Sarah Who Again?

Mama Bear is back after a relatively long and (happily) quiet stretch where we didn't have to pretend that Sarah Palin was an actual person with ideas that we should listen to and stuff.

By now we all know that Shah Walker of Wisconsistan has not been unseated and will be renaming the governor's mansion to "Scott's Pleasure Casbah" where he will be executing one civil right a day just because he can.

Sarah is taking this opportunity to get her Bumpit on national television, as she is relating Walker's victory to Barry O's inevitable defeat. Also, something about his goose being cooked. Or something.

As she denounced Obama’s “hopey changey stuff”, the former Alaska governor continued: “More and more Americans realize that what Wisconsin has just manifested via this vote … is the complete opposite of what president Obama and the White House represents today.” 

Palin predicted that the Obama administration will try to downplay Walker’s victory and distance itself from the GOP’s win in Wisconsin.

“Jay Carney — can’t wait to see how he spins all this and ignores it, and President Obama himself,” she said. “They’re going to really try to distance themselves from this despite the fact that they, leading their lapdogs in the leftist media, made this a front page story for how many months? Months and months.”

Mama Bear-- or is it Bulldog with Lipstick?-- is going to cook a goose for some lapdogs. Or something. You heard it here first.

NOM Has A Hissyfit, Part Five Thousand

This is an exciting year for queers in Washington State, as it appears that the legislature is finally on the brink of approving same-sex nuptials for all residents of the Evergreen State. Numerous politicians have voiced their support for a measure legalizing marriage equality, while a number of large corporations based in Seattle and outlying areas have endorsed the proposed law, to include Starbucks:

Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples. Starbucks strives to create a company culture that puts our partners first, and our company has a lengthy history of leading and supporting policies that promote equality and inclusion.

This important legislation is aligned with Starbucks business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners. It is core to who we are and what we value as a company. We are proud of our Pride Alliance Partner Network group, which is one of the largest Employer Resource Groups for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employees in the U.S., helping to raise awareness about issues in the communities where we live and work.

While I'm not a HUGE fan of corporations, I DO get a tickle when they (whatever their other practices) get their heads out of their collective asses and fall on the right side of history regarding LGBT rights. One organization (which seems to have forgotten it was effing broke recently) has weighed in heavily against the measure, specifically targeting Starbucks for their support. Who is it? Our old friends over at National Organization for Marriage:

 

Today, Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), sharply criticized Starbucks' decision to wade into the gay marriage fight in Washington State. That decision comes on top of an earlier decision by Starbucks to ask the Supreme Court to strike down the federal definition of marriage as one man and one woman as well.

"Americans should be able to drink a peaceful cup of coffee without worrying that a portion of the company's profits is going to be used to push gay marriage without a vote from the people," said Brown. "This is a gratuitous leap into a hot button culture war issue; respect for diversity touted by Starbucks ought to include respecting the diverse views of all its customers and employees."

Meh. I'm not sure that Starbucks has actually contributed a dime to marriage equality, but can't you just HEAR Miss Bond's hissyfit in NOM's hatequarters?

Memos, Conference Calls, and Police PR

In recent weeks, Occupy encampments around the country have faced numerous obstacles imposed upon them by local and municipal authorities. Major evictions have happened in nearly every metropolitan area that can claim an Occupation as its own, with many Occupiers alleging that their forceful evictions included instances of police brutality ranging from pepper spray to Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) use.

Many of these evictions happened within days of each other, leading Occupiers to speculate that widespread coordination on a national level had taken place. Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, in a rambling radio interview with the BBC, was kind enough to confirm that some coordination had taken place, letting slip that an informal call between 18 city governments regarding Occupy had taken place on October 10th.

Thanks, Mayor Quan!

Curious about Seattle's possible involvement in that call, Alex-Jon (AJ) Earl, a dedicated Occupy supporter and sometime reader of OneAngryQueer, requested from Mayor McGinn's office all Occupy-related memos and e-mails that had been communicated between the dates of October 15th and November 16th. They released to him a huge batch of documents equaling hundreds of pages of PDF files. He scoured them, and came up with some interesting information. I was pleased to sit down with him last night and examine some of the documentation provided.

For instance, did you know that Mayor Sam Adams spent a considerable amount of time making phone calls personally to other cities in the country regarding the Occupy movement?

An e-mail from mayoral staffer Beth Hester to journalist Christ Grygiel.

Also, a survey that saw little-to-no publicizing was initiated by officials in Philadelphia in order to aggregate information regarding Occupy and the statistics related to each city's occupation:

Reviewing the survey, it asks questions regarding how many arrests were made, whether or not protesters had blocked bridges, and probes how homeless populations had moved in with Occupations. All in all, it was an interesting read. Why was the government of Philadelphia trying to get information about each Occupation? Were they forming a database?

This, as we dug deeper, is not in of itself a scandal. After all, they're just talking about past experiences with and observations of their Occupations, right?

Braden Pence, one of the members of Occupy Seattle's legal team, did further digging through the documents and turned up even more interesting information. After all, AJ requested the documents in order to further research telephone coordination between mayoral staffs addressing the Occupy movement. They asked, how exactly was Mayor McGinn's office involved?

That's when Braden and AJ struck gold: the Mayor's office, thus far, had told the press that they were not invited to participate in Mayor Quan's now-infamous "informal teleconference" coordinated by the United States Conference of Mayors (UCSM). Multiple press inquiries were met with repeated denials once the news broke on the 15th. Mayor McGinn's office, evidently, was swamped with media requests on that day regarding the teleconference:

Please note in this inquiry that Sean Whitcomb, who works in the Seattle Police Department's Office of Public relations, is referenced. He comes up later.

Again and again, the Mayor's office denied involvement with that conference call, and there is no evidence to indicate that they were, in fact, involved. The thing that astounded us, however, is that they made no mention that they were participating in another less-publicized conference call regarding unspecified topics related to the Occupy movements.

The story about Mayor Quan's story broke on the morning of the 15th of November. However, after dating the e-mails, it is now apparent that on the 14th (the day before) correspondence took place in the Mayor's office suggesting the Mayor sit in on a conference call on the 16th, a detail conveniently unmentioned when press inquiries were made.

Note that Shauna Larsen is the City of Seattle's federal liaison based in Washington DC. Tom Cochran is the CEO of the US Conference of Mayors. 

Larsen then recommended that someone from the Mayor's office attend the call:

Unfortunately, Mayor McGinn was unavailable. However, turns out one of his staffers was: 

Ethan Raup is the director of Policy and Operations. Allison Burson is the Mayor's Executive Assistant.

Yes. Ethan can take that call. No problem.

Keep in mind that the original invitation from the USCM to participate in an Occupy teleconference for November 16th was sent out on the 14th, two days prior. Mayor Quan's gaffe that revealed inter-city communications regarding Occupations nationwide was reported on the 15th, and the media requests above were received by the Mayor's office that day at the same time this conference for the 16th was being scheduled. 

Did they technically give the correct answer when asked about the November 10th call? Oh, sure. Did they blithely forget to mention that they were busily scheduling another call coordinated by the USCM to address the issue of the Occupy movement? Definitely.

So, at this point, we were intrigued by the documents buried in countless pages of what amounted to memo spam; letters about permits and sound ordinances that surrounded short communiques scheduling conference calls that had the potential to affect a large and attention-grabbing movement. Why didn't they mention it? 

Whatever their reasons, that wasn't the only thing Braden and AJ found.

Everyone knows who Dorli Rainey is. The 84-year-old former schoolteacher and mayoral candidate, on November 15th (the day everyone was busily calling the Mayor to get a clear story and only getting half an accurate picture), happened to be on-scene during one of Occupy Seattle's protests, and ended up getting pepper-sprayed while standing on a sidewalk. She had the misfortune to be observing the mounting tensions between OS and the Seattle Police Department that night and got a face full of pepper spray as a result. The iconic photo that resulted from that night's events can be found here. 

In response to the incident (which almost instantly garnered horrific press for the SPD), the mayor began circulating his official apology among staffers to get their input. What's remarkable is that one of the people involved in that chain of e-mails is Sean Whitcomb (remember him from earlier?), a Sergeant in the SPD who works in the Office of Public Relations.  The original, unaltered version of his apology can be found below: 

But Sergeant Whitcomb had some suggestions: 

The perfect person to amend the mayor's apology regarding police brutality: a member of the police department.

In the end, this is what the Mayor released:

I also called in Seattle Police Chief John Diaz and the command staff to review the actions of last night. They agreed that this was not their preferred outcome. Here are the steps we are taking in response, to achieve a better outcome next time: 

• Reviewing with our officers the deployment of pepper spray last night
• Developing a procedure to ensure appropriate commanders are on the ground at these kinds of events.
• Making sure that we have appropriate levels of police resources at protest events.

While the Mayor didn't exactly conform his statement to Whitcomb's advice, it is clear that Mike McGinn altered his apology for the indiscriminate pepper spraying of peaceful protesters by SPD at the urging of... a member of SPD. Who is working for who, exactly? Does the SPD work at the direction of City Hall, or does City Hall form its policy at the behest of the Seattle Police Department?

Unfortunately, we don't have documentation of further communications on these matters. We don't have any e-mails confirming that Ethan Raup actually attended the teleconference nor do we know his thoughts on the call. We don't know what further advice the Mayor's office received from the Seattle Police Department's office of Public Relations. AJ's request for information only covered communications up to November 16th.

Regardless of assumptions and speculations, it is clear that we don't know everything that passes between various departments and mayoral staffers regarding matters related to Occupy Seattle. What was spoken about in that conference call? Why is the Mayor apologizing for police brutality with talking points given to him by the police?

Sounds like it might be time to request more records.

Blockbuster New Sarah Palin Book: Gossip Or Biography?

Joe McGinniss, a controversial American writer and novelist who has written New York Times bestsellers since the age of 26, has long been shadowed by accusations of plagiarism and sensationalism, but is returning yet again to the literary scene this year with a controversial topic: the secret life of Sarah Palin.

McGinniss made headlines during the writing of his tell-all, even going so far as to rent a home next door to the Palins, prompting them to put up a tall fence between the properties.

Now, the book is done, and some publications are hailing it as "explosive," as it details several shocking details about the Palins' private lives:

• Former vice presidential candidate alleged to have snorted cocaine off an oil drum
• Said to have had night of passion with basketball star
• Husband Todd said to have dissolved snowmobile firm after discovering affair with business partner
• Ex-governor of Alaska has yet to announce whether she will run for president next year

I would be more interested in the book if, say, Sarah purchased blow with state money and snorted it off an oil drum during a pipeline grand opening, but this is sure to cause waves within the political community, especially the one surrounding Mama Bear.  Will I read it?  Uh, maybe.  If someone else has a copy I can borrow.

Um, This Happened And It's Kind Of Awesome

Last week, a video went viral, the subject matter being Madonna's hate of hydrangeas.  You see, she accepted the flower in question from a worshipful fan and then was caught immediately afterward foolishly exclaiming her hatred for hydrangeas:


While I don't really care what the Material Girl thinks of hydrangeas, what I find more loathsome is her fake British accent.  Whatever, I digress.

Well, she responded to the incident with a silent video mocking people's uproar over her perceived cattiness:


While this seems another slap in the face to well-meaning fans who love hydrangeas, it mocks the uproar caused by her comments and seems to say:  Get over it.  Some of us hate hydrangeas.

Dear OAQ fans, all two of you: I prefer lilies.  Roses are acceptable as well.

Groupon Not Gay Enough For You? That's Okay, Cuz There's This

I know a few discount queers who are just gonna love this.  Yet another Groupon clone, this time with a gay slant:

Before becoming a Gaypon merchant, businesses are put through a background check of sorts, where they are investigated for any bad marks, like complaints of discrimination from customers and employees, poor hiring practices, etc. Gaypon says it also uses various tools, like the Human Rights Campaign’s “Corporate Equality Index” that rates American workplaces on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

Gaypon plans to donate a portion of proceeds to charitable organizations, and those that support the gay community, like The Trevor Project, which focuses on crisis and suicide prevention amongst LGBTQ youth, and Affirmations, which is one of the largest LGBT community centers in the United States. The exact percentage of those donations, however, is unclear.

  All right.  It sounds like a well-meaning enough gimmick, and I'm a cheap date (being a broke blogger helps, you can fix that with the donate link to the left) so I'll check it out.

Sinead O'Connor Wants Some Butt Love, And She Doesn't Care From Who

Sinead O'Connor wants to set the record straight:  She's looking for love, from a man or woman, and you better keep butt-secks on the menu, or no dice:

I’ve been repeatedly asked will I ‘do anal sex’. Let me make it very clear.. Any man I contemplate has to be into anal sex.. It was a family paper so they wudnt have printed it but let me now take time to make VERY clear that yes I ‘do anal’ and in fact I would be deeply unhappy if ‘doing anal’ wasn’t on the menu, amongst everything else$ So if u don’t like ‘the difficult brown’.. Don’t apply… I’ve had reasonable complaints from lesbians that they have been excluded. This was terribly remiss of me and I would now like to make it clear that women will also be very much considered. As will Brians and Nigels.. Since there were complaints there too.

I don't think I have anything to add to that.

"It's Nerd Day, Not Cross-dress Day"

One 17 year old in Douglas, Georgia, may not be able to graduate from high school on time due to an arrest and suspension for disrupting the learning environment. What disruption was so severe that he got carted off from school to a jail cell? Wearing a skirt.

Coffee High School told Eric Bivens that he could not wear his skirt during Spirit Week-- even being told it was "Nerd Day, not Cross-dress Day"-- but Bivens stood up for his right to wear whatever the hell he wants and now may face serious consequences for his continued education.

"He was all like come with me sir and I am like what did I do wrong, I am in dress code, I checked and he is all like we need to make sure you can wear this because it is nerd day not cross dress day," says Bivens.

Bivens did change his clothes and went to the principal to explain why he felt his rights as a student were being violated. Female students, he argued, dress like boys all the time. When he didn't receive what he felt was a satisfactory answer from administration, he changed back into his skirt and was arrested.

But Bivens put the skirt back on later in the day, and that got him in trouble.

Principal Greg Tanner says Bivens was being defiant and that's why he was suspended.

"From freshman year to senior year they pulled all my referrals and apparently I had 24," says Bivens.

Due to Bivens's discipline history and being insubordinate to administrators and faculty, he was arrested and charged.

"Cost me my education, my future," says Bivens.

Bivens says he just wants to get back in school so he can graduate on time and if he could do it over again he would stick to wearing pants.

Regardless of whatever disciplinary problems Bivens has had in the past at Coffee High, I find it sad that the principal of that school was able to do what he set out to do: Stifle one student's chosen mode of expression.

Thanks to reader Gini B. for the tip.

This Guy Is Totally Straight!

Watch this video.


Welcome To Confessions of An Ex-Gay Superstar from Randy Thomas on Vimeo.

Right.  You're an ex-gay.  Totally not gay at all anymore.

Jesus, Barron. Really?

GOProud's own personal PR nightmare, President Chris Barron, struck again one Twitter yesterday as he took to the Interwebs to protest Michele Bachmann's linking to the teen suicide epidemic in her district.  Many of those suicides were gay or bullied on the perception of sexual orientation, and that has some concerned that Bachmann and her anti-gay allies in the area are fostering a climate of discrimination.

So the ever-thoughtful Barron made this unfortunate comparison in response, once again linking GOProud's name with the craziest person possible:

First, there's a big difference between gonorrhea and hanging yourself because you don't want to live, Chris.  Second?  Pelosi actually supports safe-sex initiatives.  She even paints it in terms that you might understand, saying that promoting contraception cuts on costs:   

"Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

Has Bachmann provided any examples of how she is defeating the problem of teen suicide in her district?

Crazy Eyes Wishes Elvis Happy Birthday! Uh, On The Anniversary Of His Death

Michele "killer clown" Bachmann needs new handlers.

Today is the anniversary of Elvis' death.  During a speech in Spartansburg, SC, she chose to commemorate the King's passing with... um... felicitations on his birth...?

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann got her Elvis Presley dates all shook up during a campaign stop Tuesday in South Carolina. The congresswoman from Minnesota played the Elvis tune "Promised Land" at a local restaurant and told the crowd of 300 that she wanted to say happy birthday to the king of rock `n' roll. 

"Before we get started, let's all say happy birthday to Elvis Presley today!" Bachmann said.
But Aug. 16 is the anniversary of Elvis' death, in 1977, and someone in the crowd shouted back, "He died today!" 

Bachmann didn't respond and launched into her speech.

Bachmann later addressed the gaffe with reporters, switching easily from jubilation to somber remembrance:

Bachmann corrected herself later as she spoke with reporters, noting the date marked Presley's passing, not his birth. 

"As far as we're concerned, he's still alive in our hearts," Bachmann said.

This gaffe and her quick 180 only serves to show what an insincere idiot this woman is.

Carolla... Um, Apologizes?

Entertainment Weekly is running a weak apology belched out by Adam Carolla regarding his disgusting radio-show tirade against gays and transfolk, for which GLAAD has rightfully gone nuclear about:

The organization reports on the incident in a press release, writing: “In his rant, he also told LGBT people to ‘shut up’ because they are ‘ruining his life’ by speaking out about equality. He went on to say that members of the LGBT community should stop using the letters ‘LGBT’ to describe themselves, and should instead use ‘YUCK.’ Regarding transgender people, Carolla at one point asked: ‘When did we start giving a sh–t about these people?’”  

Carolla told EW via his rep, “I’m sorry my comments were hurtful. I’m a comedian, not a politician.”

Um.  Thanks, Adam, but what does that have to do with anything?  If the comments had been in the slightest bit funny, I might begin to accept... no.  No.  Never mind.  I wouldn't.  You're a douche.  That's all!

Let's change that statement to what it should have been:

Carolla told EW via his rep, “I’m sorry my comments were hurtful. I’m a douchebag, not a comedian.”

There.  MUCH better.

Adam Carolla: Next Up For An It Gets Better Video

I'll be honest, I'm starting to get really tired of the "Famous guy says messed up shit about gays then apologizes, does sensitivity training, and makes an It Gets Better video" story.

Next up for this particular meme is Adam Carolla, Loveline cohost and radio personality:

"It’s important that I teach my five-year-olds about guys who want to have their cocks cut off and a vagina put in their place. Alright, I’ll get to that as soon as I get home. Hey kids, wake up. You know, there’s a small percentage of Americans who are really angry at their cocks, and they like them surgically removed, and a hole put in their place, and it’s very important you treat them with a certain amount of respect."

His remarks were inspired by the "Bert and Ernie should get married" petition circling the internet and are honestly pretty disgusting.  I would put more on here but I decided to not mar your delicate eyes.  If you care, you can click on over to GLAAD, who are already on the warpath:

GLAAD will be reaching out to its allies in the entertainment industry to let them know about Adam Carolla's history of racist and homophobic remarks. 

"Given his history of anti-gay and racist comments, networks and advertisers should know what their money is supporting if they choose to hire Adam Carolla," said Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs at GLAAD. "The gross intolerance that he tries to pass off as comedy should not have a place on our airwaves." 

GLAAD asked listeners of the show to learn about the hardships that Carolla makes light of and directed them to a column in The Advocatewritten by Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which reviewed the landmark study "Injustice at Every Turn" which was co-produced with the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Transgender people can be legally fired in 35 states for being transgender. They are twice as likely to be unemployed. 

• Transgender individuals live in poverty at nearly four times the national rate.
• Over 25% reported that they had lost a job due to their transgender identity.
• They are twice as likely to be homeless.
• 41% have attempted suicide, more than 26 times the rate (1.6%) of the general population.

Regarding his comments on the children of gay parents, GLAAD reminded listeners that virtually every credible authority on child health and social services including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Child Welfare League of America has determined that a parent's sexual orientation has nothing to do with the ability to be a good parent. Children of gay parents are just as healthy and well-adjusted as other children.

Famous people, let me give you some advice:  don't talk shit.  You will end up getting sued, slammed, vilified, and generally fucked over if you say nasty shit about the gays.  Really.  GLAAD is powerful and rich, and they will immediately put your career in the toilet-- unless, of course, you immediately film a video apologizing for your insensitive remarks.

Honestly?  It's probably easier for you to tout Hitler's ethnic cleansing as sound economic strategy than to fuck with Chaz Bono.  So just don't.  Don't do it!  I'm tired of writing about you jackasses!

The Bachmanns Are Super Duper Serious, You Guys!

Michele Bachmann is continuing her quest for legitimacy in the rat-race to the White House, once again distancing herself from her previous anti-gay views by clamming up on LGBT issues during a news interview and insisting that she doesn't comment on "frivolous matters," but only the super serious ones!  Okay, lady, I guess your entire career up to this point has been frivolous, as you built your whole platform on anti-gay policy.  But whatevs!

Marcus, on the other hand, is uber concerned about frivolous matters, anxiously inquiring from a reporter what the term "silver fox" means, afraid that it might be a gay term.

"Marcus Bachmann plopped down on the seat next to me, in the back of the plane. He pointed at my laptop and asked if he could take a look. 'All I want to know is what they’re saying about me,' he said. 'Newsweek came up with the word "silver fox." Tell me what "silver fox" means.'

"'Do you want me to tell you honestly?' I asked.

"'Oh, don’t tell me it’s something gay!' he said. 'Because I’ve been called that before.'[...]

"I explained that 'silver fox' probably had more to do with the color of his hair.

"'O.K., I can handle that,' he said. Tera, the assistant, assured him that it was a positive term."

I wish I was the one making this shit up, because it's too goddamn hilarious.  

No, Queen Latifah Didn't Just Come Out

Queen Latifah recently took time out from her busy schedule of scissoring with her "personal trainer" to outline for anyone who would listen what the ideal woman looks like:

Lesbian.  Big time.

"I just like ladies who have class. Period. And if it’s 'T and A' you’re sellin’, that’s fine, as long as that’s what you’re selling. But you don’t have to show everything, you know? You can hold some back and just be yourself and let your personality shine and let your individuality show. To me, that’s sexier. A confident woman is a sexy woman, in my opinion."

This is leading half the blogosphere to explode with speculation that she has finally come out of the closet.  I say no.  She goes on to talk about women attracting a certain type of man, blah blah blah.  You really only come out of the closet when you say the words "I'm a lesbian, this is my partner."  Anything else is beating around the bush.

So to speak.

Fox News Is Against Gay Marriage, Unless They Can Make A Quick Buck On It

News Corp., the troubled Murdoch company being creamed over a phone-hacking scandal, is the owner of possibly the world's worst news service, Fox News.  Faux News is the daily go-to for Tea Party whackjobs and religious extremist bigots, so you would think their business model has no room for same-sex nuptials.

Not so!

Maybe they're cottoning to the fact that the majority of Americans now support marriage equality, but for whatever reason, News Corp. is now putting out a "bridal" magazine for queer couples called Wedding Pride.

Of course, News Corp. has a long history of opposing marriage equality:

"While the New York Post, the conservative tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, opposed gay marriage in an editorial and gave scant coverage to the June 24 state Senate vote that enacted that law, a second News Corporation unit in New York City is selling pricey ad space in the inaugural issue of 'Wedding Pride: The Magazine for Gay and Lesbian Wedding Planning.'

"In a June 14 editorial, the Post said 'There is no denying that same-sex marriage could become law this year. This reflects a seismic shift in society's attitudes on the issue and a growing acceptance of gays in general. Still, the question is vexing. But if we had a vote, it would be no. Marriage as an institution has fallen on hard times in recent years. But that's no excuse for weakening it further.'"

While I now identify my ethnicity as "bridezilla," this is definitely one mag I won't be perusing.  I would prefer that these money grubbers not turn around and use my "pink dollar" to fund an insane news outlet that gives a free platform to assholes like Pat Buchanan and Bryan Fischer.

Fox and Friends Blast Obama As Anti-Christian Over Ramadan Proclamation

Monday was the beginning of Ramadan, and Barack Obama recognized Muslim Americans with a simple statement as follows:

"Times like this remind us of the lesson of all great faiths, including Islam — that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. In that spirit, I wish Muslims around the world a blessed month, and I look forward to again hosting an iftar dinner here at the White House. Ramadan Kareem."

This, of course, is in continuing with traditions begun with the last President, George W. Bush, who notably held iftar dinners all eight years of his presidency (iftar being the meal breaking the Ramadan fast).  This didn't stop the asshats over on Fox News from once again raising questions about the President's religious background, to include Barry O's supposed War on Easter.  From ThinkProgress:

CARLSON: Some people said that they might have an issue with the fact that he didn’t issue a proclamation for Easter. So some people are saying is this an outreach to the Muslim world and why isn’t there an outreach to the Christian world.” 

DOOCY: Of course the White House does historically have White House Easter Egg Roll, but they didn’t issue a proclamation they did for Ramadan just now…I think he did mention briefly in his weekend address that weekend Easter — in passing — but still, nothing big. It is Christianity’s holiest, most sacred holiday. 

JOHNSON: I think the coming Easter you’ll see a statement coming out of the White House. 

DOOCY: Oh during the election year? 

JOHNSON: Clearly, it was a terrible terrible error.

So was it a terrible, terrible error when George W. didn't issue a proclamation on Easter?  Or H.W. Bush?  Or Ronald Reagan?  

Dudes, nobody has ever issued a proclamation on Easter.  Why?  Because the President already reaches out to Christians-- in the White House Easter Egg Roll, in the annual Christmas Address, in the Presidential Christmas tree, and in the Easter prayer breakfast.  What you're asking for isn't to reach out to Christians, but to place Christianity in a place of primacy in our President's actions.  That's not only inappropriate, it violates the already tenuous grasp our nation has on the separation of church and state.

Newt's Tweeters Is Followed By A Bunch Of Fakes

Newt Gingrich has led, thus far, a troubled Presidential campaign highlighted by glitter-bombing and mass staffer resignations, but he wants you to know he's still a winner!  The proof?  He's got more Twitter followers than any of the other candidates!

"And it says, 'now it's true that Gingrich has 1.3 million followers and (Michele) Bachmann only has 59,000, but she's getting more new people every week.' It turned out I have six times as many Twitter followers as all the other candidates combined, but it didn't count because if it counted I'd still be a candidate; since I can't be a candidate that can't count. So we've been a little bit like a sailing ship in the middle of a hurricane in which we are sailing straight into the teeth of the media, and that slowed us down."
Er.  Except he really doesn't-- because most of his followers are fake accounts created by his campaign.


"Newt employs a variety of agencies whose sole purpose is to procure Twitter followers for people who are shallow/insecure/unpopular enough to pay for them. As you might guess, Newt is most decidedly one of the people to which these agencies cater.

"About 80 percent of those accounts are inactive or are dummy accounts created by various 'follow agencies,' another 10 percent are real people who are part of a network of folks who follow others back and are paying for followers themselves (Newt's profile just happens to be a part of these networks because he uses them, although he doesn't follow back), and the remaining 10 percent may, in fact, be real, sentient people who happen to like Newt Gingrich. If you simply scroll through his list of followers you'll see that most of them have odd usernames and no profile photos, which has to do with the fact that they were mass generated. Pathetic, isn't it?"

Pathetic indeed.  Sure, I'm always scrounging to get more Twitter followers to hawk my schlock, but I would never pay for them.  That may just be because Newt has the budget for that and I don't... maybe I should form a PAC...

Vibrator "Food Truck" To Make Rounds In NYC

New York is well-known for their food trucks, but this is over the top.

Trojan, the well-known condom company, is promoting their line of vibe toys on July 28th and 29th this week by driving a "Food truck" around Manhattan, with free samples of condoms and vibrating cockrings being handed out.  There will be tests on iPad designed to match each prospective shopper with the best vibrator for their needs, as well as an on-site sexologist, Dr. Logan Levkoff, who will interview personalities in the field of sexual health.

"Fifty-three percent of women and 45 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 60 have used a vibrator during sexual interaction, according to a survey by Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University commissioned by Trojan. And 90 percent of women who have used vibrators agreed that vibrator use can enhance a woman's relationship with her partner.

"The stats are there, but still many people feel uncomfortable talking so openly about the topic. Levkoff said she anticipates some people will be nervous to approach the truck in public, but it's her job to let them know it's okay to talk about the subject in a fun and positive way.

"'The fact that it’s a "Trojan food truck" I think is going to be enough to make people say, "What on earth is that?" and draw people in,' she said. 'I’m hoping that broaching this conversation is going to be easier than most people anticipate, because this is really an entertaining way of having a conversation about something that is often portrayed as super clinical and scary or completely gratuitous, and this is nowhere near those two extremes.'"

While I'm not particularly fiendish for Trojan's products, good for them for such a sex-positive publicity stunt.  I've worked in sex shops off and on for years and find any chance to appropriately promote healthy sexual expression to be an important part of adulthood.  

Puppet Love

The off-Broadway show Avenue Q has been widely popular and is in its second year of its run.  The gay-theme musical is now celebrating marriage equality in New York State by announcing the wedding of two its puppet characters, Rod and Ricky.

"'To have this finally happen for us—especially so soon after Will and Kate—is unbelievable to me,' Rod said in a statement released by the production. 'I realize there are a lot of broken hearts out there now that Ricky and I are off the market—step back, all you chorus boys!—but I've known since Day One that Ricky is the husband for me. He's the furry fellow I want to spend my life with both on and off the stage.'"

Cute.