Al Franken to finally be seated

From the NJDC:

In a unanimous decision today, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected former Senator Norm Coleman‘s legal appeal, declaring that Democrat Al Franken is the winner in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race.

This afternoon, Coleman conceded after an eight month legal fight.

NJDC welcomes our good friend Al Franken as the Senate’s newest Jewish Democrat and we look forward to working with him in his role as Minnesota’s junior senator.

We are proud that Franken will be the 13th Jewish senator who caucuses with the Democrats and will carry on the great legacy of the late Senator Paul Wellstone.

>Send a Letter Now and Congratulate Franken

Next Action Steps on ENDA

Next Action Steps on ENDA

Filed by: Dr. Jillian T. Weiss (on Bilerico.com)

June 23, 2009 2:00 PM

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act juggernaut is slowly moving forward, set to be introduced, so I hear, on Wednesday. I call it a “juggernaut” because the size and number of pieces to be managed is truly daunting.

Almost hardly noticeable among the many items on the jam-packed “gay agenda,” it is also one of the most important and the one most likely to have the greatest effect on the lives of most ordinary LGBT Americans.

Read Jillian’s post on The Bilerico Project by clicking here.

The Video That Larry Stickney Doesn’t Want You To See

by: Lurleen (Originally posted at Pam’s House Blend, Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 11:00:00 AM EDT)

The anti-child, anti-family folks at Protect Marriage Washington (Larry Stickney) and its non-cooperative competitor Faith & Freedom PAC (Gary Randall) have “released” a video.  It has the catchy title “R-71: Lawmakers Encourage Christian Participation!” and features state senator Val Stevens and representative Matt Shea.I’d post the video here, but apparently they don’t want this gem to go viral (because who would want a promotional video to have legs?).  The video host gave me this message Sorry.  The creator of this video has not given you permission to embed it on this domain. To view it, you’ll have to go to PMW’s home office or to a video hosting website that Gary linked to in a recent email (interestingly he hasn’t posted the video on any of his several websites.).  Note that Larry and Gary are so much on the outs that Gary still refuses to link to any PMW web page, or even refer to the existence of “that other organization”.

Virtual March on Washington to Support Disabled Veterans

This is a GREAT idea, for a very important cause. Please support our disabled veterans (like my spouse and best friend) by participating

**This is an ONLINE event. There is NO need to actually travel to Washington**

Who: Anyone who cares about veterans and their families
What: An online event that will show lawmakers that voters care about veterans
Where: Online only, at http://www.dav.org/virtualmarch
When: The “march” starts Sept. 15 but will remain online indefinitely for those who cannot get online then
Why: Veterans are still facing long waits for benefits, VA’s medical system is working with unpredictable funding, and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from alleged toxic fumes, among many other issues

On Sept. 15, we will make history with the first-ever virtual march for disabled veterans. And we look forward to you taking part.

You won’t need to travel to participate. You won’t need to spend any money to have your voice heard. You don’t even have to be online the day of the march, so no need to check your calendar. The DAV is working to ensure this will be the easiest and most convenient way ever to stand up for veterans.

Washington Eagle Forum Resorts to Violent Terminology

by: Lurleen (Originally published on Pam’s House Blend, Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 11:00:00 AM EDT)

Washington Eagle Forum, a local subsidiary of Phyllis Schlafly‘s organization, is promoting the anti-family Referendum 71 using violent terminology. The recent hostile acts of redefining marriage by our state legislators and Governor Gregoire is what has set the stage for Referendum 71.  They carefully crafted and passed a bill using the guise of domestic partnerships, but revealed their true intent by infusing the phrase “marriage shall apply equally to state registered domestic partnerships” 180 times throughout the bill.This assault on marriage in Washington State will not go unanswered. It is downright un-American to characterize the deliberative actions of a duly elected legislature and governor as “hostile” and an “assault” when those actions are to secure the equal protection of the law for all citizens, as per Amendment 14 of the United State Constitution.  Haven’t we learned yet that inflammatory language kills?

Press Release on Counting Married LGBT Americans in the Census

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515For Immediate Release
June 19, 2009

Baldwin, Israel, Frank, Polis Laud Plans to Count Same-Sex Married Couples in 2010 Census

Representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Steven Israel (D-NY), Barney Frank (D-MA) and Jared Polis (D-CO), today applauded Thursday’s announcement that the Obama Administration is seeking ways to include same-sex marriages, unions, and partnerships in 2010 Census data. The administration is also seeking ways to update software so that same-sex marriage data can be released early in 2011 along with other census data.

This marks a signal change in policy and recognition of same-sex couples. Last summer, citing the Defense of Marriage Act, the Bush Administration announced that lawfully married same-sex couples that truthfully mark “married” on their census forms would have their answers switched to “unmarried partners.”

In May of this year, Reps. Baldwin, Israel, Frank and Polis, joined by 47 colleagues, sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag asking that the 2010 Census fairly count same-sex married couples.

In a joint statement today, Reps. Baldwin, Israel, Frank and Polis said, “We applaud President Obama for taking this action, further demonstrating his commitment to LGBT equality. This decision strengthens the integrity of the national census, a vital tool of our democracy. It is welcome recognition that same-sex legally married couples and all LGBT couples and their families are integral to the American fabric.”

China, Quarantine and Goulags

On Friday, the State department issued an alert about travel to China. It seems to have gotten little or no coverage in the press (at least I could not find any). Maybe it got lost in the rush of other news. Maybe it just got ignored. But the last story that I saw in the mainstream media about American citizens being quarantined (as in: held against their will) was the story about Ray Nagin and his wife getting (literally) Shanghaied on the way to a conference. Compare Mayor Nagin’s description of conditions [excerpted from The Huntington Post]:

Nagin said he was taken by ambulance to an isolated and quiet hotel…He described the people he dealt with as professional and nice, “but for the most part, you knew you really didn’t have an option.”

With the way average (non-famous) Americans are being treated

Darwin Awards Almost-Rans…

These two idiots are such screw ups that they couldn’t even accomplish removing themselves from the gene pool–but they sure gave it a hell of a try:

Man burned opening paint can with drill

Spokane fire officials said the man was seriously burned when he used a cordless drill to penetrate the can.

The contents of the pressurized can released suddenly, and a small spark from the drill ignited a flash fire, burning the man’s face. He was taken to Deaconess Medical Center for treatment, the fire department said. (Spokane–Spokesman Review) I actually feel kind of sorry for this guy but, DUH!

Dog bites gunman who shot him

BERLIN (Reuters) – A dog in Germany shot by a drunken man with a gun took swift revenge by biting off the end of the man’s nose, authorities said on Monday.

Police said the armed man was snooping at night in the yard of a house in Stadtlauringen in northern Bavaria when he shot the Bernese mountain dog from point-blank range.

Before collapsing, the dog leapt at the 39-year-old man and bit off the end of his nose, a local police spokesman said. (via Yahoo News)

Word to the (not so) wise: Don’t shoot a Bernese mountain dog with anything smaller than a Howitzer; you will only piss him off. BTW, the dog is going to be fine.

76 House Democrats Urge Obama to Halt Gay Military Discharges

Please contact your Representatives in congress and urge them to repeal DADT.

From the Boston Globe: 76 Democratic lawmakers today urged President Obama to use his executive powers to order a halt to military discharges under the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law and work aggressively with Congress to pass new legislation to overturn what they describe as a discriminatory policy that harms national security.

House Dems urge Obama to halt gay discharges from the military

and on Towleroad.com:

76 House Democrats Urge Obama to Halt Gay Military Discharges

Cindy Honcoop’s Vacation Getaway (from Referendum 71)

by: Lurleen
(Originally posted at Pam’s House Blend, Sat Jun 20, 2009 at 21:16:36 PM EDT)

Referendum? What Referendum? Oh, that. Don’t be a silly! Like referendum “endorser” Joseph Backholm, Cindy has a much more important date with fluffy white towels, strand cafes and sea stacks. And she wants everyone to know it! Cindy is tweeting her fabulous vacation travelogue so that Larry Stickney, who was left behind to do the donkey work, can see all the fun he is missing.

Destination – the Westin in Portland. Yes! —12:08 AM Jun 20th

Great dinner at Macaroni Grill…and Westin is right around the corner. I sense fluffy white towels ahead!! Westin rocks! —about 18 hours ago

Gary Randall lives near Portland. Wonder if they hooked up? Anyway,  happy chatter from the AWOL Protect Marriage Washington board member/Washington Eagle Forum Director, after the fold.