Hello, Birdie

Hello, Lunch

( Hello, Q&A meme )

(NEWS) Today's Cultural Warfare Update

Not linked to, because it's not an article, is Faith and Freedom Network calling Washington State's civil rights bill "same-sex marriage legislation." It's on their front page, and will no doubt be part of their "repeal" campaign with Tim Eyman. The direct quote: "Why Faith & Freedom opposes HB 2661 and other same-sex marriage legislation." Watch out for this in upcoming months. Incidentally, I ran into an Eyman signature gatherer on the $30 tabs thing (to gut transportation funding again) at Albertson's; he was collecting only for the tabs and said he wouldn't take signatures for the anti-civil-rights initiative. He said this after I told him that I'd never vote for another Tim Eyman initiative, no matter what it was, even if I agreed with it, because of his anti-queer initiatives this year. He didn't look me in the eye on the way back out the grocery.

Meanwhile, here's today's news - or rather, Monday's and Tuesday's. Sorry I'm so late.

UK launches programme to counter US's anti-abortion stance overseas; I wonder what the fundamentalists will think of this?

Here's a first; I link to DailyKOS, which blogs about how Our Friends, the Saudis, blew the Danish cartoon series into an international crisis, in order to help deflect criticism of their government; I haven't linked to Juan Cole's Informed Comment, but he disagrees with portions of this analysis, pointing the finger more at the Syrian government; Omar, an Iraqi blogger at iraqthemodel.com also points at Syria, while also pointing at Iran;

Spiegel Online: Do not apologise, Denmark;

New York Press editorial staff quits en masse after publisher kills plans to run the 12 Danish cartoons as a protest;

Arabic youth set up apology site to Norway and Denmark for the actions of the fundamentalist Islamists; state they find the cartoons very offensive but condemn the violence in clear terms;

In the radical capital of the most liberal district of the most progressive city in the country, Capital Hill in Seattle, free-speech advocates have made the "bomb" cartoon into a symbol for the right to express unpopular opinions - Dan Savage blogs about it; I point this out because there's a meme going around Republican circles that lefties are pro-fundamentalist-Islamist on this one;

Focus on the Family: California group trying to get parental-notification initiative on the ballot;

FotF: Idaho State House passes anti-marriage amendment; moves now to Senate;

FotF's Citizen magazine runs scare-article against videogaming; particularly targets games like the Halo series, Doom, Quake - FPS in general; blames Resident Evil and Doom for the Columbine killings; etc, etc, etc;

FotF ACTION ITEM and article pushing anti-marriage amendment in New Hampshire;

Kansas Supreme Court rejects gubernatorial attempt to trawl through medical records of women who have had abortions, FotF spins it as a "complicated ruling" and claims partial victory; however, that's pretty much just spin;

Kentucky has 40 legislators signing on to an outright abortion ban, specifically to challenge Roe v. Wade;

FotF signals membership: don't vote for Bloomberg - he just donated significant money towards stem-cell research;

Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight whines about the "Baby Boomer decadence" of the Rolling Stones - it's pretty funny, and sad, so you should read it; the best part is when he recommends people read The Picture of Dorian Grey, clearly not aware that Oscar Wilde was as gay as a box of birds;

CWA reprints article by Tim Wilkins of Cross Ministry, who is of the so-called "ex-gay" movement; admits outright he still really wants men; compares Brokeback Mountain to offering alcoholics booze; refuses to see it;

Agape Press: "Thank God" that there are new justices on the Supreme Court, changing its makeup to suit fundamentalists; also, don't worry about that death penalty case, it was just whether to reverse a lower court's stay, it's not a sign Alito is flipping;

CWA's Jan LaRue talks about the Alito swearing-in ceremony; she was invited as a CWA rep;

Traditional Values Coalition: same-sex relationships "no different than tobacco or alcohol abuse"; pushes the usual lines about diseased fags spreading their filthy diseases and dying young; pushes "ex-gay" ministries;

TVC: American queers want to make "opposition to homosexual conduct" illegal; claims Europe is about to do so;

Family Research Council denounces Maryland Speaker of the House for stopping the anti-marriage bill there;

FRC ACTION ITEM to support anti-marriage efforts in New Hampshire;

American Family Association article with Canadian fundamentalist Brian Rushfeldt has Rushfeldt saying forget the free vote (because they'd lose it); now there should be a national referendum on marriage rights. Meanwhile, in another article I saw earlier, public support for reopening the issue runs against (meaning for the status quo) nearly 2:1;

AFA trumpets Southern Californian Episcopalian church leaving Episcopal Church USA for South American Diocese;

AFA: "Catholic Groups Protest Church Schools Supporting V-Monologues";

AFA claims victory, says they got a segment they consider "offensive" to Christians pulled from "Will and Grace"; NBC says the information was wrong to start with;

AFA ACTION ITEM to support anti-marriage "Marriage Protection Amendment" - they expect a Senate vote in MARCH;

Edmonton, Alberta paper columnist calls for Harper to use the Notwithstanding clause to void the Supreme Court decision on marriage which led to C-38;

Canada Family Action Coalition is clearly getting coaching from southern allies; talks now about the "medical consequences of [homosexuality]."

( Articles, excerpts - you know the routine )