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Hawaii State House passes Civil Unions bill

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By a vote of 31-19 the Hawaii State House approved the Civil Unions bill moving through the state legislature.  The bill provides the same rights and responsibilities of married couples be afforded to non-married couples, including same-sex couples.

The bill now heads back to the State Senate for approval of minor changes and corrections. The bill previously passed in the State Senate on January 28 by a vote of 19-6.

Governor Neil Abercrombie has indicated he has every intention of signing the bill into law.

Once signed, Hawaii will join 13 other states and the District of Columbia in offering important state level recognition of same-sex relationships. Marriage equality does not exist on a federal level due to the Defense of Marriage Act which prohibits same-sex couples enjoyment of civil marriage rights.

Great day in the world.  Egypt moves towards democracy and Hawaii extends some equality to the LGBT community.  Seeing folks move towards equal rights get me down right giddy.

Keep moving forward kids – no fear.

(via the Human Rights Campaign)

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DADT Repeal steps issued by the Pentagon

DADT repeal

With efforts focused on education, policy, training and communication, the Pentagon released it’s plan to implement the repeal of DADT. Military service secretaries have until March 1st to issue their first update on progress.

From the Washington Blade: The plan breaks down the path for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal into four stages: pre-repeal, certification, implementation and sustainment.

In the pre-repeal phase, activities include Tier 1 and Tier 2 level training of military leadership and reporting to Obama administration officials on the progress of implementation. For example, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness must have a monthly meeting and report to the defense secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the status of repeal.

To reach the certification phase, the Repeal Implementation Team must provide appropriate documentation to the defense secretary and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and provide their recommendation to the president.

The actual repeal won’t occur until the President, Defense Secretary and chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff certify military readiness. There will then be a 60 day waiting period before the law is legally declared null and void.

Step by step, it’s progress.

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In their own words…

With the focus of the conservative Tea Party movement squarely on CPAC this week, I thought it would be interesting to hear from them in their own words.

Great video allowing the Tea Party folks to answer questions unfiltered.

The movement speaks for itself.

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Palin Imposter at CPAC

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From MSNBC: A woman, who looked and dressed like the famous Republican, started walking around and doing interviews. In fact, she began drawing a crowd. People requested pictures, asked questions, and expressed their support for her.

The crowds were tipped off to the charade when it was noticed that she was walking and chewing gum at the same time.

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Police Lt. Resigns Due to Internet Posts

A 13-year veteran of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department has resigned after repeatedly posting what his superior described as racist and anti-gay comments using his county computer while on duty. His comments apparently also included attacks of religious figures and sports celebrities.

Lt. Jeff Egnor resigned after he was confronted with hundreds of postings made on local news and media websites during the course of his work hours.

“It’s safe to say it was shocking to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office,” said Sgt. Ron Hanavan, a sheriff’s spokesman, of the inflammatory postings.

From ABC News7 in Denver: Posting under the screen name “Abu Mybutt”, Egnor commented on various stories from police shootings to the elimination of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that will let gay soldiers serve openly in the military.

“New miltary slogans: The few, the queer, the Marines! Butt Rangers lead the way! Be as gay as you can be! Aim for a high hard one, Air Force! Join the Navy, see naked men!” Egnor posted on Dec. 20, 2010, misspelling military.

Other posts reportedly attacked illegal immigrants: “I have an immigration policy: 12 gauge shotgun!,” he posted on Dec. 18.

According to Undersheriff Tony Spurlock the posts were a clear and flagrant violation of county policy on Internet use. Spurlock said there were two issues with Egnor’s posts: the use of county computers to post during work hours and the nature of his posts.

The investigation showed that Egnor often posted more than a dozen times a day while at work on county time.

According to reports, Egnor could not be reached for comment. NOW he shuts up. Probably a wise decision.

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Mubarak Steps Down in Egypt

EgyptRejoices

The streets of Egypt are filled with it’s citizens celebrating at the news that President Mubarak has stepped down after 18 days of mass protests and pressure by the people of Egypt.

From the AP: Vice President Suleiman — who appears to have lost his post as well in the military takeover — appeared grim as he delivered the short announcement.

“In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic,” he said. “He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor.”

Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose young suporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, told The Associated Press, “This is the greatest day of my life.”

The military, now in charge of the country, has vowed to move the country to great democracy.

This is serious history kids. All because people wanted freedom, democracy and a better life and risked their lives to get here. No fear kids.

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X-Men: First Class

So I’ve already professed I’m still a bit of a comic book geek and love all the new comic book based movies coming out.

Today the first trailer for “X-Men: First Class” was released.  This movie is a pre-quel in relation to the previous X-Men movies.  Opens June 3rd!  Can’t wait.

I’m such a geek…

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Hate group angry gay Conservatives attending CPAC

Anti-gay Tony Perkins of the SPLC certified hate-group The Family Research Council posted an angry rant on The Daily Caller blog about how the inclusion of GOProud at CPAC would cause the world to tilt off it’s axis and spin into Venus and Mars like a top-loaded drag queen at the White Party.

From Mr. Perkins:

The inclusion of GOProud as not only an exhibitor but as a member of the planning committee indicates a fairly obvious effort to “mainstream” an organization whose commitment to overturning the historic prohibition on homosexuals in the military, the Defense of Marriage Act, and state laws against same-sex marriage is the reason for its existence.

Any group that purports to be conservative should not attempt to destroy the foundations of conservatism itself, and we will not aid and abet such groups by partnering with them.

Attacking both marriage and the military is a blunt-edged assault on the two institutions that, with churches and synagogues, compose the superstructure of our national life. On them hang the future of our children, our economy, and our security. On these things, true conservatives must never waver nor compromise.

Talk about a hot cup of crazy…. So when progressive/LGBT citizens stand up for equality, freedom, all those things that make America what it is, WE are the ones destroying the country? Seriously.

I’m not the biggest fan of GOProud as I can’t wrap my head around the idea of gay conservatives making their personal wealth a priority over LGBT rights and equality, but if GOProud wants to attend the jamboree, I say let them.

Just a hot cup of crazy…

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Kansas: Manhattan passes anti-discrimination ordinance

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Manhattan, Kansas – often referred to as “little Apple” – on Tuesday passed an ordinance that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

News reports say the City Commission of Manhattan passed the ordinance on a vote of 3-2, making Manhattan only the second city in Kansas to protect people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation.  Let’s hear it for the kids in Kansas!

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I guess it pays to shave…

The city of Fort Wayne recently posted an online poll to allow citizens to vote in naming the city’s new government center. However, it looks like the current leader of the poll – with more than triple it’s nearest competitor – won’t be the name on the new center.

It seems that popular Harry Baals, a former Republican mayor has been leading the list. Baals – pronounced “balls” by the then-mayor but “bales” by his descendents – became the Republican nominee for mayor in 1934 and was elected for three successive terms. He returned to politics in 1951 by winning a fourth term but died in office in May 1954. His accomplishments include elevating the railroads in town and negotiating the contract with the Army to establish Baer Field as an air base.

While Baals was a popular mayor, Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy noted he had an unfortunate name and some elected officials have said such a name would be an embarrassment to the city.

So it looks like there won’t be a Harry Baals Government Center.
(via the Journal Gazette)