(Reuters) – Wedding fever hit New York on Sunday, as hundreds of gay and lesbian couples married on the first day that same-sex marriage became legal in the state.
The marriages across New York, the nation’s sixth, and largest, state to allow gay marriages prompted calls from activists and officials to repeal a federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had pushed for same-sex marriage, officiated personally at the marriage of two men belonging to his City Hall inner circle on Sunday evening at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence.
“Today in this city and in this state, history takes an important step forward by allowing every person to participate,” Bloomberg said as he married John Feinblatt and Jonathan Mintz, accompanied by their daughters at the podium.
“Therefore by the powers vested in me by the state of New York, I pronounce you both married.”
City officials said a record-breaking 659 couples, all five boroughs combined, braved a summer heat wave and long lines to obtain their marriage licenses.
Posted by Len on Saturday, July 23rd, 2011 at 10:35 am CT in Politics
“A Bipartisan Approach to Strengthening the Economy”
From the White House weblog:
In this week’s address, President Obama discussed the urgency of Democrats and Republicans coming together to take a balanced approach to cutting the deficit to strengthen our economy and leave for our children a more secure future.
Click below to listen to the audio only:
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Posted by Len on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 at 5:00 pm CT in Humor,Politics
Welcome! Click on first (or any) image to start a slideshow. Images will change every seven seconds. You may start and stop slideshow at will or choose to scroll through the images at your leisure. Enjoy.
As always, our thanks go to the talented and observant cartoonists who, each week, help us smile through the pain.
Posted by Len on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 at 4:58 pm CT in Politics,Republicans
John Boehner abruptly called off debt ceiling negotiations with President Obama this afternoon. A visibly upset President Obama briefed the White House press corps…
So they will come down here at 11:00 tomorrow. I expect them to have an answer in terms of how they intend to get this thing done over the course of the next week. The American people expect action. I continue to believe that a package that is balanced and actually has serious debt and deficit reduction is the right way to go. And the American people , I think, are fed up with political posturing. And an inability for politicians to take responsibility actions as opposed to dodge their responsibilities.
President Barack Obama on Friday certified the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the policy preventing gays from openly serving in the military.
“Our military will no longer be deprived of the talents and skills of patriotic Americans just because they happen to be gay or lesbian,” [President] Obama said in a statement released by the White House.
The move came after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the Joint Chiefs of Staff certified that the military was ready to end the ban.
Each member of the Joint Chiefs had to submit a recommendation to [Secretary] Panetta, indicating that they are far enough in their training to repeal DADT, and that it will not have an impact on military readiness.
[President] Obama’s certification starts a 60-day waiting period to implement the repeal — before “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is officially a thing of the past.
“As of September 20th, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country,” [President] Obama said.
Posted by Len on Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 at 10:07 pm CT in Politics
In response to a question during today’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Jay Carney stated that President Obama fully supports the Respect for Marriage Act, which would fully repeal the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996…
I can tell you that the President has long called for a legislative repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which continues to have a real impact on the lives of real people — our families, friends and neighbors. He is proud to support the Respect for Marriage Act, introduced by Sen. Feinstein and Congressman [Jerrold] Nadler [(D-N.Y.)], which would take DOMA off the books once and for all. This legislation would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as straight couples.
Posted by Len on Monday, July 18th, 2011 at 10:31 am CT in Entertainment
No, it’s not Josh Groban. I actually think I like this version better. The person to whom this is dedicated knows very well who they are.
Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava’s Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.
PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!
Rick Perry has not yet officially announced that he is running for the Republican nomination for president, but he recently told The Des Moines Register that he feels he is being called to run and that he is what America needs…
“I’m not ready to tell you that I’m ready to announce that I’m in,” Gov. Rick Perry told The Des Moines Register. “But I’m getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I’ve been called to do. This is what America needs.”
Yep, just what this country needs… another strutting evangelical conservative blowhard governor from Texas…
P.S. I’m still holding out for Palin/Perry or Bachmann/anybody.
