Virginia Is For Anti-Gay Lovers

The state’s tagline used to be “Virginia is for lovers” though now I think it should also say “*Some restrictions apply.”

You know, like if you’re one of The Gays; one of the legally married Gays.

The Cooch

From the desk soon-to-be-out-of-a-job Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who has spent most of his time in office trying to legislate vaginas and gay sex, the Virginia Department of Taxation will not allow legally married same-sex couples to file joint federal tax returns.

No, now those legally married folks will have to commit perjury on their tax forms when they file them as unmarried individuals because, you know, they’re gay and stuff and that’s just nasty. In addition, Kenny “Asshat” Cuccinelli, AKA The Cooch, has asked that the department of taxation prevent small businesses from claiming deductions on the benefits they offer to same-sex couples.

Virginia wants to punish The Gays and anyone who offers benefits to them as well.

The Cooch’s order is contradictory to the new policy of Internal Revenue Service, which recently announced that it would accept joint tax returns from married same-sex couples, regardless of the laws of the state in which they live, as long as they were married in a state that recognizes same-sex marriages.

The tax officials say they will be following Virginia law, where the state constitution defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and forbids the state's recognition of any other relationship as a marriage.

“It’s not a tax issue. It’s a constitutional matter. An administrator can’t go against his or her state constitution.”—Joel Davison, a department spokesperson

“Bull sh*t.”—Bob, blogger

But the good news is that The Cooch’s latest anti-gay edict might be short-lived. LGBT advocates are hoping, even pushing, for governor-elect Terry McAuliffe to follow the lead of Missouri Governor Jay Nixon who has ordered his state’s Department of Revenue to require all married Missouri couples who file joint federal tax returns, regardless of sexual orientation, to also file jointly with the state.

But, and ain’t there always a but, the specific, discriminatory, anti-equality language of Virginia’s constitutional amendment could prevent McAuliffe from pursuing the same course, and McAuliffe has not yet decided on a formal response to the issue.

Virginia is for lovers.

Of hate.

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Ken Cuccinelli Gets A Sodomy Smackdown From SCOTUS ... And He Probably Loved It

Ooh snap.

Last week U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts denied a request by Virginia Attorney General, the virulently anti-gay and yet same-sex obsessed, Ken Cuccinelli that a lower court ruling overturning Virginia’s sodomy law be put on hold while the Supreme Court decides whether to hear Cuccinelli’s appeal; Roberts, acting on behalf of the full court, did not issue an explanation for his denial.

It was just dee-nied.

Cuccinelli had asked the Supreme Court to put a stay on the Fourth Circuit Court’s ruling shortly after he filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to hear his appeal; SCOTUS is expected to decide later this year, or early next year, whether to hear the case, and if it decides against hearing it, the Fourth Circuit Appeals Court ruling remains in place.

And Cuccinelli gets pissy.

It all started when the Fourth Circuit overturned a felony conviction by a Virginia judge in the case of William Scott MacDonald, a 47-year-old man accused of soliciting oral sex from a 17-year-old woman. Although no sex took place, MacDonald, had been charged with soliciting someone to commit a sexual act that his attorneys argued was no longer illegal.

The Fourth Circuit Appeals Court agreed with his attorneys, ruling 3-1 that the 2003 Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas invalidated the Virginia Crimes Against Nature law as unconstitutional, thereby preventing it from being enforced.

Cuccinelli, who likes to shove his head into everyone’s sexual business because he’s obsessed with other people’s sexual activities, had argued the Lawrence decision did not apply to sexual relations between an adult and a minor—for the record, the age of consent in Virginia is 15—and he has stated in political ads for his campaign to become Virginia’s next governor, that the outdated, unconstitutional, none of your damn business, sodomy law is needed to protect children from sexual predators.

He seems to forget that there are already laws, even in Virginia, that allow for the prosecution of adults who engage in sex with minors.

Ken Cuccinelli. Same-sex sodomy obsessed gubernatorial candidate approved this message.

ALLEGEDLY.

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Is Target Still Funding Anti-LGBT Politicians?

Is Target at it again? Y’all remember, way back in 2010 when the Target Corporation was forced to apologize after stories surfaced that it had funded campaign ads for anti-LGBT Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer? And remember how Target kept saying they are big supporters of the LGBT community while giving big cash to Emmer and his ilk? Well, now it turns out that Target’s apology wasn’t real, and that Target is still giving money to anti-LGBT anti-gay candidates.

In fact, even during the same time period that Target was apologizing, the corporation donated some $31,200 to anti-LGBT candidates in that election cycle, and now we find out that Target is funding, albeit indirectly, the campaign of virulently homophobic Ken Cuccinelli in his bid to become Virginia’s next governor.

And this is how they do it: Target, in the first six months of 2013, contributed $50,000 to the Republican Governors Association, a group which has spent, wait for it because this is an example of the GOP’s new inclusiveness, almost $3 million on Cuccinelli‘s gubernatorial campaign. Now, to be fair, Target also gave $50,000 to the Democratic Governors Association, which is supporting Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe.

But, how does the LGBT community overlook Target’s money going in Cuccinelli‘s coffers? And should we look the other way? This isn’t about supporting Republicans or Democrats; it’s about giving money without a care as to where it goes, and to whom.

When the shiz hit the Target fan over the Emmer contributions, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel apologized, then backed off his apology and then apologized again. Then Steinhafel promised to launch “a strategic review and analysis of our decision-making process for financial contributions in the public policy arena” and to start “a dialogue focused on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, including GLBT issues.”

It doesn’t sound like Target is coming through on that promise, but if they wanted to, they could begin donating only to those candidates who are LGBT-friendly, and deny support for those like Cuccinelli. But I hate that Target keeps calling itself a friend to The Gays when they are giving money to people who seem to have one goal, which is to deny us equality.

Of course, in damage control mode, Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder released a statement:

Target’s commitment to the LGBT community is long-standing and unwavering.       

We also believe strongly in our civic responsibility to engage in a bipartisan manner at the state and federal level in order to learn about public policy priorities and advocate on issues that affect our business, such as fairness legislation. One of the ways we do this is through membership in both the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations, both of which include several hundred other corporate members.  When paying for our memberships, we explicitly require that our dues not be used for any individual electoral campaigns or other electioneering efforts. It would therefore be wrong and inaccurate to associate our membership dues with any particular political candidate or campaign.

This sounds like a heaping pile of ignorance to me. Target is saying that they give money, in the form of membership dues, to both sides, and yet require that their monies not be used “for any individual electoral campaigns”.

That’s kinda hard to do, Target. You can’t hand someone a check for dues to their organization and then ask that the money not be given to certain parts of the group. Target is trying to play the Ignorance Card, but they know, as most folks know, that the GOP is still, by and large, and anti-LGBT political group so when you give them money—even for dues—you are paying for their candidates reelection and for their agenda.

Ignorance is n o excuse.

via  Right Wing Watch

I Didn't Say It ....

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, on the rumor that the GOP will become more tolerant:

"I don’t know if I’ve used the word ‘tolerance,’ I don’t really care for that word myself. I don’t have a problem with it, I just think it has another meaning politically that can go the other direction. I happen to believe that our principles are sound. I do believe, and I still will tell you that our party believes that marriage is between one man and one woman. Our party believes that life begins at conception. I think those are foundational issues that aren’t going anywhere but what I have said, which I don’t think should be controversial at all and I would think that Christians and pastors and everyone in between should agree that our principles have to be draped in the concepts of grace, love and respect and that’s not code language, that’s the New Testament. ... So ‘tolerance’ — maybe some people use that word, what I would tell you, when I think about it, I think about grace, I think about love, and I think about respect, and I think those are things that are very square with our beliefs as Christians."

Straights from the horse’s, er, mouth: the GOP wants you to think they are open and accepting of women and The Gays and immigrants, but the truth is they are not.

They are the same old GOP.

Stephen Rhodes, openly gay one-time NASCAR driver, on returning to the track after a ten-year absence and being gay:

"I don't think going into a sport — having to face the ones that either like me or don't like me — is anything any different than I live any day. I live in the South. I know that NASCAR has a conservative, Southern fan base, and I'm not going to try and change anyone's minds and their opinions. They're either going to like me or going to hate me. That's just life in general, really."

But, just the fact that he’s out there, and out, will get the discussion started.

And that’s the first step toward changing people’s minds.

Andrew Garfield, on the LGBT community and Spiderman:

"Spiderman stands for everybody — gay, straight, bisexual, transsexual. To me, love between two consenting adults is love. To me, that anyone would bat an eyelash at what I said to me is interesting.'"

He isn’t speaking as Spiderman, a fictional cartoon character; he’s speaking as a human being wondering why some of us question the love that any two people share.

Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's Republican Attorney General, speaking about The Gays during a gubernatorial debate:

“My personal beliefs about the personal challenges of homosexuality haven’t changed ... The notion that because I believe marriage ought to be protected, because I believe life begins at conception — just like hundreds of thousands of independents and Democrats — this isn’t just me, it isn’t just Republicans. There are lots of Virginians, millions, perhaps, of Virginians, who share my sincerely held beliefs.”

Or maybe not.

Cuccinelli might have been so busy wondering about the ins-and-outs — see what I did there? —of oral and anal sex that he missed a new poll in his own state that shows 505 of Virginians support same-sex marriage. And most probably support keeping Ken Cuccinelli out of their bedrooms.

Harvey Fierstein, on Vladimir Putin's anti-LGBT policies in Russia, and the upcoming Winter Olympics:

"Mr. Putin’s campaign against lesbian, gay and bisexual people is one of distraction, a strategy of demonizing a minority for political gain taken straight from the Nazi playbook. Can we allow this war against human rights to go unanswered? Although Mr. Putin may think he can control his creation, history proves he cannot: his condemnations are permission to commit violence against gays and lesbians. Last week a young gay man was murdered in the city of Volgograd. He was beaten, his body violated with beer bottles, his clothing set on fire, his head crushed with a rock. This is most likely just the beginning. ... With Russia about to hold the Winter Games in Sochi, the country is open to pressure. American and world leaders must speak out against Mr. Putin’s attacks and the violence they foster. The Olympic Committee must demand the retraction of these laws under threat of boycott. In 1936 the world attended the Olympics in Germany. Few participants said a word about Hitler’s campaign against the Jews. Supporters of that decision point proudly to the triumph of Jesse Owens, while I point with dread to the Holocaust and world war. There is a price for tolerating intolerance."

I am generally on the side of keeping politics out of the Olympic games, but Fierstein, as usual, makes valid points about this type of stand your ground.

Standing up against discrimination, against violence, against intolerance.

But, should there be no boycott, let there be some stunning victories by openly gay athletes who can show Russia, and Putin, that he cannot continue his hate speech towards the LGBT community.

Amanda Hess, writing for Slate, on the newest Weiner scandal:
"What would the American public find if it combed through all of your Facebook messages, Twitter DMs, and Gchat history? If it had an exclusive peek into your webcam, or could scroll through your iPhone pics at will? This great nation is littered with hard drives full of poorly lit topless pics, broken promises to former lovers, and messages that sounded sexy at the time but look very stupid now. Anthony Weiner’s sexts don’t make him look like a sexual predator or even a freak. They make him look very, very ordinary."

Except, most ordinary folks aren't running for mayor of the biggest city in the country.

Ted Cruz, the Republican ::gag:;; Senator from Texas :::gag:::, speaking to the Christian Broadcasting Network about what might happen if The Gays become equal:
"If you look at other nations that have gone down the road towards gay marriage, that's the next step of where it gets enforced. It gets enforced against Christian pastors who decline to perform gay marriages, who speak out and preach biblical truths on marriage, that has been defined elsewhere as hate speech, as inconsistent with the enlightened view of government. I think there is no doubt that the advocates who are driving this effort in the United States want to see us end up in that same place."

Not.One.Pastor.Has.Been.Forced.To.Perform.A.Same-sex.Marriage.Ever!
Cruz needs to stop toeing the GOP line and spreading fear.

Alec Baldwin, complaining to Howard Stern about Anderson Cooper criticizing him for the "toxic little queen" TwitFit™:

"What I realize about [Cooper] is, everybody in media, they have a job to do. Anderson Cooper has a job to do. And that job is to try to reinforce his credibility in the gay community after the fact that you couldn't get him out of the closet for 10 years with a canister of tear gas. Now he's the sheriff. Now he's running around writing everybody a ticket!"

Sadly, no one used a canister of tear gas to shut Alec Baldwin up.

Anderson Cooper, as a gay man who came out when he felt ready, as is his right, has every reason to call Baldwin for being the tyrannical dick-tator he fancies himself.

The more and more that Baldwin talks the less and less he sounds like the LGBT ally he professes to be.

As I said to Paula Dean, Shut the f**k up.

If You've Ever Gone Down There Ken Cuccinelli Wants To Prosecute You

Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican running for Virginia governor, says that in order to protect the children of his state from sexual predators he must make all oral and anal sex—between everyone, even married couples—a felony that carries a sentence of a year in prison.

He announced his plan in his new campaign pledge to reinstate a Crimes Against Nature law, which has already been deemed unconstitutional by federal courts. But this week, Cuccinelli’s campaign launched a website, vachildpredators.com, that presents the law banning sodomy as the only “anti-child-predators law” and says that it “is only applied to sodomy committed against minors, against non-consenting adults, or in public.”

Both those statements are lies.

Cuccinelli’s ‘law’ would criminalize the sexual behavior of consenting adults—all consenting adults—as well as those of sexual predators. He is basically saying that if you, ahem, go down on your sexual partner, no matter the gender of either participant, you are a sexual predator.

Cuccinelli, who is the reason the provision including consensual oral and anal sex between grown people wasn’t removed to make the law constitutional in the first place, says, of The Gays:  “My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong.  And I think in a natural-law-based country, it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that … They don’t comport with natural law.”

Gays are good, says Ken; gays having sex are bad.

I think Cuccinelli is a little too obsessed with what The Gays do sexually; and he’s a little too obsessed with what anyone does sexually. I think someone should ask Cuccinelli, in all serious, and in all efforts to be completely transparent as a candidate, if he has ever gone down there and if any one, male or female, to be fair, has ever gone down on him.

Explain please Ken. I mean, if you’re so keen on knowing what I do in my bedroom, then I ask to know what goes on in yours.

The GOP. They have stuck their heads into women’s vaginas and now they’re Peeping Toms into the bedrooms of all Virginians. I mean, if Ken Cuccinelli, the Anti-Cunnilingus, Anti-Fellatio candidate, wins the office of governor.

Sidenote: Does anyone else think Kenny looks a little Light in the loafers? Anyone else think he's a Friend of Dorothy's? Anyone else wonder if he could Have his own show on Bravo? Anyone think he's queer?

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He's Obviously Not A Breast Man

That's the Virginia state seal up there. It's nice. Cute, A little cartoon nipple.

And that peek at nipple has Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli all hot and bothered. See, he don't like boobage out where everyone can see it and, well, god knows what. So he gave his staff a PG version of the seal with the nipple hidden behind an armored breastplate.

Seriously.

The real deal seal features the Roman goddess Virtus in a pose that Cuccinelli thinks suggests she might be about to compromise her virtue. Her blue tunic is draped over one shoulder, leaving her left breast exposed in the original wardrobe malfunction.

So Cuccinelli covered it up, and now, Virginia is laughing at him, Smallville is laughing at him, and soon......

The World!

Cuccinelli, who is notoriously homophobic, as witnessed when he told state colleges and universities they don't have legal authority to prevent discrimination against gay employees, is obviously breast-phobic, too, though he tried to mask it with a feeble excuse:

"The seal on my pin is one of many seal variations that were used before a uniform version was created in 1930. I felt it was historic and would be something unique for my staff. My joke about Virtue being a little more virtuous in her more modest clothing was intended to get laughs from my employees -- which it did! Just because we've always done something a certain way doesn't mean we always have to continue doing it that way. Now seriously, can we get on with real news?"

You're the one who brought it up, Ken, and then covered it up.