The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Ohio has been one of those states that was fertile ground for a marriage amendment; in 2004 there were not enough progressive or moderate voters to keep it at bay, a cornucopia of religious fundamentalists and bigots marshalled forces to power it through to the polls where it easily passed, 61.7%-38.3%. If only it had been able to stop that amendment to wait for the people and the legislature to catch up culturally as more states approved marriage equality -- and the world didn't come to an end.
But there is ray of light today as the Ohio House passed a state non-discrimination bill, H.B. 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act. Chris@Law Dork:
The EHEA would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations in Ohio, and its passage in the House marks the first time a pro-LGBT bill passed either chamber of the Ohio Statehouse.
Sponsors Rep. Dan Stewart (D) and Rep. Ross McGregor (R) both spoke in favor of the bill's passage, with Stewart talking about the changes in our past leading toward more enlightened positions on equality - including a mention of P.M. Gordon Brown's apology of last week - and urging that "Injustice to one is injustice to all."
As usual, a member opposed to the bill stood up and gave an asinine excuse for supporting discrimination -- even as he took care to say "When speaking against a bill like this, it's easy to come across the wrong way." I give you Republican Rep. Jeff Wagner:
Wagner then did his best to prove his point, talking about the "sexual revolution," how increased numbers of homosexuals have led to increased incident of sexually transmitted diseases and the dangers inherent in living in a world in which homosexuality is accepted. He told his colleagues, "You can live with whoever you want, but don't use the state government to force acceptance."
ROTFLOL -- that's classic jackassery. Wagner's his own punchline! Are homos cloning one another to jack up our numbers? After all, the bible-beaters told us we couldn't procreate, right? Or perhaps our recruitment efforts are now on a roll of -- ahem -- biblical proportions.
Gee, I can't recall how many toasters I've given out lately.
But congratulations to Ohio for this bit of history -- and kudos to Equality Ohio's staff, board, and volunteers for achieving this win.
Now if they could only roll back that amendment. :( One day, it will happen.
The legislature in OH is scheduled to vote on HB 176 when they return from vacation, most likely within the next week. It adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the ohio non-discrimination act.
For folks in ohio, equality ohio has a page for contacting your reps at
BILL SUMMARY Prohibits discriminatory practices on the basis of "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" under many of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) Law's existing prohibitions against various unlawful discriminatory practices.
· Provides that the Ohio Civil Rights Commission must exercise certain of its existing powers and duties also with respect to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
· Provides that nothing in the OCRC Law's provisions that govern Commission hearings on alleged unlawful discriminatory practices may be construed to authorize or require any person to observe the proportion that persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity or persons of any of current law's covered characteristics bear to the total population or in accordance with any criterion other than the individual qualifications of an applicant for employment or membership.
· Adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of covered characteristics that are specified in various provisions of current law that prohibit persons or entities from discriminating on the basis of most of the covered characteristics.
· Adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of covered characteristics that are specified in various provisions of current law that require certain functions or duties to be performed without discrimination, require certain documents to include statements pertaining to nondiscrimination, or pertain to discrimination on the basis of most of the covered characteristics.
Of course, can't have an equality bill without a hate response. Brought to you by Mr. Wildmon
North Carolina's General Assembly is considering an anti-bullying bill that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. You'd think something like this -- legislation to keep kids safe in school -- wouldn't be hard to pass, but the homo/transphobic wingnuts, obviously find no problem with children who are non-gender conforming getting their asses kicked over and over while teachers and administrators look the other way.
Bullying is no laughing matter. The parents of a teen who committed suicide because of relentless bullying in high school have filed a fed lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against the administrators of Mentor High School.
Seventeen Eric Mohat was repeatedly called "gay," "fag," "queer" and "homo," many times in front of his teachers. (ABC):
"When you lose a child like this it destroys you in ways you can't even describe," Eric Mohat's father told ABCNews.com.
The parents aren't seeking any compensation; rather, they are asking that Mentor High School recognize their son's death as a "bullicide" and put in place what they believe is a badly needed anti-bullying program.
...The Mohats also claim that bullying was a "significant factor" in the deaths of three other students in Eric Mohat's class in 2007.
Mentor high school officials confirmed that a girl and two other boys in Eric's class had killed themselves in 2007.
According to Janet Klee, a counselor at Chrysalis, a suicide survivors support group, who counseled two of the surviving families, the suicides were connected to bullying.
"These kids," said Klee, "were extremely bright, and [the bullies] thought they were nerds. I say that not in a derogative but in a good sense. These were good kids who were easy targets for bullying."
Dan Hughes, whose son Brandon was a friend of Eric's, said he had withdrawn his son from Mentor High School after he was relentlessly bullied. Brandon, now 19 and working, wrote a suicide note, citing the taunts, two weeks after Eric Mohat's death.
"What it boils down to is the football players, cheerleaders and kids with money have a different set of rules than everybody else," Hughes told ABCNews.com.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) cited this case in Ohio in its call to effect change around the country -- too few schools protect kids from this sort of vicious taunting.
"As a parent myself, I can't fathom surviving the pain of losing a child, or working through the rage of feeling that other adults did not take sufficient care of your child while your child was in their hands," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "But Janis and William Mohat are working to build a lasting legacy out of this tragedy, by trying to ensure that no other student has to endure what Eric did.
"Bullying and harassment are endemic problems in far too many schools, especially anti-LGBT bullying and harassment. Despite this fact, far too many schools look the other way."
Nearly two-thirds of LGBT students (60.8%) who experience harassment or assault never reported the incident to the school, according to the GLSEN's 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 LGBT students. The most common reason given was that they didn't believe anything would be done to address the situation. Of those who did report the incident, nearly a third (31.1%) said the school staff did nothing in response.
A top level Republican IT consultant who was set to testify in a case alleging GOP election tampering in Ohio died in a plane crash late Friday night.
Michael Connell -- founder of Ohio-based New Media Communications, which created campaign Web sites for George W. Bush and John McCain -- died instantly after his single-prop, private aircraft smashed into a vacant home in suburban Lake Township, Ohio.
..."The plane was attempting to land around 6 p.m. Friday at Akron-Canton Airport when it crashed about three miles short of the runway," reports the Akron Beacon Journal.
Michael L. Connell was served with a subpoena in Ohio on Sept. 22 in a case alleging that vote-tampering during the 2004 presidential election resulted in civil rights violations. Connell, president of GovTech Solutions and New Media Communications, is a website designer and IT professional who created a website for Ohio's secretary of state that presented the results of the 2004 election in real time as they were tabulated.
At the time, Ohio's Secretary of State, Kenneth J. Blackwell, was also chairman of Bush-Cheney 2004 reelection effort in Ohio.
Connell is refusing to testify or to produce documents relating to the system used in the 2004 and 2006 elections, lawyers say.
Gee, is that the same Ken Blackwell who is now vying to be the next head of the GOP? Oh, yes, that's right. The Republican party is all about a "makeover." But back to Connell. Journalist Larisa Alexandrovna is questioning whether the fatal crash was an accident.
"...I have reason to believe that the alternate accounts were used to communicate with US Attorneys involved in political prosecutions, like that of Don Siegelman," said RAW STORY's Investigative News Editor, Larisa Alexandrovna, on her personal blog Saturday morning. "This is what I have been working on to prove for over a year. In fact, it was through following the Siegelman-Rove trail that I found evidence leading to Connell. That is how I became aware of him. Mike was getting ready to talk. He was frightened.
"He has flown his private plane for years without incident. I know he was going to DC last night, but I don't know why. He apparently ran out of gas, something I find hard to believe. I am not saying that this was a hit nor am I resigned to this being simply an accident either. I am no expert on aviation and cannot provide an opinion on the matter. What I am saying, however, is that given the context, this event needs to be examined carefully."
"Mr. Connell has confided that he was being threatened, something that his attorneys also told the judge in the Ohio election fraud case," concluded Alexandrovna.
An Ohio man in a high place at a conservative Christian school is accused of soliciting sex in open air.
52-year-old Robert Williams, Chief Financial Officer of Cincinnati Christian University, was arrested with two others on Saturday, said to have "manually stimulated" an undercover police officer in Mount Airy Forest. He is charged with sexual imposition.
The university has placed Williams on administrative leave while officials "assess the facts of the case."
...Police stings targeting men who cruise men in places such as rest stops and public parks have been regarded as entrapment by activists, while hailed and encouraged by figures such as Fort Lauderdale, Florida mayor Jim Naugle, who proposed mechanical "robo-toilets" in public places to combat what he saw as an epidemic of gay men having public sex in the city's parks. The call to "flush Naugle" became louder as what he called a public health campaign was criticized as anti-gay prejudice.
In the 85th District south of Columbus, three-term incumbent Republican John Schlichter of Washington Court House is in a tough battle against Democrat Ray Pryor.
...Schlichter's re-election chances have been hampered by Democrats bringing up his more than $434,000 in debt, including $280,000 unpaid taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. The debts result from the failure of Schlichter's farm.
As an apparent diversion, Schlichter is accusing Pryor of "re-defining the American family" and "opening the doors to special rights for special interests"--meaning that Pryor supports LGBT equality and adoption rights.
"Liberal Ray Pryor supports gay adoption," a mailer says in large print. Schlichter's radio ad says Pryor supports a "homosexual agenda."
"As our state representative, John Schlichter will continue to defend traditional marriage--preserving it as the sacred union between one man and one woman," the mailers say.
Yawn. Since Ohio already has a marriage amendment, I'm not sure what this messaging does. Eric Resnick's article mentions that there is one piece of legislation they can cling to. The same sort of gay baiting is being employed by the Ohio GOP in the 22nd district.
Republican Mike Keenan, an insurance salesman and Dublin city councilor, is touting his "faith in God" and belief in "strong values" as the reason why he should defeat Democrat John Carney, an attorney.
..."Our families are the bedrock of society," says Keenan's campaign literature. "Michael Keenan will strengthen families by keeping marriage between a man and a woman."
Keenan also claims that he will "make sure our government maintains respect for our Creator." He did not respond to requests for comment.
And the kicker? Protect your keyboards...
In January, [Ohio Republican Party spokesperson Scott] McClelland told the Gay People's Chronicle the GOP was planning to "do a better job reaching out to the LGBT community. We're not attempting to drive wedges between communities."
The Ohio GOP was trying to force secretary of state Jennifer Brunner to oversee a program that would look at each new voter registration in the state (as many as 600,000 people) and cancel any registrations that showed any inconsistencies. Translating, this means that the GOP wanted to force Brunner's office to identify all kinds of tiny errors on voter-registration cards and prevent all such people from voting.
The court ruled on kind of a technical point, but even so, the ruling has the effect of supporting Brunner's position that mismatches between voting records and drivers' licenses or Social Security cards were not enough on their own to disqualify voters.
The Los Angeles Times explains the details of the case a bit more, and what the technical detail is:
The justices overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio's top elections official to do more to help counties verify voter eligibility.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, faced a deadline today to set up a system to provide local officials with names of newly registered voters whose driver's license numbers or Social Security numbers on voter registration forms don't match records in other government databases.
...In a brief unsigned opinion, the justices said they were not commenting on whether Ohio is complying with a provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 that lays out requirements for verifying voter eligibility.
Instead, they said they were granting Brunner's request because it appears that the law does not allow private entities, like the Ohio GOP, to file suit to enforce the provision of the law at issue.
In at least the one battleground state of Ohio, a major effort to disenfranchise a large group of voters has been successfully turned back.
Tim Russo has part two of the McCain/Palin Mob in Strongsville, OH (part 1 here), where he interviews wingers outside of a Bible Spice rally, asking them the question "Do you think Barack Obama is a terrorist?" Tim:
This video includes a family who believes Barack Obama is a terrorist. They brought an Obama doll, to show he's a "puppet", and when asked why, their small child says "you need gloves to touch him". Bonus footage of 2 closeted gays - see if you can tell which ones!
Bottom line - I have never seen such a dangerous group of people at a presidential rally, so willing to announce their views to a guy holding a camera, and so transparently up to no good. These people are very easily incited, as we have seen, and they need to be exposed.
In particular, a woman, who teaches her own child, that the next president of the United States is so vile that "you need gloves to touch him" needs to be put on video, and see how her views look in the light of day. I don't know how anyone can teach their own child this level of hate.
These people are boldly ignorant.
Some select quotes in response to "Do you think Barack Obama is a terrorist?":
Woman 1: "He's a domestic terrorist."
Tim: "So why did John McCain stand onstage with him?"
Woman 1: "Because he's an honest, good man."
Woman 2: "Sarah [Palin] is a normal woman."
Tim: "and Barack is...?"
Woman 2: "He's a politician, a seasoned politician."
Tim: "That doesn't make him normal?"
Woman 2: "No...no...how many politicians are there versus normal people?
Tim: "Sarah's one."
Woman 2: "She's a politician but she's more on the normal side."
Woman 3: "SHE'S A WOMAN!!"
***
Tim: "How long have you known Sarah Palin?"
Woman 4 (carrying a Barack Obama doll/puppet): "All my life."
A man next to her is carrying a sign that says "NObama, my Grandma said, "You are the company you keep." Tim asks "what company are you referring to." The man says: "the likes of guys like Bill Ayers."
***
Man #2: "I think he's a Communist and a Marxist...I think he was indoctrinated by the teachings of his father."
Tim: "You know he only saw his father twice in his entire life."
Man #2: "The teachings of his father...not personally."
Another video of conservative crazies spewing bile is after the jump.
Sigh. As I've said before, the IQ of these conservatives is dropping like an anchor.
Tim Russo at BloggerInterrupted interviewed some of the ignorant yahoos at a Bible Spice rally in Strongsville, OH and the ignorance -- added on top of the proud bluster, is incredible:
A sample of the comments:
"I think he (Obama) is a one-man terror cell."
"He's got the bloodlines...look at the name."
"There have been more personal interviews with Sarah Palin than Barack Obama."
And then some tool comes up to one of the unhinged yahoos who can't stay away from the camera and instructs her - "Don't answer any questions until he (Tim) submits them to you in writing."
***
Straight from the Straight Talking Maverick Machine into my mailbox. The smell of flopsweat and desperation requires a Glade Plug-in as they feed upon this intellectual mob's desire with the release of its latest ad this AM,"Ayers".
ANNCR: Barack Obama and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. Friends. They've worked together for years.
But Obama tries to hide it. Why?
Obama launched his political career in Ayers' living room.
Ayers and Obama ran a radical "education" foundation, together.
They wrote the foundation's by-laws, together.
Obama was the foundation's first chairman.
Reports say they, "distributed more than $100 million to ideological allies with no discernible improvement in education."
When their relationship became an issue, Obama just responded, "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood."
That's it?
We know Bill Ayers ran the "violent left wing activist group" called Weather Underground.
We know Ayers' wife was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
We know they bombed the Capitol. The Pentagon. A judge's home.
We know Ayers said, "I don't regret setting bombs. .... I feel we didn't do enough."
But Obama's friendship with terrorist Ayers isn't the issue.
The issue is Barack Obama's judgment and candor.
When Obama just says, "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood."
Americans say, "Where's the truth, Barack?"
Barack Obama. Too risky for America.
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.
If this is such a critical issue in the campaign at this juncture -- and he approves of the message, then why did John McCain not take the opportunity to stand onstage with the "terrorist" during this week's town hall on national television and personally ask Obama about his past "associations?' No cojones, McSame? Don't want your past associations on the table? Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow discuss some of those McGuilt by Association ties. See the video below the fold.
The breathtakingly ignorantOhio State Rep. Jeff Wagner (R) made headlines for his opposition to "dangerous and misguided" legislation banning discrimination against LGBTs in employment and housing. His sent off an absurd response to a constituent that if H.B. 502/S.B. 305 passed it would lead to "more sexually transmitted diseases, kids without parents, heartbroken people and I believe a host of mental and physical illnesses."
I'm pleased to learn that twenty-four members of the House Democratic caucus were quick to respond. Here is the text of a letter to Wagner and Husted sent last Friday, reprinted yesterday by the blogger Miss Vicki:
It has come to our attention that you have sent an email to all Members and staff with language that we believe is inappropriate and unprofessional for the civil dialogue this august body normally upholds.
We, the undersigned Democratic Members of the House, stand united against any type of discriminatory speech. Discrimination against anyone for any reason is wrong.
We strongly disagree with your statements.
The letter is signed by Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, ODP Chair Chris Redfern, Ted Celeste, Bob Hagan, Mike Foley, Tom Letson, Ron Gerberry, Joe Koziura, Kenny Yuko, Peter Ujvagi, Dale Mallory, Sandra Williams, Dan Stewart, Barbara Boyd, Edna Brown, Michael Skindell, Stephen Slesnick, Armond Budish, Steve Driehaus, Tyrone Yates, Clayton Luckie, John Domenick, and Tracy Heard.
We probably all owe Wagner something for revealing so widely the ugly bigotry and ignorance that underlies opposition to equality for the LGBT community, something that supporters of social justice must never forget.
We need to create a Sally Kern Award for the most batsh*t homophobic comment of the month. Check out Jeff Wagner, a Republican who represents the 81st district in Ohio. He believes that same-sex committed relationships lead to mental and physical illness. When a constituent asked about H.B. 502, the "Equal Housing and Employment Act", that would cover LGBTs, this is what Wagner said via email (spelling and grammar intact):
"[T]his is a dangerous and misguided bill. The bill is not really about people being denied rights to basic needs, but it is about promoting acceptance of an immoral lifestyle. As much as some people would have us to believe otherwise, this country was founded on Christian principles. One of those long honored principles is the tradition of holy matrimony. One man and one woman joined together in a union that goes as far back as Adam and Eve. As our society has gotten further from that standard (not just homosexuality, but easy divorce, cheating on a spouse, etc.) we see a continued collapse of the basic building block of society the family unit. As that traditional family erodes, we see more sexually transmitted diseases, kids without parents, heartbroken people and I believe a host of mental and physical illnesses. . . . rest assured I can not support a bill in any way promotes or encourages the homosexual lifestyle."
Wagner's rant is also a reminder, as one of our PFLAG supporters in Ohio pointed out, of just how much misinformation is out there when it comes to issues like this one, and legislation like H.B. 502.
In fact, one wonders if Mr. Wagner has considered whether it might not be more damaging to "family values" to have a family member fired from their job, or denied a home for them and their loved ones, simply because of who they are, or who they love.
Need I say more? Now it's come down to official scrubbing the use and abuse of Tasers by law enforcement. From Ohio, a look at where the police state is going.
A Summit County Common Pleas judge ordered the county medical examiner to delete any reference that Tasers contributed to the deaths of three Ohio men.
All three men were in an 'agitated' state and 'on drugs' when police officers shot them with Tasers, and the judge ordered their deaths be ruled 'accidental' also that any reference to "homicide or "electrical pulse stimulation" should be deleted from death certificates and autopsy reports."
Five sheriff's deputies had been indicted on charges related to the death of one of the men, who also had a history of mental illness. The judge further ordered that man's death be ruled as "undetermined" and to "delete any references to homicide and the death possibly being caused by asphyxia, beatings or other factors."
Wow. Not only the Taser reference is scrubbed, but all the other kinds of abuses common in police brutality cases! My, my. And yes, someone from Taser International had something to say about the ruling. It's after the jump.
Ohio passed one of the most repressive marriage amendments (barring same-sex civil marriages or any other legal recognition whatsoever), so there has been scrambling to find ways to move the civil rights bar forward given that the state constitution won't be altered any time soon.
Legislation has been introduced to bar discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodation based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
A trio of Ohio lawmakers introduced bills Tuesday to make it illegal to discriminate against people in employment, housing or public accommodations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
"Ohio is among the most unwelcoming states in the nation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," Lynne Bowman, executive director for Equality Ohio, said in a news release. "Today, Ohio took a major step toward fairness and equality."
Bowman cited a recent survey that found two-thirds of Ohioans favor passage of the legislation.
... Sen. Dale Miller, D- Cleveland, is the main sponsor of the Senate bill. He has introduced similar measures in the past but noted at a news conference in Columbus that the bills introduced Tuesday have a record number of co-sponsors and the promise of committee hearings.
Plus, Gov. Ted Strickland has told the bills' sponsors that he would sign the measure into law, said Sandy Theis, a spokeswoman for the effort.
Miller has introduced similar legislation twice before and it died in committee; let's hope it fare better this time.
Justice Department Voting Section Chief John Tanner's "investigation of the 2004 election in Ohio concluded that long lines and late voting precincts were due to the fact that white voters tend to cast ballots in the morning (i.e., before work) and black voters cast ballots in the afternoon (i.e., after work)," Conyers said in a release.
Oh. my. god. Did Tanner not take a cursory look at the fact that in 2004, then-Ohio Secretary of State (and former gubernatorial candidate) Ken Blackwell disenfranchised thousands of voters with registration hurdles, fewer voting machines in black precincts (a good number of them were broken), causing the long lines and confusion. The Patriot Pastor-sponsored Blackwell was also co-chair of Bush's re-election committee. From Robert Kennedy, Jr.'s piece, Was the 2004 Election Stolen?:
In fact, his campaign to subvert the will of the voters had begun long before Election Day. Instead of welcoming the avalanche of citizen involvement sparked by the campaign, Blackwell permitted election officials in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo to conduct a massive purge of their voter rolls, summarily expunging the names of more than 300,000 voters who had failed to cast ballots in the previous two national elections.(55) In Cleveland, which went five-to-one for Kerry, nearly one in four voters were wiped from the rolls between 2000 and 2004.(56)
...In a now-infamous decree, Blackwell announced on September 7th -- less than a month before the filing deadline -- that election officials would process registration forms only if they were printed on eighty-pound unwaxed white paper stock, similar to a typical postcard. Justifying his decision to ROLLING STONE, Blackwell portrayed it as an attempt to protect voters: ''The postal service had recommended to us that we establish a heavy enough paper-weight standard that we not disenfranchise voters by having their registration form damaged by postal equipment.'' Yet Blackwell's order also applied to registrations delivered in person to election offices. He further specified that any valid registration cards printed on lesser paper stock that miraculously survived the shredding gauntlet at the post office were not to be processed; instead, they were to be treated as applications for a registration form, requiring election boards to send out a brand-new card.
Many more shenanigans are documented, in a detailed report written by Conyers, What Went Wrong in Ohio.Tanner didn't look very hard; he was too busy making observations about white and black voting patterns based on...facts he pulled out of his bum. The Brad Blog and TPM Muckracker have been all over this. Brad has video of Tanner spewing BS like this.
"Of course, that also ties in with a racial aspect, because our society is such that minorities don't become elderly. The way that white people do. They die first," Tanner explained to those of us in the room.
"So anything that disproportionately impacts the elderly, has the opposite impact on minorities. Just, the math is such as that," he said, concluding, "The minorities in Georgia, statistically, slightly, are more likely to have ID."
In other words, Tanner concludes that Photo ID laws actually negatively impact non-minorities and seemingly give minorities a greater voice.
A group called Equal Rights Not Special Rights said it had obtained enouch signatures on its petitions to place a repeal Cincinnati's anti-discrimination measure protecting gays on the ballot. The group, headed by Ohio State Rep. Tom Brinkman, was caught perpetrating petition fraud and withdrew it once it was discovered names had been falsified.
A Cincinnati judge says Brinkman should be charged; a grand jury indicted two women with the group, but the lawmaker skated... (365gay):
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman was sentencing two women who worked for Brinkman collecting names to have a repeal measure placed on the ballot in 2006.
The women working for Equal Rights Not Special Rights, headed up by the Republican lawmaker, pleaded guilty last month to election falsification.
...More than 7,600 signatures that were validated by the Hamilton County Board of Elections but the phony names were discovered during a second check before a challenge from Restore Fairness, a pro-gay rights group, was to begin before the Board of Elections. Among the phony signatures were "Fidel Castro" and Cincinnati Reds owner "Bob Castellini."
The women were sentenced on Monday to probation and 200 hours each of community service.
...But said Ruehlman: "I still think real culprit is Rep. Brinkman."
"Somehow he falls between the cracks and is not prosecuted? the guy in power is the one who should have been indicted."
"Jesus loves the homosexual, but he doesn't love homosexuality. This is about holding each other accountable." -- Dave Daubenmire, the founder of Minutemen United and Pass the Salt Ministries, who thinks breaking into church services to rail about the homos share "the word of God" is appropriate. (more on him below)
A "Christian" extremist group has decided to take their anti-gay message on the road and try to shake some sense into renegade churches that dare to be gay-affirming.
Members of the organization, Minutemen United, have crashed services at the First Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio every Sunday since July when, the church landed on the Minuteman hit list for hosting "Love Makes a Family," the Family Diversity Project's traveling photography exhibit of LGBT families. (Columbus Dispatch):
On one of the first Sundays, six people came to the church's 11 a.m. service and addressed the congregation during a time designated for prayer requests and comments.
[Senior pastor Rev. Kathy] Hurt said a man, who introduced himself as a minister from the New Beginnings Church in Warsaw, Ohio, started to give a sermon about how the church was acting against God's word by accepting homosexuals.
The other church on the Minuteman list was Columbus's King Avenue United Methodist Church in Columbus where the Rev. John Keeny said: "They rebuked me as a pastor for preaching that God's love is for everyone."
Alex Blaze of The Bilerico Project hits the nail on the head about these "Christians":
But this comes down to respect for people's religions, and the Religious Right always declares themselves on the side of religious freedom promulgating paranoid fantasies of police rounding up pastors after hate crimes legislations gets passed or school teachers locking away students with Bibles or whatever. But then when it comes to anyone who disagrees with them, suddenly the word "freedom" gets exposed for the window dressing that it is.
And about that Daubenmire fellow. Let's just say that he shouldn't cast stones, as his son was convicted on child pornography charge.
Not only that, he's yet another fundie with a very odd fixation on homosexuality. He forced himself to attend a Gay Pride parade in Columbus and made these keen observations (something I blogged about back in July):
The homosexual leadership, those who work iniquity, has done a great public relations job. They have convinced us that Tommy and Billy who live down the street are the real face of homosexuality. Sadly, as those who walked into the den of iniquity with us on Saturday can attest, the under-belly of sodomy is a despicable thing to see. A friend once told me that I should never go to a meat packing shop and watch hot-dogs being made. If I did, he warned me, I would never eat another hot-dog as long as I lived.
The same can be said for the sodomite parade. The "meat" on display will forever change the way you view homosexuality. Sin has no boundaries, no clutch, and no emergency brake. Once you dip your toe into the pool of sin, especially sexual sin, there is a magnetism that will not let go. The debauchery parading down our public streets is abominable.
The highly restrictive marriage amendment in Ohio was the cause of much concern because of its unintended impact on victims of domestic violence (gay or straight). (365gay):
In a 6-1 decision, justices rejected the argument that the domestic violence law was unenforceable in cases involving unmarried couples because it refers to them as living together "as a spouse."
Chief Justice Thomas Moyer wrote in the opinion that lawmakers included many groups under the domestic violence law, and that describing people's living arrangements isn't the same as creating a law approximating marriage.
The gay marriage ban prohibited the government from creating any such approximation.
"The state does not create cohabitation; rather it is a person's determination to share some of life's responsibilities with another that creates cohabitation," Moyer wrote. "The state does not have a role in creating cohabitation, but it does have a role in creating a marriage."
Equality Ohio is pleased that the second sentence of the amendment was narrowly defined by the court in this instance. The decision keeps in place increased protections for persons who are victims of violence at the hands of someone with whom they live.
However, this decision does not address same-sex couples and their families who continue to suffer in the wake of the Amendment. In fact, the court's statement seems to single out same-sex couples for an even more narrow and hostile interpretation of the Amendment language. The court's statement specifically says: "The second sentence of the amendment prohibits the state and its political subdivisions from circumventing the mandate of the first sentence by recognizing a legal status similar to marriage (for example, a civil union)." By specifically listing "civil union" as an example the court has made life even harder for same-sex couples trying to care for each other and their children in Ohio.
Busted in Ohio. Some not-so-smart anti-gay peeps from an outfit called Equal Rights Not Special Rights have pleaded guilty to falsifying petition signatures in an attempt to repeal an anti-discrimination measure on the books that protects gays. A state rep is caught up in the mess as well.
A Republican lawmaker behind an unsuccessful bid to repeal Cincinnati's ordinance protecting gays from discrimination has been accused of knowing names to get the issue onto the ballot in 2006 were fraudulent.
...State Rep. Tom Brinkman, who was the head of the organization was never charged, but at a hearing the judge in the case suggested he was involved and knew that Lois Mingo, 48, and Precilla Ward, 32, had falsified the petitions by crossing out names and addresses of signers and replacing them with addresses of registered voters in order to make them appear valid.
"It's terrible," said Judge Robert Ruehlman from the bench. "It takes away the right to democracy. It takes away the right for people to decide issues when you cheat like that."
Brinkman denies any wrongdoing. "I personally did not touch a single address or date or signature or name or anything," he told the Associated Press.
Laughably, the idiots included obviously fraudulent names on the petition, including "Fidel Castro" and the owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, "Bob Castellini."
Granville, Ohio (near Columbus) is dealing with an unfortunate band of pesky bible beating street preachers who are carrying large signs and Bibles in front of the First Baptist Church of Granville to protest a "Love Makes a Family" photo exhibit held there.
Love Makes a Family's site describes the traveling exhibit, which also includes interviews with families that have LGBT members, as a way to "combat homophobia by breaking silence and making the invisible visible."
The Equality Ohio Education Fund is partnering with seven communities to put on the exhibit; it will be at the First Baptist Church through Saturday (today), from 9AM - 2PM. I'm sure the fundies will be back.
Gov. Ted Strickland, with a stroke of a pen, restored the ban on discrimination against state employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity. His predecessor, the highly ethical Bob Taft, removed those protections in 1999.
"The governor made the determination that this is necessary to ensure state employees are judged on work performance and not discriminated against for any reason in state offices," said Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey.
Gov. Richard Celeste, a Democrat, first issued an order including the category of sexual orientation from a policy banning employment bias in Ohio government. It was kept on the books unchanged by Republican Gov. George Voinovich.
Under Taft, the order cited categories protected by state or federal law, including military veteran status, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry and sex.
It's a ray of sunshine in Ohio, a state with a dismal constitutional amendment on the books that has wreaked havoc on the legal rights of both gay and (straight unmarried couples).
Just a few moments ago, he signed the first pro-equality law for our state in 16 years. He issued an Executive Order protecting over 60,000 state employees from job discrimination based on sexual orientation AND gender identity or expression. That's right, our transgender community members are protected, too.
Now, we need to make sure the Governor knows he made the right decision and that we are 100% behind him. Why? Because we expect some will try and make this decision controversial, despite the facts:
* 66% of Ohioans polled believe he's right
* 88% of Fortune 500 companies believe he's right
* It's already policy for many major Ohio companies
* It's already policy for many Ohio cities.
There is a form to send a thank you to Strickland.
After the flip, take a look at reactions from readers to the executive order.
As usual, a member opposed to the bill stood up and gave an asinine excuse for supporting discrimination -- even as he took care to say "When speaking against a bill like this, it's easy to come across the wrong way." I give you Republican Rep. Jeff Wagner:
The 
A group called Equal Rights Not Special Rights said it had obtained enouch signatures on its petitions to place a repeal Cincinnati's anti-discrimination measure protecting gays on the ballot. The group, headed by Ohio State Rep. Tom Brinkman, was caught perpetrating petition fraud and withdrew it once it was discovered names had been falsified. 
Granville, Ohio (near Columbus) is dealing with an unfortunate band of pesky bible beating street preachers who are carrying large signs and Bibles in front of the First Baptist Church of Granville to protest a "
