Think – the end of CBS’s “Sunday Morning” Show…
I love when it rains in Las Vegas. The world gets a little quiet.
“Pop-up” chapels in Central Park for same-sex weddings
From the Advocate: Twenty-four couples are slated to marry in a pop-up chapel located in New York City’s Central Park on Sunday.
Dese’rae L. Stage and Katie Marks were already planning a wedding in Boston, when the news came that New York may pass a marriage law of its own. They decided to get married in their home state first, before heading north for a bigger ceremony.
“We’ve picked our closest local friends and a couple of friends are coming from Miami to see the ceremony,” Stage told the Village Voice. “And we’re still doing Boston next year, so our parents can come. It was kind of one of those things, to be a part of history…”
One of the Pop Up Chapel’s designs resemble a Hershey’s Kiss, while the other is a rainbow array of ribbons, designed by New York firms Z-A Studio and ICRAVE. One ceremony in the chapels include an officiant, photographer, champagne, and cupcakes.
Rick Santorum tweaks Rick Perry on gay marriage
Rick Santorum, currently running in the back of the pack of contenders for the GOP nomination for President, now says he didn’t compare same sex couples to incest back in 2003. However, just as a reminder, here’s what he said back then:
“The Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery.”
That sounds like a comparison to me.
He says in this clip “States do not have the right to destroy the American family.”
I completely agree. And equal rights for all doesn’t destroy the American family. It strengthens it.
Santorum went on to say, “It’s not fine with me that New York has destroyed marriage, it is not fine with me that New York is setting the template that will cause great division in this country.”
That comment, of course, was a dig at potential competitor Rick Perry, who initially said he supported state’s rights regarding marriage, and was then forced to reiterate his opposition to gay marriage to save face.
Years ago, the conservative stance was gays were promiscuous and were unable to commit to long-term relationships. Now, the position is we shouldn’t have the right to commit and enjoy the same rights as other tax paying citizens.
Santorum says that NY state just “destroyed” marriage.
How? I don’t know. I’ve been in the same relationship for 17 years. I’ve been legally married for almost 8. My marriage hasn’t “destroyed” anything or anyone.
What I do know is a lot of tax paying citizens of NY state just got a little more equal by being allowed to marry the person they love.
Olivia Newton-John speaks out about “fracking”
Olivia Newton-John has spoken out on the issue of “fracking” – the process involves pumping a large volume of water mixed with sand and chemicals into rock to create frissures that allow trapped natural gas to be released.
In her open letter, Newton-John says she is “horrified to learn of the extensive plans for coal-seam gas and shale gas exploration in Australia”.
“The public’s awareness as to what is happening, and the potential consequences to our health and our land, shows that it’s time for some serious inquiries,” the singer wrote.
“Many of my friends and family were not even aware of what was going on until they heard from me,” she said.
While there is a moratorium on fracking in NSW until the end of the year, the industry is set to become a significant contributor to the state’s energy supply, with companies undertaking appraisals in Gunnedah and the Clarence-Moreton basins, home to Newton-John’s Gaia Retreat.
The star is demanding to know evidence that coal-seam gas mining does not pollute drinking water, what chemicals are being used in fracking and why companies are exempt from revealing them.
“Until these questions are answered, I respectfully request a moratorium on the coal-seam gas exploration and mining in Australia until all risks have been fully explored,” she said.
Simple problem solving
And there you have it….
Ben Cohen prepares the launch of his StandUp Foundation website
Ben Cohen gets ready to launch his website for his anti-bullying StandUp Foundation on August 3.
To help raise funds and awareness for the website, the first 500 T-shirt orders will receive a StandUp wristband, and the first 100 orders will receive a photo of him.
🙂
Bipartisan polls show momentum nationwide for same-sex marriage
From LGBTQnation.com: Leading Republican and Democratic pollsters on Wednesday released a new analysis of polling data spanning more than a decade that reveals a dramatic shift in public attitudes on the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
The results show steady growth in support over a 13-year period, with a significant acceleration over the past two years.
This surge reflects evolving positions among every group analyzed, including older Americans and Republicans, groups that historically have been the least supportive of same-sex marriage.
According to the study, support for marriage equality rose about 1% per year over a 13-year period between 1996 and 2009. But in 2010 and 2011, it jumped 5% per year.
Voters under 40 support marriage equality by almost 70 percent, and as young people reach voting age, this rise is expected to continue.
“America’s elected officials are lagging behind the American people, a majority of whom have opened their hearts and changed their minds and now support the freedom to marry with accelerating momentum,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry.
Michele Bachmann refuses to answer questions about family business
Rep. Michele Bachmann steadfastly refused Thursday to answer questions about her family’s business and finances.
The Minnesota Republican faced queries about Marcus Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic that attempts to convert gay patients as well as her own beliefs on sexuality during a luncheon at the National Press Club.
Bachmann, who is campaigning hard ahead of next month’s debate and straw poll in Iowa, has steadfastly refused to discuss the family’s business that has faced criticism from gay rights groups.
She also faced questions about her opposition to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Washington Post reported this week that its analysis of her loan documents suggests her family used those federally subsidized programs in 2008.
“Unlike all of you, who I’m sure paid cash for your homes, there are people out there like myself who actually have to go to a bank to get a mortgage. This is a problem: it’s almost impossible to buy a home in this country today without the federal government being involved,” she said.
“We need to get the federal government out of these programs.”
Bachmann downplayed the catastrophic consequences predicted if lawmakers allow the United States to default on its debts.
Bachmann has vowed to vote against any increase in the debt ceiling and called the deal being negotiated on Capitol Hill as one based on “illusory” and “counterfeit” savings.
The nation faces a Tuesday deadline to increase Washington’s borrowing power to pay its bills. Congressional leaders were working to find a compromise that cuts future spending as a trade-off to avoid a government default that could send world markets crashing and could downgrade the United States’ credit rating.
Bachmann said that would not happen; she offered no specifics to back up that claim.
(source material AP)
Congressman Joe Walsh behind on child support while fighting debt reform
U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh of McHenry owes more than $100,000 in child support and interest to his former wife, she alleges in a Cook County Circuit Court filing.
The dispute, set out in a court filing last December, remains unsettled. Walsh’s ex-wife says he is $117,437 behind in payments.
Walsh, 49-year-old Republican, entered Congress in January, swept into office with help from tea-party activists. He often appears on television demanding the country drastically cut its spending and pay its bills.
Walsh, who lives in McHenry and has remarried, won office in November even after problems surfaced with respect to his financial history. He had a condo in Evanston that he lost to foreclosure and state and federal tax liens, which ultimately were satisfied.
John Coladarci, who represents Laura Walsh, said Thursday that she lives in the Chicago area and is a non-practicing attorney who works for Eli Lilly, the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical firm.
He said she would not be speaking to the press, but noted the money she was seeking from Walsh was important to her.
“Laura needs the money,” Coladarci said. “She’s been scraping by pretty much on her own for years, trying to collect from Joe. It’s been very, very hard to raise three children on one income, as anyone who has done that knows. He hasn’t been particularly helpful in that aspect since 2005.”
The attorney said Walsh owes an additional $9,639 — on top of the child support and interest — which represents his 50 percent share of certain educational, extra-curricular, medical, dental and insurance expenses for the children.
Already, some $2,135 is being taken every month from Walsh’s congressional paychecks so he may meet his ongoing child-support obligations, Coladarci said.
Rank-and-file members of Congress are paid $174,000 a year.
(via Chicago Tribune)
Michele Bachmann dodges yet another question
I’m sorry – I used to be blond before cancer – did she answer the question?