Speaking the truth, George Will calls out the absurdity of not one GOP politician disavowing Rush Limbaugh’s attack on student Sandra Fluke.
As George Will says “they want to bomb Iran but they are afraid of Rush Limbaugh.”
President Obama leads GOP candidates in Ohio by double digits
A new NBC/Marist poll of Ohio registered voters shows President Obama at the fifty percent mark in the swing state against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who sees 38 percent versus the President. Obama leads all possible GOP challengers in the state by double digits, which sampled over 3,000 Ohio voters. From Marist’s analysis:
Ohio voters are more likely to identify as independents than they were in a similar poll conducted in October 2008. 35% of registered voters now consider themselves to be independent compared with 31% at that time. Republican identification has decreased from 31% to 26%, and Democrats are little changed. They went from 37% in 2008 to 38% now.
“President Obama’s advantage over his potential challengers in Ohio is underscored by the fact that more voters support him over the GOP field than approve of his job performance,” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
(source)
Olivia Newton-John named one of Australia’s National Living Treasures
Iconic actress and singer Olivia Newton-John and pop princess Kylie Minogue have been named among a group of seven new National Living Treasures.
Mining magnate Clive Palmer and science guru Dr Karl Kruszelnicki are also on the list, along with world champion Formula One driver Sir Jack Brabham, naturalist and conservationist Dr Harry Butler and creator of the cervical vaccine Professor Ian Fraser.
Ian Carroll, from the National Trust of Australia (NSW), said the group was chosen because they personified qualities all Australians should aspire to. “Their generous and significant contributions have, like them, become part of our national heritage,” he said in a statement.
Dustin Lance Black’s play “8” in L.A. with an all-star cast
“8”- Dustin Lance Black’s play about the Prop 8 trial.
Featuring an all-star cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen, Christine Lahti, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Lynch, Kevin Bacon and others, “8” is a play written by Academy Award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and directed by acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner. It is a powerful account of the case filed by the American Federation for Equal Rights (AFER ) in the U.S.
An “apology” from Rush Limbaugh
Feeling the heat of losing many of his advertisers, Rush Limbaugh issued this statement as a sort of “apology” to Sandra Fluke for calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute.”
I don’t know that this constitutes an apology.
For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.
I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit? In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone’s bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level.
My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.
What Rush is still clearly distorting is that Ms. Fluke did not insist on the government paying for anything. Just more ‘red meat’ for his listeners.
What Ms. Fluke advocates is that the insurance companies WE PAY PREMIUMS TO cover contraceptives. He’s just trying to fire up his base.
Sad.
Normally I would link to the source material, but this one time please go google it if you want to see it. I can’t bring myself to link to his website.
George Clooney on marriage equality
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GLEE episode movingly highlights LGBT youth bullying and suicide
For those who missed it, last week’s controversial mid-season finale episode of “Glee” may have shocked fans, but one LGBT youth advocacy group has seen a number of benefits as a result.
As Entertainment Weekly is reporting, The Trevor Project saw their web traffic spike and their phone calls triple after the episode, which depicted former bully Dave Karofsky (beautifully played by Max Adler) attempting suicide — to the tune of Young the Giant’s “Cough Syrup” — after being outed as gay to his classmates.
“What was great about the show is that they worked in conjunction with us so we knew in advance that there was going to in all likelihood be an increase in volume,” Trevor Project co-founder Peggy Rajski tells EW. “What happened was the volume went up about 300 percent, but we were ready.”
The Trevor Project is ready to help LGBTQ youth who feel they may be in crisis. If you feel you need help, please reach out 1-866-488-7386.
In high school, I weighed a lot of what raced through Dave Karofsky’s mind in this episode. All those moments compacted in the quick video above that led to his suicide attempt happened to me at some point. But lucky for me, I kept moving forward.
The phrase “it gets better” has, thankfully, entered our daily lexicon. But it’s not a cliche, it’s the truth. I want to encourage everyone to think about the power of our words, because you never know when you may be teasing the next Dave Karofsky.
Forward.
Grandparents for marriage equality
A gay activist’s grandparents have participated in a poignant new video in support of Washington state’s approval of same-sex marriage earlier this month.
As Jacob Reitan, who helped found the Soulforce Equality Ride in 2006, tells Towleroad, “My grandparents are now in their 90s. They have been blessed with a strong and beautiful marriage for nearly 70 years. Their marriage has been a role model for all of us in our family.”
Reitan, who appears in the video with his gay cousin Caleb, goes on to note, “I want to have a marriage like theirs. I want society to recognize it. I want my family and friends to celebrate with us and support us.”
Mitt Romney ahead in recent nat’l polls – Santorum already behind in Ohio before Super Tuesday arrives
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Mitt Romney leads by 6.7% in the Real Clear Politics average of recent polls regarding the GOP Presidential nomination.
We’ll see where that lies after this coming Super Tuesday.
By the way – everyone is talking about Ohio being the big prize both Santorum AND Romney really need to win.
However, not much attention has been paid to the fact that Santorum has already lost nine delegates by not being on ballots in three Ohio congressional districts. Each district merits three delegates.
Santorum failed to file a full complement of delegates in six additional districts, said central committee member Bob Bennett. That adds up to another nine delegates, for a total of 18 out of the 63 up for grabs.
Santorum also did not file all 18 of his at-large delegates.
“He may very well leave delegates on the sidelines,” Bennett said. “Say he would win 70 percent of the state. He doesn’t have that many delegates.”
Kirk Cameron – being gay is “unnatural, detrimental and destructive”
Actor-evangelist and former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron says he doesn’t support gay marriage and homosexuality is “unnatural, detrimental, and destructive,” during an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan. Cameron, who now makes lucrative Christian-themed movies, appeared on Morgan’s show to discuss several hot button issues, including marriage equality.
“Marriage is almost as old as dirt, and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve,” Cameron explains to Morgan. “One man, one woman for life till death do you part. So I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage. And I don’t think anyone else should either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don’t.”
Asked his views on homosexuality, Cameron replies, “I think that it’s unnatural. I think that it’s detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization.”
Watch the interview.