Moonhowlings

Sometimes there is story that just catches my attention.  This is one of those times.

Here is the summary from a local newspaper.

SEBASTIAN, Fla. – Kelley Hunt Smith of Florida said it’s been a nightmare since  her daughter, 18-year-old Kaitlyn Hunt, was arrested on a charge of “lewd and  lascivious battery of a child 12 to 16 years old.”

Smith said Kaitlyn became friends with an underage female student at  Sebastian River High School at the beginning of the school year and later began  dating. Smith said she never considered the implications of the  relationship.
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Kids who attend Sullivan High School in Indiana are petitioning to have a ‘traditional prom.’   Just what do they mean by ‘traditional?’  They want gays banned from attending.

Huffingtonpost.com:

A group of Indiana-based parents, teens and even a teacher is fighting for a separate “traditional” prom that would ban gay students.

As NBC 2/My Wabash Valley is reporting, special education teacher Diana Medley is defending a group of Sullivan High School students who are arguing in favor of the alternate prom.
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Washingtonpost.com:

Eight months ago, the House rejected Thorne-Begland for a General District Court judgeship in Richmond. Conservatives contended that the city prosecutor was unfit for the bench because years earlier, as a Navy pilot, he had challenge the military’s now-defunct “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward gays and lesbians in the armed forces.

About a month later, Thorne-Begland won an interim appointment from Richmond Circuit Court judges, who have the authority to fill vacancies on a temporary basis. Without approval from the General Assembly, his appointment will expire next month.

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Cooch Watch photo contest for the week

The Washington Blade:

MANASSAS, Va.—A local church on Friday denied a Washington Blade staff writer access to an anti-gay marriage gathering at which Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli spoke.

A woman who was standing near the entrance of Reconciliation Community Church in Manassas in front of two men wearing dark suits who appeared to be security personnel asked this reporter for identification and proof of media affiliation after he identified himself as a Blade staff writer. He proceeded to show her his drivers’ license and business card.

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Richmond Times Dispatch:

NEW YORK (AP) — Saying the gay population has “suffered a history of discrimination,” a divided federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled Thursday that a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman was unconstitutional, adding fuel to an issue expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court soon.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seemed interested in adding its voice to several other rulings already at the high court’s doorstep by issuing its 2-to-1 decision only three weeks after hearing arguments on a lower court judge’s findings that the 1996 law was unconstitutional.

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Gay Republicans party at “Homocon,” a bash thrown by pro-gay rights conservative group GOProud at the Republican National Convention was the best kept secret in Ameria.  Its great to see that the Republicans aren’t really as homophobic as the press would have us believe.  These folks look like they are having a great time.  Former Rep. Mark Foley attended.  Grover Norquist dropped by also to give his pitch.  I think Grover is straight.

I don’t think that the Family Research Council dropped by.

As stated above, Goproud.org was the sponsor of the party. They have been a deal breaker for some of the values groups at some of the conservative conventions.   I personally don’t see why a gay person would want to be a Republican.  But many do.  The Log Cabin Republicans have been around a long time.  I have a gay friend who is about as Republican as you can get.  It just makes no sense to me at all.  I continually ask him why he contributes to his own oppression.  He just laughs and sends more offensive Obama email.

Why would anyone gay, lesbian or transgendered want to be a Republican?  So many in the GOP seem to eschew everything gay.

  The wedding band 

When social change comes, it often knocks us over, especially if its arrival has been fraught with difficulty.  Now we find out that after all these years, Green Lantern is gay.  Well, good for Green Lantern.  More interesting than the comic series, watching the social conservatives take out their green lantern comic books as though they were removing chicken crap with their fingers will be the real entertainment.  Sorry guys, you know statistic tell us 10%….

Washington Post:

DC Comics announced on Friday that Green Lantern, a superhero staple for decades, is gay. (And all of this time, my money was on Wonder Woman or Aquaman.) When bigotry falls, it often falls fast — gay marriage, Barack Obama as the first gay president and now popular superheroes like Green Lantern.

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From the Washington Post:

Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who is running for U.S. Senate, said he will seek to remove the name of “homosexual activist” Tracy Thorne-Begland from the list of 41 nominees for judgeships that the General Assembly will consider appointing Monday afternoon.

Thorne-Begland, Richmond prosecutor for the past 12 years, came out as a gay Naval officer on national TV 20 years ago to challenge the military’s now-abandoned “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. A former board member of the gay rights group Equality Virginia, he has since spoken out in favor of same-sex marriage. He and his partner, a Richmond lawyer, are raising twins.

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Openly gay judicial nominee Tracy Thorne-Begland who currently serves as a  well-respected deputy prosecutor,   has been targeted by legislators and conservative groups simply because he is gay.  Tracy Thorne-Begland  is currently a deputy prosecutor in Richmond.

From the Washington Post:

Thorne-Begland, the deputy commonwealth attorney for Richmond, has been nominated to serve as a judge for the city’s 13th General District Court.

On Friday, the Family Foundation of Virginia issued a statement opposing his appointment, arguing that his public work on behalf of gay rights makes him unsuitable for the impartial role of judge.

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Who would have thunk it and on Faux News, no less.  Good for Shep Smith, the outlier of Faux News.

Ted Olson is not your average conservative, even though he was the Solicitor General under the Bush administration.  Olson is powerful speaking about the civil rights involved in this case.  He feels strongly that this was a broad ruling and will return the rights of same sex couples to marry. He compares this case to Loving vs. Virginia. 

Olson is a powerful, compelling speaker.

The Richmond Federal Reserve is flying the rainbow flag to acknowledge gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender  pride month.  The request was made by PRISM, an advocacy group for the aforementioned groups.   The Fed is a private establishment.  Its first vice president, Sally Green acknowledged:

“We are flying the pride flag as an example of our commitment to the values of acceptance and inclusion.”

Sounds good to me.  Pretty flag, commitment to inclusion.  Gay people make and have money.  What could anyone find wrong?

Enter side-show Bob Marshall, 13th delegate district who claims  that flying the rainbow flag represents

“…a serious deficiency of judgment by your organization, one not limited to social issues.”

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

In a letter to Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker, Marshall says the homosexual behavior “celebrated” by the bank “undermines the American economy” and is a class six felony in Virginia.

“The Richmond Fed’s endorsement of costly, anti-social, immoral behavior is rejected by 6,000 years of Western Religious and moral teaching,” writes Marshall, who is among the General Assembly’s most conservative members and has long been outspoken on gay-rights issues. “You want the American people to trust your [judgment] in economic matters when your spokesperson celebrates an attack on public morals?”

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School officials in Prince William County were blindsided on Monday with a letter from the ACLU threatening a lawsuit over Internet filters on gay and lesbian sites.  According to the Gainesville Times:

The letter, signed by Rebecca Glenberg and Joshua Block of the ACLU of Virginia, states that the school system is blocking gay support group sites in violation of students’ First Amendment rights.

The issue is filtering software that blocks access to, among other sites, the Gay Student Alliance Network, Day of Silence and It Gets Better.

“The Prince William County Public Schools do not have a legitimate pedagogical basis for censoring students’ access to these websites, which provide support and resources for LGBT students and gay-straight alliances,” states the letter.

PWC Spokesman Ken Blackstone had the following to say on the subject, in the same article:

“The ACLU is making some claims and we’re reviewing them to see if they’re accurate and to see how we can respond to that,” he said. “They bring up important points.”

Blackstone said the school system is required by federal law to use Internet filtering software to keep students and staffers from looking at inappropriate content at school.

The school software, Blue Coat Filtering, filters 32 different categories.  It doesn’t distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate.  Generally, if students or staff believe something is being filtered that is acceptable for use, there is a process by which the site can be reviewed and unlocked.  Mr. Blackstone said that no such request, to his knowledge, has been submitted for  review  of the sites for student appropriateness. 

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ABC News:

Several conservative groups and individuals plan to boycott the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) which takes place later this month  (Feb. 10-12)  in Washington, DC.  Why are the groups boycotting and who are they?

From speakers like Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to panels on “How Political Correctness is Harming America’s Military” and “Reagan at 100: Role Model for the Next Generation,” the agenda for the three-day gathering is chock full of personalities and events designed to fire up the conservative base.

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