Saturday, January 03, 2015

Sarah Palin Vs PETA, Obama, Everybody

"Dear PETA, Chill. At least Trig didn’t eat the dog. Hey, by the way, remember your 'Woman of the Year', Ellen DeGeneres? Did you get all wee-wee’d up when she posted this sweet picture?  Hypocritical, much? Did you go as crazy when your heroic Man-of-Your-Lifetime, Barack Obama, revealed he actually enjoyed eating dead dog meat?  Aren’t you the double-standard radicals always opposing Alaska’s Iditarod – the Last Great Race honoring dogs who are born to run in wide open spaces, while some of your pets 'thrive' in a concrete jungle where they’re allowed outdoors to breathe and pee maybe once a day? Aren’t you the same herd that opposes our commercial fishing jobs, claiming I encourage slaying and consuming wild, organic healthy protein sources called  'fish'? (I do.)

"Aren’t you the same anti-beef screamers blogging hate from your comfy leather office chairs, wrapped in your fashionable leather belts above your kickin’ new leather pumps you bought because your celebrity idols (who sport fur and crocodile purses) grinned in a tabloid wearing the exact same Louboutins exiting sleek cowhide covered limo seats on their way to some liberal fundraiser shindig at some sushi bar that features poor dead smelly roe (that I used to strip from our Bristol Bay-caught fish, and in a Dillingham cannery I packed those castoff fish eggs for you while laughing with co-workers about the suckers paying absurdly high prices to party with the throw away parts of our wild seafood)? I believe you call those discarded funky eggs 'caviar'. Yeah, you’re real credible on this, PETA. A shame, because I’ll bet we agree on what I hope is the true meaning of your mission – respecting God’s creation and critters." - Sarah Palin, picking up on the teabagger meme of the day.

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Today On Truth Revolt

DeGeneres doesn't actually have any children, but hey, people are being mean to Sarah Palin.

UPDATE: They've quietly changed the headline and text of the story, but have posted no notice of correction.

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Apple Sued Over Storage Claims

Apple has been hit with a class action suit for deceptive advertising practices over the amount of usable storage in its mobile devices. Via Yahoo News:
The suit filed early this week in US District Court in Northern California argues that while Apple touts 16 gigabytes of digital storage on lower price models of gadgets such as hot-selling iPhones, about a fifth of that is eaten up by the latest operating software. The percentage of advertised space available for digital content such as photos, video, or music shrinks further when Apple gadgets built with eight gigabytes of storage are considered, the suit filed on behalf of two Florida men maintained.

The suit charges Apple with being deceptive in advertising that represents devices as having much more storage space than is really available to people who purchase devices. Once Apple gadget owners reach limits to data storage, the California-based technology titan prompts them to pay monthly fees for digital locker space online at its iCloud service, according to the lawsuit.

"Using these sharp business tactics, (Apple) gives less storage capacity than advertised, only to offer to sell that capacity in a desperate moment, eg when a consumer is trying to record or take photos at a child or grandchild’s recital, basketball game or wedding," the lawsuit maintained.
A similar suit has already failed in Canada.

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IDAHO: Governor & AG Ask SCOTUS To Stop All Those Icky Same-Sex Marriages

Via the Associated Press:
Idaho's governor and attorney general have filed separate petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court, fighting against gay marriage and arguing that the state's case has national consequences. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Idaho since an October ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has struck down bans across the West. Attorney General Lawrence Wasden's filing Friday states that the issue is a matter of a state's right to define marriage without the federal government's involvement. "This case presents the Court with the opportunity to resolve a divisive split on a question of nationwide importance: Whether the United States Constitution now prohibits states from maintaining the traditional definition of civil marriage, i.e., between one man and one woman," Wasden said in the petition.
Last month the state was ordered to pay $400K to the lawyers for the plaintiffs who overturned Idaho's ban. (Tipped by JMG reader Rob)

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TRAILER: Cinderella

You'll recognize Cinderella as Downton Abbey's Lady Rose.

(Via Towleroad)

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On Highsexuality

Dr. Marcie Bianco writes at Mic.com:
Does getting high make you a little gay? If so, you may just be a "highsexual." The term, ensconced in Urban Dictionary since 2009, made its way onto two Reddit forums in recent weeks as a way to describe the alleged phenomenon of participating in sex with someone of the same gender or having same-sex fantasies when getting incredibly high. But while perhaps not common parlance, these two threads — "Can LSD make you temporarily gay?" and "Weed makes me temporarily gay. Anyone else?" — are example of a phenomenon that's been around for awhile. It seems straight guys have wondered about "highsexuality" for a few years, given the plethora of online evidence. Are drugs the key to sexual fluidity in men? Responses in both Reddit threads exhibited an awareness of "highsexuality," as well as the fact that getting high makes you horny and just might lead to a more unconventional sexual encounter. But they also were encouraging in their acceptance of sexual fluidity.
Hit the link for examples from the Reddit threads.

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Headline Of The Day

Details.

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Billboard Of The Day

The KKK has posted the above billboard in Harrison, Arkansas.
Placed on Highway 65 near Harrison’s city limits, the new billboard reads, “It’s NOT Racist to [heart] Your People.” It also describes Harrison by saying, “Love Lives Here,” and depicts a young white girl holding a puppy in her arms. The advertisement – which officially went up on Monday, according to the Harrison Daily Times – goes on to promote a website called WhitePrideRadio.com. If typed into an internet browser, the link redirects viewers to another page encouraging people to tune into KKK Radio for programs aimed at “the entire family.” Alongside music and old time radio shows, the station’s schedule lists programs titled “Sword of Truth” and “The White Side,” as well as “This is the Klan.”

“A lot of people recognize that there is an ongoing program of genocide against white people,” the website reads. “There are websites, newsletters, videos, and radio shows, but too many talk about family without including the family.” Describing its own programming, the KKK Radio site states: “These are free of race mixing themes and the exploits of homosexuals – the kind of entertainment that is popular on television today.” “It has always been our mission to not just promote the white family, but to make them a part of this cause of white Christian revival,” it continues. As soon as the billboard arrived, it was met with criticism from residents and others around the country. On Facebook, some users commenting on the Daily Times’ story posted intense criticisms of the ad while others said there was nothing particularly wrong about it.
The Klan says the billboard is leased for a full year.

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FLORIDA: Fourteen Counties Will End All Weddings Rather Than Serve Gays

Yesterday we thought the number was only five counties. Via the Tampa Bay Times:
To comply with the judge's ruling, clerks have said they will issue marriage licenses. But in recent weeks and months, the majority of clerks in the conservative Panhandle have chosen to stop performing courthouse weddings. Some said their offices were too cramped and they had too few employees to continue the tradition. Others blamed shrinking budgets that forced them to shift resources."Being a very small county, our staff numbers are very low and workload is quite high," said Holmes County Clerk of Court Kyle Hudson. "Therefore, we will not be performing ceremonies for any couples, regardless of sexual preference."

Nearly all of them have changed their policies since August, when U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle of Tallahassee ruled the state's gay marriage ban unconstitutional. Several clerks, including Okaloosa County's J.D. Peacock II, have acknowledged that Hinkle's decision played a major role in their decisions. "I do not want to have members of our team put in a situation which presents a conflict between their personal religious beliefs and the implementation of a contentious societal philosophy change," Peacock wrote recently in a memo to his staff.

Although there is no authoritative list of the Florida counties that have stopped offering courthouse weddings, the counties that confirmed their decisions to the Tampa Bay Times and other news outlets include: Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Holmes, Washington, Jackson, Calhoun, Liberty, Franklin, Wakulla, Baker, Clay, Duval and Pasco. According to Bay County's website, it no longer offers marriage ceremonies, though it is unclear when that policy was changed. The clerk of court did not respond to a request for comment.
All fourteen counties are in the Panhandle or northeast Florida except Pasco County, which is just above Tampa.

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This Includes Florida

NOTE: I've swapped out the earlier incorrect tweet.

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Key West Bartenders Do The Paperwork

Aaron and Lee were the plaintiffs in the Monroe County case, the first of five consecutive wins in Florida. Their wedding will be live-streamed on Monday night and I'll have that video here.

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Friday, January 02, 2015

FLORIDA: Osceola County Judge Tells Liberty Counsel That They Can Suck It

Osceola County Circuit Judge Leticia Marques today told the Liberty Counsel to suck it, dismissing the Florida Family Policy Council's lawsuit against County Clerk Armando Ramirez, the state's only county clerk who had vowed to officiate same-sex weddings despite contrary advice from the legal group that represents all Florida clerks. Per local news outlets, Marques ruled that the suit was moot in light of yesterday's ruling by federal Judge Robert Hinkle. I'll update this post when the Liberty Counsel's suit against Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer meets the same inevitable fate.

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OHIO: Candlelight Vigil For Transgender Teen Leelah Alcorn Draws Hundreds

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FLORIDA: All 67 County Clerks Will Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses On Schedule

Via the Gainesville Sun:
Clerks around the state had a lengthy conference call late Friday morning, in which they were told that U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle had clarified his Washington County ruling to mean that county clerks should issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or risk being sued. All of the state’s clerks have said they will issue licenses, although clerks in Duval, Clay, Baker, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties say they no longer will perform marriage ceremonies.

In Alachua County, Clerk Buddy Irby said his office will open a few minutes early Tuesday morning to help ensure a glitch-free process for couples seeking a marriage license. The licensing process should take only a few minutes, and once it’s done, couples who have taken a premarital counseling course can wed immediately, he said. The city of Orlando and the Metropolitan Business Association, Central Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender chamber of commerce, will host a “Vowed & Proud” celebration with a group marriage ceremony officiated by Mayor Buddy Dyer at city hall. And in Broward County, the clerk’s office will open its main office at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 6 to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses and hold a group wedding at 3 a.m. for eligible couples.
We would have bet there would be at least a couple of holdout martyrs. Sorry about that, John Stemberger! So much for your "victory," Liberty Counsel! SNORK. (Tipped by JMG reader Bruno)

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Tweet Of The Day - Brian Brown

Anytime NOM launches one of their "share if you agree" campaigns, the number of retweets peters out at an embarrassing two dozen or so. Let's check this one tomorrow for a laugh.

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Leelah Alcorn's Blog Has Been Deleted

Gay Star News notes today that Leelah Alcorn's Tumblr has been deleted. Leelah's tortured yet eloquent posts there have galvanized LGBT activists worldwide since her suicide earlier this week. It's unknown whether the deletion was requested by Leelah's family, whether they obtained her password and did it themselves, or whether it was removed for violating Tumblr rules about discussing suicide. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

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Actress Donna Douglas Dies At 81

Donna Douglas, known to you as Elly May Clampett, has died at the age of 81.
Born in September 1933, Douglas was married at age 16, had a child and later divorced, all before she moved to New York and earned a role in an acclaimed episode of the “Twilight Zone” in 1959, according to the Internet Movie Database. After several more television roles, she nabbed the role of Elly May Clampett, the only daughter of Jed Clampett, in “The Beverly Hillbillies” when it first appeared on TV in 1962. She appeared in all 274 episodes of the show, which ended in 1971. Douglas revisited her character for the show’s reunion TV movie in 1981. She co-starred with Elvis Presley in the 1966 flick “Frankie and Johnny.”
Four years ago Douglas won a lawsuit against Mattel for issuing a Barbie in her Beverly Hillbillies likeness without her permission.

RELATED: Max Baer, who played Jethro Bodine, is the sole surviving cast member of The Beverly Hillbillies. Buddy "Jed Clampett" Ebsen died in 2005 at the age 95. Irene "Granny" Ryan died of a stroke at the age of 70 in 1973 shortly after receiving a Tony nomination for her performance in the Bob Fosse-directed Pippin. Nancy "Miss Hathaway" Kulp died of cancer at the age of 69 in 1991, two years after coming out as a lesbian. Kulp was a 1984 Democratic nominee for the US House, but lost after Ebsen endorsed her GOP opponent, saying that Kulp was "too liberal." Raymond "Milburn Drysdale" Bailey died of a heart attack in 1980 at the age of 75 after suffering symptoms of Alzheimer's since the final seasons of the show.

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Seven Central Florida Counties: We'll Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses On Schedule

According to a survey conducted today by Orlando's CBS affiliate, seven Central Florida county clerks say they will be issuing same-sex marriage licenses on schedule when the stay dissolves. Osceola County Clerk Armando Ramirez, the renegade for equality in this ridiculous saga, is sticking to his original plan to open his office at midnight on Monday. Ramirez was the sole county clerk who had declared his intention to ignore the warning of the legal group that represents Florida's county clerks, a warning that was rescinded yesterday afternoon. Earlier this week Ramirez and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer were sued by the Liberty Counsel and the Florida Family Policy Council over their plans to conduct same-sex weddings on Tuesday.

NOTE: At this writing no Florida county clerk has declared an intention to refuse to issue licenses in the wake of yesterday's ruling by federal Judge Robert Hinkle, but some county offices are closed today. At least three Florida county clerks have announced that they will end all courthouse weddings rather than officiate for gay couples.

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At The Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge

Yesterday about 2500 people took part in the annual Polar Bear Plunge during sub-freezing temperatures at Coney Island, where lifeguards warned participants not to proceed deeper than their waist and not to remain in the water for more than one minute.

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FLORIDA: Liberty Counsel Claims "Victory" In Ruling By Federal Judge Robert Hinkle

Via press release from the Liberty Counsel:
In a highly anticipated ruling to clarify an August preliminary injunction in the federal case Brenner v. Scott, the district judge agreed with Liberty Counsel that the injunction does not require Florida clerks of court outside Washington County to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on January 6. Indeed, the new order clarifies that the injunction is limited to the plaintiffs in the case, expressly holding, “The preliminary injunction now in effect thus does not require the [Washington County] Clerk to issue licenses to other applicants.” The Washington Clerk had requested the clarification last week.

The Washington Clerk’s request elicited several responses from the case parties and others, including activists who were willing to say anything to cajole Judge Hinkle into expanding the injunction statewide. “But in the sea of filings, only Liberty Counsel got it right,” said Horatio Mihet, Liberty Counsel's Vice President of Legal Affairs & Chief Litigation Counsel.

Nearly all media outlets, from the Orlando Sentinel to Yahoo.com, are grossly mischaracterizing the effect of the ruling, reporting the exact opposite of what Judge Hinkle’s order requires. The error is likely the result of the order's condescending lecture to clerks on why they should bow to the August injunction even though they are not bound by it. Judge Hinkle’s lecture, however, has no force of law, and only invites lawlessness throughout the state.

“The duties of a Florida clerk of court are ministerial, which means they have no discretion to pick and choose which laws to follow,” said Roger Gannam, Liberty Counsel’s Senior Litigation Counsel. “Until a court with proper jurisdiction rules otherwise, Florida clerks are bound by Florida’s marriage laws, which memorialize in its Constitution the historic, natural definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” he added.
Last month the Liberty Counsel declared that it will provide free legal defense to any clerk that refuses to issue same-sex marriage licenses. The Liberty Counsel is based in Orlando.

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John Stemberger Has The Florida Sadz

"Judge Hinkle's ruling is being widely misinterpreted. It clearly says that only the clerk Washington County is required to issue a marriage license and only to the two persons in that case. Judge Hinkle has no jurisdiction outside of the Northern District of Florida to bind any clerk outside of North Florida. Clerks outside of North Florida are required to obey the current law and are still subject to all the penalties of a first-degree misdemeanor for violating it." - Florida Family Policy Council head John Stemberger, who this week sued the mayor of Orlando and the clerk of Osceola County to stop them from officiating at same-sex weddings.

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Headline Of The Day

Details. Palin's Facebook post.

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Leelah Petition: 200,000 Call For National Ban On Trans Conversion Therapy

At this writing almost 200,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for a national ban on so-called transgender conversion therapy.  Almost 70,000 have signed a separate petition which calls for Leelah Alcorn's preferred name to be inscribed in her headstone.

Yesterday CNN got a brief quote from Leelah's mother:
When Josh Alcorn voiced a desire to live as a girl, the Ohio teenager's parents said they wouldn't stand for that. "We don't support that, religiously," Alcorn's mother told CNN Wednesday, her voice breaking. "But we told him that we loved him unconditionally. We loved him no matter what. I loved my son. People need to know that I loved him. He was a good kid, a good boy." Crossing out the name "Josh," the 17-year-old signed the name "Leelah" in a suicide note posted to Tumblr. The note was programmed to publish after Alcorn's death Sunday. The teenager was struck by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 71 around 2:15 a.m., about four miles from home in the tiny town of Kings Mills, northeast of Cincinnati. The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the death as a suicide.
More from NBC News:
Alcorn's parents did not return phone calls Wednesday. A minister at the church where her wake and funeral service will be held said in an email that he could not comment. "Our focus right now is to help a family broken by tragedy to grieve and heal," Tim Tripp of Northeast Church of Christ said. In the suicide note, Alcorn said she had felt like a girl trapped in a boy's body since she was four but did not learn what transgender was until she was 14. She came out to her parents, who took her to Christian therapists and denied permission for transitioning treatment, she wrote. A friend who worked with Alcorn at the Kings Island amusement park last summer said she didn't agree with the parents' reaction — or the vitriol heaped on them after the note went viral. "They did what they thought was right and it's very difficult to actually put ourselves in the situation. They lost a child," said Azalea Laverde, 16. "We need to stop harassing them and focus on bringing awareness and promoting equality to transgenders."
JMG reader St8 Grandmother notes that this counseling page (viewable via the Wayback Machine) has been removed from the church's website. (Tipped by JMG reader Jay)

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LUXEMBOURG: Gay Marriages Begin

Via Luxemburger Wort:
Jean Paul Olinger and Henri Lorenzo Huber were the first same-sex couple to tie the knot in Luxembourg, with a new marriage law coming into force on January 1. Olinger and Huber, both in their 60s, are Differdange's trailblazers, also having been the commune's first couple to enter a registered partnership, a so-called PACS. Despite the public holiday on January 1, the Differdange town hall opened for the special occasion, with mayor Roberto Traversini officiating the ceremony. Elsewhere in the country, January wedding dates are also set, with two women to wed in Walferdange on Friday and the first same-sex ceremony in Luxembourg City scheduled for January 16, according to RTL. Luxembourg MPs earlier this approved a new marriage law, granting the right to marriage, as well as adoption rights, to same-sex couples.
(Tipped by JMG reader Lulu)

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Thursday, January 01, 2015

Former NY Gov. Mario Cuomo Dies At 82

Via the New York Daily News.
Ever-eloquent Mario Cuomo, a son of Queens who rode his rhetorical gifts to three terms as New York governor and tantalized Democrats by flirting with a run for President, died Thursday, two sources close to the family said. He was 82. Cuomo passed away six hours after his oldest son, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was formally sworn-in to a second term in Manhattan. The elder Cuomo was too ill with a serious heart condition to attend. "He couldn't be here physically today ... but my father is in this room," Andrew Cuomo said in his inaugural address. "He's in the heart and mind of every person who is here. His inspiration and his legacy and his spirit is what has brought this day to this point." As governor, Mario Cuomo wrestled with two recessions and presided over a massive expansion of the state prison system. A liberal, he bucked the political winds by wielding his veto pen year after year to block the restoration of the state death penalty. It was his oratory, however, that made Mario Cuomo a national figure.
Condolences are pouring onto Twitter from major politicos of both parties.

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FLORIDA: Attorney General Pam Bondi Reacts To Ruling In Typical Fashion

"This office has sought to minimize confusion and uncertainty, and we are glad the Court has provided additional guidance. My office will not stand in the way as clerks of court determine how to proceed." - Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, is a statement issued tonight in reaction to the ruling issued today by federal Judge Robert Hinkle.

Bondi's statement is drawing fire:
"She’s saying look, ‘Judge Hinkle did not tell the clerks that they are required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, however, he told them that they may issue marriage licenses’ and she’s not going to stand in their way of whatever independent decisions they may make,” said David Weinstein, a former assistant Miami-Dade state attorney and assistant U.S. attorney, now in private practice and not involved in the case. [ACLU of FL head Howard] Simon’s response to Bondi: “She is not serving the state of Florida and causing precisely the kind of chaos that this judge has tried to prevent with today’s order. This is the low point in a the performance of an attorney general. Her willful misreading of Hinkle’s order is creating confusion.”
The legal association for Florida's county clerks, which started this entire mess, has retracted their earlier warning.
“Judge Hinkle’s order states that any clerk refusing to issue a license could be subject to civil damages and liability for the plaintiffs’ fees and costs,” Bass said. “Greenberg Traurig has advised the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers that clerks should follow the judge’s ruling for all marriage-license applications or face the consequences identified by Judge Hinkle.” Broward County Clerk Howard Forman said his office will meet first thing Friday morning “to implement the order.” “It was pretty plain,” Forman said about Hinkle’s ruling, adding that the Broward Clerk’s office will announce Friday whether it will open at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday to issue marriage licenses in Fort Lauderdale.

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BREAKING: Federal Judge Rules All Florida Clerks Must Issue Marriage Licenses

The above tweet is from Orlando's CBS affiliate and has been confirmed by the Miami Herald. I'll update this post shortly with more information, but we can presume the ruling is from Judge Robert Hinkle, the thorn in Pam Bondi's side.

UPDATE: From the Miami Herald.
U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle ruled New Years Day that all Florida clerks are bound by the U.S. Constitution not to enforce Florida's gay marriage ban and that any couple seeking a license on Tuesday should receive one. “The preliminary injunction now in effect thus does not require the Clerk to issue licenses to other applicants,” Hinkle wrote in an order released Thursday afternoon. “But as set out in the order that announced issuance of the preliminary injunction, the Constitution requires the Clerk to issue such licenses.”

Said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida: “He agreed with us that the constitution requires every clerk in the state issue a license. His injunction has statewide impact because he found the law unconstitutional and therefore as we have been saying, no public official should be acting in accordance with an unconstitutional provision,” Simon said. “In non-legalese: Come Tuesday, Jan. 6, every clerk has an obligation under the U.S. Constitution to issue marriage license to all couples requesting one.”
UPDATE II: Here's the ruling.
A preliminary injunction is in place and has been for more than four months. It holds unconstitutional the Florida ban on same-sex marriage. Now the Clerk has filed an emergency motion to clarify the preliminary injunction. She asks whether the injunction requires her to issue marriage licenses to all qualified same-sex applicants or only to the two unmarried plaintiffs. The founders of this republic adopted a Constitution and a system for its enforcement. When there are disagreements about what the Constitution requires, those who are affected may seek a definitive ruling in court. These plaintiffs did that in this case.

The Secretary and Surgeon General—as duly empowered officials of the State of Florida, represented by the Attorney General—joined issue. So did the Clerk. The result was an explicit ruling that Florida’s same-sex-marriage ban is unconstitutional. The United States Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals had stayed similar rulings in other cases. I stayed the ruling in this case while those stays were in effect and for 91 more days—long enough to allow the defendants to seek a further stay in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and, if unsuccessful there, in the United States Supreme Court. The defendants did that. They lost.

The United States Supreme Court allowed the ruling in this case to take effect. History records no shortage of instances when state officials defied federal court orders on issues of federal constitutional law. Happily, there are many more instances when responsible officials followed the law, like it or not. Reasonable people can debate whether the ruling in this case was correct and who it binds. There should be no debate, however, on the question whether a clerk of court may follow the ruling, even for marriage-license applicants who are not parties to this case.

And a clerk who chooses not to follow the ruling should take note: the governing statutes and rules of procedure allow individuals to intervene as plaintiffs in pending actions, allow certification of plaintiff and defendant classes, allow issuance of successive preliminary injunctions, and allow successful plaintiffs to recover costs and attorney’s fees. The Clerk has acknowledged that the preliminary injunction requires her to issue a marriage license to the two unmarried plaintiffs.

The Clerk has said she will do so. In the absence of any request by any other plaintiff for a license, and in the absence of a certified class, no plaintiff now in this case has standing to seek a preliminary injunction requiring the Clerk to issue other licenses.

The preliminary injunction now in effect thus does not require the Clerk to issue licenses to other applicants. But as set out in the order that announced issuance of the preliminary injunction, the Constitution requires the Clerk to issue such licenses. As in any other instance involving parties not now before the court, the Clerk’s obligation to follow the law arises from sources other than the preliminary injunction.

For these reasons, IT IS ORDERED: The motion to clarify, ECF No. 99, is granted. The preliminary injunction is clarified as set out in this order. SO ORDERED on January 1, 2015.
BOOM.

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Ted Cruz: Horse's Ass Of 2014

Via Right Wing Watch:
Congratulations to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has won this year’s Equine Posterior Achievement Award, People For the American Way’s annual prize for the country's most extreme right-wing politician. Cruz won by a 21-point margin in a poll of PFAW members and Right Wing Watch readers, repeating his 2013 victory, when he beat out the likes of Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin for the coveted award. The Texas Board of Education came in second place this year, emerging as a serious contender as a result of another round of historical revisionism, denial of climate change science and flirtation with Creationism.

Cruz ended the year by embarrassing himself when he pulled a stunt that backfired badly. The Texas senator and Tea Party darling hoped to humiliate President Obama and congressional leaders by challenging a bipartisan budget bill as a way to show his anger with the president’s recent executive actions on immigration.Instead, Cruz’s maneuver was easily defeated, but it did give Senate Democrats the opportunity to put several judicial and executive nominees up for a vote before Republicans took control of the chamber, delighting Democrats while fomenting anger amongst Cruz’s fellow Republicans.

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Brian Brown: 2015 Will Be Great For NOM

"We live in a time when those who wish to redefine marriage and their sycophants in the media miss no opportunity to tell us that the battle is essentially over, that history is on their side and that the views of the citizens have changed. This is a future that these activists hope for, but it is decidedly not the future they will encounter. The reason we know this is because whenever they put their version of the future to the test, it is rejected by the American people. I am encouraged by the victories and the bright moments of the past twelve months as we head into 2015, because they remind me that the cause of marriage is still very much alive, and we have good reason to hope for even more successes in the new year! With that reminder then, please accept my wishes for a happy and blessed new year for you and your family, and my thanks for continuing to work with NOM to defend marriage and family in 2015!" - Hate group leader Brian Brown, concluding his "Top Headlines For 2014" post.

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New York City By Drone

Via the New York Daily News:
Bronx-based photographer Victor Chu spent the last six months on an ambitious project: documenting landmarks in all five boroughs of New York City with a camera and aerial drone. His recently completed short video, made from 10 hours of tape shot over the past six months, is Chu's tribute to the city where he's lived most of his life. "There's been a couple of videos about New York City shot with a drone, but they always cover Manhattan. They never cover the Bronx and Staten Island and the other boroughs,” said Chu, 29. "They are neglecting the other wonderful parts about New York City." Chu — an editorial, event and portrait photographer based in Morris Park — began the project as a demo reel for his website, but he’s now entering the video in contests and film festivals.

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Dan Savage On Leelah Alcorn

The suicide of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn has been a trending topic of Twitter for two days and there have been hundreds of stories about her in the mainstream press.

Here's yesterday's coverage by Reuters:
A transgender Ohio teen walked in front of an oncoming truck and was crushed to death on Sunday morning, leaving behind a suicide note that has resonated around the world and led to calls for a federal law to protect other transgender adolescents. Leelah Alcorn, born with the name Joshua, was 17 years old and said she had been forced to undergo conversion therapy, which seeks to change sexual orientation through counseling. The practice has been banned in two states on grounds it is medically unfounded and puts children in danger.

Since Alcorn's death, groups supporting transgenders have called for a national "Leelah's Law" to end conversion therapy, calling it "psychological torture." Nearly 80,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org supporting the proposal. The American Psychological Association has dismissed the idea that sexual orientation is a mental disorder and said mental health professionals should avoid telling clients they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments. Supporters of the practice say it is an effective way to counsel troubled youths. Transgender adults took to Twitter after Alcorn’s death, offering encouragement to transgender teens with the hashtag #RealLiveTransAdult. "I didn’t think I’d live to be 30. Don't give up," one person wrote.

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FLORIDA: Three County Clerks To End All Weddings Rather Than Serve Gays

Three northeast Florida county clerks have jointly decided to end all courthouse weddings rather than perform ceremonies for same-sex couples. Via the Florida Times-Union:
If same-sex marriage is allowed across the state, Duval Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell, Clay Clerk Tara Green and Baker Clerk Stacie Harvey will have no choice but to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. But to avoid performing ceremonies for them, these clerks have decided to end all courthouse weddings. All said multiple factors contributed to the decision to end courthouse weddings, with gay marriage being just one of them. And they said the new policies will take effect no matter what the courts decide about gay marriage. Fussell says the decision came after a series of discussion with members of his staff who currently officiate wedding ceremonies.

None of them, including Fussell, felt comfortable doing gay weddings so they decided to end the practice all together. “It was decided as a team, as an office, this would be what we do so that there wouldn’t be any discrimination,” Fussell said. “The easiest way is to not do them at all.” Equality Florida co-founder and chief executive Nadine Smith was shocked to hear that certain counties would stop allowing courthouse wedding because of the possibility gay couples would want to use the service. “I think it would be outrageous for clerks to change the rules simply because gay couples are getting married,” she said.
According to the above-linked report, in 2013 about one-third of the more than 6500 marriage licenses issued in the three counties resulted in courthouse weddings. Same-sex couples will still be issued marriage licenses but will have to seek out a notary or minister to officiate.

RELATED: Baker County is small and rural, with a population of only 28K. Clay County is largely a suburb of Jacksonville, with a population of 200K. Duval County, home to Jacksonville, has a population of 900K. Jacksonville is the nation's largest city by area and is Florida's most-populous city as its boundaries include all of Duval County.

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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Happy New Year, JMG Community!

Yet another eventful year has come and gone for this here website thingy, which hit the decade mark back in April. In 2014 we saw about 28 million pageviews on about 7000 posts on which you crazy kids left over a million comments. As I mention in this post every year, blogging is like a homework assignment that is never done, but is always due. Nevertheless, you all make it a lot easier with your emails, your story tips, and your encouragement.

Last year I noted that 2013 would be remembered as one of the most momentous years in our movement's history due to the fall of DOMA, Prop 8, and the advance of marriage equality into several more states. While we saw no such landmark rulings in 2014, the nearly unbroken avalanche of pro-equality decisions that swept the nation will certainly put this year into the history books as well.

I thank you all for your robust opinions and for making the JMG comments section the most lively in the entire homo-blogosphere. I'm happy to have met so many of you at JMG meetups and look forward to meeting many more of you over the next year. Tonight, I'll be raising my glass to each and every one of our flying monkeys. I'll be raising it a lot!

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Times Square Is Already Full

It's almost nine hours before midnight and Times Square is already mobbed. EarthCam is streaming live shots from multiple angles.

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FLORIDA: State Judge Orders Orange County Clerk To Issue Marriage Licenses

Via the Orlando Sentinel:
A judge today cleared the way for Orange County Clerk Tiffany Moore Russell [photo] to issue marriage licenses next week to same-sex couples. That ruling, by Circuit Judge Tim Shea, appears to mean that gay and lesbian couples will be able to get married at the Orange County courthouse on Jan. 6, the first day that becomes legal under a landmark federal ruling in Tallahassee. Moore Russell had filed suit yesterday in the courthouse where she works, asking a judge to give her instructions on what to do. A Tallahassee federal judge has declared the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and ordered his ruling implemented Jan. 6. But the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers two weeks ago told its members statewide not to issue the licenses, and Moore Russell said at the time that she would follow that advice. Behind the scenes, though, she was working on the problem. Yesterday she filed a petition, asking Shea to clarify what she should do. Today he issued an order, telling her that if she issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples, she would not be breaking the law or violating her oath of office.
In a separate action, two Orlando same-sex couples yesterday filed suit in state district court, asking that Russell be required to issue them marriage licenses. According to the above-linked report, Russell is not opposing their suit and actually helped them with the filing by issuing them a formal denial letter, which was the required "ammunition" to file their complaint.

Russell, a Democrat, was just elected last month.
RELATED: Last week state attorney John Ashton declared that he would not charge either of the two county clerks under his jurisdiction if they issue same-sex marriage licenses. Ashton oversees Osceola County, whose clerk, so far, is the only one that has vowed to issue licenses to all same-sex couples. Ashton also oversees Orange County.

UPDATE: Russell has issued a statement.
“I thank the Court for providing clarity on this issue. I specifically want to thank Judge Shea for his guidance in this matter. Since the question of issuing same-sex marriage licenses was first directed at Clerks, my office has consistently stated that we would continue to seek judicial clarification. That is why we filed this emergency petition and we are grateful for the clear direction it provides as we move closer to January 6.”

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Porno Pete Has The 2014 Sadz

"The year 2014 in America saw an unprecedented overreach by the judiciary, with federal judges - contemptuous or at least dismissive of the people's clearly-expressed will - striking down as 'unconstitutional' popular state ballot measures preserving the age-old definition of marriage as between husband and wife. Only an 'evolving Constitution' could countenance so-called rights and 'marriage based on sexual deviancy. Legislators, not courts, change the law, and well into the 20th Century most states had laws on their books banning homosexual sodomy-once known as the infamous 'crime against Nature.'  We are now a biblically-illiterate nation; only a morally 'dumbed down' society would allow a concept as depraved and inane as homosexuality-based 'marriage' to be taken seriously." - Porno Pete LaBarbera, via press release.

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Fox News: Obama Is Banning Sprinkles

Complete nonsense invented by Breitbart. Of course.

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Sydney Rings In 2015

Their fireworks are always the best.

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Elizabeth Hasselbeck Is #OverIt2014

Yesterday Fox & Friends launched a Twitter hashtag that backfired rather amusingly.

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Headline Of The Day

Details.

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Joan Collins Made A Dame

Via the Associated Press:
The diva of Dynasty is now a dame. Joan Collins, who played scheming, shoulder pad-wearing Alexis Carrington in the hit 1980s TV show, was made the female equivalent of a knight in Queen Elizabeth II's annual New Year's honors list. The star of potboilers including The Stud and The Bitch was recognized for her services to charity. Collins, 81, is a longtime supporter of nonprofit groups helping children. London-born Collins said Tuesday it was "humbling to receive this level of recognition from my queen and country, and I am thrilled and truly grateful."
I believe that's actually Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan.

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New Zealand Rings In 2015

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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

SCOTLAND: Same-Sex Marriages Begin!

Scotland's Marriage & Civil Partnership Bill came into effect on December 16th and as of midnight local time today the 15-day waiting period for the first round of licenses has expired. New Year's Eve is known as Hogmanay in Scotland, so congrats to all the Hogmanay newlyweds! More photos and video of the above ceremony are here.

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Eurovision: The Year Of Conchita Wurst

The official Eurovision channel looks back on the win of Conchita Wurst, arguably the venerable contest's most popular winner in decades.

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Fosse, Fosse, Fosse

So who's holding hands in this one? (Tipped by JMG reader Randy)

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When Love Won In North Carolina

A look back from the Campaign For Southern Equality.

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Headline Of The Day

From Leelah's suicide note:
Please don’t be sad, it’s for the better. The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in… because I’m transgender. I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way, but this note is probably going to be lengthy enough as it is. To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy’s body, and I’ve felt that way ever since I was 4. I never knew there was a word for that feeling, nor was it possible for a boy to become a girl, so I never told anyone and I just continued to do traditionally “boyish” things to try to fit in.

When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me.

My mom started taking me to a therapist, but would only take me to christian therapists, (who were all very biased) so I never actually got the therapy I needed to cure me of my depression. I only got more christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.
The Daily Mail has published a story with photos.

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