This Time It's Real: The GOP Kills Civil Unions In Colorado

Mark Ferrandino, Democrat for Equality

They went to the edge and then they pulled back.

Then, they went back to the edge, and pulled back again.

Now, they've killed any chance of Civil Unions legislation in Colorado this year.

The effing GOP. So, so behind the times, So, so out of touch. So, so in the Dark Ages.

Vote 'em out. Vote 'em all out.

John Hickenlooper,
Democrat for Equality

A last-ditch effort by Democratic Governor, John Hickenlooper, to grant same-sex Colorado couples the same, or, at least similar, rights as those granted opposite sex couples, has failed at the hands of the republican party.

The death of Civil Unions legislation will now be used by the Democrats in the upcoming elections to try and run the GOP out of office for their avid stance against equality for gay couples, because that's what it is, anti-equality.

See, when the bill seemed doomed, the governor demanded that a vote be taken on it--and it was believed that it would pass--but the GOP-controlled statehouse--led by Republican Frank McNulty--sent the bill to the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, which voted 5-4 along party lines to kill the measure.

And the GOP knew this would happen and that's why they did it.

Representative Mark Ferrandino, Democratic leader in the House and the openly gay lawmaker who co-sponsored the bill, is not done, yet: "If it fails this year, we're going to work hard to make sure the public understands what happened, the games that were played, and next we're going to push it again. And as I've said a number of times, it's not a matter of 'if,' it's a matter of 'when.' And the 'when' keeps getting sooner and sooner. This will happen."

And it will, and the GOP will be left, on the sidelines, with egg on their faces, for denying equality.

Denying equality. That's the GOP.

Frank McNulty,
Republican for Discrimination

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Just For Giggles: Why Was The Mathematician Late For Work?

Funny Link

Mittsy Romney: Keeping The Hate Fires Burning

Mitt Romney, giving a commencement speech over the weekend at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University:

"The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self, and, at the foundation, the pre-eminence of the family. The power of these values is evidenced by a Brookings Institution study that Senator Rick Santorum brought to my attention. For those who graduate from high school, get a full-time job, and marry before they have their first child, the probability that they will be poor is 2%. But, if those things are absent, 76% will be poor. Culture matters.

"As fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate. So it is today with the enduring institution of marriage. Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman. The protection of religious freedom has also become a matter of debate. It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with. Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government."

Kellogg's Take A Stand For Free Speech

I don't often get the chance, or the time, to watch Jon Stewart's The Daily Show--I get most of my Daily Show  from stories online--so I missed this one, but Catholic League president Bill Donohue didn't, and he is enraged. 
Sidenote: he never seems enraged about priests raping children, though.

I digress. 
Apparently on the April 16th episode of  The Daily Show there was something called a "vagina manger", a picture of a, seemingly, naked woman with her legs spread with a nativity scene ornament in between.

Donohue went berserk and began threatening boycotts and marches against any and all sponsors of The Daily Show because of their wholly inappropriate use of that picture and blibetty blah blay blue STFU.

And then Donohue was pleased to announce that Delta Airlines had caved and condemned the show for using the picture, but Donohue says he is still waiting :::tick tick tick::: for others to respond in kind.

And he hopes they don't respond like Kellogg's, who issued this statement to Donohue and the Catholic League's demands they pull their ads from The Daily Show:

“We understand that our customers come from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles, and cultures and we respect their individual decisions to choose the television programs that they deem acceptable for themselves and their families. Consumers speak most loudly when they vote with their remote control and change the channel or turn off the TV if a program does not fit their personal criteria.”

Suh-nap.

Donohue writes that "Kellogg’s is telling Christians to shove it" when, in fact, they are simply saying, if you don't like something you see on TV, change the effing channel, and let the people who find The Daily Show humorous continue to watch it....as we are allowed to do.

If you wish to thank Kellogg's for standing up to Bill Donohue's Catholic League--and again, where's his outrage over priests raping boys--you can do so by:

Calling their Corporate and Media Affairs office at (269) 961-3799

Write to the President and CEO, 

John Bryant 

One Kellogg Square 

Battle Creek, MI 49012. 

E-mail Natalie Fairbanks:Natalie.Fairbanks@kellogg.com

Or, even better, head on out to your local grocery and buy a big box of cereal.

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Another One: Jay 'Corey' Jones

Jay 'Corey' Jones, a 17-year-old, from Rochester, Minnesota, jumped to his death on May 6th, after being bullied and tormented for being gay. He had suffered severe depression after being bullied for years and, perhaps, believed this was his only way to make it stop.

"He said all of his life they always picked on him," Jay Strader, Jones' father, said. "He'd still try to keep his head up at school, but then he'd come home and be really sad about it. He just got really depressed about it because the guys weren't accepting him."

Jones, who identified as gay from a very young age, was an active member of Century High School's gay-straight alliance [GSA] and even featured a pro-gay cover image on his Facebook page that read "Gay & Proud."

'Corey' Jones moved to Rochester about two years ago and joined the GSA after enrolling at Century; he attended the group's twice-weekly meetings regularly. His friend, Tia Born, says, "He was strong about supporting gay people."

In March of this year, Jones attended a support group meeting at Gay and Lesbian Youth Services in Rochester. He had brought along a group of friends, but, group facilitator, Vangie Castro thought he seemed to be looking for something more, "He was looking for something, but I think he just didn't know what he was looking for." Castro said. 

The meeting was the only one he attended.
In early April, a fellow student directed an anti-gay comment to Jones at school. He'd wanted to wear short-shorts to school to stand up to the student, but friends asked him not to do it, out of concern for what might happen. But Jones was not to be deterred; he wore those shorts that day, as a kind of in-your-face 'I’m gay' to that student, and received support from many people at school.
But he was saddened that his friends had asked him not to wear the shorts, and he soon stopped going to GSA meetings last month as a result.
"Up until his death, he took a stand," his father said. "He was like, 'Whatever happens, happens — I'm just going to take a stand.' And he started to take a stand."
Jay 'Corey' Jones’ funeral will be held in Chicago, but Strader wants to do “something big” in Rochester to honor his son, who on April 20 was involved in a “Day of Silence” at Century. "I want everyone to have on pink shirts and remember the Corey that tried to get the rights," Strader said. "When I saw him in pink, I really liked him in pink, and he was really happy. I just told him that pink looked good on him."

This one really gets to me because, on the outside, Jay 'Corey' Jones seemed so defiantly gay, so proud to be gay, so in-your-face gay. And yet, even with all that, the taunts and the teasing and tormenting got to be too much.

And sometimes, too much leads you to a bridge.....

via The Post Bulletin

Sunday Funnies

I Ain't One To Gossip, But....

There have been stories for years about John Travolta’s ALLEGED homosexuality. 
I mean, it was back in the 80s, I think, that a gay porn star said the two men had a little something going on.

And then there was that sweet little lip lock John gave his pilot whilst boarding a plane. It looked a little too....too, if you get my meaning.

Of course, then came Robert Randolph’s book, You’ll Never Spa In This Town Again, about Travolta’s ALLEGED gay spa adventures. Randolph claimed Travolta had a “thing” for young, dark, lithe men, and that Travolta has had between six and fifty gay lovers through the years. That is some span.

And now this: Travolta is being sued by a male masseur who claims Travolta groped him in the middle of a massage. The masseur is seeking $2 million in punitive damages; that’s is one expensive rubdown.

Here’s the story—as told by the masseur: Travolta saw the masseur’s ad online and scheduled an appointment for $200 an hour. They met by car, and the masseur followed Travolta to the Beverly Hills Hotel, where John has his own bungalow.

Once inside, John shucked his clothes, and, well, the masseur says John was already, um, er, “excited”.

There was an hour of ordinary massage, and then, again ALLEGEDLY, Travolta began touching the masseur in the um, er, “swimsuit area.” And, then came some, um, rigid exposing of the star's member, and shrieks from masseurs, and so on.

Now, on the flip side, Travolta says this never happened and can prove he wasn’t even in LA on the day he ALLEGEDLY groped a masseur, and showed off his hard Travolta to anyone.

But there's more………

But, first, let's check in on Amanda Bynes, AKA Lohan2.0.

We all know that Bynes has become the new Lindsay, partying and drinking and crashing cars like that's what normal folk do on a weekend.

I mean, she was arrested and charged with DUI, after she crashed into a police squad car. And, moments after being bailed out, she tried to get back into the club where  she'd had those ALLEGED drinks the night before.

Days later she was outside the Chateau Marmont, ALLEGEDLY drinking whilst driving, and definitely texting while driving, and backing her car over a curb in the process.

Now, Lohan2.0 was involved in another hit and run in Hollywood, only this time she didn't hit a cop. But she did sideswipe a man with her Range Rover.

According to the man, when the Lohan2.0 SUV did not stop, he immediately called police, and then, and I love this, he began to follow the SUV.

Police responded to the scene, and even a helicopter was dispatched--shades of Original Recipe Lohan's carjacking of 2005--and when the SUV was finally stopped it was none other than Amanda Bynes at the wheel.

To be fair, and I love being fair to drunken, self-indulgent Hollywood has-beens, there was minimal damage to Bynes' car, so maybe she didn't feel the impact; or, maybe, ALLEGEDLY, she was too drunk? Just sayin'.

Law enforcement sources say Lohan2.0 was very cooperative with police and exchanged information with the other driver. She was not cited and there will be no further investigation.

Until she does it again, and y'all know she will.

Meanwhile, back at TravoltaGate.

Now comes word that Travolta is being sued by a second masseur.

And this man also claims that Travolta got quite handsy--and more--during a massage at “an unspecified resort in Atlanta, Georgia on January 28, 2012.” 

Second Masseur has hired the same lawyer as First Masseur, and here's his tale of Travolta-groping:

He claims that during a deep tissue massage, Travolta started, um, er, jerking off.  
Second Masseur says, “Sweat was pouring down Travolta’s neck, and he asked Plaintiff again to say something nice to him.” 

Gimme a minute.......eeeeewwwwww.

He also says Travolta was begging him to do some extra "work" on his glute, and that, while "working the glutes," Travolta tried to, um, er, maneuver his his butt in a certain way to ensure… 

I'm gonna stop there.

After that, Travolta ALLEGEDLY grabbed the masseur and groped him.

And, it seems, that Travolta has a reputation in the Massage World as a groper. Second Masseur says he asked a co-worker to take the in-room massage but the co-worker refused because “Travolta has been banned from a spa that the coworker used to work at in Los Angeles.” 

And it gets worse; after Second Masseur was ALLEGEDLY assaulted, he complained to his bosses, who did nothing. And then Travolta ALLEGEDLY--Oy, will I run out of 'ALLEGEDLY's on this story--demanded that Second Masseur come back and “finish” the job.

He refused. And wants $2 million in compensation.

Travolta can’t claim he was out of town this time, because he was in Atlanta, working on Killing Season with Robert DeNiro. 

Now, I’m not saying these stories are true, but, um, er,  there has been a long history of nagging Travolta Is Gay stories, and, well, there are rumors that a third man will come forward to say Travolta groped him on a cruise ship in 2009.

Someone needs a time out, Johnny.

So, there was this big gala in NYC this week; the Met Gala.

It's all about fashion and stuff. They call it the Oscars of Fashion. M'kay....whatever.

But Vogue magazines Bitch-In-Chief, Anna Wintour, is in charge of the guest list and, well, Anna, ain't playing.

See, folks were all surprised that....Look! She's everywhere! Look! She's dating Kanye!....Kim Kash Kow Kardashian wasn't at the Met Gala and rumor has it that it was because Dame Wintour loathes her.

Now, if she was just plain Annie Wintour of Muncie, Indiana, she'd hate Kim, but she's a big deal and they say loathe.

It seems, according to gossip, and gossip is all true, that KKKK makes Anna Wintour's overly Botoxed skin crawl, so she didn't get an invite. But.....Kim’s new f**k-buddy, and fellow famewhore, Kanye West, was at the Met Gala.

Even dating Kanye, right on the heels of the end of her seventy-two-minute marriage, doesn't get Kim an invite.

This story makes me like Anna Wintour a little bit more.

A little bit.

Okay, The Voice.

I don't watch, but apparently, one of Adam Levine’s contestants, Tony Lucca, sang a rock version of Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” on Monday night, and after his performance, drunken judge Christina Aguilera belittled him for singing a song that some consider derogatory toward women; it contains the word "bitch" although the word wasn't used on the show--Lucca substituted the word "Mmmm'.

Christina slurred “Your beautiful wife and your daughter and family are here tonight, and I just thought, you know, the lyrical connotation was a little derogatory towards women, but all-in-all, it was good fun.” 

When Levine--and I'm no fan of Pull-Out Birth Control Levine--tried to explain that the song was about dealing with adversity, Christina said was about problems with women and the two got into an argument.

I'm right.

No, you're not.

Yes, I am.

No, you're not.

Blah blah blah.

But, ALLEGEDLY, Christina has had issues with Lucca, a fellow Mouseketeer alum, in the past. And having Justin Timberlake Tweet his support for Lucca ALLEGEDLY did not sit well with Drunkulera.

And now folks are saying that Levine had Lucca sing that song as a message to Aguilera for giving Lucca a hard time. Aguilera supposedly was “highly offended” and blew up about it during rehearsals. Adam and Christina got in a big fight, with Adam calling Christina the c-word and Christina demanding Adam be fired. 

Well, I say scrap the whole singing shiz, slap some gloves on Pull-Out-Birth-Control and Drunkulera and let them go at it.

That's Must See TV.

So, we had the whole John Travolta Is Gay stories, so why not have a Tom Cruise Is Gay story too.

No, he isn't groping male masseurs--not that we know of--but he does want to be a, wait for it....picture Martin Short in Father Of The Bride...wait for it, wedding planner.

He is so excited that his out of the spotlight daughter, Isabella, is dating a lovely love Scientology robot, that he’s promised to arrange the entire wedding and the honeymoon.

Yikes.

So, if he gets his way, when, or if, nineteen-year-old Isabella walks down the aisle with twenty-five-year-old music composer Eddie Frencher, the flowers will be Tom, the music will be Tom, the dress, will be, well, you know, Tom.

A Cruise family insider--and, by insider, I mean Katie, screaming for help--says, “Tom wants to arrange everything for Isabella. He basically handpicked Eddie as a boyfriend for his daughter [and now] he wants his daughter to get married to him — and, in return, he’d not only pick up the entire cost of the wedding and honeymoon, but he’d even arrange everything for the happy couple!"

The flowers.

The seating.
The music.

The Bachelor party?

Just sayin'.

Tom really should think about keeping his hands to himself.

Sigh, allegedly.

Good News Friday: Harvey Gets A Street In San Diego

Lt. Harvey Milk

San Diego, California will be the first city in the nation to have a street named for gay civil rights activist, and one of my personal heroes, Harvey Milk.

The City Council voted unanimously to rename the two-block road leading up to the San Diego LGBT Community Center in Hillcrest from Blaine Avenue to Harvey Milk Street in honor of the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.

There are all sorts of plazas and centers and even schools around the country that are named for Harvey, but this will be his first street. The name change is expected to become official later this month.

Nicole Murray Ramirez, a San Diego city commissioner and gay rights activist, who was friends with Milk, said Harvey fell in love with California after being stationed in San Diego as a Navy diving instructor in 1954:  “Harvey Milk has become a global leader for those who wish for gay civil rights and equality. It’s not just a street you’re naming. You’ll be giving a clear symbol to that young gay man or that young lesbian woman that they too can reach the highest offices.”

Of course, not everyone is happy about the name change. One of those "Christian" conservatives, James Hartline, spoke out against the idea at that city council meeting, but, um, well, he was the only person to speak out against the idea.

So, bugger off, Jimmy.

Harvey's got a street.

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Just For Giggles, Just A Thought

Don't laugh, North Carolina, this could be your future......

Rush Limbaugh. I love it when hypocritical, drug-addled, douchebags speak.......

Words to live by........

Good News Friday: Marcus Brandon Wins Reelection

Yeah, yeah, yeah, North Carolina slipped back into the Dark Ages earlier this week when they voted at add discrimination to their state Constitution.

And yeah, yeah, yeah, that bit of hate was diminished when President Barack Obama announced his belief that same-sex couples be allowed the same rights and privileges of marriages as our heterosexual counterparts.

But, there was also a glimmer of bright, good news in North Carolina this week when state Representative Marcus Brandon, North Carolina’s only openly gay state legislator, won his first reelection bid in a primary rematch against the Democrat he defeated in 2010.

With 26 of 31 precincts reporting in Guilford County’s House District 60, Brandon led his opponent by some 2,000 votes.  

Hopefully Marcus Brandon can shake up politics in North Carolina and teach those folks to keep their religion out of the statehouse, or allow the statehouse into their religion; like, maybe, taxing those so-called churches that preach politics from the pulpit.

Congratulations Marcus. You are the lone bright spot in North Carolina this week.

via Gay Politics