Bob Newhart pulls out of gig for anti-LGBT group formed by Domino's pizza founder Tom Monahagn

Kudos to everyone at GLAAD for persuading Bob Newhart that appearing before such a group would not do much to enhance his reputation.
     The story is here, marred by an unfortunate exaggeration by GLAAD writer Ross Murray:

In 1976 The Bob Newhart Show featured an episode with an openly gay character. It was remarkably groundbreaking for its time.

     It was not, unless you consider the 12 other shows which aired gay-themed episodes in 1976 also to be "remarkably groundbreaking." (The Newhart character may have been distinguished by being one of the first recurring gay characters on episodic TV, but the GLAAD story did not note this.)
     Before the 1976 Newhart episode, (from 1970 through 1975) Wikipedia lists gay-themed episodes of the following television programs:

All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, Mash, Columbo, Marcus Welby, Medical Center, Streets of San Francisco, the Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bold Ones, Room 222, Dan August (where Martin Sheen again played the gay boyfriend — who got killed), Police Story, Police Woman and Barney Miller.

     Not listed, (probably because it was a TV movie and not an episode of a TV show) was 1972's That Certain Summer, a Levinson-Link coproduction aired by ABC starring Hope Lange, Martin Sheen, Hal Holbrook and Scott Jacobi, about a father whose son discovers that his dad's male roommate is actually his mother's replacement. Many critics did call that program "groundbreaking."
 

NBC TODAY show in full Sochi spin mode; bemoans Obama "snub" and "total disrespect" for Russia and Putin; Matt Lauer's hostile questions to gay Olympian Caitlin Cahow

The peacock gets mean when it's backed into a corner...


The TODAY show's introductory report, shown before Matt Lauer's interview of out gay Olympian Caitlin Cahow, showed heavy-handed obeisance to Kremlin interests and some crude fear-mongering by NBC's Peter Alexander, who served up comments by "longtime Olympic observer" Alan Abrahamson in his report:

     Alexander: One long time Olympic Observer insists the president's decision is a significant snub.

     Abrahamson: This is sending an absolute signal of complete and total disrespect for the Russian Federation and for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

     Alexander: Abrahamson described that American decision about its delegation as what he called a clear disregard for the International Olympic Committee as well. He warned that the move could actually impact U.S. athletes chances in Sochi, Matt, where of course, many of the competitions are JUDGED sports.
     Matt Lauer: Yeah, whether it will be held against them.

     Lost in NBC's ominous fear-mongering was the obvious counterweight to any politically-motivated Russian judging: there are plenty of nonRussian judges in various sports who would be just as tempted to rule against Russian athletes for a variety of reasons which might or might not include LGBT rights.
     Later came some rather hostile questions from TODAY show host Matt Lauer to gay U.S. Ice Hockey Olympian Caitlin Cahow, who will accompany tennis legend Billie Jean King to Sochi as part of the official U.S. delegation. (Cahow is at least as good at PR as she is at hockey):

Do you feel as if you're part of a statement?

Do you think you would have been chosen if you were not gay?

The Russians have said there will be no repercussions on any athlete, or, I guess, bystander, doing any kind of subtle protest, wearing rainbow armbands or anything like that. Do you think we're going to see a lot of protests once the games begin?

Does it distract an athlete when politics are brought into the Olympic competition?

Target still mum on massive point-of-sale hack as far back as Black Friday, affecting up to 1800 stores, debit and credit cards

UPDATE: Finally, after being outed by Krebs and ensuing news reports, Target has admitted to reporters what it has known for some time: that its security breach is massive and may affect tens of millions of people.
     But there is nothing at the front page of target.com and searching for "credit card security breach" at Target's web site yields nothing relevant to the search.

From "multiple reliable sources" via Krebs On Security:

     The sources said the breach appears to have begun on or around Black Friday 2013 — by far the busiest shopping day the year.
     According to sources at two different top 10 credit card issuers, the breach extends to nearly all Target locations nationwide, and involves the theft of data stored on the magnetic stripe of cards used at the stores.
     Minneapolis, Minn. based Target Brands Inc. has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Representatives from MasterCard and Visa also could not be immediately reached for comment.
     There are no indications at this time that the breach affected customers who shopped at Target’s online stores. The type of data stolen — also known as “track data” — allows crooks to create counterfeit cards by encoding the information onto any card with a magnetic stripe. If the thieves also were able to intercept PIN data for debit transactions, they would theoretically be able to reproduce stolen debit cards and use them to withdraw cash from ATMs.

USA Today says the Secret Service is investigating.

Fox's war on Santa Claus

(Via JMG)

12-17-2013 Megamillions winning numbers: 8-20-14-17-39 and megaball: 7

The odds against winning are truly astronomical: some 259,000,000 to 1, now the worst of any lottery in America. An acquaintance bought five tickets with a total of 25 numbers and not a single one matched any of the numbers drawn. Here, courtesy of the Wisconsin lottery, where megamillions began (with much better odds) are all the winning numbers from the last year.


Wisconsin history only.

Draw Date		Winning	Numbers			Mega Ball	Megaplier	Jackpot
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013	8	14	17	20	39	7	4	$636.0 Million
Friday, Dec. 13, 2013	19	24	26	27	70	12	2	$425.0 Million
Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013	5	12	22	41	65	13	2	$344.0 Million
Friday, Dec. 06, 2013	11	29	44	63	64	3	3	$297.0 Million
Tuesday, Dec. 03, 2013	7	12	41	44	59	3	3	$257.0 Million
Friday, Nov. 29, 2013	9	41	43	47	57	5	4	$230.0 Million
Tuesday, November 26, 2013	27	44	59	74	75	3	5	$205.0 Million
Friday, November 22, 2013	17	23	35	36	44	8	3	$181.0 Million
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013	14	15	29	49	63	2	3	$165.0 Million
Friday, Nov. 15, 2013	25	44	49	54	63	8	4	$149.0 Million
Tuesday, Nov.12, 2013	20	30	32	42	71	15	5	$132.0 Million
Friday, Nov. 08, 2013	41	42	51	57	65	7	2	$115.0 Million
Tuesday, Nov. 05, 2013	2	11	42	64	74	2	5	$99.0 Million
Friday, Nov. 01, 2013	32	35	49	62	67	1	5	$87.0 Million
Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013	20	33	50	53	54	7	3	$75.0 Million
Friday, Oct. 25, 2013	6	16	45	54	60	15	2	$65.0 Million
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013	2	3	19	52	71	14	5	$55.0 Million
Friday, Oct. 18, 2013	5	20	45	48	56	1	4	$37.0 Million
Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013	4	23	30	43	50	11	4	$29.0 Million
Friday, Oct. 11, 2013	3	27	37	45	48	46	4	$22.0 Million
Tuesday, Oct. 08, 2013	6	15	19	23	40	5	3	$14.0 Million
Friday, Oct. 04, 2013	4	16	24	25	44	5	3	$12.0 Million
Tuesday, Oct. 01, 2013	7	10	30	37	53	1	3	$189.0 Million
Friday, Sept. 27, 2013	9	23	27	49	51	38	2	$173.0 Million
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013	4	11	32	39	40	33	3	$160.0 Million
Friday, Sept. 20, 2013	1	15	20	21	47	34	2	$145.0 Million
Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013	6	15	27	31	39	25	2	$130.0 Million
Friday, Sept. 13, 2013	9	22	28	48	54	8	4	$119.0 Million
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013	2	12	18	54	56	1	3	$106.0 Million
Friday, Sept. 06, 2013	2	16	17	22	41	31	4	$95.0 Million
Tuesday, Sep. 03, 2013	4	13	14	28	41	28	3	$85.0 Million
Friday, Aug. 30, 2013	6	19	24	43	44	33	2	$77.0 Million
Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013	4	7	30	36	38	38	4	$69.0 Million
Friday, Aug. 23, 2013	1	9	17	20	53	14	4	$60.0 Million
Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013	13	28	35	38	41	33	3	$51.0 Million
Friday, Aug. 16, 2013	7	13	26	36	46	37	4	$43.0 Million
Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013	2	31	32	37	41	40	4	$36.0 Million
Friday, Aug. 09, 2013	11	20	30	34	38	12	3	$28.0 Million
Tuesday, Aug. 06, 2013	1	11	16	51	55	41	3	$20.0 Million
Friday, Aug. 02, 2013	8	21	23	25	39	4	2	$13.0 Million
Tuesday, July 30, 2013	25	27	36	42	44	39	3	$12.0 Million
Friday, July 26, 2013	4	22	23	27	38	42	4	$19.0 Million
Tuesday, July 23, 2013	25	32	35	50	51	46	3	$13.0 Million
Friday, July 19, 2013	16	20	24	39	42	46	3	$12.0 Million
Tuesday, July 16, 2013	10	14	21	40	53	20	2	$20.0 Million
Friday, July 12, 2013	4	5	25	27	51	10	3	$13.0 Million
Tuesday, July 09, 2013	3	21	43	45	48	14	2	$12.0 Million
Friday, July 05, 2013	2	23	41	47	54	42	4	$79.0 Million
Tuesday, July 02, 2013	36	42	51	52	53	40	4	$70.0 Million
Friday, June 28, 2013	8	15	35	46	52	38	4	$61.0 Million
Tuesday, June 25, 2013	3	5	28	33	51	16	2	$52.0 Million
Friday, June 21, 2013	3	14	17	40	50	3	3	$44.0 Million
Tuesday, June 18, 2013	6	17	34	40	48	30	2	$36.0 Million
Friday, June 14, 2013	2	5	31	33	34	20	4	$29.0 Million
Tuesday, June 11, 2013	15	40	45	50	53	28	4	$21.0 Million
Friday, June 07, 2013	1	10	37	48	55	21	4	$14.0 Million
Tuesday, June 04, 2013	10	11	12	20	55	19	3	$12.0 Million
Friday, May 31, 2013	2	20	26	44	46	26	3	$30.0 Million
Tuesday, May 28, 2013	4	12	25	32	54	36	4	$23.0 Million
Friday, May 24, 2013	4	5	16	18	53	28	4	$15.0 Million
Tuesday, May 21, 2013	2	15	17	48	55	11	4	$12.0 Million
Friday, May 17, 2013	11	15	35	43	49	41	4	$190.0 Million
Tuesday, May 14, 2013	6	10	12	28	32	38	4	$170.0 Million
Friday, May 10, 2013	1	19	20	39	49	28	4	$154.0 Million
Tuesday, May 07, 2013	1	6	13	20	51	31	4	$139.0 Million
Friday, May 03, 2013	2	20	34	42	54	39	2	$126.0 Million
Tuesday, April 30, 2013	21	30	34	39	49	43	3	$114.0 Million
Friday, April 26, 2013	17	42	49	54	55	31	4	$103.0 Million
Tuesday, April 23, 2013	9	21	22	32	50	10	3	$92.0 Million
Friday, April 19, 2013	6	8	12	22	43	28	4	$83.0 Million
Tuesday, April 16, 2013	2	5	15	18	39	42	2	$74.0 Million
Friday, April 12, 2013	1	10	13	19	21	28	3	$66.0 Million
Tuesday, April 09, 2013	17	30	41	48	54	13	4	$56.0 Million
Friday, April 05, 2013	8	15	23	36	41	5	3	$50.0 Million
Tuesday, April 02, 2013	7	10	14	40	47	34	4	$42.0 Million
Friday, Mar. 29, 2013	25	31	36	46	53	21	4	$34.0 Million
Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2013	20	33	46	49	51	46	4	$26.0 Million
Friday, Mar. 22, 2013	14	27	34	37	41	38	4	$20.0 Million
Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2013	3	6	14	21	37	35	3	$13.0 Million
Friday, Mar. 15, 2013	4	8	17	22	32	8	2	$12.0 Million
Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2013	9	12	19	20	30	39	4	$41.0 Million
Friday, Mar. 08, 2013	4	11	25	34	35	44	4	$33.0 Million
Tuesday, Mar. 05, 2013	6	20	39	41	46	42	3	$26.0 Million
Friday, Mar. 01, 2013	17	30	38	43	51	20	4	$19.0 Million
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013	6	7	13	15	43	7	4	$13.0 Million
Friday, Feb. 22, 2013	9	13	24	38	49	30	3	$12.0 Million
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013	1	15	19	30	56	28	3	$26.0 Million
Friday, Feb. 15, 2013	11	35	41	42	44	42	4	$20.0 Million
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013	9	22	32	38	55	44	3	$13.0 Million
Friday, Feb. 08, 2013	6	15	20	39	50	5	4	$12.0 Million
Tuesday, Feb. 05, 2013	2	5	10	26	44	46	4	$19.0 Million
Friday, Feb. 01, 2013	1	30	32	40	41	17	3	$13.0 Million
Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013	8	12	27	46	47	6	3	$12.0 Million
Friday, January 25, 2013	11	12	17	31	48	1	4	$89.0 Million
Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013	7	11	16	39	54	13	3	$80.0 Million
Friday, Jan. 18, 2013	8	18	25	42	49	14	3	$70.0 Million
Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013	1	6	12	19	41	14	4	$62.0 Million
Friday, Jan. 11, 2013	24	29	30	34	56	1	4	$55.0 Million
Tuesday, Jan. 08, 2013	3	20	21	38	42	19	4	$47.0 Million
Friday, Jan. 04, 2013	1	2	23	25	55	39	4	$39.0 Million
Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2013	4	11	21	25	44	29	4	$30.0 Million
Friday, Dec. 28, 2012	10	13	32	40	41	32	4	$25.0 Million
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012	2	3	18	34	48	36	4	$18.0 Million
Friday, Dec. 21, 2012	3	18	32	41	56	19	3	$12.0 Million
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012	1	6	7	18	29	16	3	$12.0 Million

---

Note:

Holiday skating next to Omaha's Old Market

Every year, food giant ConAgra constructs a free skating rink downtown, especially popular as cheap family entertainment, and every year, Berkshire-Hathaway, Omaha's richest company, doesn't. Interestingly, ConAgra's rating from America's biggest gay rights organization, HRC, is 95% and Berkshire Hathaway's is, um, zero. AKSARBENT unilaterally declares this anecdotal evidence to be incontrovertible proof that what's good for queers is good for the rest of America.

Marion Co., Florida corrections officer arrested after slamming DUI suspect's head against concrete wall

Officer Charles Broaderick, now on unpaid leave, spent 13 minutes behind bars and was not charged with aggravated assault. He dubiously accused the man in custody of spitting before bloodying the wall with his head. Other officers accused the suspect of throwing stuff at them, which would have been extraordinary, considering he was handcuffed.

The Omaha World-Herald is really, really fed up with the Levering family

The article below is only the first of three, although today's (Tuesday's) edition notes that the third installment will not be published until later in the week. Perhaps the paper has heard from the attorneys of those Leverings who have never committed any crimes.
     Although the Herald only published the family's criminal history for the last 34 years, it chronicled the family's genealogy back to the 19th century.

Photos: world-wide reaction to India's recriminalization of homosexuality

Buzzfeed has published almost 100 pictures from around the the world. Heterosexual supremacists in the U.S. are, of course, overjoyed.

ACLU: The NSA is coming to town

Courtesy of all its little helpers, like Sens. Deb Fischer and Mike Johanns.

McDonald's coffee case award became a right-wing cautionary tale about out-of-control juries. A false one

EVIL cameras get even more diabolical

An EVIL camera is an industry class: Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens. In other words, mirror-less (i.e., non-DSLR) but able to accommodate different lenses.
     Sony's new Alpha 3000 (about the cheapest camera with a APS-C sized sensor that you can buy) is such a camera, but with an unusual feature: its face detection option can be prioritized — a sinister (but fun!) twist from a company which knows all about how to be diabolical.
     From the manual:

So now you can now demote any relative you dislike to a blur at holiday gatherings without indiscriminately drinking yourself into a stupor — and later, if anyone asks, you can truthfully, if disingenuously, blame the camera.

Sports director of Kansas City NBC affiliate calls KU men's basketball team 'Gayhawks', then denies using 'derogatory' term; station backs him

KSHB's sports director, Jack Harry, was already widely reviled in the Kansas City area for favoring Missouri teams over Kansas teams. Hundreds of comments to the station's facebook page revealed little confidence in either Harry's or the station's denial of the obvious. So far, the station doesn't seem to be removing the angry commentary, of which there is a lot.
 
UPDATE: The station's statement, dated 12/9/2013, and accompanying comments have disappeared from KSHB's facebook page.

American Family Association's dimbulb radio host, ideological con artist Bryan Fischer, wants US to recriminalize homosexual behavior like India just did, in order to discourage it

Keller and Beecham in Oz: Prison discourages homosexuality!

Tupelo, Mississippi's American Family Association's chief troll Director of Issue Analysis is Bryan Fischer, the host of the multimillion dollar Christian racket's Focal Point radio program, heard on low power radio stations in places like Hubbard and Valentine, Nebraska and Burlington, Iowa where listeners evidently eat up Fischer's disingenuous, low-rent historical fabrications, like his recent insinuation that Indians had a say in a British colonial law (prohibiting homosexual behavior) that was forced on them.
     Some real history about Britain's criminalization of homosexual behavior:

     The law that India’s supreme court just upheld is one of the most resilient relics of the British Empire. Known as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, it imposed Victorian values on what colonial rulers viewed as unpardonable tolerance toward homosexuality throughout their empire.
     Section 377 originated from a 1536 English law instituted by Henry VIII. Legally speaking, it shifted the law from church courts to secular ones. In practice, it let Henry accuse Catholics of rampant sodomy, sullying the Papacy’s divine authority, argues Sanders. That turned out to be sufficient pretext for Henry to justify seizing monastic properties, claiming a huge portion of England’s landed wealth for the state. 

Uber-homophobe, 44-year-old Nebraska AG, Jon Bruning, has cancer

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, who once compared marriage equality to a man wanting to marry a chair or his pet and who had legislation introduced making it a felony for a person diagnosed with HIV to sneeze in the direction of a cop, will have eight inches of his colon removed today in an effort to arrest his cancer. The Omaha World-Herald says he will be hospitalized for four to seven days but intends to continue to seek reelection in 2014.

Bruning said he had visited a doctor before Thanksgiving after choking on some food. He suspected acid reflux, a disease in which stomach acids churn up into the esophagus, but the physician suggested he also undergo a colonoscopy.

Below: video of Bruning insinuating that an opponent, former Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg (in 2012's GOP Nebraska Senate primary that both lost to Deb Fischer) was a pedophile. Stenberg's campaign twitter bot had asked to "follow" Bruning's 14-year-old daughter. At the time Bruning's own campaign twitter account was also following at least one 16-year-old girl.