Today in History: July 24

Texas Supreme Court forces HERO Ordinance to Referendum- July 24, 2015

Because voting on civil rights works out well so often.  Spoilers, Houston voters later repealed the non-discrimination ordinances.

From the Houston Chronicle:

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Houston City Council must repeal the city's equal rights ordinance or place it on the November ballot. 

The ruling comes three months after a state district judge ruled that opponents of Houston's contentious non-discrimination ordinance passed last year failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a repeal referendum.

"We agree with the Relators that the City Secretary certified their petition and thereby invoked the City Council's ministerial duty to reconsider and repeal the ordinance or submit it to popular vote," the Texas Supreme Court wrote in a per curiam opinion. "The legislative power reserved to the people of Houston is not being honored." Montenegro First Pride March- July 24, 2013

Montenegro First Pride March- July 24, 2013

From Reuters:

Police clashed with anti-gay protesters in Montenegro on Wednesday as they tried to disrupt the first gay pride parade to be held in the staunchly conservative Balkan country that is in talks to join the European Union.

Around 200 demonstrators hurled stones, bottles and flares at policemen in the coastal town of Budva who were keeping them separate from around 40 marchers wearing shirts bearing the colors of the rainbow, the symbol of the gay rights movement.

At least ten demonstrators were arrested and several marchers were slightly injured, according to police.

Protesters chanted "Kill the gays" and carried banners that read "Only healthy Montenegro", a Reuters reporter on the scene said.

Marriage Begins in New York- July 24, 2011

From the New York Times:

Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples, from retirees in Woodstock to college students in Manhattan, rushed to tiny town halls and big city clerks’ offices across New York to wed in the first hours of legal same-sex marriage on Sunday, turning a slumbering summer day into an emotional celebration.

They arrived by subway cars and stretch limousines, with children and with grandparents, in matching sequined ties and pinstriped suits, to utter words that once seemed unimaginable: I do.

Even those who had been together for decades, watching same-sex marriage become legal in surrounding states but suffer rejection in New York, said there was something unexpectedly moving and affirming about having their unions recognized by the state in which they live.

Today in History: July 16

FDA Approves Truvada- July 16, 2012

Link to the FDA Press release:

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), the first drug approved to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals who are at high risk of HIV infection and who may engage in sexual activity with HIV-infected partners. Truvada, taken daily, is to be used for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in combination with safer sex practices to reduce the risk of sexually-acquired HIV infection in adults at high risk[...] 

"Today’s approval marks an important milestone in our fight against HIV," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "Every year, about 50,000 U.S. adults and adolescents are diagnosed with HIV infection, despite the availability of prevention methods and strategies to educate, test, and care for people living with the disease. New treatments as well as prevention methods are needed to fight the HIV epidemic in this country." [...]   

The Partners PrEP trial was conducted in 4,758 heterosexual couples where one partner was HIV-infected and the other was not (serodiscordant couples). The trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of Truvada and tenofovir versus placebo in preventing HIV infection in the uninfected male or female partner. Results showed Truvada reduced the risk of becoming infected by 75 percent compared with placebo.

First Active Duty Military Openly In Pride Parade- July 16, 2011

From Reuters:

A group of U.S. service members marched in a San Diego gay pride parade on Saturday, in a demonstration organizers touted as an unprecedented step for gay and lesbian military personnel under the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

The military contingent in the parade numbered about 250 people, and the former Navy operations specialist who brought the group together said many are currently in the military, while the rest are veterans. They dressed in civilian clothes.

Utah Dems Elect State's First Gay Chair- July 16, 2011

From the Salt Lake City Tribune:

Utah Democrats made history Saturday afternoon, electing Jim Dabakis as state party chairman by a wide margin. He is believed to be the state's first openly gay major party leader[...]

Dabakis, who is an art dealer and co-founder of both the Utah Pride Center and Equality Utah, said his election shows how fair-minded the people of Utah are.

"I visited all 29 counties during the last five months, and people were very interested in what kind of a job I would do and what my experience was," Dabakis said. "The whole gay thing just simply did not surface as an issue. People are broad-minded in Utah, and they want to know if you can do the job or not."

Young Republicans File Complaint Against Tammy Baldwin- July 16, 2010

From Joe.MyGod:

Openly lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has received so many death threats from God’s Gentle People™ that since 1998 the state has allowed her to list her campaign office address rather than her home address when filing to run for office. So now the Young Republicans of Wisconsin have filed a challenge to Baldwin’s eligibility to run for not using her voting address, claiming that she doesn’t live in the district she represents. They’d rather see her murdered.

Below is the official Complaint.

The F-Bomb

That's what the other boy's called me in high school when they knocked the cafeteria tray out of my hands. My food hitting the cold rubber floor.

I felt diminutive. Disgusted with myself. How did they know? Did they really know? I didn't date; so maybe that's how they knew. Alone and gay, paying for a crime I had yet to commit. And they probably didn't even know.

But still I was suffering alone, because I didn't want to suffer alone.

My skin still crawls every time I hear that word. Every time someone else is called that word. In magazines, in newspapers, on TV. My skin crawls.

I am that fag. The one getting pushed, getting beaten, getting ridiculed. Because I don't want to be alone, I am made to feel so alone.

Whenever a coworker or a friend of a friend makes an innocuous comment that I'll soon discover my paternal instinct, I want to scream "don't you get it, I'm a fag!"

And I feel worthless, in so many different ways.

Partly because I chose that word. Partly because I am wounded. Partly because I remained silent.

I won't remain silent. I won't be intimidated. And I won't be alone.

I am a fag.

Liam '14

Happy Pride Month

Fly my pretties!!!
and don't give me any lip
about the Wick Witch of the West never actually saying that.

Go paint the world pink.
Let your fag flag fly.
Be your glorious self.

Kiss a man in public.
Kiss a man in the pubic.
Don't kiss a man's pubic in public... that's still illegal.

Dance your ass off.
And love.
Most importantly love.

Damn You Michael Sam, Now I Have Type 2 Diabetes

Yesterday I was fairly upset by the NFL Draft. Just minutes before he went to the St. Louis Rams, I started pulling up statistics on Michael Sam, because I was convinced that he would go undrafted. I was getting ready to send a sharply worded letter to the NFL, ESPN, and Fox, letting them know that I would no longer be watching football, playing fantasy football, and that I would be contacting their sponsors after I would cancel my subscription to the Weekend Ticket. But voila at the second the Rams saved the day.

And then after I woke up today, I saw this video:

Uggh.. need insulin..too sweet.. too endearing... and no I'm not crying, I long ago established that I have no soul and am incapable of any real human emotions, so my eyes just be super dry.

Ok back to the statistics.

I complied a spreadsheet (the gay's best friend) of all the SEC Player-of-the-Year winners since the SEC started giving them out to defenders in 2003.

Year	Name	Position	Team	Round	Overall
2003	Eli Manning	QB	Ole Miss (Offense)	Round: 1	Pick: 1
2003	Chad Lavalais	DT	LSU (Defense)	Round: 5	Pick: 142
2004	Jason Campbell	QB	Auburn (Offense)	Round: 1	Pick: 25
2004	David Pollack	DE	Georgia (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 17
2004	Carnell Williams	RB	Auburn (Special Teams)	Round: 1	Pick: 5
2005	Jay Cutler	QB	Vanderbilt (Offense)	Round: 1	Pick: 11
2005	DeMeco Ryans	LB	Alabama (Defense)	Round: 2	Pick: 33
2005	Skyler Green	RS	LSU (Special Teams)	Round: 4	Pick: 125
2006	Darren McFadden	RB	Arkansas (Offense)	Round: 1	Pick: 4
2006	Patrick Willis	LB	Ole Miss (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 11
2006	John Vaughn	PK	Auburn (Special Teams)	Undrafted in 2007
2007	Glenn Dorsey	DT	LSU (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 5
2007	Felix Jones	RS	Arkansas (Special Teams)	Round: 1	Pick: 22
2008	Tim Tebow	QB	Florida (Offense)	Round: 1	Pick: 25
2008	Brandon James	RS	Florida (Special Teams)	Undrafted in 2010
2008	Eric Berry	DB	Tennessee (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 5
2009	Rolando McClain	LB	Alabama (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 8
2009	Javier Arenas	RS	Alabama (Special Teams)	Round: 2	Pick: 50
2010	Cam Newton	QB	Auburn (Offense)	Round: 1	Pick: 1
2010	Nick Fairley	DT	Auburn (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 13
2010	Patrick Peterson	RS	LSU (Special Teams)	Round: 1	Pick: 5
2011	Trent Richardson	RB	Alabama (Offense)	Round: 1	Pick: 3
2011	Morris Claiborne	CB	LSU (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 6
2011	Joe Adams	RS	Arkansas (Special Teams)	Round: 4	Pick: 104
2012	Johnny Manziel	QB	Texas A&M (Offense)	Round: 1	Pick: 22
2012	Jadeveon Clowney	DE	South Carolina (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 1
2012	Caleb Sturgis	PK	Florida (Special Teams)	Round: 5	Pick: 166
2012	Ace Sanders	RS	South Carolina (Special Teams)	Round: 4	Pick: 101
2012	Jarvis Jones	LB	Georgia (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 17
2013	Tre Mason	RB	Auburn (Offense)	Round: 3	Pick: 75
2013	C.J. Mosley	LB	Alabama (Defense)	Round: 1	Pick: 17
2013	Michael Sam	DE	Missouri (Defense)	Round: 7	Pick: 249
2013	Christion Jones		Alabama (Special Teams)	Junior in College

On this list, three players were undrafted: one was a Return Specialist; one was a Place Kicker; and one is still in college. 

Michael Sam is by far the lowest drafted excluding Special Teams. Out of the 30 people drafted, they had an average pick position of 42.3 and a standard deviation of 60.35 meaning any pick below 102.65 is low.

In fact besides Michael Sam, the only other defensive player on this list to have been picked below 112 is Chad Lavalais who was picked at 142. The three-sigma value is 223.05, and yet Michael Sam was drafted 26 spots lower.

So how and why did Michael Sam go from being a possible first or second round choice in January to being a seventh round pick?

He had what many consider to be a poor showing at the combine; he also might not fit in well in the tradition 4-3 scheme due to his height; or perhaps it's the fact that he came out.

There is no way of telling how he will do in the NFL. He might fizzle out like Tebow or become an average player with a long career in the NFL or perhaps even go all-pro. 

No matter what there are a lot of people out there wishing him and his partner the best. 

Congratulations Michael Sam.

'Liam 14

New rule: drink every time you hear that Michael Sam is "ramming" his gayness down someone's throat.

The Birds & the Birds and the Bees & the Bees

I think it is time to have the talk. Yep this talk is about doing the nasty, which I want to remind the straight community is only a portion of what it means to be fantastic. But now and again, gay people do happen to have sex. Shocking, I know. I found the following video on Joe. My. God.




As a quick aside I want to comment on the behavior of the sign smasher. I cannot condone what this man did, even though I understand the sheer anger and frustration that he must have been experiencing. Hate only begets hate. Violence only begets violence. The Gay Community has its freedom of speech, as well as the drool-monkeys. The Community doesn't want to be silenced, so don't silence others, even if they are liars and bigots.

Showing hatred only detracts from the truth that Gay Rights is about love and tolerance. Yes, this man was simply acting as a human and defending himself and his community, yet the community has the arduous task of being more than human.

The portion of the video that really bothers me, though, is the asinine notion that gay people practice "gerbil stuffing." Nobody actually has done that. It is an urban legend. If you are dumb enough to believe that one, please, please, for your own safety, buy a skateboard helmet. And then wear it all the time. Don't take it off in the shower or for bed. You may not be smart enough to quite grasp the whole walking thing yet, and I really don't want to see you get hurt if you fall down. If this were true, the people who were doing it would be arrested for bestiality.

Really though I want to know why it's only gays who are on the hook for being sexual deviants in this country. Why don't those up-tight drool-monkeys go and protest straight porn shops (not that I think they should.) Anyway many things that gay people enjoy straight people also happen to enjoy.

Anal Sex.  It's not just for gay people.  Secondly, not all gay people have it.  I don't mean that some people are tops, and that some people are bottoms; I mean that some couples only ever have oral sex.

On a more frightening note, fisting is real. I'm not condemning it, nor am I endorsing it. If you do not know what fisting is, I would say you're probably lucky. If you do not want to know what it is, I would say just skip down to the next paragraph, but that too is graphic. Fisting is when a person uses a lot of lube and insert the full hand after normal foreplay. Some people actually do this and here are names of famous fisters:

Alana
Alisha Klass
Ariana 

Ashley Long.

Audrey Hollander

Autumn
Autumn Hayes

Belladonna 

Bridgette Kerkove
Carli Banks
Charlene Aspen
Chloe
Daniella Rush
Felecia
Isabella
Jasmine Lynn
Juliana Sterling
Julie Silver
Katja Kassin
Keisha Kylie Ireland
Kim Holland
Meridian
Phyllisha Anne

Taylor Moore
Taylor St. Clair
Trinity Max

Venus

I could go on, but I got bored with all the porn. Notice that this list is compiled of people who are all women (if not silicone). My point is that straight people also fist. Big shock. Straight people are just as horny, just as deviant, and just as curious as gay people. Even sexually gay people are just people, the main difference is they are attracted to persons of the same sex.

Here are a few other things that heterosexuals do that are kind of silly.
 
Crush Fetish. Eroticism due to objects being crushed. If your mate is attracted to having their genitals being abused just be careful.

Pissing. You know it's true love if she let's you urinate on her.  But if she asks to be urinated on...yeah.

Pegging. I think Dan Savage came up with the term. but it definitely is a straight thing. Why would gay men need a strap-on? Well I guess if a Crush Fetish went horribly wrong...

BDSM. Ever read Venus in Furs? Kafka did. Some people like to be tied down. Some people love to get dressed up in shiny suits of leather. Others love a good ol' spanking.

Whatever people do in their home is their prerogative, with limited exception.  As long as the participating parties are consenting adults and they get off by those activities, everything is gravy. 

And for the bigots and the hate-monkeys out there who hide behind their religion, a Christian God doesn't care what people shove up their asses; a Christian God is concerned for the poor, the starving and the homeless. Two years after a massive earthquake, 400,000 people are still displaced. or why not use that Saturday where they looked like a bunch of jackass to go down to the Salvation Army. 21% of children in America live in poverty, and many local Salvation Army offices have programs which provide backpacks filled with food to qualifying children. In fact anyone reading this, gay or straight should sacrifice some of their time to this awesome program. It would make a good post pride activity in fact. I think that would make Jesus happy.

Liam '12

Freedom Just For Me

The Gayest President

Happy Pride Month.

Georg Büchner once wrote: "Aber  da, da, was liegt hinter dem? Geh, wir haben grobe Sinne. Einander kennen? Wir muessten uns die Schaedeldecken aufbrechen und die Gedanken einander aus den Hirnfasern zerren."  How do we know what another person is thinking.  We would have to crack open their skull and pull out their brain.

Obviously I cannot know what is going through another person's mind, especially if that person's  the President.  But this is what I believe is the background to the President's change of heart on gay-marriage.

I believe that President Obama has lied to the American People. It's en vogue  to call the President a liar.  It's fashionable to call any president a liar actually, but that's a different subject for a different day. Despite his policy positions, he has to be a Socialist-Marxist-Kenyan-Muslim-Secularist-Atheist-Christhating-SOB, because he is lying.

The basic history of Obama goes like this. He has been in the closet for the last eight years.He experimented with supporting Gay Rights in college like so many do, but then was scared back in when he realized  people might be judge him for it. Finally his conscience caught up with him and after he outed himself, he looks like the weight of the world has been taken off his chest.

However I think President Obama was actually lying to the American Public in 2004 when he stated that marriage should be between a man and a woman religious-blah.  His comments were in contradiction to his 8 year old (law professor) statements that he supported ultra-gay marriage. And once again he said it was his personal religious convictions that made him no longer support gay-marriage.

I allude to this position as the law professor position due to the Fourteenth Amendment and how states have historically taken a Cleveland Steamer on it, whenever possible. Selective Inclusion (also known as the Supreme Court releasing a decision every other week from 1868 to Malloy v. Hogan saying the Bill of Rights are applicable to the States) shows that every right on a state level has to be fought for even if the courts have already granted that right or one similar.

In 1967 the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving v. Virginia, and soon it will grant gay-marriage rights on essentially the same grounds as Loving with Perry v. Brown. Freedom, Penumbras, and Privacy O My.  Privacy is prerequisite for liberty and was etched by uberfascist liberal courts with decisions like Hogan, Loving, Griswold, Eisenstadt, and Lawrence. So as a law professor it would seem obvious that short of a new constitutional amendment gay-marriage is inevitable. Why weren't the freedom loving Conservatives in favor of free loving (or privacy for that matter)? I can think of no greater freedom than choosing who you want to marry, love, and live with.

In 2004 Obama upgraded to Obama 2.0 and became a real politician. Like any real politician his position crapped on the 14th Amendment. His official stance was the issue was separate but equal (because we all know how that worked out the first time).  I can only conclude that this was a position taken because at the time Guns, God, and Gays.  Even at this time he supported Civil Unions thus supporting the freedom to love and live with whoever you want. The moral of the story is apparently politics are stupid and make good rational men make terrible decisions for no real reasons.

Then in 2012 crazy eyes Uncle Biden blurted out in front of the whole family on thanksgiving that President Obama is gay for gay-marriage. Interestingly his policy shift happened 2 months after the Ninth Circuit issued their decision on Perry v. Brown and after it was announced it would be heading for the Supreme Court in the not too distant near.

On a completely random ass ending, I would like to say: let's end the Gay Debate once and for all for every culture in the world.  As far as I know all objections to gay-marriage come from religious institutes.What kind of God is more obsessed with what we shove up our asses than with the 5.5 million children that die each year due to starvation. 83 Million Dollars were spent by backers of Prop 8. I cannot bring myself to write the sentence linking those two thoughts. Grow up.

Liam '12

Freedom Just For Me