Gubbernant should stay outta mah life and yours, unless your some kinda queer. Also brown, or a woman.

janet napolitano really screwed az when she left for the big leagues. i lived in flagstaff for 8 years...great town, great state in general, but holy shit is it getting crazy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con…

Virginia attorney general to colleges: End gay protections
By Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 6, 2010; A01

RICHMOND -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has urged the state's public colleges and universities to rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, arguing in a letter sent to each school that their boards of visitors [university regents or trustees in most other states] had no legal authority to adopt such statements.

In his most aggressive initiative on conservative social issues since taking office in January, Cuccinelli (R) wrote in the letter sent Thursday that only the General Assembly can extend legal protections to gay state employees, students and others -- a move the legislature has repeatedly declined to take as recently as this week...

Like when we're attacked for "co-opting" the civil rights movement.

...and our "allies" feed the flames by viewing our issues as tactical matters rather than moral imperatives.

The only ones who view our issues as a moral imperative (besides us) are the people who generate political capitol by demonizing us.

ugh

Justice is justice is justice.

Actually, I'm kind of enjoying just sitting back and watching the show. Crazy is always entertaining.

I lived in Tucson for a couple of years. MLK day wasn't a holiday, but Rodeo Day was.

That pretty much sums it up.

@6: Oh, we realize it; we just don't give a shit.

It's obviously stupid to have - in America - a requirement that citizens must prove their citizenship just because police suspect they might not actually be Americans. And so that one must do so or fear being arrested by the force of big government? No, that's clearly a bad idea.

It's a moral imperative to vehemently oppose totalitarianism in all forms - most especially this form, where it is given the force of law. This is not a "liberals vs. conservatives issue"; not by a long shot. It's simply an American freedom issue.

I'm a bit flummoxed as to why Janet is getting the blame for what is happening in AZ right now. Not that I'm disregarding the fact that Brewer is governor, because she left, but is that the sole reason she is being blamed? Perhaps, the fact that she is 'family', so I see her as someone who lived with my family, attended weddings, and holiday gatherings as more than just the former governor of AZ, so I can't begrudge her the opportunity for career advancement that she made. Although, I'm sorry that Brewer is such a thorn. There are many good people, my family being some of them, and great places in Arizona.

I've been trying for years to convince people how terrible Arizona is. Does anyone believe me now?

Seriously though, the state is a vast desert wasteland. I spend the first half of my life there and I got out as soon as I could.

I still have lots of friends and family there, and they all think this new law is terrible. There are a lot of good people there who oppose whats going on.

OK, let's grant that the gay is still somewhat controversial, and that domestic partnerships still rankle the conservative soul, such as it exists. But DISABLED ADULTS? You're taking away dependent status for the DISABLED? What, so the profoundly retarded, bed-ridden, in a coma folks should just go out and get jobs and apartments? That's completely mind-fuckingly wrong and evil, and is in accord with no religious doctrine on earth, nut-job Christian or other.

This is a state that openly tolerates an entire town of polygamist renegade pseudo-Mormons, you know.

When are they putting the swastika on the state flag?

@6: Hahahehehehohohohohohoho boycotting AZ over race issues doesn't work? Bless your heart, that's where the tactic started. And it worked. And it got their Governor impeached.

Nice try, though.

One of the best and earliest signs of mass murderers and serial killers is their cruelty to living things around them. (Was it Dahmer who like to kill cats?) I think someone who is willing to harm GLBT people will soon exhibit willingness to harm everyone else. And I really do see a similarity between Dahmer and Cuccinelli. Comparison pictures, anyone?

I love the new "registered off" default setting.

Dan @ 15 - Thanks for that!

@10: Haha, I've always known it was terrible. But I figured, at the very least, it was still America.

Now I'm not so sure.

@11: What is your argument here? That Seattleites are against totalitarianism just because "we don't know how bad those Mexicans can be"? Really? I mean, is that honestly your position?

I'm seriously trying to understand where you're coming from. But your condescension isn't helping.

@ 15, it would work even better if the unregistered weren't allowed to comment in the first place. Just sayin'...

Of course, there's nothing to prevent assholes from registering. Or from being employed at the Stranger and having Slogging rights.

@11: Actually, having grown up in South Texas, you're pretty wrong. For example, the folks who got the pride parade in San Antonio moved were the evangelical and predominantly white baptist churches that went and stacked the downtown San Antonio organizations with supporters to move the parade into the gayborhood.

Mayor Julian Castro headlined the parade in front of thousands, the largest crowd in years. He was attacked by an Irish-American radio host who nearly started crying on-air because the mexican-american community was generally behind the mayor.

In terms of actual mexican culture, both legal and illegal, I've experienced less hatred and distrust than I've experienced around white evangelicals. In border towns, the main groups that will harass you for being gay are the evangelical and baptist groups.

Catholic Archbishops may speak out against being gay, but in general, they're largely ignored. Most Mexican families have plenty of gay relatives, generally notched into several visible and highly stereotyped-but-loved groups like the maricon who wears too much cologne, the butch lesbian aunts, the jersey-wearing ghetto masculine homo who wears chanclas to church and so on.

@19: True dat, but at least when they're registered/slogging, they have to be a little less anonymous, and thus, less cowardly.

That being said, I usually enjoy the unregistered comments. They're often hilarious, albeit somewhat unintentionally.

Another example is the Westboro Baptist Church. If people had taken notice when those asshats were protesting gay funerals then something might have been done before they protested military funerals. And just for the record; Brewer wasn't elected governor, she was elected lieutenant governor and then became governor only after Napalitano was moved to the DHS. I really like Janet and think she's great for the federal position but was really bummed when she was appointed b/c I knew that fucking twatwaffle Brewer was waiting in the wings to fuck shit up.

@ 19, it still keeps their numbers down.

I bet if you had your tech guys run a check on most of them, you'd find fake emails. A lot of them are cowards who just won't share a real email address with you.

I don't want an asshole-free SLOG, just one where there aren't so many distracting trolls.

@ 19

Dan, did you watch Maddow last night? As it turns out, the guy who proposed the legislation (not surprisingly) was caught sending white separatist emails to his supporters and is apparently fond of hugging Nazis. That last tidbit isn't a joke either; hugging honest to goodness swastika wearing Nazis.

@20: I live on the South Side of Chicago, in a neighborhood that is ~95% black, and I take the CTA all the time. (I'm one of those white liberal progressives, too.) I don't see anything wrong with treating poor and/or foreign people with basic human rights and decency either.
In summary: shut your fucking mouth, you bitch-ass fuckhead.

[over-the-top enthusiasm]
Thank you "Naive seattlegayboys have no clue about reality", I'd been missing Christian fundamentalist white supremacist rhetoric in my daily life. You might want to sign up for an account so you can continue to grace us with your insight! The conversations get rather stale with only the universal, monolithic opinion of "naive Seattle gayboys" represented.
[/over-the-top enthusiasm]

"Maybe the national media wouldn't be blindsided by things like Arizona's new anti-immigration law or Virginia's racially tone deaf governor"
Were our news media outlets really blindsided by this? I mean, I can see them feigning shock, as they do every time a politician has sex with someone to whom [typically he]'s not married, but I can't see them actually being surprised. These people have values that are right in line with the Nazi party (hate gays, hate brown people, strong centralized government - in spite of the "small government" rhetoric, confluence of business and government; though, the scapegoating and paranoia is directed more at Muslims and Mexicans than Jews), so I can't imagine anyone's ACTUALLY shocked when they pass fascist laws.

As for gay-bashing getting a "faith-based pass": as long as we (as a society) consider "faith" to be anything other than a bad way of analyzing the world and our experiences, any crazy shit that can be justified in terms of a mainstream religion (and sometimes even a fringe religion) will get a free pass in mainstream news media, because they don't want to alienate the majority of their audience members who are religious, or even just the followers of the particular religion in question.

#32

Not all Mexicans are Catholic and/or Christian... Keep digging that infinitely deep (and full of $hit) hole of ignorance...

Like @12, my mind is reeling at the thought of cutting health coverage to the physically disabled. I just can't begin to comprehend the thought process of American conservatives. "I don't care if you're paralyzed from the waist down; you need to be digging ditches or you won't get health care?"

And these people seriously get re-elected?

@34: Oh gosh, I'm a Unicorn. I feel your pain. Nobody ever believes me.

@29, 30:
Actually, the crime rate around here isn't that bad. Woodlawn had about 2500 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, and Hyde Park had under 1000 per 100k. Nao wut?
And the problem is not with black people committing crimes; it's concerning all the poor people committing crimes. Why do black people tend to be poor? Primarily because racist assholes like YOU have oppressed them for hundreds of years.

@38: WOOO! Gomorrah Man is here again! Yes, he who valiantly toils for the causes of bigotry, hysteria, and misspelling "Gomorrah"!

@40: "primitives barely a couple of hundred years out of being tribal savages"
Do you know anything about Africa? Here's an example for you: Nubia, now part of Sudan. Nubian civilization dates from 5000 BCE, and was renowned for its riches, architecture, and power. An empire to rival that of their northern neighbor, Egypt, they were at times the leading nation of the area both militarily and economically. They also built big pyramids.
Basically, black Nubians had a thriving and complex national culture and society back when people in Europe were still living in tiny little villages, living in constant fear of bandits, and wiping their hands on hairy dogs under the dinner table.
Seriously, learn a bit about Africa (especially as compared to the West) before you try and bring actual facts into the debate about race, you anencephalic Klansman.

Also, a black man is President of the United States, whereas you cannot even spell "primitives" properly. Who's the master race now, bitch?

hmm I think I am very glad the unregistered got turned off before I read these comments. I agree with the above registered comments that hate = hate = hate. There really is no difference between versions. The irony of these hate-mongers calling themselves christians is that Jesus would be appalled at their behavior. Jesus taught love.

I apologize for Virginia. But I still didn't vote for any of the douche-a-ramas running it right. Still--it's usually such a lovely state. Come to the Shenandoah Valley--it's lovely, and very liberal.

I have a feeling this person being a racist troll is not really an atheist, but a douchey person trying to smear us by saying what he wishes he or she could normally say (I'm guessing he because I'm a self deprecating male), except now they can use it to make atheism look racist.

Or else, it could be one of those people who actually is a racist atheist. The kind the Christians like to focus on so they can claim we're all dumb-fuck Social Darwinists.

Even if Africans were "savages", you prick, (no offense to your surname, Dan) societal advancement is not genetic.

Get back to your bridge lair and eat a billygoat turd, and I hope the

Shit, that comment didn't edit well at the end. Drop that last incomplete clause.

@20...another white liberal progressive who lives in a 99%+ black neighborhood in DC and rides public transit every day. The crime rate here is lower than in my former ~66% white, upper-class neighborhood...

"Maybe the national media wouldn't be blindsided by things like Arizona's new anti-immigration law or Virginia's racially tone deaf governor if it took attacks on gays and lesbians seriously, if the media saw them for the outliers they are"

I think you mean "bellwether" or the like, since "outlier" would imply that an attack on queer people isn't indicative of a larger trend of prejudicial behaviour, which is the opposite of what you're argueing.

@41 to be fair- it wasn't Nubia that supplied the slaves that came to the America's. They came mostly from sub saharan Africa where there wasn't even a written language there till they came into contact with Northern African and Arabic speaking people. Their architecture had no right angles either...

Also:

Nubians didn't build pyramids till the 3rd C. BC when Pyramids in Egypt were already thousands of years old. The pyramids were infinitely smaller and imperfect... And somewhat copied from Egyptian pyramids...

@48, actually, quite nearly identical. Frat boys getting in fights, people throwing rocks at Congresspeople's houses (it's called a "threat, violence" here), and thugs whacking you upside the head to steal your wallet are all violent crimes. In my neighborhood, where over 50% of the community is retired, they don't put up with that crap. Since I've moved in, my neighbor has left her car window open all night, I have forgotten to lock my back door on multiple occasions, and we have placed outdoor furniture in our yard and on our patios, and it's still there. Granted, this neighborhood is more block-by-block than my old one. You can't just move to the larger geographic portion of the city I live in and expect low crime rates, you actually need to run a crime report on addresses and visit the neighborhood. Then again, that's also a DUH! moment, as one could say that all of SE is bad because of Anacostia or all of NW is bad because of near NOMA.

Biggest problem in my neighborhood: public intoxication. Second biggest problem: the ice cream man doesn't have a permit and gets busted for it regularly. But I knew this before I moved here because I'm smart enough to use a crime map and not afraid to talk to someone because they're a different color. Sounds like a terrible place, huh?

@48: If those violent black people always go to upper-class white neighborhoods to steal shit, why has the Gold Coast enjoyed such a low crime rate despite having been rather near to the infamous slum project known as Cabrini-Green? You just don't like black people and are grasping wildly for bits of data that you think will back up your ridiculous prejudice.

@51: Well said.

@50: I know, the Nubian pyramids were later, smaller, and steeper. My main point stands.