Infrared sensors are now cheap and so are displays, so WHY NOT PUT BOTH IN A MICROWAVE, HUH?
If you have headphones or earbuds, listen up. Binaurally mic'd audio makes everything else sound fake.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Netflix: House of Cash
Netflix is no longer streaming Brokeback Mountain, but if you want a good cry without waiting for the mailman*, er "letter carrier," then peruse the chart below and remember Warren Buffet's advice: Powerball is a tax on stupidity.
________________
*This reminds AKSARBENT of an amusing story told to us in a Compuserve (yeah we go back THAT far!) gay chatroom by a guy who said he was a postman, a claim we doubted, so we asked him the best and worst things about his job because we are the curious sort, we are.
The worst: dogs. (Duh.)
The best: When the mailman had to deliver something requiring a signature to a hung-over, but hot dude on a Saturday morning and the guy would stumble out of bed with nothing on, peek through the curtain, and think: "Aw, it's just the mailman," and open the door.
We asked if he ever embarrassed himself in such situations by becoming visibly excited, and our digital correspondent said: "No, you can just shift your mailbag a little."
That's when we decided he wasn't bullshitting us.
________________
*This reminds AKSARBENT of an amusing story told to us in a Compuserve (yeah we go back THAT far!) gay chatroom by a guy who said he was a postman, a claim we doubted, so we asked him the best and worst things about his job because we are the curious sort, we are.
The worst: dogs. (Duh.)
The best: When the mailman had to deliver something requiring a signature to a hung-over, but hot dude on a Saturday morning and the guy would stumble out of bed with nothing on, peek through the curtain, and think: "Aw, it's just the mailman," and open the door.
We asked if he ever embarrassed himself in such situations by becoming visibly excited, and our digital correspondent said: "No, you can just shift your mailbag a little."
That's when we decided he wasn't bullshitting us.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Guilty! Omaha prosecutors do a remarkable job in winning anti-gay hate crime conviction
 |
| Langenegger (left) and Duncan |
Duncan, 10 inches taller and 90 pounds heavier than Langenegger, claimed he was defending his friend, Joey Adriano, who was harassing Langenegger's gay friends with vulgar and homophobic epithets.
Duncan claimed Langenegger shoved Adriano, but Adriano said at trial he couldn't confirm that because he was too fucked up to remember being at Pepperjax at all that night.
Duncan's other drinking buddy, Omaha attorney Paul Larson, also refused to corroborate Duncan's accusation.
This case is remarkable for several reasons:
- It is thought to be the first Douglas County hate crime conviction for sexual orientation bias
- Langenegger, the man assaulted, is not gay and it wasn't argued at trial that he was perceived to be gay
- Duncan, the man convicted, was not accused by anyone of uttering any antigay epithets
Compounding Masteller's challenge was that video of the interior of Pepperjax did not seem to support the accounts of the victims he was representing.
Remember this the next time prosecutors in your community whine about how hard it is to get a hate crime conviction.
Defense attorney Davis*, who said he will appeal, probably did his client no favors when he suggested that Duncan may have been disturbed by the appearance of "sidewalk sex" by Langenegger's friends when one, in drag and drunk, was actually having his shoes put on by the other.
Also: never underestimate the power of a bloody photograph disseminated widely on the Internet.
Also: Having your client show up in a pink shirt won't necessarily convince a jury — even in Nebraska — that you're not a homophobe.
*James Martin Davis, when he's not busy trying to destroy the credibility of gay plaintiffs in court or insinuating in front of TV news cameras that they are sexually dissolute in public, can be a fun guy. Supposedly it was Davis who said, during the Franklin Credit Union scandal back in the 1980s, that Omaha might become the first city in human history to gossip itself to death.
Conan visits a Korean spa with Walking Dead star Steven Yeun
Defense atty in Omaha gay-bashing hate crime case says it was just a bar fight; client "didn't even know" anyone was gay
UPDATE: 5-man, 7-woman jury renders its verdict!
One of Omaha's slickest defense attorneys, James Martin Davis, worked the cameras Monday and Tuesday to spin the actions of his client, James Duncan, on the night last fall that he sucker-punched straight Marine Ryan Langenegger outside the Old Market Pepperjax.
Duncan, who has worked in Omaha as a sales manager for a construction and roofing company, is from Kansas City.
Defense Attorney Davis repeatedly insisted it was all just a bar fight (even though Langenegger hit no one) between two heterosexuals and therefore can't possibly be an antigay hate crime.
Langenegger was with two friends, Joshua Foo and Jacob Gellinger, who was in drag at the time.
Accused gay-basher Duncan was with two of his buds, attorney Paul Larson and Joey Adriano, who is said to have been the instigator of the confrontation outside Pepperjax. Adriano now says he was so wasted that he cannot remember being there at all. At trial, Adriano admitted to being a blackout drunk.
Duncan said he was protecting Adriano when he punched Langenegger between the eyes so hard that blood covered his face.
Prosecutors have a problem with that contention: they say Duncan was 90 pounds heavier and 10 inches taller than Langenegger and wasn't just "protecting" his friend, according to Channel 3's Jake Wasikowski.
Langenegger, who only had two beers, who appeared to be the least drunk of the six men involved, and remembers utterances that both his friend, Gellinger, and his antagonist, Adriano, do not.
Langenegger said Adriano used "faggot" and racist slurs to refer to his friends, called him an "expletive associated with female genitalia" then repeated the gay slur.
Duncan insisted he was not homophobic and claimed he had no idea that Jacob Gellinger — who is 6'7" in high heels — was a man dressed as a woman,
Defense attorney Davis accused Langenegger of inventing utterances from his friend sounded like they came "from a Julia Roberts movie" and then suggested to the jury that Adriano said "perverts" not "faggots."
From the World-Herald:
 |
| Ryan Langenegger and his assailant, James Duncan, of Kansas City. Duncan is accused of felonious assault on a gay hate crime charge, Omaha's first. Duncan's attorney, James Martin Davis admits his client attacked Langenegger, who did not retaliate, but said the altercation was simply a "bar fight" between two heterosexuals, not a hate crime and that Joshua Foo posted pictures of a bloodied Langenegger to create a "false sense" of what happened. |
Duncan, who has worked in Omaha as a sales manager for a construction and roofing company, is from Kansas City.
Defense Attorney Davis repeatedly insisted it was all just a bar fight (even though Langenegger hit no one) between two heterosexuals and therefore can't possibly be an antigay hate crime.
Langenegger was with two friends, Joshua Foo and Jacob Gellinger, who was in drag at the time.
Accused gay-basher Duncan was with two of his buds, attorney Paul Larson and Joey Adriano, who is said to have been the instigator of the confrontation outside Pepperjax. Adriano now says he was so wasted that he cannot remember being there at all. At trial, Adriano admitted to being a blackout drunk.
Duncan said he was protecting Adriano when he punched Langenegger between the eyes so hard that blood covered his face.
Prosecutors have a problem with that contention: they say Duncan was 90 pounds heavier and 10 inches taller than Langenegger and wasn't just "protecting" his friend, according to Channel 3's Jake Wasikowski.
Langenegger, who only had two beers, who appeared to be the least drunk of the six men involved, and remembers utterances that both his friend, Gellinger, and his antagonist, Adriano, do not.
Langenegger said Adriano used "faggot" and racist slurs to refer to his friends, called him an "expletive associated with female genitalia" then repeated the gay slur.
Duncan insisted he was not homophobic and claimed he had no idea that Jacob Gellinger — who is 6'7" in high heels — was a man dressed as a woman,
Defense attorney Davis accused Langenegger of inventing utterances from his friend sounded like they came "from a Julia Roberts movie" and then suggested to the jury that Adriano said "perverts" not "faggots."
 |
| WOWT video screencap This is part of an agenda... To the ordinary person, the people involved in this, two men and a woman, didn't appear to be homosexual or gay at all. And there was nothing about their appearance that would indicate that my client could even recognize them as being gay or homosexual. I mean, you had one, you had two men dressed in male apparel and one was apparently straight and one was homosexual but you couldn't tell that. And the other one was a woman. Appeared to all respects as a woman. She was dressed as a woman... I don't know, other than being tall, there wasn't any indication that this wasn't a woman... When they walked out, what they saw caused them to comment but it didn't have anything to do with them being gay; it had to do with what appeared to be sexual activity taking place outside — heterosexual activity. I'm not going to get into that for TV... This is just an ordinary third-degree assault, if that. |
Davis even suggested that Adriano may have made the “you’re disgusting” comment because he mistook what Gellinger and friend Joshua Foo were doing outside the Pepperjax restaurant.The prosecution called "ridiculous" the supposition that Foo and Gelinger, who are gay friends but not romantically involved, could have been mistaken for a heterosexual couple having sex on the sidewalk in the Old Market at bar-closing time.
Foo was crouched down, helping Gellinger put on his high heels, Langenegger said. Davis suggested that Adriano could have mistaken that scene for a sex act. Davis also suggested that Adriano yelled “perverts” instead of “faggots.”
Langenegger was incredulous.
“I don’t know how putting on a shoe would look like sex,” Langenegger said.
Davis: “You have a lady with her legs up and a man (at her feet). ... Doesn’t it look like sex on a sidewalk?”
“No,” Langenegger said.
He paused.
“I suppose he could be proposing,” he said, drawing laughs from the jury.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Alabama Chief Justice Judge Roy Moore tells Bloomberg he has had "many" gay friends.
One assumes the operative word in that declaration to be "had," as in "had" many gay friends until they found out what he was really about...
YouTube has something to say about this:
YouTube has something to say about this:
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
NE LGBT workplace antibias bill, LB586, clears Judiciary Committee, advances to Unicameral floor
Writes Joe Duggan of the Omaha World-Herald:
Below, from left: Laura Ebke (402-471-2711) and Les Seiler (402-471-2712).Voting to advance the bill were Sens. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, Matt Williams of Gothenburg, Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, Bob Krist of Omaha and [Adam] Morfeld [of Lincoln, the bill's sponsor.]
Above: Sen. Adam Morfeld, sponsor of LB586
Voting against advancement were Sens. Les Seiler of Hastings and Laura Ebke of Crete. Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln was present but did not vote.
Academic gay-bashing at Unicameral: discredited Regnerus research used to attack LGBT protections
The notorious New Family Structures Study (NFSS), authored by Mark Regnerus, was immediately assailed upon publication for its methodology and conclusions.
The University of Texas disassociated itself from the paper and its author; the journal that hastily published it backpedaled when the auditor it appointed to review the study called it "bullshit;" 200 PhDs and MDs criticized the study in a letter to Social Science Research, and the American Sociological Association excoriated the research in a brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. So did the APA and AMA.
Nevertheless, right-wing opponents of gay marriage and adoption/foster care protections for gay parents continue to cite the deeply flawed study, which has been presented to the Unicameral Judiciary Committee at least twice (once by former Family First representative Dave Bydalek, who now works in the Nebraska Attorney General's office.)
Below is the newest attempt, last week, to sell the Regnerus Study to the Unicameral during hearings for LB647, which would add protections for LGBT foster parents and nullify an unreviewed and probably illegal 1995 memorandum prohibiting even qualified gay couples from being foster parents. The memo is now the subject of an ACLU lawsuit:
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay rights advocacy group was so outraged by the Regnerus Study that it set up a website to expose the study, its dubious funding and methodology and conclusions, and its use as a political weapon in the U.S. and abroad. (In Russia, it has been cited as a justification for removing children from the custody of gay parents.)
AKSARBENT's condensation of NET's coverage of the LB647 hearings was picked up by one of the largest gay blogs in the country, Towleroad. There, it elicited the following letter from a gay couple recounting their shabby treatment by the State of Nebraska in the 1990s during the administration of Governor Ben Nelson, who presided over the notorious anti-gay foster parent memo that has prompted both the ACLU lawsuit referenced above and the corrective LB647 legislation:
Sen. Les Seiler, Room #1103, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2712
Email: lseiler@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Colby Coash, Room #2028, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2632
Email: ccoash@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Ernie Chambers, Room #1114, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2612
(Chambers does not have a legislative email address)
Sen. Laura Ebke, Room #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2711
Email: lebke@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Bob Krist, Room #2108, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2718
Email: bkrist@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Adam Morfeld, Room #1008, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2720
Email: amorfeld@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, Room #1523, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2633
Email: ppansingbrooks@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Matt Williams, Room #2015, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2642
Email: mwilliams@leg.ne.gov
The University of Texas disassociated itself from the paper and its author; the journal that hastily published it backpedaled when the auditor it appointed to review the study called it "bullshit;" 200 PhDs and MDs criticized the study in a letter to Social Science Research, and the American Sociological Association excoriated the research in a brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. So did the APA and AMA.
 |
| Dave Bydalek, named Chief Deputy Attorney General by Nebraska AG Doug Peterson, shown in 2014 using the widely-discredited Regnerus study as a political weapon to oppose LGBT legal protections |
Below is the newest attempt, last week, to sell the Regnerus Study to the Unicameral during hearings for LB647, which would add protections for LGBT foster parents and nullify an unreviewed and probably illegal 1995 memorandum prohibiting even qualified gay couples from being foster parents. The memo is now the subject of an ACLU lawsuit:
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay rights advocacy group was so outraged by the Regnerus Study that it set up a website to expose the study, its dubious funding and methodology and conclusions, and its use as a political weapon in the U.S. and abroad. (In Russia, it has been cited as a justification for removing children from the custody of gay parents.)
AKSARBENT's condensation of NET's coverage of the LB647 hearings was picked up by one of the largest gay blogs in the country, Towleroad. There, it elicited the following letter from a gay couple recounting their shabby treatment by the State of Nebraska in the 1990s during the administration of Governor Ben Nelson, who presided over the notorious anti-gay foster parent memo that has prompted both the ACLU lawsuit referenced above and the corrective LB647 legislation:
Below is contact information for the Unicameral's Judiciary Committee: Senators in bold may be unsympathetic to, or on the fence about LGBT legal protections. Urge them to vote for LB647, LB648 and LB568.My lover and I are the cause of the original ban on gays being foster or adoption parents. Back in the early 90's we both applied to become foster adopt parents. We went to classes in Lincoln after driving from Omaha each Thursday for many weeks. We were approved to become parents. We had been together as a couple for over 5 years at that time. We passed all back ground checks etc. We even passed the home safety check, and following that visit for that check we received a call from HHS in Omaha and were yelled at, called names, told that there should be jails for people like this. Two weeks later the HHS department changed its rules by putting out the memo saying that "No person who is single residing with another person of the same or opposite sex out of wedlock shall not become foster care or foster adopt parents". Needless to say we were heart broken. Today we have been together for over 24 years, we housed several teens, young adults who were homeless, gay, drug abusers and more. Each of them we clothed, fed, saw that they got education by registering in schools and or getting a GED. We have no regrets on this. I just think that there are a lot of single people out there gay or straight who would make a wonderful parent. Do the right thing people. Write to the state senators in Nebr and urge them to pass this bill...
Ben Nelson, governor of
Nebraska from 1991 to 1999
Posted by: Robert Hershgeer | Feb 8, 2015 11:55:02 AM
Sen. Les Seiler, Room #1103, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2712
Email: lseiler@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Colby Coash, Room #2028, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2632
Email: ccoash@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Ernie Chambers, Room #1114, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2612
(Chambers does not have a legislative email address)
Sen. Laura Ebke, Room #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2711
Email: lebke@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Bob Krist, Room #2108, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2718
Email: bkrist@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Adam Morfeld, Room #1008, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2720
Email: amorfeld@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, Room #1523, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2633
Email: ppansingbrooks@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Matt Williams, Room #2015, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2642
Email: mwilliams@leg.ne.gov
Friday, February 6, 2015
That classy Amber Parker dropped by the LGBT antibias hearings to talk about bestiality and NAMBLA!
The relentless Amber Parker put in three appearances at Wednesday's LB647, LB648 and LB568 hearings on laws which would extend legal protection to LGBTs, where she brought up NAMBLA and bestiality at the 9:42 mark in the video here.
Parker is the author of an anti-gay children's book, apparently inspired by her observance of boy-girl bestiality at the zoo. (Please don't tell Amber about the 1600 animal species observed to engage in homosexual behavior or the fact that male domesticated big-horned sheep are twice as likely to be gay as human males or the various zoos which publicize same-sex penguin couples, especially the one in China that held a PR "wedding" for two male penguins, already suitably dressed for the occasion.)
Here is what Amazon.com thinks of Parker's book:
Parker is the author of an anti-gay children's book, apparently inspired by her observance of boy-girl bestiality at the zoo. (Please don't tell Amber about the 1600 animal species observed to engage in homosexual behavior or the fact that male domesticated big-horned sheep are twice as likely to be gay as human males or the various zoos which publicize same-sex penguin couples, especially the one in China that held a PR "wedding" for two male penguins, already suitably dressed for the occasion.)
Here is what Amazon.com thinks of Parker's book:
Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock answers questions about his office decor, house sale and departure of staffer over racist social media posts
Justin Glawe put an illuminating reality check on Congressman Schock's week of reckoning by covering the Peoria lawmaker's meeting (Aaron Schock Is Untouchable Down On The Farm) with a farming constituency which cares much less than gay bloggers and coastal media about anything unrelated to Schock's ability to bring home the legislative bacon.
In the above interview, Schock said he "never talked" to the buyer of his home — Caterpiller exec Ali Bahaj and his wife, who each made the maximum allowable donation to Schock's 2008 Congressional election campaign.
From Blue Nation Review
In the above interview, Schock said he "never talked" to the buyer of his home — Caterpiller exec Ali Bahaj and his wife, who each made the maximum allowable donation to Schock's 2008 Congressional election campaign.
From Blue Nation Review
- According to Peoria County’s tax assessment, his home was worth $255,000 at the time it was sold to Mr. Bahaj.
Congressman Schock’s financial disclosure form shows that he rightly disclosed selling his home for a profit of anywhere between $500,000-$1,000,000. Congressional ethics rules allow Members to record profits and losses generally without much detail.According to Zillow’s home price index, Congressman Schock sold his house at the absolute rock bottom for the Illinois real estate market, also the worst month for housing prices in a decade.
Nebraska state senator discusses bill to cancel eminent domain option for Keystone XL
Ernie Chambers is standing up for Western Nebraska landowners.
GOP state senators, on the other hand, are siding with a foreign oil company's attempts to impose eminent domain condemnations on farmers and ranchers in order to build an extension to Keystone 1, the TransCanada pipeline which leaked a dozen times in its first year of operation.
TransCanada won't tell landowners the composition and amount of carcinogenic solvents it will use to help its dilbit (diluted bitumen) pipeline flow. (Dilbit alone has the consistency of peanut butter.) In addition, TransCanada will not contribute eight cents per barrel to the Oil Spill Liability Trust fund; it says it doesn't have to because its product is not technically oil.
GOP state senators, on the other hand, are siding with a foreign oil company's attempts to impose eminent domain condemnations on farmers and ranchers in order to build an extension to Keystone 1, the TransCanada pipeline which leaked a dozen times in its first year of operation.
TransCanada won't tell landowners the composition and amount of carcinogenic solvents it will use to help its dilbit (diluted bitumen) pipeline flow. (Dilbit alone has the consistency of peanut butter.) In addition, TransCanada will not contribute eight cents per barrel to the Oil Spill Liability Trust fund; it says it doesn't have to because its product is not technically oil.
Video: NE State Sen. Adam Morfeld gives GI attorney Greg Neuhaus some righteous indignation over his anti-LGBT testimony
ALSO: Concealed carry — how a clever state senator cleverly sneaked a gay marriage recognition amendment into a Nebraska gun law
Sen. Adam Morfeld gave Grand Island Attorney Greg Neuhaus some pushback on Wednesday during the Unicameral's Judiciary Committee hearing on LB647, Sen. Jeremy Nordquist's bill to add protections to LGBT couples in Nebraska's Foster Care System. Norquist is shown at the 2:30 mark explaining his bill. (We're hoping his infant son inherits his daddy's puckish sense of humor about his own looks.)
Sen. Sara Howard also has a second-parent adoption bill pending (LB648). Morfeld himself has an LGBT rights bill pending as well: LB586.
We're assuming Greg Neuhaus is related to Joe Neuhaus, of the Nebraska Family Alliance, which, in its earlier incarnation as the Nebraska Family Association, gathered thousands of signatures to block an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance passed 5-0 by the Lincoln City Council.
The relentless Amber Parker put in another appearance, bringing up NAMBLA and bestiality. Parker is the author of an anti-gay children's book, apparently inspired by her observance of boy-girl bestiality at the zoo. (Please don't tell Amber about the 1600 animal species which engage in homosexual behavior or the various zoos which publicize same sex penguin couples, especially the one in China that held a mock wedding for two male penguins, suitably dressed for the occasion.)
If you'd like to contact members of the Nebraska Judiciary Committee regarding these three bills ensuring LGBT legal protections, links to their email addresses are below (except for Chambers, who doesn't do email, only surface mail or phone calles.) Senators Chambers (not present at the hearing), Morfeld and Brooks are already on the right side of this issue.
Once again the Unicameral Judiciary Committee was completely unprepared and clueless when presented with the discredited Regnerus Study.
They all looked like Charlie Brown being fooled by Lucy snatching the football before his punt attempt. How many times does this have to happen? It's not as if this study's notoriety and bias is obscure. Sheesh. Don't these senators have any alert gay staffers?
I tell you, the first time a senator busts a witness with the withering truth about the Regnerus study will be the last time said anti-LGBT activist tries that trick.
 |
| Sen. Adam Morfeld (middle) |
Sen. Sara Howard also has a second-parent adoption bill pending (LB648). Morfeld himself has an LGBT rights bill pending as well: LB586. We're assuming Greg Neuhaus is related to Joe Neuhaus, of the Nebraska Family Alliance, which, in its earlier incarnation as the Nebraska Family Association, gathered thousands of signatures to block an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance passed 5-0 by the Lincoln City Council.
The relentless Amber Parker put in another appearance, bringing up NAMBLA and bestiality. Parker is the author of an anti-gay children's book, apparently inspired by her observance of boy-girl bestiality at the zoo. (Please don't tell Amber about the 1600 animal species which engage in homosexual behavior or the various zoos which publicize same sex penguin couples, especially the one in China that held a mock wedding for two male penguins, suitably dressed for the occasion.)
If you'd like to contact members of the Nebraska Judiciary Committee regarding these three bills ensuring LGBT legal protections, links to their email addresses are below (except for Chambers, who doesn't do email, only surface mail or phone calles.) Senators Chambers (not present at the hearing), Morfeld and Brooks are already on the right side of this issue.
- Sen. Les Seiler, Chairperson
- Sen. Ernie Chambers
- Sen. Colby Coash
- Sen. Laura Ebke
- Sen. Bob Krist
- Sen. Adam Morfeld
- Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks
- Sen. Matt Williams
They all looked like Charlie Brown being fooled by Lucy snatching the football before his punt attempt. How many times does this have to happen? It's not as if this study's notoriety and bias is obscure. Sheesh. Don't these senators have any alert gay staffers?
I tell you, the first time a senator busts a witness with the withering truth about the Regnerus study will be the last time said anti-LGBT activist tries that trick.
Gay life in the small towns and man camps of North Dakota's oil boom
Cole Stangler has written, with photos by Matthew Leifheit, a piece about gay oil workers in the small towns and man camps dotting the landscape of increasingly-polluted North Dakota's Bakken petroleum boom.
There are no gay bars in North Dakota...
Minot, a growing city of 46,000 on the eastern edge of the patch, is the closest there is to a gay mecca in these parts...
The closet is still a major institution in the Bakken. Over the course of a week in North Dakota, I spoke to more than a dozen workers in a similar situation. Some are in the closet for fear of losing their jobs. Others figure the risk of creating friction at the workplace isn't worth their peace of mind.
Like the vast majority of employers in the state, most companies in the oil patch do not provide discrimination protections for gay and trans workers. That means, if you're a roughneck who's out on the job—or a truck driver, or a welder, or a pipe fitter—your boss can probably fire you for being gay, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Protections exist at some of the bigger international companies that have set up shop—Halliburton and the Norwegian oil giant Statoil, for instance. But this often means little in practical terms, since the industry relies so heavily on subcontracted labor...
Gay, comically inept dept. store Cupid gets a taste of his own medicine when he meets an old hookup
This is brilliant, funny, real and classy and again demonstrates why European advertising is still less likely than U.S. advertising to treat its targets like idiots. And we don't even speak Spanish, which is why we ripped off the translation by Brian in Valdosta, GA, a commenter on JoeMyGod, where we first saw this.
Cupid - Hi, afternoon. Do you want a little Nuevo Amor (New Love)?
Cupid - Hi, how are you? Do you want to try Nuevo Amor?
Cupid - Hi. A little Nuevo Amor?
Customer - No, thank you.
Cupid - Nuevo Amor?
(Cupid, growing discouraged)
(A man walks up behind him)
Cupid - Hi.
Man - Hi. Jesús?
Cupid - Hi, Marco. (They kiss each other on the cheek.)
Man (smiling) - What ... what are you doing?
Cupid - Nothing. Just here shooting arrows. Do you want a little Nuevo Amor? (He spritzes him in the face)
Man - What's up with that?
Cupid - Just a little job. For St. Valentine's. The whole acting thing was going a little nowhere. It's been forever since I saw you around.
Man - The thing is, I've been busy with my project and I don't have any free time, not even to go out.
Cupid - What project?
Man - For my degree. Architecture.
Cupid - And what is it?
Man - Well, I'm designing a building.
Cupid - Wow, so cool.
Man - Man. "So cool?" "So cool?" (making fun of him) Listen, you and I never exchanged numbers, did we?
Cupid - No ... and ... and ... (fumbling). No.
Man - Hold on. (Producing a pen). What I don't have is paper. Just a sec. (Writing on Cupid's arm.) So now you can call me or write me. Whatever you want.
Cupid - Okay.
Man - Look, I'm curious about something. And I want to see if you can resolve this for me.
Cupid - Oh, what about?
Man - What happens if Cupid likes someone?
Cupid - No ... no ... (fumbling) Cupid can't fall in love.
Man - Why not?
Cupid - Why? Because ... because ... because it would create a love paradox with terrible consequences all 'round. So ...
Man - Ok. Well (he mumbles something that I didn't catch) I gotta get going (I'll leave you). I hope all your arrows his their mark today.
Cupid - I'll try.
Man - Shoot one at me.
Cupid - What?
Man - The arrow. (Cupid shoots an arrow at him) (Marco picks up the arrow and has it hit him in the heart.)
(He pantomimes "call me".)
Cupid - Hi, afternoon. Do you want a little Nuevo Amor (New Love)?
Cupid - Hi, how are you? Do you want to try Nuevo Amor?
Cupid - Hi. A little Nuevo Amor?
Customer - No, thank you.
Cupid - Nuevo Amor?
(Cupid, growing discouraged)
(A man walks up behind him)
Cupid - Hi.
Man - Hi. Jesús?
Cupid - Hi, Marco. (They kiss each other on the cheek.)
Man (smiling) - What ... what are you doing?
Cupid - Nothing. Just here shooting arrows. Do you want a little Nuevo Amor? (He spritzes him in the face)
Man - What's up with that?
Cupid - Just a little job. For St. Valentine's. The whole acting thing was going a little nowhere. It's been forever since I saw you around.
Man - The thing is, I've been busy with my project and I don't have any free time, not even to go out.
Cupid - What project?
Man - For my degree. Architecture.
Cupid - And what is it?
Man - Well, I'm designing a building.
Cupid - Wow, so cool.
Man - Man. "So cool?" "So cool?" (making fun of him) Listen, you and I never exchanged numbers, did we?
Cupid - No ... and ... and ... (fumbling). No.
Man - Hold on. (Producing a pen). What I don't have is paper. Just a sec. (Writing on Cupid's arm.) So now you can call me or write me. Whatever you want.
Cupid - Okay.
Man - Look, I'm curious about something. And I want to see if you can resolve this for me.
Cupid - Oh, what about?
Man - What happens if Cupid likes someone?
Cupid - No ... no ... (fumbling) Cupid can't fall in love.
Man - Why not?
Cupid - Why? Because ... because ... because it would create a love paradox with terrible consequences all 'round. So ...
Man - Ok. Well (he mumbles something that I didn't catch) I gotta get going (I'll leave you). I hope all your arrows his their mark today.
Cupid - I'll try.
Man - Shoot one at me.
Cupid - What?
Man - The arrow. (Cupid shoots an arrow at him) (Marco picks up the arrow and has it hit him in the heart.)
(He pantomimes "call me".)
Patricia Todd, AL's only out gay legislator, says if MO is the 'Show Me' state, then hers is the 'Make Me' State
She hasn't yet made good on her threat to expose fellow legislators who use "family values" as an anti-gay club even as they engage in philandering themselves.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Don't text and fly
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Hey NRA! We got your concealed carry right here: Nebraska state senator sneaks gay marriage recognition into concealed carry amendment
 |
| Schumacher, AKSARBENT's first nominee for Unicameral legislator of the year — 2015 |
“I think we just recognized gay marriage,” he said moments after the vote.
With gay marriage looming, NE GOP proposes marriage fee increase exceeding 300% of current cost
GOP Lincoln state senator Kathy Campbell's original fee increase proposal (LB88) has been whittled down to $25, versus the current $15 fee, still a 67% increase.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Matt Baume: blackface is inherently racist
Below: Matt Baume explains to Mary Cheney why drag and blackface are NOT similar, with a nice swipe at Cheney's support of Keystone XL.
Via Towleroad
We disagree that blackface is ALWAYS racist (just mostly). Below is a respectful, if irreverent, Fred Astaire, in blackface, in a clearly affectionate sendup of fellow dancer extraordinaire Bill "Bojangles" Robinson:
Via Towleroad
We disagree that blackface is ALWAYS racist (just mostly). Below is a respectful, if irreverent, Fred Astaire, in blackface, in a clearly affectionate sendup of fellow dancer extraordinaire Bill "Bojangles" Robinson:
Donna Red Wing, of LGBT group OneIowa, answers 'thug' slur by right-wing radio host Steve Deace
 |
| Deace, currently heard on about 45 radio stations, is described by Christian News Service as "considered by many to be one of the best talents from the limited stock of today’s young talkers. He is widely respected as a political columnist, commentator and author." If that tribute doesn't impress you, remember that Donald Trump considers Deace to be "one of the rising stars in conservative media." |
For the Mennonite crime of telling two homosexuals that they could not get married at their establishment, Gortz Haus Gallery owners Betty and Richard Odgaard have become the latest in a long line of Christians for whom the First Amendment somehow does not count.
...They will no longer host any weddings whatsoever in their building which once served as a Lutheran Church, nor will they cater weddings or provide flowers for them in order to avoid future accusations of discrimination. The Odgaards also opened up their wallet to the tune of $5,000 to settle the nonsense “civil rights complaint” they were bum-rushed with.
This begs the question: is there any social force more powerful today than the homosexual temper tantrum?
It can commit an act of theft like this and still get away with justifying its actions in dulcet tones like those used by Donna Red Wing, the executive director of LGBTQABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP advocacy group One Iowa.
Red Wing told the Des Moines Register she was “really sad that their beautiful facility is no longer going to have any weddings at all” and that she respects the Odgaards' religious beliefs.
Right. Fredo Corleone just called and said don’t fall for it. If you read that and found yourself thinking it’s the kind of thing a mob boss says after having just put a horse’s head in your bed, your gay pride parade translator is working just fine.
Red Wing is a thug, pure and simple.
Here, in part is Donna Red Wing's response, published on OneIowa's web site:
“Red Wing told the Des Moines Register she was ‘really sad that their beautiful facility is no longer going to have any weddings at all’ and that she respects the Odgaards’ religious beliefs.
“If you read that and found yourself thinking it’s the kind of thing a mob boss says after having just put a horse’s head in your bed, your gay pride parade translator is working just fine.
“Red Wing is a thug, pure and simple. Instead of a Tommy Gun, she has a decadent culture and soft-headed legal theory to use as her accomplices.”
He is talking about me, and he is talking about you. Don’t let Steve Deace get away with this kind of damaging rhetoric. Help support the work that One Iowa does for the LGBT community.
We are no stranger to absurd and hurtful histrionics. At a certain point, you just have to shrug it off. But here’s where I have a problem:
Steve Deace holds a nationally syndicated radio talk show program. He speaks to thousands of folks about why he thinks LGBT people are “less than equal,” in addition to partnering with The Family Leader’s Bob Vander Plaats for a weekly podcast.
Deace presents himself as a voice for conservatives in Iowa, but let me be clear–he does not represent all conservatives.
We speak with conservatives every day about why they support equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Iowans. And you know what they tell me? They tell me that they support equality because it’s the right thing to do. From GOP strategists Dave Kochel and Ken Mehlman to former Iowa Senator Jeff Angelo, the conservative case for LGBT equality has been made in our state, and it’s gaining momentum.
Even those who stand against us on the issues would refrain from such personal attacks. Don’t let Steve Deace’s vitriolic words stamp out other conservative voices who stand with us in our support of equality.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to let Deace’s wayward ramblings impinge on our work toward equality for LGBT Iowans and their families.
Stand with us and support us in any way you can. We need you now more than ever.
In solidarity,
Donna Red Wing
Executive Director, One Iowa
What to say (in 30 seconds) to conservatives ignorant of climate change
Hint: don't start immediately with the science.
The hilarious Super Bowl flowchart you should have consulted before the game
This pre-game chart was drawn up by perhaps the funniest former Nebraskan (now a Chicago-area lawyer) on the Internet: @fauxpelini, the twitter alter ego of former NU coach Bo Pelini. He (faux) is quasi-anonymous, meaning the Omaha and Lincoln papers know who he is, but most Nebraskans, who follow him on twitter by the tens of thousands, do not. (Click on chart to enlarge.)
Mike Huckabee's latest LGBT insults have now won him a mocking twitter account, @HucksGayBFF
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee even manages to insult LGBTs when he's on his CNN best behavior and not throwing rhetorical red meat to bigots. Here he condescendingly equates LGBT "lifestyle" choices (not including gluttony, of course) incompatible with Huckabee's newly laid-back sanctimony, which DOES NOT EXCLUDE mythical gay friends drawn, no doubt, from the same pool Sara Palin gets hers.
Below are some samples from the well-earned twitter parody account, @HucksGayBFF. (Click composite to enlarge enough to read the tweets.)
Below are some samples from the well-earned twitter parody account, @HucksGayBFF. (Click composite to enlarge enough to read the tweets.)
Sunday, February 1, 2015
IA 'Gaystapo' blogger axed by Newton Daily News falls $95,000 short of $100,000 crowdfunding startup goal
We're guessing that not too many of his former subordinates at the Newton Daily News kicked in much to his new venture.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)