Georgia students fight for school’s first desegregated prom

Scenes from a post-racial America, specifically in Rochelle, Georgia:

Stephanie and Keela are white and Mareshia and Quanesha are black. They're seniors at Wilcox County High School, a school that has never held an integrated prom during its existence.

"There's a white prom and there's an integrated prom," said Keela.

The rule is strictly enforced, any race other than Caucasian wouldn't dare to attend the white prom.

"They would probably have the police come out there and escort them off the premises," said Keela.

That was the case just last year as a biracial student was turned away by police. It's been that way for as long as anyone can remember and it doesn't stop at prom. Homecoming is also segregated. Normally, there would be a court for each race, but for the first time the school decided to elect only one homecoming court, Quanesha won. But there were still two separate dances.

[…]

There will still be two proms this year. Neither proms are financed by or allowed to take place at Wilcox County High School. The students said that when they pushed for one prom, the school offered a resolution to permit an integrated prom that would allow all students to attend but not stop segregated proms.

Well, that’s odd. I just checked, and indeed, I didn’t somehow wake up in the early 1900s this morning.

Luckily, the students are paving the way for progress, though they’re finding it much harder than it should be in 20-fucking-13 to get a government-sponsored, publicly funded institution to drop the whole segregation thing [EDIT: 04/07/13 12:32 PM ET – I just realized my error: The proms aren’t school-sponsored, but are private-funded events organized by the community, instead, which is the only reason this shit is legal]:

So the girls are taking matters into their own hands.

"If we don't change it nobody else will," said Keela.

They're part of a group of students organizing a prom for everyone to attend, called the "Integrated Prom", but everyone is not fond of the idea.

"I put up posters for the "Integrated Prom" and we've had people ripping them down at the school," said Keela.

The group says they will continue to make progress even though there doesn't seem to be much motivation to change.

"We need to stick with the tradition," Quanesha said mockingly. "This is a traditional thing we don't need to change and stuff like that, but why? No one can answer my question.

"Exactly," responded Keela. "They think nothing's broken so don't fix it."

It remains to be seen whether the people of Wilcox County will remain steadfast in their pro-segregationist beliefs now that the media and Internet are about to bring a little more scrutiny upon their bigoted heads than they’re used to.

The world is a disturbing place sometimes.

(via Wonkette)

Daily Blend: 03/26/13

Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R-ND)

Applying for an internship/apprenticeship/something at a ranch tomorrow! Wish me luck. (Or a broken leg. However it goes these days.)

North Dakota Gov. Dalrymple (R) ^[pictured] signs law banning abortion at six weeks, presumably planning emergency fund for inevitable court loss. Wonder if he’ll also enact the even worse “personhood” law.
(via @BreakingNews)

Berlin-based company confirms their “atheist”-branded packages take significantly longer to reach their destinations, when they don’t go missing altogether. Looks like the US Postal Service has some explaining to do.

Oh, look, it’s another boilerplate, evidence-free diatribe about how “[m]ilitant atheism has become a religion”. (Hemant Mehta tears it apart, as does PZ Myers.)
(via @religionnews)

Vox Day: Egalitarians are “inferior beings” (because some of them sometimes make crude jokes on the Internet).

And finally, here’s the trippiest damn water spiral you’ll’ve ever did seen (more info here):

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Daily Blend: 03/22/13

Richard Littlejohn

Today in “there ought to be a hell”: Fuckbrained bigot Richard Littlejohn ^[pictured] and trash-rag extraordinaire Daily Mail succeed in blithely bullying a transgender schoolteacher into killing herself.
(via Pharyngula)

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) officially signs civil unions bill.
(via @breakingpol; RT: @BreakingNews)

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) vetoes “Religious Freedom Act” that would’ve permitted anti-gay discrimination based on bigots’ “sincerely held religious beliefs”. Expect wingnut heads to commence exploding shortly.
(via Joe. My. God.)

PZ Myers is dead on: Adria Richards did everything exactly right. It’s amazing how many men can’t stomach the idea of being called out publicly for misbehaving in public.

Pope Francis comes out swinging against Catholic Church’s track record with covering up clerical child abuse. Now to see if his actions match up with his words.
(via @BuzzFeedAndrew)

And finally, why is it still such a shock (to some) that women can be science aficionados, too?

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Daily Blend: 03/17/13

Card. Wilfrid Napier

Predictably, the Canadian Government’s decision to lay off all non-Christian prison chaplains has already resulted in a lawsuit.

Public Shaming offers these handy guides on how to thoroughly void your Decent Human Being card.
(via @MotherJones)

In the category of “a first for everything”, I defend a clergyman’s ^[pictured] remarks about pedophilia from someone who apparently can’t distinguish between a sexual paraphilia and the actual act of child abuse.

And finally, here’s another month’s worth of refutations to the claim that religious people are more moral:
(via Friendly Atheist)

Highlights: (click the [+/-] to open/close →)

[−]

African woman says that “everything bad should be done to” gays, including imprisonment and execution;

Former pastor Haden Conrad accused of soliciting sex with a 14-year-old girl;

Metro News: “Six new sex abuse charges for retired Catholic priest”;

Rev. Donald R. Jung accused of molesting his 9-year-old granddaughter;

Birmingham Mail: “Solihull priest Ted Simpson arrested over child sex accusations”;

Baltimore, CO Deacon William Albaugh busted for child porn possession;

The Irish Times: “Report finds Dutch religious abused ‘tens of thousands’ of girls”;

Archdioceses of New Orleans & Lake Charles, LA sued for allegedly harboring accused child-raping priest Mark Anthony Broussard;

The Times: “Papal frontrunner Cardinal Peter Turkson links sex abuse to homosexuality”;

Manitoba, CA school administration & local churches oppose anti-bullying law meant to stop anti-gay discrimination;

The Advocate: “Florist Tells Longtime Gay Customer That Jesus Won't Let Her Do His Wedding”;

Gay Star News: “Brazil elects racist, anti-gay pastor to be human rights boss”;

Kansas City Atheist Coalition blocked from participating in Saint Patrick’s Day parade;

The Raw Story: “Atheist cop sues after being demoted to car washer for refusing to pray”;

North Carolina considers forcing Bible study classes on public-high-schoolers;

The Telegraph: “Church school pupils will need baptism certificate to board school bus”;

Montana’s Pinehaven Christian Children’s Ranch accused of physically abusing troubled children;

Deccan Chronicle: “Attackers hack hand off 7-yr-old Tanzania albino boy for witchcraft”;

Fifteen-year-old Maldives rape victim sentenced to 100 lashes for consensual premarital sex;

Osun Defender: “Father ties, locks up six-year-old daughter for witchcraft”;

UN cancels humanitarian marathon after Hamas bans women from racing;

Toronto Star: “Muslims storm church in Egypt looking for woman suspected of converting to Christianity”;

Middle-Eastern Islamists riot, demand execution of bloggers accused of blasphemy;

The Independent: Pakistani mob torches Christian homes in Lahore over prophet Mohamed 'blasphemy';

Iran bans Buddha statues as “symbols of cultural invasion”;

Bella Naija: “Nigerian Nurse who Caused Baby’s Death after Botched Home Circumcision in the UK Walks Free from Court”;

Miami, FL imam accused by US Gov’t of funneling $50,000 to Taliban;

Global Post: “Cairo court affirms death for 7 Copts over anti-Islam film”; and

11 extremists stopped “weeks or days” before building bombs for “another 9/11”.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Catholic Charities threatens to withdraw from Colorado

It’s the same ol’ song and dance: A state passes legislation granting some or all benefits to same-sex couples, and religious organizations squawk in protest at the thought of being prohibited from discriminating against people who shack up with partners they don’t approve of. Here’s Catholic Charities, wondering aloud whether their sincerely held religious beliefs will allow them to continue helping disenfranchised children in Colorado in the wake of that state’s new civil unions law:

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver expressed Tuesday “disappointment” in Colorado’s Legislature, stating that if signed into law, the bill “may threaten the policies which guide us in the vital work to find families for Colorado’s children in need.”

The bill providing protections for gay couples does not provide exceptions to religious institutions wishing to withhold adoptions based on sexual preference, a decision that House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, said would be “discriminatory.” […]

Catholic Charities spokeswoman Tracy Murphy said the organization would not announce any concrete decision regarding adoption services in Colorado until the civil unions bill was signed into law, but the organization previously threatened to withdraw adoption services in Colorado if the legislation did not include exemptions that would allow religious organizations to withhold adoptions from gay couples.

The group has already cut ties with several states after they passed their own same-sex partnership equality legislation, typically with little-to-no deleterious repercussions once non-discriminatory (usually secular) organizations stepped in to pick up the slack. But of course, they’re always quick to dub these entirely voluntary withdrawals as being “shut down by the state”, as if they didn’t have the option to simply follow the laws that apply to everyone else and stop discriminating against perfectly eligible same-sex households. Which really says all you need to know about their priorities.

(via Joe. My. God.)

Canada secretly fighting Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill

Min. John Baird

The last we heard of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality (“Kill the Gays”) Bill, it was apparently being fast-tracked last November as a “Christmas gift”. Thankfully, it seems that the effort failed, though the bill is still on the table, and meanwhile, pro-equality activists in Uganda are receiving some under-the-table help from my own homeland:

Canada is quietly financing a concerted grassroots effort to aid gay Ugandans’ fight against their country’s proposed anti-homosexuality bill — and preparing them in case it passes, says a senior Department of Foreign Affairs source.

Since November, when the Ugandan Parliament renewed its effort to pass the legislation, which Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has called “abhorrent,” Canada has spent $200,000 to kick-start several gay rights initiatives in the region. The source confirmed that the Canadian involvement was specifically focused on fighting the Ugandan bill.

The projects involved include preparing secret escape routes and emergency kits should the bill pass, establishing a hotline, and preparing legal experts for the inevitable court battles ahead, in addition to generally promoting LGBT rights and public awareness.

There’s still no word on whether or not the legislation will be enacted in the end, despite the Ugandan government’s zeal for cracking down on disenfranchised minorities. At least Canada has once again shown its true colors (of awesome) in the meantime.

(via Joe. My. God.)

Obama administration finally calls for demise of DOMA

It’s been a long time coming, but at last, the Obama administration is calling for the Supreme Court to put an end to institutionalized anti-gay discrimination under the Defense of Marriage Act:

Arguing that Section 3 of DOMA, which forbids federal recognition of same-sex marriage, violates the Constitution, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli writes that DOMA also deserves heightened scrutiny because of the history of discrimination faced by gays and lesbians.

"Section 3 of DOMA violates the fundamental constitutional guarantee of equal protection," the brief reads. "The law denies to tens of thousands of same-sex couples who are legally married under state law an array of important federal benefits that are available to legally married opposite-sex couples. Because this discrimination cannot be justified as substantially furthering any important governmental interest, Section 3 is unconstitutional."

The brief also slaps down the Republican DOMA defense’s claims about how the federal gay marriage ban supposedly works to protect children from some vague homosexual threat. Because that canard has served them so well in court this far, hasn’t it?

For all its (many and serious) faults, LGBT rights is one domain the Obama administration has generally been quite excellent in, though it does have a tendency to drag its feet for no good or clear reason at times. But from killing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to the President’s (personal) endorsement of same-sex marriage, it’s been nothing but hit after hit lately, for which they certainly deserve kudos.

(via @BuzzFeedAndrew)

Indiana high-schoolers want their own anti-LGBT prom night

Diana Medley

It seems that one sure-fire method to expose all kinds of wretched attitudes towards LGBT folk is the idea of gay and lesbian students mingling with their straight peers on prom night. It happened three years ago with the Constance McMillen saga in Itawamba County, Mississippi, and it’s now happening in Sullivan, Indiana:

Several parents, students, and others who believe gays should be banned from the Sullivan High School prom met Sunday at the Sullivan First Christian Church.

"We don't agree with it and it's offensive to us," said Diana Medley.

Their idea is to create their own separate...traditional prom. Students say there are several others from their high school who agree, but are afraid to take a stand.

"If we can get a good prom then we can convince more people to come and follow what they believe," said student Kynon Johnson.

And now they want everyone to know where they stand.

"We want to make the public see that we love the homosexuals, but we don't think it's right nor should it be accepted," said a local student.

[…]

Several local pastors support the separate prom movement.

"Christians have always been prepared for a fight. Jesus gave us armor for the front, not the back; we're not running anymore," said Bill Phegley with Carlisle Church.

You know, I really don’t believe there’s any other group on the planet that’s so keen to spin their own intolerance and discriminatory attitude as a symbol that they’re the ones putting up a brave fight in the face of overwhelming persecution. They want to show their support for LGBT folk – while condemning and shunning them because they have the gall to be attracted to people of the “wrong” gender. Why, how could anyone not think that they “love the homosexuals”?

Leave it to conservative Christians to combine such abject stupidity, bigotry and hypocrisy all at once and try to wrap it up in the diaphanous cloak of “love”. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so sickening.

At least one of them – someone who ought to know about the plight of marginalized students better than anyone – is honest about their ignorance ^{[my emphasis]}:

Homophobes present the argument from shotgun weddings

Whenever you think same-sex marriage opponents can’t possibly make bigger fools of themselves:

Marriage should be limited to unions of a man and a woman because they alone can "produce unplanned and unintended offspring," opponents of gay marriage have told the Supreme Court.

By contrast, when same-sex couples decide to have children, "substantial advance planning is required," said Paul D. Clement, a lawyer for House Republicans.

Lawyers defending California's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act want the high court to decide it is reasonable for the law to recognize only marriages between opposite-sex couples.

So in their world, the fact that gay couples put thought and effort into family planning is why they shouldn’t be allowed to marry, whereas accidents are a good excuse for being forced into matrimony.

One can only hope the justices aren’t as completely ass-backwards as these people are.

(via The Words on What…)

Daily Blend: Wednesday, January 23, 2013

An important reminder that repealing DADT ^[pictured] doesn’t mean full equality until DOMA is also gone.
(via Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

Catholic Church: Fetuses are people, except when it’s legally expedient that they aren’t.

Latest from Arizona wingnuts: High school students shouldn’t be allowed to graduate until they swear their loyalty to the U.S. Constitution.
(via @radleybalko)

And finally, another victory for free speech: Federal appeals court nixes Indiana law banning sex offenders from Facebook.
(via @BreakingNews)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Leak: U.S. Military to remove remaining gender segregation

SecDef Leon Panetta

Just about a year since the Pentagon opened up more Military positions for female soldiers, a surprise announcement leaves yet another level of government segregation undone:

Senior defense officials say Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is removing the military's ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than a decade at war.

The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Panetta's decision gives the military services until January 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believe any positions must remain closed to women.

A senior military official says the services will develop plans for allowing women to seek the combat positions. Some jobs may open as soon as this year. Assessments for others, such as special operations forces, including Navy SEALS and the Army's Delta Force, may take longer.

[…]

Panetta's move expands the Pentagon's action nearly a year ago to open about 14,500 combat positions to women, nearly all of them in the Army. This decision could open more than 230,000 jobs, many in Army and Marine infantry units, to women.

Almost as satisfying as watching one of the last remaining barriers collapse is hearing the wonderful apoplectic spluttering from the usual cranks. Oh, the fun of being on the right side of history.

(via @BreakingNews)

U.S. soldiers booted under DADT to receive full pay

Here’s the latest reason to love the ACLU: They’ve just won a class-action suit on behalf of U.S. Military veterans who were discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the last nine years, ensuring that they will receive their full severance pay:

People discharged from the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" since November 10, 2004 who had only received one-half separation pay following their discharge but who otherwise would have received full pay now will be entitled to that full separation pay, according to the terms of a settlement agreement reached Monday between the American Civil Liberties Union and the federal government.

[…]

The case impacts approximately 181 honorably discharged veterans who had their separation pay cut in half because of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, according to the ACLU. In order to be eligible for full separation pay, a servicemember has to have served at least six years.

Now, 181 seems like a suspiciously small number compared to the estimated 13,000 troops who were forced out during the policy’s 18-year hold. It’ll be interesting to see if the rest receive any sort of compensation as well, though considering the difficulty in acquiring benefits for those above-mentioned honorably discharged veterans, I wouldn’t hold my breath for very long.

(via @BuzzFeedAndrew)

The Top 10 (Most Inane) Anti-Christian Acts of 2012

The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, that one-man operation run by Gary Cass, is back with its annual collection of the very worst “anti-Christian acts” as chosen by poll respondents. Given that last year’s list didn’t include one single genuine act of anti-Christian discrimination that existed outside of the far-Right blogosphere, instead consisting mostly of Christianists whinging about having their privilege challenged, is there any hope this year’s iteration will include actual cases of actual bigotry or oppression against God’s Gentle People^TM?

(Spoiler alert: No.)

10. Target took a controversial and anti-family stand when it decided to support homosexual activist groups with the proceeds from a collection of “gay pride” T-shirts sold by Target. They decided to do so even after voters throughout the country, including just recently in North Carolina, have taken a stand against homosexual marriage. But, instead of allowing its customers to voice concerns, Target has decided to block emails.

ZOMG! A privately-owned corporation chose a stance they don’t like and then ignored their whiny protests! Obviously, that can only mean Target is in bed with Satan on the ghey issue. And that guff about voters turning down gay marriage is all the more brazenly (yet predictably) dishonest in light of the numerous pro-marriage-equality victories that swept the nation last November (which, last I checked, is much more “just recently” than last May’s North Carolina gay marriage ban).

9. The “chief diversity officer” of Gallaudet University, Dr. Angela McCaskill, was placed on paid leave and faced punishment and the possibility of loosing her job simply for signing a bill that asks for the issue to be put up for a vote so Maryland citizens can decide whether to accept or reject the redefinition of marriage.

Weaselly spin aside, this does appear to have been a bona fide case of administrative overreach. I can’t comment on the legality of McCaskill’s suspension as I don’t know what non-discrimination laws come into play, here, but it seems that she was protected by the First Amendment in signing that (ultimately fruitless) anti-gay petition and was eventually allowed to return to her post. No word on the apparent contradiction in having a “diversity officer” who doesn’t believe a large faction of the students in her charge should have the right to marry the ones they love after they graduate.

8. A group of peaceful demonstrators were recently assaulted in Little Rock, Arkansas during a rally against Obama-care and it’s abortion mandate. Thankfully this was all caught on camera, along with the man’s license plate number. But the police were slow to act, and seemingly had no interest in finding the aggressor

New Congress set to uphold legacy of bigotry and failure

As the 112^th Congress is finally shown to the door with the notable track record of being one of the least productive and most hated in U.S. history, one would think its successor would aim for more substantive legislation and less meaningless posturing. With that in mind, what are some of the very first actions of the nation’s brand-new legislative body?

Well, for starters, House Republicans are already planning to sink even more taxpayer money into their perennial defense of institutionalized anti-gay discrimination:

House Republicans may have complained loudly during the "fiscal cliff" debate about the need to rein in government spending, but that didn't stop them from agreeing Wednesday night to sink even more money into defending the federal ban on recognizing gay marriage.

A GOP source told The Huffington Post that, during a closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference, lawmakers gave a green light to including language in the 113th Congress rules package that authorizes the House legal team, known as the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), to keep paying outside counsel to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court. The proposed House rules package also states that BLAG continues to "speak for" the House in its defense of DOMA.

Meanwhile, tragically-not-ousted Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) continues her endlessly futile crusade to undo President Obama’s efforts to overhaul the U.S.’s shambled healthcare system:

The 112th Congress gaveled to a close on Thursday afternoon without passing a relief package for victims of Hurricane Sandy or reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, but Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) isn’t too concerned about finishing what Republicans had left undone. Instead, at 12:00 PM she introduced the very first piece of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which states are now busily implementing.

House Republicans have unsuccessfully voted 33 times in the last two years to eliminate health care reform and wasted at least 88 hours and $50 million, while failing to pass a single piece of job creation legislation in the last session of Congress.

Because when you’re renowned for setting the standard in gross incompetence, the next course of action is obviously to continue down the exact same failed path.

Promising, isn’t it?

(via Joe. My. God.)

Real “war on Christmas” in Saudi Arabia

This has probably been done by a myriad other bloggers who follow these sorts of things, but it bears repeating. For all the privilege-soaked Christianists in the U.S. (and elsewhere) who see any reminder that their faith isn’t the law of the land as an affront to their religious liberty, it’s easy to forget – for we comparatively lucky ones – that while the “war on Christmas” is simply nonexistent in most of the West, it’s a very real struggle in other parts of the world, namely in rigidly Islamic countries where Christians are actually persecuted:

Saudi religious police stormed a house in the Saudi Arabian province of al-Jouf, detaining more than 41 guests for “plotting to celebrate Christmas,” a statement from the police branch released Wednesday night said.

The raid is the latest in a string of religious crackdowns against residents perceived to threaten the country's strict religious code.

The report is vague about the outcome of the raid (namely if anyone will be put on trail or such), though it sounds like most of the guests have since been released. But at any rate, this is something else to keep in mind the next time some whiny church leader or perennial malcontent tries to compare Western Christians to Nazi-era Jews because a court points out that it’s against the law to put sectarian symbols on government property.

(via @BuzzFeedAndrew)

Donohue prefers employment discrimination to basic decency

Bill Donohue

Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue reacts to a Business Review Europe piece about fostering harmony in multicultural offices during the holidays:

“If one of your colleagues wants to put up a picture of Jesus, but he works next to a Buddhist,” [Richard] Fausta advises, “there may be some sensitivities involved to deal with.” We can’t relate to that [Catholic League VP Bernadette] Brady said. “We don’t hire Buddhists.”

“One survey found 85 percent of companies that decorate their offices have had to adjust policies as a result of complaints about the decorations,” Fausta said. “We can’t relate to that Brady said. “We only hire Catholics.”

In other words, to avoid complaints of discrimination in the workplace, be sure to discriminate when hiring. Either that or tell the whiners to get a life.

So, because the Catholic League hires from an exclusively homogeneous religious subset, the solution is thus for all employers everywhere to select only candidates of a common societal category to make sure they’d never risk exposure to other traditions or beliefs. Because God forbid anyone should bother to exhibit any sensitivity towards coworkers with differing cultural backgrounds. That goes directly against narrow-minded Christianists like Donohue believe in, after all.

(And by the by, while I’m often harsh on theists’ and conservatives’ sensibilities on this blog, my point is always that subjective feelings and opinions are never a good argument against treating others equally and fairly just because they feature ethnic, sexual, religious or other traits that differ from the culturally established norm. I may well think Islam is ridiculous and harmful, but I would still avoid featuring a stuffed pig centerpiece should I ever play dinner host for some Muslim guests. That’s just common decency.)

Québec mayor channels French-Canada’s embarrassing tribalism

Mayor Jean Tremblay

I generally try to avoid talking about local politics because A) they’re usually a lethal bore, and B) I don’t pay enough attention to regional happenings to develop much of an opinion, anyway. But one thing about the cultural climate here that’s been driving me up the wall over the last few years is the steadily growing undercurrent of tribalistic thinking that reduces any discussion about immigration to a reactionary debate about “us (true citizens) vs. them (filthy minorities)”. There’s something peculiar about living in a universal-healthcare-receiving, gay-equality-espousing liberal quasi-utopia where people still complain about all those foreign savages taking our jobs and how they should just return to their hellholes and leave our precious traditions alone. It’s like Arizona, if the Republicans were Left-wingers.

As a perfect representation of this phenomenon, I’ll let Mayor Jean Tremblay from the local town of Saguenay illustrate just what I’m talking about. Here he is just this past August, reacting to Parti Québécois (a quasi-separatist Québec-first political party) then-candidate Djemila Benhabib’s proposal for a truly secular Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms that prohibits the display of religious symbols on government property (sound familiar, U.S.ians?):

“What shocks me, is to see us, the gentle French-Canadians, being told how to behave by someone from Algeria whose name we can’t even pronounce,” Tremblay said.

Told that Benhabib has been in Quebec 15 years, Tremblay laid out the perceived threat posed by “them.”

“They are quietly, and with nice language, eating away (at our traditions),” Tremblay said. “They quietly start by removing the prayer in city hall, then they’ll remove our religious objects, then they’ll take away the crosses in cities and after that they’ll go into the schools ...

“They’ll do away with our religion and culture everywhere, and you won’t notice.”

Not so much “latent” xenophobia as “blatant”. As in, “So blatant, you’d think it were a parody of discriminatory bigotry if it didn’t actually represent a virulent mentality espoused by a prominent faction of the population.”

But Tremblay wasn’t done making a ridiculous scene over an obvious non-issue. He’s now upset that the Québec Human Rights Tribunal ordered the Saguenay city council to stop wasting time with sectarian prayers before meetings and to take down a crucifix from the chamber wall, and is determined to keep shaking his little fists at those darned secularists for casting symbols of religious oppression out of the government:

Pentagon report debunks DADT fear-mongering (yet again)

We now have yet more evidence to throw in the faces of all those far-Right homophobes who’ve spent the last year (and longer) going apoplectic over the demise of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” with hysterical claims about the loss of morale and unit cohesion and the enslavement of chaplains and whatnot. Following report after report about the “negligible” effect caused by the repeal, we now have official recruitment statistics from the Department of Defense that blow a crater right through all those myths about the impending homosexualized decline of the U.S.’s armed forces:

All four active services met or exceeded their numerical accession goals for fiscal 2012:

-- Army: 60,490 accessions, for 104 percent of its goal of 58,000;

-- Navy: 36,329 accessions, for 100 percent of its goal of 36,275;

-- Marine Corps: 30,514 accessions, for 100 percent of its goal of 30,500;

-- Air Force: 29,037 accessions, for 100 percent of its goal of 29,037.

The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force all exhibited strong retention through fiscal 2012.

That’s right: Not only have enlisted soldiers not left in protest of the gay plague, but in addition to recruitment remaining exactly on the mark, there’s even more people joining up than had been expected. We’re really running out of space on that ever-growing list of failed religious-Right predictions.

Of course, they could always just stop making such mindless and easily disproven claims … but then, you know what they say about expecting crazy people to stop doing crazy things.

(via Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

Daily Blend: Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Savita Halappanavar

Irish woman ^[pictured] has a miscarriage. Catholic hospital refuses to abort the dead fetus. Woman suffers and dies. To keep in mind for the next time some anti-choice asshat claims abortion doesn’t save lives.

Meanwhile, an ongoing study publishes preliminary findings: Women who have an abortion don’t fare any worse than those who are denied.
(via Wonkette)

Ed Brayton nails it: The Republican Party did everything in their power to bring about its latest crushing defeat, and they should absolutely be ridiculed for it.

Radley Balko at his most optimistic: Americans seem to be leaning away from punishment and towards reason and rehabilitation on drugs and crime.
(via The Agitator)

And finally, outsiders shouldn’t have any say in Illinois’s East Aurora School District’s handling of trans anti-discrimination policies, says group of hate-mongering outsiders.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Daily Blend: Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Bill Donohue

Boy Scouts loses UPS grants due to anti-gay policies. More of this from other sponsors, please.
(via Joe. My. God.)

Clusterfuck of assholery: Dumbass parents accuse (straight) high school teacher of turning their 18-year-old daughter into a lesbian; in return, principal destroys teacher’s career.
(via Wonkette)

Is it just me, or does Bill Donohue ^[pictured] sound even more childishly petulant than usual?

The American Family Association is all verklempt that a Pennsylvania high school hockey league is no longer “promoting patriotism and love of country” by eliminating the National Anthem over budgeting issues.

What If: a 100-foot-wide diamond meteor hit the Earth at the speed of light? (Prognosis: Even worse than I guessed.)

Be sure to watch Pixar’s beautiful, Oscar-nominated short film La Luna right here. I knew astronomers had it wrong, somehow …
(via @BadAstronomer)

And finally, here’s a lilliputian Leporidae enjoying some Daucus carota:
(via @BadAstronomer)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.