I Didn't Say It....

Andrew Sullivan, on President Obama's endorsement of marriage equality:

"It's hugely important and to tell you the truth, I didn't realize how important it would be until it happened. Beforehand, I was kind of steeled. I was like, 'I don't care, he's going to disappoint us again.' And then I sat down and watched our president tell me that I am his equal, that I'm no longer outside, I'm fully part of this family and to hear the president who is in some ways a father figure speak to that, the tears came down like with many people in our families, to be included....I never understood the power of a president's words until that day, really. I thought, all that matters is the states and the Congress and the Defense of Marriage Act and I had all this in my head and suddenly this man saying, 'I'm with you, I get it, you're like me, I'm like you, there is nothing between us, we are the same people and we are equal human beings and I want to treat you the way you treat me.' That -- that was overwhelming. That's all I can say. I was at a loss for words."

I think we all felt the same way.

Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee chair, on whether or not marriage equality is a civil rights issue:

“I don’t think it’s a matter of civil rights. I think it’s just a matter of whether or not we’re going to adhere to something that’s been historical and religious and legal in this country for many, many years. I mean, marriage has to have a definition. And we just happen to believe it’s between a man and a woman....People in this country, no matter straight or gay, deserve dignity and respect. However, that doesn’t mean it carries on to marriage."

Typical GOP goose-stepping moron.

He actually lumps religion and legality in the same sentence even though the two have no place together in law.

How can we expect the GOP to evolve on equality when they can’t even understand the Constitution?

Bristol Palin, single unwed mother, high school graduate, and reality show whore, on Barack Obama's methods of raising his children:

"While it’s great to listen to your kids’ ideas, there’s also a time when dads simply need to be dads. In this case, it would’ve been helpful for him to explain to Malia and Sasha that while her friends parents are no doubt lovely people, that’s not a reason to change thousands of years of thinking about marriage. Or that – as great as her friends may be – we know that in general kids do better growing up in a mother/father home. Ideally, fathers help shape their kids’ worldview."

I love how the girl who got knocked up out of marriage is suddenly the Marriage Expert.

That’s like having Bristol Palin be an Abstinence Expert and….

She is?

Wow, the stupid apple not only felt out of the stupid tree, it hit every single stupid branch on the way down, and then landed on a pile of stupid called Levi, and then fucked him.

R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republican head, on Mittsy's marriage equality lack of evolution:

"Governor Mitt Romney's statement in opposition to not just marriage but civil unions jeopardizes his ability to win moderates, women and younger voters, especially as a large majority of Americans favor some form of relationship recognition for their LGBT friends and neighbors. Ultimately, the response of the Republican candidates this election cycle will determine not just endorsements by Log Cabin Republicans, but the votes of millions of Americans who are simply tired of the culture wars."

Good luck with that.

Your presumptive nominee and even the head of your committee disagree.

Oh, well, you can try again in 2016.

Steny Hoyer, Democratic House Minority Whip, on marriage equality:

"I have believed that the phrase ‘civil union’ was an appropriate definition of a relationship that is both different and the same between two people of the same sex. And I have believed strongly that such couples must be treated equally under the law. Because I believe that equal treatment is a central tenet of our nation, I believe that extending the definition of marriage to committed relationships between two people, irrespective of their sex, is the right thing to do and will not, in any way, undermine the institution of marriage so important to our society nor impose a threat to any individual marriage. It will, however, extend the respect due to every one of our fellow citizens that we would want for ourselves and our children."

And the Evolution continues……

Michele Bachmann, withdrawing her dual citizenship in America and Switzerland, roughly five seconds after it was announced she was accepting dual citizenship in America and Switzerland, Ladybird's land of origin:

"I sent a letter to the Swiss Consulate requesting withdrawal of my dual Swiss citizenship, which was conferred upon me by operation of Swiss law when I married my husband in 1978. I took this action because I want to make it perfectly clear: I was born in America and I am a proud American citizen. I am, and always have been, 100 percent committed to our United States Constitution and the United States of America. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran, stepdaughter of an Army veteran and sister of a Navy veteran, I am proud of my allegiance to the greatest nation the world has ever known."

Pandering delusional, married to a homosexual, moron.

Howard Stern, new America's Got Talent judge, on fellow celebrity judges Britney Spears, and Jennifer Lopez:

"Well, I think it's a wonderful decision [on the $15 million deal Spears just signed to become The X Factor judge]. Britney still thinks the earth is flat. I don't anticipate great opinions from her. I think she's gonna sit there like J.Lo, 'Oh, you're wonderful, you're terrific. You think I can get a perfume endorsement out of this?' As far as any real criticism, I think Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid will do that. I think Britney will sit there and eat a lollipop and wear a sexy outfit. I'll tune in to see what kind of train wreck she is, absolutely." 

Snap!

Rick Santorum, bigot, homophobe, moron, failed presidential candidate, on wanting Mitt Romney to talk up his anti-gay values:

"This is a very potent weapon, if you will, for Governor Romney if he’s willing to step up and take advantage of a president who is very much out of touch with the values of America...Hopefully Governor Romney will continue to stand tall for his position on this issue and understanding how detrimental it would be for society for it to have this changed."

Like Romney needs to amp up his fear and loathing of the LGBT community.

Like he needs the help of Frothy.

He’s enough lying, flip-flopping, pandering hatred for the whole party, all by himself.

James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican Congressman, on his support for legislation making it okay to fire someone for being gay....oh and how being gay is a choice:

"Well, you’re now dealing with behavior and I’m trying to figure out exactly what you’re trying to mean by that. Because you’re dealing with — race and sexual preferences are two different things. One is a behavior-related and preference-related and one is something inherently — skin color, something obvious, that kind of stuff. You don’t walk up to someone on the street and look at them and say, “Gay or straight? I think it’s a choice issue. Are tendencies and such? Yes. But I think it’s a choice issue."

Oh Jimmy. I know its Oklahoma but it doesn’t have to be stupid.

See, your being stupid is a choice. Your being a homophobe is a choice. My thinking you’re an idiot is a choice.

My being gay is an orientation.

Bob Staake, artist, on his art piece for the recent cover of The New Yorker:

“I am honored to be doing this cover. It’s a celebratory moment for our country, and that’s what I tried to capture. (I don’t especially like those rainbow colors, but they are what they are—I had to use them.) I wanted to celebrate the bravery of the President’s statement—a statement long overdue—but all the more appreciated in this political year. We are on the right side of history.”

I think his art should become life. I’d like to see the columns lit up in Rainbow colors next year as we celebrate Obama’s second term, and LGBT Pride.

Amirite?

Random Musings

Okay, so the Mittsy the Bully story isn't dead yet, and, well, I for one have more to say.

While I am disgusted by his actions as a teen, I realize that people change, and the Mittsy who tormented the gay, and allegedly gay, students at his high school is not the same Mittsy today. But, the part of the story that disgusts me most, is that when he talks of the incident[s], he first says he doesn't recall them--which, you know damn well his victims have never forgotten--but he laughs about it, albeit nervously.

See, I have my own story of bullying, and, no, not being bullied, but being the bully. And the difference between Mittsy and me is that I feel shame, right now, today, as I write this, even though it happened when I was ten years old. That's decades of shame for what I did.

I was in the 5th grade. I didn't know from gay, though I did have a wee crush on my math teacher, Mr. Farris. But, my best friend Paul and I didn't like this one kid, because he had a funny sounding last name; well, his last name was also the name of a disease. So, we tormented him, at school, and on the way home. So, much so that he would try to find other ways of going home, and we would find him again, and start over. We verbally bullied him; it was never physical, though that doesn't really matter, you know?

Anyway, one day at school, the day after we’d sent him running home in tears, the principal wanted to see Paul and me. Our victim had told on us, and we were taken to the principal's office and reprimanded severely. Parents were notified, and I truly felt ashamed for what I’d done. There was school punishment, home punishment, and a public apology to our victim.

And, unlike Mittsy, I never did it again.

And, unlike Mittsy, I feel the sting of shame to this day.

That’s my issue with Mittsy and bullying. Not so much that he did it, because, most of us, as children and young adults, have probably done our share of name-calling and bullying, but because Mittsy seems to have no remorse.

When you giggle and offer a non-apology, you've learned nothing.

The male stripper movie, Magic Mike is coming out soon, I guess, and this is the new cover of Entertainment Weekly.

Channing. Joe. Matt Bomer. So cannot wait to see this.

But, um, Matthew McConaughey? The mere sight of him makes me wanna scrub myself clean.

So, we all remember how the Colorado House killed the Civil Union bill?

Well, Don Coram is one of the Republicans responsible for letting the bill die before a vote. And Don Coram has a son, Dee Coram, who is a gay man; a gay man who says he begged his father not to let the bill die. Which it did, by one vote.

Dee Coram: "Yesterday was the first and only time I ever called him and said, "Can you do this?....He said, 'I love you, but absolutely not.'"

The elder Coram said he was representing the interests of his rural district by killing the bill because, he believes, civil unions legislation was akin to gay marriage, which state voters banned in 2006. 

I'm not seeing Father of the Year in Don Coram's future.

So, I saw this preview for a new show about a gay male couple wanting to have a child via a surrogate mother. It seems irreverent and funny, and really very witty. It's from Ryan Murphy, creator of both Glee and American Horror Story.

It looks fun, but, I wonder, after the baby comes, is it just gonna be the standard sitcom about a couple with a new baby where hilarity ensues?    

So, Starbucks came out for Marriage Equality and NOM threatened a boycott.

Starbucks' sales and stock prices soared.

Tough break NOM. But, maybe there's a reason for that.

See, antigay preacher Bob Enyart proclaimed his dislike for Starbucks's Marriage Equality support by buying coffee at the chain and then dumping it down the sewer. And he videotaped himself doing it.

Um, Pastor Dumbass? The purpose of a boycott is not to go into the store and buy something from them. I don't think Starbucks cares if you dump your Venti-double-half-caf-half-decaf-low-foam-caramel-Latte-with-whipped-cream in the sewer after you PAY FOR IT.

So, season finales.

Desperate Housewives.

I hung with this show, even in the lean years, the bad years, and the awful years. So I watched the series finale.

Yawn. Except for the death of sarcastic Karen McCluskey, it wasn't much. But, oy, the writing.

See, Gabby’s husband, Carlos, killed Gabby's child molesting stepfather at the end of last year, but the wives banded together to protect him because he's a twice-convicted felon.

This year, Bree went on trial for the murder, and when it looked like she would be convicted, and you knew that wouldn't happen, Carlos was gonna step up and admit to killing Alejandro with a Candlestick in the Library.

But, Gabby begged him not to, citing the Three Strikes law. As a convicted felon, Carlos would go directly to Jail, and would not pass Go and....

Whoa, two board game references? But I digress.

So, how did Gabby keep her felon husband from testifying? She put a knife in his jacket and when the felon walked through the metal detector, it was discovered.

Um, anyone with me? Felon? Weapon? Courthouse? Three strikes?

The writers weren't thinking on that one. Oy.

Glee. Not really the season finale, that comes next week, but this was the National Championships for Show Choir episode.

It was cute. The choir finally won. Predictable. But the moments between Coach Bieste and Puck were, I thought, very sweet. And even their song together, "Mean" by wide-eyed Taylor Swift, was nice.

And then they added Lohan to the mix. 

Yes, cracktress Lindsay Lohan played a sanitized version of herself, and made a less than memorable impression with her three-line art.

But, what I found funny was the scene where the awards were handed out on the stage. Other guest judges, Perez Hilton, playing an emaciated Perez Hilton, and an actor playing an Ohio congressman were onstage, but Lohan was not to be scene.

Was this one of those times when she ALLEGEDLY disappeared into the bathroom?

Just For Giggles: Someone Likes Pasta

So, this picture of TV doctor, Dr Oz, has been all over the interwebz because, well, he seems to be sporting a little sumpin-sumpin down there.
He must really like pasta! I mean, that arrow don't lie.......

The Queen Of Disco Has Died

Disco legend and diva Donna Summer has passed after a battle with cancer.
RIP Diva.....

Michele Bachmann: Still Full Of Sh*t

We haven't heard from Michele Bachmann in a while, and I, for one, miss her; well, I mostly miss her particular brand of crazy, of lying, and completely distorting the facts and disregarding the truth. She is always good for a giggle or three.

She's been back in the news of late for a couple of reasons. First, there was her lukewarm, I guess he'll do, endorsement of Mittsy for President. Then came SwissGate, where it was announced she'd accepted dual citizenship in both America and Switzerland, because her wife, Marcus, is of Swiss heritage. Of course, the moment after that story broke, she denounced her Swiss citizenship and pledges her undying allegiance to America and only America.

And now this: In several recent, urgent...bordering of frantic...fundraising appeals, Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann has been lying to her supporters; I know, nothing new there. But, she's saying that ::::gasp:::: biased “liberal judges” have redrawn her congressional district “in retaliation for repeatedly standing up to President Obama.” 

Not so fast, Madame Crazy. The truth is that only two of the five judges were Democratic appointees--which means the majority Republican judges are to blame--and, after the lines were redrawn, Bachmann's district is more Republican.

Now, it is true that the bipartisan panel of judges redrew district lines and placed the town where Bachmann lives inside another district represented by a Democrat, but Bachmann can still run for the 6th District, the one she has represented since 2007, and she doesn’t even have to move to do that.

In that email, sent to the one or maybe two national supporters of her failed presidential bid, Bachmann writes, “You and I must NOT allow the courts to defeat me by moving me out of my district at such a pivotal election. To hand the Obama Democrats this victory now would be to destroy all we have built over these last six years.”

Of course, then she asks for “a commitment to my campaign in the amount of $2,500, $1,000, $500, $250, $100, $70, or $35 today.”

Based on a lie.

Again,m the five judge panel consisted of two Democrats and three Republicans.

And, contrary to Bachmann's assertion that the development “just occurred,” the panel issued its redistricting decision on February 21.

Now, it is true that the newly drawn plans moved Bachmann’s home in Stillwater into the 4th Congressional District, but David Wasserman, a political analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, says the decision was perfectly logical. The 4th District, which takes in St. Paul, simply had not grown as fast as the rest of the state and needed to pick up population, while the 6th District had grown so quickly, it needed to lose population.

“This was not a partisan map,” Wasserman said. “Her assertions are baloney.”

Still, it amuses me no end that one of the Chief Wacknuts of the GOP lives in what many consider a "safe" Democratic district, even though Wasserman says the move actually is better for her, because now the 6th District is more Republican, and therefore more apt to elect a lunatic like Michele Bachmann.

But that’s certainly not the impression Bachmann leaves in the email when she states: “As the TEA Party Caucus Chairwoman in the U.S. House and one of President Obama’s sharpest critics, the Democrats are licking their chops over Minnesota’s new political map and will spend MILLIONS to defeat me.”

Honey, you defeat yourself with all your crazy talk and lies.

via FactCheck

Gay Couple Banned From Lexington Catholic High School Prom

Hope Decker is a senior at a Lexington Catholic High School, in Kentucky, and like most seniors, she was looking forward to going to prom. The only trouble, at least in the eyes of the Catholic school, is that Decker is a Lesbian, and hopped to attend prom with her girlfriend, Tiffany Wright, who attends the same school.

Didn't happen. School officials banned her from attending her prom because she was bringing her girlfriend.

"What I experienced in the Dean's Office was blatant homophobia," said Hope Decker. "We were told that this school has catholic principles and so they couldn't let it happen."

Catholic principles like not letting a girl bring her date to prom? Or Catholic principles like priests raping children is kind of okay?

"At first I was really upset," said Tiffany Wright. "I mean, we both cried and then I was like, this is ridiculous. There's gotta be something we could do about this."

Hope Decker and Teresa Wright, along with dozens of their friends still dressed for prom, and even attempted to gain entry to the event. They were turned away, so they opted for a makeshift, parking lot prom, which, in my mind, removed from Catholic homophobia was far more fun.

"I just think it's ridiculous that a school that claims to foster love and equality is doing something like this to its own students," said Wright.

Those students who attended the outdoor prom have started a petition they plan to send to the school's president and principal, along with the bishop, in the hopes their situation might lead to change for future couples. They have already received more than 100 signatures from other students opposed to what happened.

The school principal said he could not comment on the situation, but added that Lexington Catholic adheres to the guidelines set forth by the Catholic Church.

The same church that turns a blind eye to child rape.

That church.

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Architecture Wednesday: Go Pacific Northwest, Young Man

Sometimes it's the house, sometimes it's the view.
This time, it might be both.
This house, located in Issaquah Highlands’ prestigious Harrison Street neighborhood, is a two-level contemporary home, that naturally accommodates a casual Pacific Northwest lifestyle. 
Since it sits on a hillside, the architect seized the opportunity to place the main living spaces, as well as the master suite, on the upper level to take full advantage of the expansive views.
And, while the views are stunning, the house has a sense of privacy, being set back from the street, behind a garden and small pond; it's a world away, on top of the world.
A large vaulted space houses the living, dining and kitchen areas, and forms the heart of this home. There are hardwood floors and naturally-finished wood beams throughout, made all the warmer by expansive clerestory windows along the north and south sides. Some of these windows are motor-operable to easily access the cross-ventilation the site naturally provides.
A dramatic wood and steel open-tread staircase connects the upper and lower levels. The lower level features a family room, which opens to both a view-side deck and a south-facing entertainment area, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The outdoor entertainment area creates a natural place to gather with built-in seating, a fire pit and a waterfall fed from the pool above. 
Both levels of the home take advantage of the views, and the house flows easily, inside to outside, and back again. Extensive decks on both levels are built of hardwood decking and stainless steel railings for both aesthetic appeal and durability.And, in addition to being sleek and contemporary and comfy and warm, the house also features an energy-efficient geothermal heating and cooling system.
Green. i loves a greenhouse; and a Green house.
The lower also boasts a bar and wine room.
Wine.Room.
That's all I needed to hear.
Go Pacific Northwest, young man, and crack open a bottle of Oregon Pinot.

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Joanna Johnson Comes Out

Joanna Johnson was just 25 when she first appeared on  the CBS soap, The Bold and The Beautiful, first playing heroine Caroline Spencer, then her identical twin Karen. And, upon leaving the show, she began working behind the scenes, first in creating the Kelly Ripa-Faith Ford sitcom Hope & Faith and writing and producing ABC Family's Make It or Break It and USA Network's Fairly Legal. But now, at age 50, she's coming out, and coming back to B&B in a new story about Karen living as secret life as a lesbian.

It's art imitating life.

Joanna Johnson: "After I started playing Karen, I remember doing a fantasy scene that showed what life would have been like if Caroline had not died of cancer. She was married to Ridge and had two kids and a wonderful life. When we finished shooting, I ran to my dressing room and just cried and cried because I knew I was never going to have that kind of life."

Except she did. Johnson is now married to L.A. club promoter, Michelle Agnew, and they have two children, Julian and Harlow. 

Joanna Johnson: "[The] times have certainly changed. I guess that's why I'm ready to open up. It feels weird and wrong to play this revelation about Karen's life and not talk about my own. I used to hang out with Ellen Degeneres, k.d. lang and Melissa Etheridge back in the day and thought it was so beautiful they were out, even though I didn't have the nerve. When I realized I was gay in my early twenties we didn't have role models like Ellen. I'm not anywhere near as famous as those ladies, but I guess it's my turn to do my little part. It's time to live a fully authentic life."

And you shall.

Welcome out, Joanna, and please accept, as our Welcome Out gift, a copy of the Gay Agenda, and the obligatory Coming Out Toaster Oven.

Welcome out.

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Virginia Caves To ISBL Asshat of the Week: Pissy Bobby Marshall

It seems like only yesterday that Virginia state representative Bob Marshall was names ISBL's Asshat of the Week and.....what's that? It was yesterday? See post HERE.

But it gets worse. The Virginia General Assembly rejected a man for a Richmond judgeship because he's gay. I mean, they say they have other reasons, like they say he might not uphold the Virginia law that says marriage is between one man and one woman.

But really, it's because he's gay. And has a partner. And they have children.

Virginia conservatives argued that  Tracy Thorne-Begland 's support for gay marriage and his challenge to the military’s now-defunct “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy make him unfit for the bench. The House of Delegates voted 33 to 31, with 10 abstentions, to make Thorne-Begland a General District Court judge in Richmond, but he needed 51 votes in the 100-member chamber to win appointment.

And why did pissy Bobby Marshall vote against Thorne-Begland? “He holds himself out as being married,” Marshall said.

And he won't have a man being married to a man on the bench.

And even the Virginia Senate chickened out; they didn't vote on the nomination itself, but the Republicans killed it by passing it by for the day--the very last of this year’s General Assembly session. The decision to pass it by cleared cleanly along party lines, although one Democrat,  Yvonne Miller didn't vote.

Democratic Senator Adam Ebbin, Virginia’s first openly gay state senator, was sickened by the way this was handled. “The debate in the House of Delegates was homophobic and embarrassing and showed disrespect to a chief deputy commonwealth attorney and decorated veteran who was honorably discharged. It’s offensive that the Senate wouldn’t even grant Lt. Thorne-Begland the courtesy of a vote.”

And even the governor, one of the biggest wingnuts in the GOP, Bob McDonnell said, through a spokesman that a judicial nominee’s sexual orientation should not be an issue: “The Governor believes candidates for judicial vacancies must be considered based solely on their merit, record, aptitude and skill. No other factors should ever be considered and the Governor has long made clear that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not acceptable in state government.”

Let's end with some more bigotry and just plain ignorance, from Granny Panty Pissy Bobby Marshall, who actually said, “I would guess--law of averages--we’ve probably nominated people who have homosexual inclinations.”

First off, Pissy, it isn't an inclination. My inclination is to believe you are a closeted self-loathing homosexual who is so petrified of being outed that even voting for an openly gay nominee to a district court sends you into a tailspin of hate.

That's an inclination, asshat.

But then Marshall goes on to get more pissy because Tracy Thorne-Begland came out as a gay Naval officer on “Nightline” more than twenty ago to challenge DADT. Marshall says the action amounted not just to insubordination, but to a waste of taxpayer dollars, since it resulted in his dismissal from the Navy: “The Navy spent $1 million training him. That’s cheating the country out of the investment in him.”

Oh, Pissy, you are just too stupid. He didn't come out so he could leave the military and waste the taxpayer dollars that trained him; he came out because he didn't want to live a life as a hypocrite and a liar.

You should try it.

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Tennessee: Back To The 1950s

Oh, Tennessee legislators, you will never learn.

It seems that up in the state of crazy, Governor Bill Haslam has signed legislation that adds the concept of “gateway sexual activity” to the state’s abstinence-first sex education curriculum.  The measure says that sex education teachers cannot encourage “gateway” activities that stop short of sexual intercourse.

You know, hand-holding leads to intercourse; a peck on the cheeks winds up with the girl pregnant.

And wingnut Haslam signed the bill over the calls to veto the measure from the American Civil Liberties Union and others, who argued that the bill contains murky definitions that make it difficult for teachers to discuss subjects frankly.

Proponents said the measure was needed to clarify the meaning of abstinence. Um, the meaning of abstinence is “no sex”, right?

I think that’s fairly clear, but apparently legislators in Tennessee don’t get it, don’t think parents understand, and think teenagers are too stupid to think for themselves.

Even worse, Tennessee’s “Gateway Sexual Activity” law will allow parents to actually sue outside sex education instructors, like Planned Parenthood, if they run afoul of the state curriculum.  School district instructors are exempt from legal penalties.

Oh, now it becomes clear; this is just another attack on Planned Parenthood by the GOP.

Haslam and the Legislature don’t realize that knowledge is power; they don’t understand that, while abstinence is the only foolproof method of birth control, and of preventing STDs and HIV infections, arming high school students with knowledge is far more powerful.

You cannot just tell students, or even adults, that they cannot do something; you have to arm them with the consequences of what they do, and talk about how they can protect themselves.

This legislation is so 1950s in its thinking, its, for lack of a better word, logic: they will not educate students as to what can happen when they have sex, they will simply ask that the girls keep their legs closed and the boys keep their pants zipped.

Oh, and no kissing. She could get pregnant.

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Lincoln Chafee Demands Out-Of-State Same-Sex Marriage Be Recognized In Rhode Island

Lincoln Chafee, governor of Rhode Island, signed an order on Monday declaring that the state must recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual ones when it comes to health insurance and a slew of other benefits.

Take that, Colorado.

Take that, North Carolina.

Take that, GOP.

The order directs state agencies to recognize marriages performed out of state as legal and treat same-sex married couples the same as heterosexual ones because gay couples, married outside Rhode Island--where civil unions are allowed, but gay marriage is illegal--are not afforded certain rights because state law is not clear on the subject.

Back in 2007, then-Attorney General Patrick Lynch issued an opinion in favor of recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages, but it was nonbinding. Chafee said his signing of the executive order is “following through” on that opinion.

Now, in Rhode Island, same-sex spouses of state employees and anyone covered by an insurance company regulated in Rhode Island will be entitled to health and life insurance benefits; both partners in a same-sex couple will be able to list their names as parents on a child’s birth certificate; same-sex couples will be entitled to sales tax exemptions on the transfer of property including vehicles.

But, it's not about money and exemptions and health insurance, and parenting rights. It’s about equality. It's about having the union of a committed couple, of committed adults, be recognized as equal.

You heard the President say it, and now it's time for everyone to get in line and join the Evolution.

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ISBL Asshat of the Week: Bob Marshall

Virginia delegate Bob Marshall has a new honor today, as he has just won the ISBL Asshat of the Week award for his bigotry, homophobia, and downright ignorance.

See, Marshall has announced that he will seek to remove Tracy Thorne-Begland, a Richmond lawyer, and supposed “aggressive activist for the pro-homosexual agenda” from a list of proposed District Court judicial appointments if Thorne-Begland’s name remains on the list when it comes to a vote Monday in the Virginia General Assembly.

Pissy Bobby Marshall

See, pissy little Bobby Marshall has been foot-stomping and head-snapping all week because, and these are his own whiny little words, “After more than a week of pleading by some Republican Caucus members, the House Republican leadership has so far declined to removed Mr. Thorne-Begland’s name from the block of nominees. If this situation remains unchanged, I will offer an amendment to remove his name.”

See, Pissy Bobby Marshall questions whether Thorne-Begland can swear to the oath required of Virginia’s judges in which they pledge to abide by the state’s constitution “if he has already indicated by his past public actions that he does not support its provision ‘that only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivision.’”

Um, his job, you dimwitted bigot, is to uphold the law. Take your moronic head out of your moronic ass.

But, Pissy Bobby Marshall is just plain sickened by the fact that Thorne-Begland lives with a ‘partner” with whom he has a formalized homosexual union, two adopted children.  Thorne-Begland has been active in the national homosexual advocacy group, Human Rights Campaign, and with Equality Virginia, of which he is a former board member.

Marshall also pointed out that, back in 1992, Thorne-Begland, as a Navy aviation lieutenant, went on national television to disclose his homosexuality. He was subsequently discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Thorne-Begland sued the Defense Department, alleging that his right to free speech had been restricted, but he lost the case on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond.

Tracy Thorne-Begland

“Mr. Throne-Begland joined the Navy under clear rules on homosexuality that he challenged when he sued the Department of Defense to change DADT,” Marshall said. “Would Mr. Thorne-Begland also challenge rules that apply to Virginia courts?  Can this candidate swear the required oath to support our state’ constitution if he has already indicated by his past actions that he does not support that section of our constitution barring same-sex legal relationships? While our judges and judicial candidates certainly have a right to free speech, they do not have the right to disregard the Virginia constitution”

But, Pissy Bobby Marshall is especially pissy that Throne-Begland exercises his right to Free Speech regularly. He’s pissy that Throne-Begland has a partner. He’s pissed that Throne-Begland has children,. He’s pissed, plainly and simply, that Thorne-Begland is gay.

And that’s why Pissy Pants In A Wad, Bobby Marshall is a lucky recipient of the ISBL Asshat of the Week Award.

He’s oh, so, deserving.

source: Pissy Bobby Marshall's Website

Just For Giggles: An Outstanding Comment from Designing Wally

So, John Travolta was all over the news this week for his ALLEGED love of groping male masseurs, and, again, ALLEGEDLY, cruise ship passengers.
This caused one of you to ponder:

designing wally said...

John-John is such a mess when it comes to his own sexuality, it was bound to come back and bite him on the ass. Then again, ass biting might turn him on...

Who knows?