September 2, 2015

Report: RNC Floating 2016 Loyalty Pledge To Discourage Third Party Runs

Source: TPM

Republican presidential campaigns have been contacted privately by the Republican National Committee, inquiring whether candidates would be willing to sign a loyalty pledge vowing not to run as a third party candidate, Politico is reporting.

The move comes amid GOP fears that frontrunner Donald Trump could run as an independent in the general election.

Politico was provided a copy of the pledge:

“I (name) affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is,” it says. “I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party."

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rnc-loyalty-pledge

September 2, 2015

Massachusetts attorney general OKs marijuana ballot initiatives

Source: Reuters

Ballot initiatives from two marijuana advocacy groups were approved by the Massachusetts attorney general on Wednesday, leaving it up to voters to decide whether pot smoking should be legal in the state.

The proposals, submitted to State Attorney General Maura Healey by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol and the Bay State Repeal, argue that legalizing the drug will make it easier to regulate its sale and prevent underage kids from accessing it. Now, the backers must collect and file signatures from more than 64,000 voters by Dec. 2. The proposal would then be sent to the Legislature in May.

If officials do not enact the initiative at that time, then proponents must collect an additional 10,000 signatures by early July to bring it to the ballot box in the November 2016 election. If passed, the proposal would become a state statute.

In Massachusetts, 53 percent of voters told a Suffolk University/Boston Herald poll in February that they would favor legalizing marijuana with just 37 percent opposing.

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/massachusetts-attorney-general-oks-marijuana-ballot-initiatives/

September 2, 2015

Trump Says Jeb Should 'Set The Example By Speaking English' While In The U.S.

In an ongoing showdown, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump took another swipe at former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush by criticizing his use of Spanish on the campaign trail.

“I like Jeb,” Trump said in an interview with Breitbart. “He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.”

As part as his ongoing campaign to paint Trump as not a true conservative, Bush told reporters in Miami that "El hombre no es conservador.”

Bush, who met his wife in Mexico, has used Spanish frequently on the campaign trail, including during a portion of his presidential campaign announcement.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-jeb-bush

September 2, 2015

Rand Paul: KY Clerk's Gay Marriage Objections ‘Part Of The American Way’

Source: TPM

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) suggested Tuesday that a Kentucky clerk who is refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples was "making a stand" and "an important part of the American way." But he argued the whole situation could have been avoided if states stopped processing marriage licenses entirely.

"I think people who do stand up and are making a stand to say that they believe in something is an important part of the American way," Paul told Boston Herald Radio, according to The Washington Post.

He made the statement after he laid out his broader theory on how to deal with those with religious objections to same-sex marriage.

"I think one way to get around the whole idea of what the Supreme Court is forcing on the states is for states just to get out of the business of giving out licenses," Paul said. "Alabama has already voted to do this, they’re just no longer going to give out licenses. And anybody can make a contract. And then if you want a marriage contract you go to a church. And so I’ve often said we could have gotten around all of this also in the sense that I do believe everybody has a right to a contract."

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rand-paul-kim-davis

September 2, 2015

Kentucky Clerk Seeks Yet Another Delay In Issuing Same Sex Marriage Licenses

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) —

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2:55 p.m.

A Kentucky county clerk is again asking a judge to delay his ruling ordering her to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning's order has been upheld by a federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court. But Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis continues to disobey it, saying she cannot do something that violates her religious beliefs. Bunning has scheduled a hearing for Thursday. He could hold Davis in contempt of court, which could lead to fines or jail time.

But on Wednesday, Davis again asked Bunning to delay his order so she can appeal an earlier decision on a related issue. Davis had asked Bunning last month for an injunction against Gov. Steve Beshear for ordering her to issue the marriage licenses. Bunning refused to hear that motion. By doing that, Davis' attorneys argue that Bunning effectively denied their motion, which they have the right to appeal.

Davis' attorneys asked Bunning to delay his order while they appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/kentucky-clerk-seeks-yet-another-delay-in-issuing-same-sex-marriage-licenses

September 2, 2015

WATCH: Dick and Liz Cheney school conservative host on why Kim Davis has ‘obligation’ to serve gays

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In an interview with the conservative outlet Newsmax, the former vice president said that he had not studied the details of Davis’ case but it was “clear” to him that she had no choice.

“It’s the law of the land and as a general proposition, it seems to me you’ve got to go forward with it,” Dick Cheney argued.

Newsmax host Steve Malzberg suggested to the Cheneys that forcing Davis to serve LGBT people could be a “step” toward forcing churches and synagogues to perform same-sex weddings.

But Liz Cheney shot down Malzberg’s logic.

“As my dad said, it is the law of the land,” the younger Cheney noted. “The court has ruled. And she’s not an employee of a church or synagogue, she’s a government employee. So, she has an obligation to uphold the law.”

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http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/watch-dick-and-liz-cheney-school-conservative-host-on-why-kim-davis-has-obligation-to-serve-gays/

September 2, 2015

A Lavender Reading of J. Edgar Hoover

In the Aug. 19, 1933, issue of Collier’s magazine, Ray Tucker offered a scathing indictment of the Bureau of Investigation (forerunner to the FBI). Such a critical take was unsurprising given Collier’s progressive editorial stance. A weekly magazine of news and culture, Collier’s was one of the most popular periodicals in the United States in 1933, with a circulation of 3.7 million. In the course of lambasting the “boy detectives” of the BOI for their domestic surveillance operations, Collier’s made one of the earliest print references to the oft-debated sexuality of the bureau’s young director, J. Edgar Hoover.

“Hist, Who’s That?” has proved of lasting interest to historians primarily because of its loaded description of Hoover. Claire Bond Potter and Richard Gid Powers have pointed to the depiction of Hoover’s “mincing step” as a particularly caustic nod to his supposedly feminine gait. However, a closer look at the article reveals a bolder allusion to Hoover’s femininity and sexuality than the portrayal of his step, albeit a more hidden one.

Collier’s noted that Hoover’s wardrobe was dominated by “Eleanor blue,” a term coined by the press to describe the color of " target="_blank">the velvet day dress that Eleanor Roosevelt had worn to her husband’s inauguration in early March. As most readers of Collier’s would have known, “Eleanor blue” was actually more of a lavender, a shade which by 1933 had already become a euphemism for male homosexuals.

Given this context, we might deduce that the description of Hoover’s preferred sartorial shade was a coded reference to the director’s rumored sexual preferences. Like much of the gossip surrounding Hoover’s sexuality, it was an accusation hidden in plain sight. Though the average reader of Collier’s might miss the insinuation, those “in the know” would be able to connect the dots and comprehend the deeper critique hidden within the account of Hoover’s “fastidious” dress.

In the mainstream press of 1933, discussions about sexuality were rarely obvious, and readers were invited to look between the lines. As it was for Collier’s readers in the 1930s, so it is for historians of sexuality of today who must also strive to reconstruct the constellation of culture to which past readers had access. For historians of sexuality, this process involves listening for hairpins dropping, or in this case, looking out for local color.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/09/02/how_collier_s_suggested_j_edgar_hoover_was_gay_back_in_1933.html?

September 2, 2015

Franklin Graham: We Need More Like Kim Davis

“I’m thankful and proud that Americans are standing up against the evil being forced on us. Our religious rights and freedoms are being trampled on. Clerk of Court Kim Davis in Rowan County, Kentucky, refused to issue marriage licenses for gay couples and defied the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. She said, ‘To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience…For me it is a decision of obedience…It’s a matter of religious liberty.’ Kim has (ALLEGEDLY) received death threats from people she doesn’t even know, and she has to appear in court on Thursday over a motion to hold her in contempt. We need more Americans who are willing to take a stand for religious freedoms and biblical values in our communities. If we don’t, we won’t even recognize the America that our children and our grandchildren will be left with. Pray for Kim Davis and for our nation today.” – Franklin Graham, taking a break from his $880,000 annual salary to post on Facebook.

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http://www.joemygod.com/2015/09/02/franklin-graham-we-need-more-like-kim-davis/

September 2, 2015

Bryan Fischer Compares “Hero” Kim Davis To “Auschwitz Clerk” Who Won’t Sign Certificates Ordering...

AFA Spokesdouche Bryan Fischer Compares “Hero” Kim Davis To “Auschwitz Clerk” Who Won’t Sign Certificates Ordering Jews Into The Gas Chamber

Kyle Mantyla has latest insanity from American Family Association spokesdouche Bryan Fischer:





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http://www.joemygod.com/2015/09/02/afa-spokesdouche-bryan-fischer-compares-hero-kim-davis-to-auschwitz-clerk-who-wont-sign-certificates-ordering-jews-into-the-gas-chamber-video/

September 2, 2015

REPORT: Wife Of Anti-Gay Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley Files For Divorce Over His Affair With Staffer

September 2, 2015

Early this year Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley declared that same-sex marriage is “demeaning to democracy” in a brief filed with the Eleventh Circuit Court. What ISN’T demeaning, apparently, is cheating on your wife with a 30-years-younger staffer. First, the official story from AL.com:

And here’s what Legal Schnauzer says is the inside scoop:



http://www.joemygod.com/2015/09/02/report-wife-of-anti-gay-alabama-gov-robert-bentley-files-for-divorce-over-his-affair-with-staffer/