Morning News 5/21/10

 (Deep fried Mars bar and Snickers (medium sized) with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce. Courtesy Donkeydude.)

Ja! German Parliament approves massive contribution to European economic stabilization plan.

Shocked! I Am Shocked! The NYT reveals that some famous chefs (gasp) smoke weed! I always had my suspicions about the origin of the deep-fried candy bar...

Pay No Attention To That Oil Leak Behind The Curtain! The Great and Powerful BP Has Spoken! Some "confusion" as to just how much oil is gushing into the gulf right now.

Meanwhile... Rand Paul thinks BP should be left to its own devices. (Really Mr. Paul? How are "market forces" going to deal with this ecological disaster?)

Take That! Senate passes some sort of financial overhaul thingy.

Whew! Student anti-bullying law introduced in Senate.

Morning News 5/11/10

Strange Bedfellows. Lib Dems in talks with Tories, discuss vote reform as Brown's resignation approaches.

Girls Rock! Kagan will bring the number of lady judges on the court to three. Take that, patriarchy! Andrew Sullivan has more on right wingers foaming at the mouth over the nomination of a "sexually abnormal individual" to the nation's highest court. We need to circle the wagons people.

On Second Thought... World markets dip as optimism over bailout fades.

On the Other Hand... Melinda Beck over at WSJ wonders what you should do if your kid is gay. NARTH or PFLAG? (I'm all for balance, but interviewing discredited bigots and pretending that there's any validity to their point of view is bullshit. However, she does come down on the side of acceptance in the end. Whew!)

You're Harshin' My Buzz, Man. Medical Marijuana Dispensaries firebombed in Montana.

Crazy is the New Black. Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan faces teaparty challenge in West Virginia primary.

Way to Cite Precedent! Newsweek thinks gays should never play straight. Ted Casablanca thinks Newsweek should cram it.

Only a few days left to vote in the "Hung Parliament" quiz!

(Image from Paul Mazursky's 1970 film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice starring Robert Culp, Natalie Wood, Elliot Gould and Dyan Cannon via Democratic Underground.)

Morning News 5/10/10

Farewell. Lena Horne dies at 92. A truly great woman.


Yep. Obama to nominate Kagan for SCOTUS. Girl Power!


Yuck. Environmental disaster as BP still can't halt gushing rig. Hearings in Congress this week.


Sucks. But it's a good idea. Lawyer recommends gay couples keep legal documents on flash drives on them at all times. (I have to keep proving I'm related to my husband even after 15 years and it's getting pretty damn old.)


Sanctuary. UK policy sending gays back to countries where they face harassment, murder, challenged in highest court.

Yay, for now. As EU banks buy bonds, world financial markets up a bit.

Don't forget to vote in our "Hung Parliament" quiz over on the sidebar!

(Carl Van Vechten photograph of Lena Horne via Library of Congress and Wikipedia.)

Morning News 5/09/10

Call your Mother.

Not crazy enough. Utah Republican Bob Bennett ousted by teaparty in primary.

In related news... Utah Blue Dog creep Jim Matheson didn't win the Democratic endorsement either. He faces serious challenge from Brigham Young's great, great grandaughter Claudia Wright. ...and she's a lesbian and she's really smart, thank you very much.

Sound good for you? EU financial bigwigs plan to lay out Greek bailout details by Monday.

My ding-a-ling. Airport body scan leads to ridicule, violence. For Chrissakes, grow up people.

Oh, Florida. Tallahassee considers protecting queers.

In case you haven't done it yet. Call your Mother.

(Image of Parvati and Ganesh from Jaipur India ca 1820.)

Morning News 5/08/10

(I am not an asshole.)

Rachel Maddow on the Rekers story: Being gay cannot be cured. Being a hypocritical piece of shit, can. I'm paraphrasing a little. (via JMG)

Everybody look busy! EU bigwigs take action to contain financial crisis.

Anybody fired by Nixon is a friend of mine. Walter J. Hickel dies at 90.

Lithuanians hold gay pride parade despite attempted firebombing.

He said... he said. Clegg may or may not have suggested that Brown resign, which may or may not have led to an angry exchange between the two.

Elena Kagan said to be at top of Obama's SC nominee list. Kagan, as Dean of Harvard Law took decisive action against military recruitment on campus over DADT.

(Picture of Richard Nixon, probably firing someone, via Wikipedia and the White House Press Office.)

Morning News 5/06/10

I don't know a Howard Hunt... Family Research Council's Tony Perkins isn't sure who George Rekers is. Here's some info on Rekers. ...and here's Stephen Colbert's take via Huffpo.

Rock, scissors, paper. Brits go to polls today.

Waaah! Cardinal Lavada's response to the church's systematic abuse and cover up is that the media is mean.

Mazeltov!  Nigeria has a new President.

FLUSH! European economy not doing so well. Rest of planet mulls joining them.

Woof. Massachusetts church to offer worship services for "well mannered, leashed" dogs. Isn't it the other kind of dog that really needs to go to church?

(UberChrist Canine via CafePress.)

Homophobia in Turkey

Women and Family Affairs Minister Aliye Selma Kavaf remains under fire from Turkish gay rights groups who are totally pissed off that she referred to gayness as "...a disease (that) should be treated."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to reprimand Kavaf because his political party is pretty damn conservative.

The larger implications of this kerfuffle include European Union concerns that Turkey is not serious about signing on to member state agreements regarding basic human rights, which are requirements for joining the EU.