Why Conservatives Should Shut Up And Accept Marriage Equality

Here’s one advantage to federally recognized marriage equality even the staunchest conservative should be able to get behind: an end to government spending on obstructing the arc of the moral universe.

And we’re not talking chump change. In just one case, The Detroit Press reports the sate of Michigan has essentially lit $2 million in taxpayer cheddar on fire in its fruitless quest to prevent April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse and any couple like them (you know, gay ones) from getting married or adopting children. And that’s not even including what it cost them to argue against the plaintiffs.

DeBoer and Rowse’s lawyers are asking a judge to require the state to cough up for the six lawyers, plus seven law clerks, multiple paralegals and experts from Boston, New York, San Francisco and Lansing it took to win the case, which dragged on for three years.

The suit was even presented as part of the argument against state bans on same-marriage in the Supreme Court case. Good going, Michigan.

“This says we are people. We are establishing families and we’re just like everyone else,” Rowse said of the SCOTUS decision, according to MLive. “We’re the next door neighbor, we’re your co-worker, we’re your sister, we’re your friend, we’re your child, and we do deserve the same rights as everyone else and our kids deserve the same rights. We’re starting to see the discrimination just shouldn’t be there.”

In January, The Detroit Press reported that Michigan faced a mid-year deficit of $325 million.

How many other pointless and costly battles have they been fighting?

h/t RawStory

Dan Tracer

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News: Bill Cosby, Stephen Hawking, Androids, Amanda Bynes

> Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking join call for ban on artificially intelligent weapons.

> Australia’s Labor Party says it will bind federal MPs to vote for same-sex marriage after the next two elections.

> New York magazine features powerful image of the “unwelcome sisterhood” of Bill Cosby’s accusers.

> Mayor of northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk breaks promise to LGBT community, rejects request for pride parade.

> Shocker: Donald Trump’s surge heavily reliant on less-educated, racist Americans.

> Caitlyn Jenner pens emotional blog post about the plight of trans suicide. “And it’s not because trans people are somehow inherently unstable – it’s because we live in a world that makes it very, very difficult to be trans. Many people, especially kids, can’t see how they can live as their authentic selves and keep their family, their jobs and their homes.”

> Male model Monday: Justice Joslin.

> Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Scott Walker vie to become Koch brothers puppets.

> Rick Perry wants you to bring your guns into movie theaters.

> Amanda Bynes surfaces in public to attend fashion show.

> Turns out Henry Cavill won’t be joining Fifty Shades Darker after all.

> Snoop Dog got arrested in Sweden over the weekend.

> Obama slams GOP criticism of Iran nuclear deal as “ridiculous” and “sad.”

> Nearly 1 billion Android phones can be hacked with a single text.

> Bobbi Kristina Brown’s autopsy finds no significant injuries and no underlying cause of death.

> Dan Savage on the “not gay men” who have “not gay sex” with other “not gay men.”

> 23 Pixels reviews that are more fun than the movie itself.

The post News: Bill Cosby, Stephen Hawking, Androids, Amanda Bynes appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

News: Bill Cosby, Stephen Hawking, Androids, Amanda Bynes

Millennial Men Should Stop Worrying About Penis Size, Survey Suggests

Does penis size really matter? According to many young women, it doesn’t at all. 

In a survey conducted by Cosmopolitan, 1,100 readers between the ages of 18 and 34 were polled on various sex topics from penis size to orgasms. Of those polled, 96 percent were women and 4 percent were men, and it turns out many of them — 89 percent to be exact — aren’t too worried about their partner’s penis size.

They also were pretty realistic when it came to the average penis. Fifty-two percent said the average man’s flaccid penis is 3 to 4 inches, and 51 percent said the average man’s erect penis is 5 to 6 inches. According to the survey, the average lengths are 3.5 and 5.1 inches, respectively.

As for their sex lives, 31 percent of survey participants said they don’t always orgasm from penetration during sex, but regularly do, while 33 percent said it was rare.

So what about their sexual satisfaction? That could use some work. Fifty-three percent said they want their sex lives to be better, and 6 percent said they weren’t satisfied at all. 

So, straight dudes, don’t worry too much about your size — just make sure you know what your partner wants. 

Check out more from Cosmopolitan’s survey below.

H/T Cosmopolitan

Also on HuffPost:

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Wooden Tranquility clock unites traditional skills and modern design

Looking at recent collections of major furniture retailers, the times of clocks being ignored as pieces of design are well and truly over, with more and more people looking for unique pieces.

Cue the Tranquility Wooden Gear Clock – made entirely from wood, it features traditional mechanics needing to be wound up regularly.

It’s unusual frame, made from either maple or cherry wood, incorporates and highlights the unusual, grasshopper-type escapement, available in maple, cherry or walnut.

Modeled after the famous 1722 design by English clockmaker John Harrison, the escapement’s hinged arms catch and release the escape wheel teeth, turning the clock into an immediate eye catcher.

The grasshopper mechanics offer a stunning insight into traditional clockmaking skills.

Handmade in the USA, the Tranquility clock is available as a ready-to-assemble kit or as a pattern, to be directly applied onto the work piece before being cut out with a scroll saw.

Despite being made from something as sensitive to environmental changes as wood, the clock usually doesn’t require regular maintenance beyond being wound up; it also maintains accuracy to within one minute over the course of several days.

Priced at $174 (€156.48, £111.62) for the full kit and $29 (€26.08, £18.60) for the plans – with other options available, including laser-cut gears – the clock is available directly through Wooden Gear Clocks’ website.

To get an impression of what the Tranquility clock looks like when its mechanics are working, watch the video below:

The post Wooden Tranquility clock unites traditional skills and modern design appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/wooden-tranquility-clock-unites-traditional-skills-and-modern-design/

Top Five Most Powerful Moments from “I am Cait” Premiere

Last night, people across the country tuned in to watch the premiere of “I am Cait,” E! network’s documentary series on Caitlyn Jenner.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/top-five-most-powerful-moments-from-i-am-cait-premiere?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Awkward! Guy Hits On 100 Random Guys. How Many Numbers Does He Get?

If a cute guy approached you on the street and asked for your number, would you give it to him?

That’s the question one British YouTuber tackles in his latest social experiment aptly titled “Guy Asks 100 Guys For Their Number.” It’s a ballsy move if nothing else. Over the course of the exercise he approaches men regardless of if he thinks they’re gay or straight.

To be honest, we expected him to strike out completely — who gives their number to a complete stranger with no other context?! But in the end he proves that dating really is a numbers game, scoring a fairly impressive 13 sets of digits.

By comparison, when he did the same experiment with women, he only got five.

Watch below:

Dan Tracer

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Report: School Not At Fault in Banning Gay Valedictorian’s Graduation Speech, Outing Him to Parents

Earlier this year we told you about Evan Young, the 18-year-old valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado who was banned from giving his graduation speech in which he planned on coming out as gay.

Young was also outed to his parents by school principal BJ Buchmann [right] in the ensuing back-and-fourth between school officials and the Young family (Buchmann later resigned over the controversy).

Openly gay U.S. Rep Jared Polis and Nightly Show host Larry Wilmore were among those who spoke out supporting Young in the ensuing firestorm, prompting the school to hire an outside lawyer to look into what went down.

The lawyer’s investigation has now concluded, with the report saying both the school and Young should take responsibility for the communication breakdown.

Boulder’s Daily Camera reports:

Attorney William Bethke, who was hired by the Twin Peaks board,wrote in his 24-page report that schools can legally “exercise editorial control” over graduation speeches as long as the school’s action is “reasonably related to pedagogical concerns.” Those concerns may include “discipline, courtesy and respect for authority.”

On the issue of outing Young to his parents, Bethke wrote that Buchmann did not violate Young’s privacy because Young intended to publicly disclose that he was gay in his graduation speech.

Bethke wrote that neither Young nor Buchmann appear to have acted out of “malice or ill-will,” but both should “take some ownership” for a breakdown in communication.

The report notes Buchmann was “distinctly uncomfortable” with Young coming out as gay through his speech.

The AP adds:

The Twin Peaks board is sharing the lawyer’s conclusion along with a note decrying opponents for trying to “twist this situation into a politically polarizing gay and lesbian issue.”

Don Young, Evan’s father, acknowledged that the report was “honest and fair” but said he was disappointed in the school board’s letter.

“The board of directors continues to show their ignorance,” he said. “The board has not done anything to show they are going to make changes going forward. Nothing is going to change until they change.”

Read the lawyer’s report and the school board’s letter to the community below:

Twin Peaks Charter Academy investigation report by Matt Sebastian

Twin Peaks Charter Academy letter to the community by Matt Sebastian

The post Report: School Not At Fault in Banning Gay Valedictorian’s Graduation Speech, Outing Him to Parents appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Report: School Not At Fault in Banning Gay Valedictorian’s Graduation Speech, Outing Him to Parents

Satanic Statue Unveiled in Detroit As Christians Protest

Satanists unveiled a statue of Baphomet in a secret ceremony, despite Christian protests.

read more

Bil Browning

www.advocate.com/religion/2015/07/27/satanic-statue-unveiled-detroit-christians-protest