News: ‘World’s Heaviest Woman,’ ‘Sexual Immorality’ is an ‘Abomination’ Before God, Gay Characters On TV Saves Lives

Green Day singer kicked off plane

OAKLAND, California – Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong says his sagging pants cost him a seat on a Southwest Airlines flight. The singer-guitarist for the San Francisco Bay area-based band sent a message to his Twitter followers on Thursday expressing his indignation at being tossed from an Oakland-to-Burbank flight for wearing his trousers too low. An ABC7 news producer who was on the same flight told the station that a flight attendant approached Armstrong before take-off and asked him to hike his pants higher. The producer, Cindy Qiu, says when Armstrong insisted he was just trying to get to his seat, he and a traveling companion were taken off the plane. Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins says in a statement that Armstrong was allowed to board the next flight.

Why Having ‘Too Many’ Gay Characters On TV Saves Lives

In a very delayed response to GLAAD’s media ratings, the Christian Post today complained thatthere are “too many” gay characters on TV, stopping just short of using the word “brainwashing” to describe the impact it has on the American public: Conservative bloggers and religious leaders say unfortunately, many Americans are willing to allow Hollywood to manipulate their family’s perspective on the world. Those who oppose same-sex marriage say there is a well-financed and detailed plan at work to change Americans’ opinions about homosexual and lesbian lifestyles through television programming.

  

DAVID WEPRIN: MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS A ‘CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE, NOT A RELIGIOUS ISSUE’ 

New York state Assemblyman David Weprin (D) voted for marriage equality earlier this summer, and now he’s vying for the congressional seat Anthony Weiner recently vacated. Asked about his vote, he said simply, “it’s a civil rights issue, not a religious issue,” adding that “as a legislator,” he votes on behalf of “all the people.” Watch it:

Cindy and Mike Jacobs Say there is No Such Thing as Private Behavior Because ‘Sexual Immorality’ is an ‘Abomination’ Before God

PFAW’s Right Wing Watch highlights a new video from evangelical right-wing activists Cindy and Mike Jacobs where the two argue that there is no such thing as private behavior because all “sexual immorality” is an “abomination” before God. They also compare homosexual behavior to putting the wrong “fuel” into your car. Watch the video:

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS: ALL GAYS ARE ‘PART OF THE PEDOPHILE MOVEMENT’

Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel and Liberty University School of Law had a chat today with fellow Liberty University law professor Judith Reisman about how GLSEN’s anti-bullying efforts are “sexualing children” and “running interference for the pedophile movement.” They agreed that all of the efforts of the LGBT movement (the “sexual anarchy” movement) are geared toward supporting “the pedophile movement.” Listen:

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/mp3/player.swf

Competition Brews To Become ‘World’s Heaviest Woman’ In Guinness World Records

A 32-year-old woman is attempting to become the heaviest woman ever, but her nearest competitor, a woman who holds the record of “World’s Fattest Mom,” is having a hard time letting go of her heavyweight claim to fame, even as she says she’s going on a diet. Susanne Eman, a 728-pound woman in Casa Grande, Ariz., is attempting to get into Guinness World Records as the “World’s Heaviest Woman,” and hopes to reach her goal by the time she’s 41. The 2012 edition of the book will be released later this month. The last woman to hold the title, 1,200-pound.

Man Arrested In Ohio For Having Sex With Neighbor’s Pool Raft: Police

It’s one thing to feel romantic with a partner in a swimming pool, it’s another to treat a pool toy like an inflate-a-mate — especially in public. That’s a lesson Edwin Charles Tobergta is learning the hard way. Police in Hamilton, Ohio arresting the 32-year-old man for allegedly getting nasty with a neighbor’s pink inflatable raft in an alley on Sunday,The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The neighbor allegedly spotted Tobergta on top of the floatation device with his pants “down around his ankles,” according to a police report obtained by The Smoking Gun.

Glenn Beck: Term ‘Colored’ Is ‘Not A Bad Thing,‘ ‘African American’ Is ‘Ridiculously Stupid’ (AUDIO)

Glenn Beck blasted the use of the term “African American” in favor of “black” and “colored” on his radio show on Tuesday. The radio host was reflecting on his Restoring Courage rally in Jerusaleum, where he said the term African American did not apply. He asked his co-host Pat Gray, “Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t you feel ridiculously stupid everywhere in Africa, in Europe, in South America, in Jerusaleum when you would say the words African American?” Beck asked, “Now how can people be one thing in one country and nowhere else in the world?” (Perhaps because the term “African American” only applies to people from the United States?)

Handpicked News: 10 Things NPR Got Wrong, Bert And Ernie Shouldn’t Get Married, Right To Discriminate Against Gays, New Ape Overlords…

Bert And Ernie Shouldn’t Get Married Some folks have gotten together a petition on Change.org calling on Sesame Street to have Bert and Ernie get married or for the show to add a transgender character. I’m not sure I have an opinion on the latter, but I’m pretty firmly against the idea that New York’s two most famous roommates should tie the knot.

Rick Santorum: Religious People Should HaveRight To Discriminate Against Gays

Rick Santorum doubled down on his opposition to same-sex marriage during an appearance in Iowa this morning, arguing that the courts have established a “super-right” of “sexual liberty” that trumps religious freedom. Santorum was meeting with the Register editorial board this morning. He said same-sex marriage jeopardizes religious liberty because the government may threaten license-holder such as marriage counselors who don’t treat gay couples.

Pawlenty To Sign NOM’s Anti-Gay Marriage Pledge

Ten Things NPR Got Wrong Defending The Falsely Balanced Ex-Gay Story

Last evening, National Public Radio’s ombudsman, Edward Schumacher-Matos, responded to criticism about Alix Spiegel’s story on ex-gay therapy that aired Monday morning. The nine-minute piece, which profiled ex-gay Rich Wyler and ex-gay survivor Peterson Toscano, had two major flaws. First, itcreated a false balance by suggesting that ex-gay therapy may be legitimate and is still up for debate. Second, it omitted the fact that Wyler makes his entire living perpetuating the false ideas of ex-gay therapy. Rather than admit the mistakes of the piece and apologize for the potential harm done by it, Schumacher-Matos, Spiegel, Spiegel’s editor, and NPR’s senior vice president all defended the piece, making only very small concessions about how it was reported. In doing so, they continued propagating false ideas about ex-gay therapy and the false balance of their reporting. Here are 10 problems with NPR’s response.

‘Rise’ Welcomes Earth’s New Ape Overlords  If proof were still needed that human beings are all but irrelevant to the Hollywood blockbuster, Rise of the Planet of the Apes provides it in spades. (And not just because one of its stars is Freida Pinto, an actress making a career of cardboard thespianism.) Constructed around the reliable premise that if you slather on the spectacle, audiences won’t notice the script’s idiocies — otherwise known as the Avatar effect — this so-called origin picture is no more than a narrative outline padded with moderately special effects, a teaser for the sequels that will surely follow.

Americans Support Bans On Food Allergens In Public Places If some foods really don’t agree with you or someone you live with, you’ve got plenty of company. In the latest NPR-Thomson Reuters Health Poll, we asked people across the country about food allergies and intolerance. The bottom line: 1 in 5 households across the country has at least one person who is allergic or intolerant to at least one food. How do they know? Well, there are the obvious symptoms, such as itching, swelling of the tongue and wheezing in some cases. Nearly two-thirds of households — 64 percent — that reported a food issue said the allergy or intolerance had been diagnosed by a doctor.

 

Handpicked News: DOMA Red Tape, Legal in Washington, Gavin Newsom 2014, Polygamist Leader…

Same-Sex Marriage Becomes Legal in Washington (at Least One Part) Chief Seattle would be proud. The tribe he led in the late 1700s, the Suquamish, has made a giant leap toward equality by allowing and recognizing same-sex marriage. According to the Kitsap Sun,the Suquamish Tribal Council in Washington State voted Monday to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples on its reservation near Seattle, at the request of Heather Purser, a lesbian tribal member.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Lesbian Soldier Snagged in DOMA Red Tape  Jessica Lohmeier, who served in the Army Reserves for two years, had a boy in 2009. She told WILX News that after raising James with her partner Lauren Russell for two years, she is ready to reenlist. However, the military requires that all parents with full custody of their children, like Lohmeier, show a marriage license as proof that a spouse will be able to take care of the child if the enlisted parent is assigned overseas. The policy states that the military may not “enlist an unmarried individual with a child under 18,” according to the report.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Gay-Friendly Programming Can Be Family Programming, Among Other Things  The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamationjust named ABC Family the network that does the best job at portraying gay characters — and as portraying them as something other than simply white urbanized men. Apparently, 55 percent of the network’s original programming hours have images of LGBT people, which seems like an impressively high ratio considering the actual number of gay people in the population, though it would be interesting to see also what percentage of their characters are gay, and how many of those programming hours feature gay characters instead of having them in the mix or in the background. 

Romney Signs Anti-Gay Group’s Campaign Pledge Ben Smith reports that Mitt Romney has signed-on to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM’s) anti-gay campaign pledge, joining fellow candidates Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann. The document — while far less controversial than a  similar effort by Iowa’s FAMiLY LEADER — commits the 2012 contenders to strongly opposing the advancement of LGBT equality.

Gavin Newsom Fundraising In The Lead As Candidates Look To 2014 This article comes to us courtesy of California Watch. By Chase Davis The semiannual state campaign filing deadline passed this week, and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t being shy about his future ambitions. The onetime gubernatorial candidate raised nearly $300,000 in the first six months of this year, far outpacing the state’s other major officeholders as they begin to look toward their next moves in 2014. Both Newsom and Attorney General Kamala Harris have been mentioned as gubernatorial candidates-in-waiting if Gov. Jerry Brown decides against another run in 2014. For her part, Harris raised about $112,000 for her 2014 campaign committee so far this year.

Fighter Jets Intercept 75-Year-Old Woman’s Plane During Obama Chicago Visit SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill. — Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted a plane flown by a 75-year-old woman when it entered restricted airspace during President Barack Obama’s Chicago visit. Police say the South Barrington woman was flying the plane by herself and wasn’t aware she was in restricted airspace. They say she didn’t seem shaken, but was surprised. South Barrington is a northwestern Chicago suburb with about 4,500 residents. Obama was in Chicago for a birthday fundraiser.

Polygamist Leader Convicted Of Child Sex Abuse A Texas jury has convicted polygamist leader Warren Jeffs on child sexual assault charges in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls “spiritual marriages.” The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stood stone-faced as the verdict was read.The charges came after a massive 2008 raid of the church’s remote West Texas ranch. Jeffs faces up to life in prison. A forensic analyst testified that Jeffs was an almost certain DNA match to the child of a 15-year-old mother. Jeffs also was accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl. Jeffs acted as his own attorney and claimed he was a victim of religious persecution.

Handpicked Queer Headlines: ‘Intolerance’ Among Gays, End Gay Blood Ban, LGBT Education Law…

Truth Wins Out on FRC’s Claim of ‘Intolerance’ Among Gays  Earlier this week, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins slammed Truth Wins Out, the group that recently went undercover at Marcus Bachmann’s Minnesota clinic to investigate reparative therapy rumors (rumors it confirmed). In an op-ed, Perkins called the subsequent media coverage a “drummed-up controversy” and wrote of Truth Wins Out, “These self-styled apostles of ‘tolerance’ should try practicing a little themselves.”                                                                                                                                                                    

Will Latest Attempt to End Gay Blood Ban Work? The U.S. department of Health and Human Services is once again looking at changing its policy that bans men who have sex with men from donating blood. The HHS described the current policy as “suboptimal” and asked a group of experts, known as the Blood, Organ, and Tissue Safety Working Group, to look into ways of changing it. As it stands, any man who had sex with another man since 1977 cannot donate blood. A new policy could allow certain gay or bisexual men, possibly those who have abstained from homosexual sex for a certain time, to donate.                                                                                                                                                                                  Group Targets California’s LGBT Education Law The Fair Education Act (SB 48), authored by State Sen. Mark Leno and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month, requires social science curriculum to include the historical contributions of LGBT people, and has been criticized by the group Stop SB 48 “as selective treatment of history by requiring that only events that reflect positively on people in the LGBT community may be discussed.”

Jon Stewart Exposes Don Lemon’s Aversion to CNN’s Silly Antics: VIDEO

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Rick Santorum Pledges To ‘Go To New York’ And Repeal State’s Same-Sex Marriage Law At a campaign stop in Ankeny, Iowa, Rick Santorum reiterated his criticism of Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) for saying he was “fine” with New York enacting a same-sex marriage law and pledged to personally fight for its repeal. “I am not, as some in this race have said, OK with New York doing what they’re doing. What New York did was wrong. I will oppose it and I will go to New York, if necessary, to help overturn it,” he said. He also predicted that marriage equality would undermine “every traditional value in this country” and said that the nation has fought wars to protect that idea. AUDIO

 

ANTI-GAY CHRISTIAN GROUPS CAN NO LONGER PROFIT OFF APPLE  After a Change.org petition gathered more than 22,000 signatures, Apple has removed their iTunes store from the Christian Values Network (CVN). When customers make purchases through CVN, a donation is made to the religious charity of the customer’s choice, and anti-gay groups like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council use the service to raise money. Companies like Microsoft, Macy’s, Wells Fargo, Delta Airlines, and BBC America have all recently removed their stores from the network.

I Officially Love New York: First Same-sex couple Legally Marry in the State of New York

I too, hope to look as happy and handsome as they do in my life time. NY thank you for leading the game.

At Midnight tonight, Kitty Lambert (left) and Cheryle Rudd became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in the state of New York.

“By the power vested in me by the laws of the state of New York I now pronounce you legally married,” said Niagara Falls Paul A Dyster, who presided over the couple’s civil ceremony, shortly after the clock’s struck midnight.

Today also happened to be the 12th anniversary of Lambert and Rudd’s first date.

“This is one of the most incredible moments of my personal life,” Lambert said before the ceremony, “but it’s also an incredible moment for New York.”

[cityroom / photos: ap via tnt.]

Handpicked News: Michele Bachmann Would ‘Extinguish’ Gay People, Norway Bombing, ‘Extinguish’ Gay People …

Gay Divorce A Higher Hurdle Than Marriage As thousands of gay and lesbian couples are planning weddings in New York — and celebrating their hard-fought right to marry — others around the nation are fighting for the right to divorce.vSince most states, and the federal government, don’t recognize gay marriages, many same-sex couples are left with no way to officially split.vFor example, an out-of-state couple who goes to Massachusetts to marry, or a couple who lives in-state and then moves away, can’t divorce in Massachusetts because they’d have to be a resident for at least a year. And if the couple’s home state doesn’t recognize gay marriage, they can’t divorce there, either.

Survey: Many Utah Voters Support Civil Unions The results of a new poll show that while most Utah voters are firmly against the legalization of
same-sex marriage, not all are opposed to civil unions. Considered one of the country’s reddest states with a 70% Mormon population, it’s no surprise that Utah is firmly against the legalization of same-sex marriage. According to a survey by Public Policy Polling, only 27% of the state’s voters are in favor of marriage equality.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Oslo, Norway Bombing Linked To Utøya Shooting, Police SayPolice initially said about 10 were killed at the forested camp on the island of Utoya, but some survivors said they thought the toll was much higher. Police director Oystein Maeland told reporters early Saturday they had discovered many more victims. “It’s taken time to search the area. What we know now is that we can say that there are at least 80 killed at Utoya,” Maeland said. “It goes without saying that this gives dimensions to this incident that are exceptional.” A suspect in the shootings, and the Oslo explosion that killed seven people, was arrested. Though police did not release his name, Norwegian national broadcaster NRK identified him as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik and said police searched his Oslo apartment overnight. NRK and other Norwegian media posted pictures of the blond, blue-eyed Norwegian.              Thomas Roberts: Michele Bachmann Would ‘Extinguish’ Gay People (VIDEO) Openly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts
had some very harsh words for Michele Bachmann and the GOP on Friday. Roberts was speaking to Jimmy DeSalvia, the head of GOProud, a gay Republican organization, about Bachmann. DeSalvia said it was important to “replace” a “failed president,” and that his organization had reached out to all the GOP presidential candidates. (Bachmann is known for her ferocious opposition to gay rights, and video footage has shown that a clinic she co-owns practices so-called “conversion therapy” on gay people.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                          New York Gay Marriage: Kitty Lambert And Cheryle Rudd Aim To Be First Married Under New Law At Rainbow-Lit Niagara Falls NEW YORK — Two Buffalo women plan to be the first to legally wed under the state’s new same-sex marriage law, which goes into effect on Sunday, one month after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law. The pair, Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd, are to be married the minute after midnight as the Niagara Falls are lit up with the colors of a rainbow.

Calif. Milk Board Dumps Controversial PMS Campaign Even if the science was right, the message proved terribly wrong. The California Milk Processor Board pulled the plug on a controversial campaign that positioned milk as a remedy for premenstrual syndrome by appealing to cowering husbands and boyfriends. There’s merit to the idea that regular consumption of milk — and other foods rich in calcium and vitamin D — can lessen the odds a woman will develop PMS or reduce the severity of symptoms.

Gay Activists Use F-Word-Filled Comedy Video with 12-Year Old Boys Sharing Same-Sex Kiss to Raise Funds to Fight Minnesota Gay Marriage Ban

FCKH8.com’s newest F-word-filled video brings together cussing drag queens, two pre-teen boys kissing in it’s attack on the “Top 5 Reasons to Ban Gay Marriage”. Group pledges 10¢ for each Facebook “Like” or Twitter tweet up to $10K as part of its latest gay marriage T-shirt sales fundraising effort.

[vimeo 26083711 w=400 h=224]
Los Angeles, CA – July, 12  2010 – Outraged by the upcoming 2012 ballot vote in Minnesota to change the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage, gay activist website FCKH8.com has created another F-bomb-filled Internet comedy video sarcastically slamming the “Top 5 Reasons to Ban Gay Marriage.” The new video which is already going viral on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, laughingly attacks bible-based arguments against gay marriage. The video is intended to send a “gloves off” message and to promote fundraising T-shirt sales with a portion of proceeds donated to Minnesota gay marriage equality organizations.

Handpicked news Briefs: ‘News Of The World’ Signs Off, Dirty Dancing, Quake Hits Off Japan’s Coast, Pot No Medical Use

Hidden Camera Finds Reparative Therapy at Bachmann’s Clinics New evidence has surfaced that Marcus Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinics are actually in the business of reparative therapy for gay people – a claim that he had denied.  

Dirty Dancing Abe Sylvia remembers very clearly the first time he saw Dirty Debbie. The handsome 36-year-old Broadway dancer turned screenwriter-director was then a self-described “friendless, fat gay kid” standing by himself in the parking lot of the middle school he attended in Norman, Okla. “Out of nowhere came this girl running across the quad with her top open, and her huge breasts were bouncing up and down,” Sylvia recalls, laughing in between bites of an egg white and asparagus omelet at an al fresco French bistro in West Hollywood. “She looked so free and happy that that image stayed with me for a long time.”

NOM Not Invited to NY Weddings, But They’ll Be There Protesting When gay couples in New York start legally getting hitched on July 24, the National Organization for Marriage plans to crash their weddings with a series of protests. The group, which lobbied against passage of the marriage equality bill signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, announced the rallies Friday on its website. Protests are so far being planned in Albany, Rochester, Buffalo and New York City.

Feds Rule Pot Has No Accepted Medical Use The federal government ruled on Friday that marijuana has no accepted medical use and should remain in the same class of drugs as heroin. The decision comes nearly nine years after marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify the drug to take into account the growing body of research conducted across the globe that proves it’s effective in treating certain diseases,reports The Los Angeles Times.

BREAKING 7.1 Quake Hits Off Japan’s Coast A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck offJapan’s northeastern coast on Sunday. Tsunami advisories were issued following the Japan earthquake, Tokyo Breaking News reported. According to Reuters, Fukushima nuclear plant workers evacuated to higher ground following theearthquake, with no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Tokyo Electric Power said that there did not appear to be any further damage at the nuclear plant.

News Of The World’ Signs Off: THANK YOU & GOODBYE LONDON — Britain’s best-selling Sunday tabloid the News of the World signed

 off with a simple front page message – “THANK YOU & GOODBYE” – leaving the media establishment here reeling from the expanding phone-hacking scandal that brought down the muckraking newspaper after 168 years. Journalists crafted the newspaper’s own obituary before sending the tabloid’s final edition to the printing presses Saturday night, apologizing for letting its readers down but stopping short of acknowledging recent allegations that staff paid police for information.

Handpicked News: Polygamy Next? Pentagon suspends DADT, Final Shuttle Launches

Santorum, Bachmann, sign Family Leader’s marriage vowFormer U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann have made commitments to sign pledges in support of traditional marriage sought by the Family Leader, an Iowa group that backs Christian conservative social values.

Man Accused of Killing Boy He Thought Was GayA possible cult leader in North Carolina is accused of shooting to death his 4-year-old stepson because he believed he was gay. Peter Lucas Moses, 27, may face the death penalty if he’s found guilty of the murder of Jadon Higganbothan; Moses is also being charged with the killing of Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, a 28-year-old woman

Pentagon suspends DADT in wake of court ruling The Pentagon has ordered a halt to all separations of gay troops under “don’t ask, don’t tell” and will begin accepting applications from prospective recruits who identify themselves as homosexuals. The moratorium issued Friday came after a ruling Wednesday by a federal appeals court in California ordering the Defense Department to immediately stop enforcing the law. The court said the law is unconstitutional because it treats gay Americans differently under the law.

BACHMANN: GAY MARRIAGE IS LIKE PEARL HARBOR You are a type of Orville Ethier — a patriot looking to secure American freedoms. The is, will the Senators of Minnesota act like the Honolulu military headquarters and ignore your message? Today we face perhaps the greatest attack on the family in our lifetime.  Now is OUR time to stand up and send a message to avert and equally impending disaster.

Fox News: Gays “Indoctrinating” Your Kids Fox News’ anti-LGBT bias isn’t exactly a well-kept secret. The network has a long history of smearing the LGBT community and providing hate group leaders with national platforms to spew their anti-gay propaganda. Fox television hosts have compared same-sex marriage to incest and polygamy as well as marriage between humans and a number of different animals.

N.Y. Archbishop: Polygamy Next? Now that his state has legalized same-sex marriage, New York Roman Catholic archbishop Timothy Dolan (pictured) is worried that polygamous unions are next and that religious liberty is in danger.

Bringing Gay Men Back to Showtime

Darwin Would Recognize This Process

FLYING INTO HISTORY: Final Shuttle Launches The AP reports, “Atlantis and four astronauts rocketed into orbit Friday on NASA’s last space shuttle voyage, dodging bad weather and delighting hundreds of thousands of spectators on hand to witness the end of an era. It will be at least three years — possibly five or more — before astronauts launch again from U.S. soil, and so this final journey of the shuttle era packed in crowds and roused emotions on a scale not seen since the Apollo moon shots.”

Bachmann Jumps to Sign New Antigay Pledge and Believes Gay is Choice

The best political choice for Bachman’s campaign would be a muzzle. Come to think of it, that would be the best choice for America as a whole. Hey Michele, now that I have decided to be gay and take that hard road, I think now I’m going to choose to have cancer. That sounds like fun. AB

(www.advocate.com)
Rep. Michele Bachmann was first in line to sign a new pledge affirming her belief that gay men are a public health risk, that gay parents are inferior to straight parents, and that homosexuality is a choice.

Handpicked News: No Longer Required To Teach Cursive, ‘Heartbeat Bill’ , 3 Antigay Amendments, Monogamish

A Parody about the Great Recession:Wantmore, Tweakmore, Totalscum, and the Tragedy of Boneheadia In the country of Boneheadia there was a man, Wantmore, who earned his income as a home mortgage loan originator. Wantmore operated conservatively. All his home loans bore interest rates of 6 percent or less, and he demanded of all borrowers large down payments, documented proof of adequate income, and an immaculate credit-using history. Wantmore sold all his loans to life insurance companies that, before closing purchases, checked loan quality with rigor—then held all loans to maturity.

Monogamish Anti-equality right-wingers have long insisted that allowing gays to marry will destroy the sanctity of “traditional marriage,” and, of course, thelogical, liberal party-line response has long been “No, it won’t.” But what if—for once—the sanctimonious crazies are right? Could the gay male tradition of open relationships actually alter marriage as we know it? And would that be such a bad thing? With divorce rates at an all-time high and news reports full of famous marriages crumbling at the hand of flagrant infidelities (see: Schwarzenegger, Arnold), perhaps now is the perfect time for the gays to conduct a little marriage makeover.

Mark Foley Has Prostate Cancer Former Rep. Mark Foley says that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and will soon undergo surgery to treat it in the coming weeks. 

Pro-Gay Measure Leads to Heated Exchange Metro Nashville Council member Jamie Hollin (pictured) went on a profanity-laced rant Tuesday night against other councilmen after his proposal to praise students who protested Tennessee’s “don’t say gay” bill was killed. 

3 Antigay Amendments Proposed in Defense Spending Bill Rep. Foxx of North Carolina’s amendment would restate the Defense of
Marriage Act, which has barred the federal government from recognizing marriages or unions of same-sex couples since 1996. Ty Cobb, a legislative counselor for the Human Rights Campaign wrote that there was no denying that DOMA is clearly still the law of the land, adding he found it “troubling that Rep. Foxx would question whether our military leaders understand this point.”

Ohio ‘Heartbeat Bill’ Divides Pro-Life Community A controversial new bill in Ohio that would ban abortions after the fetal heartbeat can be detected is driving a wedge into the state’s pro-life community, with some concerned that a court battle over the bill could end up reaffirming Roe v. Wade.

Buffett: GOP Threatening To ‘Blow Your Brains Out’ Over Debt Ceiling  Republicans are playing a dangerous game by refusing to raise the debt ceiling, according to Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. “We raised the debt ceiling seven times during the Bush Administration,” Buffett told CNBC on Thursday. Now, the Republican-controlled Congress is “trying to use the incentive now that we’re going to blow your brains out, America, in terms of your debt worthiness over time.”

Indiana Schools No Longer Required To Teach Cursive [POLL]Is the keyboard completely replacing the pen?Indiana school officials have announced that students will no longer be required to learn cursive writing, effective this fall. In a memo to schools in April, state officials said schools can still teach cursive as independent school protocol, but students will be expected to be proficient in using the keyboard, The Tribune-Starreports.

Picture of NOM’s Brian Brown Crying over NY: Eat that Bully

 When marriage equality passed in the New York Senate, National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown openly cried with defeat in the galley. The truth will eat at a person up. Thanks to Rich Murray, an activist with Queer Rising, we now have proof of this:

Handpicked Headlines: Gay Professors, Rudy Giuliani, Snoopiest Governments

The 11 Snoopiest Governments, According To Google

Texas Coffee Shop Profits After Tweeting Homophobically Just after New York approved same-sex marriage, the Brown Coffee Company of San Antonio, Texas (does Texas allow same-sex marriage?) posted a Twitter that seemed not-so-coincidentally homophobic. People got mad, so Brown’s clowns took that Twitter down and apologized. But they weren’t sorry for long (ka-ching)!

College Kids Think Gay Professors Are All Biased  College students: will they ever be able to judge political bias with any accuracy? No, they haven’t even decided whether Ayn Rand or Chinua Achebe is cooler yet! So it’s no surprise they think every gay teacher is biased. Yeah, with gay bias. A new study found that students at the University of Houston (Clarification: The University of Houston-Downtown, which is a separate school, we’re told)—presented with only a syllabus and a professor’s bio—said that gay professors were politically biased, based only on the fact that they were gay.

Having Reneged on Three Straight Marriages, Rudy Giuliani Ruins His First Gay One  Never believe anything Rudy Giuliani tells you about marriage. “I do”? Bullshit. “To have and to hold”? Lie. “I promise to preside over the wedding of my two good gay friends as soon as marriage is legal in New York”? Take a guess.

LGBT Gathering Marks Anniversary in India Activists held a colorful rally Saturday in New Delhi to celebrate the second anniversary of a court decision striking down a law against gay sex and to push for further progress on LGBT rights.

Anti-Abortion Activist Found Guilty Of Stalking Doctor

Gag Order Issued In Case Of Boy Locked In Cage, Beaten To Death

WATCH: Clips From Old Movie UsedIn Transformers 3?

Handpicked News: Portland Hate Crime, True Blood’s Gay Secret, Neil Patrick Harris…

A Gay Marriage Etiquette Guide Gay New Yorkers can now get married. That’s great news, of course, but let’s not forget that there is no bigger logistical or etiquette nightmare on this planet than planning a wedding. Since the traditional roles for a male-female wedding go out the window for gay nuptials, here are some ground rules an suggestions to get you started. More »

Jury Convicts Rod Blagojevich On 17 Of 20 Counts

Beck Issues A Dark Warning

Men Arrested, Released in Portland Hate Crime

Two men were arrested in connection with an antigay attack in Portland, Ore., early Saturday morning, then released. Shawn Siefke (top right) and Christian Sanchez-Villavencio (bottom right) asked a man for directions at about 3 a.m. on Saturday. They allegedly began hurling antigay epithets at him before pushing him to the ground. Andrew Smith (left) came to the man’s aid and then found himself punched and eventually kicked in the head. Siefke and Sanchez-Villavencio left the scene only to inadvertently return when police arrived — they were both arrested.

True Blood’s Gay Secret Is Out Teasing the new season of HBO’s True Blood,TVLine.com editor Michael Ausiello reported in a June 15 post that “a major character, heretofore heterosexual, will be involved in a same-sex romance.” The identity of said character was revealed when the fourth season premiere aired Sunday: Not only has Tara (Rutina Wesley) fled Bon Temps for New Orleans and become a cage-fighter, but she’s also sleeping with a sexy girlfriend named Naomi (Vedette Lim).

Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka To Marry: Gay Marriage Passage Enables Stars To Wed  UPDATE: Neil Patrick Harris clarified his engagement status with Burtka — they’ve been engaged for a long time now! “David and I did propose to each other, but over five years ago! We’ve been wearing engagement rings for ages, waiting for an available date,” the star tweeted Saturday morning.

 

 

NY Bar Raided During Celebration: Stonewall All Over?

In a case of poor timing, New York City’s Eagle Bar underwent a sudden police inspection Friday night just as patrons were celebrating the state’s legalization of marriage equality.

Those present say representatives from the New York Police Department and three other city agencies, including the State Liquor Authority, arrived shortly after the State Senate’s vote and turned off the bar’s lights. They then shined flashlights in patron’s faces and asked some of them to empty their pockets. READ MORE