Philly Suspect ID'd In Grindr Rape

Philadelphia police have identified a suspect in the rape and robbery of a tourist that met his assailant on Grindr.

Detectives are asking for the public's help in finding 26-year-old Douglas Spady, a.k.a. Douglas Casey, of the 5200 block of Cottage Street, in relation to the Wednesday afternoon attack. Spady allegedly pulled a gun on a 34-year-old Canadian man, in his hotel room at the Hilton Home 2 Suites at 12th and Arch Streets, and raped him. The victim, who was visiting Philadelphia to take part in an education conference, told NBC10.com that he invited the suspect over to his room after they met on Grindr. Spady stands 5 foot 11-inches tall with wavy hair and star tattoos on the back of his right hand, police say. He was wearing a dark colored jacket, dark blue jeans and tan boots. Anyone with information to call the tipline at 215.686.TIPS.

(Tipped by JMG reader Robert)

TONIGHT: Furball 10th Anniversary

Tonight DJ Corey Craig will spin a special tribute set to the late Godfather of House, Frankie Knuckles, who performed at Furball in the past. Details.

Canadian TV Reports On Porno Pete Flap

As I reported yesterday, hate group crackpot Peter LaBarbera was briefly denied entry into Canada on Thursday night, but was later allowed to stay in the country after he appealed to border authorities.  Canadian TV reports that LaBarbera exulted in the decision by waving his passport and calling local critics "homo-Marxists." CBC News Saskatchewan reports:

LaBarbera's planned visit sparked an outcry around Saskatchewan earlier this month. Some say his anti-gay views constitute hate speech. A protest had been planned in Weyburn for today, also organized by Intolerance-Free Weyburn. LaBarbera responded by calling his critics "Canadian Homo-Marxists" 'We believe homosexual behaviour is immoral, but that doesn't equate with hating people.'- Peter LaBarbera, president, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality.  LaBarbera said on Friday that his views should not be construed as hateful. "We disagree with homosexual activism," he told reporters in Regina. "We believe homosexual behaviour is immoral, but that doesn't equate with hating people." LaBarbera is also planning to be at the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon to distribute literature. The Catholic Archbishop of Regina has also weighed in on the controversy. Rev. Daniel Bohan wrote a letter to Catholics earlier in the week talking about the upcoming Weyburn conference. In the letter, Bohan noted the current teachings of the Catholic Church and how Catholics are not to support discrimination.

Click on the box below to start the video.

Huckabee Attacks Obama On Gay Rights: Where Are His Christian Convictions?

Last night 2016 presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee attacked President Obama for supporting gay marriage and questioned Obama's Christianity.

Mike Huckabee recently defended his position on gay marriage by saying it’s not homophobia to be on “the right side of the Bible.” Huckabee explained those remarks on The O’Reilly Factor Friday night, telling Laura Ingraham that his position is no different from what President Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton professed to believe in 2008. Huckabee called out Obama specifically for saying in 2008 he supported traditional marriage because of his Christian convictions. Huckabee said that either Obama lied then or is lying now, and wondered of those convictions, “Does he have them or does he not?”

Matt Barber: Homosexuality 101

"Homosexuality 101: The central, defining feature of homosexuality is same-sex sodomy, a filthy practice – both from a moral and biological standpoint – that spreads disease, ruins lives and mocks both God and nature. That’s so gay. In short, these sexually confused and spiritually lost souls, particularly males caught-up in this lifestyle, can only 'consummate” a counterfeit 'gay marriage' through the squalid, unnatural and feculent misuse and abuse of both the reproductive and digestive systems. Yuck. Is it any wonder why these 'gay' jihadists want us to focus on the subjective specter of 'gay rights' and ignore the objective reality of 'gay' wrongs? This is why they terrorize anyone who fails to conform." - Hate group leader Matt Barber, writing for World Net Daily.'

Headline Of The Day

Via Mashable:

The NSA knew about the Internet security bug Heartbleed and regularly used it to gather intelligence for at least two years, anonymous sources told Bloomberg. If the report is true — both the White House and the NSA say it's not (see below) — the NSA could have collected information like passwords and private communications from hundreds of thousands of websites, since Heartbleed is a bug in the popular open-source encryption software OpenSSL, used to secure data flowing from users' computers to hundreds of thousands of websites, including Gmail and Facebook. Almost two-thirds of all sites on the Internet use OpenSSL, according to estimates, making this bug possibly one of the most dangerous the Internet has ever seen and potentially allowing the NSA to access information on millions of users.

Mat Staver: Christians Might Overthrow The Government Over Gay Marriage

Staver hopes that the coming second revolution will be non-violent, "but you never know what will happen."

Big Advance In Hep C Treatment

Via Reuters:

A combination of two anti-viral drugs developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co cured 90 percent of previously untreated hepatitis C patients and 82 percent of those who failed to respond to prior therapy, according to results from a late stage study presented on Thursday. The Phase III trial of more than 700 patients called Hallmark-Dual tested a combination of Bristol's daclatasvir and asunaprevir over 24 weeks of therapy in patients with genotype 1b of the virus that causes progressive liver disease.

The cure rate was also 82 percent among patients unable to tolerate treatment with the older standard drugs interferon and ribavirin and 84 percent in patients who had cirrhosis, which accounted for nearly a third of those in the trial. Patients for whom the virus was undetectable in the blood 12 weeks after completing 24 weeks of treatment were deemed to have achieved sustained virologic response (SVR), which is considered cured.

(Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

Media Matter: Right Wing Rodeo

Tthe week's worst moments in conservative media."

Glenn Greenwald Returns To US For First Time Since Breaking NSA/Snowden Story

Gay journalist Glenn Greenwald returned to the United States today for the first time since breaking the Edward Snowden story. Some have called for his arrest as Snowden's alleged co-conspirator. Greenwald himself said he expected to be detained at once, but he exited JFK airport without incident. TIME reports on the reason for today's visit:

Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, who broke the Snowden story and met with the whistleblower in Hong Kong, are in New York City to receive the prestigious George Polk Award. Greenwald, formerly a columnist for The Guardian and now a partner in the upcoming First Look Media venture, and Poitras, a documentary filmmaker, will share the journalism award with Ewen MacAskill of The Guardian and Barton Gellman of the Washington Post, the Huffington Post reports. Greenwald, who currently resides in Rio de Janeiro, told The Huffington Post that he wanted to return to the U.S. because “certain factions in the U.S. government have deliberately intensified the threatening climate for journalists.” He noted that language used by government officials suggested that reporters who investigated Snowden’s documents were complicit with him.

Obama Thanks Sebelius For Service

USA Today Backs Day Of Silence

Tea Party Nation: One Million Democrats Voted Twice In The 2012 Election

Here's some amusing crackpottery from Judson Phillips, head of Tea Party Nation, who has some "shocking news" about the 2012 election.

A study done in North Carolina showed that 35,750 people who live and voted in North Carolina may have voted in another state in the 2012 Presidential election. The study was based on comparing the first and last names along with date of birth for people who voted in 28 other states. In 765 of those cases, social security numbers matched as well. This number would have probably been larger but only 28 states participated and the four largest states, California, New York, Texas and Florida did not participate. If you extrapolate this figure out over the entire population, that could be over one million double votes in 2012. Democrats are not winning elections. They are taking them the old fashioned way. They are stealing them.

Right Wing Watch dryly notes:

North Carolina used a program run by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, which even Kobach acknowledges produces a “significant number” of “false positives.” Officials using the program in Ohio and Colorado failed to identify a single case of fraudulent voting from the “matches” that the program produced. Even the North Carolina elections board has backtracked from its original blockbuster number, telling ThinkProgress that “we are not jumping to conclusions here.” In other words, North Carolina’s report contains no proof of any voter fraud, much less 35,000 cases of it. But never mind the facts! Phillips then “extrapolate[s]” the North Carolina figure “out over the entire population” to guess that there “could be over one million double votes in 2012,” thereby winning President Obama the election. (Of course, in Phillips’ reckoning, all of these imaginary cases of voter fraud were perpetrated by Democrats – although they still weren’t enough to win North Carolina for the president).

A million people conspired to vote twice and never gave away the identities of the organizers. That there's some good conspiring, I tells you what.

RELATED: When Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed that "religious liberty" bill in February, Phillips declared that "Arizonans are now the slaves of homosexuals."

Email Of The Day - Eugene Delgaudio

"Dear Joe, A pro-Family advocate is being detained right now for his plan to speak out against the radical Homosexual Agenda. And the most shocking part is the country holding him. Canada. You see, Canada is even further down the path of the Homosexual Agenda then America, and they have outlawed any speech that upsets the Homosexual Lobby. So now they are detaining Peter LaBarbera for planning to talk about the truth of homosexuality. There’s no guarantee they will release him. That’s why I’m asking you to flood the Canadian Embassy right now with demands for Mr. LaBarbera’s immediate release. It is outrageous for a supposedly free country to arrest a visitor for speaking out against homosexuality." - Virginia hate group crackpot Eugene Delgaudio, late to the news that Porno Pete has been allowed to stay. Eugene's lie about LaBarbera never being released (which he was after a few hours) is amusing.

Porno Pete: Canada Is Letting Me Stay

UPDATE: LaBarbera wasted no time in hitting the hate circuit with his tale of martyrdom. This interview with Bryan Fischer was apparently made just before Canada decided to let him stay.

Harvey Milk Stamp To Be Dedicated At White House Ceremony On May 22nd

Via press release from the White House Office of Communications:

The official first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp will take place at the White House May 22. Harvey Milk was a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk’s achievements gave hope and confidence to the LGBT community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. Milk believed that government should represent all citizens, ensuring equality and providing needed services. His remarkable career was tragically cut short nearly a year after he took office, when he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated. In 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. May 22 is Harvey Milk Day in California. The stamp image will be previewed at a later date and a public dedication ceremony will take place in San Francisco May 28.

I predicts some super-sadz over this! I especially love that as a "forever" stamp, the text reads "Harvey Milk Forever USA."

UPDATE: The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund reacts.

“Harvey Milk urged LGBT people to seek public office because he understood the power of elected officials to create change. Since his high-profile election in San Francisco, thousands of LGBT people around the world have responded to his call to serve their own communities by seeking elected and appointed office, and indeed that is helping to change our world. We applaud President Obama and his administration for opening the White House to this historic occasion, and we are especially grateful to the Harvey Milk Foundation and everyone who worked to make this possible. We hope the issuance of the Harvey Milk stamp will inspire a new generation of young LGBT leaders to choose careers in public service and continue his important work.”

UPDATE II: From the Task Force.

"Harvey Milk was an extraordinary activist whose courage, tenacity, and legacy is alive today in everything we do to advance real freedom and justice for all LGBT people and their families. His life has been an inspiration to me, personally. For his service and sacrifice, it is entirely fitting that a forever stamp be dedicated to him and all that he stood for. This tribute would not have been possible without our partners: the Harvey Milk Foundation, the International Imperial Court System and Victory Fund Institute."

Tweet Of The Day - Chris Meloni

(Tipped by JMG reader CJA)

TRAILER: Out To Kill

Clip recap:

OUT TO KILL, the new gay-themed murder mystery from award-winning filmmaker Rob Williams and Guest House Films. When gay private investigator Jim Noble (played by Scott Sell) moves into a beautiful loft complex in Tampa, he never expects to find his first case literally right outside his door - the corpse of one of his neighbors, Justin Jaymes (played by out up-and-coming singer Tom Goss in his film debut), floating in the pool right in the middle of the complex's courtyard. When he's hired to solve the crime, Jim quickly learns that everyone in the complex has secrets, and that someone was willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden.

VIRGINIA: AG Mark Herring Files Brief In Support Of Gay Marriage Plaintiffs

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring today filed a brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of AFER's marriage equality lawsuit. Herring's brief argues that heightened scrutiny is applicable in the suit. Money quote below:

Virginia’s same-sex-marriage ban violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Because the ban substantially interferes with the right to marry, it is subject to strict scrutiny. The ban also discriminates on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, triggering at least heightened scrutiny. All of the considerations apply here for the judiciary to be suspicious of laws that discriminate against gay people. And the Clerks’ claim that the ban treats men and women equally is like saying that interracial-marriage bans treat blacks and white equally, an argument rejected by the Supreme Court.

Herring's refusal to defend Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage was immediately met with calls for his removal by anti-gay and Christian groups. Dig into the above-linked brief and pull out your favorite parts for fellow readers. (Via Equality Case Files)

Photo Of The Day

From the Facebook page of Athlete Ally founder Hudson Taylor: "This is the by-product of a society that legislates sexuality. #DayofSilence." Embiggen to read the signs.

Taiwanese Animators On Stephen Colbert

With a dig at Rush Limbaugh.

Anti-Gay Sites Denounce Porno Pete's Entry Woes With Canadian Border Police

Peter LaBarbera's claim of being denied entry by Canadian border authorities is rocketing around anti-gay and Christian sites. The story is also being headlined on numerous Canadian news outlets. Raw Story in on it too. Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute, an SPLC-certified hate group and the former home of LaBarbera, pines for the days when she'd never heard of homofascists like yours truly.

Nine years ago, I had never heard Peter’s name. Nine years ago, I had never heard of the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN, or GLAAD. I had never heard of the dishonest homosexual activists and bloggers Wayne Besen, Jeremy Hooper, Joe Jervis, Timothy Kincaid, or Michael Signorile. I was a suburban mom raising four children and knew precisely nothing about the movement to normalize sodomy and oppress, repress, and suppress orthodox Christianity by any unethical means available. I knew virtually nothing about this noxious cultural effort until I started working at Deerfield High School. It was that experience, witnessing up close the nature and extent of censorship, intolerance, arrogance, and, indeed, hatred from the Left that transformed me into an accidental activist.

I knew I'd get blamed for this. Evil homofascist Mutley snicker....

Orlando Mayor: I Hope Our City Is The First In Florida To Host A Gay Wedding

"Diversity is our greatest strength and a vibrant, welcoming community attracts the kind of industries and talent our cities need. That’s why we were one of the first cities in Florida to adopt a domestic partner registry, and now we have more than 1,200 couples registered. I hope that one day we are the city that hosts the state’s first same-sex wedding. Love and commitment should be encouraged, and it should be celebrated and it should be embraced as a constitutional right for all." - Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, endorsing marriage equality for the first time at his State Of The City address yesterday.

Prior to his 2003 election as Orlando mayor, Dyer was the Democratic leader of the Florida Senate. Dyer had been touted as a leading candidate to unseat Florida Gov. Rick Scott this year, but he announced last year that he would not run.  Former governor and former Republican Charlie Crist currently leads Scott in the polls by a margin of seven points.

RELATED: Four marriage equality lawsuits are in progress in Florida. Last week a suit was filed against a panhandle county clerk. Earlier that week a Key West couple filed a marriage suit against the Monroe County Clerk. In January, Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a marriage equality suit on behalf of six local couples. Last month the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel, who authored Florida's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, filed a motion to intervene in the case. Also last month, the ACLU filed a lawsuit which demands that Florida recognize legal out-of-state marriages.

Photo Shoot: Broadway Bares 24

Clip recap:

The 24th annual edition of Broadway Bares will blow the roof off its new home at Hammerstein Ballroom with Broadway Bares: Rock Hard!, an amped up celebration honoring the best of rock 'n' roll. Tickets can be purchased online at broadwaycares.org or by calling 212.840.0770, ext 268. For more information and merchandise, visit BroadwayBares.com. To announce the theme of this year's Broadway Bares, watch this all access pass from the photo shoot, featuring 13 of Broadway's sexiest and most talented dancers paying tribute to some of our favorite rock 'n' roll icons. Broadway Bares combines the naughtiness of burlesque with the razzle-dazzle of Broadway and has been a smashing success since its inception in 1992. The event, featuring the hottest male and female dancers on Broadway, has become one of BC/EFA's signature events. The first Broadway Bares featured just seven dancers performing choreographed stripteases on a bar and raised more than $8,000. Through 23 editions, Broadway Bares has raised more than $11.3 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Tickets are on sale now. Always a sellout.

Former Sen. Scott Brown's Truck Is Back

Remember former Sen. Scott Brown's truck from those 2010 campaign ads? It's back.

Scott Brown, formerly the Senator of Massachusetts, wants to be the Senator of New Hampshire. He wants to be Senator really badly. On Monday, his campaign will air his first ad in the Granite State — and it looks disconcertingly familiar to anyone from New England. “Scott Brown has nearly 300,000 miles on this truck,” a narrator intones. “Over the last few weeks, it’s taken him all over the state of New Hampshire. Listening. Learning. And what he’s heard is that people want an America that leads the world again. A health plan that works for New Hampshire. More good jobs. Isn’t it time that someone took their side?”

Old truck pitch + snowmobiles = New Hampshire?

BROOKLYN: Joan Jett Fronts Nirvana At Their Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

Last night the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted its 2014 class at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, where Joan Jett was among the women who stepped in to front inductees Nirvana in the place of Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide 20 years ago last week.

Nirvana’s emotional induction included speeches from Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, as well as his mother, Wendy O’Connor. R.E.M’s Michael Stipe, whom Cobain greatly admired, gave the official induction. “Nirvana captured lightning in a bottle,” he said. The band pushed “us forward towards our individual and collective potential.” He saluted Nirvana’s anti-mainstream stance and specifically Cobain for offering an “outsider voice for the fags, the fat, the fed-up and the bullied.” “Kurt, I miss you,” he said, rawly. Cobain’s mother fought back tears as she said of her son “he would have been so proud. He’d say he wasn’t, but he would be.” An uncommonly terse Love echoed that sentiment, “Tonight, he really would have appreciated.” Love also vowed to give the award to their daughter, Francis Bean, “who isn’t here because she’s sick.” Novoselic thanked Cobain for fronting music “that means so much for so many people.” Joan Jett sang lead with the band on a ferocious “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Several other women also sang Cobain’s parts with genuine brilliance and edge: Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth on “Aneurysm,” Annie Clark on “Lithium” and Lorde on “All Apologies.”

Other inductees were the ever feuding KISS, the E Street Band, Yusaf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, and Linda Ronstadt, who was unable to attend due to her battle with Parkinson's. Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record.

PHILADELPHIA: Tourist Raped, Robbed, And Beaten By Man He Met On Grindr

Philadelphia police are seeking a suspect after a Canadian tourist yesterday reported that he was raped, beaten, and robbed by a man he met on the hook-up app Grindr. The local NBC affiliate reports:

The 34-year-old victim, whose identity we are withholding, tells NBC10.com exclusively that he invited the suspect to his hotel room inside the Hilton Home 2 Suites at 12th and Arch Streets around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday after talking with him over Grindr. When the suspect arrived, the man says he was held up at gunpoint and sexually assaulted. “The whole thing was just a giant blur. I was scared and I kept thinking if I just do what he says, then he'll just go away," the man said. Following the assault, the victim said he was forced to buy four $500 Visa gift cards. He was then walked to five nearby ATMs and told to withdraw $200 from each cash machine. "I was afraid to say anything. I was afraid of what was going to happen," the victim said.

Surveillance cameras caught the pair scuffling at an ATM where the victim was finally able to escape. Police have issued a description of the suspect and are seeking help from public in identifying him.

Headline Of The Day

Details.

Peter LaBarbera Claims Canada Denied Him Entry For Hate Propaganda Violations

Peter LaBarbara claims that he was detained entry into Canada at the Saskatchewan airport late last night for violations of provincial "hate propaganda" laws. LaBarbera says that he was released into the custody of notorious Canadian crackpot Bill Whatcott while his appeal is being processed. Matt Barber's site has rushed out a frenzied post:

In a serious violation of freedom of speech and conscience, American social conservative leader Peter LaBarbera has been denied entry into Canada. LaBarbera’s trip to Canada for a speaking engagement has been vociferously opposed by Canadian pro-homosexual activists, who mounted a campaign to force the annual conference of the Saskatchewan Pro-life Association to withdraw LaBarbera’s invitation. “I expected this would happen,” said LaBarbera, founder and president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality (AFTAH). “A group called ‘Intolerance Free Weyburn’ has been lobbying the Ministry of Public Safety to block my entry into Canada ever since they found out I had been invited to speak.” After being detained briefly by the Canadian Border Services Agency in Regina International Airport, Saskatchewan, LaBarbera was released into the custody of Bill Whatcott, a prominent Canadian pro-traditional morals activist.

The headline on Barber's site claims that LaBarbera was "arrested" even though the text of the post says otherwise. LaBarbera was scheduled to deliver a speech on the "interconnections between the pro-abortion and the gay agendas." By coincidence, Barber is headed for Toronto today.

RELATED:  In 2005 Bill Whatcott was fined $17,500 CAD by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal for distributing anti-gay pamphlets, one of which was titled Sodomites In Our Public Schools. In 2010 that fine was overturned by the Saskatchewan Court Of Appeals. The Human Rights Tribunal appealed to the Canadian Supreme Court, who in February 2013 overturned the provincial court's ruling, declaring that Alberta's hate speech laws were a "constitutionally valid" limit on the freedom of speech.

UPDATE: LaBarbara has posted a blog entry about his horrible ordeal.

After questioning me about the purpose of my scheduled presentation at the SPLA event; rifling through my luggage, which contained numerous books and literature related to homosexuality (pro and con); examining the contents of my laptop and my cell phone; playing a DVD of my speech Wednesday at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio; and critically viewing AFTAH’s website–a preliminary decision was made to deny my entrance into Canada on the basis that my speech at the SPLA would violate Canada’s “Hate Propaganda” law (essentially the potential for “public incitement of hatred” against a group of people based on their “sexual orientation”). The Orwellian experience at Customs dragged on for more than three hours as a formal document was issued outlining my denial of entry under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (citing the Hate Propaganda code). Finally, after 1:00 A.M., I was released pending my appeal of the decision today (Friday). My passport was seized until I arrive back at Customs today at noon for my appeal before a “Minister’s Delegate Review.”

TODAY: Day Of Silence 2014

GLSEN's annual anti-bullying Day Of Silence is today. The usual crackpots have encouraged Christian parents to keep their kids out of school today and nearly 40 anti-gay groups have signed on to the below "walkout" message from the Illinois Family Institute.

The explicit purpose of DOS is to encourage sympathy and support for students involved in homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors whose voices have been allegedly silenced by the disapproval f society. The implicit purpose is to undermine the belief that homosexuality and cross-dressing are immoral. Parents should no longer passively countenance the political usurpation of public school classrooms through student silence.
Parents should call their children’s middle schools and high schools to ask whether the administration and/or teachers will be permitting students to remain silent during class on the Day of Silence. If students will be permitted to remain silent, parents can express their opposition most effectively by calling their children out of school on the Day of Silence and sending letters of explanation to their administrators, their children’s teachers, and all school board members. One reason this is effective is that most school districts lose money for each student absence.

Focus On The Family Mocks Mozilla

"Even though that apology [post from Mozilla] says they encourage staff and community to share their opinions and beliefs in public, don't bother. The comments section is closed." Guess who doesn't allow comments on their YouTube videos?

LA Gov. Bobby Jindal Calls On GOP Rep. Vance McAllister To Resign Over Affair

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal yesterday called on first term GOP Rep. Vance McAllister to resign after being exposed in an affair with a now-fired staffer. Joining the call is Louisiana state GOP chairman Roger Villere.

Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., called the congressman's behavior an embarrassment. "Congressman McAllister says he wants privacy to work on his issues with his family. The best way to get privacy and work on putting his family back together is to resign from Congress," Jindal said. Meanwhile, state GOP chairman Roger Villere issued a blistering statement calling on McAllister to resign, but so far, the 40-year-old freshman congressman was rejecting the calls for him to immediately give up his seat. "Mr. McAllister's extreme hypocrisy is an example of why ordinary people are fed up with politics. A breach of trust of this magnitude can only be rectified by an immediate resignation," Villere said. "He has embarrassed our party, our state and the institution of Congress," the chairman continued.

The above-linked report notes that Villere did not call for the resignation of Sen. David "Diaper Boy" Vitter when he was exposed for patronizing prostitutes. McAllister ran on a platform of conservative Christian family values and the defense of "natural marriage." Some believe that his affair was exposed in retaliation for being "soft" on Obamacare.

Jayden, Aiden, Braden

Details.

FRC Prays For Brendan Eich

Yesterday the Family Research Council's prayer targets were former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich and former Fox sportscaster Craig James, who was supposedly fired by the network for opposing same-sex marriage. James is now a vice president at the FRC.

Pray for those who have succumbed to pressure from activists, frenzied by their radical agenda. May business leaders understand the issues and not allow themselves to be used to promote an anti-Christian agenda. May Craig James prevail in his Texas action and may God use him mightily in his new role as Assistant to FRC President, Tony Perkins! (Josh 1:5-9; Hos 4:6-7; Eph 4:17-24; 6:13; Heb 6:10; 11: all; Jas 4:7; Rev 12:11)

The FRC also solicits prayers for the family of the New Mexico photographer whose appeal was rejected on Monday by the US Supreme Court.

May God guide and provide for the Huguenin family. May His people across America receive courage to stand for truth, whatever the cost. May He move state and federal judges to uphold the First Amendment and protect Christians impugned for obeying God and His word! (Dt 16:18; 2 Chr 32:6-8; Ps 119:105-107; Mt 6:33; 1 Pet 3:15-17).

Shapiro: Colbert Does Political Blackface

"Blackface, which has an ugly history dating back to at least the fifteenth century according to historian John Strausbaugh, was used to portray demeaning and horrifying stereotypes of blacks. Such stereotypical imitation has not been limited to blacks, of course; actors tasked with playing stereotypical Jew Shylock often donned a fake nose and red wig, as did actors who were supposed to play Barabas in The Jew of Malta. Such stereotypical potrayals create a false sense of blacks, or Jews, or whomever becomes the target of such nastiness.

"And this is precisely what Colbert does with regard to politics: he engages in Conservativeface. He needs no makeup or bulbous appendage to play a conservative – after all, conservatives come in every shape and size. Instead, he acts as though he is a conservative – an idiotic, racist, sexist, bigoted, brutal conservative. He out-Archie Bunkers Archie Bunker. His audience laughs and scoffs at brutal religious 'Colbert' who wishes to persecute gays; they chortle at evil sexist 'Colbert' who thinks men are victims of sexism. This is the purpose of Colbert’s routine. His show is about pure hatred for conservatives in the same way that blackface was about pure hatred of blacks." - Ben Shapiro, writing for Truth Revolt.

Scott Brown Announces Senate Bid

Rush Limbaugh Attacks CBS For Hiring Stephen Colbert To Replace Letterman

"CBS has just declared war on the heartland of America. No longer is comedy going to be a covert assault on traditional American values [and] conservatives. Now, it's just wide out in the open. What this hire means is a redefinition of what is funny and a redefinition of what is comedy. What this hire means is a redefinition of what is funny and a redefinition of what is comedy, and there’s blowing up the 11:30 format under the guise that the world’s changing. It’s media planting a flag here. Maybe even media’s last stand. It’s a declaration. They've hired a partisan, so-called comedian, to run a comedy show." - Rush Limbaugh, speaking yesterday on his radio show.

Both Sides Speak After Utah Hearing

LOUISIANA: House Committee Advances Bill To Make Bible Official State Book

By a vote of 8-5 a committee of the Louisiana House today advanced a bill that would make the bible the official state book.

Rep. Thomas Carmody, R-Shreveport, said he sponsored the proposal after a constituent made the request. But Carmody insisted the bill wasn't designed to be a state-endorsement of Christianity or a specific religion. "It's not to the exclusion of anyone else's sacred literature," he told the House committee. Again, later he said, "This is not about establishing an official religion of the state of Louisiana." Lawmakers who voted against the measure said it raises questions about whether Louisiana would be violating the separation of church and state. Rep. Wesley Bishop, D-New Orleans, said as a preacher's son, he loved the concept. But he said as a lawyer, he thinks the bill has problems. He voted against the measure. "I think we're going to open ourselves up to a lawsuit. You can't adopt the Bible and not adopt Christianity," he said.

Prior to the vote those that supported the bill argued over the specific version of the bible that Carmody had named. That provision was stripped out of the final bill. (Tipped by JMG reader Chris)

HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius Resigns

White House officials told the press tonight that Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has resigned.

In recent months, Sebelius has faced heavy scrutiny after the troubled launch of the federal online insurance marketplace and has been deluged with Republican attacks over the costs of the Affordable Care Act. During the first difficult weeks of the federal marketplace, Sebelius proved to be an unsteady administration spokeswoman for the health care law. She struggled mightily in an interview on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart weeks after the launch to explain the problems with the balky HealthCare.gov website. And she set off Republican howls when she tartly referred to those who called for her resignation after the balky launch as "people who I don't work for and who do not want this program to work in the first place." She was even lampooned on Saturday Night Live. Still, Obama stuck with her, saying that the IT problems could not be blamed on the HHS secretary

Right wing sites are celebrating. Koch Brothers front group Americans For Prosperity have issued a press release.

Secretary Sebelius' resignation serves as an admission that ObamaCare will continue to be completely unworkable. Sebelius knows what many are now predicting; that more trouble lies ahead for ObamaCare. While the administration celebrates dubious enrollment figures, Americans are still facing serious hardships under the law. As the employer mandate takes effect, premiums continue to climb, and access to doctors shrinks, more and more middle class families will discover the hard way that ObamaCare is wrong for them and wrong for the country.

LAS VEGAS: Woman Arrested After Throwing Object At Hillary Clinton

The Associated Press reports:

A woman was taken into custody after throwing what she described as a shoe at Hillary Clinton during a Las Vegas speech. The incident happened moments after Clinton took the stage Thursday at an Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries meeting at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino. Clinton ducked but did not appear to be hit by the object, and then joked about the incident. Security ushered out a woman who said she threw a shoe but didn't identify herself to reporters or explain the action. Authorities said the woman would be arrested.

Among Clinton's jokes following the incident: "Thank goodness she didn't play softball like I did."

TRAILER: Of Many

Documentary synopsis:

Set against the dramatic backdrop of 9/11, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the tension between Jewish and Muslim students on college campuses, OF MANY focuses on the surprising and transformative relationship between an orthodox rabbi and imam, who serve as university chaplains in New York City. Through a series of voyages to communities struck by catastrophe, we witness young religious Jews and Muslims working together and overcoming long-standing divides. Timely and funny, this short documentary offers an inspiring and hopeful narrative of friendship and cooperation between faiths.

Executive producer: Chelsea Clinton.

Matt Barber: I Started My New Site As Spiritual Warfare Against Satanic Leftists

Barbwire makes WND look like the New York Times.

Full Utah Case Audio Has Been Posted

The full audio of today's oral arguments in Utah's appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court has been posted.  The full clip is just over one hour long. Dig in and post the bits that most interest you in the comments.

DENMARK: Copenhagen To Celebrate Eurovision By Marrying Russian Gays

The Eurovision finals take place in Copenhagen next month and city officials will stick a finger in Putin's eye by marrying several Russian gay couples before the visiting international press.

"We have already scheduled 20-30 couples in our calendar -both Danish and foreigners. On the first of the three days, we start with three Russian gay marriages," office manager Flemming Otto, who is in charge of the event, told Reuters. This year is the 25th anniversary for same-sex civil partnerships in Denmark, which was the first country in the world to allow such marriages. "It's no secret that the Eurovision Song Contest will attract many people from the gay community to Copenhagen, and last year Denmark had new legislation that made it easier for us to marry foreigners of the same sex," Otto said. This is the third time Denmark will be hosting the contest, which has a large following in the gay community and whose motto this year is "join us".

NOTE: Veteran journalist Rex Wockner clarifies via email that Denmark legalized same-sex marriage in 2012. Wockner was in Copenhagen 25 years ago when Denmark became the first country in the world to legalize civil partnerships and he sends us the below photo of a happy couple on that day.

NORTH CAROLINA: Marriage Opposition Shrinks By 9 Points Since 2012 Ban

Public Policy Polling reports:

In 2012 North Carolinians voted by a 22 point margin to ban gay marriage in the state. Now less than 2 years later voters say they oppose gay marriage by only 13 points, mirroring the kind of movement we've seen on the issue across the country. 40% say they think it should be legal to 53% who continue to think it should be illegal. Showing the direction things are headed in on the issue, 62% of young voters support it to only 33% who believe it should be illegal. There is increasingly little division among voters in the state about whether gay couples should at least have some sort of legal rights in the form of civil unions. 62% support either marriage or civil unions for same sex couples to only 34% who think they should have no legal recognition at all. 68% of both Democrats and independents support at least civil unions, and even Republicans narrowly do by a 50/48 spread.

(Tipped by JMG reader Amber)

Heartbleed Bug Roils Technies

The Boston Globe reports on the Heartbleed bug that has IT departments scrambling across the nation.

The word “Heartbleed” meant nothing at the start of the week. Today it is one of the hottest topics on the Internet — a simple security bug in an obscure piece of software that could compromise the personal information of millions. And while the Internet’s biggest companies scramble to fix the problem, users had better get ready to upgrade their own security practices. “It’s not an academic exercise,” said Trey Ford, global security strategist at network security firm Rapid7 LLC in Boston. “I think this is a really big deal.” So big that Ford thinks people should take a time out from online retailers, financial services sites, or online destinations that require entering sensitive information — names, addresses, credit card numbers. “I probably wouldn’t log into those for a couple of days or so,” he said.

In a quote that immediate landed on thousands of blogs, one web security expert said of the seriousness of the Heartbleed threat, "On a scale of 1-10, this is an 11."  The bug was discovered by the Finnish company Codenomicon and they have created a website to explain the situation.

Utah Moves To Block Gay Adoptions

The state of Utah has filed an emergency petition with the state Supreme Court, demanding that all pending adoptions by gay couples be denied. Many couples filed for second-parent adoptions during the brief period that same-sex marriages were allowed in Utah. A lesbian couple is among the first to be refused while the Court mulls the petition.

The two came to the Department of Health to obtain a birth certificate for their daughter that would include Kimberly’s name. Since Amber is the biological mother, her name is the only one on it. “We’re going to get the birth certificate with both of our names on it,” Amber said. “That’s it, a piece of paper with both of our names on it saying that we’re her legal parents.” But their trip to the Office of Vital Records and Statistics was met with another delay when the attorneys for the department filed petitions for Emergency Extraordinary Relief. In one petition, the state argued that 3rd District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Hruby-Mills’ decision “authorizes the department to violate the plain text of the Utah Constitution and Utah law prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriage…” They went on to say, “The trial court abused its discretion.”

The local Fox affiliate has posted a sympathetic video report at the link.

Associated Press: Tenth Circuit Court Judges "Sharply Divided" On Utah Case

Via the Associated Press:

A three-judge panel appeared sharply divided as they questioned attorneys Thursday at a hearing over whether to uphold a lower court's ruling that struck down Utah's ban on gay marriage. One of the judges, Carlos F. Lucero, compared the state's argument that the ban should to the U.S. Supreme Court's infamous Dred Scott decision that denied citizenship and constitutional protections to blacks before the Civil War. "To argue that public policy can trump a declared constitutional right would be a remarkable proposition," Lucero said. But Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr. suggested Utah does have the right to reaffirm what has been a centuries-long tradition of heterosexual marriage. "You are just taking the position they are wrong on this. .... We'll just ignore what the people have decided and the Legislature has done," Kelly said. The swing vote in the case appears to be justice Jerome A. Holmes, who sharply challenged attorneys for both sides.

Most courtroom observers expect a 2-1 ruling on the side of equality. The Court's ruling is not expected for several months.

Arguments Conclude In Utah Case, Tenth Circuit Court Judges Appear Split

Freedom To Marry head Evan Wolfson writes:

“Today marked a new chapter in the campaign to win the freedom to marry. We now begin a wave of federal appellate arguments and rulings that set the stage for national resolution by the Supreme Court. Once again it became clear in the light of a courtroom that there is no good reason for perpetuating the denial of the freedom to marry. We hope the 10th Circuit affirms what so many lower courts and a majority of the American people have concluded: it’s time to live up to the constitutional command of equality and end marriage discrimination in the United States.”

The New Hanky Code

"The Chairman of the International Order of Sodomites discusses the latest in the gay color spectrum."

(Tipped by JMG readers Eric and David)

INDIANA: Federal Court Orders State To Recognize Marriage Of Ill Woman

Today a federal court ordered Indiana to recognize the Massachusetts marriage of a terminally ill lesbian and her wife. Lambda Legal cheers via press release:

Lambda Legal filed suit on behalf of Amy Sandler, Niki Quasney and their two children, seeking immediate relief from Indiana's ban on marriage for same-sex couples as Ms. Quasney battles stage four cancer. Ms. Quasney wants to be recognized as married in her home state while she is still alive, and cannot wait any longer for the protections of marriage. "We're greatly relieved for Amy, Niki and their two young children. They are a loving family coping with a terminal illness.The State of Indiana has no justification for denying them dignity, legitimacy, and respect as a family during this inexpressibly difficult time." said Paul Castillo, Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal. "They're married, they love each other and they are doing their best to protect their family. The local hospital defers to state law to determine whether a couple is validly married, and Niki worries that she won't be able to be with Amy when it counts. Niki also wants to make sure Amy has the protections of a surviving spouse under Indiana law."

Lambda filed the emergency request last month.

Colbert To Replace Letterman

Stephen Colbert will succeed David Letterman when the Late Show host retires some time next year.

When Colbert sits behind the desk of the CBS program, as he is set to do at a currently undetermined date in 2015, he will likely do it in unvarnished fashion, not as the right-wing caricature he plays in his current perch on Comedy Central. CBS said creative elements, producers and even the location of the show will be announced at a later date. And yet, it is that inventiveness CBS is likely banking on to help it gain in the ongoing late-night wars. Indeed, Colbert will be the Eye’s entry into a race that has already started. Both ABC and NBC have already turned their latenight programming over to younger hosts – Jimmmy Kimmel for the Alphabet and Jimmy Fallon at the Peacock. Colbert will have to hit the ground running, mastering a new format while trying to maintain the current fan base that has made his “Colbert Report” a mainstay for the Viacom-owned network.

Colbert has issued a statement: “Simply being a guest on David Letterman’s show has been a highlight of my career. I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late night follows Dave’s lead."