Click on the pic to enlarge.
From HappyPlace.com
Another school shooting – this time in California
A Taft, Calif., school teacher and a campus supervisor talked a shooter into surrender on Thursday, the AP reports.
At least two people were shot – one was airlifted to Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, Calif. – and the suspect is reportedly in custody.
Authorities described the shooter as a 16-year-old student who attended the high school. He was armed with a 12 gauge shotgun.
Since 1982, there have been 62 mass shootings in America. Twenty-five of them occurred since 2006, with seven in 2012.
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Justin Timberlake is “ready” – to release new music
Justin Timberlake released this video today to explain his absence from the recording studio and also to announce that he is set to record a new Timbaland-produced album, and that the first single, featuring Jay-Z and Beyoncé, will be released on Monday.
Excited?
Wondering if this might push the “other” Justin (Beiber) to the sidelines a bit?
We shall see.
Quote of the day: SALTS
Mayor Cory Booker: 1992 Op-Ed chronicles his journey from homophobe to LGBT ally
Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, while attending Stanford University, wrote an op-ed for the student newspaper back in 1992 which chronicled his evolution from casual homophobe to gay rights ally.
The essay shares his “aha” moment about homosexuality & acceptance, and shows why he’s become one of brightest young stars of the Democratic Party.
Click on the pic above to read. The text of the column is also at the link.
(via JMG)
Anti-gay pastor removed from inaugural program
Jonathan Karl, from ABC News, just tweeted that the White House has removed anti-gay Rev. Louis Giglio from the inaugural program after it was discovered that he has delivered anti-gay sermons in the past.
Karl reported that an inaugural source said “Giglio pulled himself out when he realized this was going to be a distraction.”
Think Progress has a statement from Giglio:
Due to a message of mine that has surfaced from 15-20 years ago, it is likely that my participation, and the prayer I would offer, will be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration. Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ.
Neither I, nor our team, feel it best serves the core message and goals we are seeking to accomplish to be in a fight on an issue not of our choosing, thus I respectfully withdraw my acceptance of the President’s invitation. I will continue to pray regularly for the President, and urge the nation to do so. I will most certainly pray for him on Inauguration Day. Our nation is deeply divided and hurting, and more than ever need God’s grace and mercy in our time of need.
Snake on a plane – for real
Gawker reports that a Quantas flight recently had a stowaway on the wing of the plane – a 10 foot python.
Eek!
NOM’s Brian Brown loses his sh*t over Illinois GOP leader backing marriage equality
“Brady has betrayed us, betrayed his party, misrepresented “key Republican values,” and insulted conservative voters in Illinois and across America who deserve leaders who refuse to sell out on such a fundamental and crucial issue like the defense of marriage, children and family. The future of marriage in Illinois demands that Brady be replaced immediately with a brave pro-marriage individual who will fight back against the out-of-state liberal activists now attempting to impose gay marriage on the Land of Lincoln without the will or consent of the we the people. Tell the Illinois GOP today that Pat Brady must go, and that it is time for the party to reinforce real ‘key Republican values’ — marriage and family, the well-being of children, the rule of law, and the rights of voters like you and me.” – National Organization for Marriage leader Brian Brown
What I find rich in Brian’s statement is HE represents “out-of-state” conservative activists who spend thousands of dollars trying to impose THEIR will on local politics.
Brian – conservatives scream that marriage is a “states rights” issue. How about you stay in YOUR state and advocate there?
TV ad demonstrates why “faggot” is unacceptable
The No Homophobes Campaign recently released a television ad meant to counter the still offense but often used word “faggot.”
From PinkNews: The TV commercial bleeps over obviously unacceptable swearwords and other forms of abuse until a woman says “gay faggot”. The advert then asks “when will homophobic language be unacceptable too?”
Last year the campaign published Twitter tracking figures to show that the word “faggot” was used more than 2.5 million times between July and September 2012. In just one week, it was in 219,000 tweets.
Dr Kristopher Wells, the University of Albertaʼs Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services associate director said: “We no longer tolerate racist language, weʼre getting better at dealing with sexist language, but sadly we still see and hear homophobic and transphobic language in our society.”
Marine Corps instructs spouses club to admit same-sex spouses
Responding to an ongoing controversy at Fort Bragg, the Marine Corps today issued a directive that on-base “spouses clubs” must admit the husbands and wives of gay service members.
The Marine Corps commandant’s Staff Judge Advocate, in an e-mail to legal offices throughout the corps, said the Fort Bragg events had “caused quite a stir” and cautioned, “We do not want a story like this developing in our backyard.” The memo noted that spouses clubs and various other private institutions are allowed to operate on bases only if they adhere to a non-discrimination policy encompassing race, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin.
The email goes on to say “We would interpret a spouses club’s decision to exclude a same-sex spouse as sexual discrimination because the exclusion was based upon the spouse’s sex.” (Emphasis mine).
The memo notes ongoing controversy surrounding a spouses club at the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Last month, Ashley Broadway was refused membership to the spouses club because she is ineligible to receive a military ID card under Pentagon regulations that refuse to recognize her marriage to another woman, Lt. Col. Heather Mack.
More at MetroWeekly