Chistian Coalition to Use Strategery Against "Roe Vs. Wade"

Rev. Pat Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, had this to say about the struggle over reproductive rights in America:

"We don't have to see a Roe v. Wade overturned in the Supreme Court to end it. … We want to. But if we chip away and chip away, we'll find out that Roe really has no impact. And that's what we are doing."

The sad thing is, this is exactly what has been happening.  Last year at least 11 states passed laws restricting or regulating a woman's right to choose.  This year, a whopping 500 pieces of anti-choice legislation have been introduced. 

Many people say that the gay rights movement is the civil rights movement of our era.  I think the culture wars have exploded-- and that we may be seeing a war against our sisters' right to choose what they may or may not do with their bodies.  This is kind of terrifying.

[Shakesville]

NOM Would Like to Look as Stupid as Possible This Year, Thanks.

Remember that stupid cow Carrie Prejean who was Ms. California USA and came out as an anti-gay bigot during the pageant?  Remember how she became best friends with National Organization for Marriage?

Then remember how she had her crown taken from her in disgrace when her masturbation porno tape surfaced?  And remember how NOM fled in terror from the whole debacle?

An interesting twist just surfaced in the whole thing.  From the Village Voice:

"Well, outside Sister Act last night, a guy aproached me and said,

"'Hi, Michael, I'm Keith Lewis from the Miss California USA pageant.'

"'Oh, you're the one who ripped the crown off Carrie,' I noted, grinning. 'Congrats!'

"'Well, now we're being sued by NOM,' he informed me, meaning the National Organization for Marriage group that Carrie had been a spokesperson for.

"The suit has something to do with NOM accusing the pageant of releasing damaging (i.e. true) info about Carrie, as opposed to the press having dug it up by itself.

"'Huh?" I screeched. 'NOM is suing you? But NOM fired Carrie too!'

"'Well' said Lewis, 'nowadays people can do just about anything.'

NOM needs to get themselves better publicists, because they are getting really good at stepping in it lately.  I mean, first they send threatening emails to Louis Marinelli and now this?  When you distance yourself from an individual, you're not supposed to then remind everyone 18 months later that they were the face of your organization.

Asshats.

[VillageVoice]

Cancer Claims Sarah Jane Smith

Elisabeth Sladen, aged 63, has died of cancer related illness.  She is best known for her portrayal of Sarah Jane Smith from Doctor Who. 

She first came onto the show in the early 70s and is perhaps known as the most popular companion to join the Doctor on his adventures.  She has reprised the role many times over the years, and even landed her own show, The Sarah Jane Adventures, beloved by teens and adults alike.

I'm really sad over this.  She will be missed.

[Kuriositas]

Today's WTF Moment Brought to You By GLAAD

Rapper Li'l B, perhaps in a move to be controversial and perhaps just in a move to show that not all hip-hop artists are 'phobes announced at Coachella that he would be naming his upcoming album "I'm Gay."  His reasoning, while a bit silly, seems harmless and proves a point:

"I’m gonna do the most controversial thing in hip-hop. Ya’ll heard it first. And I’mma just show you that words don’t mean s**t. I’mma make an album called ‘I’m Gay,’ right. Now I’mma tell you why I’m the first person to do it in hip-hop and why you’re the first people to know my reasons. I’m just gonna tell you. So many people be worried about what people mean and definitions of words and s**t… Now I like women, I love women, you feel me. But within yourselves, no matter what you do, it doesn’t matter, it’s like live life. You’ve only got one life to live. Be happy. - Fuck the hate."

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, however, issued a somewhat nonsensical statement admonishing Li'l B for... I'm not sure what?

"'As a lyricist, Lil B knows that words matter,' a spokesperson for GLAAD told XXLmag.com. 'Slurs have the power to fuel intolerance. We hope that Lil B’s album title is not just a gimmick, and is really a sincere attempt to be an ally. He has the platform and the voice. We hope he uses it in a positive way.'"

Um.  Is "gay" a slur now?  I didn't think so.  Maybe GLAAD should stop throwing three massive awards shows a year patting celebrities on the back for not being douchebags and start working on actually being relevant.  Or has Gay Inc. decided that we can't use "gay" anymore?

Back2Stonewall has a video of Li'l B's announcement at the link.

[Back2Stonewall]

Bryan Fischer Advocates the Slaughter of Grizzly Bears

Real quick, Bryan Fischer of the American (anti)Family Association-- what the hell does this have to do with your job?!

Of course, most grizzly bears would prefer to just leave you alone, but this begs the question:  if climate change isn't a contributing factor in grizzly bears being driven out of their habitats and into urban areas, isn't that akin to saying "People don't kill people.  Guns kill people"? 

I would really love to see the "science" behind that tweet.  I could use a laugh.

Boehner Ignores What America Wants, Spends Your Money Defending Doma

This is exceptionally stupid, especially since now it seems every poll is indicating that Americans just want DOMA to die.

House Majority Speaker John Boehner has already tasked the DoJ with funding his personal crusade to discriminate against the gays-- after Barry O. issued the executive order stating that the administration would no longer defend the draconian law, Rep. Boehner leapt into action and said "Well, gol' durnit!  I will!"

Well, the good folks over at Think Progress have gotten a hold of the contract with the law firm retained for the case and they are charging taxpayers a whopping $520/hr to take the case.

"2. The General Counsel agrees to pay Contractor for all contractual services a sum not to exceed $500,000.00. … Furthermore, it is understood and agreed that should the $500,000 cap be reached before the Litigation is complete, and if the cap has not then been raised by written agreement…contractor shall not be obligated to continue providing legal services under this Agreement.

"3. The General Counsel agress to pay Contractor at a blended rate of $520.00 per hour for all reasonable attorney time expended in connection with the Litigation, and at 75 percent of the Contractor’s usual and customary rates for all reasonable non-attorney time…and to reimburse Contractor for all reasonable expenses incurred by the Contractor in connection with the Litigation[.]"

Your taxpayer dollars at work, guys!  Yet another misappropriation of government funds during the worst recession in decades. 

[Think Progress]

George Takei Puts the Smack Down on Some Douchebag

Douchebags of the world:  WATCH OUT!

PS:  Isn't the theme song at the end possibly the worst theme song ever?!

Brian Brown Attempting to Intimidate Louis Marinelli

NOM appears to be panicking since the very public defection of Louis Marinelli, one of their top organizers and their Facebook web master.

"Specifically, he said that NOM president Brian Brown has privately been using intimidation tactics and legal threats against him since he left, demanding he remove some of his critical blog posts (even though NOM, in its damage control of the defection, has tried to claim Marinelli was not very influential in their organization, which is obviously a lie.)"

Suckas!  It's awful when one of your former hate-minions comes out to blab about your disgusting tactics and horrific lies.  This goes to show:  Don't do shit you don't want other people to know about.

[Signorile.com]

Big Surprise! Teen Suicide Rates Higher in Conservative Areas

A study which focused mainly on my home state of Oregon found that teens tend to attempt suicide more frequently in politically conservative areas.  Not a surprise.  What's perhaps more surprising is that the data shows that both gay and straight teens are affected regardless of whether or not they are exposed to bullying or are depressed.

"His study found a higher rate of suicide attempts even among kids who weren’t bullied or depressed when they lived in counties less supportive of gays and with relatively few Democrats. A high proportion of Democrats was a measure used as a proxy for a more liberal environment.

"The research focused only on the state of Oregon and created a social index to assess which outside factors might contribute to suicidal tendencies. Other teen health experts called it a powerful, novel way to evaluate a tragic social problem.

"'Is it surprising? No. Is it important? Yes,' said Dr. Robert Blum of Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health."

Next time you're being told that the anti-gay movement is protecting our children, this may be a salient, if extremely sad, point to bring up.  Conservatism:  killing our teens.  

[WaPo]

"Thou Shalt Not Steal," But Destroying Another Man's Property? Sure!

This is sad.

The unfortunately named "Piss Christ" photograph was destroyed in Avignon on Sunday.  The work of art had previously caused a huge amount of controversy when it was first exhibited in 1989, attracting the ire of Senators Helms and D'Amato, as its production was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The image, a crucifix immersed in urine, shares a common theme with many other works by artist Andres Serrano-- he uses bodily fluids like blood and urine in many of his pieces.  The painting was being exhibited alongside a private collection in Yvon Lambert's stately mansion as a celebration of his 10 years of art collecting.

The local archbishop called the photograph "odious" and called for its removal.  The owner of the collection complained about religious extremist threats and protests, and then finally on Sunday four people between the ages of 18-25 entered the exhibition and attacked and destroyed the photograph.

"When New York artist Andres Serrano plunged a plastic crucifix into a glass of his own urine and photographed it in 1987 under the title Piss Christ, he said he was making a statement on the misuse of religion.

"Controversy has followed the work ever since, but reached an unprecedented peak on Palm Sunday when it was attacked with hammers and destroyed after an 'anti-blasphemy' campaign by French Catholic fundamentalists in the southern city of Avignon.

"The violent slashing of the picture, and another Serrano photograph of a meditating nun, has plunged secular France into soul-searching about Christian fundamentalism and Nicolas Sarkozy's use of religious populism in his bid for re-election next year.

"It also marks a return to an old standoff between Serrano and the religious right that dates back more than 20 years, to Reagan-era Republicanism in the US."

This is disgusting.  What right do these people have to walk into another man's home and take a hammer to his personal property?  Where's the Commandment for that?

[Guardian]

This Pleases Me

This is a fun short film, about 8 minutes, made by four French art students from Montpelier.  The premise:  three time travelers realize they left their tent behind in Aztec Mexico and must retrieve it-- before they change history forever.

It shows off their technical skills pretty smartly and is also just plain fun.  Have a good weekend, everyone.


KICHWA from Charlélie JOURDAN on Vimeo.

Not Even The KKK Likes The Tea Party

The Ku Klux Klan distanced themselves from the Westboro Baptist Church and the Tea Party today, as well as denouncing Florida Pastor Terry Jones' penchant for burning Qur'ans. 

What?

On WBC:  "We absolutely repudiate their tactics of protesting the funerals of U.S. soldiers, men and women who die serving our Nation."

On the Tea Party:   "The Tea Party does not represent any but a shallow limited political agenda.  They are an extension of the Republican Party and seek to compromise it
 
On Terry Jones:  "There are without doubt Islamic sects that teach extreme views of Islam but, going down to their level of hatred by burning their books is a dangerous and ignorant way to confront their teachings."

Okay, these guys are still total dickbags, I mean, look what their idea of a Friday night out is:

Not a microbrew in sight.

 

However, it pleases me to say this:  Hey, Tea Party!  You're so crazy not even the Klan is going near ya.  Yeah.  So shaddap.  

[KKK]

The Robopocalypse is Upon Us

This is the most terrifying thing ever!  Because nothing could ever go wrong by teaching a robot how to punch people in the face, right?!




[Neatorama]

GetEQUAL Gives Maggie a Very Special Award

Maggie Gallagher, better known as the face of the dreadful National Organization for Marriage, is in DC today to testify in DOMA hearings (should we be defending it?  Should we have it at all?) and was ambushed by my pals over at GetEQUAL.  They presented her with an award:  The Anita Bryant Award for bigotry.  Watch!