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06 Dec 2010 20:06

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U.S.: Ninth Circuit leaning towards Prop. 8 repeal – and a narrow decision

  • Do we have to reach that point?
  • Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt • Suggesting that the court may not decide the Prop. 8 case with a broad brush, and may choose a more narrow route instead. It seems that the court in general is favoring gay-marriage supporters, with the court’s most conservative judge, N. Randy Smith, noting that the blockage of marriage seems arbitrary, considering that gays have equal rights in almost every other point of Californian life. “What is the rational basis for that?,” he asked. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2010 22:12

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U.S.: Most soldiers OK with gays openly serving, but many aren’t

  • 30% of military think gay soldiers will make it harder to work
  • 43% of Marines think that openly gay soldiers could be a distraction
  • 48% of Army combat units think it’ll have a negative effect on their job
  • 58% of Marine combat units feel the same way about the thang source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Nov 2010 01:30

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Politics: Max Headroom: John McCain all over place with DADT rhetoric

  • Was Obama an inexperienced politician when he said he’d repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t tell”? Well, he ran a better campaign than this dude back in 2008. (Thought we’d forget that, didn’t you?) Anyway, John McCain was on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday trying to explain how the current gays in the military policy makes sense, in a way that’s giving Candy Crowley some real meat to chew upon. Meanwhile, large chunks of Americans think the policy should be repealed. And that includes this guy’s wife.
  • See, I’m not like Obama at all! The storyline we’re expecting to see in the next few months goes like this: Democratic senators, like Claire McCaskill, will be falling over themselves to differentiate themselves from the president. Don’t expect her to have a fat lip from playing basketball anytime soon.
  • Soft Black Friday story ruined It seems like your normal mid-afternoon CNN story that you can completely ignore until around the 45-second mark, when the anti-fur protesters show up. Then it gets interesting. Hey protesters: People who watch CNN in the daytime don’t buy fur; they can’t afford it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Nov 2010 11:53

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Politics: Texas gets its first gay marriage, with the help of Skype

  • This is how you get around gay-marriage laws. Mark Reed and Dante Walkup have long been in a committed relationship, and decided that they wanted to get married. Problem is, they live in Texas. So, here’s what they did: They had their ceremony in Dallas, but back in marriage-legal DC, they had marriage-equality activist Sheila Alexander-Reid officiate the wedding over Skype. (They got their marriage license ahead of time.) So they got married among friends, while still obeying local laws. Clever. Hopefully their union isn’t challenged. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Nov 2010 15:25

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U.S.: Supreme Court: “Don’t ask” stays put in the military for now

  • sigh … “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was blocked in a lower court, only to be temporarily allowed again by a federal appeals court.
  • … sigh It was appealed to the Supreme Court, where they kept the ban intact while the lower courts duke it out. Wait it out, kids. source
  • » What happens next: The policy will stay in place until at least mid-March, when a federal appeals court decides what happens next. A lot suggests it won’t hold water – for example, a Defense Department panel recently found that the policy could be reversed with little to no negative effect on troops, which goes against most arguments being made by opponents of “don’t ask.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Nov 2010 10:25

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Politics: Cindy McCain calls out hubby John in latest NOH8 campaign video

  • John McCain may want to delay DADT’s repeal, but his wife doesn’t feel quite the same way. Cindy McCain, who has appeared in photos for the pro-gay-marriage NOH8 Campaign in the past, shows up in this latest anti-gay-bullying clip saying this: “Our political and religious leaders tell LGBT youth that they have no future … They can’t serve our country openly … Our government treats the LGBT community like second-class citizens, why shouldn’t [the bullies]?” Her husband led the filibuster against “don’t ask, don’t tell,” so she’s literally calling out her husband in the clip. He also ran on an anti-gay-marriage platform back in 2008. If anyone else thinks that’s incredibly ballsy, raise your hand. *raises hand* source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Nov 2010 11:52

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Politics: Republicans benefited from Democrats’ inaction on gay rights

  • 31% of gays went GOP, a big increase from 2008 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

01 Nov 2010 21:25

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U.S.: Will “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” soften during the appeals process?

  • NO “don’t ask” won’t go away while Obama defends it source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Oct 2010 21:44

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Politics: Obama’s record on gay rights pretty crappy so far, in our book

  • Obama, Obama, Obama … sigh. Look, we know you have the military in your ear. We know that the elections are coming up. We know that your party is probably going to lose a lot of seats come November. But the way you’ve handled this “don’t ask, don’t tell” mess – and gay rights in general – is pretty sad. It’s like you’re paying lip service to the idea of expanding gay rights while heading the opposite direction when the opportunity arises. Your administration’s quick appeal of a lower court’s decision repealing DADT was like dumping water all over many of your supporters. Sure, you can go on about them being unable to see the forest for the trees, but you don’t even seem to be interested in the forest at this point. And don’t even get us started on the fact that you don’t support gay marriage. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Oct 2010 11:20

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U.S.: Oh yeah: Boy Scouts still legally allowed “Don’t Ask” policies

  • Don’t ask, don’t tell – Boy Scouts edition: Jon Langbert, the father of a 9-year-old Cub Scout and a leader within his local chapter, was removed from the position because he’s gay. Apparently, other members of the Dallas, Texas chapter complained, and the complaints eventually got really loud. The organization, by the way, does not allow gays or atheists to be in leadership positions, but says it would have let Langbert stay in his position if he chose not to publicize it. The Supreme Court, by the way, allowed this in a 2000 court decision. With all the attention that gay suicides are getting right now, we have a feeling that this will eventually become a tough position for the organization to hold onto culturally. (BTW, we were in scouting as kids.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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