in U.S. District Court in Concord. Her attorney has said he will call no witnesses. U.S. Attorney John Kacavas told jurors the defendant acted not like a mother, but as the girl’s “pot pusher, her pornography producer and her predator.”

Two men testified they had sex with the defendant and with her daughter multiple times during separate encounters in 2012, one in Canada and the other at the attorney’s home. Both said the defendant recorded several of the sexual encounters on a smartphone.  The Associated Press doesn’t typically identify victims of sexual assault; it is not naming the mother to avoid identifying the girl. Throughout his opening remarks, Kacavas repeatedly told the jury, “She should have been a mom” as he laid out the defendant’s alleged misdeeds. But as the day progressed, he repeatedly told the jury, “Let me show you another video.”

As jurors watched recordings of various sexual encounters, the defendant averted her eyes from the laptop screen in front of her and dropped her head into one hand. The final video, prosecutors said, depicted the defendant having oral sex with her daughter. Before introducing it into evidence, prosecutors had the girl’s father — the defendant’s ex-husband — identify the voices captured on tape. He wept uncontrollably after identifying the voices as his daughter’s and his ex-wife’s and left the courtroom before the tape was played for the jury.
That bolded line from the AP is crap, because the case has such huge notoriety (and not just in little New Hampshire) there is NO way people don't know to whom they are referring. Lisa Biron has been named in dozens of published reports.

Labels: , , , , , ,


HomoQuotable - Christine Quinn

"I think the rules for getting a gun need to be tougher, but if you meet the rules, and you get a license in the legal way, and you have that license, I don’t think that should be printed in a newspaper. You have not done anything wrong. You’ve met the legal standard. Now do I think the legal standard is high enough or strong enough? No. And do I want to do everything I can to limit the number of guns that are out there? Yes. But I’m not sure what we gain from putting that kind of information out there in that way." - NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, responding to the Gawker story.

Labels: , , ,


March 18th: Broadway Backwards 8

The eighth annual installment of Broadway Backwards takes place March 18th.
Tickets go on sale today, January 10, for the eighth annual edition of BROADWAY BACKWARDS, a one-night-only musical performance produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefiting Broadway Cares and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. This year's edition of BROADWAY BACKWARDS will be at 8 PM on Monday, March 18 at Broadway’s Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway). BROADWAY BACKWARDS is an annual celebration where gays and lesbians see their stories told through the great songs of musical theatre, performed by their favorite Broadway performers.
Always a fantastic show. Get tickets now. Below is a highlight reel from last year's show.

Labels: , , ,


We Were All Female

From YouTube's great ASAP Science channel.

Labels: , ,


SPOILER: American Horror Story

Stay out of the comments if you've not yet seen last night's episode. Otherwise dive in and dish.

Labels: , ,


Crazy Eyes Returned To House Intelligence Committee, Petition To Boehner Results

People For The American Way has launched a petition demanding that John Boehner remove crackpot conspiracy nutjob Rep. Michelle Bachmann from the House Intelligence Committee.

Labels: , , , , , ,


Go Big Gay!!!

Labels: , ,


Cory Booker In 1992

Back in 1992, then-Stanford student Cory Booker wrote an op-ed for the student newspaper in which he explained his evolution from casual homophobe to gay rights ally. The column provides some fascinating back story to one of brightest young stars of the Democratic Party. Embiggen and read. (The text of the column is also at the link.)

Labels: , , ,


ABC News: Giglio Is GONE

If this pans out, WOW.

UPDATE: CNN says Giglio voluntarily withdrew.

UPDATE II:  Think Progress has a statement from Giglio.
Due to a message of mine that has surfaced from 15-20 years ago, it is likely that my participation, and the prayer I would offer, will be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration. Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ.

Neither I, nor our team, feel it best serves the core message and goals we are seeking to accomplish to be in a fight on an issue not of our choosing, thus I respectfully withdraw my acceptance of the President’s invitation. I will continue to pray regularly for the President, and urge the nation to do so. I will most certainly pray for him on Inauguration Day. Our nation is deeply divided and hurting, and more than ever need God’s grace and mercy in our time of need.
Congratulations are due Think Progress reporter Josh Israel for breaking the story and raising the alarm.

UPDATE III: Josh Israel has updated his post with a message from inauguration committee.
We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this Inaugural. Pastor Giglio was asked to deliver the benediction in large part for his leadership in combating human trafficking around the world. As we now work to select someone to deliver the benediction, we will ensure their beliefs reflect this administration’s vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans.

Labels: , ,


AFA Tells Pastor Louie Giglio To Reject Obama Inauguration Gig

The gays aren't the only ones upset with Pastor Louie Giglio's selection to perform the benediction at President Obama's second inauguration.  The American Family Association doesn't like it either.
"Louie Giglio has made some of the best DVDs you'll ever see, theologically," Wildmon stated on American Family Radio. "He's done a wonderful job, I think, of galvanizing Christian young people with these Passion conferences, with sound Bible teaching. We've applauded Louie for that."  Upwards of 60,000 students were in attendance at the 2013 Passion Conference in Atlanta last week.
Still, Wildmon says if he were Giglio, he would respectfully decline the invitation. "Louie Giglio did not say 'I endorse or embrace President Obama's political agenda' -- [but] if I were Louie Giglio," continued the AFA president, "I would say 'This could hurt my credibility within the Christian community because it seems to be an implicit endorsement of President Obama by participating.'"

Labels: , , , , , ,


Oscar Nomination For AIDS Documentary
How To Survive A Plague

The critically-raved AIDS documentary How To Survive A Plague was among the Oscar nominations today in the Best Documentary category. The film's star, activist Peter Staley, issued a one-word response this morning on his Facebook page: "YAY!!"

Labels: , , , , , , , ,


NOM Vows To Destroy Pat Brady

"Brady has betrayed us, betrayed his party, misrepresented 'key Republican values,' and insulted conservative voters in Illinois and across America who deserve leaders who refuse to sell out on such a fundamental and crucial issue like the defense of marriage, children and family. The future of marriage in Illinois demands that Brady be replaced immediately with a brave pro-marriage individual who will fight back against the out-of-state liberal activists now attempting to impose gay marriage on the Land of Lincoln without the will or consent of the we the people. Tell the Illinois GOP today that Pat Brady must go, and that it is time for the party to reinforce real 'key Republican values' — marriage and family, the well-being of children, the rule of law, and the rights of voters like you and me." - Out-of-state hate group leader Brian Brown, directing his followers to sign their petition to oust Illinois GOP chair Pat Brady.

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,


French Gays Against Gay Marriage

A handful of French gay men has launched Homovox, a website to express their opposition to the marriage equality movement. "Ex-gay" advocate Robert Oscar Lopez writes on American Thinker:
This is important stuff. If France can hold off the national legalization of gay marriage (which seems a difficult fight at this point), then there may be hope for the United States. This is in effect Europe's last stand for the traditional family. What's great about the arguments from Jean-Marc, Jean-Pier, Philippe Arino, and Xavier is their ability to think outside the stilted identity politics that plagues American sexual discourse. It may be that since France did not have the equivalent of a Fourteenth Amendment to redefine its constitutional logic, the French are less likely to fall for hyper-emotional parallels between sexual orientation and race. Or it may simply be something much more troubling about the difference between the United States and our Gallic neighbors across the sea: their gays are better than ours.
As is their style, NOM has lifted the entire video series from Homovox and uploaded them to their YouTube channel without attribution. Below is one of the clips.

Labels: , , ,


Newt Gingrich On Gay Marriage

"I think this is a very complicated human problem and Republicans need to take a deep breath and understand we need to deal with the human side of this equation — and understand that we want to defend marriage in its classic form between a man and a woman. I don’t accept that there’s an alternative. The government can declare that a Ford truck is Air Force One. That doesn’t mean it can fly. It’s not that I want to change my belief. I think that in fact it’s a big mistake to be confused about this issue.

"But I think it’s also a legal reality that now people are being allowed to create legal status over here. And if they create it in Maryland and they go on a trip. And something happens to them on that trip. What’s their status if they want to go to the local hospital? I think the Republican Party, first of all, is a very complicated institution. It has a lot of different people in it, some of whom in fact were much more prepared to accept that than others. But I think on balance we’re going to remain the conservative party.

"We’ve got to learn to do it much, much better. I watched us get out maneuvered by the left over and over for the last couple of years in ways that I found frustrating and infuriating. And I think we have to learn from that." - Newt Gingrich, telling Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren that he doesn't necessarily regret his vote for DOMA, but that Republicans have to wake up to the reality that same-sex marriage is now legal in nine states.

Labels: , ,


Walter Murphy, Oscar Nominee

Walter Murphy got an Oscar nomination today for his theme song from Ted. (Lyrics by Seth MacFarlane, his co-nominee.) You might remember Murphy for his #1 pop hit from 1976, A Fifth Of Beethoven. Murphy's follow-up single, Flight '76, was a cheesetastic disco version of Flight Of The Bumblebee. It got to #44. He never charted again. Murphy also wrote the theme for Family Guy.

Labels: , , ,


Oscar Nominations

BEST PICTURE
Amour 
Argo 
Beasts of the Southern Wild 
Django Unchained  
Les Misérables  
Life of Pi
Lincoln 
Silver Linings Playbook 
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST DIRECTOR
Amour - Michael Haneke
Beasts of the Southern Wild - Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi - Ang Lee
Lincoln - Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Denzel Washington - Flight

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook 
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour 
Quvenzhané Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild 
Naomi Watts - The Impossible

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin - Argo
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master 
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln 
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - The Master 
Sally Field - Lincoln 
Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions 
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

The full list is here.

Labels: , ,


Pat Brady: I Won't Back Down

"If people want to throw me out because I took a stand on an issue of discrimination [as] the chairman of the Republican Party, the party founded by Abraham Lincoln, then that’s – that’s up to them and they’re free to do it. But I’m not backing down." - Illinois GOP chairman Pat Brady, reacting to widespread calls for his resignation after endorsing same-sex marriage.

Labels: , , ,


Manhattan Panorama

From D-Photo:
The winners of this year’s Epson International Photographic Pano Awards, the only international competition dedicated to the art of panoramic photography, have been announced – D-Photo is happy to present a gallery of the winners. The competition comprises both Open and Amateur sections, each divided into Nature and Build Environment categories – there is also a special VR/360 category for digitally interactive panorama creations.
Embiggen for the full effect. More winners at the link. (Tipped by JMG reader Birdie)

Labels: , ,


Dan Savage On Legalized Pot

Labels: , ,


Open Thread Thursday

Time for our quarterly books roundup. What are you reading?

Labels: ,


Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Obama's Inauguration Preacher Has History Of Nasty Anti-Gay Comments

Today we reveled in the news that President Obama's second inauguration team has selected an openly gay poet to read at the event. That good news was almost immediately overwhelmed by a swarm of controversy that has erupted around Pastor Louis Giglio, who will deliver the event's benediction. Think Progress blogger Josh Israel reported this afternoon that Giglio has delivered anti-gay sermons that denounced our community with quotes from Leviticus and demands that Christians fight against LGBT equality.

An except from Giglio's mid-1990s "Christian training speech" titled In Search of a Standard – Christian Response to Homosexuality:
(9:20) [God] says very clearly in [Leviticus], verse 22, after he talks about a lot of different kinds of relationships, he says in verse 22: “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is an abomination.” Now if you would look forward into the New Testament context, to the passage that most of us know most commonly with this issue, into chapter one of the book of Romans, let’s read a few verses together beginning in verse 18. If you’re taking notes tonight, you might make this the note of Leviticus 20:13 and the book of Jude, we won’t look at those passages but there is some support and encouragement there to this topic.

(17:37) Men, women, I can’t say anything other to you tonight than this, that if you look at the counsel of the word of God, Old Testament, New Testament, you come quickly to the conclusion that homosexuality is not an alternate lifestyle… homosexuality is not just a sexual preference homosexuality is not gay, but homosexuality is sin. It is sin in the eyes of God, and it is sin according to the word of God. You come to only one conclusion: homosexuality is less than God’s best for his creation. It is less than God’s best for us and everything in our lives that is less than God’s best for us and his plan for us and his design for us, is sin. That’s God’s voice. If you want to hear God’s voice, that is his voice to this issue of homosexuality. It is not ambiguous and unclear. It is very clear.
Audio of the full speech is here.

Giglio has also advocated for the "ex-gay" movement, telling his audiences that "the only way out of a homosexual lifestyle, the only way out of a relationship that has been engrained over years of time, is through the healing power of Jesus."

Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner reported tonight that the White House has so far refused to respond to questions about Giglio. Geidner notes that Giglio is a fan of Jerry Falwell, perhaps the most notorious anti-gay figure in American history.
This past November, Giglio served as the convocation speaker at the Jerry Falwell-founded Liberty University. Although he did not address homosexuality in the speech, he did strongly urge visiting high-school students to attend the college known for its strict policies against homosexual behavior and spoke about the positive influence Falwell has had on his life.
The controversy has already been noted by the New York Times.
The planners of Mr. Obama’s inauguration did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a spokesperson for Mr. Giglio was unavailable. But one leading advocate for gay rights in Washington, speaking anonymously to discuss private conversations with the president’s inauguration committee, said that he told officials the comments were “completely inappropriate” and that he asked for a “complete renunciation” by the pastor. Another gay rights advocate, Wayne Besen, founder of the group Truth Wins Out, said: “It is imperative that Giglio clarify his remarks and explain whether he has evolved on gay rights, like so many other faith and political leaders. It would be a shame to select a preacher with backward views on LGBT people at a moment when the nation is rapidly moving forward on our issues.”
A petition has been launched with the demand that Giglio be replaced with a pro-gay member of the clergy.
Below is Giglio's 2012 benediction for the graduating class at Fawell's Liberty University.

Labels: , , , , , , ,


Alex Jones Vs Pee-Wee Herman

Labels: , ,


Marine Corps Orders On-Base Social Clubs To Accept Gay Spouses

Responding to an ongoing controversy at Fort Bragg, the Marine Corps today issued a directive that on-base "spouses clubs" must admit the husbands and wives of gay service members.
It's a step that the other service branches have not yet announced as they grapple with how to accommodate same-sex couples following repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly. Underscoring the challenges, the Marines' legal advisory — obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press — refers to an ongoing controversy at the Army's Fort Bragg in North Carolina where the officers' spouses club has denied admission to a same-sex spouse.

The Marine Corps commandant's Staff Judge Advocate, in an e-mail to legal offices throughout the corps, said the Fort Bragg events had "caused quite a stir" and cautioned, "We do not want a story like this developing in our backyard." The memo noted that spouses clubs and various other private institutions are allowed to operate on bases only if they adhere to a non-discrimination policy encompassing race, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin. "We would interpret a spouses club's decision to exclude a same-sex spouse as sexual discrimination because the exclusion was based upon the spouse's sex," the memo said.
OutServe-SLDN praised the move via press release:
The Marine Corps guidance issued today is a breakthrough and a clear indication that General Amos meant what he said when he promised Marines would lead the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Secretary Panetta should use his authority immediately to bring consistency across the services with regard to this issue and in doing so, a greater measure of equity to gay and lesbian service members and their families.

Labels: , , ,


Fox Retaliates Against Gawker Founder

Yesterday Gawker published the names of everybody in New York City that holds a gun license. Fox News has retaliated by posting the personal cell phone number of openly gay Gawker founder Nick Denton.

Labels: , , ,


Boston Mayor Declares Flu Emergency

As hundreds of flu patients flood into the city's emergency rooms, today Boston Mayor Tom Menino declared a public health emergency.
The nation's severe flu season continued to worsen Wednesday, with reports of hospitals overflowing with sick patients and at least one major U.S. city declaring an influenza emergency and urging citizens to get vaccinated before the peak is reached. In Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino declared a public health emergency because of a sharp rise in cases. That city has seen about 700 confirmed cases of influenza since the season began in October, a 10-fold jump over cases reported for all of last year, said Nick Martin, a spokesman for the Boston Public Health Commission.
RELATED: Half of the hospitals in Milwaukee have diverted ambulances away from their emergency rooms due to the burden of flu patients.

Labels: , ,


Labor Secretary Hilda Solis Resigns

CNN announced minutes ago that Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has tendered her resignation to the president. The date for her departure has not yet been named, probably because the White House has its hands full dealing with the confirmations for John Kerry and Chuck Hagel.

UPDATE: It was Buzzfeed that broke the story and they have more details.

Labels: , ,


FRANCE: Socialist Party Offers Compromise On Gay Marriage Bill

Just days ahead of a joint Catholic-Muslim protest that is forecast to draw as many as 200,000 participants, France's Socialist Party today compromised on its same-sex marriage bill by dropping the provision for the government to provide procreation services to gay couples.
The compromise, according the Radio France, is designed to soften opposition to the marriage equality bill due for debate at the National Assembly at the end of this month. The ruling Socialist party announced today (9 January) that it would not to table an amendment that would have enabled lesbian couples to have children by medically assisted means after being promised that it will be included in a future family law. Hollande, however, said he will not back down from his election pledge to legalize same-sex marriage, but expressed his eagerness to avoid an open conflict with France’s religious leaders. The opposition center-right UMP party expressed its opposition to the bill and support of the religious leaders’ stance. An opinion poll published yesterday that two thirds of the French public (60 percent) support gay marriage, although most considered it ‘secondary’ issue, with 46 per cent in favor of medically assisted procreation.
According to the above-linked story, French LGBT groups have expressed disappointment in the compromise.

Labels: , ,


Child Porn Trial Begins For Christian Alliance Defense Fund Lawyer

As you may know, the Alliance Defense Fund is the anti-gay Christian legal group that provides free lawyers to just about anybody working to thwart civil rights for LGBT Americans. As I reported in November, one of their lawyers has been arrested and charged with multiple felony counts related to child pornography. Her trial began yesterday in Concord, New Hampshire.
Jurors in the child pornography trial of Manchester attorney Lisa Biron in U.S. District Court saw videos that Biron is accused of making in which a 14-year-old girl is shown having sex with two different men. In his opening argument, U.S. Attorney John Kacavas said Biron was a pot pusher, pornography producer and predator who considered the teen "an object, a thing." Biron, 43, is accused of taking the girl to Canada, giving her alcohol and marijuana, and videotaping her as she had sex with a Canadian man she had met online. Biron is also charged with making more videos, on a cellphone, of the girl having sex with another male in New Hampshire. Defense attorney James Moir cautioned jurors that they were going to see graphic videos and said the issue here is not whether Lisa Biron is morally depraved.
Among the first witnesses were two 14 year-old boys who testified that Biron had sex with them and then filmed them also having sex with the underage girl. Praise Jeebus. (Tipped by JMG reader Brian)

RELATED: After news of the arrest broke, I emailed the ADF for a statement. They did not respond and have banned me from their Facebook page.

Labels: , , , , , ,


Popular Pro-Guns Vlogger Murdered

The gun advocate behind one of YouTube's most popular channels was found murdered last week.
Keith Ratliff, who served as the manager of the popular FPSRussia YouTube channel, has died. The 32 year-old Ratliff was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head, and police are investigating the death as a murder. Ratliff, who was found on Thursday in Carnesville, Georgia, helped run FPSRussia alongside Kyle Myers, who plays the Dmitri Potapoff character on the firearms channel. FPSRussia is the 10th most subscribed channel on YouTube with more than 3.4 million fans. In addition, its 535 million views make it the 151st most viewed channel on YouTube and far and away the most popular gun channel on the site.
Conspiracy sites are claiming exactly what you'd expect.

Labels: , , ,


NEW YORK: Gov. Cuomo Planning Nation's Most Restrictive Gun Policy

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivered his State Of The State address in Albany today and and outlined a plan that some are calling the most restrictive gun control policy in the nation.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said he wants to make New York’s gun laws the toughest in the nation, pushing to ban weapons with “military-style features” and eliminate loopholes that allow the sale of large-capacity magazines. The 55-year-old Democrat released his plans today in a report that coincided with his third State of the State address in Albany, the capital. The proposal would allow the state to suspend or revoke licenses and confiscate weapons, close loopholes in the 2000 law banning assault rifles, flag large bullet purchases and require background checks for gun sales between private parties. “Some weapons are so dangerous and some ammunition devices so lethal that we simply cannot afford to continue selling them in our state,” the report said. Current law “is so riddled with loopholes and so difficult to understand that it has become virtually unenforceable.”
Cuomo's plan is already being denounced on Breitbart, where the headline mocks him because fewer people were killed by guns this year in New York City.  Therefore there's no problem.

Labels: , ,


Cindy Jacobs: God Gave Me Magicial Spaghetti, Magical Tires, Magical Shoes

Labels: , , ,


Closeted Homosexual Matt Drudge Compares Obama To Hitler And Stalin

The wingnuts love it when closeted homosexual Matt Drudge "sends a message" through his headlines. Above is today's typically unsubtle message.

Labels: , , ,


Gay Marriage Caused The Great Flood

"We need to remember that in the time leading up to the Flood what the rabbis teach about the last straw for God before He brought the Flood was when they started writing wedding songs to homosexual marriage and Jesus said that you’ll know the End Times because it will be like the days of Noah. There’s never been a time in the history of the world since before the Flood when homosexual marriage has been open and celebrated, and that’s another sign that I believe that we’re close to the end." - Hate group leader Scott Lively, speaking yesterday on national Christian radio.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,


Gun Appreciation Day: January 19th

Believe it or not, January 19th will be Gun Appreciation Day.
A new coalition of gun rights and conservative groups has proclaimed January 19, 2013, "Gun Appreciation Day" and begun urging Americans nationwide to show their support for gun ownership by turning out en masse at gun stores, ranges, and shows from coast to coast. Scheduled to send a message to Washington two days before Obama's second inauguration, the "Gun Appreciation Day" is expected to rival "Chick-fil-A Day" as a public statement of protest against government policies.

"The Obama administration has shown that it is more than willing to trample the Constitution to impose its dictates upon the American people," said Gun Appreciation Day chairman Larry Ward, president of Political Media, Inc. "If the American people don't fight back now, Obama will do the Second Amendment what he has already done to the First with Obamacare - gut it without a moment's thought to our basic constitutional rights."
The organizers write in their press release: "We have never had a president who so callously disregards the Constitution, Congress, the courts, and the will of the American people," Ward said. "And that's why this outpouring of public support is so important for our constitutional safeguards to keep and bear arms. If, as this president claims, the American people are at risk from murderous rampagers, the logical solution is to arm, not present a docile target." (Tipped by JMG reader Chris)

Labels: , , ,


Breitbart Editor Ben Shapiro: We Can No Longer Be Civil With Liberals

Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro appeared on Hannity last night to promote his new book, which calls on wingnuts to stop being "civil" with liberals. When, exactly, did they start?  The reviews of Shapiro's book are interesting.

Labels: , , ,


NOM Has SECRET Plans

"Dear Marriage Supporter, This year is going to be BIG! We've been working over the holiday break to formulate our national strategy for 2013. We're putting the finishing touches on our plans right now, and I'm excited about sharing some major new initiatives with you in the coming weeks...so be on the look out for those emails! By the time you read this, I'll be on a plane to help with one of these major initiatives—you'll be hearing about that in a few short days. But in the mean time, would you please consider making a donation to NOM of $25, $50, $100, $500 or more to help us fund the launch of these game-changing, outside-of-the-box initiatives?

"Already this year we've scored a major victory by defeating a same-sex marriage bill during the Illinois legislature lame duck session—a push that was once again heralded as "inevitable" by same-sex marriage advocates and the media...a bill that had political pressure brought to bear by Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama! Make no mistake: we still have a long way to go to stop same-sex marriage from coming to IL, but what a way to start the year! Please make a donation right away to NOM to help us launch these major new 2013 initiatives. I look forward to sharing this exciting news with you in the days and weeks to come." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, lying to his followers about Illinois, where NOM had ZERO to do with last week's result.  Buy hey, Eugene Delgaudio is also taking credit!

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,