Sen. Cruz Thinks Obama Might Defund Obamacare

The key remarks mentioned in the title are just after 4:45, but I recommend watching the whole clip.

Canada to Favour Asylum For LGBT Russians

From the Globe & Mail: 

Canada’s refugee board is likely to look favourably on claims of persecution by gay asylum-seekers from Russia, the Immigration Minister says. 

Chris Alexander said Monday in Surrey, B.C., that Russia has taken the wrong path in restricting the fundamental rights of its gay community, and that any refugee claims “related to this particular issue will of course be looked at very seriously by our very generous system.” 

Russia has passed a new law banning gay “propaganda” – a catch-all that prohibits gay pride events and providing information to minors on “non-traditional” relationships, and exposes those who express pro-gay views to prosecution. Foreigners can be hit with fines of about $3,000, and 15 days in a Russian jail. 

Lawyer Rob Hughes, who is representing two gay Russian men claiming refugee status in Canada, says he expects more Russians to make claims based on sexual orientation.

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Canada accepts gay asylum-seekers in the same way as it accepts members of any other persecuted group, like a religious or ethnic minority. Asylum-seekers can file a claim after they arrive in Canada because they face persecution by their government, or because they are persecuted by others and the government does not offer protection.

Canada's Banking System vs. America's Banking System

Canada Ends Ban On Gay Men Donating Blood

From The Star: 

The federal blood donor agency is lifting its lifetime ban on gay men giving blood.

Canadian Blood Services announced Wednesday it has received approval from Health Canada to reduce its restriction on men who have sex with men donating blood from indefinitely to five years.

“We recognize that many people will feel that this change does not go far enough, but given the history of the blood system in Canada, we see this as a first and prudent step forward on this policy,” Dr. Dana Devine, vice-president of medical, scientific and research affairs at the federal blood donor agency said in a news release Wednesday.

“It’s the right thing to do and we are committed to regular review of this policy as additional data emerge and new technologies are implemented,” Devine said in the statement.

The new policy will come into effect this summer...

Gays Can't Donate Organs Either

From Gay Star News:

A Canadian woman has said she believes her late son’s organs were rejected for donation because he was gay. 

Nancy Campana says she was asked if her son Rocky, who was an organ donor, was gay after his death.

‘I was asked if he was a gay male and I said, “yes.” And I was asked if he was a sexually active gay male or if he had a partner and I said, “yes”,’ Campana told CBC News. 

She said the tone of the conversation changed, and the family was told they could not donate her son’s organs... 

‘...When I got off the phone to relay that to both [Rocky's father] Rob and a lot of Rocky's friends ... many of them broke down,’ she said. ‘The gay ones said, “Nancy, we can't donate blood; they're not going to take our organs.”’

Fox/Right-Wing Media Banned in Canada

From Current:

Fox News banned in Canada because, unlike in America, it’s illegal to lie on broadcast news.

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Canada’s Radio Act requires that “a licenser may not broadcast … any false or misleading news.” The provision has kept Fox News and right-wing talk radio out of Canada and helped make Canada a model for liberal democracy and freedom. As a result of that law, Canadians enjoy high quality news coverage, including the kind of foreign affairs and investigative journalism that flourished in this country before Ronald Reagan abolished the “Fairness Doctrine” in 1987.

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[Canadian Prime Minister Stephen] Harper’s attempts to make lying legal on Canadian television are a stark admission that right-wing political ideology can only dominate national debate through dishonest propaganda. Since corporate profit-taking is not an attractive vessel for populism, a political party or broadcast network that makes itself the tool of corporate and financial elites must lie to make its agenda popular with the public. In the Unites States, Fox News and talk radio, the sock puppets of billionaires and corporate robber barons, have become the masters of propaganda and distortion on the public airwaves. Fox News’ notoriously biased and dishonest coverage of the Wisconsin’s protests is a prime example of the brand of news coverage Canada has smartly avoided.

 Score another one for Canada.

How Gay is Canada?

From the National Post:

The Forum Research poll, commissioned by the National Post and taken twice in June to confirm its accuracy, found that 5% of Canadians identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. And contrary to the popular wisdom that the same-sex marriage rate is surprisingly low, the poll found that a third of LGBT people say they are in a same-sex marriage.

“Social scientists have never been able to pin down how many Canadians are LGBT, but we believe this is the best estimate to date,” said Lorne Bozinoff, president of the polling firm. “This is something people want to know; they’re curious. And now is the time to measure it: people are less reluctant to answer the question, so we can actually ask it.”

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But Forum’s 5% figure jibes with the latest number out of the United States, where a University of California Los Angeles think-tank last year found 4% of Americans are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. University of British Columbia professor Amin Ghaziani said it is “terrific” that Canada has joined the U.S. in producing a more comprehensive snapshot of its gay community.

“I think this survey will prove useful for demographers and anyone who is tracking public opinion on sexuality — on the relationship between knowing someone who is LGBT-identified and support for LGBT issues,” said Mr. Ghaziani, an expert in the sociology of sexuality who is working on a book about gay neighbourhoods.

The article features some more details on the numbers and demographics. You can read the article in its entirety HERE.

The Wrap-Up: April 6, 2012

Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) thinks that making sure everyone is treated equally under the law is merely a "pet project." I could have sworn that it was his job, but maybe that's just my imagination.

After Republicans complained about Obama's stimulus not having a good return-on-investment, one of their darlings (Gov. Chris Christie R-NJ) is getting quite a poor ROI after massive corporate tax breaks he gave away.

A secret meeting was held with conservative leaders and Rick Santorum concerning his way ahead in this race. It's funny how they actually think he has a way ahead.

With some slight changes, "Bully" has finally been reduced to a PG-13 rating.

Canada is doomed, and it's all because of the gays. Surprisingly, Pat Robertson isn't the person who said this.

Newt Gingrich hasn't had much luck when it comes to starting political organizations. Then again, the same could be said about him running for President. Maybe he isn't as smart as he thinks he is.

An Ohio judge (kind of) has ruled on whether or not a student can wear a pro-gay t-shirt.

An NHL player makes the obvious connection that tends to escape many other people between homophobia and racism.

Over 600,000 people have thanked Starbucks for their support of marriage equality. I'm happy to have been one of those people.

And lastly, a drag show at a Catholic University. Wait until you hear the university's response.

The Wrap-Up: December 15, 2011

President Barack Obama

The White House has rescinded its threat to veto the National Defense Authorization Act, despite many terrible provisions that are patently un-Constitutional.

Canadians are being warned that their nation may be striped of its progressive accomplishments by the Tories (conservatives), including (but not limited to) marriage equality.

If Lowes removed its ads from TLC's "All-American Muslim" to avoid controversy, the scope of its failure seems to grow by the day.

The Florida "Family" Association, the organization claiming credit for getting Lowes to drop its ads in "All-American Muslim," has quite a long list of complaints.

Donald Trump

The video I posted yesterday about Virginia chapters of the Tea Party and Occupy Richmond meeting was based on an article from Salon.com which can be found here.

Not only are most of the GOP candidates not showing up to Donald Trump's debate, he isn't showing up either.

Rick Santorum says he is right where he wants to be in this GOP race. Someone should tell him that political campaigns don't work like golf scores.

 

A GOP led effort to pass a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution failed on Wednesday 47-53 (it needed 2/3 to pass). A similar measure had already failed in the House.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) made a few surprising admissions on liberals and the debt in a Wednesday appearance on C-SPAN.

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)

What constitutes blocking a president's nominee to be an ambassador? If You're Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), denouncing homophobia. This of course says more about DeMint than it says about the nominee.

West Virginia has included sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in the state's anti-bullying policy.

And lastly, Mitt Romney has just nabbed the wiccan-demographic.