Stopping by The Colbert Report to discuss hosting The Tony Awards for the third time, Neil Patrick Harris is comedy gold with Stephen Colbert. I literally laughed out loud. Enjoy…
A pig, some oatmeal, and the stairs between
Hamlet, the mini-pig, really hates the stairs. But he really loves oatmeal.
Make sure you catch his last step.
Denmark passes marriage equality
Denmark’s Parliament today voted that same-sex couples there can have a full marriage ceremony in church, rather than having truncated, “less-than” ceremonies.
From ABC News:
Denmark’s Parliament has approved a law allowing same-sex couples to get married in formal church weddings instead of the short blessing ceremonies that the state’s Lutheran Church currently offers.
Lawmakers voted 85-24 on Thursday to change Denmark’s marriage laws.
The law takes effect June 15 and will put Denmark on par with countries such as Iceland and Sweden that allow full wedding ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples.
2012 Tony Awards Preview featuring Judith Light, Norm Lewis, Chris Gattelli and more
Listen to internet radio with CandiXRandy on Blog Talk Radio
Tune in to The Candi & Randy Show as we welcome some of this year’s celebrated Tony Award nominees as they discuss the process, success and joys of being a part of the 2011-2012 Broadway theatrical season.
We celebrate the best of Broadway this year by inviting Tony nominated directors, choreographers, actors and composers to talk about their work, nominations and their thoughts on the current Broadway season.
Our guests include Judith Light (Other Desert Cities), Kathleen Marshall (Nice Work If You Can Get It), Norm Lewis (The Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess), Chris Gattelli (Newsies), and Wayne Barker (Peter and the Starcatcher).
ANOTHER federal judge finds DOMA unconstitutional
Another federal judge has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), finding that the law “should not be presumed to be constitutional, and should instead be subject to a heightened form of judicial scrutiny.”
The victory comes in the case of Edie Windsor, who was seeking a refund of the federal estate tax paid by the estate of her late wife. From the ruling:
The Court declares that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional as applied to the Plaintiff. Plaintiff is awarded judgment in the amount of $353,053.00, plus interest and costs allowed by law.
It’s another loss for Paul Clement and House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives (“BLAG”), who had claimed that her homosexuality was a “choice.”
Windsor’s attorneys had argued that “DOMA violates the Equal Protection principles of the U.S. Constitution because it recognizes existing marriages of heterosexual couples, but not of same-sex couples, despite the fact that New York State treats all marriages the same.”
(source)
29% of Republicans believe school boards should be able to fire teachers for being gay
From The New Civil Rights Movement: 29% of Republicans — almost three out of every ten — believe that school boards should be able to fire teachers simply for being gay. 20% of Independents and 16% of Democrats agree, according to a vast new Pew Research Center Values Study.
Overall, 21% of Americans still believe that school boards should be able to fire teachers simply for being gay.
Other demographic breakdowns:
24% of men and 19% of women believe that school boards should be able to fire teachers simply for being gay.
30% of those 65 and older and 23% of those 50 – 64 believe that school boards should be able to fire teachers simply for being gay.
27% of Hispanics, 24% of Blacks, and 20% of whites believe that school boards should be able to fire teachers simply for being gay.
31% of those with a high school diploma or less believe that school boards should be able to fire teachers simply for being gay.
One the positive side, those numbers are about half of what they were a quarter-century ago.
Video: Kellan Lutz shirtless at the beach
The new campaign video for Dylan George and Abbot + Main featuring Kellan Lutz and Kate Upton.
Thank you…
Stock market surges to best day of 2012
Stocks jumped Wednesday, chalking up their strongest day of 2012, as signs of moves in Europe to rescue Spain’s troubled banks sparked a rebound from recent selling.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed with a gain of 287 points. The broader S&P 500 and the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index also rallied strongly.
A gloomy jobs report and signs of a global economic slowdown hammered Wall Street Friday, wiping out the stock market’s gains for 2012. However, Wednesday’s advance lifted stocks back into positive territory for 2012.
Signs of urgent moves in Europe also boosted stocks.
European sources said German and European Union officials sought solutions for Spain’s weakened banks, the latest worry in the fiscally troubled euro zone, although Madrid has not yet requested assistance and is resisting political conditions.
Adding to the slightly more upbeat news on the economy, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book summary that U.S. economic growth picked up over the two prior months and hiring showed signs of a modest increase.
State of California to investigate anti-gay National Organization for Marriage
As a result of complaints by GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, the California Fair Political Practices Commission will investigate NOM for campaign finance violations.
Press release from Fred Karger:
In his sworn complaint of May 17th, Karger alleged that NOM did not report over $340,000 that it raised to pass Proposition 8 four years ago.
California joins the state of Maine which is in its third year of its investigation of NOM, the leading anti-gay marriage organization in the country.
One of the 11 missing contributions was $10,000 from presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s Alabama PAC. In addition to the Romney money there were 10 more contributions NOM did not report, including: $150,000 from Michael Casey of Jamestown, RI, $100,000 from Sean Fiedler of New York, NY and $25,000 from NOM Board member Craig Cardon of Mesa, AZ, a General Authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church).
Anti-gay Washington state activists submit signatures to repeal marriage equality
Today, anti-gay activists in Washington state submitted enough signatures to place the freedom to marry on the November 2012 ballot.
In February, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed a freedom to marry bill into law after it was approved with bipartisan support in the Washington state legislature. The law was scheduled to take effect later this week.
Now, the law will appear on the November ballot in the form of Referendum 74, which asks Washington residents to decide whether or not to uphold the freedom to marry in the state.
The marriage opponents’ drop of 200,000 signatures did not come as a huge surprise in Washington – it was always expected that these activists would obtain the number of signatures required to put marriage to a vote in November.
Last week, a poll out of Washington demonstrated majority support for marriage in the state, with 55 percent saying they believe all loving couples should be allowed to marry. We need to continue growing that majority in preparation for the November election.
(Via Freedom To Marry)