Saturday, July 19, 2014

Yesterday In Provincetown

Left to right: Chris Turner, Andy Towle, Michael Goff, Armistead Maupin, some short dude, Brian Sims.

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AP: AIDS Community Devastated By Shoot Down Of Malaysian Airliner

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Morning View - Bear Week Detritus

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Tony Perkins: Colorado's Baker Refuses To Back Down To Homosexual Bullies

"If you think Colorado’s Masterpiece Cakes will give in to homosexual bullies, then you don’t know Jack. Jack Phillips, the owner of another Christian bakery under attack, is refusing to cave to the state’s ridiculous demands after he turned down an order for a same-sex 'wedding' cake. With help from our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom, the baker and his family are fighting Colorado’s order that he check his religious beliefs at the door of his business and participate in the same-sex 'marriages' Christianity rejects.

"'Americans should not be forced by the government -- or by another citizen -- to endorse or promote ideas with which they disagree,' said attorney Nicholle Martin. 'This is not about the people who asked for a cake; it’s about the message the cake communicates. Just as Jack doesn’t create baked works of art for other events with which he disagrees, he doesn’t create cake art for same-sex ceremonies regardless of who walks in the door to place the order.'

"For now, the case heads to the Colorado Court of Appeals where Jack and ADF will battle for the religious freedoms the Supreme Court just upheld for companies like Hobby Lobby. 'If a couple were to come in and ask me to do an erotic cake for a wedding, I would refuse to do that as well. These are my personal standards taken from Jesus Christ and the Bible.' Good for Jack. He’s a living example of what the apostle Paul calls Christians to do in the face of persecution: stand. You can’t win if you don’t fight, and thank goodness ADF and the Phillips are." - KKK-affiliated hate group leader Tony Perkins, via press release.

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NPH For Heineken Light

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Friday, July 18, 2014

Evening View - The Hat Sisters

No trip to Provincetown is complete without at least one sighting of the legendary Hat Sisters and tonight I finally ran into them on Commercial Street.

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BREAKING: US Supreme Court Halts Recognition Of Utah Same-Sex Marriages

Via Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed:
Utah will not need to recognize same-sex couples’ marriages beginning on Monday, following an unsigned order from Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. More than 1,000 same-sex couples married in Utah before the Supreme Court issued a stay in January halting same-sex couples from marrying under a trial court order striking down the state’s ban on such marriages in December 2013. Some of the couples who married during that time sued the state, arguing that the state must recognize those marriages — even while the main case, Herbert v. Kitchen, is appealed. A federal trial court judge agreed, and the state was denied a stay pending the appeal of that second case from the trial court judge and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had referred the request to the full court.

UPDATE: Utah Gov. Gary Herbert reacts.
“I believe the Court made the correct decision to issue a stay in the Evans v. Herbert case. This is an important step in the process toward resolution of this issue. Regardless of where you stand on same-sex marriage, all Utahns deserve clarity and finality when it comes to the law. I believe states have the right to determine their laws regarding marriage and, as I have said all along, that decision will ultimately come from the United States Supreme Court.”

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President Obama To Sign Anti-LGBT Bias Executive Order On Monday

Via Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade:
President Obama is set on Monday to take executive action to prohibit discrimination against LGBT employees working for federal contractors and the federal government, the Washington Blade has learned. In a conference call with reporters on Friday, senior administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Obama plans to amend existing executive orders barring discrimination against workers to include protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Obama intends to amend Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, to add the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity. Additionally, Obama plans to amend Executive Order 11478, which prohibits discrimination in the federal civilian workplace — and was already amended by President Clinton to include sexual orientation — to include gender identity.

But the amendments also won’t repeal President George W. Bush’s amendment to EO 11246, which allows religious-affiliated federal contractors to discriminate on the basis of religion, officials said. The White House believes the executive actions protect LGBT workers and the interests of religious-affiliated employers, officials said.
More from the Huffington Post:
The president vowed during his 2008 campaign to take action on discrimination among federal contractors, and LGBT rights groups have been urging him to do so ever since, to no avail. The White House has focused instead on pressuring Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would have much broader implications. But that bill has stalled, and in the meantime, pressure has grown on the president to act in ways that don't require legislative approval.

The piece of the executive order targeting federal employees, meanwhile, responds to what some have described as a shortcoming in existing governmental rules. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in 2012 that the federal ban on sex discrimination covers transgender discrimination, but those affected by that rule change say the government hasn't been enforcing it and that they continue to be discriminated against. Once Obama signs the executive order, the provision affecting federal employees takes effect immediately, per the official. The provision affecting federal contractors will take effect early next year.

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Today In Christian Love™

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Obama Speaks About Airliner Attack

This afternoon President Obama held a press conference on the shooting down of the Malaysian airliner. Here's an excerpt of his statement via a transcript provided by the White House:
Here’s what we know so far. Evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile that was launched from an area that is controlled by Russian-backed separatists inside of Ukraine. We also know that this is not the first time a plane has been shot down in eastern Ukraine. Over the last several weeks, Russian-backed separatists have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane and a Ukrainian helicopter, and they claimed responsibility for shooting down a Ukrainian fighter jet. Moreover, we know that these separatists have received a steady flow of support from Russia. This includes arms and training. It includes heavy weapons, and it includes anti-aircraft weapons.

Here’s what must happen now. This was a global tragedy. An Asian airliner was destroyed in European skies, filled with citizens from many countries. So there has to be a credible international investigation into what happened. The U.N. Security Council has endorsed this investigation, and we will hold all its members -- including Russia -- to their word. In order to facilitate that investigation, Russia, pro-Russian separatists, and Ukraine must adhere to an immediate cease-fire. Evidence must not be tampered with. Investigators need to access the crash site. And the solemn task of returning those who were lost on board the plane to their loved ones needs to go forward immediately.
Near the end of his remarks, the president paid tribute to the many AIDS researchers who perished in the attack.
Let me close by making one additional comment. On board Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, there were apparently nearly 100 researchers and advocates traveling to an international conference in Australia dedicated to combating AIDS/HIV. These were men and women who had dedicated their own lives to saving the lives of others and they were taken from us in a senseless act of violence. In this world today, we shouldn’t forget that in the midst of conflict and killing, there are people like these -- people who are focused on what can be built rather than what can be destroyed; people who are focused on how they can help people that they’ve never met; people who define themselves not by what makes them different from other people but by the humanity that we hold in common. It’s important for us to lift them up and to affirm their lives. And it’s time for us to heed their example.
After his prepared statement, the president took questions from the press about sanctions against Russia.

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Tony Perkins Has The Oklahoma Sadz

"Two appeals court judges in imposing marriage redefinition have substituted their own ideology for the right of the people to preserve marriage. This divided court has swept away the 1,668,513 voters in Utah and Oklahoma who exercised their democratic right to preserve marriage in their respective state constitutions. The Left has long believed packing the federal courts with liberal jurists is the means of fulfilling a radical social agenda, as the American people refuse to endorse that agenda at the polls or through their elected representatives. However, by such a radical departure from natural law and human history, these activist judges are undermining the legitimacy of the courts in the eyes of a majority of Americans. These judges may want to take America over the cultural cliff, but don't be surprised when more and more Americans refuse to follow." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via press release.

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Afternoon View - HRC Does Bear Week

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One Million Moms Vs Hershey

Just in via email:
Payday candy bars (owned by the Hershey Company) has launched a new marketing campaign symbolizing nudity and encouraging exposing oneself. This distasteful advertisement portrays the candy bar undressing as the wrapper is peeled away to expose a pixilated midsection. The commercial voiceover includes: “It’s the candy bar that is too hot for TV - in all its naked glory - stripped of chocolate with nothing but salty, roasted peanuts on soft, sweet caramel. A Payday bar will get you through your day - Expose Yourself to Payday.” Now parents cannot purchase Payday or any Hershey products with a clean conscience. This inappropriate advertisement is morally wrong and promotes illegal behavior. Take Action: Hershey will probably block incoming emails from our server like they have done in the past, so you'll want to personally call the Hershey Company’s corporate headquarters and ask that they immediately discontinue their Payday ad that encourages viewers to expose themselves. Let them know we will not buy any Hershey products until the Payday “Standing Tall” commercial is pulled off the air and removed from their website.

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TURKEY: High Court Rules That Calling Gays "Perverts" Is Hate Speech

Via LGBTI News Turkey:
For the first time, hate speech on the ground of sexual orientation is among decisions of the Constitutional Court. The Court acknowledged that calling gays “perverts” is hate speech. Attorney Sinem Hun’s application to the Constitutional Court of Turkey about a news article that appeared on the website Habervaktim.com, which involved hate speech referring both to her and to the Kaos GL Association, has come to a conclusion. The Constitutional Court declared that the article stating, “Sinem Hun who is registered to the Ankara Bar Association and is the lawyer of the association of the perverts called Kaos GL” on Habervaktim.com is indeed hate speech on the ground of sexual orientation but ruled that it actually takes aim at the association and not to the applicant. Hereby, this is the first time hate speech on the ground of sexual orientation has been acknowledged by the Supreme Court.
(Tipped by JMG reader Luis)

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MONTANA: GOP State AG Asks Federal Court To Uphold Same-Sex Marriage Ban

GOP Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has asked a federal court to uphold his state's ban on same-sex marriage because it does not discriminate against gay people.
Fox, in documents filed in federal court in Great Falls, denied all the allegations brought by the four gay couples who filed the lawsuit in May. The move was not unexpected, as Fox had said previously he would vigorously defend the ban. Approved by voters in 2004, the ban says marriage is between a man and woman. In his response, Fox asked the court to dismiss the complaint, arguing Montana's ban does not impose an unconstitutional "stigma or second-class citizenship on persons in same sex relationships." The couples, however, allege in their lawsuit that the ban denies same-sex couples freedoms and dignity afforded to other Montanans and that it denies them legal protections and benefits that come with marriage.
A reader tips us that prior to being elected attorney general in 2012, Fox was the attorney for the anti-gay Montana Family Foundation.

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At Bear Week Tea Dance

Yesterday was the "Solid Gold" tea dance at the Boatslip, prompting some to don wigs, bellbottoms, and platform shoes. I caught the below two minutes of homo fabulosity during the final song. There was so much joy in the room, I actually got choked up just filming it.

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Hate Group Leader Has The Florida Super Sadz: This Is An Issue Worth Dying For

Via the Miami Herald:
The Christian Family Coalition of Florida called the ruling a “corrupt decision,” and a “judicial lynching of nearly 8 million Florida voters” who voted to ban same-sex marriage in 2008. John Stemberger, who led that 2008 campaign, said he would keep fighting. “This is an issue worth dying for,” said Stemberger, president and general counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council in Orlando. “Every domestic partnership, every single civil union, every couple that cohabitates, these arrangements dilute and devalue marriage.” Stemberger said he wasn’t “daunted” by Garcia’s ruling, nor was he surprised. “The court was very hostile to our position,” he said. “This is a very sad day for Floridians. This is an entirely illegitimate process. The judge had no legal authority in this decision.”
Watch Stemberger's crybaby video below.

(Tipped by JMG reader Erik)

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Editorial Of The Day

From the editorial board of the Tampa Bay Times:
Florida is a significant step closer to treating all loving couples equally. A Monroe County circuit judge's decision Thursday to overturn the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage is a milestone victory for equality and fairness. Now the appellate courts should move quickly to affirm the decision so it can apply statewide, and Attorney General Pam Bondi should not keep standing in the way. Thursday's ruling was an important landmark, and it is in step with other court rulings throughout the nation and with quickly changing public opinion. The next step is for the appellate courts to affirm the decision so that same-sex couples throughout Florida enjoy the same right to marry as others. It would be helpful if the state attorney general finally recognized that federal constitutional protections apply to all regardless of sexual orientation and helped make this process a smooth one.

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Weird Al Yankovic - Handy

The videos keep coming, one per day this week.
And now it’s come time, inevitably, for him to take on Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s unstoppable pop juggernaut “Fancy.” The result is “Handy,” in which Yankovic puns impressively, for three minutes, about how he’s good at fixing stuff. If you guessed that the song would include a “glue dat, glue dat” line, pat yourself on the back. The video has dancing carpenters and “Weird Al” in, for some reason, a blonde wig and a fake mustache. Also, you may notice Eddie Pepitone as the customer. It rides its one joke impressively.

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BREAKING: Tenth Circuit Court Strikes Down Oklahoma Marriage Ban, Ruling Is Stayed Pending Appeal To SCOTUS

Via the Associated Press:
A federal appeals court on Friday ruled Oklahoma must allow gay couples to wed, marking the second time it has found the U.S. Constitution protects same-sex marriage. The decision from a three-judge panel in Denver upholds rulings that struck down Oklahoma's gay marriage ban. The 2-1 ruling comes after the same panel ruled June 25 that Utah's ban on same-sex marriage violates the Constitution. It was the first time an appellate court determined last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act means states cannot deny gays the ability to wed. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel put its Oklahoma and Utah rulings on hold pending an appeal. Utah's attorney general has said he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. Gay marriage in the two states will remain on hold.
Read the full ruling.

UPDATE: Freedom To Marry reacts.
“Today’s ruling arises out of the oldest active marriage case in the country, filed in Oklahoma ten years ago; and follows more than two dozen favorable rulings for marriage in the past year. The legal consensus is clear: marriage discrimination is unconstitutional and inflicts concrete harms on committed gay and lesbian couples and their families. From the heart of the Southwest and as far as the Mountain West, the federal rulings from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals from Oklahoma and Utah affirm that all of America is ready for the freedom to marry. It is time for the Supreme Court to end this patchwork of discrimination and bring our country to national resolution as soon as possible.”

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With Armistead Maupin

Armistead Maupin's final Bear Week show is tonight:
Author Armistead Maupin returns to the Paramount Room at the Crown & Anchor in Provincetown. Ticketholders to AN EVENING WITH ARMISTEAD MAUPIN can expect free-wheeling anecdotes and lively conversation with the audience – as well as a reading from Maupin's newest book, The Days of Anna Madrigal. The author's books will be available for purchase and signing after the event.
I totally forgot to wear the blog hat.

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Morning View - Provincetown T-Shirt

Advertised in the window of a Commercial Street shop.

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Israel Expands Gaza Offensive

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Today In Provincetown

Ito, fetch me a sidecar.

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UKRAINE: 108 Passengers On Shot Down Airliner Were Bound For AIDS Conference

Via the Australian:
More than 100 AIDS activists, researchers and health workers bound for a major conference in Melbourne were on the Malaysia Airlines flight downed in the Ukraine. It is believed that delegates to the 20th International AIDS Conference, due to begin on Sunday, will be informed today that 108 of their colleagues and family members died on MH17. Stunned researchers, activists and development workers arriving at Melbourne Airport paid tribute to AIDS researcher Joep Lange and the other attendees believed killed aboard MH17. Jonathan Quick, head of a not-for–profit medicine supply company working with the Global Fund and the US government in Africa and Latin America, described Professor Lange as a force for change in HIV/AIDS treatment. .
Via the Guardian:
“There’s a huge feeling of sadness here, people are in floods of tears in the corridors,” Clive Aspin, a veteran HIV researcher who attended the pre-conference plenary session in Sydney, told Guardian Australia. “These people were the best and the brightest, the ones who had dedicated their whole careers to fighting this terrible virus. It’s devastating.” Prof. Richard Boyd, director of the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, told Guardian Australia he was "gutted" by the losses. "There were some serious HIV leaders on that plane," he said. "This will have ramifications globally because whenever you lose a leader in any field, it has an impact. That knowledge is irreplaceable. "We've lost global leaders and also some bright young people who were coming through. It's a gut-wrenching loss. I was involved in the aftermath of 9/11 in New York and it brings back that level of catastrophe. "But the Aids community is very close-knit, like a family. They will unite and this will galvanise people to strive harder to find a breakthrough. Let's hope that, out of this madness, there will be new hope for the world."
Via the Associated Press:
Nobel laureate Dr. Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, co-discoverer of the AIDS virus and president of the International AIDS Society, paid tribute to Lange in a speech in the Australian capital, Canberra. "Joep was a wonderful person — a great professional ... but more than that, a wonderful human being," she said. "If it is confirmed, it will be a terrible loss for all of us. I have no words, really, to try to express my sadness. I feel totally devastated." She later told reporters the conference would continue out of respect for the lives lost: "Because we know that it's really what they would like us to do." Lange had been working on HIV since the earliest years of the epidemic, participating in clinical trials and research across the world, Barre-Sinoussi said. He had dedicated his life, she said, to "the benefit of mankind."
"Lets hope that out of this madness, there will be new hope for the world." Madness. Madness, indeed.

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Thursday, July 17, 2014

BREAKING: Israel Begins Ground Offensive In Gaza Strip, Troops Are On The Move

Via the New York Times:
Israel began a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip Thursday night, saying it would target tunnels that can infiltrate its territory after cease-fire talks failed to de-escalate the air war that has raged for 10 days. The military released a statement at 10:39 p.m. saying the goal of the operation was to “establish a reality in which Israeli residents can live in safety and security without continuous indiscriminate terror.” Palestinians and journalists in Gaza reported heavy artillery fire from ground troops in the north and naval gunboats stationed near Gaza’s port as well as a continuing air assault, with strikes targeting a rehabilitation hospital and, earlier, killing four young children as they played on a roof. Scores of rockets from Gaza continued to stream into cities all over central and southern Israel.

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REPORT: Sarah Palin Is Working To Get Homocon Tammy Bruce Cast On The View As The "Anti-Rosie O'Donnell"

Via wingnut entertainment columnist Nikki Finke:
The best way on TV to shut up a loudmouth is with another loudmouth. I’ve learned that Tea Party advocate Tammy Bruce – the outspoken nationally syndicated radio show host, author, and Fox News talking head – is being considered for a hosting slot on The View as the so-called "anti-Rosie". What makes this especially interesting is that Bruce reportedly BrucePalinwas suggested to the show by Sarah Palin. "I don’t think Sarah Palin is being considered to be a panelist on the show. I think she’s working behind the scenes to help them cast the conservative," an insider tells me. "Tammy and Palin are close friends, and I think they are hot on Tammy because of Palin. They want the show to be politically combative, and Tammy would certainly be the anti-Rosie in every possible way." Bruce’s website describes her as a "gay, pro-choice, gun-owning, pro-death penalty Tea Party Independent conservative". I’m told Bruce just had a meeting with ABC about potentially joining the show.
For those blissfully unaware, Tammy Bruce is a right wing radio shrieker who regularly screams about "the gaystapo" and who often speaks at far-right, anti-gay conventions. (Tipped by JMG reader Peter)

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Porno Pete: I Was Wrong About Putin

(Tipped by JMG reader Ashton)

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COLORADO: Baker Appeals Cake Ruling

Via the Associated Press:
A suburban Denver baker has appealed an order from the Colorado Civil Rights Commission that requires him to prepare wedding cakes for gay couples. Jack Phillips on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the May ruling by the commission. Phillips was sued by a gay couple after he refused to make a cake to celebrate their marriage in 2012. Phillips has said he is deeply religious and that making the cake would violate the Christian principles by which he runs his Lakewood business, Masterpiece Cake Shop. An administrative law judge ruled against Phillips and the commission upheld that decision, finding that Phillips' refusal violated the state's public accommodation law that requires businesses to serve customers regardless of their sexual orientation.

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BREAKING: Florida County Judge Rules Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

Via the Associated Press:
A judge in the Florida Keys has overturned the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage after a legal challenge by six gay couples said it effectively made them second-class citizens. The ruling was issued Thursday by Circuit Judge Luis M. Garcia and applies only to Monroe County, which covers the Keys. The lawsuit contended that the same-sex marriage ban approved by voters in 2008 violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. The judge says licenses could be issued starting Tuesday.
As I noted yesterday, this ruling only applies to Monroe County, which stretches from far below Miami to Key West.

UPDATE: Equality Florida is planning celebrations across the state for tonight. Click and find the location nearest you.

UPDATE II: More on the ruling.
The ruling by Circuit Judge Luis M. Garcia applies only to Monroe County, which primarily consists of the Keys, and will certainly be appealed. The lawsuit contended that the same-sex marriage ban approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2008 violated the federal 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law. The judge said licenses could not be issued until Tuesday at the earliest. Attorney General Pam Bondi and ban supporters argued that the referendum vote should be respected and that Florida has sole authority to define marriage in the state. The Florida amendment defined marriage solely as a union between one man and one woman.
UPDATE III: Read the full ruling.

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ILLINOIS: Hate Group Sues College For Right To Distribute Anti-Gay Flyers

Members of an SPLC-certified hate group have sued a Chicago-area community college, alleging that their First Amendment right to be bigoted douchebags has been violated.
Wayne Lela and John McCartney, members of Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment, allege they were not allowed to pass fliers out to students on one of Waubonsee’s campuses even though they did not violate any college rules. It wasn’t specified which of the four campuses they were denied from. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Wednesday claims Lela contacted school employees in January, asking if H.O.M.E. could pass out fliers titled, “The Uncensored Truth About Homosexuality” and “Gay Activism and Freedom of Speech and Religion.” The college denied the request in a letter and said it “consistently limits campus activities to events that are not disruptive of the college’s educational mission,” the suit said.
The flyers can be viewed here.

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Actress Elaine Stritch Dies At Age 89

Via the New York Times:
Elaine Stritch, the brassy, tart-tongued Broadway actress and singer who became a living emblem of show business durability and perhaps the leading interpreter of Stephen Sondheim’s wryly acrid musings on aging, died on Thursday at her home in Birmingham, Mich. She was 89. Her death was confirmed by a friend, Julie Keyes. Before Ms. Stritch moved to Birmingham last year, she lived, famously, for many years at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan.

Ms. Stritch’s career began in the 1940s and included her fair share of appearances in movies, including Woody Allen’s “September” (1987) and “Small Time Crooks” (2000), and on television; well into her 80s, she played a recurring role on the NBC comedy “30 Rock” as the domineering mother of the television executive played by Alec Baldwin. But the stage was her true professional home, where, whether in musicals, nonmusical dramas or solo cabaret shows, she drew audiences to her with her whiskey voice, her seen-it-all manner and the blunt charisma of a star.


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REPORT: Airliner Shot Down Over Ukraine

Story developing...

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Quote Of The Day: Mark Regnerus

"There is good news in Tuesday’s release from the CDC’s National Health Information Survey. No, it’s not the revelation that the gay and lesbian population may be slightly smaller — 1.6 percent — than many scholars have believed; population-based surveys tend to fluctuate. The results of the report make sense to me, and since others have already described them, I will refrain from repeating them at length here. The good news is that the survey’s questions were administered to over 34,000 Americans, randomly sampled, enabling scholars to get quality information about even small communities. And since the NHIS didn’t broadcast its interests or commitments to its survey pool (unlike some studies), we are treated to valid data — on sexuality as well as many other subjects — largely devoid of a form of social-desirability bias wherein respondents’ awareness of their own participation in a study whose topic is dear to them affects their survey answers." - Discredited researcher Mark Regnerus, who is cheered up at the thought of fewer LGBT Americans.

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Bette Midler: Should I Run For Congress?

Midler is one of most prolific of the politically aware celebs on Twitter and she is often the subject of scornful, mocking posts over on Twitchy. The most ridiculed celeb in Teabagistan in probably Cher for her daily rants against the Tea Party.

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Perfume Genius - Queen

Via Stereogum:
A couple of days ago, Perfume Genius announced the new album Too Bright and shared the stark, powerful first single “Queen.” Mike Hadreas, the man who performs as Perfume Genius, has said that the album represents a confident, confrontational embrace of queer identity and of the effects it can have, and that sure as hell comes through in the video, which is a truly great piece of work. Cody Critcheloe, the man behind the performance-art pop project SSION, directed the video, a surreal masterpiece that starts with Hadreas playing a street hustler and jumps into the unknown from there.
Wow. I love this. You might recall his similarly compelling 2012 video with late porn star Arpad Miklos.

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WISCONSIN: Democrats Tell Governor To Drop Marriage Opposition

Wisconsin Democrats have sent a letter to Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, telling to stop wasting state money on lawsuits to fight same-sex marriage.
Fifteen Democratic state senators and 25 Democratic representatives sent letters to Walker and Van Hollen on Wednesday. Van Hollen last week appealed a federal judge's ruling that the state's ban is unconstitutional. Walker is a named defendant in the lawsuit. Walker spokeswoman Jocelyn Webster says "Walker takes seriously the oath of office that he took to support the Wisconsin Constitution. If others do not take that oath seriously, that is their decision." Van Hollen spokeswoman Dana Brueck says he is fulfilling his oath and doing his job. No date has been set for oral arguments in the case.
Walker has recently been target of barbs from anti-gay groups for his supposed softening on same-sex marriage.

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About That Truvada Study

Josh Barro writes for the New York Times:
The sample size (2,500 subjects, half taking a placebo) wasn’t large enough to establish that Truvada is 100 percent effective when taken daily, especially because only 18 percent of subjects who were given Truvada actually had the medication in their blood at levels that were consistent with daily use. But by looking at the handful of infections among people taking their pills less than daily, the iPrEx researchers were able to build a statistical model of how the risk of infection declines as the number of pills taken weekly rises. In 2012, they estimated that actually taking Truvada every day produces a 99 percent reduction in the risk of H.I.V. infection, despite not directly observing any such infections.

In an email, Dr. Robert Grant, a top H.I.V. researcher at the University of California at San Francisco and the lead investigator for the iPrEx study, called the 99 percent figure “our best estimate of the H.I.V. risk reduction when men and transgender women who have sex with men use PrEP daily.” (PrEP, or “pre-exposure prophylaxis,” is the practice of using antiviral medication like Truvada to prevent H.I.V. infection, rather than to treat it.) Dr. Grant noted that lower estimates, such as the 92 percent figure, include results for people who were not taking the drug daily.
Barro concludes: "Putting too much weight on the 99-percent figure may lead some PrEP users to perceive virtually zero H.I.V. risk when they should really be thinking about very low risk."

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Headline Of The Day

The arguments slated for August 13th have been canceled for undisclosed reasons. Strange.

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Tallahassee's Mayor For Marriage Equality

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Morning View - From MacMillan Pier

Cool, grey, and wet for the second day. At this time last year, the northeast was baking in a triple-digit heat wave. Right now it's in the low 60s.

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Migrant Children Invade Arizona, Set Up Government, Rename State

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UTAH: State Asks SCOTUS For Emergency Stay On Same-Sex Marriages

Via Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed:
The “emergency application” goes to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, but state officials have asked her to refer the request to the entire court if she is “disinclined to grant the requested relief.” Both the trial court judge who had ordered the state to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples granted following the December 20, 2013 ruling that the state’s ban on such marriages is unconstitutional and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to issue a stay of the ruling during the appeal. Both courts, however, gave state officials a window to seek a stay from a higher court before the order goes into effect. The 10th Circuit’s temporary stay “window” ends at 10 a.m. July 21. As such, it is likely that either Sotomayor or the full court will act before then on the request or, more likely, to extend the stay temporarily while considering Utah’s request.
Read the full filing.

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Weird Al Yankovic - Foil

Weird Al is putting out a new video every day this week.
The funnyman’s latest song “Foil,” a parody of Lorde’s Grammy-winning hit “Royals,” starts out as an ode to aluminum foil. In the video, Yankovic plays the host of a cooking show who praises foil as the best way to preserve leftovers and “keep your sandwich and nice and fresh.” And then the song takes an unexpected turn, because Yankovic has another use for foil: making a tin hat. “Oh by the way I’ve cracked the code/ I figured out the shadow organizations /And the Illuminati knows / That they’re finally primed for world domination.” Despite the best efforts of his producer (played by comedian Patton Oswalt), Yankovic’s character launches into his theory about “puppet masters for a new world order,” and warns his viewers to “be aware / There’s always someone watching you.” He said he wears the tin hat made of foil to ward off “thought control rays and psychotronic scanning.”

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Michael Sam Honored At ESPY Awards

Via the Randy Report:
Preceded by a moving backstory video and followed by an emotional acceptance speech, St. Louis Rams' Michael Sam was honored at the 2014 ESPY Awards with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The video package and acceptance speech were perfect for the heroic Michael Sam. The sports world and the LGBT community could not be more proud that this is the journey and story a life can take when a true athlete faces his challenges. From his speech tonight at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles: "This year I had a lot of experience being part of something bigger than myself. At times, I felt like I'd been living in a massive storm, ... but the lessons learned — love, respect and being true to yourself — will never leave me."
More from USA Today:
Michael Sam delivered an incredibly powerful speech after accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2014 ESPYs on Wednesday night. There weren’t many dry eyes in the room following the words of Sam, who was honored for his decision to publicly come out and become the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL. Sam emotionally quoted Ashe’s words of wisdom, that included: Start Where You Are, Use What You Have and Do What You Can. “Those were words to live by,” Sam said. “Whether you’re white or black. Young or old. Straight or gay.” Sam fought back tears on stage, and he ended his speech by telling the story of a gay woman who told him she never again consider committing suicide after he came out as gay.

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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

NOM: Boycott Chase Bank

"Dear Joe, This is the smoking gun. NOM has obtained new evidence that shows Chase bank not only violated its employees' privacy with invasive and inappropriate questions on an employee survey aimed at pushing an LGBT agenda, but that the company has lied to consumers and its own employees about the now infamous questions. Today, NOM is launching an international petition and boycott at www.VoidChase.com to send the message that this kind of invasiveness and dishonesty is unacceptable and will not go unchallenged. I urge you to read on to get the facts for yourself, and then head over to www.VoidChase.com to join this important effort.

"The news about this survey has already been reported far and wide. But after NOM called on our members to contact Chase and demand answers about the invasive question to employees about whether they were 'allies of the LGBT community'—and answers about how this information was to be used—the bank's leadership went on defense. Several of you forwarded me responses received from Patricia A. Wexler, a Chase spokesperson, who said that, 'The news report is not correct. These surveys are anonymous and voluntary.' Another Chase spokesperson, Jaclyn D'Aversa, reiterated to the Heritage Foundation's Daily Signal that the survey was 'completely voluntary and anonymous.'

"That the survey was administered, and contained the offensive question, is simply beyond doubt. This screenshot, published Friday by Breitbart News, has finally laid all such questions to rest—even though, as the Breitbart piece notes, several liberal media elites had been claiming that the survey didn't even exist. We must spread this story far and wide. Many of you have been following this story, but many more still need to know about it so that they can join in action with others from around the globe in this historic protest. JP Morgan Chase is the largest bank in America, with assets over $2.4 trillion — they should be busy with the business of banking, not thought-policing and harassing their employees and lying to the public. They must be held accountable." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, via email. Hit the link for a similar version of the above on NOM's blog.

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Headline Of The Day

It's only resting. Details.

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Gohmert: Obama Won't Defend American Women From Rapist Immigrants

Via Raw Story:
According to the Tea Party-backed Republican, “criminal aliens” had committed 2,993 homicides in the past six years. “And they’ve committed at least 7,695 sexual assaults,” he insisted. “You want to talk about a war on women? This administration will not defend the women of America from criminal aliens! By the thousands, and hundreds of thousands!” “Well, we know thousands,” Gohmert opined. “And we know people are coming in by the hundreds of thousands illegally. And this administration wants to talk about other people having a war on women when they will not defend the women that are being sexually assaulted by illegally aliens in this country!”

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This Week's National Enquirer

Details.

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Macedonia To Ban Gay Marriage

Via the Associated Press:
Macedonia's parliament has agreed to consider proposed constitutional amendments to effectively ban gay marriage and impose limits on public debt. Lawmakers agreed Wednesday to begin the amendment process proposed by the governing conservatives, who with their political allies already have the two-thirds majority of seats needed to approve the changes after winning a landslide election victory in April. The amendments would define marriage exclusively as a heterosexual union, limit the national debt to 60 percent of gross domestic product and limit the country's annual budget deficit to 3 percent.

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Weird Al Yankovic - Word Crimes

Stereogum raves:
A masterfully assembled lyric video for “Word Crimes,” which transforms Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” into a slightly priggish grammar lesson. Yankovic, you see, is taking a stand against Twitter English. He’s also doing a nice take on Thicke’s smarmy falsetto and credibly delivering his version of T.I.’s verse, as well. The end result is, as you can probably imagine, a lot of fun.
2.3M views in the first day.

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Afternoon View - The Little Red

There's also a Little Red in Key West.

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All Eyes On Florida

Via the Orlando Sentinel:
Three judges in separate cases across Florida could rule any day on whether to overturn Florida's ban on gay marriage. Each case deals with different set of couples who want to get married in different counties, but the basic question is the same: Does Florida's ban on same-sex marriage violate an individual's right under the U.S. Constitution to equal protection? Florida gay-rights activists and their attorneys expect to win in all three courts. "Literally any second now we could get rulings from the judges in one or more of those cases," said Mary Meeks, an Orlando attorney helping represent six gay couples in the Miami-Dade County case. Beyond those three lawsuits, two other legal challenges also are pending, but those rulings are not imminent. All of the cases challenge the ban on gay marriage in Florida's constitution, an amendment approved in 2008 with 62 percent of the vote.
Also quoted in the above-linked story is local hate group leader John Stemberger, who already has the sadz about the judge in the Miami-Dade County case: "I don't expect her to uphold the law." County clerks in Orange and Seminole counties say that any pro-gay ruling in the Miami-Dade or Monroe County cases would not be applicable statewide and that they will not issue marriage licenses until a state or federal court overturns the ban. The third of the three imminent rulings mentioned above was filed in a federal court.

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Friday In Provincetown

Via Towleroad:
If you are at Bear Week in Provincetown come to Towleroad's coffee meet-up on Friday from 9-11:30 am at the Central House restaurant at the Crown & Anchor (247 Commercial) and meet literary legend Armistead Maupin and Joe.My.God blogger Joe Jervis who are our special guests, along with Andy Towle and Michael Goff.
RELATED: Maupin's final Bear Week show at the Crown & Anchor is Friday night.

BONUS: Hit the top link for a woofy Bear Week photo compilation.

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HomoQuotable - Steve Freiss

"White gay men as a group could be the truest friends black women can have in American society. No alliance is perfect, but this one has the potential, if nurtured properly, to reconfigure the stories of race and gender. White gay men — once intensely vilified but now able to harness our white male privilege for good, having learned what being on the outside is like — are a conduit through which black women can work against both countervailing forces that push them down. [snip]

"The mutual fondness between so many black women and white gay men arises both from similar, if not shared, experience, but also a strikingly similar approach to coping with it. Some tropes emerged from black female culture and some from the gay world, but how or why is the stuff not of pundits or essayists, but of doctoral dissertations by social anthropologists. We aren’t going to get to the bottom of that on Twitter.

"Still, cultural alliances like this are rare and should be treasured, not chastised. Black men didn’t have one. Neither did Jews or Native Americans. Arab Americans sure don’t. But through some fluke of cosmic association, black women have kindred spirits in white gay men. Don’t push us away." - Steve Freiss, in a TIME Magazine response to the now famous "Dear White Gays" rant.

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Viral Video Of The Day

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Tomorrow In Provincetown

From the Facebook event page:
Join us for a fun and fur-filled hour of hirsute literary pursuit for a reading and book signing for the new bear poetry anthology, Hibernation, and other poems by bear bards. Bear down to listen up as an outstanding group of authors reads from the book as well as other poems. This free event will be hosted by editor Ron J. Suresha and features contributing authors Alfred Corn, Charlie Hopwood, Daniel Lewiston, Dennis Rhodes, Rocco Russo, Jordan Shu, and Chris Vaccaro. Come listen to world-class poets share their bear-themed poetry. We'll be joined by several other bear authors with new books to share with the community.

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Scott Spark - Tag Along

From the press materials: 
Tom Ford aesthetics meet David Byrne dance moves - that edges close to what you can expect from Australian singer-songwriter Scott Spark's latest video clip for single 'Tag Along'. The song is taken from his album Muscle Memory, which has earned consistent critical acclaim since being released last month. The clip is directed by Peter Ireland, and features dancer Fez Faanana, whom you might know from the international touring burlesque group Briefs.

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Tony Perkins On ENDA

"As even the Left turns its back on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to give homosexuals and transgenders special rights in the workplace, the White House stubbornly plows ahead, insisting that it will defy Congress and enact a smaller version of the law by executive order. Angry the policy wouldn't go far enough in handcuffing employers with religious beliefs, most homosexual activists turned their backs on the idea. While they may have changed their position, 'this administration has not changed ours,' an Obama spokesman said. 'We're certainly aware of the ongoing conversations about ENDA,' he explained. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be aware of the conversation in Congress, where House members refused even to consider the bill. As we know too well, the LGBT community may make up three percent -- but it continues to get nearly 100% of the President's attention. If only Christians realized what liberals already do: that when it comes to transforming the culture, it's not the quantity of those engaged, but rather the quality of the commitment that counts." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

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Bryan Fischer: Gays Are Bullying Me

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Feds: 2.3% Are Gay Or Bisexual

Via the Washington Post:
Less than 3 percent of the U.S. population identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday in the first large-scale government survey measuring Americans’ sexual orientation. The National Health Interview Survey, which is the government’s premier tool for annually assessing Americans’ health and behaviors, found that 1.6 percent of adults self-identify as gay or lesbian, and 0.7 percent consider themselves bisexual. The overwhelming majority of adults, 96.6 percent, labeled themselves as straight in the 2013 survey. An additional 1.1 percent declined to answer, responded “I don’t know the answer” or said they were “something else.” The figures offered a slightly smaller assessment of the size of the gay, lesbian and bisexual population than other surveys, which have pegged the overall proportion at closer to 3.5 or 4 percent. In particular, the estimate for bisexuals was lower than in some other surveys.
 Here's NBC's take:
It’s official: Just under 2 percent of Americans say they are gay or lesbians and just under 1 percent say they’re bisexual. The first federal health survey to look at the question of sexuality finds that 96.6 percent of Americans declare they are heterosexual, or straight. Another 1 percent won’t say. The survey by the National Center for Health Statistics shows significant differences in health risks, also. People who say they are gay, lesbian or bisexual are also more likely to smoke and binge drink. But they also exercise more than straight Americans. They survey found that 26 percent of gays and lesbians smoke, compared to 18 percent who identified as straight and 29 percent of bisexual. And 33 percent of homosexuals say they had five or more drinks in a single day over the past year — the formal definition of binge-drinking — compared to 22 percent of straight people and nearly 40 percent of bisexuals.
The survey did not ask about gender identity.

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TRAILER: Doctor Who, Series 8

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Tony Perkins Has The Burger King Sadz

"When Burger King says 'have it your way,' they aren't just talking about food. Hello, I'm Tony Perkins with the Family Research Council in Washington. Is it Burger King or Burger Queen? Customers in San Francisco aren't so sure after the chain's new Proud Whopper. Local stores unveiled the rainbow menu to coincide with LGBT week. Although nothing's different about the burger, executives hope the wrapper will make a statement. But even in liberal San Francisco, Time reports, some customers have a beef with the burgers. 'If that's what they're gonna do,' said one person, 'they won't [have] my business anymore.' That's the beauty of the free market. If Burger King wants to cater to a fringe group at the expense of other customers, that's their choice. Just like it's Cracker Barrel's decision to support natural marriage and the celebrities who advocate it. The problem is those companies who say they believe in debate and then try to silence it. That's the biggest whopper of them all." - KKK-affiliated hate group leader Tony Perkins, speaking on his national radio show.

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Viral Audio: Comcastic Disconnect

1.3M listens to this maddening attempt to disconnect Comcast service.
Last week my wife called to disconnect our service with Comcast after we switched to another provider (Astound). We were transferred to cancellations (aka "customer retention"). The representative (name redacted) continued aggressively repeating his questions, despite the answers given, to the point where my wife became so visibly upset she handed me the phone. Overhearing the conversation, I knew this would not be very fun. What I did not know is how oppressive this conversation would be. Within just a few minutes the representative had gotten so condescending and unhelpful I felt compelled to record the speakerphone conversation on my other phone.

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At The Brian Sims Fundraiser

Today's re-election fundraiser for Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims brought out a big Bear Week crowd of admirers, some of whom are not actual Pennsylvania voters. How very curious. Seen with Sims in the top photo is Manhattan-based DJ Bill Pfeiffer, whose mixes have been featured here on JMG. In the bottom photo is the five-member Brian Sims Cub Club, some of whom are not even Americans. Again, curious.

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