Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Vikings Asst Coach thinks Chris Kluwe’s gay activism is “getting old”

Chr_kluwe 

Minnesota Vikings Assistant Coach Mike Priefer tells the AP that punter Chris Kluwe’s activism on gay rights and other issues is “getting old” and it’s time to concentrate on football:

The Vikings have generally stood behind their renaissance man, rarely getting in the way when he has tried to use his platform to raise awareness to issues away from the field. Kluwe became an important and high-profile advocate for gay marriage during the election. He’s also addressed what he sees as a problem the NFL has with drunken driving in the wake of Dallas Cowboys player Jerry Brown’s death and criticized voters for not putting a punter into the hall.

With the Vikings (7-6) trying to chase a playoff spot in the final three games of the season, Priefer thinks it’s time for Kluwe to cool it with the activism and concentrate on his job.

“To me, it’s getting old,” Priefer said. “He’s got to focus on punting and holding.”

(source)

Posted on

Illinois: Possible marriage equality vote in January lame duck session

Illinois may see a vote in the state legislature on marriage equality in the upcoming lame duck session this January.

From Chicago Business:

After counting heads and consulting with legislative leaders, the chief sponsors of a bill to permit same-sex couples to get married in the state this morning disclosed they intend to push for a vote in the General Assembly’s lame-duck session, which will occur over two weeks just after New Year’s.

And, in an indication of how big a campaign the pro side is launching, they’ve hired the firm founded by top presidential adviser David Axelrod to help them with media, organization and outreach to potential supporters, including corporate officials.

Chief Senate sponsor Sen. Heather Steans said, “We think we can get this done in January, while Rep. Greg Harris, lead advocate of the bill in the state house, concurred, “The timing is right for us to push this… Folks are seeing what’s going on around the country.”

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, as we know, is on board. “I hope that bill goes forward,” he said earlier this week. “It’s the House that probably the key arena at this time, and I think we’ll see how the members look at that issue. They should study it carefully and vote their conscience.”

(source)

Posted on

Survey: “Let me” gets more support than “Give me”

A new survey of voters in Washington, where marriage equality just passed the ballot box and is already in full swing, again shows that age, party affiliation and religious attendance all impact LGBT support in predictable ways.

Younger voters prefer equality, conservatives and those who attend more religious services do not. But the survey, put out by centrist Democratic group Third Way, also shows that the framing of the issue – rights versus loving commitment – impacts support and opposition.

From Frank Bruni’s summation of the report:

…Among voters who saw the desire by gays and lesbians to be legally wedded as a bid primarily for the rights and protections that heterosexual couples have, same-sex marriage was a loser. Only 26 percent of them voted for its legalization, while 74 percent voted against.

But among voters who believed that gays and lesbians were chiefly interested in being able to pledge the fullest and most public commitment possible to their partners, same-sex marriage was a huge, huge winner. Eighty-five percent of those voters supported it, while only 15 percent opposed it.

When an initiative in this country is framed or understood largely as an attempt by a given constituency to get more, the opposition to it is frequently bolstered, the resistance strengthened. Even if the constituency is trying to right a wrong or rectify a disadvantage.

“Give me” can be a risky approach. “Let me” is often a better one…

Another recent Third Way survey, released in October, showed that among national polls, support for marriage equality jumped 16 points between 2004 and 2011, and that support was spread across all demographics, so clearly LGBT activists and their allies are saying something right.

Posted on

Scotland: Marriage equality by 2013?

The Scottish government has introduced a draft version of its marriage equality bill.  Via Gay Star News:

The draft legislation will allow same-sex marriage in Scotland and give all religious and belief bodies (for example Humanist) the right to conduct same-sex marriages, if they wish to do so. The bill will also remove the requirement on a married or civil partnered transgender person to divorce before obtaining full Gender Recognition. In addition the bill will introduce religious and belief ceremonies for civil partnerships. Finally, the bill will allow civil marriages to take place anywhere a couple and their registrar choose. The Scottish government will now be consulting on the implementation of the draft bill, including the details of the legislation and proposals relating to religious bodies and celebrants, freedom of speech, education and employment. Following the close of the public consultation on 20 March, the Scottish government will make any changes to the bill that are considered necessary, then introduce the bill for a vote into the Scottish parliament.

The bill may become law by the end of 2013.

Posted on

AMAZING RACE contestants to 12 year old – “It Gets Better”

Amazing Race winners The Beekman Boys says they’ve received more than 8,000 letters of congratulations from various fans. One of them happened to be from a woman who says her son Colin is gay and bullied:

“I’m sure you guys are way too busy to read this, but I want you to know how inspirational you two are to my 12 year old son. He is gay and is dealing with bullying and harassment in middle school. It’s so hard to see him going through this, and sometimes the “It Gets Better” message is lost on a 12 year old who feels that middle school will never end…We cheered you on every Sunday night and agonized every time you had difficulties. My son was so incredibly thrilled when you two won last night (as was I!). Thank you for helping him see that not only DOES it get better, it gets AMAZING.” 

In response, Brent and Josh asked each of the teams on this year’s show to send a message of support to Colin, and all of them did so.

Team Chippendales of Amazing Race – Jaymes Vaughan & James Davis
Posted on

Susan Rice steps aside as Secretary of State possibility

Responding to the continuing assault upon her handling of the Libyan embassy attack, UN Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

“I am fully confident that I could serve our country ably and effectively in that role,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Obama today. “However, if nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly – to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities.” “That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country,” she added.

Republican Sens. John McCain, Kelly Ayotte and Lindsey Graham have been particularly voracious in their attacks on Rice, particularly her handling of the attack on the States’ embassy in Benghazi, an attack that left U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others dead.

Posted on

Golden Globe nominations

Hollywood’s awards season is now underway, and the Hollywood Foreign Press starts the party by announcing its Golden Globe nominations for the “best of”  2012 crop.

Here’s the list of nominations:

NOMINEES

Movies
Best Picture, Drama:
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy:
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
“Les Misérables”
“Moonrise Kindgom”
“Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
“Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Director:
Ben Affleck, “Argo”
Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”
Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”

Best Actress, Drama:
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Marian Cotillard, “Rust and Bone”
Helen Mirren, “Hitchcock”
Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”
Rachel Weisz, “The Deep Blue Sea”

Best Actor, Drama:
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
Richard Gere, “Arbitrage”
John Hawkes, “The Sessions”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy:
Jack Black, “Bernie”
Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Misérables ”
Ewan MCGregor, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
Bill Murray, “Hyde Park on Hudson”

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy:
Emily Blunt, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
Judi Dench, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Maggie Smith, “Quartet”
Meryl Streep, “Hope Springs”

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, “The Master”
Sally Field, “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables ”
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Nicole Kidman, “The Paperboy”

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin, “Argo”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Django Unchained”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”

Best Screenplay:
Mark Boal, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Tony Kushner, “Lincoln”
David O’Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”
Chris Terrio, “Argo”

Best Foreign Language Film:
“Amour”
“A Royal Affair”
“The Intouchables”
“Kon-Tiki”
“Rust and Bone”

Best Animated Feature:
“Rise of the Guardians”
“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“Hotel Transylvania”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

Television:
Best Television Comedy or Musical:
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Episodes”
“Girls”
“Modern Family”
“Smash”

Best Television Drama:
“Breaking Bad”
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Downton Abbey”
“Homeland”
“The Newsroom”

Best Actress, Television Drama:
Connie Britton, “Nashville”
Glenn Close, “Damages”
Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Michelle Dockery, “Downton Abbey”
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”

Best Actor, Television Drama:
Best Actor, TV Drama Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Jeff Daniels, “The Newsroom”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Damian Lewis, “Homeland”

Best Miniseries or Television Movie:
“Game Change”
“The Girl”
“Hatfields & McCoys”
“The Hour”
“Political Animals”

Posted on

Christine Quinn says Justice Scalia should apologize for comparing being gay to murder

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to apologize for remarks he made comparing anti-sodomy bans to laws against bestiality and murder.

“The justice should apologize,” Quinn told Chris Matthews in an appearance on Hardball on MSNBC, reports Azi Paybarah at Capital New York. “It’s offensive. Sexual orientation is who we are as people. It’s how we’re created,” she said.

Scalia made the comments Monday in an appearance at Princeton University. A gay freshman asked the conservative justice about his stance, exemplified in his dissent in the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas case that struck down anti-sodomy laws.

“I don’t think it’s necessary, but I think it’s effective,” said Scalia. He added that he was not comparing the acts of homosexuality and murder, but drawing a parallel between the prohibitions against them.

“It’s a form of argument that I thought you would have known, which is called the ‘reduction to the absurd’…If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder?” he asked. “Can we have it against other things?”

More at the Advocate.

Posted on

EVITA to close on Broadway Jan. 26, 2013

Broadway’s Evita starring Ricky Martin to close on January 26:

“Our extensive search for a new cast presented the significant challenges of not only replacing a high-caliber trio of stars but also synchronizing the schedules of potential replacements with that of the production,” said Mr. Luftig. “Despite going down the road with a variety of artists, the planets have simply not aligned for us to engage the right talent at the right time. Therefore, we have made the decision to end this incredible journey on a high note on January 26 with our original stars intact.”