Marriage Equality Videos

Here are a couple videos put out by Keith Hartman (I have no idea who that is).  They hit on a similar theme – the selective use of Biblical scripture to further your cause – and do so pretty effectively.

500!

After starting this blog out of complete boredom on January 7, 2009, I’ve now reached my 500th post!

Thanks everyone for visiting and entertaining my outlet for sanity.  =)

xo/mark

My Current Deskop

Bridge. London. Click pic to enlarge.

Intimidation Fail

Shameless Pic Of Levi Johnston Shirtless

A camo belt with – wait – Carharts?  DILF ALERT!

(Thank you, Dlisted, for cropping-out that unfortunately-present baby thing.)

More, and the original, at GQ.

Houston The “Bottomiest” City

The guys at The Sword (NSFW) sent Joe My God their analysis of M4M ads by city on Craigslist.

HILARIOUS.

Don’t worry, Houston!  I’m coming!

Gillette Teaches Men How To Shave Their Groin

Um, apparently they’ll do anything if it might sell a damn razor.

PS: Looking  like a 10-year-old boy is not sexy.

Obama: What Promises?

Obama just spent two days in California raising $4 million dollars for the Democratic National Committee.

Outside the Beverly Hills location of last night’s event, groups waving pride flags protested the California Supreme Court’s recent Prop. 8 decision (above). Obama apparently made eye contact with one of them as he entered the building, as he referenced them in his remarks:

“One of them said, ‘Obama keep your promise,’ ” the president said. “I thought that’s fair. I don’t know which promise he was talking about.”

Not funny, Obama. Not. Funny.

Source.

So It’s Not Torture If We Blame It On ‘A Few Bad Apples’, Right?

Prison guards secure the main gate of the newly named Baghdad Central Prison in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib February 21, 2009. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen/Files

Not good:

Photographs of Iraqi prisoner abuse which U.S. President Barack Obama does not want released include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse, Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Thursday. [...]

“These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency,” [U.S. Major General Antonio] Taguba, who retired in January 2007, was quoted as saying in the paper. [...]

Based on what he’s seen, Taguba supports Obama’s decision not to release the photos: “The mere depiction of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it.”

More specifically:

The newspaper said at least one picture showed an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.

Others are said to depict sexual assaults with objects including a truncheon [aka baton], wire and a phosphorescent tube.

There are 400 cases alleging abuse.

I understand the distinction between so-called enhanced interrogation (or methods that may be considered torture) and abuse: one is sanctioned through the chain of command and the other is not.

However, as the details and the breadth of this abuse becomes more known, one has to wonder the validity of the ‘a few bad apples’ defense applied to Private Lynndie England et al.

If the military runs a prison and establishes a culture in that prison – obviously shaped and sanctioned by commanding officers -  such that abuse is disturbingly heinous and increasingly common, does the sanctioning and perpetuation of that culture by superior officers not push those acts from abuse to torture?

On an LGBT note, that instance of male/male rape is not going to be good for efforts to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Mr. Hudson Featuring Kanye West

Remember the featuring credit on Kanye West’s track “Paranoid” referring to a “Mr. Hudson”?

Well, the roles are reversed and Mr. Hudson has put out a new track featuring a Kanye solo (and yes, he’s auto-tuned).

It’s a great, up-tempo track and definitely makes me want to get more into this guy and his band, Mr. Hudson and the Library.

Mr. Hudson – Supernova (ft. Kanye West)

The above track comes from Mr. Hudson’s second album, “Straight No Chaser”, to be released on August 3.

Enjoy!

Warrantless GPS Tracking: Legal Or Not Legal?

Depends on the state, of course.

Wisconsin:

As the law currently stands, the court said police can mount GPS on cars to track people without violating their constitutional rights – even if the drivers aren’t suspects.

Officers do not need to get warrants beforehand because GPS tracking does not involve a search or a seizure, Judge Paul Lundsten wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel based in Madison.

That means “police are seemingly free to secretly track anyone’s public movements with a GPS device,” he wrote.

The above case reached the Court of Appeals after a man was tracked by GPS for five weeks before the Police retrieved the device and downloaded the information.  The geopositioning data was used to obtain a warrant to further a case that the man had been stalking a woman.

It was argued in the above case that the GPS tracking was an invasion of the suspect’s privacy because it ‘followed’ him into areas not in public view, like his garage. The court accepted the counter-argument, however, that the GPS data did not look into the garage but merely confirmed that he entered the garage, which clearly could have been learned from traditional, legal, and more costly visual surveillance.

In New York, however:

In its 4-3 ruling today, the state’s highest court overruled two lower courts and said state police should have obtained a warrant before placing a GPS device on Scott Weaver’s van for 65 days, reports the Associated Press. Weaver, who was convicted of burglarizing a store based in part on GPS data that placed him in its parking lot, will now get a new trial in his criminal case.

The state had argued that such high-tech surveillance is not appreciably different from standard visual surveillance methods, but the top court disagreed. “The massive invasion of privacy entailed by the prolonged use of the GPS device was inconsistent with even the slightest reasonable expectation of privacy,” writes Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman in the majority opinion.

Well I agree with the Wisconsin court’s strict interpretation that GPS tracking probably does not provide data or information that could not otherwise be obtained through more costly manned surveillance, the ease and simplicity GPS tracking provides definitely makes me wary of giving the police carte blanche and a green light, and I think this same wariness is reflected in the NY ruling, which, on the surface, seemed to ignore certain facts.

Best Music Video?

Ok, not ‘of all time’ but this new video from Yeah Yeah Yeahs is pretty close to perfection: a dancing werewolf in homage to Michael Jackson, decapitation, and red glitter. (Oh, and a bitchin’ song.) BRILLIANT.

New Wilco

“Wilco (The Album)” will be released June 30 and here’s one of the tracks.

Bull Black Nova

Enjoy!

New Modest Mouse!

Come August, Modest Mouse will release “No One’s First and You’re Next,” a collection of B-sides and unreleased tracks from their last two studio albums: “Good News for People Who Love Bad News” (2004) and “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank” (2007).

The first single from the eight-track EP is “Satellite Skin” and was released today.

Modest Mouse – Satellite Skin

Enjoy!

Stay Positive, Gays

Dan Savage on the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Proposition 8:

This morning’s decision was expected but, in the wake of so many recent victories, still saddening. But we have to remember that this is a long game and, despite this setback, we are winning. We’re going to hear a lot about Prop 8 today, and the fight to overturn it, but let’s not forget about Prop 22.

In 2000 California voters approved a law banning same-sex marriage. It was a ballot initiative, like Prop 8, but just a law, not a constitutional amendment. And it was that law, Prop 22, that the CA Supremes struck down in 2008, in their historic ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. And voters in 2000 approved Prop 22 in by a nearly 22-point margin. And eight years later the same voters would approved Prop 8 by four points. That’s an 18-point shift in favor of marriage equality in just eight years. That’s extraordinary progress. A loss is still a loss, and a loss sucks, but the trend is so strongly in our favor that we cannot lose hope. The anti-gay bigots know that they’re losing this debate, and it’s why they’re so hot to amend state constitutions now, while they still can, while they can still count on the votes of the old, the bigoted, and the easily manipulated. But they are losing and they know it.

We’re going to go back to the ballot box in California in 2010 or 2012 and voters are going to repeal Prop 8. Fundamental civil rights should not be subject to a popular vote, of course, and the CA Supremes had an opportunity to reaffirm that ideal. They chose not to, they buckled, and so we, unlike other minority groups, face the challenge of securing our rights at the ballot box. That seems daunting prospect until you recall 2000’s Prop 22 and compare its margin of victory to that of 2008’s Prop 8. Again, we witnessed an eighteen point shift in favor of gay marriage in California in just eight years. We can move another four points. We just have to stay in the fight and remind ourselves and each other that we are winning.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting, via Twitter, that arrests have began of of non-violent protesters in San Francisco.

San Diego Pride is encouraging civil disobedience among those protesting in that city.

Day of Decision is coordinating protests across the nation. Go here to find your state/city.

Towleroad has more.

My Current Desktop

Mailbox. Oxford, England. Click pic to enlarge.

Michael Jackson Delays Start Of Tour

Sigh.  I wanted to believe that Michael had gotten his shit together but apparently he’s the same ol’ hot mess:

Jackson has reschedule the first four dates of his fifty-date run at London’s O2 Arena; opening night has been moved from July 8 to July 13.

Rescheduling to buy yourself five days?!  LAME.

But wait, there’s more: the other dates that are being rescheduled – July 10, 12, and 14 – are being moved to the end of the tour in March 2010.  QUADRUPLE LAME.

It’s great that the people that managed to snag opening night tickets will still get to experience opening night – I mean, there would have been riots – but I feel bad for the second-, third-, and fourth-night ticketholders that will have to wait an extra eight months for their show.

Something tells me there is going to be a lot more drama before the end of this…

Source.

SNL: Celebrity Jeopardy Returns!

Burt Reynolds! Sean Connery!

New York City To Require Sixth Area Code

By late 2011, we’ll have used up 212, 646, 718, 347, and 917. Daaamn.

Officials are now trying to determine whether to introduce a city-wide area code (currently, 917 is the only area code that serves all five boroughs) or an area code just for the outer boroughs, which are currently served by 718 and 347 (212 and 646 serve Manhattan exclusively).

A new five-borough area code is expected to last until 2017.

Source.

PS: Remember the “Seinfeld” where Elaine gets a 646 number and no one believes its a real number?

MAN: You’re probably one of those women who doesn’t like to give out her number.
ELAINE: No, I’m not. Here you go.
MAN: 646?
ELAINE: It’s a new area code.
MAN: What area? New Jersey?
ELAINE: No, no. It’s right here in the city. It’s the same as 212. They just multiplied it by 3, and then they added one to the middle number. It’s the same.
MAN: Do I have to dial a one first?
Elaine nods and the man crumples up her number.
MAN: I’m really kinda seein’ somebody.
ELAINE: Yeah? Well, so am I!

Classic!

Coldplay Live CD – “LeftRightLeftRightLeft”

Coldplay on Friday began distributing via their website a free nine-track CD of live performances captured from various dates on their tour.

It’s a good collection of tracks and the tremendous enthusiasm of the Coldplay crowd really helps elevate the energy.

Go here for your copy. Thanks Coldplay!

My Current Desktop

Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Austin, Texas. Click pic to enlarge.

Jon Stewart: Moral Kombat (Updated)

I was happy I caught the beginning of “The Daily Show” last night because Jon, as he does better than anyone in media, highlighted the ridiculous juxtaposition of the torture debate/prisoner abuse photo ’scandal’ with the administration’s lack of action on DADT, specifically in regards to Dan Choi.

The quote Towleroad pulled sums it up: “So it was okay to waterboard a guy over 80 times, but God forbid the guy who could understand what that prick was saying….has a boyfriend.”

Yep, pretty much.

Required viewing:

Update 3:44 PM: Apparently taking the lead from the above, a reporter challenged Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today on the logic of not releasing torture photos because they would endanger the troops but allowing the firing of Arabic linguists, like Dan Choi, who would presumably protect the troops.

Watch:

Cases of gay Arabic linguists being dismissed from Iraq have been around forever but I’m glad the mainstream media is really biting into it this time.

Via JMG.

New Music From Mika!

Mika is set to release an EP titled “Songs For Sorrow” and I’ve got two of the tracks below.

Three of the EP’s tracks will be available to download from Mika’s website tomorrow, May 15, at 12:30 PM (timezone unclear); the four-track physical version will be available June 8 at MikaSounds.com, Lanvin stores in London, and Paul Smith stores worldwide.

Mika’s apparently also has an LP on the way but details are pretty scarce.

These two songs are more along the tempo of “Any Other World” than “Grace Kelly” but it’s still nice to hear his voice again.

Mika – Lonely Alcoholic

Mika – Lady Jane

Enjoy!

Would You Pay $1550/Month For 210 Square Feet?

Well, 32-year-old Kevin Patterson does, but I assume it’s worth it because he lives in the hip/desirable/swank neighborhood of… the Upper West Side?

Kevin said that he moved into this jail cell walk-in closet from a place that was “four or five” times as big and his creative masochism decorating just won him top honors from Apartment Therapy in the “Teeny Tiny” division.

I swear to god if I’m 32 years old and paying $1550 a month for a 210-sqaure-foot studio, my friends better smack some serious sense into me.

Here are some pics:

From doorway.

From window.

Click the above to enlarge.

The innovations (he mounted a mop to the rear of that mirror, for example), more pics, and the floor plan are here.

Via Gothamist.

NYS Assemblywoman Joan Millman Responds To My Letter On Marriage Equality

On April 30, I wrote my representative in the New York State Assembly, Ms. Joan L. Millman, to request that she support marriage equality in New York State.  Today I received this response:

May 13, 2009

Dear Mr. ————:

I am writing in response to your correspondence requesting my support for A.7732/S.4401, legislation that would allow individuals to marry regardless of their sexual orientation, introduced by Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell and Senator Thomas Duane.

I was proud to vote for the Marriage Equality Act when it came before the Assembly in 2007 and am equally as delighted to have been able to vote again last night for this necessary legislation.

As you are aware, there are more than 1300 allowable rights that accompany a marriage contract, rights that should be naturally available to couples without possessing a certificate of marriage. As we learned 55 years ago, separate is not always equal. It is my hope that this Act will pass the State Senate so that all who choose to may enjoy the rights and privileges associated with marriage, as sanctioned by the State of New York.

Thank you for your correspondence and sharing your views with me.

Sincerely,

Joan L. Millman
Member of Assembly

JLM:cdp

Thank you for your vote Ms. Millman!

As I noted earlier, the Assembly passed the above bill 89-52. The date when this bill will be heard in the Senate – where the vote will be much closer – has not yet been determined.

As you may remember, I also wrote and received a favorable response from my State Senator, Velmanette Montgomery.

Find out who your New York State Senator is and write them now.

Ad Supporting Marriage Equality Begins Airing Upstate

The Empire State Pride Agenda has begun airing  an ad in the Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany television markets aimed at putting a human face on the marriage equality battle.

Towleroad:

[The ad] features Barb and Don Crawford from Cicero, New York and their two daughters — one straight, one gay. Their straight daughter married a man she fell in love with three years ago. Their gay daughter met a woman she fell in love with 12 years ago. They have a child, and are still waiting to marry.

The ad will go statewide in the coming weeks.

C’MON NEW YORK!

New York Assembly Passes Gay Marriage Bill

The outcome was not surprising but the path was: the bill received support from five Republicans and several members who voted against the bill in 2007.

Much of the bill’s support can be linked to the work of the Assembly’s first openly gay member, Manhattan’s Daniel O’Donnell. The Times ran a brief profile of him yesterday and described his tenacious, aggressive, and sometimes flirtatious approach to gaining his fellow colleague’s support.

One of his targets was Assemblyman Greg Ball:

He stopped Mr. Ball’s parents while they were visiting the Capitol, and asked them to urge their son to back the measure. He cornered Mr. Ball in a statehouse elevator, and taunted him: vote for same-sex marriage, or you won’t get invited to my engagement party.

Mr. O’Donnell has even told Mr. Ball, a square-jawed former Air Force captain, that he was “the best looking guy in the Assembly, and he owed it to the gays to vote yes.”

“Did I think that overt flirtation was going to get Greg Ball to vote yes?” Mr. O’Donnell recalled. “Didn’t know. But I was going to try.”

And, since I know you want it: here’s a photo of Greg Ball (and yes, he’s handsome).

To read more of Daniel O’Donnell’s profile go here. More on the Assembly’s vote here.

No date has been set for when the Senate will tackle the bill.

NYT: Is My (Heterosexual With One Sex Change) Marriage Gay?

Image: Kelly Blair

Today in The Times, op-ed contributor Jennifer Finney Boylan looks at the incidental ‘gay’ marriages that occur when one individual in an opposite sex marriage undergoes a sex change and the convoluted laws that apply to such arrangements.

One example is a 1999 Texan ruling regarding spousal inheritance that determined marriage could only be between those with different chromosomes (which any biology student knows does not necessarily determine sex). The lawyer for the transgendered plaintiff, Mrs. Littleton, explained the absurdity:

“Taking this situation to its logical conclusion, Mrs. Littleton, while in San Antonio, Tex., is a male and has a void marriage; as she travels to Houston, Tex., and enters federal property, she is female and a widow; upon traveling to Kentucky she is female and a widow; but, upon entering Ohio, she is once again male and prohibited from marriage; entering Connecticut, she is again female and may marry; if her travel takes her north to Vermont, she is male and may marry a female; if instead she travels south to New Jersey, she may marry a male.”

Read the full letter here.

My Current Desktop

At the observation deck at 30 Rockefeller Center – AKA The Top of the Rock. Taken through an archway looking down at the street, approximately 850 feet below. Note the garden on the left hand side of the photograph. Click pic to enlarge.

New Dragonette!

Dragonette is slated to release their next LP, “Fixin To Thrill” in “August or September” and they’ve made the title track available for download on their MySpace page, ‘cuz they’re dope like that. Here it is:

Dragonette – Fixin To Thrill

If you don’t yet know Dragonette’s fun, party-ready mix of catchy melodies and cheeky lyrics, you should.  Start with these:

Dragonette – Take It Like A Man

Dragonette – I Get Around

Enjoy!

(Thanks Sean!)