Bill Clinton Speaks At HRC Gala

Bill Clinton gave the keynote address at tonight's sold-out Human Rights Campaign National Dinner.  Via Politico:

The fired-up crowd attending the Human Rights Campaign’s national dinner at Washington D.C.’s cavernous convention center was particularly enthusiastic whenever he mentioned Hillary Clinton, a likely 2016 Democratic candidate. The former president noted her support for gay rights during her time at State, when she said that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” “I love the HRC. The initials are great,” Clinton said as the crowd embraced the dual reference to the rights organization and his wife’s middle name, Rodham. Early on, the former president also mentioned Guy Cecil, the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, who is thought to be a candidate to run Hillary Clinton’s potential presidential campaign. Bill Clinton noted several times how much has changed on the gay rights front — including court-sanctioned gay marriage in many places — since he addressed the organization in 1997. “One thing we have learned is no human heart is immune to an honest outreach,” he said. “No one can forever ignore their personal experience. If you ask somebody who the most conservative member of the Bush administration was, most people say Dick Cheney. But Dick Cheney was for gay marriage [and] gay rights because of his daughter [one of whom is gay], because of his personal human experience.”

Multiple reporters tweeted that Clinton did not mention DOMA or DADT, both of which he signed into law. Photo source.

Conan O'Brien Vs Madeleine Albright

(Via JMG reader Scott)

FRC: Put On The Full Armor Of God To Fight Houston Mayor Annise Parker

Nancy Reagan's Astrologer Dies At 87

Via the New York Times:

In his 1988 memoir, Donald T. Regan, a former chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan, revealed what he called the administration’s “most closely guarded secret.” He said an astrologer had set the time for summit meetings, presidential debates, Reagan’s 1985 cancer surgery, State of the Union addresses and much more. Without an O.K. from the astrologer, he said, Air Force One did not take off. The astrologer, whose name Mr. Regan did not know when he wrote the book, was Joan Quigley. She died on Tuesday at 87 at her home in San Francisco, her sister and only immediate survivor, Ruth Quigley, said. Mr. Regan said that Miss Quigley — a Vassar-educated socialite who preferred the honorific Miss to Ms. (she never married) — had made her celestial recommendations through phone calls to the first lady, Nancy Reagan, often two or three a day. Mrs. Reagan, he said, set up private lines for her at the White House and at the presidential retreat at Camp David.

Quigley was introduced to the Reagans by Merv Griffin.

Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence

From the coming concert film, Live In Berlin, due for release on November 17th. Enjoy The Silence is their highest-charting US pop hit to date, peaking at #8 in 1990.  Depeche Mode's chart span in the US stands at 32 years, starting with the 1981 pop hit Dreaming Of Me (#47) and most recently with last year's dance hits Heaven, (#1) and Sooth My Soul (#7).

Bill Donohue: All Catholics Must Support Constitutional Ban On Gay Marriage

"God got tossed again this week when Obama called for homosexual marriage to be recognized as a constitutional right. In doing so, he teed up a confrontation between our long established constitutional right to religious liberty and this newly invented right to gay marriage. Contrary to what many have said, this issue is not over. Were it not for unelected judges overturning the express will of the people—in state after state—attempts to subvert marriage, properly understood, would not have succeeded. We need to return power to the people by considering a constitutional amendment.

"The time is ripe for Catholics to support the efforts of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the bishops’ point man on marriage. In February, he called for support of the federal Marriage Protection Amendment. As any astute political science undergraduate knows, there is no constitutional right to gay marriage. But now that this issue has been thrust upon us by our constitutional law professor president, we need to affirm marriage between a man and a woman in the U.S. Constitution." - Bill Donohue, writing for the Catholic League.

Obama Addresses Nation On Ebola

Via the Associated Press:

President Barack Obama says the U.S. must be guided by science - not fear - as it responds to Ebola. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says he was proud to give Texas nurse Nina Pham a hug in the Oval Office after she was cured of Ebola. He says the other nurse who contracted Ebola is also improving. Obama is praising New York's quick reaction to its first Ebola case. He says he's promised local officials any federal help they need. Obama is reminding Americans they can't contract Ebola unless they come into direct contact with a patient's bodily fluids. The president says the U.S. can beat the disease if it remains vigilant. He says the best way to stop it is at its source in West Africa.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Federal Court Could Rule On Marriage Case By November 3rd

Via the Post & Courier:

A lawsuit filed by two Charleston women seeking to bring gay marriage to South Carolina will move more quickly after a federal judge on Friday denied an attorney's request for extra time to file responses and after attorneys agreed not to pursue hearings that could have delayed the case. That means U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel could rule as early as Nov. 3 in a lawsuit filed last week by Charleston County Councilwoman Colleen Condon and her partner, Nichols Bleckley. They contend the state must allow them to marry following the U.S. Supreme Court's Oct. 6 refusal to review an appellate case overturning Virginia's gay marriage ban. Late Wednesday, Bleckley and Condon requested a temporary injunction prohibiting state officials from enforcing the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage. That would open the state's doors to same-sex marriages.

The case above was filed by Lambda Legal and South Carolina Equality. A separate case filed last year by private lawyers remains pending.

Rep. Steve King: Leftists Fabricated That Thing About Gays Not Going To Heaven And I Stand By Having Said It

FLORIDA: AG Pam Bondi Files Motion Opposing Lift Of Stay On Marriage Ruling

As most expected, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi just filed her motion in opposition to the ACLU's demand for the lifting of a federal court's stay on its ruling to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

There is a great public interest in stability of the law. If Florida’s law is going to change in the substantial manner plaintiffs seek, it should be only after the plaintiffs’ legal claims undergo appellate review. If the Eleventh Circuit reverses, and if people married in the meantime, those new marriages would be subject to uncertainty. No one benefits from on-again off-again marriage laws. This Court also recognized the “substantial public interest in allowing those who would enter same-sex marriages the same opportunity for due deliberation that opposite-sex couples routinely are afforded. Encouraging a rush to the marriage officiant, in an effort to get in before an appellate court enters a stay, serves the interests of nobody.” The same is true if those efforts are to rush to the marriage officiant before the Eleventh Circuit rules on the merits.

Read the full motion at Equality Case Files.

DALLAS: Airport Bystanders Take Down Drunk Redneck Homophobe After Verbal & Physical Assault On (Possibly) Gay Man

This went down at the Dallas airport. Via Raw Story:

The video is dated Thursday, October 23, and shows an unnamed angry man bellowing and threatening another passenger who is wearing a jacket and a pink shirt. A tall man in a black cowboy hat approaches and asks the angry man what he’s upset about. “Queers!” the man shouted. “That’s what I’m upset about. This faggot right here.” After a tense exchange, the angry man kicks the man in the pink shirt, then slaps at him and grabs his hair. A number of people rush to intervene as the man is tacked and put on the floor. The man in the cowboy hat can be heard saying loudly, “No way! No way, you motherfucker. You ain’t doin’ that fucking shit, motherfucker.”

Handcuffed redneck: "I punched him square in the mouth in the fuckin' mouth is what I did. Because this is AMERICA. When I get up I'm gonna beat the shit out of him."

(Tipped by JMG reader Joel)

#DeMaioTrainWreck

San Diego CityBeat is blowing up all of homocon Carl DeMaio's lies. It really IS a train wreck.

Queen Elizabeth Sends Her First Tweet

Via CNN:

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II dipped a toe into 21st-century communications Friday when she posted her first tweet. Signing herself Elizabeth R., for regina or queen, she welcomed visitors to a new Information Age gallery focused on the evolution of modern communications at the Science Museum in London. The inaugural tweet was posted to the official British monarchy Twitter feed, which has more than 700,000 followers.

Success For Annise Parker's Daughter

In a tweet I posted earlier today, Parker reported that her kid was being hassled by the DMV because both of her moms' names appear on her birth certificate.

Multiple Students Shot In Cafeteria Of Seattle-Area High School, Gunman Dead

Via the Seattle Times:

A student believed to have opened fire at Marysville-Pilchuck High School Friday morning is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to two law-enforcement sources. Police have not released details, but there are reports of as many as seven other people injured. Ambulances are staging around the school and police are searching room to room with guns drawn, leaving tape to mark the doors of the rooms that have been cleared. Some students were being evacuated from the school, walking out and across the fields with their hands up. Some were being bused to a nearby church. Others were being told to stay inside classrooms.

CNN reports that two students have been airlifted from the scene. The school remains under lockdown at this writing.

MACEDONIA: Hooded Mob Trashes LGBT Center In Nation's Capital Of Skopje

Via Balkan Insight:

Around 20 hooded hooligans tried to wreck the second birthday party of the centre for support of the LGBT community on Thursday in Skopje, vandalizing the “Damar” cafe in the Old Bazaar area, where the event took place. A woman was injured after the hooligans threw a bottle at her head. Witnesses said the attack only lasted around 10 minutes but had devastating effects. “The hooligans entered the cafe and started throwing everything, like bottles, crates… It was a stampedе. One girl was injured and was taken to the accident and emergency centre. She is fine, but still recovering,” Uranija Pirovska, director of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Macedonia, a host of the event, said. The victims of the homophobic rampage said they could not see the faces of the hooligans because they wore hoods. “They were well organized. They had an exact plan of how to enter, what to demolish and when to leave, before the police came,” a witness said.

The center is supported financially by the local Dutch embassy. Macedonia is one of six nations currently seeking membership in the European Union. Its application has been pending since 2004.

IDAHO: Coeur d'Alene Declares Hitching Post Exempt From Anti-Discrimination Law

Via Boise's NPR station:

The city of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, said a for-profit wedding chapel owned by two ministers doesn't have to perform same-sex marriages. Initially, the city said its anti-discrimination law did apply to the Hitching Post, since it is a commercial business. Earlier this week, Coeur d'Alene city attorney Mike Gridley sent a letter to the Knapps’ attorneys at the Alliance Defending Freedom saying the Hitching Post would have to become a not-for-profit to be exempt. But Gridley said after further review, he determined the ordinance doesn’t specify non-profit or for-profit. “After we've looked at this some more, we have come to the conclusion they would be exempt from our ordinance because they are a religious corporation,” Gridley explained.

Court filings show the Hitching Post reorganized earlier this month as a “religious corporation.” In the paperwork, the owners describe their deeply held beliefs that marriage should be between one man and one woman. The Knapps' attorney said the city is about to be tested on its approach. He said the Knapps have been contacted by the police about a complaint filed on Thursday by a same-sex couple who were turned away at the Old West themed chapel. Leo Morales of the ACLU of Idaho said the exemption makes sense as long as the Hitching Post primarily performs religious ceremonies. “However, if they do non-religious ceremonies as well, they would be violating the anti-discrimination ordinance,” Morales said. “It's the religious activity that's being protected."

As I noted yesterday, it's rather apparent that Alliance Defending Freedom has been orchestrating the Hitching Post story for months in the hopes of creating a test case that would invalidate public accommodation laws nationwide. (Via Good As You)

NYPD To Get Mobile Fingerprint Scanners

Claiming that the device will reduce the numbers that are held pending investigations, the NYPD is spending $160M on mobile devices that will allow officers to scan a suspect's fingerprints in order to check for outstanding warrants.

“You can literally, with this technology, take a fingerprint on a street corner in New York City,” Mayor de Blasio said. “This is going to speed the work of law enforcement. It’s also going to allow us to not have to bring as many people into the station house.” “It’s going to allow us to do more summonses and fewer arrests where appropriate. It’s going to simplify and make more efficient the work that people in law enforcement do,” he added. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said the mobile fingerprinting technology “will take some time” to roll out, but Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said that “by this spring, we anticipate the integration of fingerprint scanning, as well as enhanced data collection in the field.” Officials said the technology would come courtesy of 35,000 handheld devices and another 6,000 Panasonic “Toughpad” tablet computers that the city is buying for the NYPD.

It's not clear whether the fingerprints of those cleared of wrongdoing will be retained by the NYPD.

Christian Movie The Principle Claims Universe Revolves Around The Earth

Via the Christian site CBN News:

A new documentary, "The Principle," is so controversial that scientists and even people featured in the movie are condemning it before they've had a chance to see it. The film chops away at some of the most sacred cows of modern science: that Earth is nothing special and sprang into being by accident. It delves into the latest scientific findings to present what its makers believe is solid evidence the whole universe revolves around Earth and its Milky Way galaxy. Physics professor John Hartnett, with Australia's University of Adelaide, studied the locations of some 400,000 galaxies from the 2005 Sloan Digital Sky Survey and was astounded to see a surprising form and pattern in how they're arrayed, all with Earth at the center. "As if the galaxies preferred to lie at some periodic spacing out from the Earth," Hartnett explains in the documentary

The film opens today on a single screen in Chicago.

Eugene Delgaudio: Gays Want To Make It Legal To Rape And Murder Young Boys

"My health is suffering under the strain of fighting the radical Homosexual Lobby with limited help. I can't eat, I can't sleep and I am sick with worry. Many nights I stay up and worry -- worry about my family, worry about Public Advocate's future, worry about the future of the American Family and morality. I'm expected to expand programs to stop liberals in Congress from allowing homosexuals to run rampant over our country. These people admit that they want to molest our children. They admit that they want special rights that no American has. They admit that they want to infiltrate and weaken our military's moral fiber. They admit that they want complete control over the national law enforcement apparatus. They admit that they're deviants. And just as Jesus showed us by example and could not have stood back and done nothing at the Temple, I couldn't stand back and do nothing in the face of the growing power of the radical Homosexual Agenda. I won't allow my children to grow up in a nation where police are forced by gay 'rights' laws to allow sexual predators like 'Uncle Ed' Savitz and Jeffrey Dahmer to rape and murder young boys in the streets. And I won't stand by while pro-homosexual school teachers expose our children to 'gay filth and call it AIDS education." - Hate group leader and Virginia elected official Eugene Delgaudio, in today's money beg. He is awaiting your call.

Cyndi Lauper Advocates For Homeless LGBT Youth At National Press Club Event

From an unusually even-handed report by the Christian site CNS News:

Pop singer and LGBT activist Cyndi Lauper said on Wednesday that homosexual children are “being thrown away because of who they are.” Lauper was speaking at an event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to mark the 40th anniversary of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and to advocate for a new authorization of the bill introduced by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) to include language for LGBT youth “protections.” Lauper said that LGBT youth make up to as much as 40 percent of homeless youth in the United States while only seven percent of youth “identify as gay or transgender.” “That, to me is alarming, because that means to me that kids are being thrown away because of who they are,” she said. “I think we need these kids.

Commenters at the above-linked site are, of course, viciously attacking Lauper and LGBT kids. They use Disqus, so feel free to show your support.

RELATED: Tickets went on sale today for Lauper's star-studded benefit concert at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre.

NOM Co-Sponsors Houston Hate Rally

Brian Brown has announced his partnership with the coming Houston hate rally against "sermon-grabbing homofascist" Mayor Annise Parker.

Five pastors and churches in have had their internal church communications subpoenaed by Mayor Annise Parker. This is part of an intimidation campaign that comes amidst a lawsuit brought by citizens against the city of Houston after a petition from residents was basically thrown out by the city administration. But none of these pastors or churches are even a party to the lawsuit! This action is simply an attempt to intimidate anyone who has dared to question the city's terrible gender-neutral "bathroom bill" — the ordinance against which the voters signed the petition. The bottom line, though, is that the government has no business monitoring sermons or prying into the private communications between a pastor and his congregation! The Constitution secures the freedom of the church to proclaim the truth. We can't sit idly by and allow intimidation like this to stand. That's why The National Organization for Marriage is proud to be a partner in a special nationwide simulcast event, live from Houston.

The above-linked message closes with a money beg for NOM.

Yet Another Carl DeMaio Scandal

Another day, another scandal for homocon US House candidate Carl DeMaio, whose campaign is now being accused of secretly authoring a UT San Diego editorial that slammed his opponent, Democratic Rep. Scott Peters.

Controversial and highly disputed emails provided to NBC 7 Investigates include statements from Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio where he appears to be bragging about his campaign writing a UT San Diego editorial that was highly critical of DeMaio’s opponent and had a “UT San Diego editorial board” byline. Former DeMaio staffer Todd Bosnich said he and campaign spokesman Dave McCulloch were the authors of an editorial entitled “Scott Peters and the Mount Soledad Shuffle.” The emails provided to NBC 7 indicate that after the editorial ran, McCulloch reached out to a consultant, other campaign staff and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) boasting that “UT San Diego scorched Peters over the Soledad Cross today, saying ‘Peters has a history of being both slippery and insubstantive’ and that ‘rewriting his own history and ducking responsibility for his actions have always come easy to Scott Peters.’" In response, Alleigh Marree of the NRCC said: “This is great. Will be able to use these lines A LOT.” In the email thread provided to NBC 7 Investigates, DeMaio wrote back, “Well, we did wrote (sic) it ourselves.”

The UT San Diego is denying NBC's claims. The paper is owned by major Prop 8 donor and hotel mogul Doug Manchester, whose properties were targeted with boycotts in the wake of the referendum's passage. DeMaio has financial ties with Manchester that go back more than a decade and the paper has endorsed DeMaio. A poll issued early this week showed DeMaio and Peters in a dead heat. Their race is one of the most closely watched in the nation.

ITALY: Six LGBT Activists Charged With "Disgusting" Kissing At Anti-Gay Protest

Via Gay Star News:

Six LGBTI rights activists have been charged with disturbing the peace because they kissed at an anti-gay protest in March. The public prosecutor’s office notified the six of the charges earlier this month. The three men and three women held a spontaneous, uncoordinated protest against an anti-gay group Sentinelle in Piedi, Standing Sentries, in Perugia, central Italy. The Sentinelle stage demonstrations against gay marriage and efforts to extend hate crime protections to LGBTI people. Members stand silently in plazas, holding books or praying. Two of the activists are members of LGBTI rights group Omphalos and four belong to Bella Queer. All six are accused of disturbing the peace and four are also accused of holding an unlawful demonstration. The prosecutor acted on a police report that accused two of the men of engaging in "a long and passionate kiss on the mouth in front of many families with children and adolescents many of whom are minors, leaving passersby disgusted by such a demonstration."

Human Rights Watch is demanding that the charges be dropped. They note that anti-gay protests are rising due to plans for the introduction of a civil unions bill.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said his government is preparing draft legislation to create civil unions for same-sex couples, while a bill for civil unions drafted by a member of parliament from Renzi’s Democratic Party has already been submitted to the Senate Justice Commission for examination. Flavio Romani, president of Arcigay, explained that LGBT groups in Italy aspire to full marriage equality, but that the civil unions as envisioned in the existing draft legislation would provide virtually the same rights and duties as marriage under Italian law. “We won’t uncork the champagne,” he told Human Rights Watch. “But a big step forward is better than nothing. But it has to be a big step forward.”

Last week the mayors of Milan and Rome registered foreign same-sex marriages in defiance of Italian law.

FLORIDA: Marriage Deadline Is Today

The above tweet from a Florida news outlet doesn't quite tell the full story. Via Equality Florida:

Friday, October 24 is a critical day for marriage equality in Florida. That is the deadline for Attorney General Pam Bondi to decide if she will oppose a request that a federal judge lift a stay and allow marriage licenses to be issues to same-sex couples in Florida. Earlier this month the US Supreme Court paved the way for marriages for same-sex couples to commence in 13 states by refusing to hear appeals of five circuit court rulings that found state bans unconstitutional. The ACLU and lawyers for plaintiffs in a concurrent case immediately asked Judge Hinkle to lift the stay he put in place in January when he declared the ban a violation of equal protection and due process. “Even if she continues to pursue an appeal, Attorney General Bondi should not hold our state and our families hostage by calling for the stay to remain in place. Should she choose to appeal, let her follow the lead of the 9th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court and allow marriages to commence. Every day that Floridians are denied access to the protections only marriage can provide, our families suffer," added Nadine Smith, Equality Florida CEO.

Most expect Bondi to oppose lifting the stay.

Pastor Kenneth Copeland Slays Demon Virus Ebola By Speaking In Tongues

Speaking in tongues always cracks me up. Start at 13:00.

Today's New York City Tabloids

LDS Explains Mormon Underwear

Via the Washington Post:

For years, the Mormon Church’s undergarments have been mocked and misunderstood. Often referred to jokingly as “magic Mormon underwear,” the garb, which resembles a T-shirt and shorts, has been ridiculed on Broadway, referenced in political campaigns and exploited online for profit. That’s why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has come forward to explain one of its most sacred Mormon mysteries. The church released a four-minute video on its Web site, comparing the white two-piece cotton “temple garments” to the priest’s cassock, nun’s habit, Jewish prayer shawl, Muslim’s skullcap and Buddhist monks’ saffron robes. It rejected the perception that the garments have protective powers. The term “magic underwear” is “not only inaccurate but also offensive,” the video said. “There is nothing magical or mystical about temple garments, and church members ask for the same degree of respect and sensitivity that would be afforded to any other faith by people of goodwill.”

Tweet Of The Day - Annise Parker

NPH On His Gone Girl Sex Scenes

Clip recap: "Gone Girl isn't the first time that Neil's had to act in the buff, but this time he didn't have to do 'the helicopter' to get ready."

Caption This

That's Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback. You'll recall that the Benhams gave the same treatment to Alan Robertson, Rick Perry, and Bobby Jindal. Note that the coming Houston hate rally logo is on the screen behind them.

Lisa Kudrow - Gay Men Are Superior

"The people I work with are gay. I don't know who I'm going to offend by leaving them out, but I need to say that I think gay men are superior beings in my mind. I do believe that. It's all so tricky. I studied biology and the brains are anatomically different. They just are. There's a stronger connection with the corpus callosum (in gay men). The two sides of the brain communicate better than a straight man's, and I think that has to be really important. They're not women - they're still men - and women also have thicker corpus callosums, so I think it's the combination of those qualities that makes them like a superhuman to me." - Lisa Kudrow, speaking to Pride Source.

Eugene Delgaudio Vs Cory Brooker

Delgaudio is claiming that the misspelling was on purpose.

A Virginia-based group that opposes gay rights has sent out a postcard to New Jersey voters opposing U.S. Sen. Cory Booker’s re-election. But it spells the Democratic senator's name wrong. The postcard was sent out by Public Advocate of the United States, a non-profit group. On the front, it shows two men kissing and, in big white letters on a pink background, these words: “Is this Cory Brooker’s (sic) plan for New Jersey?” The president of the group, Eugene Delgaudio, said that was intentional.

“It’s a tactic to get attention, which we did get. You’re calling me,” he said of the ad campaign, which he said was “very low budget” and included about 50,000 postcards. His group is attacking candidates in other states as well. The back of the postcard says that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Bell filled out the group’s survey and “earned a 100% pro-family rating.” The postcard also incorrectly calls Bell, who has never won an elected office, a senator. It goes on to say that Booker did not answer the survey “and has earned a 0% Pro-Family rating due to his praise for homosexual ‘marriage’ and co-sponsoring the Gay Bill of Special Rights.”

Booker is leading Bell by double-digits. You should call Delgaudio and ask him for a souvenir copy of the above postcard. Also, here's a photo of ole Eugene and a giant cookie.

UTAH: Same-Sex Adoption Now Legal

Via the Salt Lake Tribune:

The Utah Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a stay which had barred from completion four pending adoptions of children by their same-sex parents. The action clears the way for the Utah Department of Health to issue birth certificates that list the same-sex parents as the children’s legal parents. It will also restart countless other adoptions that were left in limbo by Utah’s contention that the cases should be on hold until it was clear that gay marriage would be legal in the Beehive state. "The families involved are obviously relieved and thrilled," said Laura Milliken Gray, an attorney who represented one of the four families, and who also had six other adoptions in process when the stay was put in place. The court’s action was not unexpected, she said. The Utah Attorney General’s Office asked the state’s high court to lift the stay and any pending petitions for extraordinary relief. Utah’s reversal on the issue came two weeks ago when the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ended Utah’s legal battle over the recognition of same-sex marriages and its associated rights, including adoption. Previously, so-called second parents had no legal rights to their children.

Equality Utah reacts: "This rectifies a major injustice. Families all over Utah are celebrating having their families united."

From Chief Of Staff For Sen. Ted Cruz

Chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz immediately deleted the above tweet after half of Twitter called him insane. Some the responses were posted tonight by the Boston Globe.

(Tipped by JMG reader Sam)

NEW YORK CITY: Doctor Isolated With Possible Ebola After West Africa Trip UPDATE: He Has Tested Positive

Via the New York Times:

A doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea tested positive for the Ebola virus Thursday, becoming the city’s first diagnosed case. The doctor, Craig Spencer, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital on Thursday and placed in isolation while health care workers spread out across the city to trace anyone he might have come into contact with in recent days. A further test will be conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the initial test. While officials have said they expected isolated cases of the disease to arrive in New York eventually, and had been preparing for this moment for months, the first case highlighted the challenges surrounding containment of the virus, especially in a crowded metropolis. Even as the authorities worked to confirm that Mr. Spencer was infected with Ebola, it emerged that he traveled from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the subway on Wednesday night, when he went to a bowling alley and then took a taxi home.

One Million Moms Vs Pfizer

What took them so long?

Dear Joe, The newest Viagra commercial is inappropriate for obvious reasons, especially when aired as early as it has been recently when children are still awake and likely watching television. It features a sexy blond with a sultry voice in a sheer gown lying on a bed, which many families find offensive and embarrassing. To make matters worse, the ad clearly states erectile dysfunction instead of the abbreviation ED to explain the reason for advertising this product. Our organization has received numerous complaints from concerned parents. 1MM could not ignore this issue.  When this type of commercial airs too early in the evening; family viewing time is ruined. Can you imagine what goes through the mind of a child, tween or teen when they see this ad? A parent never expects to have a discussion about erectile dysfunction while sitting at home enjoying family time. TAKE ACTION: Send an email letter to Viagra (Pfizer) and insist they pull their current "ED" commercial off the air immediately, or at least move any future airings to later in the evening.

Pat Robertson: Christians Can Raise The Dead But Just Don't Use That Power

Bette Midler - Waterfalls

Via the Advocate:

Bette Midler is paying tribute to some of the greatest harmonies performed by girl groups in music history with her upcoming collection of covers It’s the Girls. The album, available November 4 from Warner Bros. records, features 15 classic tracks by legendary ladies including the Ronettes, the Supremes, TLC, and the Chiffons, among others.

TLC's critically-raved original spent seven week atop the Billboard pop singles chart in 1995. Bette includes their reference to HIV ("three letters took him to his final resting place"), but coupled with this rather funereal arrangement, that sort of doom somehow feels less fitting nearly 20 years later. She does sound as great as always.

LIBERIA: Gays Attacked And Harassed After Christian Leaders Call Ebola God's Punishment For Homosexuality

Via Reuters:

Leroy Ponpon doesn't know whether to lock himself in his flat in Monrovia because of the deadly Ebola virus, or because he is gay. Christian churches' recent linking of the two have made life hell for him and hundreds of other gays. Ponpon, an LGBT campaigner in the Liberian capital, says gays have been harassed, physically attacked and a few have had their cars smashed by people blaming them for the hemorrhagic fever, after religious leaders in Liberia said Ebola was a punishment from God for homosexuality. "Since church ministers declared Ebola was a plague sent by God to punish sodomy in Liberia, the violence toward gays has escalated. They're even asking for the death penalty. We're living in fear," Ponpon told the Thomson Reuters.

RELATED: LGBT rights are nonexistent in Liberia. The current maximum penalty for homosexual acts is one year in prison, which is relatively light compared to many African nations. In 2012 former Liberian First Lady Jewel Taylor, who is now a legislator, introduced a gay death penalty bill.  Two weeks later 2011 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf announced that she would not sign Taylor's bill even after its maximum penalty was "watered down" to a mere ten years in prison. However Sirleaf continues to refuse to consider decriminalizing homosexuality in Liberia. Shortly after Sen. Jewel Taylor's bill failed, local Christian leaders distributed flyers which declared, "We will get every gay person one by one. Let these individuals be aware that we are coming after them soon. We urge them to also begin saying the Lord’s Prayer." Liberia is 85% Christian.

ALSO RELATED: Sen. Jewel Taylor's ex-husband, former Liberian president Charles Taylor, is currently imprisoned at The Hague for crimes against humanity. In 2010 prosecutors in the case charged that Pat Robertson had lobbied the George H.W. Bush administration on Taylor's behalf in order to gain the rights to gold mines controlled by Taylor's war lords. During his trial Taylor testified that Robertson had indeed been his main political ally in the United States. According to pilots that worked for Robertson's Operation Blessings, planes that Robertson told 700 Club viewers were ferrying Christian relief supplies to genocide victims in Rwanda were in fact carrying mining equipment to Taylor's gold operation in Liberia. Sen. Jewel Taylor has been banned from all international travel by the United Nations.

Gays Are Making Marriage Meaningless

The link to this clip was tweeted out today by Brian Brown.

GOP Rep. Steve King: In 2000 Years No Gay Person Has Ever Gone To Heaven

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is very sure that no gay person has gotten past heaven's velvet ropes since Doorman Jesus got the gig.

“I would say that what was a sin 2,000 years ago is a sin today, and we need to stick to that principle,” King said in an interview with The Jefferson Herald. The report from the bishops — which at the time of the interview King said he had “picked up little pieces in the news” about — is not a final guiding document, and is expected to generate animated debate in the church worldwide. “I owe it to Pope Francis to read it carefully and read it with precision before I pass judgment on it,” King said. “I would just say that in fact to pass judgment on his document seems a bit presumptuous as I hear myself say that.”

King declined to say whether he thought divorce or cohabitation are sins. “I think that I’ll not comment on that part,” King said. “I’ll just say that what was a sin 2,000 years ago is a sin today, and people that were condemned to hell 2,000 years ago, I don’t expect to meet them should I make it to heaven. So let’s stick with that principle.” When pressed on the people he believed are included in the “condemned” category, King said, “Let me say it isn’t to me to pass that judgment, and those who choose a lifestyle that I’ll say is not one that’s annointed and favored by my faith — or their faith, for that matter — that’s between them and God.”

King is a longtime favorite of anti-gay hate groups.

Pastor Who Called For God To Murder Obama Supports FRC's Houston Hate Rally

"Whereas, City Attorneys responded by issuing a tyrannical, unprecedented demand that key pastors turn over their sermons, and other communications related to homosexuality and/or the immorality of the perverse, unjust ordinance, and; Whereas, this demand of the pastors is an attack on the religious liberty and freedom of speech for which our Baptist forefathers suffered in order to teach and bring to our nation, before and during its birth, and; Whereas, these liberties are not only God-given, Biblical and Natural Law rights, but are also codified by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as in the Texas Constitution; Therefore, Be it Resolved that the City of Houston not only withdraw, but publically repudiate, this demand as unlawful, and issue an apology to the pastors of Houston; Be it Further Resolved that the City of Houston repeal and repudiate its so-called Equal Rights ordinance, since the Bible and natural law teaches that homosexuality is a behavioral choice, and therefore a wicked sin, as much as adultery, stealing, murder, etc. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:26-28). - Pastor Wiley Drake, in a paid press release published by Christian Newswire.

Drake claims to represent a group called Unregistered Baptist Fellowship, who will also be represented at the hate group rally against Houston Mayor Annise Parker by Pastor Greg Dixon, whose Indianapolis church "had it's tax exempt status removed by the IRS in 1995 because of Dr. Dixon's sermons against Homosexuality."

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG:  In 2008 Drake publicly prayed on Christian radio for God to murder the leaders of Americans For Separation of Church and State. In 2009 Drake publicly prayed on Christian radio for God to murder President Obama. In 2010 Drake declared that it was his 30 days of prayers for God to murder Rep. John Murtha that caused the Democrat's death from complications following gallbladder surgery. Last year NOM welcomed Drake to attend their hate march in Washington DC. Also last year Drake told Fox radio host Alan Colmes that he hopes the Secret Service "puts me on a list" for praying for God to murder the president.

Ebola/ISIS Fear-Inspired Tutorial

"I've been single for a really long time, but if I did have a boyfriend, he wouldn't be getting in that door."

(Tipped by JMG reader Homer)

Lonely Planet Names Most Gay-Friendly Destinations For LGBT Travelers

Lonely Planet today issued its annual ranking of the top ten most gay-friendly destinations in the world for LGBT tourism. Here's what they say about this year's list-topper, Copenhagen.

Denmark may be the home of Lego and at the forefront of New Nordic Cuisine, but importantly it made history in 1989 by becoming the first nation in the world to recognise registered same-sex partnerships. And at Denmark’s heart is the relaxed beauty of its compact cobblestoned capital, Copenhagen. Copenhagen is home to Europe’s oldest openly gay bar, Centralhjørnet, whose origins date back to the 1950s; as well as the hip and super-cool district of Vesterbro, which also happens to be the city’s red-light district. One of the most tolerant and open communities in Europe, Copenhagen’s functional yet edgy fashion scene, brilliant array of cocktail bars, excellent range of gay-friendly boutique accommodation and packed calendar of queer events make it the gay-friendliest place on Earth.

You may recall that Lonely Planet earned widespread criticism when Uganda topped their 2012 list.

NEW YORK CITY: Cyndi Lauper To Host Benefit Concert For Homeless LGBT Youth

Via press release:

Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund today announced annual “Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays” benefit concert on Saturday, December 6th at New York City’s historic Beacon Theatre to help raise awareness about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth homelessness and funds to support the True Colors Fund’s work to address the problem. Cyndi Lauper will be joined on stage this year by 50 Cent, Natalie Maines, Patty Griffin, Salt-N-Pepa, Sufjan Stevens, Emily West, STRFKR, Liv Warfield, Hoda Kotb, and co-hosts Rosie O’Donnell and Laverne Cox. Additional guests will be announced soon. 

“For the fourth year in a row, ‘Home for the Holidays’ will feature an amazing night of performances in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth experiencing homelessness," said Lauper, co-founder of the True Colors Fund. "I am astounded by the artists who continue to give of their time and talent each and every year and I am so excited by the line-up who are joining us in December. The concert plays such an important role in supporting the True Colors Fund’s work to ensure that no young person is homeless again because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

50 Cent! That's interesting. Tickets go on sale here tomorrow. The Beacon Theatre is on the Upper West Side and is one of the most gorgeous venues in New York City.

ALASKA: Palin Endorses Independent Opponent Of GOP Gov. Sean Parnell

Parnell (above left) was lieutenant governor under Palin. From the National Journal:

Palin rebuked her Republican successor in her home state, endorsing independent gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker, who is running on a "unity ticket" with Democratic running mate Byron Mallott, instead. Palin's endorsement goes against her former lieutenant governor, Gov. Sean Parnell, who assumed office in 2009 when Palin abruptly resigned and is embroiled in a highly contested race for reelection to a second full term. Palin offered the endorsement at a campaign reception in her Wasilla home, according to a press release issued by Walker. Parnell's 2013 restructuring of the state's oil and gas taxes dismantled a prior, Palin-championed program that she considered to be one of the greatest achievements of her tenure. That difference of opinion is at the heart of Palin's conflict with Parnell, which resulted in the two campaigning on opposite sides of a ballot measure in this year's primary.

Like Parnell, Walker opposes same-sex marriage.

Independent candidate Bill Walker says he treats people with kindness, dignity and respect but says his "Christian beliefs" are that marriage is between a man and a woman. He said that's keeping with Alaska's constitution, which a governor is sworn to uphold. If the constitution changes, he would uphold the amended constitution.

The Parnell/Walker race is presently considered a toss-up.

UPDATE: JMG reader Christopher points us to this.

Walker, an attorney, responded later Sunday with criticism of the state's decision to appeal the ruling. A recent ruling from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- which includes Alaska in its jurisdiction -- said bans on same-sex marriage violate the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Such higher court rulings make the probability of a successful appeal when similar bans have already been overturned in other states unlikely. Walker said he personally viewed marriage as existing between a man and a woman, but added that if he were governor, he would "uphold the laws of the land." "Despite my personal views on marriage, with the state's dire financial crisis, pursuing expensive litigation that has little chance of victory is an unwise use of our dwindling resources."

ARKANSAS: State Supreme Court To Hear Marriage Case On November 20th

This is separate from another Arkansas case that a federal court will hear that same day.  Also on November 20th is the hearing on the Montana case. Three marriage hearings on one day. Zoom!