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.

Gay Couple Frees Coyote From Giant Mayonnaise Jar: Gay Super Heros

Gay super hero role models! Ok, maybe that is over doing it, but not if you were this poor little curious coyote. AB

Two Seattle men came to the aid of a coyote pup with an unusual predicament. The pup had a jar stuck on his head. People who live in the area had become concerned and called animal control because the pup had been stuck for at least a week. Roel Garcia says he and his partner, Jeff Bryant, had not seen any news reports about the pup and were taking a break from working in their back yard on Sunday when he saw the coyote approaching.

It was standing just a few feet from Bryant. Garcia said the pup looked weak and they could see the outline of his ribs through his fur. “I doubt he could see anything through the jar, let alone smell or hear my partner,” said Garcia. Bryant waited until the pup turned its head and then he leapt towards the pup, but the pup saw him and tried to run away. “My partner said that he saw that the pup had stumbled and fallen so my partner again leapt to the pup and was able to catch him,” said Garcia. Bryant pulled the jar off the pup’s head and the pup quickly ran back into the wooded area. (via www.ksee24.com)

Man Admits Stabbing Lesbian Couple – “God Made Him Do It”

God made me do it is the same as insanity defense. God people = freakish, insecure, unstable nut-bags! AB

A 25-year-old man from the US has admitted stabbing a lesbian couple – but claims God made him do it.
Seattle resident Isaiah Kalebu is on trial for the brutal attack which happened almost two years ago, causing one of the women to die as a result of her injuries.
Kalebu, who admitted to jurors that he was there on the night of the murder, is alleged to have broke into the home of Teresa Butz and her partner through an open window on 19 July 2009.

Anthony Weiner Press Conference: Admits Sending Racy Pictures, Refuses To Resign| Video

Weiner I forgive you, so lets all move on now. It is such a minor deal compared to bills on the table in the congress that need our focus. All the hype is a distraction from political boredom. We all secretly, deep down inside want to se Weiner’s wiener. He made a “mistake” and has apologized. Let’s all hold on hands and let go.

NEW YORK — Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) insisted he’s staying in office Monday, even as a string of embarrassing new revelations and photos emerged that apparently reveal a hidden, lascivious online life.

At first, Weiner vehemently denied that a photo of an underwear-clad erection, sent via Twitter to a 21-year-old woman, had come from him, insisting he’d been hacked.

But conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart and his website, BigGovernment.com, rolled out a series of new pictures Monday, including a shirtless shot that appears to depict Weiner flexing and photographing himself. MORE

Related articles

• It’s Over! Rep. Anthony Weiner Admits He Posted Crotch Shot! Refuses To Resign! (perezhilton.com)
• Anthony Weiner Admits He Sent the Original Photo, Lied About It (chicagonow.com)

“Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind” Book

via Selectism

NPR’s All Songs points our attention to a new book by Jacob McMurray that looks to dissect the rise and commercial success of the grunge movement and a look into the history of punk from the perspective of the Pacific Northwest. Taking Punk to the Masses looks to open with a discussion of The Kingsmen’s “Louie, Louie.”

Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind visually documents the explosion of Grunge, the Seattle Sound, within the context of the underground punk subculture that was developing throughout the u.S. in the late 1970s and 1980s. The book serves as a companion and contextual backdrop to the Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses exhibition, which opens at Seattle’s Experience Music Project in 2011. This decade-and-a-half musical journey will be represented entirely through the lens of EMP’s oral history and permanent object collection, an invaluable and rich cultural archive of over 800 interviews and 140,000 objects — instruments, costumes, posters, records and other ephemera dedicated to the pursuit of rock ’n’ roll.

The book is out now on the excellent Fantagraphics imprint and includes a companion DVD. Amazon has it.

Related articles

• Fantagraphics exhibit celebrates Charles Peterson’s photos (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• ‘Nirvana: Taking Punk To The Masses’ Sneak Peek: A Record Deal, Smashed Nevermind Guitar (newsroom.mtv.com)

Renaming the Easter Egg for Politically Correct Reasons

Image via Wikipedia

Next they’re going to to tell me that, there is no Santa Clause or poppers are bad for you. Are there not any subjects that religious freaks can’t just leave alone. Are they that insecure with loosing power in their life that that have to try and ruin things like Easter Eggs? Come one people, get a hobby.

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Anatomy Of An Outrage of the Day: The “Spring Sphere” Scare

via The Daily What

Anatomy Of An Outrage of the Day: Long story short, MyNorthwest.composted a story regurgitating an exchange between an alleged “local private high school sophomore” named Jessica (no last name given) and KIRO Radio’s right-leaning talk show host Dori Monson, in which the 16-year-old claimed that a third-grade teacher at a public school (which she declined to identify) where she was volunteering told her to call Easter eggs “Spring Spheres.”

It’s a week later and not a single person or place involved in this story has been identified, and no one else has come forward to make a similar claim. In fact, Seattle Public Schools spokeswoman Teresa Wippel said that, despite the story going viral and the slew of angry e-mails and calls, “we haven’t heard if or when it happened.” The district reiterated its “Religion and Religious Accommodation” policy, adding that “There are no new District policies on religion or holiday observance guidelines.”

But that didn’t stop the media from picking up “Spheregate” as accepted fact and blowing it beyond all proportion. “Political correctness takes away ‘Easter’ eggs,” laments The Washington Examiner; “US school renames Easter eggs ‘spring spheres’,” declares the Toronto Star; “War on Easter?” inquires UPI. Yet not a single second source among them.

Related Articles

• Do we need to take the Easter out of eggs? (theglobeandmail.com)

Blackbird presents a dark and dapper take on classic American shades

I do not need, I WANT!

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via www.selectism.com

Blackbird By Han Wolf Sun In Tortoise Sunglasses

One of three new Han sunglasses for Seattle’s Blackbird. By the way, they’re great. “Blackbird presents our dark and dapper take on classic American shades. The large, semi-transparent tortoise frames are complimented by thick and sturdy, black temple arms. Perfect for everyone’s spring look.” Priced well at $165 and damn good looking.

Related Articles

• Alexander Daas: Smart Shades For Sunny Days (luxist.com)

Band (beard) Watch:CAMPFIRE OK

We so are excited to annouce that our debut album, Strange Like We Are is now available! It has been a long journey to get this released and we are very proud of it. Thanks to all of our friends and supporters who have made this possible!

You can find it on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby and Sonic Boom Records in Seattle!

More news to follow soon.

Related Articles

• Listen Up! Campfire OK is ‘Strange Like We Are’ (& We Like It That Way) (seattlest.com)