Marriage News Watch: February 10, 2014

Federal Judge Sides With Catholic Church Against Abuse Victims

Former Pope Benedict XVI

From Think Progress: 

A federal judge in Wisconsin handed down an opinion yesterday granting the Catholic Church — and indeed, potentially all religious institutions — such sweeping immunity from federal bankruptcy law that it is not clear that it would permit any plaintiff to successfully sue any church in any court. While the ostensible issue in this case is whether over $50 million in church funds are shielded from a bankruptcy proceeding triggered largely by a flood of clerical sex abuse claims against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Judge Rudolph Randa reads the church’s constitutional and legal right to religious liberty so broadly as to render religious institutions immune from much of the law. 

The case involves approximately $57 million that former Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan transferred from the archdiocese’s general accounts to into a separate trust set up to maintain the church’s cemeteries. Although Dolan, who is now a cardinal, the Archbishop of New York and the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has denied that the purpose of this transfer was to shield the funds from lawsuits, Dolan penned a letter to the Vatican in 2007 where he explained that transferring the funds into the trust would lead to “an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.” 

The issue facing the court is, essentially, whether the funds that Dolan split off into a separate trust can now be reabsorbed into the archdiocese’s assets in order to enable sex abuse victims and other creditors to be paid out of these assets. In holding that these funds cannot be so absorbed, Randa relies on a law that limits the federal government’s ability to “substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion,” Randa cites to the current Archbishop of Milwaukee’s statement that “the care and maintenance of Catholic cemeteries, cemetery property, and the remains of those interred is a fundamental exercise of the Catholic faith,” and concludes that this statement alone is enough to shield the church’s funds. As Randa explains, “if the Trust’s funds are converted into the bankruptcy estate, there will be no funds or, at best, insufficient funds for the perpetual care of the Milwaukee Catholic Cemeteries...”

Are Mandatory Trans-vaginal Probes Rape? Yes!!!

Wisconsin to Import Virginia's Transvaginal Mandate

From Think Progress: 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has thrown his support behind an anti-abortion measure that’s currently moving through the state legislature, saying he will sign the bill into law if it makes it to his desk. SB 206 would require women to undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion — which would mandate an invasive transvaginal probe for some of the women who seek early abortions in their first trimester — and force one of the state’s last abortion clinics to close its doors.

“I don’t have any problem with ultrasound,” Walker told reporters on Tuesday in Milwaukee. “I think most people think ultrasounds are just fine.” 

Forced ultrasound bills mandate a medically unnecessary procedure that would otherwise be left up to the discretion of a woman and her doctor. Medical experts, including the largest national group representing thousands of OB-GYNs across the country, are opposed to this type of legislation because they say it interferes with their work and compromises their relationships with patients. “All of a sudden, the Senate is full of doctors,” Wisconsin Sen. Tim Cullen (D) said in reference to SB 206′s advancement. 

And, even though the lawmakers who push for mandatory ultrasound measures sometimesdeny it, these laws also require many women to undergo an invasive transvaginal probe. Before 12 weeks of pregnancy, a transvaginal ultrasound is the only way to detect a clear image— and, since the vast majority of women in the United States seek abortion services in their first trimester, those women must submit to an invasive probe in order to comply with these burdensome laws. Over the past year, reproductive rights advocates have repeatedly decried transvaginal ultrasound laws as “state sponsored rape.”

GOP Voter Fraud in Wisconsin

From Think Progress:

Documents from a recent Romney poll watcher training obtained by ThinkProgress contain several misleading or untrue claims about the rights of Wisconsin voters. A source passed along the following packet of documents, which was distributed to volunteers at a Romney campaign training in Racine on October 25th. In total, eight such trainings were held across the state in the past two weeks and 17 since late September.

One blatant falsehood occurs on page 5 of the training packet, which informed poll watchers that any “person [who] has been convicted of treason, a felony, or bribery” isn’t eligible to vote. This is not true. Once a Wisconsin voter who has been convicted of a felony completes his or her sentence, that person is once again eligible to vote.

The training also encouraged volunteers to deceive election workers and the public about who they were associated with. On page 3 of the packet, Romney poll workers were instructed to hide their affiliation with the campaign and told to sign in at the polls as a “concerned citizen” instead. As Kristina Sesek, Romney’s legal counsel who just graduated from Marquette Law School last year, explained, “We’re going to have you sign in this election cycle as a ‘concerned citizen.’ We’re just trying to alleviate some of the animosity of being a Republican observer up front...”

You can see the many bogus claim being made by Romney supporters HERE.

Election 2012: Dems Pull Ahead in Key Senate Races

From Politico:

After no shortage of hand-wringing over Elizabeth Warren’s campaign, the Massachusetts Democrat has overtaken Brown in four consecutive polls.

After running behind in August, the former Harvard professor has pulled ahead of the freshman incumbent by 2 to 6 percentage points in surveys taken over the past two weeks. Her uptick came before any recalibration of her messaging — Schumer and other top Democrats urged her to hit Brown harder. But it did follow her prime-time convention speech, which helped lock down wavering Democrats as well as undecided voters who lean toward Obama.

“There are plenty of Democrats who like Scott Brown, but fewer are now willing to vote for him,” Public Policy Polling President Dean Debnam wrote in a memo on the race.

~

In Wisconsin, liberal Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who trailed Tommy Thompson in five straight August polls, has now vaulted ahead of him in several surveys. Three separate polls have Baldwin either deadlocked with or ahead of the former four-time governor. A survey by Marquette University — which gained notoriety for correctly forecasting Gov. Scott Walker’s margin in the Wisconsin recall — put Baldwin up by a jarring 9 points.

 While Republicans dismiss that margin, Thompson has been carpet-bombed on the airwaves this month. Thompson’s campaign has been largely dark as it replenished a diminished war chest from a grueling August primary. Baldwin and her allies have saturated the airwaves with $4.6 million in TV and radio ads, versus $2.5 million from Thompson and his allies since the Aug. 14 primary.

~

Even in Virginia — the race that has cemented itself as the most consistently competitive in the country — daylight has started to emerge for Democrats.

Tim Kaine, the former governor and onetime head of the Democratic National Committee, has carved out a lead against former Sen. George Allen.

A pair of polls from The Washington Post and Quinnipiac University had Kaine ahead of Allen by 7 and 8 points, making it five straight polls showing a lead for the Democrat.

Election 2012: Obama & Baldwin Up in Wisconsin

Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin

From CNN:

A new poll of Wisconsin likely voters released Wednesday afternoon shows President Barack Obama with a double digit lead over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney there. It stands in contrast to other national and state polls released Tuesday and Wednesday which have shown a close race, some giving Obama a slight advantage over Romney. 

The Marquette Law School Poll put Obama 14 percentage points ahead of Romney among likely voters in the Badger State. It also shows a significant change in the Wisconsin race for a U.S. Senate seat.

~

A separate poll of likely Wisconsin voters released earlier on Wednesday also showed Obama with an edge, but significantly less of one. His six point advantage over Romney (51% to 45%) in the New York Times/CBS News/Quinnipiac survey was outside of the poll's sampling error but far less than was indicated in the Marquette poll. 

The Marquette poll showed Obama gaining five points and Romney losing six, as the two candidates were separated by three points in an August iteration of this survey. 

Romney's running mate is Rep. Paul Ryan, a seven-term congressman from the state. In mid-August, the state was moved from leaning in Obama's favor to a toss-up between Obama and Romney on the CNN Electoral Map. 

The poll also showed a significant shift in the U.S. Senate race between Rep. Tammy Baldwin and former Gov. Tommy Thompson. It shows Baldwin with a nine point lead over Thompson, 50% to 41% - a reversal of the two candidates' standings in the August survey. In that poll, Thompson was at 50% and Baldwin at 41%.

GOP Attacks Lesbian Senate Candidate

From The Advocate:

...The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Brian Nemoir, the political director for Thompson, sent an e-mail and posted a Twitter message in advance of Baldwin’s speech Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. He included a link to the congresswoman’s appearance at a 2010 Pride festival and attempted to contrast her dancing there with the convention speech in which she promised to talk about “heartland values.”

“Clearly, there's no one better positioned to talk ‘heartland values’ than Tammy,” wrote Nemoir in the e-mail obtained by WisPolitics.com. According to the Sentinel, “The email included a link to a video of Baldwin dancing in 2010 with the costumed disco band VO5 playing the ‘Wonder Woman’ theme. Baldwin, wearing sunglasses, dances on stage with the band and at the end hugs the singer, who is dressed like the comic book hero Wonder Woman.”

Baldwin, an eight-term representative from Madison, could become the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate. Her address to the DNC focused on the economy, but she praised the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and said “Republicans want to write discrimination into our Constitution,” a reference to their platform’s call for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. She linked her opponent, a former four-term governor and Bush cabinet secretary, to leaders from his party, saying, “Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, Tommy Thompson—they think they're the only ones who speak for Wisconsin."

The Baldwin campaign has declined to comment on the incident, but Nemoir told the Journal Sentinel that he acted on his own and sent the message to a “handful of select contacts.” His Twitter account, which had said posts “do not represent the views of clients or organizations with whom I might be involved,” was switched to private Thursday...

The Wrap-Up: June 19, 2012

After winning his recall vote two weeks ago, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) officially has someone riding his coat-tails: Mitt Romney.

For those who were angry about Dharun Ravi ONLY getting 30 days in jail for his actions against Tyler Clementi, I suggest you take a deep breath before reading this article.

Here is one way to help close the budget gap: stop subsidizing religious organizations (which is also probably unconstitutional) to the tune of $71,000,000,000 per year. That and big oil subsidies.

Mitt Romney, flexing his conservative credentials, refuses to compromise.

Not only does Romney refuse to compromise, he also refuses to detail his plans for America.

As President Obama prepares for the Autumn debates, his Romney stand-in will be Massachusetts senior Senator John Kerry.

Campaign finance is one of those rare issues on which I agree with John McCain.

I like to think that the fact that Indiana Republicans are uninterested in having "protecting traditional marriage" in their platform is indicative of how "protecting marriage" from the big bad gays is an increasingly losing electoral battle.

And lastly, LZ Granderson tells us what the gay agenda is really about.

The Wrap-Up: June 7, 2012

Wondering why you should care about the Wisconsin recall election if you live outside of that state? There are definitely many reasons why we should ALL care.

Miss Pennsylvania USA resigned over the Miss Universe Organization's apparent support of transgender candidates. Between her, Rick Santorum, and the Philadelphia Eagles, that state is looking less and less pleasant.

Short of stories that include suicide, this is probably the worst bullying story I have heard, in part, because it was also the school system bullying the student and their family.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is saying that it is more likely that someone will be struck by lightning than it is for voter fraud to take place in the state, contrary to the statements of Governor Rick Scott.

Even though the USDoJ has ordered Governor Scott to end the purge, Scott would rather have a showdown on the issue (the deadline to respond to the DoJ's order was yesterday).

Republicans have learned nothing from the assassination attempt against Rep. Gabby Giffords as another gun oriented ad pops up (and it has nothing to do with the NRA).

Yet another federal judge has ruled that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, specifically article 3, is unconstitutional. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is spending lots of tax-payer dollars to defend this discriminatory law and not getting much bang for his our buck.

The state of California will be investigating the National Organization for Marriage Discrimination over allegedly breaking campaign finance laws. You can thank Fred Karger for this.

And lastly, there will be a live stream tonight at 6PM of a debate between Maggie Gallagher (co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage Discrimination) and John Corvino (associate professor of philosophy at Wayne State University)

The Wrap-Up: June 6, 2012

Today is the 68th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy.

As of when I'm writing this, the Koch Brothers Citizens United Scott Walker won the Wisconsin recall election. He does still have some nagging legal issues to get sorted out.

Senate Republicans are blocking an equal pay law via filibuster, thus showing that A) filibuster reform is a must and B) Republicans think women don't deserve equality.

A nun who has voiced support for marriage equality has been denounced by a bunch of people that shield pedophiles from the rule of law the Vatican.

Another school district has failed another child who was the victim of malicious bullying because his peers thought he was gay (silver lining: there was no suicide in this story).

A New Jersey doctor denied an HIV+ man from access to his medication, which could have made him resistant to the medication. It would be a crime for this doctor's license was left intact.

Davis, California created its own currency, and apparently they aren't the only place in the States to have done so.

Romney has zero room to talk about the Obama administration and Solyndra. He has his own solar issues.

Proposition 8 supporters have lost yet another court decision.

And lastly, the self-marriage trend.

The Wrap-Up: June 5, 2012

Today, Wisconsinites will decide if Gov Scott Walker is worthy of remaining the state's governor.

Texas is giving Florida a run for its money when it comes to purging eligible voters from the rolls.

The Republican Party of North Carolina has enshrined homophobia into its official platform. This state is regressing back into the 50's.

Mitt Romney's senior campaign adviser says that women's issues are merely political distractions, which makes sense because a mere 50% of the populace is female.

Rick Santorum has some really big news coming up late this week. I can only hope it's that he's unblocking me on Twitter.

It's really sad that courts have to rule on whether or not "gay" constitutes slander, but they do.

A judge in St. Petersburg, Russia ruled that bans on gay events are unlawful.

Hundreds of Mormons from "Mormons Building Bridges" marched in Utah's Gay Pride Parade.

And lastly, it looks like the GOP is looking for a major image update. Personally, I suggest they start by getting rid of Boehner and Cantor.

The Wrap-Up: May 31, 2012

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

Conservative/Republican Super PACs are planning a $1,000,000,000 assault on the Obama administration between now and the November elections.

Despite the extremely un-American moves being made in Florida on voting rights, it seems like the mainstream media is turning a blind eye.

With Wisconsin's gubernatorial recall election this coming Tuesday, someone on Scott Walker's side is playing some dirty (and illegal) tricks.

The looming problem for the Republican party (as I have mentioned before) is the growing power of Latinos...and how poorly the GOP has treated them..

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA)

Currently, there are six states plus D.C. that have marriage equality. Compare that to the states where you can marry your first cousin (SPOILER: eww...).

A Missouri senate candidate doesn't want citizens to be able to vote for him. Maybe the people should take his advice and just not vote for him. Everybody wins that way!

Has Governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) opposed judicial nominees for being gay? Stammering usually implies guilt and a poorly attempted cover-up. Just sayin...

California is closer to protecting against reparative "therapy." I seriously hope other states take up this call given the damage this "therapy" is shown to cause to its victims.

And lastly, A Texas judge is, well, not a good judge (to put it nicely).

Since today is my birthday, I won't be spending too much time working on the blog and there won't be a Wrap-Up tomorrow.

The Wrap-Up: May 28, 2012

Bedford County, Virginia

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!! While you're out grilling and enjoying the day off, take some time to remember what this holiday is truly about.

The House Republican's Summer wish list read like a how to of taking the country back into recession.

A ballooning Hispanic population may turn North Carolina into a long term swing state.

Perhaps all is not lost with the Republican party as at least GOP candidates are refusing to sign "the pledge." Grover Norquist can't be happy about this, which means it must be a good thing.

When it comes to voting and voting rights, it's all but official that Florida is the worst state in the country.

Monument Terrace in Lynchburg, Virgina

Kansas is the latest state to freak out over the non-existent Sharia Law threat.

In the past two weeks, over 300,000 people have thanked President Barack Obama for his public support marriage equality. I wonder if the opposition even bothered trying a counter petition this time (like their Starbucks failure).

Governor Scott Walker's (R-WI) recall opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D), took him to task on a number of issues face-to-face.

And lastly, after saying he had never been to the home of a same-sex married couple in a resent interview, Tony Perkins has been offered an invitation. A response is pending (which I can't wait to hear about).

The Wrap-Up: April 30, 2012

In news that makes me happy I didn't go to a religious school, a student is being kept from graduating from Bob Jones University because he was caught watching Glee.

Here is the rundown of what you need to know about CISPA (which passed in the House and, as reported earlier, faces a veto threat from President Obama).

Wondering what the Tea Party is up to?

The price of homophobia keeps getting tragically higher.

Some Wisconsinites need to pick their heroes more carefully.

Here in Virginia's Senate race, former Governor Tim Kaine is relying very much on former Governor (and current Senator) Mark Warner in his fight against former Governor (and former Senator) George Allen.

The fact that violence against women was such a partisan issue does not speak well for the Republican Party.

And lastly, with their secrecy exposed, ALEC may be on the brink of destruction. One can only hope.

The Wrap-Up: April 5, 2012

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

The LAPD thinks a man can't be raped...as if their reputation wasn't bad enough already.

An Iowa Congressman thinks a "DADT" policy should be in place for American businesses.

According Politifact, Mitt Romney has some problems with the truth.

The students of a Minnesota Catholic school were none too pleased with a speaker who made some... "Santorum-esque" statements.

Louisiana is on the verge of taking homophobia to a whole new low by targeting LGBT kids.

Homophobes say the darnedest (read: most ignorant/false) things.

Okay, so my home state may not be the best in the country, but...never mind, I have no comeback. :(

Two Wisconsin courts have struck down the state's voter disenfranchisement identification law.

And lastly, an Ohio amendment enacting marriage equality just became one step closer to a reality.

The Wrap-Up: March 8, 2012

The Romney campaign's spin on Super Tuesday: the other guys should just quit.

As the FA in the U.K. makes a push to end homophobia in soccer, some of its players are being fined for homophobic tweets.

Rush Limbaugh has a new female target...

and far fewer advertisers. His implosion continues.

State Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-WI)

A Wisconsin legislator has a VERY broad definition of what constitutes child abuse...like being a single parent. Seriously, who votes for these clowns of the Earth? In a perfect world, this lunacy would ultimately result in a loss. Then again, this is the state with Scott Walker as Governor, so there's that.

A South Korean actor talks about his experience of coming out and being gay in the quite conservative nation.

As the U.N. Human Rights Council attempted to tackle anti-gay violence, some African and Muslim nations had an unfortunate reaction.

A Washington judge will have to decide if the state's recently passed/signed marriage equality bill "redefines" marriage. Ah, the intricacies of law.

And lastly, this is what happens when people who are SUPPOSED to be on Lithium go without:

The Wrap-Up: February 29, 2012

Some Pennsylvanians are looking to make a little history.

18 University of Virginia students are trying to make a statement by going on a hunger strike.

How rich is Mitt Romney? Apparently rich enough to afford a time machine.

Perhaps Scott Walker and his people should get better at time management.

This pastor vastly overstepped his bounds and may be screwed as a result. That's what happens when one let's their zealotry go unchecked.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

As Rick Santorum accuses President Obama of a "phony theology," he should take a very long look in the mirror.

Speaking of religion, what ever happened to President Obama's faith council?

Not just ONE, but TWO of Obama's re-election co-chairs announced today that they are in favor of including marriage equality on the Democratic party's platform.

And lastly, here are Mitt Romney's 10 most out of touch moments of the campaign (so far).

The Wrap-Up: January 19, 2012

Karen & Rick Santorum

Lots of internet sites went dark yesterday, including Wikipedia, in protest of SOPA and PIPA.

I get that Karen Santorum wants to defend her husband (against the big bad gays), but this probably will backfire (if it hasn't already).

Michigan Democrats have a plan to address higher education in the state.

Jerry Springer

I feel like I have heard this repeatedly over the last few months, but Congressional approval has hit an all-time low (again).

As New Jersey moves to enact marriage equality, Garden State Equality is looking for witnesses to testify before a legislative committee.

Yesterday morning, Jerry Springer called out "Fox & Friends" on-air on their partisanship.

Scott Walker has a second  Democratic challenger.

The state of Washington has officially introduced a marriage equality bill into the legislature.

Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego

The four New York Senate Republicans who voted in favor of marriage equality are seeing a promise kept. Republican legislators in Washington should take note of this.

The United Kingdom's Deputy Prime Minister has responded to a conservative uprising regarding the nation's move to enact marriage equality.

A delay in the effort to overturn marriage equality in New Hampshire may be a very good sign.

The mayors of many of America's largest cities are sounding the call for marriage equality.

And lastly, tonight will see another GOP debate, this one aired on CNN at 8 PM. I'm enough of a political nerd that I haven't really gotten tired of these yet.

The Wrap-Up: January 18, 2012

Pastor Rick Warren

In an effort to keep Mitt Romney from the GOP nomination, Christian conservatives have found a candidate to support.

I had previously posted a video of Bryan Fischer (from the so-called American Family Association) where he pretty much outed himself as an HIV denialist. Denunciation came from a very surprising source: Pastor Rick Warren.

The (lone) sponsor of a transphobic bill in the Tennessee legislature had some strong (and ignorant) words about transgendered people. 

CNN gives us another reminder of how DoMA has a negative affect on people and families.

These anti-gay religious denominations think that discrimination is the same as religious freedom.

Rep. Steve Womack

Some Minnesota legislators are taking action against that state's attempt to constitutionally block marriage equality.

An Arkansas congressman loses his cool when faced by his constituents.

Here is the curious case of a man who, despite being elected, is prohibited from serving his office.

It appears that lots of Wisconsinites want Governor Scott Walker out of office...and I mean lots.

Cyndi Lauper has something to say about one of the songs Mitt Romney has been using in his campaign.

And lastly, a belated  happy birthday to First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.