Iowa’s state constitution kicks *ss.
Rock on Iowa.
(tipped by RR reader Paul)
Washington: Sixty-three priests support marriage equality
A group of 63 priests with more than 800 combined years of service to the church are coming out in support of marriage equality on Thursday, the Seattle PI reports:
“We are uneasy with the aggressive efforts of Catholic bishops to oppose R-74 and want to support the 71 percent of Catholics (Public Religion Research Institute) who support civil marriage for gays as a valid Catholic position,” they said in a statement.
Former priest Pat Callahan, who organized the statement, added: “This is the first public action we’ve taken.” Callahan was in the Catholic priesthood for 15 years.
Nate Silver sees surge for Romney in polls
Nate Silver, of FiveThirtyEight, sees the Presidential campaign tightening clearly due to the first Obama/Romney debate.
But while we’re seeing tightening, Nate still sees the President at a 75% chance of winning. Should the Obama campaign stop the bleeding from the first debate, beginning with VP Joe Biden giving a strong performance at the VP debate this Thursday, things could definitely settle.
Everyone knew this would be a tight race. It’s basically where it was months ago.
What will matter will be swing states, like Ohio.
President Obama leads in Ohio 51%-47% according to a poll released Tuesday by CNN.
Watch Ohio.
Chris Kluwe responds to Archbishop Nienstadt’s advice to reject gay children
“Tell me, Archbishop, Pope, what purpose does the Church serve attempting to influence the affairs of a secular state? The federal benefits under law currently denied gay couples certainly fall under the realm of Caesar, don’t they? No one is forcing the Catholic Church to marry gay couples if that is not the Church’s wish. You can keep the sanctity of Catholic marriage solely between heterosexual couples if you feel that is what’s required (again though, I caution you on the dangers of presumed infallibility). All we are asking is for you to extend the open hand of tolerance instead of the closed fist of fear and hate.
“As American citizens, we respect the right for everyone to practice whichever religion they so choose, including the right to not practice one at all. Haven’t we learned enough from the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the Talibans of the world? What does it benefit the Church to attempt to influence secular policy in this country, especially when that influence is to deny basic human rights to others? Will you now assume Caesar’s throne, grasping the transitory ephemera of worldly power and control, while forsaking the eternal kingdom of Heaven?” – Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, responding Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstadt’s advice to reject gay children.
Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt – who spearheaded a mass mailing in 2010 of 400,000 anti-gay DVDs, and created a special “marriage prayer” which he asked the state’s Catholics to recite during Mass in an effort to create support for the anti-gay amendment on Minnesota’s ballot in November – told the mother of a gay son that she should reject him or risk burning in hell, according to a recently-surfaced letter.
Washington state marriage equality foes “buying” Likes for Facebook page
According to Pam’s House Blend, the anti-gay forces opposing marriage equality in Washington state are “buying” Likes for their Facebook page in an effort appear more “popular.”
See the screen capture below (click the pic to enlarge):
Before the buying spree began, the page had only about 6,000 likes. It’s hard to imagine the purpose of buying empty likes, except to perhaps generate a false sense of strength among local supporters.
Preserve Marriage Washington is the group trying to kill Washington state’s freedom to marry law. To keep the law on the books, Washingtonians must vote “Approved” on Referendum 74 this Nov. 6th.
Jerry Sandusky sentenced to 30-60 years for child sex abuse
Jerry Sandusky has been sentenced to at least 30 years in prison in the child sexual abuse scandal that brought shame to Penn State and led to coach Joe Paterno’s downfall.
Music: Matt Alber’s “Velvet Goldmine”
VELVET GOLDMINE from Greg Sirota on Vimeo
Gay singer-songwriter Matt Alber is back with a new video of a live session featuring Matt and four cellists from San Francisco for his track “Velvet Goldmine” inspired by the Todd Haynes film.
Andrew Sullivan – “There’s time”
From Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Beast regarding Democrats freaking out over changing poll numbers:
“Look: there’s time. I’ve sat through a few very very flat Obama performances in my time as well. He is often best when up against the wall. If a campaign can flip this quickly it can flip back again, with good management. Biden needs to take Ryan’s multiple contradictions apart and speak directly to the struggling middle class he can relate to. Obama needs to get off his fucking pedestal and get some work done: have crisp answers to what he wants to do; sharp exposures of Romney’s constant inconsistencies and lies; and a reminder of how massive a task he faced four years ago and how he has largely helped us turn the corner. The next Romney-Obama debate requires an Obama come-back of heroic proportions.”
Maymo the dog pays a price
Maymo the lemon beagle is caught on film making very poor choices.
Maymo steals, destroys, and breaks all sorts of things before he gets caught and ultimately ‘shamed’ for his skullduggery.
For all the times Michael has walked in on me talking to myself
