February 2012
74 posts
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“As it is useful that while mankind are imperfect there should be different...”
– John Stuart Mill (via eikonklast)
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HUMANS ARE NOT NATURALLY 'NASTY' →
Biological research increasingly debunks the view of humanity as competitive, aggressive and brutish, a leading specialist in primate behavior told a major science conference Monday.
“Humans have a lot of pro-social tendencies,” Frans de Waal, a biologist at Emory University in Atlanta, told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
New...
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Prop. 8: Rehearing to be asked →
The backers of California’s ban on same-sex marriage — Proposition 8 — will file, later on Tuesday, a request for the Ninth Circuit Court to rehear en banc a decision earlier this month by a three-judge panel striking down the ballot measure. That indicates that the ban’s sponsors will not make the Supreme Court the next step in their challenge. If such further review by the Circuit Court is...
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Arora aide resigns in protest after Maryland... →
A senior adviser to Maryland Del. Sam Arora has abruptly resigned in protest over Arora’s vote against the state’s same-sex marriage bill.
Joshua Lapidus, Arora’s legislative director, quit Friday night just after the marriage vote in a scathing resignation letter obtained by the Washington Blade.
“I respect you and your beliefs, however I cannot respect your decision to place personal...
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Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir Gets Equal →
Earlier this week on Valentine’s Day while most of use were either out having a special dinner or enjoying the company of ourselves, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir had her office “Occupied”. It wasn’t your traditional sit in. Members ofGetEQUAL Texas were joined by members of Occupy Austin in requesting (and being denied) same sex marriage licenses from the Travis...
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New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez Loses Her Hair... →
An openly-gay hair stylist in New Mexico is protesting Gov. Susana Martinez’s (R) opposition to same-sex marriage by refusing to style her hair unless she changes her position on the issue. KOB Eyewitness News 4 reports that Antonio Darden, “a popular stylist who runs Antonio’s Hair Studio in Santa Fe, said he cut Martinez’ hair three times” but is now refusing to see his famous client:
“The...
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It’s Not a Fairytale: Seattle to Build Nation’s... →
Seattle’s vision of an urban food oasis is going forward. A seven-acre plot of land in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood will be planted with hundreds of different kinds of edibles: walnut and chestnut trees; blueberry and raspberry bushes; fruit trees, including apples and pears; exotics like pineapple, yuzu citrus, guava, persimmons, honeyberries, and lingonberries; herbs; and more. All...
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Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie Refuses to Defend... →
Governor Neil Abercrombie and Director of the State Department of Health Loretta Fuddy have filed two separate answers in a response to a lawsuit challenging Hawaii’s ban on same-sex marriage, according to a news release from Attorney General David M. Louie, Hawaii News Now reports:
In his response, Gov. Abercrombie said that “Under current law, a heterosexual couple can choose to...
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“I would say that between the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that Prop 8 is...”
– Jon Davidson, Legal Director of Lambda Legal
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Gay Dallas judge won’t conduct marriages because... →
Out lesbian Dallas County Judge Tonya Parker touted her refusal to conduct marriage ceremonies in her courtroom on Tuesday night.
“I have the power, of course, to perform marriage ceremonies,” Parker said. “I don’t.”
The mention of her decision to not perform marriage ceremonies came while the 116th Civil District Court judge addressed the audience at the monthly meeting of Stonewall...
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Judge’s Ruling Adds to String in Favor of Same-Sex... →
A federal judge in San Francisco on Wednesday threw out a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, becoming the latest court to rule that the law passed by Congress to prohibit federal recognition of same-sex marriage violated the constitutional rights of same-sex couples.
effrey S. White, a United States District Court judge appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, ruled that the...
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When Your 7-Year-Old Son Announces, 'I'm Gay' →
It’s amazing, but it’s also shocking. How many people have a 7-year-old come out to them? A lot of people don’t know how to react, and I don’t blame them. Before my son, I’d never met a child who came out this young — and we don’t know anyone else who has. The mere idea of children having a sexual orientation makes people uncomfortable. It’s...
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The Solution to Nimbyism →
Clearly, the Earthscraper – a 65-story, zero-feet-tall building – is the solution to all concerns about height and massing while simultaneously enabling nearly limitless density.
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Obama unveils $3.8 trillion budget →
President Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion budget request Monday that hikes taxes on the rich, spends new money on infrastructure and education, but does little to reform the entitlement programs that pose the biggest long-term threat to the federal budget.
“We built this budget around the idea that our country has always done best when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair...
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Truth Needle | Gay-marriage wave of lawsuits claim... →
Gay-marriage opponents have said there will be a rash of civil suits against individuals and businesses that don’t want to provide wedding-related services to same-sex couples because of their religious beliefs. Our Truth Needle concludes that claim is mostly false.
Read More
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Santorum: ‘I would overturn’ any Supreme Court... →
GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Sunday morning he would try to overturn any Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage if he became president.
Santorum was asked by Meet The Press host David Gregory about the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals finding Proposition 8 unconstitutional and whether he would seek any change if the highest court ruled in favor of the LGBT...
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The Short List: Who Will Lead HRC? →
Next month, Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese is set to end his tenure at the LGBT organization he’s led since 2005. Politically, the transition in leadership comes at an interesting time, with the White House up for grabs in a few months and growing calls for President Obama to not only sign an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees,...
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Activists Arrested After Austin, Tex., Marriage... →
Three LGBT activists were arrested Tuesday morning for occupying the Austin, Texas, county clerk’s office after being denied marriage licenses. The Raw Storyreports that as part of an annual Valentine’s Day marriage equality protest organized by GetEQUAL Texas, approximately 40 people showed up outside the offices of Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir to request marriage licenses for their...
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Sign this petition: Democratic Party, add marriage... →
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Chris Christie ignores Chris Gregoire’s outreach... →
ThinkProgress has learned that Christie has yet to respond to a letter from fellow Governor Chris Gregoire (D-WA) offering the blunt-speaking Christie advise on the issue.
In the letter, dated Jan. 31, 2012, Gregoire wrote, “I have been on a personal journey, because while I am a Governor, I am also a Catholic.” “If you would like to talk, please give me a call.” The correspondence also...
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UCLA School of Law Study Results on Local and... →
Local ordinances that require city and county contractors to prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination protect thousands of workers without burdening governments or businesses, according to a new study from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute.
“This study provides evidence that a federal executive order that similarly barred discrimination could protect millions of...
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Federal Court Orders Missouri School To Stop... →
A federal judge has ordered a Missouri school to cease blocking internet content that affirms LGBT people and educates about LGBT identities. The ACLU of Eastern Missouri had filed suit last summer on behalf of PFLAG and other LGBT groups against Camdenton R-III School District for using a website filtering software that blocked access to sites like the “It Gets Better” campaign, The Trevor...
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Dick Cheney Tells Maryland GOP: Vote For Same-Sex... →
ormer Vice President Dick Cheney has reportedly been lobbying behind the scenes for a Maryland same-sex marriage equality bill that is being debated this afternoon. Cheney, who still has pull within the GOP, has a lesbian daughter. He and his wife have spoken publicly in recent years about their daughter and her family on TV talk shows.
Ugh I can’t believe I’m going to say this...
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“Sex work is not inherently wrong. Sex work is not inherently dangerous. Sex work...”
– an excerpt from this wonderful piece on sex work from Bitch magazine. (via thestepswetook)
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Will NOM flout campaign disclosure laws in... →
National Organization for Marriage acts as though it is above the law. And now NOM is coming to Washington.
Brian Brown, President of NOM
It has become a predictable pattern. NOM slinks into a state that is actively debating marriage equality, drops a mountain of cash into the campaign coffers of the anti-gay side, then breaks state campaign disclosure laws by bolting before reporting their...