Archive for the ‘Faaabulosity’ Category
Tutu on Human Rights…Again
This week people all around me here near Washington, DC are all agog with the arrival of The Pope, which is odd since so few of them are Catholic although it is true that Vatican City tends to have pretty stamps and he is the head of state of that petite philatelic gem. As I […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Ed Kelly: "What If?"
You may remember the case of the now-notorious homophobe in Oklahoma named Sally Kern, the one who fervently believes that gay people are a bigger threat to America than terrorists, etc. A little while back there was a rally on her behalf; 1,000 people attended to shout their support for Sally's bigotry and to proclaim […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Ellen Tops Oprah
You know, I just thought this was kind-of in the feel-good category of high-visibility, lesbian-and-gay news; I don't even have any smart remarks to add. The poll by Web site AOL Television asked readers which daytime TV host made their day and Ellen, who opens "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" by dancing with her audience, trounced […]
Judy Shepard on Kern's Poison
You may remember mention of Sally Kern, the homophobic state representative from Oklahoma who likes to think that gay people are worse than terrorists, and who likes to tell everyone about it. You may also remember that she feels she is being censored because her hateful nonsense is being heard by so many people–a curious […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Viral Censorship
Oklahoma has a state representative named Sally Kern who is a homophobe. This will surprise no one. Kern believes that gay people are a bigger threat to American society than terrorism, that it spreads (join hands and sing "We Are A Cancer"), that we are infiltrating the government, that we want to destroy the country, […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
14 Sins and Nothing Gay
I was catching up on some blog reading and delighted when BoingBoing ("Vatican comes up with a new list of Seven Sins") alerted me that the Vatican has released a list of seven "social sins", apparently augmenting the seven "cardinal sins" (otherwise famous as the "deadly sins") noted down by Pope Gregory I in the […]
Anthropologists Agree: No "Traditional" Marriage
A week or two ago, one of those ridiculous "defense of traditional marriage" organizations issued some statement claiming that anthropologists all agree that marriage is a male/female thing only. (You can find more details in Jim Burroway's post at Box Turtle Bulletin, referenced in the note below.) This is, of course, false on a number […]
DeGeneres on Lawrence King's Murder
Ellen DeGeneres made a statement on her television show about the murder of Lawrence King, an eighth-grader in Oxnard, California. He was killed by a fellow student who apparently objected to King's saying he was gay, and to King's gender expression. It's a story that should leave homophobes in stunned silence at where their hatred […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
How to Please Picky Eaters
Hidden amongst my recent email was one sent from one of the larger service providers that puts its own little advertising at the end of each email. The email itself came with a few attached photographs of a reasonably tasty-looking naked man. At the bottom of the email was this message: "Ideas to please picky […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Laughing Matters
Pansy Tough
Hypatia (at Pam's House Blend) told a nice story ("Lobbying in Richmond for LGBT rights with Equality Virginia") about her experience lobbying her Virginia legislature for LGBT equality. In its midst, she related this anecdote: On the way to our group photo on the front steps of the Capitol that Thomas Jefferson built, we passed […]
Today in Equality
Let's skate right on past the latest news story about alleged presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and his assertion that the US Constitution should be amended to conform to his god's "laws", largely to be sure that men never marry men (or animals, or whatever…). I'm sure Google will provide details to the interested. We'll also […]
Gay Marriage, Gay Revenue
And while we're in the mood for economic vs. moral justifications, this just in: Legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland would result in a $3.2 million gain to the state’s annual budget and significantly boost the state economy, according to a study released Wednesday by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, School […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Dressing Like a Woman
It's just another resonance with my research. As I was reading about the lavender scare and intense, non-comprehending homophobia in the nineteen-fifties — and before and after — here in the US, I ran across plenty of mentions of laws making it illegal for one gender to wear clothing "generally regarded as appropriate for the […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Plus Ca Change...
Homos & Other Perverts
I have more research notes, if you'll forgive me. These excerpts are from the report of a Senate subcommittee hearing in 1950; the short form of the title is "Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in Government".* It reported on the results of an investigative subcommittee hearing chaired by Senator Clyde Hoey (D-NC), an […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Plus Ca Change...
Conservative Obsessions
This story may be at least third hand by now, but it provides an amusing factoid. I read it at Jim Burroway's Box Turtle Bulletin ("The Obsession Of Social Conservatives", 21 November 2007). He relates the facts succinctly, and I'm tired, so I'm going to let Jim tell the tale: Andrew Sullivan noticed this. If […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Laughing Matters
Partners or Pets?
Pam* alerts us to this interesting story about the Palm Beach Community College, which has apparently just decided to offer its employees the option of buying health insurance for their pets, having just this past August declined to offer employees the option of buying health insurance for their partners. Here is an excerpt from a […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Laughing Matters
NY DP Penalty
Is it a slap in the face, salt in the wound, proportionate fees, or a bureaucratic oversight? Likely the latter as claimed, but still it seems an amusing but niggling thing: in New York City, one pays $35 to get a marriage license, but to register a domestic partnership costs $36. Fewer rights for only […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
National Coming Out Day 2007
Today, October 11, is celebrated annually by more and more people as "National Coming Out Day"; despite its name, people in many countries celebrate NCOD. First observed in 1988, NCOD marks the anniversary of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987. The official NCOD logo (at right) was created […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Reflections
One Nation, One Marriage
Fascinating. Arch anti-gay conservative fundamentalist James Dobson (of so-called "Focus on Family"), in announcing that he would not, could not support a Fred Thompson presidency, had this to say: "Isn't Thompson the candidate who is opposed to a Constitutional amendment to protect marriage, believes there should be 50 different definitions of marriage in the U.S.,…?" […]
Iowa, My Iowa
I went to college in Iowa, having grown up in Kansas. I enjoyed it then and I still have the fondest feelings for the state. It was a pleasant place to live, and a surprisingly progressive and educated state, where in my day all the farm boys went to college, studied classics, then went back […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity