Jon Stewart destroyed Bill Bennett tonight on gay marriage

One of the best things I've seen on t.v. in a very long time. Jon Stewart just destroyed Bill Bennett tonight. He was brilliant and Bennett looked like a bumbling bigot.

Seriously, this was the best debate on gay marriage ever. Ever. Read the rest of this post...

It was a BIG mistake for Republicans to bring up gay marriage now

It's Terri Schiavo all over again.

And kudos to Senator Reid and the Democrats for refusing to take the bait on this one. The Republicans tried to sucker punch the Dems into a three-day debate on gay marriage. So, Harry Reid is giving them a three day debate on why they're afraid to talk about Iraq, gas prices, and the war on terror. Brilliant.

As an aside, our audience on this blog, and thus our strategies, are somewhat different than Senator Reid's. He has to convince the public that the Republicans are out of touch while the Democrats want to deal with the top issues of concern to Americans.

We, on the other hand, want to teach the Republicans a lesson in what's going to happen to them when they choose to gay-bait in the future. They'll be tormented (a la Mary Cheney), outed (a la... well... you know who), and incessantly pestered by phone and at public meetings about whether they abstain from the very sexual practices they demonize us for. Our strategy is: Once burned, twice shy.

From the NYT:

Matthew Dowd, who was Mr. Bush's campaign strategist in 2004, said it was a myth that emphasizing same-sex marriage in battleground states like Ohio was critical to Mr. Bush's re-election. He said turnout patterns were comparable in states where same-sex marriage was a chief topic and where it was not....

But one Republican strategist, Ed Rollins, said it was a mistake for the president and Senate leaders to focus attention on a marriage ban now, in what could look like a panicked reaction to shrinking public support.

"What the president needs to do is look like a leader, not be somebody who looks like a politician who is overreacting to polls," Mr. Rollins said. "If anything, he is reminding people of what they don't like about the Republican Party."

Read the rest of this post...

NYT: Katherine Harris is becoming something of a "pariah"

I knew I should have gotten that photo with Bay Buchanan instead. More from Raw Story. Read the rest of this post...

Hate groups fail to put gay-rights-law repeal on November ballot in Washington state

Guess they have to put their pointy hoods in storage for another season. Read the rest of this post...

George Will talks about "the human rectum"

Why would the Washington Post even print this? From today's George Will piece about the 25th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic.

By 1987, when President Ronald Reagan gave his first speech on the subject, 20,798 Americans had died, and his speech, not surprisingly, did not mention any connection to the gay community. No president considers it part of his job description to tell the country that the human rectum, with its delicate and absorptive lining, makes anal-receptive sexual intercourse dangerous when HIV is prevalent.

Oh that's right, this is Republican America. It's not a real discussion about gays unless "sodomy" is mentioned somewhere. Read the rest of this post...

Iraq to release 2,500 detainees: asserting sovereignty?

Various news outlets are reporting today that Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki announced the impending release of 2,500 detainees, reportedly from both Iraqi and American facilities. This is a fascinating -- and risky, due to potential recidivism -- move from the new prime minister, who hasn't even appointed Ministers of Defense or Interior (police forces) yet.

The most interesting thing to me is that none of the initial articles have quotes from U.S. officials. Nothing. I have a hard time believing that Maliki would surprise the U.S. with something like this, but regardless of how it came about, I would guess that the U.S. military leadership is livid. The military tends not to be happy when thousands of people who they believe were part of the insurgency, trying to kill Coalition troops, are released by somebody else.

It will also be interesting to see who they let go. I imagine the (Shia-controlled) government will release Sunnis to try to mollify some of the popular Sunni support for the insurgency. But if it ends up being a move to free some of the Shia who have attacked Sunnis, Sunni reaction could be explosive. With attacks already at historic highs, perhaps Iraqi leadership thought it was worth the risk of recidivism (if the detainees were criminals to begin with) to see if this kind of olive branch will help calm the sectarian violence.

I also am very curious to hear U.S. reaction. Did American political and/or military leadership have a role in this? Does the Iraqi government now have control over detainees in U.S. custody? And regarding the media itself, how do you release a story like this without getting quotes on these issues? The whole thing raises many questions.

Finally, on a semi-related note, I had some experience with detainees in Iraq. It was very limited, but I can say with confidence that there are many, many detainees who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. This is partly the result of bureaucratic breakdowns and poor guidance from the top, among other things, but if those are the people being released, justice is being done. If not, however, this could result in a surge in violence -- either because the detainees are actually insurgents or criminals or simply because it'll increase sectarian tensions. Either way, I think it will further drive a wedge between Iraq's government and U.S. political and military leaders. Read the rest of this post...

Great moments in Republican bigotry

UPDATE: The video is now available courtesy of ThinkProgress.

A friend writes...

During today's same-sex marriage amendment debate, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) used a prop of a blown-up photo of his family (some 20 people or so). Gesturing towards the photo, he said:

{14:24:36} (MR. INHOFE) (NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT } As you see here, and I think this is maybe the most important prop we'll have during the entire debate, my wife and I have been married 47 years. We have 20 kids and grandkids. I'm really proud to say that in the recorded history of our family, we've never had a divorce or any kind of a homosexual relationship.

We're mighty proud too, Senator, trust me.

I will say that it's very sad that after 47 years of marriage all it takes is me getting married in Massachusetts to threaten the Inhofe's marriage. I'd have thought it would have taken a lot more to get Senator Inhofe to dump his wife for a guy.

UPDATE: Here's the poster of the not-at-all-gay Inhofe family. Perhaps the Senator needs glasses. (You can click the photo to see an enlargement.)

Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

Watched John Thune give his gay-bashing speech. Interesting, since he was elected with the help of a gay male prostitute.

What else are you hearing? Read the rest of this post...

Harry Reid: Bush/GOP want to frighten, distort, distract, confuse

Harry Reid framed the debate:

So for me it is clear the reason for this debate is to divide our society, to pit one against another. This is another one of the President's efforts to frighten, to distort, to distract, and to confuse America. It is this Administration's way of avoiding the tough, real problems that American citizens are confronted with each and every day:

High Gas Prices.

The War in Iraq.

The National Debt.

Health Care.

Senior Citizens.

Education.

Crime.

Trade Policy.

Stem Cell Research.

Each issue begging the President's attention, each issue being ignored -- valuable time in the Senate spent on an issue that today is without hope of passing.

Read the rest of this post...

New rule at AP: Get the story wrong, get a prize!

I know, we should just accept the fact that the mainstream media is hopelessly lost. But still, a part of me hopes that someone in the mainstream media will some day realize how corrupt and simply bad journalists have become. That's why it still shocks me when an entity like the Associated Press gives a reporter a prize for getting the story wrong, repeatedly.

Yes, I'm talking about the AP's John Solomon who wrote a series of yellow journalism hack pieces attacking Harry Reid while failing to get key facts correct, and even twisting the stories to mislead the readers about the true facts.

When the concerns were raised to AP, what did it do? It gave the reporter a prize.

Even more appalling, part of the AP's justification for giving the reporter the prize is the fact that people got so upset about the series of stories being factually incorrect:

"It was the most talked-about, blogged-about political story of the week _ twice."

Yes, it was talked about because it was wrong and biased. That's now a good thing in the AP Style Book? Josh Marshall has the details.

I am a journalist. I've written for publications just as important as AP. I get how good writing and good sourcing works. And good journalism has nothing to do with getting the story wrong, repeatedly. It has nothing to do with intentionally misleading your readers with crafty wording that implies something that is totally false (simply because you don't have the facts to back up what you wish the story could prove).

And good journalism most certainly doesn't mean a news organization, recognizing the concern such errors and bias have generated amongst its readers, responds by giving the unprofessional reporter an award for his mistakes, as if this were some childhood skirmish deserving nothing more than a "na na na na na" in response.

I suggest every Democrat in town pay close attention in the future. You respond to John Solomon's interview requests at your own peril. Then see how good his Hill reporting is when half the folks in DC refuse to even speak with him because of his glaring bias and unprofessionalism. Read the rest of this post...

Ann Coulter, dressed like a tramp, defends "family values" on NBC

Nothing says family values like T&A;.

Ann on the widowed wives of September 11:

"These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities, and stalked by grief-erazzis. I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' death so much."

Read the rest of this post...

Rick Santorum: It's all about sodomy

Far-right Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is on the Senate floor right now railing about sodomy. According to Santorum, this entire debate about gay marriage hinges on the issue of whether society should legitimize sodomy or not.

And you thought I was crazy talking about sodomy, adultery and masturbation yesterday?

Oh, but it gets better than that.

Santorum is railing against the recent Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas. That's the decision that rules that states can no longer throw gay people in jail simply because of who they are (up until then, several states made "sodomy" a crime - and remember, sodomy includes oral and anal sex, both heterosexual and gay).

So, Rick Santorum is upset that states can no longer throw gay people in jail. Rick Santorum is upset that analingus, cunnilingus and fellatio are no longer crimes in America, even for heterosexual married couples. Rick Santorum thinks this is what the United States Congress should be spending its time and money debating.

But oh, it gets even better again.

Santorum just spent a lot of time defending Justice Scalia's dissent in the case. Santorum agrees with Scalia's dissent. That would be the dissent in which Scalia said the following:

State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers’ validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today’s decision; the Court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding.

Yes, Rick Santorum just made the entire debate about masturbation and oral sex.

Nice.

And he wonders why he's 23 points behind his Democratic opponent in his re-election campaign. He wonders why the American public overwhelming is fed up with the Republicans running Washington?

Please contact your Senators and ask them if they agree with Rick Santorum that gay people should be thrown in jail?

Ask them if they agree with Rick Santorum that states should regulate masturbation?

Also, please do ask them if they agree with Rick Santorum that sodomy should be illegal - then please do ask whether they have ever engaged in sodomy, including analingus, cunnilingus and fellatio.

Ask your Senators if they think banning blow jobs is more important than dealing with his gas prices, with immgration, with the economy and with the war.

And finally, do give little Ricky a call and make sure that he's never engaged in sodomy. The public has a right to know.

Free number to call Congress: 1-888-355-3588

Santorum's direct office line: (202) 224-6324 Read the rest of this post...

Is your member of Congress defending marriage?

Let's find out.

It's day two of "Happy Sodomy Day!" And as Joe noted, today is June 6, 2006 - better known as 666. Can't think of a better day for the revenge of the gays.

As you'll recall, the US Senate is spending these three days debating including anti-gay discrimination in the US Constitution. Supposedly this is all about defending marriage, traditional marriage at that, we're told. But if you read what the religious right and the Republicans have been saying about this debate, it's about far more than marriage.

The Senate debate on gay marriage is actually about divorce, adultery, sodomy, and even masturbation. I'm not kidding. For the far-right and the folks running the Congress, gay marriage is wrapped up in all of those issues - and according to these folks, they're ALL bad things that the government needs to regulate (read our Action Alert posted yesterday, it has quotes and sources on all of this).

The entire list of Senators and House members to contact is in our action alert, linked above (that list has been updated - Senate list is the same, House list has a few changes/corrections based on your feedback). But here are a few Senators you might want to particularly focus on today.

• Allen, George (R-VA) - (202) 224-4024 - Divorced, and ever since he was governor has had a thing for hiring lots of cute young gay men.
• Bond, Christopher S. (R-MO) - (202) 224-5721 - Divorced.
• Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R-TX) - (202) 224-5922 - Divorced.
• McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) - 202) 224-2541 - Divorced.
• Graham, Lindsay (R-SC) - (202) 224-5972 - Unmarried and of ambiguous sexual orientation.

Here are a few Biblical verses to share with the Senators:

Divorce
“Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9 cf. Genesis 2:24).

Importance of Marriage & Celibacy Before Marriage
“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18)... Now there is an exception to this principle that, “it is not good that the man should be alone.” The exception is with the man who has the gift of celibacy, which is the state of remaining unmarried. Paul discusses celibacy in 1Corinthians 7:6-8. He states that where this exception exists it is a gift from God.

Homosexuality
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." Leviticus 18:22

MESSAGE:
For divorced members of Congress
Ask the divorced Senators' offices how they're defending marriage by being divorced, and if the Bible was wrong about divorce being against God's law?

For Lindsay Graham
And ask Lindsay Graham if he's celibate, which the Bible requires of a single man, and ask him to tell us definitively if Senator Graham is heterosexual or gay. We certainly can't have a practicing homosexual voting to "defend marriage" from practicing homosexuals. Now, I have no idea if Graham is or isn't a practicing homosexual, but I also have no idea if he's a heterosexual and can't find anyone to confirm that he is, and that's a problem in Jesus-land. If we're going to amend the Constitution and defend marriage, we have the right to know if Senator Graham is straight or gay.

For Other Senators
Please publicly condemn Senators Allen, Bond, Hutchison and McConnell for violating God's law and failing to protect marriage by getting divorced. And please ask Senator Lindsay Graham to publicly state if he's gay or straight, and if he's remaining celibate while unmarried.

And as always, please do let us know what they tell you. Read the rest of this post...

Human heads found on roadside in Iraq

Nine heads were discovered wrapped in bags and packed in boxes sitting along the road outside of Baquba. Read the rest of this post...

While you were bashing

While Bush and his GOP pals in the Senate were busy catering to the theocrats by promoting the anti-gay constitutional amendment, everything else Bush has had a role in was unraveling. Here are just a few of the things that took place yesterday as the President was playing hate politics with the lives of his fellow Americans:

Mass kidnappings in Iraq:

Gunmen in police uniforms staged a brazen daylight raid on bus stations in central Baghdad on Monday, kidnapping at least 50 people, including travelers, merchants and vendors selling tea and sandwiches.

The operation was a direct challenge to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts to restore security in the capital, which has been hard hit by suicide attacks, roadside bombs and sectarian death squads.

The usual mayhem in Iraq:

At least 17 killings were reported across the country Monday, including a Shiite school guard and two Sunni brothers who were shot to death as they were driving to college in the capital. Iraqi police found the blindfolded and bound body of a man who had been shot in the head and chest and another body that had been shot in the head in separate locations in Baghdad.

The Dow dropped almost 200 points on inflation fears:

On Wall Street, Bernanke's fresh inflation warning sent the Dow Jones industrials sliding 199.15 points to close at 11,048.72. It had dropped even more, 214 points, two weeks ago on May 17.

Islamic militants prevail against our allies in Somalia:

After months of fierce fighting, Islamic militias declared Monday that they had taken control of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, defeating the warlords widely believed to be backed by the United States and raising questions about whether the country would head down an extremist path.

Katrina residents still can't come home:

Hundreds of displaced residents of public housing have for several days been returning here for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

Displaced residents in the tents are trying to force the city to reopen their storm-damaged apartments. They are armed with little more than cleaning supplies and frustration, in an effort to force the city to reopen their storm-damaged apartments.

The city, saying the projects are not ready, has refused.

As Chris posted yesterday morning, oil prices rose again: $73.23. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday (6-6-6) Open Thread

Yes, it's 6-6-6 and the spawn of Satan in the GOP at the White House and on Capitol Hill are dutifully spreading his message of hate...and to kick it off, the Today Show's first guest was actually the incarnation of the devil herself, Ann Coulter, who was on to spew about her latest diatribe of venom towards humanity. Yes, Ann's book is coming out today. How appropriate. She's freaked out about gay marriage. Matt actually got her all riled up...she's even bashed the 9/11 widows. Isn't she going to jail? Read the rest of this post...

The Wall is Bush's Maginot Line

The Maginot Line in France was built in between the wars last century in an attempt to block the Germans and Italians from invading. Of course, the problem was that the Germans just went around the Maginot Line, making it an incredible waste of time, money and resources. The GOP is proving once again that they can't learn anything from history as they fortify the southern border of the US to stop the "invasion" from the south.

Putting aside the debate of immigration, one of the slight flaws in this expensive and resource draining plan is that walking over the border addresses some of the people, but hardly all of them. Yep, there's nothing to learn from other peoples mistakes.

The little-acknowledged reality is that nearly half the estimated 12 million undocumented foreigners in the United States entered on bona fide U.S. visas Â? and simply never left. Authorities call them "overstays" who have been largely overlooked in the vitriolic debate on immigration.

"The southwestern border gets all the attention, but it's staggering the number of people who come and overstay their visa," said Dean Boyd, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington.

Read the rest of this post...

Bernanke hints at more rate increases

And the markets tank since most thought that the Fed would stop rate increases due to signs of a slowing economy. Greenspan was tough to understand and often played up both sides, leaving one to wonder which direction the Fed was going but Bernanke seems to loose with his words, scaring an already jittery market. Read the rest of this post...

Moby speaks, you listen

Any guy who actually says "aka" out loud is the guy for me. Read the rest of this post...