National Geographic

Led by GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, 23 anti-gay members are the U.S. House are seeking to thwart the certification of the repeal of DADT. Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade:

The GOP letter to Obama states Congress should have the opportunity to review the new regulations before the president and defense leaders give the OK for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. “Merely providing ‘training and educational’ briefs to our service members is not enough to justify moving forward with certification when consequential policy and regulatory changes associated with implementation must be reviewed by Congress under its oversight function,” the letter states. “Until those policy changes have been delivered and reviewed by Congress, it would be irresponsible to proceed with the certification process.” Additionally, the letter states that certification at this time would be premature because of “apparent confusion” at the Defense Department in creating new policies for open service.

And even on the worst day of his life, he had to endure more heckling from that douchebag from the Howard Stern show.

Best political video I've ever seen.  I have no clue about the politicians involved, their stance on any issues or whether they're democrats or republicans.  And frankly, I don't give a shit.  This song is pure gold!  Now I can't wait for the response from the other candidate, whoever the fuck that is.  "Give us your cash, bitch!"

Clip description: "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) regarding the $500,000 contracted by the Office of the General Counsel for the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act."

Before being elected to Congress, Hartzler headed the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Missouri, which in 2004 backed the successful campaign to install a statewide constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Demagoguing: "Obtaining power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace." Uh, yeah. Who does that actually sound like?

Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul, who supports same-sex marriage and the repeal of DADT, last night won the special election to replace Rep. Chris Lee (R), who resigned earlier this year after being exposed for cruising Craigslist for women other than his wife. The election largely turned on the GOP's campaign to dismantle Medicare.

“Today, the Republican plan to end Medicare cost Republicans $3.4 million and a seat in Congress,” said Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “And this is only the first seat.” Even before voters went to the polls Tuesday, Republicans played down the significance of the race and particularly its relevance to the debate about Medicare’s future. “I know this town loves to take signals from individual races. I think the best signal you can take is the 63 seats that we picked up in November,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) told reporters Monday.

The GOP loser, Jane Corwin, had been supported by NOM.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received 26 standing ovations during his speech to Congress today. Including when he got heckled.

"I was pleased when the Financial Services Committee overwhelmingly, in a bipartisan way, voted in favor of my amendment urging the Secretary of the Treasury to oppose any financial assistance from multilateral development institutions to countries that persecute people on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or religious beliefs. In the discussion of the amendment I offered, I specifically mentioned the deeply troubling case of Uganda, which is now considering legislation to legally deprive people of these basic human rights. If the bill before the Ugandan parliament becomes law, it must be the policy of the United States government to oppose any aid to Uganda from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, or any other international financial institution of which we are a member." - Rep. Barney Frank, via press release.

Sam Seder rants about Monday's offer by the Tea Party to end their opposition to a rise in the debt ceiling if Congress will block the repeal of DADT.

Towleroad tips us to the latest issue of Men's Health, which features GOP Rep. Aaron Schock (IL) showing off his famed bod. At age 29, Schock is the youngest member of Congress. We last took note of Rep. Schock for the famously gay-looking outfit he wore to a White House picnic last summer.

New York Assemblywoman Jane Corwin is the GOP's pick to replace Rep. Chris "Craigslist" Lee, who resigned from Congress earlier this year after Gawker exposed his online search for women other than his wife. And somebody has had a bit of fun with a fake Corwin campaign site, which will give you a few laughs. The special election is May 24th.

(Tipped by JMG reader Brian)

Via Igor Volsky at Wonk Room comes the below clip of Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) telling Attorney General Eric Holder that prohibitions against same-sex marriage are just as valid as bans on incest and polygamy. The GOP really has nothing new to say, do they?

In a partnership with World Net Daily, Pastor Ken Hutcherson is spearheading a letter campaign to Congress demanding that legislators "leave the 5000 year-old definition of marriage alone." For the low, low price of $29.95, enemies of equality can send the letter to every legislator.

Now there is a way to fight back. It’s an innovative, high-tech, grass-roots lobbying campaign called “TIME TO DEFEND MARRIAGE: The Genesis 2:24 Campaign.” Supported by the Family Research Council, Dr. James Dobson, Gary Bauer and dozens of high-profile Christian leaders throughout the country, headed by Ken Hutcherson, pastor of the Antioch Bible Church in Washington state. It’s a project of a new coalition called “The Initiative for Moral Excellence” – or TIME. The campaign allows you to lobby all 535 members of Congress to fight legal challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, a piece of legislation defining marriage as an institution between one man and one woman and signed by President Clinton into law. Nothing short of a complete repudiation of those legal attacks on the law will save marriage in America. By participating in this campaign, you can send copies of the letter below to all 535 members of Congress for one low price of $29.95 – far less than postage alone would cost you if you tried to do it yourself.

WND is selling the letter in their "superstore," where you can also buy "survival seeds" to live through the coming apocalypse.

I mentioned Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins' racist history and affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan a couple of years ago, but this bears repeating for those that missed it.

In 1996, while managing the U.S. Senate campaign of Woody Jenkins against Mary Landrieu, Perkins paid $82,500 to use the mailing list of former Klan chieftain David Duke. The campaign was fined $3,000 (reduced from $82,500) after Perkins and Jenkins filed false disclosure forms in a bid to hide their link to Duke. Five years later, on May 17, 2001, Perkins gave a speech to the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a white supremacist group that has described black people as a “retrograde species of humanity.” Perkins claimed not to know the group’s ideology at the time, but it had been widely publicized in Louisiana and the nation, because in 1999 — two years before Perkins’ speech to the CCC — Republican House Speaker Trent Lott had been embroiled in a national scandal over his ties to the group. GOP chairman Jim Nicholson then urged Republicans to avoid the CCC because of its “racist views.” The Duke incident surfaced again in local press in 2002, when Perkins ran for the Republican nomination for the Senate, dooming his campaign to a fourth-place finish in the primaries.

This is the same man now regularly invited to make anti-gay testimonies before Congress. This is the same man now regularly invited to spew his bigotry on national news networks. This is the same man who almost every day emails his millions of followers about the evil of homosexuality.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, says Obama's decision to attack Libya without approval from Congress is an impeachable offense.

"President Obama moved forward without Congress approving. He didn't have Congressional authorization, he has gone against the Constitution, and that's got to be said," Kucinich said in an interview with Raw Story. "It's not even disputable, this isn't even a close question. Such an action -- that involves putting America's service men and women into harm's way, whether they're in the Air Force or the Navy -- is a grave decision that cannot be made by the president alone." According to Kucinich, Obama's decision "would appear on its face to be an impeachable offense," though he questioned whether Congress would ever move forward with a trial in practice.

According to the Vietnam-era War Powers Act, presidents must seek approval from Congress withing 48 hours of committing U.S. troops to action. The above-linked story notes that the act has been "mostly ignored" by presidents including Bill Clinton, Bush I, and Ronald Reagan.

The Respect For Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA, was introduced today in both the House and Senate. The Task Force reacts via press release:

“It is shocking that in 21st-century America, legally married same-sex couples are being singled out and selectively denied fundamental rights by their own federal government. This is an outrage. The Respect for Marriage Act does just that — it respects and protects the rights of legally married couples to live free from this government-sanctioned discrimination. Today’s introduction marks an important step toward recognizing our common humanity and ending an egregious injustice against thousands of loving, committed couples who simply want the protections, rights and responsibilities already afforded other married couples. We thank the many House and Senate members who recognize that DOMA has no place on the books and support its full, swift repeal. DOMA has only served to belittle our country’s deeply held values of freedom and fairness. It has only served to hurt families, not help. This must end now.”

Plaintiffs in one of the federal suits to overturn DOMA appeared at a DC press conference this morning.

Nancy Gill and Marcelle Letourneau joined other married same-sex couples at two Capitol Hill press conferences today in support of a bill filed to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act. They were accompanied by GLAD Civil Rights Project Director Mary L. Boanauto, who is representing them and other Massachusetts couples and widowers in the DOMA Section 3 challenge Gill et al v. OPM. “Marcelle and I have been happily together for 30 years and happily married for five,” said Nancy Gill, a federal postal employee for 23 years. “We’re raising two kids. Unlike my married co-workers, I can’t put Marcelle on my health insurance because of DOMA. Our family should be treated the same as the families of our co-workers, and our children should be just as secure as theirs

While the Respect For Marriage Act has numerous cosponsors in both chambers, the bill is considered to have little chance of success.

"A group of gay lefty organizations who CLAIM they exist to work on behalf of gay people actually put out a press release on Friday attacking Rep. Peter King’s hearings on Islamic radicalization. Nevermind that radical Islam teaches that the penalty for being gay is DEATH. Honestly, the Onion couldn’t have written this release. Signing on to this attack on the King hearings, a de facto defense of radical Islam, included the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality California (who might as well just become the Communist Party of CA) and Lambda Legal. I guess all the work of fighting FOR gay people is done so these lefties can now spend time defending the barbarism of radicalized Islam." - GOProud head Chris Barron, writing on his personal blog.

From the above-referenced press release:

LGBT Americans are no stranger to this type of scapegoating. In the 1950s, Joe McCarthy targeted LGBT people, and sought to portray them as dangerous and un-American. In a report titled "Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in the U.S. Government," a group of United States Senators concluded that "homosexuals and other sex perverts are not proper persons to be employed in Government" because "they are generally unsuitable, and they constitute security risks." Those hearings—like the "Muslim Radicalization" hearings—heard testimony from supposed experts that reinforced these prejudices. In the years that followed, thousands of LGBT civil service employees were harassed, terrorized, or fired from their jobs. [snip]

Added Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart: "Every American, regardless of ethnicity, religious belief or sexual orientation, should be asking 'where does this lead?' We've all been down this road before, most notably during World War Two and the Cold War, with tragic consequences for tens of thousands of American citizens. Singling any group out as a whole because of a suspected lack of loyalty on the part of a few of its members is wrong; doing it when the internment of Japanese-Americans and the spectacle of the McCarthy witch trials are still within living memory is simply repugnant."