More Running Interns

These interns are good.

Via Shira Toeplitz:

More interns running from @RollCall's photogs: http://t.co/rgiSO2IN1q

— Shira Toeplitz (@shiratoeplitz) June 26, 2013

PREVIOUSLY: "Running of the Interns."

Historic Advance for Homosexual Marriage

Yeah, yeah.

Bold advance. Epic. Now we'll just wait for the states to approve polyamory and lower the age of consensual sex to 15 or below. Who knows? We're on the cusp of a new era. Unicorns and rainbows!

At the Los Angeles Times, "A bold advance for gay marriage."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Historic Win for Gay Marriage: High Court Rulings Lift Bans on Federal Same-Sex Benefits, Weddings in California":

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court dramatically advanced gay rights Wednesday in rulings that direct the federal government to provide equal treatment to same-sex spouses and allow the resumption of gay marriages in California.

In a pair of 5-4 rulings on the final day of the court's term, the justices struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal benefits to gay couples married under state law, and let stand a ruling that found Proposition 8, a 2008 voter initiative that ended same-sex marriage in California, unconstitutional.

In striking down DOMA, Justice Anthony Kennedy said Congress had no business undermining a state's decision to extend "the recognition, dignity and protection" of marriage to same-sex couples.

By excluding such couples from the rights and responsibilities of marriage contained in more than 1,000 provisions of federal law, "DOMA writes inequality into the entire United States Code," Justice Kennedy wrote.

The DOMA ruling had immediate effects. The Obama administration said it would move swiftly to ensure same-sex married couples get the same tax and other benefits as heterosexual couples, although the process for doing so is uncertain for same-sex couples who marry in one state, then move to a state that doesn't recognize gay marriage.

Meantime, noncitizens who are married to American same-sex partners likely would qualify for permanent resident status, lawyers said.
In California, Attorney General Kamala Harris said she would order that marriage licenses be granted to same-sex couples statewide as soon as a U.S. appeals court takes a procedural step, which could come within a month.

The Supreme Court's rulings didn't say whether there is a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage, ensuring years of battles in states that bar it. Groups that believe marriage is between a man and woman said they would fight state by state to defend that definition, while the American Civil Liberties Union tapped veteran GOP strategists as part of a $10 million campaign seeking to convert Republican-led states to the gay-marriage cause.

Continue reading.

'We are governed by a man who does not want the United States to be feared...'

That's Dennis Prager's opening comment about the epic collapse of America's foreign influence under this president.

And buy his book, Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph.

The Next Frontier in Progressive Equality!

I tweeted Robert Stacy McCain earlier as he was promoting his new piece at the American Spectator, "Sexual Anarchy: Progress, Perversion and the ‘Emerging Awareness’ Doctrine."

@RSMcCain The next frontier in progressive equality! @equalityfl @ACLUFL

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 27, 2013

Found: Barack Obama 'HOPE' Poster Dumped for Trash Pickup

What a metaphor.

At Twitchy, "Photo of the day: Hope down in the dumps."

Guy on Reddit takes one of the most iconic pictures ever taken: pic.twitter.com/QAXpibKUpT

— Adam (@GPIA7R) June 27, 2013

Twitchy Disrupts the Leftist Narrative

From Moira Fitzgerald, "The Right is Killing It on Twitter."

PREVIOUSLY: "Netroots Exploits Emerging Technologies to Block the 'Corporate-Funded, Right-Wing Assault' on Americans."

Paula Deen Dropped by Wal-Mart, Caesars Entertainment

Things continue to fall apart for this lady.

At the San Francisco Chronicle, "Paula Deen dropped by Wal-Mart after 'Today' tears."

And at Pat Dollard's, "Paula Deen Breaks Down In Tears While Daring Someone to Smash Her Head In With a Rock."

RawMuscleGlutes: 'Jesus was on the side of love...'

Aww.

Isn't that sweet?

Andrew "RawMuscleGlutes" Sullivan says "Jesus was happy today," at AC360 last night:

FLASHBACK: At AoSHQ, "Don't Go Over There, But Sullivan Is Pushing (of Course!) Trig Trutherism Now":

Is trolling for "Milky Loads" from anonymous sex partners really the best medical practice? People have a right to know.

And back at Sully's dish, "I Believe":

Some final thoughts after so many years of so many thoughts. Marriage is not a political act; it’s a human one. It is based on love, before it is rooted in law. Same-sex marriages have always existed because the human heart has always existed in complicated, beautiful and strange ways. But to have them recognized by the wider community, protected from vengeful relatives, preserved in times of illness and death, and elevated as a responsible, adult and equal contribution to our common good is a huge moment in human consciousness. It has happened elsewhere. But here in America, the debate was the most profound, lengthy and impassioned. This country’s democratic institutions made this a tough road but thereby also gave us the chance and time to persuade the country, which we did. I understand and respect those who in good conscience fought this tooth and nail. I am saddened by how many failed to see past elaborate, ancient codes of conduct toward the ultimate good of equal human dignity. I am reminded of the courage of a man like Evan Wolfson who had the vision and determination to change the world.

Aww.

I think I'm gonna cry. Waaaaahhhh!!

Homosexual Marriage Ruling Could Mean Wedding Bells for Straight Hollywood Couples

Yeah, some self-important celebrities pledged to delay getting married until homosexuals could legally tie the knot.

See the Hollywood Reporter, "Some star-powered duos have stuck to their pro-gay principles -- others meant well, but reneged on their pledge."

And at Twitchy, "Kristen Bell proposes to Dax Shepard after DOMA ruling; Gets Twitter handle wrong; Update: Shepard says ‘F**k Yes’."

Ralph Reed: American Traditional Values Under Assault by 'Activist Court'

At Newsmax:

Republican strategist Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, tells Newsmax that Americans who believe in traditional values of marriage are "under assault" by the government and the courts.

He also asserts that the Supreme Court is an activist court that is legislating from the bench, and says the nation is in the grips of an "immoral legal regime" of abortion on demand.

Reed is the former head of the Christian Coalition. He founded the Faith & Freedom Coalition in 2009.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, and handed down a ruling on Proposition 8, thereby allowing gay marriage to continue in California.

In an exclusive interview with Newsmax TV on Wednesday, Reed says he is "profoundly disappointed" by the court's rulings.

"If you look at the ruling in the Defense of Marriage Act, they ruled that the state, not the federal government, should be allowed to define marriage for purposes of that state's customs, laws, and traditions. They ruled the states were more powerful in making this decision than the federal government.

"And in the California marriage case where the state defined marriage as between a man and a woman and a federal district court overturned that ruling, they ruled that that decision would stand.

"It's really a case of jurisprudential incoherence. On the one hand they're saying that state law takes precedence; on the other hand they're [disallowing] a state law – not just any state law but a law in which the people of California voted not once, but twice to keep marriage defined the way it has been defined for over 160 years in California, which is as between a man and a woman."

Yeah, well, stuff's pretty much messed up all around.

More at that top link.

"For the most insightful analysis of the #DOMA ruling, just read the Tweets of Meghan 'Look at My Magnificent Melons' McCain...'

That's the hilarious headline at the Daley Gator.

Bill Clinton on Whatever Helps Keep Democrats in Power

On Twitter:

RT @washingtonpost: What Bill Clinton said when he signed DOMA http://t.co/1qgnFfWpaM What Bill Clinton said today http://t.co/zsiriIJBnV

— Melissa Clouthier (@MelissaTweets) June 26, 2013

1996: "I have long opposed governmental recognition of same-gender marriages and this legislation is consistent with that position. The Act confirms the right of each state to determine its own policy with respect to same gender marriage and clarifies for purposes of federal law the operative meaning of the terms 'marriage' and 'spouse.' "

2013: "I know now that, even worse than providing an excuse for discrimination, the law is itself discriminatory" ...

New Kelly Andrews Pics

How about a break from teh gays for a bit?

Here's the brunette hottie from Liverpool, at Egotastic!, "Kelly Andrews Pink Thong Majesty for Ta-Ta-Tuesdays."

PREVIOUSLY: "Kelly Andrews at Egotastic!"

And on Twitter.

Hollywood Deserves Credit for America's Shift Toward Homosexual Licentiousness

Hey, it's a Gramscian culture shift underway, right before our eyes.

At National Journal, "Will, Grace, and a Decade of Change on Gay Rights":

Only 10 years ago, sex between two consenting males was illegal in Texas, six in 10 Americans opposed allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, including the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, and Republican strategists were actively working to enact bans on same-sex marriage on swing-state ballots because it helped their chances politically.

Today, the president of the United States, along with half the country, supports same-sex marriage, one-third of Americans live in states that allow gay couples to be married, and the Supreme Court says the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a legal bond only available to heterosexual couples, is unconstitutional. The Democratic Party openly embraces gay marriage in its platform, while Republican leaders desperately want to avoid an issue that's now a political loser for them.

The stunning shift in American attitudes toward gays and same-sex marriage, which culminated in a pair of Supreme Court rulings on Wednesday invalidating DOMA and effectively killing an anti-same-sex-marriage ballot initiative in California, has been fueled by the rising influence of a younger, more accepting generation. That generation has been influenced in part by an increasing willingness of gays and lesbians to publicly declare their sexual orientation and by the rise of a popular culture in which gay characters on television and in movies are commonplace.

Polling shows younger Americans strongly backing gay marriage. Two-thirds of millennials--those born after 1981--now support marriage equality, up from about half in 2003, according to data compiled by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. A majority of members of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, now favor gay marriage, reflecting more than a 10-point increase over the last decade. A majority of baby boomers and the Silent Generation are still opposed to same-sex marriage, but support even among those older Americans has increased by between 9 and 17 points.

Coverage of the marriage debate in the news media has tilted strongly toward support for same-sex marriage. Pew studies show about half of all stories that covered this spring's arguments before the Supreme Court focused on those who supported marriage equality, while only one in 10 stories covered the opposition.

Researchers also credit popular culture with changing American attitudes on gay marriage. Television shows like Will & Grace, which ran in prime time from 1998 to 2006, and Modern Family, which debuted in 2009, feature gay characters in lead roles. Shows as diverse as The Simpsons, Lost, The Office, and Grey's Anatomy all featured prominent gay characters or characters who came out of the closet. Celebrities like Ellen Degeneres and Rosie O'Donnell who came out gave every American a face to attach to homosexuality.

"I think Will & Grace did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody has ever done," Vice President Joe Biden said on Meet the Press in 2012, when he inadvertently got ahead of President Obama's decision to publicly support gay marriage.

Being able to attach an individual to homosexuality has played a role, too. Data experts at Facebook showed about 70 percent of users of the popular social network has a friend who publicly identifies as gay or lesbian, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. Gallup polling conducted in May showed 75 percent of respondents said they have friends, relatives, or coworkers who have told them personally that they are gay or lesbian.

"Hollywood has made gay-rights mainstream while making Christianity seem extreme," said Chris Wilson, a Republican pollster. "Try to name one positive portrayal of an evangelical Christian in a prime-time show right now. Conversely, you can likely name at least one positive portrayal of a homosexual character in each popular prime-time program. A decade of that has an impact."

More at the link.

PHOTO: The Advocate, "Sean Hayes I Am Who I Am."

Justice Antonin Scalia's Dissent in United States v. Windsor

I just read Scalia's dissent in today's DOMA ruling.

The full case in PDF is here.

It takes awhile to wade through these things, and I've still got more studying to do.

Madeleine Morgenstern has this, at the Blaze, "12 OF THE MOST CUTTING HIGHLIGHTS FROM JUSTICE SCALIA’S ANGRY DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT DISSENT."

Here's the conclusion.

In the majority’s telling, this story is black-and-white: Hate your neighbor or come along with us. The truth is more complicated. It is hard to admit that one’s political opponents are not monsters, especially in a struggle like this one, and the challenge in the end proves more than today’s Court can handle. Too bad. A reminder that disagreement over something so fundamental as marriage can still be politically legitimate would have been a fit task for what in earlier times was called the judicial temperament. We might have covered ourselves with honor today, by promising all sides of this debate that it was theirs to settle and that we would respect their resolution. We might have let the People decide.

But that the majority will no do. Some will rejoice in today’s decision, and some will despair at it; that is the nature of a controversy that matters so much to so many. But the Court has cheated both sides, robbing the winners of an honest victory, and the losers of the peace that comes from a fair defeat. We owed both of them better. I dissent.

Interestingly, responses to Scalia don't address his substantive points as much as simply dismiss him as a bigot. Paul Waldman at the American Prospect, is a case in point, and the homosexual Josh Barro, at Business Insider, "Antonin Scalia's Gay Marriage Dissent Is Dripping With Contempt and Sarcasm."

Seriously. A good indicator that Scalia has destroyed the majority's holding is the visceral ad hominem reactions to be found on the radical left, for example:

I’ve never understood the whole “Scalia is so brilliant” thing. I’ve been hearing it for years and years, particularly from certain law school profs (who were raging unreconstructed old school liberals, but who loved to let us all know that they found “Nino” quite charming at cocktail parties). I’m a corporate lawyer, but my father was a federal appellate civil rights lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund for almost 40 years. He argued cases in front of SCOTUS including after Scalia was appointed. My father’s impression of him based on appearing before him seems totally consistent with my read of Scalia’s claptrap opinions – he’s a somewhat intelligent but extraordinarally belligerent narcissist. Reading his stuff, for me, provokes revulsion at his immaturity – which brings disrepute to the institution – and whiplash at his rampant inconsistency.

In any case, Scalia's in the minority of a deeply divided Court. Perhaps we'll return to this issue if public opinion shifts. There's clearly large remaining division on the issue nationwide, and once other moral barriers begin to fall we may well see a shift in public opinion back toward traditional morality. Trends in support for Roe v. Wade give conservatives lots of hope on that score.

For now, though, the homosexual thugs have won the day.

More at Althouse, "DOMA as 'a bare congressional desire to harm a politically unpopular group'."

Homosexuals Celebrate Supreme Court Rulings on Same-Sex Rights

Here's USA Today's tweet:

Across nation, gays celebrate court rulings on same-sex rights http://t.co/9spyxbFgcD

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) June 26, 2013

But this is what folks are really celebrating, at iOWNTHEWORLD, "Condemn these perverts and you’re a “gay basher”."

Hey, that's putting the "progress" in progressives!

Yay!

Running of the Interns

Here's something to lighten things up.

A BuzzFeed, "The 2013 Running of the Interns."

The 2013 Running Of The Interns http://t.co/VBMUbOZFuT pic.twitter.com/IUc2CemiOA

— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) June 26, 2013

Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer Banned From Britain

The world is turned upside down.

Here's Pamela's post, "BANNED IN BRITAIN: UK CAVES TO JIHAD." And Robert's, "Britain capitulates to jihad."

ADDED: From Pamela, "BRITAIN BANS GELLER AND SPENCER -- SANCTIONS IED JIHADIST SQUADS":

I have been banned in Britain. My crime? My principled dedication to freedom. I am a human rights activist dedicated to freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and individual rights for all before the law. I fiercely oppose violence and the persecution and oppression of minorities under supremacist law. I deplore violence and work for the preservation of freedom of speech to avoid violent conflict.

I have never been convicted of any crime. I have never been arrested. I became a writer and activist in the wake of 911.

For this I am banned. I shed no tears. I am banned from Mecca, too.

The Home Secretary said that my being in the UK was "not conducive to the public good.” Banning those who speak in defense of freedom is "not conducive to the public good." It is painfully apparent that the action of the British authorities will have the opposite effect of what they had intended. They have lit a fuse. And instead of allowing a respectful laying of flowers in memory of Lee Rigby on Armed Forces day, they have given rise and sanction to poison like this (below).

Our banning is like a patient on life support refusing medical treatment.

More at the link.

And following the links takes us to the Sun UK, "IED threat to Britain as fanatic Anjem Choudary recruits vigilante squads."

Meanwhile, Typing 'Transgender' Into Google...

It's all rainbows in America...

Take a look here.

Supreme Court Avoids Proposition 8 Ruling

As expected, the Court ruled on a technicality, and not on the merits. The decisions of the lower federal courts will prevail in California, which means gay marriage will be de facto in the state.

At the San Francisco Chronicle, "High court: Prop. 8 backers lack standing." And at the Los Angeles Times, "Prop 8: Gay marriage could resume soon after Supreme Court ruling."

Expect updates...