Author: Randy Slovacek

Posted on

Anti-gay website reporter interrupts President Obama during press conference

Today, during President Obama’s speech on immigration, a reporter rudely interrupted the president.

The “reporter” was Neil Munro from the anti-gay Daily Caller, the teabagger site founded by Tucker Carlson.

Obama properly smacked him down, but let’s hope Press Secretary Jay Carney is booting Munro from the White House press corps right now.

For those who may not know, it is customary for the President of the United States to finish comments before taking questions.

I think this was a planned “moment” to get attention for Tucker Carlson’s little website. Whatever, it is rude to interrupt the President while speaking. Especially when you are the press. The press is meant to report the news, not make it.

UPDATE: The “reporter” says he had no intention of interrupting the President – he thought he was done.  “I timed the question believing the president was closing his remarks, because naturally I have no intention of interrupting the President of the United States.”  He was about 8 minutes early…

However, Brianna Keilar of CNN says “I was two people over from Neil Munro. No one thought the president was wrapping up. I give that statement a great big Cow Pie Award.”

Posted on

A wedding in Iowa…

Good As You notes:

“It’s just an army man, Paul, and his love, David, in a non-church setting, entering into a *civil* marriage contract in the state of Iowa.  This is what we equal rights activists are fighting to achieve in all states and federally, even as our opposition continues to throw religious asides our way.”

Now – anyone threatened here? Didn’t think so…

I think this is beautiful. Reminds me very much of how Michael and I got married.

Great, fabulous day in my life. I wish Paul and David the very best. Congratulations.

Michael and I getting married in 2003

Posted on

Obama administration stops deporting DREAM Act-Eligible Immigrants

The Obama administration will stop deporting and begin granting work permits to younger illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since led law-abiding lives.

Under the administration plan, illegal immigrants will be immune from deportation if:

• they were brought to the United States before they turned 16
• are younger than 30
• have been in the country for at least five continuous years
• have no criminal history
• graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED or served in the military

They also can apply for a work permit that will be good for two years with no limits on how many times it can be renewed.

The policy will not lead toward citizenship but will remove the threat of deportation and grant the ability to work legally, leaving eligible immigrants able to remain in the United States for extended periods.

Only those individuals who can prove through verifiable documentation that they meet these criteria will be eligible for deferred action.  Individuals will not be eligible if they are not currently in the United States and cannot prove that they have been physically present in the United States for a period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding today’s date.

I personally support this policy change. These kids were brought to the US by family, not by choice. If they fit the above criteria, then they are law abiding people for whom the US is their home. They should be given the opportunity to remain.

Read more at Politico

Posted on

Fifth grader prohibited from giving speech on marriage equality

A Queens, New York fifth-grader named Kameron Slade won a class competition and was slated to deliver a speech as part of a school-wide competition at PS 195.

However, because Kameron’s speech was to be about same-sex marriage, his principal told him he would be removed from the contest if he did not choose a different topic. Here are some excerpts from Kameron’s “inappropriate” speech:

SLADE: Some people are for same-gender marriage, while others are against it. Like President Obama, I believe that all people should have the right to marry whoever they want. Marriage is about love, support, and commitment. So who are we to judge? If we judge people like this, this is a form of prejudice. We must learn to accept all differences.[…]

My mom is very open to me about same-gender marriage. However, some adults may feel uncomfortable and think it’s inappropriate to talk about this to children. I think adults must realize that as children get older, they become aware of these mature issues that are going on in the world. If children read or watch the news, they can learn about things like same-gender marriage, so what’s the point in trying to hide it?

In conclusion, I hope that everyone understands how important it is to respect everyone for who they are. Same-gender marriage is becoming more popular. I believe that same-gender marriage should be accepted worldwide and that parents and teachers should start to discuss these issues without shame to their children.

Some parents agreed with the principal that the topic was an “adult conversation” that didn’t belong in school, but Kameron’s own speech addresses this hollow complaint. In addition to the fact that young people can easily learn about this issue from the President of the United States, many are bound to encounter same-sex families among their friends and classmates. To censor such topics is an attempt to erase gay and lesbian people from communities entirely.

Numerous studies have found that schools are safer for LGBT students when curricula are LGBT-inclusive. Young Slade should be applauded for doing for his peers what his school community refuses to do. Supposedly, he will have the opportunity to give this speech in some sort of different assembly, but in the meantime, he is preparing a speech for the competition about preventing animal cruelty.

(Via ThinkProgress)

Posted on

Canadian health official: Ecstasy is safe to take

The chief health officer of British Columbia said today that ecstasy, or MDMA, is safe for consumption and may not have negative long-term health effects.

HOWEVER – the official, Dr. Perry Kendall, who gave interviews to several Canadian media outlets, wants to be clear about one thing: There is a big difference between pure ecstasy and the stuff that gets cut with other chemicals and makes up the vast majority of what’s sold on the street.

“Unless you are getting it from a psychiatrist in a legitimate clinical trial, at the present time, you can’t guarantee what’s in it, how much there is, or its safety, so I would say, as we have said in the past: Don’t take it,” Kendall told CBC News.

As you might have inferred, ecstasy is indeed being given to volunteers in clinical settings. For that matter, so is ketamine, a club drug also known as “Special K” that’s shown promise in treating severe depression, as NPR’s Jon Hamilton has reported.

Canada has long had a more lenient attitude toward drugs. Vancouver’s city council is currently debating marijuana decriminalization; advocates for decriminalization say the illegal drug trade fuels violence in the city.

Kendall told media outlets that if ecstasy were legalized, it would also take control out of the hands of criminals and give the government the chance to regulate the trade.

Other physicians are exploring the use of MDMA for conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder.

More at NPR

Posted on

Nashville man pretends to be gay for a year to understand impact of gay label

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Nashville resident Timothy Kurek had long understood homosexuality to be sinful, but when a friend was rejected by her family for coming out, he sought to understand how gay people are treated in society through an unusual experiment.

After a full year in which he posed as gay to everyone in his life, he is now writing a book about how much he learned about anti-gay discrimination and stigma.

Today, Kurek explained to MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts that the book is not about what it’s like to be gay, but about how gay people are treated. He said the experience “altered my faith and challenged my beliefs,” apologizing for his past disapproval of homosexuality.

Posted on

Abercrombie Fitch models lip-dub “Call Me Maybe”

In October of 2011, Abercrombie & Fitch discovered Carly Rae’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ and launched the song on its official soundtrack.

To celebrate the song’s Summer popularity, A&F asked its hottest guys from its Flagship stores all around the world to have fun with the song—film it on their phones and to do whatever came naturally…

I can imagine some folks may be tired of the song by now, but I actually still like it. Probably because I never listen to the radio 🙂