Arizona GOP US Sen. Jeff Flake Comes Out Against Anti-Gay Hate Bill

Flake is no ally of the LGBT community and has a 0% rating from the Human Rights Campaign. But to my mind that only makes today's move only more important as it probably comes from the standpoint of what the bill could mean for Arizona's economy.  Last year Flake was the target of a recall campaign by the Tea Party, who are furious over his support for immigration reform. In that regard, at least, he could be considered a relatively moderate Republican.

Bryan Fischer: Michael Sam Will Destroy The NFL Because I Love Black Men

Six Californias Petition Given Green Light

California has given the green light to a group that will collect petitions that could force a 2016 public vote on a proposal to split the state into six new states.

Tim Draper filed a ballot initiative in December stating that because of recent social and economic changes California has become “nearly ungovernable.” The plan aims to settle California’s financial issues after the separation of the states. If things can’t be resolved, each state would receive a portion of the state’s debts based on the newly created state’s population. If the federal government approves creating six new states, “all tax collections and spending by the existing State of California would end, with its assets and liabilities divided among the new states,” Secretary of State Debra Bowen said in a statement on Tuesday. That would leave decisions regarding taxes and public spending of the new states up to its elected leaders.

A similar proposal was shot down by Colorado voters last November. Of course, there is zero chance that the feds would approve any of this. Draper made his fortune by investing in Skype.

RELATED: There's also a movement to carve New York into two autonomous regions that would mostly still function as a single state on the federal level. Unshockingly, the backers are a wingnut "patriot" group calling themselves the Upstate Conservative Coalition.

The state would retain a “token” presence, funded by the 3 percent sales tax, and would remain united for federal purposes such as the Electoral College and congressional seats. But the power on all state matters would be transferred to the regions. The downstate region would be called New York and include the counties of Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester — basically New York City and its neighboring counties, including Long Island. The upstate region tentatively would be named New Amsterdam — after the 17th-century Dutch settlement on Manhattan Island that eventually became New York City — and would comprise the state’s remaining 53 counties, including the state capital of Albany.

The New Amsterdam group would make English its official language and outlaw gay marriage. Of course!

Michael Sam: See Me As A Football Player, Not As A Gay Football Player

(Tipped by JMG reader Eric)

Rupert Murdoch Buys $57M Penthouse

Via the New York Daily News:

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch lost his Upper East Side penthouse in his divorce, but he’s found an even bigger bachelor pad downtown. Murdoch just plunked down $57.25 million to own the top four floors at One Madison Park, the slender, 60-story glass tower on E. 23rd St., reports The News’ real estate editor Matt Chaban. The purchase price for the owner of the down-market tabloid New York Post makes the residence the most expensive property ever below 57th St. Murdoch’s new “quadruplex” sprawls more than 10,000 square feet — that’s 2,000 square feet larger than the triplex at tony 834 Fifth Ave., which now belongs to Deng after the demise of her 14-year union with Murdoch. The Murdoch penthouse has a spiral staircase and wide-open living areas, all wrapped by floor-to-ceiling glass, but beyond that, the space is raw, giving Murdoch control over the final look of his glass tower. The Aussie media mogul’s apartment is actually a combination of a triplex, which originally was on the market for $50 million, and the 57th-floor unit below, which was asking $16.5 million.

Russia Leads Sochi Medal Count

Expect a lot of chest-thumping from Putin if Russia remains at the top after tomorrow's final events.

BRITAIN: King's Husband Won't Be Queen

The first headline is from the tabloid Daily Mail.  The Telegraph has a less sensational story:

Men are to be banned from becoming Queen or Princess of Wales as part of an unprecedented effort to rewrite more than 700 years of law to prevent unintended consequences of gay marriage. Even a 14th Century act declaring it high treason to have an affair with the monarch’s husband or wife is included in the sweeping redrafting exercise. The order makes clear that a clause in the Act giving gay and heterosexual marriage the same legal effect does not apply to the rights of anyone “who marries, or who is married to, the King Regnant, to the title of Queen”. It also makes clear that were a future Prince of Wales to marry a man his husband could not be called Princess of Wales.

More immediately, the order rules out the possibility of Dukes, Earls and other male peers who marry other men making their husbands Duchess, Countess or Lady. Meanwhile dozens of other laws are to be excluded from the remit of the Act. They include the Second Statute of Westminster from 1285, which deals with inheritance matters, and even the Treason Act of 1351. It makes it high treason to “violate the King’s companion” – meaning the husband or wife of the monarch – or that of the heir. A Government spokeswoman explained that it would still be considered high treason to have sex with a king’s wife – but not his husband.

Britain's anti-gay groups are mocking the changes, of course.

Meghan McCain Slams AZ Hate Bill

Bright Light Bright Light & Elton John - I Wish We Were Leaving

I've been posting clips by Welsh gay artist Rod Thomas for seven years and I've always thought he was going to be huge. His latest might finally break him through. Via the Guardian:

The first single and title track from sophisticated electropop connoisseur Bright Light Bright Light, aka Rod Thomas', new EP I Wish We Were Leaving wasn't supposed to be a duet. In a story I think we all can relate to, Thomas was working on the song when he received a phone call from close personal friend Elton John who wanted him to know how much he enjoyed his debut album, 2012's Make Me Believe In Hope. "From then I kept hearing his voice on the track," Thomas explains. "In time I played him I Wish We Were Leaving and he added his vocals. Although it wasn't written as a duet, I love that his voice taking lead in the second verse is a reminder that every relationship has two sides and two voices." For Elton it meant working in a slightly different way to what he's been used to: "Working with Bright Light Bright Light was a challenge for me as I love electronica but am quite ignorant on the recording process. I had to sing in a completely different way which I really enjoyed."

Anderson Cooper Grills Arizona State Rep Over Anti-Gay Discrimination Bill

Watch this guy bluster and lie.

Worst Bet Ever

Canada beat the US in hockey, so we have to keep Justin Bieber.

Pussy Riot - Putin Will Teach You

This is the video being made when they were beaten by Cossacks on Thursday.

With the song and video, Pussy Riot is asking for a boycott of the games, claiming that Putin is restricting human rights. The tune touches on Russia's new federal law prohibiting "gay propaganda" ("50 billion and a gay-driven rainbow/ Rodnina and Kabaeva will pass you those flames/ In prison they will teach you how to obey") as well as the state of Russia during the Olympics ("Sochi is blocked - Olympic surveillance/ Special forces, weapons, crowds of cops"). "The Olympics has turned the police state into a total police state and the authoritarian regime into a totalitarian regime with preventive arrests," collective member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova said at the press conference, according to the Post. "The Olympics has created an environment of sweeping violations of human rights in Russia. We are banned from speaking out here."

Brewer Waffles About Anti-Gay Hate Bill

Above is CNN's dead-on headline. Here's what Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer told them tonight:

The bill, which the state House of Representatives passed by a 33-27 vote Thursday, now goes to Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican and onetime small business owner who vetoed similar legislation last year but has expressed the right of business owners to deny service. "I think anybody that owns a business can choose who they work with or who they don't work with," Brewer told CNN in Washington on Friday. "But I don't know that it needs to be statutory. In my life and in my businesses, if I don't want to do business or if I don't want to deal with a particular company or person or whatever, I'm not interested. That's America. That's freedom."

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council, in a letter to Brewer on Friday, urged the governor to veto Senate Bill 1062, saying the "legislation will likely have profound, negative effects on our business community for years to come." "The legislation places businesses currently in Arizona, as well as those looking to locate here, in potentially damaging risk of litigation, and costly, needless legal disputes," council President Barry Broome wrote, adding that four unidentified companies have vowed to locate elsewhere if the legislation is signed. He added, "With major events approaching in the coming year, including Super Bowl XLIX, Arizona will be the center of the world's stage. This legislation has the potential of subjecting the Super Bowl, and major events surrounding it, to the threats of boycotts."

Activists Protest At Arizona Capitol

Things are just getting going outside the Arizona Capitol where hundreds of activists are already making noise. A separate protest is underway in downtown Tucson. I'll add more photos and video to this post as they come in. Follow the action on Twitter @Bad4AZbiz.  And tune into Anderson Cooper's AC360 at 8PM Eastern for his live report.

Major LGBT Orgs Silent On Arizona

As JMG readers know, I get regular, often multiple daily press releases from all of the major LGBT rights groups when there's big breaking news. Unless I've missed something, there has not been one response from any of these organizations in the 24 hours since the Arizona legislature voted to legalize anti-gay discrimination. I've gotten zero outraged press releases and there's basically nothing about Arizona on the websites of the Human Rights Campaign, AFER, Lambda Legal, NCLR, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Freedom To Marry, or GLAAD.  Yesterday HRC did tweet out a link to five-sentence blog post and the Task Force today retweeted somebody else's message to contact Gov. Jan Brewer. But that's it, as far I can I tell.

To be fair, what happened in Arizona isn't exactly on-mission for some of these groups - but they have been eager to stray in the past. And it also could be that cooler heads than mine are evaluating their responses or simply waiting for Brewer's decision. But I doubt that I'm alone in being fucking bewildered that the media has thus far heard bupkis from the usual giants and are instead looking to bloggers and grassroots activists on social media to assess the reaction from our people. If you've seen something that I haven't, I'll be delighted to be proven wrong. Maybe tonight's cable news shows will tell a different story.

UPDATE: Squeaky wheel? Just in from the HRC.

Following the Senate passage of Arizona’s so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin released the following statement: “This bill is bad for business, bad for the LGBT community and bad for all Arizonans. Governor Brewer, who herself described it as very controversial, must veto it and send a strong message that legally sanctioned discrimination has no place in Arizona. “Religious groups have a long established first amendment ability to operate according to their own beliefs. However, when individuals or businesses go out into the commercial market, they must abide by legal non-discrimination provisions. “When providing a service to the public, a business owner shouldn’t pick and choose who they want to provide a service to and who they want to deny. Instead of protecting religious liberty, this bill gives license for discrimination to run rampant across the state.”

UPDATE II: Just in from Freedom To Marry, who sent this to their Arizona supporters tonight.

Yesterday, the Arizona House passed the anti-freedom SB1062. SB1062 would allow anyone -- from businesses to employers -- to openly discriminate against LGBT Arizonans on the grounds of “religious beliefs.” It’s a scary piece of legislation, and it poses real harm to thousands of Arizona families. The bill has already passed in the Senate, which means it’s now on its way to Governor Brewer’s desk. This is our last chance to stop it from becoming law. Contact Governor Brewer and ask her to veto this discriminatory piece of legislation. Religious freedom is a fundamental part of America, but those beliefs don’t entitle any of us to discriminate against others. Freedom means freedom for everyone. If SB1062 were signed into law, it would mean it’s legal to treat people differently because of who they are and who they love. Leading businesses from across the state have already spoken out against this legislation because they know it would create a reputation that Arizonans are judgmental and unwelcoming -- and haunt the business climate for decades to come. Urge Governor Brewer to veto this dangerous bill. You can help stop SB1062 and defend liberty for every family who calls Arizona home.

UPDATE III: Just in from the Task Force.

"This bill cynically uses religion as a smokescreen to justify discrimination. It also has the unfortunate effect of signaling that LGBT customers are not welcome in Arizona — at a time when our economy is still recovering. We urge Governor Brewer, who was a business owner, to use her power to veto this terrible bill." - Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund

PetSmart Responds To My Tweet

Last night I tweeted the below question to about a dozen major Arizona-based corporations including U-Haul, US Airways, Dial, Best Western, Avnet, Cold Stone Creamery, and PetSmart. Only PetSmart has responded, although their message is boilerplate corpspeak.

ARIZONA: Gov. Jan Brewer To Decide On Anti-Gay Hate Bill By Next Friday

Isn't the five-day deadline Tuesday or Thursday? Brewer is in DC today for the Republican Governors Convention. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

NOM To Jan Brewer: Sign The Hate Bill

Details.

AZ Hate Group Authors Of Anti-Gay Bill Demands Signature From Gov. Jan Brewer

"As we witness hostility towards people of faith grow like never before, we must take this opportunity to speak up for religious liberty. The great news is that SB 1062 protects your right to live and work according to your faith and was passed by the Arizona legislature. This bill is now heading to Governor Jan Brewer's desk. One thing became undeniably clear as SB 1062 advanced through the legislature: opponents were not interested in an honest debate about the bill's actual provisions. Instead, they distorted and attacked the bill and its supporters at every turn. Even before the last vote was cast in the House, opponents of SB 1062 started a mass calling and email campaign into Governor Brewer's office to try to pressure her into vetoing this important bill. It is critical that the Governor hears from YOU that no one should be forced to violate their religious beliefs merely because they go to work or start a business!" - From the Center For Arizona Policy, the hate group that co-authored the bill that legalizes anti-LGBT discrimination. The bill's other author? Alliance Defending Freedom. Of course.

LGBT Ally AZ Rep. Chad Campbell Appears On CNN To Denounce Anti-Gay Bill

Two Arizona Mayors: Veto Anti-Gay Hate

The Democratic mayors of Phoenix and Tempe took to Twitter to denounce Arizona's anti-gay bill and demand that it be vetoed by Gov. Jan Brewer. Notably quiet is the GOP mayor of Mesa, Scott Smith, who is running for governor. Also silent so far is Jay Tibshraeny, the GOP mayor of Chandler, Arizona's fourth-largest city. (But he DID just tweet about the Ostrich Festival. Priorities!) Scottsdale GOP mayor Jim Lane, who opposed his city's successful LGBT rights ordinance in 2007, has also not yet uttered a word. Ditto for the GOP mayor of Gilbert, John Lewis. The Democratic mayor of Tucson, Jonathan Rothschild, rarely uses Twitter and has not yet responded to the press, but he is an ardent supporter of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. 

Arizona Urgent Action Alert

Product Positioning

Details.

INDIANA: Brian Brown Surrenders, Won't Sue To Force Marriage Ban Onto Ballot

"After reviewing all legal options, the National Organization for Marriage has decided not to bring litigation seeking to allow voters to have the right to vote on the marriage amendment in 2014. While we believe a strong legal case can be made that the amendment could appear on the ballot this year, we think that the time and expense of such an effort would be better devoted to holding legislators accountable for their votes, and to preparing to elect a strong pro amendment Legislature to pass the pending amendment in 2015. Accordingly, we will be working with our allies in the state to impact elections this year, beginning with the upcoming May primary races. We look forward to continuing to educate Hoosiers about the importance of the unique nature of marriage as society’s only institution that brings men and women together for the benefit of the couple and any children born of their union." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, surrendering on his threat to file a lawsuit to force the ban on same-sex marriage to public vote.

ILLINOIS: Court Rules That Gay Marriages May Commence In Cook County

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a court has ruled that same-sex marriages may commence immediately in Cook County. The law was due to go into effect statewide on June 1st. 

UPDATE: From the ACLU of Illinois.

I am so pleased to let you know that a short while ago, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ordered Cook County Clerk David Orr to begin providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry, rather than requiring them to wait until June. The decision comes in a case brought by the ACLU of Illinois, along with our allies at Lambda Legal. Marriage licenses will begin to be issued immediately. As you know, Governor Pat Quinn signed a marriage equality law in November. The default start date for that law is June 1, 2014. The ACLU and Lambda first sought marriage licenses for those couples with one partner who because of a life-threatening illness might not survive until the June start date. Today's decision recognizes the constitutional right of couples to marry the person they love now, without waiting for that arbitrary deadline. It also builds on momentum from decisions across the nation, recognizing the freedom to marry for couples from Virginia to Oklahoma. We are thrilled to be part of this historic decision. Illinois is a fairer, stronger state moving forward.

Freep This Arizona Poll

Halfway down on the right. (Tipped by JMG reader Bob)

Utah TV Staffers Lip-Sync Let It Go

Let It Go, should you be unaware, is the Oscar-nominated song from Disney's Frozen. It was written for and sung by Tony winner Idina Menzel, who will perform the track at next month's Academy Awards. There are some cute bits in the clip below, especially the hug between two bears that could be read as an endorsement of gay marriage. Stick around for the final word from reporter Ben Winslow, whose on-scene tweets and reporting during Utah's marriage battles have been indispensable.

UPDATE: The clip has been yanked. All that work!

RELATED: Disney's clip has 104 million views on YouTube. The track has become a global smash and has sold a million copies in South Korea alone.

Activists Heckle Scott Lively At DC Press Conference For New Anti-Gay Hate Group

The Washington Blade's Michael Lavers reports that two activists disrupted the press conference held at the National Press Club yesterday by Scott Lively to announce the new anti-gay hate group formed in partnership with Porno Pete LaBarbera. Lively got very upset: "Every time we come forward to speak the truth from our perspective, we are interrupted by homofascists! THIS is what we call homofascism! I would like to know if there is security! We rented this room!" Security guards ejected the pair, but not before one declared, "I am - I swear Scott - a homofascist! Stop the killing that is going on in your name in Uganda and Russia!" Just FANTASTIC.

(Tipped by JMG reader Eric)

Headline Of The Day

Via Business Insider:

People who espouse anti-gay views die younger than those who don't, found a sure-to-be-controversial study in the February issue of the American Journal of Public Health. "Anti-gay prejudice is associated with elevated mortality risk among heterosexuals, over and above multiple established risk factors for mortality," wrote the researchers, led by Mark L. Hatzenbuehler of Columbia University. In fact, those who were not highly prejudiced against gay people lived an average of 2.5 years longer than those who were. The researchers acknowledged that the questions represent "a limited range of potential indices of anti-gay prejudice," adding that the effect of such prejudice may actually be larger than they were able to measure. The respondents included in the study were 20,226 heterosexuals who participated in GSS interviews between 1988 and 2008, 4,216 of whom had died by the end of the study period.

Want to live longer? Embrace the gay!

FLOTUS Performs In Tonight Show Skit

TODAY: Protest At Arizona Capitol

From the event's Facebook page:

People are starting to go to the Capitol and aiming for a large protest gathering TODAY between 4 and 6 pm. Signs, speakers, good shoes. Come and be seen. Peaceful and respectful actions! Arizona’s State Legislature and the conservative majority in control are pushing to pass the expanded “religious freedom” bills and then have them signed immediately by Governor Brewer. These bills would allow businesses to deny services based on their deeply held religious beliefs, basically making discrimination legal and making the LGBTQ Community a clear target. But we know it won't stop there!

Arizona JMG readers - send us your photos and video! (Tipped by JMG reader Rod)

AZ Rep. Chad Campbell Reports Death Threat After Epic Defense Of LGBT Rights

If you watched yesterday's Arizona House debate, you'll know that the only bright points of the entire disgusting exercise were the impassioned defenses of the LGBT community delivered by Democratic Minority Leader Rep. Chad Campbell. Apparently some of God's Gentle People didn't like that. Campbell, not incidentally, is straight and married to a woman.

RELATED: Last year the Phoenix Tea Party launched a failed recall drive against Campbell due to his support of new gun control laws proposed in the wake of the shooting of former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Campbell, 40, will be term-limited out of office this year and was considered a top 2014 Democratic gubernatorial prospect, but in September he announced on his Facebook page that he will not be running. Let's hope the reaction to yesterday's performance on the House floor causes him to reconsider.

AZ Gov. Jan Brewer Has Five Days To Act

The Arizona Republic reports on what happens next:

The bill will be sent to Gov. Jan Brewer, who has five days to sign it into law, veto it or do nothing and allow it to become law. Specifically, the legislation proposes to: -- Expand the state’s definition of the exercise of religion to include both the practice and observance of religion. -- Allow someone to assert a legal claim of free exercise of religion regardless of whether the government is a party to the proceedings. -- Expand those protected under the state’s free-exercise-of-religion law to “any individual, association, partnership, corporation, church, religious assembly or institution or other business organization.” -- Establish wording that says that in order to assert a free-exercise-of-religion defense, the individual, business or church must establish that its action is motivated by a religious belief, that the belief is sincerely held and that the belief is substantially burdened. The votes on the bill were mostly along party lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing. Three Republicans — Ethan Orr, Kate Brophy-McGee and Heather Carter — voted against it.

So the deadline to act is either Tuesday or Thursday, depending on whether the law means five calendar days or five business days. (Image via Memeographs)

Brian Brown Attacks Homocon San Diego Candidate For US House Carl DeMaio

Brian Brown has written a curiously homoerotic denouncement of the US House candidacy of San Diego homocon Carl DeMaio. It begins:

Dear Marriage Supporter, It's a beautiful summer day in southern California. Throngs of people line streets as paraders march by. They include transvestite brides (men in wedding gowns) who strut their stuff. Nearby a float with bare-chested, heavily muscled men in tight underwear that leaves nothing to the imagination hold hands and dance on a rolling stage as rainbow flags fly behind them. Not far away women kiss other women and tattooed men embrace, pulling their half-naked bodies tight to each other. A confused-looking child watches this scene unfold as she holds a 'we celebrate diversity' sign, not exactly the type of plaything we'd expect innocent youngster to cling to. In their midst the candidate walks down the street holding the hand of his gay lover. He waves at the crowd and smiles approvingly. These are his people, and he is at home. Who is he? He's Carl DeMaio. A homosexual activist who calls himself a Republican. And he wants to be a Member of Congress.

Few in San Diego would characterize DeMaio as a "homosexual activist" as he's had the backing of major Prop 8 supporters, is anti-union, and has declared that LGBT rights will never affect his political decisions. Brown goes on to endorse another GOP candidate, Kirk Jorgensen, a former Marine and local rancher. I'm sure you'll be shocked to learn that Jorgensen is a Catholic - as are Brown and pretty much everybody else at NOM.

Queer Nation Protests At Today Show

Yesterday several of you emailed me to wonder what they'd just seen over the shoulders of Today Show hosts Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. Queer Nation activist Duncan Osborne explains:

"We walked in from 49th and 6th because they had the small crowd on the little plaza and the 49th St. side of the plate glass windows was unobstructed. As we whipped open... the Boycott Homophobia banner and pulled out Gay-Bashing is not an Olympic Sport signs, the cops tried to grab us and hustle us across the street. We insisted on holding our ground (Get your hands off me! This is a public sidewalk!) and succeeded in staying there, evidently quite visible over Hoda's shoulder. After 5-10 minutes, they went to commercial, and got up from the anchor desk. Kathie Lee gave a smile and wave to the plaza crowd, then turned and looked at us, glared at me, and refused to return the smile and wave I was giving her. About 15 minutes later, they came back to the anchor desk for a segment. This time Kathie Lee looked at me, still stony, but felt forced to return my wave a little. Then they lowered the curtains around the whole studio. We packed up and left. A good time was had by all. All except for Kathie Lee, apparently."

That's famed activist and Gay USA host Ann Northrop behind the letter "B". Photo by Donna Aceto.

Brawl Breaks Out In Ukraine's Parliament

Russia's official news agency reports: "A massive brawl erupted in the Ukrainian parliament on Friday morning during a debate on a return to the 2004 Constitution, which limits presidential powers in favor of parliament. Meanwhile clashes continue in Kiev with the death toll now standing at 80."

ARIZONA: State's Largest Paper Urges Gov. Jan Brewer To Veto Anti-Gay Bill

From the editorial board of the Arizona Republic:

Gov. Jan Brewer’s pen is a powerful economic-development tool. She should use it to veto legislation that would allow businesses to refuse service to gays and lesbians on religious grounds. Doing so would further what Brewer calls “ongoing work to make Arizona the best state in the country for high-tech companies to do business.” Brewer voiced that optimistic hope for Arizona’s high-tech future in response to news that Google is considering building a superfast fiber-optic network in Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale. Business advocates tout Arizona’s potential to lure companies from Silicon Valley to relocate here. It’s a worthy goal. Legislation passed in the state House and Senate undermines those aspirations. Twin bills, SB 1062 and HB 2153, are promoted by socially conservative groups that oppose gay marriage. The proposed law is so poorly crafted it could allow a Muslim taxi driver to refuse service to a woman traveling alone. Lawmakers opposed to this bill list a series of such scenarios. The real target, however, is the gay and lesbian community.

At this writing Brewer has not yet responded to the passage of the bill. Hit the link and read the full editorial.

Photo Of The Day

Posted to the Facebook page of Rocco's Little Chicago Pizzeria in Tucson. The restaurant has also posted this: "As a longtime employer and feeder of the gay community, Rocco's reserves the right to eject any State Senators we see fit to kick out. That is all." The photo has been shared over 2000 times and many commenters are vowing to patronize Rocco's.  (Tipped by JMG reader Christopher)

Ugandan President To Obama: You Can't Tell Me How To Run My House

Yesterday Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni responded to President Obama's denouncement of the anti-homosexuality bill, saying, "You can't tell me how to run my house." (That quote is inexact and has been reported in different versions. The audio below is unclear.) Museveni has not yet signed the bill, but some reports say he might do so today. He has also issued a lengthy written response to Obama. Here's how it begins:

I have seen the statement H.E President Obama of the USA made in reaction to my statement that I was going to sign the anti-homosexual Bill, which I made at Kyankwanzi. Before I react to H.E. Obama’s statement, let me, again, put on record my views on the issue of homo-sexuals (ebitiingwa, bisiyaga in some of our dialects). Right from the beginning of this debate, my views were as follows:

1. I agreed with the MPs and almost all Ugandans that promotion of homosexuality in Uganda must be criminalized or rather should continue to be criminalized because the British had already done that;

2. Those who agreed to become homosexuals for mercenary reasons (prostitutes) should be harshly punished as should those who paid them to be homosexual prostitutes; and

3. Exhibitionism of homosexual behavior must be punished because, in this part of the World, it is forbidden to publicly exhibit any sexual conduct (kissing, etc) even for heterosexuals; if I kissed my wife of 41 years in public, I would lose elections in Uganda.

Promo Clip: Palin's New Reality Show

"America, prepare to be amazed." According to the Sportsman Channel's wiki page, the network isn't available in 75% of US homes. Not too amazing. But that might explain why they signed her even though her last series bombed into oblivion after eight episodes.

Beard Font

The font's name is Alphabeard. (Tipped by JMG reader Dr. Jeff)

Brooklyn Nets Consider Jason Collins

ESPN reports that the Brooklyn Nets brought Jason Collins to a private training event in Los Angeles this week, spurring speculation that the team is considering signing him. Collins would become the second* openly gay active player in any major American professional sport. The first was pro soccer player Robbie Rogers, who returned to the sport last May after coming out during a short retirement.

Nets general manager Billy King did not attend the workout, but said he was told Collins is "in shape." The Nets (25-27), three games behind Atlantic Division-leading Toronto entering Thursday's play, are one game into a five-game Western Conference swing. One scenario under consideration, sources said, is making a 10-day roster addition during the trip. Collins' potential reunion with the franchise, for whom he played during his first six-plus seasons in the league, would put the 7-footer in line to become the first openly gay athlete to play in any of North America's four traditional major team sports. Despite his modest career averages of 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds, Collins is a natural target for the Nets, given his defensive know-how, history with the franchise and reputation as a great teammate. Collins was the 18th pick in the 2001 NBA draft by Houston before being sent to the Nets in a draft-night deal. He has played for Memphis and Minnesota in addition to his stints with the Nets, Hawks, Celtics and Wizards.

*Collins came out last April while a free agent with the Washington Wizards and has not played in the NBA since. But some have argued that he still gets the "first" title since he technically belonged to a team at the time. And of course there are those who wouldn't call pro soccer a "major" sport.

Your Russian Disco Needs You

(Via Towleroad)

Tea Party Diversity

To be fair, there IS one immigrant in the shot.

Brian Brown Has The Oregon Sadz

"Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is shamefully abandoning her constitutional duty to defend the marriage amendment overwhelmingly enacted by the people of Oregon. She swore an oath of office that she would enforce all the laws, not just those she personally agrees with. The people are entitled to a vigorous defense of the laws they enact, and the marriage amendment is no exception to that solemn obligation. Further, Ms. Rosenblum is dead-wrong in her conclusion that the amendment cannot be supported by rational legal arguments. Just last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that regulating marriage is the purview of the states, not the federal government. Most recently, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ordered a decision to invalidate Utah's marriage amendment to be stayed, strongly signaling that the Court believes there is a good likelihood that the state will win its appeal against the ruling issued by an activist federal judge. Marriage is our only institution that exists to bring men and women together to benefit the couple and to provide an ideal environment for any children produced by their union. It can and must be defended as a unique, essential and profoundly good institution." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, in his second case of the sadz today.

ARIZONA: House Passes Bill To Legalize Anti-Gay Discrimination By 33-27 Vote

The Senate approved the bill yesterday. Watch live here.

UPDATE: This is one of the more lively of these things. We've got some fantastic advocates in the Arizona House.

UPDATE II:  The committee has passed the bill by a voice vote. The full House will hear the vote shortly.

UPDATE III: As those of who watched know, the hero of today's debate was House Minority Leader Rep. Chad Campbell. Tweet him your thanks @RepCampbell.

UPDATE IV: The ACLU encourages contacting House members before the full House vote.

UPDATE V: And that's it. The Arizona legislature has legalized discrimination against LGBT people. The bill now goes to anti-gay freak show Gov. Jan Brewer, who vetoed a nearly identical bill last year, but as "punishment" to the legislature for not passing a budget.