LGBTQ news and entertainment
Terms And Conditions May Apply examines the cost of so-called ‘free’ services and the continuing disappearance of online privacy.
How often do you scroll through a long “disclosure” of legalese and hit “accept?”
People may think they know what they give up when they click ‘I Agree’ on companies like Facebook and Google.
Could be they’re wrong.
Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana introduced (and saw passage) of an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill that allows and protects soldiers to scream and belittle gays in the military along the lines of “you will burn in hell” at gay soldiers based on “conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs.”
It is basically a license to discriminate.
President Obama has threatened to veto the bill if the language is not changed:
“The Administration strongly objects to section 530, which would require the Armed Forces to accommodate, except in cases of military necessity, ‘actions and speech’ reflecting the ‘conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the member,’ the statement read. “By limiting the discretion of commanders to address potentially problematic speech and actions within their units, this provision would have a significant adverse effect on good order, discipline, morale, and mission accomplishment.”
Congressman John Fleming responded to the White House statement:
“President Obama is continuing his war on free speech.
“With the IRS trying to intimidate and silence conservative groups, and the Justice Department digging into the phone records of reporters, it’s no surprise that the president also wants to deny First Amendment rights to our Armed Forces. With its statement, the White House is now endorsing military reprimands of members who keep a Bible on their desk or express a religious belief. That is an outrageous position, but it’s what I’ve come to expect from an administration that is aggressively hostile toward religious beliefs that it deems to be politically incorrect.
“My amendment protects, for our men and women in uniform, a principle enshrined in our Constitution and cherished since our Founding Fathers: the free exercise of one’s religious beliefs, including expressions of one’s belief.
“It has bipartisan support and takes into account the unique context of military service, accommodating the beliefs of our service members, while not jeopardizing military necessity. We need to protect the free speech of the brave warriors who fight to safeguard our liberties, and I hope Congress will reject this blatant White House attack on religious freedom.”
(Via Washington Blade)
Editorial from the New York Times:
A measure to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity or expression — the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Senator Daniel Squadron — passed the Democratic-led Assembly in April for the sixth time. There is a good chance it would also pass the Senate, with nearly all Democrats and some Republicans voting in favor. The challenge is getting the bill to the floor for an up-or-down vote before the end of the legislative session, scheduled on June 20.
Senator Jeffrey Klein, the Democratic leader in the Senate’s coalition leadership, must insist on a vote. He should tell Senator Dean Skelos, the coalition’s Republican leader, that bottling up bills like this one is not part of their power-sharing deal. It would help if Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a supporter of the bill, would commit political capital to enacting the legislation before the session ends. Sixteen states — including New Jersey and Connecticut — and the District of Columbia have enacted anti-discrimination protections covering transgender people. New York should not lag on this important civil rights issue.
New video from Freedom to Marry:
The freedom to marry is not a partisan value and is consistent with basic conservative values of responsibility and community, limited government and individual freedom.
Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry is a campaign to highlight and build support for the freedom to marry among young conservatives across America. They represent the rapidly growing numbers of young conservatives across the country that agree all Americans should be able to share in the freedom to marry.
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) apologized today after offensive statements on his teenage son’s social media accounts were uncovered by Buzzfeed.
Sen. Jeff Flake’s high school-aged son Tanner used twitter to threaten the “faggot” who stole his bike that he “will find you, and … will beat the crap out of you,” joked about an acquaintance stealing one-liners because he’s Jewish, and went by the name “n1ggerkiller” in an online game.
Another message said “I’m down to own some faggots.”
Said Flake to Buzzfeed:
“I’m very disappointed in my teenage son’s words, and I sincerely apologize for the insensitivity. This language is unacceptable, anywhere. Needless to say, I’ve already spoken with him about this, he has apologized, and I apologize as well.”
Flake’s son’s YouTube comments contain the same slurs, and also “called Mexicans the ‘scum of the Earth’ and on several occasions bragged that his father is a member of Congress. Here are a few more samples of Tanner Flakes YouTube comments:
“you faggot retard pussy piece of crap i hope you die in a hole slowly and painfully”
“you gay fag ni**er go shoot yourself because no body likes you”
“Mexicans are the scum of the earth.”
“Then some ni**er started rapping and I looked at her album art and saw that it was Flo Rida.”
“IT’S THE NI**ER FAMILY!!!!”
“Stupid little ni**er”
“go die in a hole you stupid ni**er”
“The black guy always fails first…”
“Yes, because one white dude goes nuts. No. Black people do crap like this all of the time.”
“When he called himself a cheap jew i loled hard”
Find more examples over on Buzzfeed.
Wolverine faces his ultimate nemesis – and tests of his physical, emotional, and mortal limits – in a life-changing voyage to modern-day Japan.
I love super-hero movies! Squee!!!
ANNND – Hugh Jackman isn’t so hard to look at for a couple of hours, either…
Opens July 25, 2013.
You may not want to eat a hot dog while watching this.
But then you probably knew something was up with hot dogs, right?
If this is all true – and I buy that it is – it’s kind of messed up.
(via Buzzfeed)
Michael Henry & Justin Robinett create a new take on Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”.
Cool sound, guys.
AND – this video was shot with a handheld Cannon 60D by Adam Paul Stone in one complete shot.
(h/t Towleroad)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D – VT), has filed an amendment to the ‘Gang of Eight’ immigration bill that would allow the spouses of gay and lesbian U.S. citizens to become permanent residents according to POLITICO.
Last month, Leahy withdrew the measure in committee, after an emotional debate during the committee markup, after several Democrats said they would vote against his amendment in order to preserve the overall bill.
Now, Sen. Leahy is determined to at least get a vote on his amendment
“Seeking equal protection under our laws for the LGBT community is the right thing to do,” Leahy said in a statement Tuesday. “I withheld my anti-discrimination amendment during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup. As the entire Senate turns to debate the immigration bill, the fight for equality must go on.”
Chances are slim to none that this will end up being a part of the “comprehensive immigration reform.” BUT thank you Sen. Leahy for stepping up and at least being heard.
I think Leahy rocks. And Vermont must be very proud to have him as their Senator.
Right Wing Watch tips us to this very CRYPTIC “whistleblower” warning Glenn Beck made today on his radio show:
So we are a little skeptical of the promise that he made at the top of his radio broadcast today that within the next twenty four hours, his The Blaze network will break a story that is going to rock the nation and take down the entire power structure.
All Beck would say is that there is a whistleblower who has handed over just one document to The Blaze, but “this one document would take down pretty much the whole power structure, pretty much everything.” But this whistleblower is refusing to come forward until he can appear on television in front of Congress out of fear that he will otherwise be killed.
“We are going to be greatly divided as a nation,” Beck warned, “in the next ten days and you are going to witness things in American history that have never been witnessed before.”