Posts made by leatherbear

Brave: Joe McElderry has decided to reveal the truth about his sexuality

X Factor winner Joe McElderry has revealed that he is gay, after hackers who broke into his account outed him on the internet.

The 19-year-old hit singer's sexuality was revealed as a joke on the social networking website Twitter, where it persuaded him to come out about his true feelings.

One message posted by the hackers read, 'It's been difficult living a lie for so many years…'

But after the initial shock subsided Geordie Joe felt encouraged to open up about his sexual orientation.

On his official website, he said: 'I have always been a very honest person and so it is important for me to continue to be honest.

'It has been the most amazing year so far and I feel so privileged. It’s also been a time of real self realisation and I feel as if I have grown up so much in these few months.

'There has been speculation about my sexuality in the past and I have always been honest at the time I have been asked.

'Over the past few weeks I have really had time to reflect and to realise who I am. I spoke to my friends and family about this in the last few days and it was important to do the same for you all as you have been so supportive.

'I have had nothing but support from you and many of you have been very open in saying that you will continue to support me whatever my sexuality. It is important to me to let you know first, so that you know the stories in the papers are true. I made the choice to speak openly about this.'

He added: 'Everything is going well and I’m really happy to be able to move forward from here.'

Joe says he was angry at the Twitter hackers at first but then looked at their message and thought 'Well, they're not that far from the truth.

Victorious: Joe with his mentor Cheryl Cole on The X Factor

"I think the Twitter thing was the point when I realized I was gay,' he told The Sun.

Joe who won The X Factor in 2009, with Cheryl Cole as his mentor, only disclosed his sexuality to his mother last week on a train journey from Newcastle to London.

'I'm feeling good about it, it's liberating. Now I can just get on with my life,' he said.

Joe, who had a girlfriend for three years while at school, says he has only begun thinking about his sexuality in the last few weeks.

'I thought "Actually, my feelings have changed - this is how I feel now." The penny has dropped,' he said.

He reveals he kissed a boy before going on the X Factor but says he never thought more about it until recently.

X factor boss Simon Cowell was one of the first to phone and offer his support after Joe broke the news to record chiefs at his label Syco earlier this week, Joe said.

Joe, from South Shields in Tyneside, was the first X Factor winner since the competition began not to bag the Christmas No1 spot after an internet campaign for Rage Against the Machine.

His cover of Miley Cyrus's The Climb was beaten into the second slot by 50,000 sales ever in a backlash at the show's stranglehold on the chart.

The teenager beat Olly Murs and Stacey Solomon in the final, during which he sang with George Michael, to win a recording contract worth £1million.

His coming out echos original Pop Idol winner Will Young, who revealed he was gay after triumphing in the competition.

Joe has kept a low profile since winning the competition, sparking fears he could end up on the scrapheap like former winner Leon Jackson.

But he is working on his debut album and has recently been recording in the U.S. with top producer Dallas Austin.

I gleaned the pictures below from his website.

Please click on them to enlarge them!

Brace yourselves - they are extremely hot!


Sergej Lebov

Here's the backstory:  Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Target had donated $150,000 to the political committee MN Forward. Best Buy pitched in another $100,000.

MN Forward's mission? Elect as governor an anti-LGBT state representative with a long history of attacks on LGBT Americans. This representative's campaign even donated to a controversial "punk-rock Christian ministry" whose leader has advocated executing gays and lesbians!

After all these two companies have done to build a fair and equitable workplace, it's a slap in the face. In years past, Target and Best Buy consistently received 100 percent ratings on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index.

They need to make this right – by donating an equal amount to support candidates who will fight for equality. But they won't do it just because we ask. They need to see that hundreds of thousands of customers across the country are upset and disappointed.

Joe Solmonese
President - HRC

An Open Letter to Target and Best Buy
When lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender consumers — not to mention our
millions of supportive friends and family members — used to think about Target
and Best Buy, we saw two shining examples of corporations that respected the
equality and dignity of every American. As nationwide retailers, both of your brands gave
other corporations a standard to which they could aspire. In fact, your consistent ratings of
100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index were a
solid signal of your commitment to a diverse workforce. As a community, we are grateful for
that commitment and we fully expect it will continue.
Now, Americans are questioning their loyalty to your brands with word of significant
contributions to the political action committee MN Forward that hopes to install one of
the most strident opponents of equality in the Minnesota Governor’s mansion. With these
contributions, you have severely damaged those carefully cultivated reputations and violated
the spirit of the gold standards bestowed on you. In fact, the long-term effects on families
that shop at Target and Best Buy throughout Minnesota and the U.S. will be devastating.
At this critical time in Minnesotans’ quest for equality, MN Forward and the candidates they are
supporting would turn Minnesota backward, away from the promise of equal opportunity
and fairness that we hold dear. No matter your motivations in making these donations, they
didn’t occur in a vacuum. Same-sex couples in your home state are denied the equality given
to other couples in marriage and many state leaders are poised to right that inequity very
soon. $250,000 in contributions to those who would stand in the way is a punch in the gut
to those of us who want to see all families treated fairly. What may have sounded like a
“good business decision” in the board room turns out to be a horribly short-sighted business
decision when millions of consumers lose respect for your companies.
With the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, the landscape for political contributions
has changed in ways that no one fully appreciates yet. Your foray into this uncharted water
has proved choppy and should serve as a warning to other corporations mindful of the
perceptions of LGBT and allied consumers.
It’s time to make things right. The very least you can do to begin rebuilding
your image among fair-minded consumers is to make equivalent donations to
groups that support candidates who will put all Minnesota families first and
fulfill the promises of our highest ideals.
We’re watching and we’re waiting.

*Sign your name to this open letter to Target and Best Buy at HRC.org

Sara Gilbert on her now-official status as a lesbian: 'This is a whole new world for me.'

This is no shocker, but Roseanne alum Sara Gilbert is officially a lesbian, it was revealed today at Television Critics Association summer press tour in Los Angeles. Gilbert’s sexuality was, for all intents and purposes, previously an open secret, like it is with so many other celebrities in Hollywood. (I’m not at liberty to publish names, but make a few guesses yourself — you probably won’t be wrong). In years past, publicists would ask that stories about Gilbert’s two children kindly didn’t mention her partner.

But hark! Today, Gilbert sat on a panel to talk about the new mother-rific riff on The View — called The Talk — that she’s executive producing and co-hosting with Julie Chen, Leah Remini, Holly Robinson Peete, Sharon Osbourne, and Marissa Jaret Winokur, and she mostly didn’t sidestep the subject. When asked if she thought it’d be easier to be out in a talk show forum rather than as a character on a scripted show, Gilbert said, “This is a whole new world for me,” and added later, “I’m not an expert on this, or I don’t analyze these things. I’m just sort of living my life. I plan to put my heart and soul into this show, and I plan to continue acting, and I don’t think it will be a problem.” Being out, that is. “I don’t ever really think of things as out or in,” Gilbert said today. “I just think I am who I am, and when topics come up that are appropriate, I’ll talk about them and share when it seems right.”

To that, I say: Bravo to Gilbert! It was a tad strange when, last week, CBS sent out the press release about the new talk show and mentioned the husbands of the rest of the hosts, but only mentioned Gilbert’s children. Gilbert cleared up why there was no mention of her girlfriend, Allison Adler, a television producer. That decision to omit Allison, Gilbert explained, “came from me. CBS would write whatever I wanted.” And she added: “I’ve been acting my whole life, and I’ve never really discussed my personal life. This is a talk show” — one focusing on motherhood and parenting, no less, which she does with someone else. “So obviously,” she continued, “I’m going to be discussing my life more, and I felt that the first place I wanted to do it wasn’t in a CBS press release. It just seemed impersonal, and I felt like I’d rather come in person and talk to you about all that stuff here.” Classy move, truly.

Gilbert shared her pet peeve about Allison — specifically, that she’s taller and looks better in clothes because of it. And there’s lots more to come in that regard, judging by the candid format of this new show. I’m excited to hear more about the way Sara and Allison raise their two adorable children, mostly because they seem like good ladies and great representatives of lesbian moms everywhere. Does the news that Sara is officially out as a lesbian shock you? Will the fact that Sara loves the ladies make you tune in — or tune out - The Talk ?

Actress Sara Gilbert "officially" identified herself as gay during a press conference this week at the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles, according to Entertainment Weekly.

The former "Roseanne" actress is raising two children with her partner, television producer Allison Adler.

Gilbert is the executive producer and co-host of CBS's new upcoming talk show "The Talk." When she was asked if she was comfortable being "out," she answered, "This is a whole new world for me."

"I'm not an expert on this, or I don't analyze these things," she said. "I'm just sort of living my life."

"The Talk," which Gilbert is executive producing and co-hosting, also features Julie Chen, Leah Remini, Holly Robinson Peete, Sharon Osbourne, and Marissa Jaret Winokur discussing current events and other issues, with an eye toward motherhood and parenting.

Gilbert and Adler have been together since 2002 and have son Levi, 5, and daughter Sawyer, who turns 3 in August. Adler gave birth to Levi, while Gilbert gave birth to Sawyer.

Oprah's resident M.D., Dr. Mehmet Oz, shares his most effective tips for keeping your heart healthy.

1. Get at Least Seven Hours of Sleep

That's per night, not week. And men-the needier breed-require eight. Getting by on less can cause metabolic changes that increase your risk for obesity and diabetes. And one recent study from the University of Chicago found that the fewer hours of sleep adults get each night, the more likely they are to have calcium deposits in their arteries.

2. Know Your Blood Pressure

What's the fastest way to age an artery? Subject it to high blood pressure, which will harden it like a garden hose that's been left out in the sun. A range of 120/80 to 130/85 mmHg is considered below the hypertension point, but it's not ideal. In fact, reducing your blood pressure from 130/85 to 115/76 can make your body up to ten years younger. There's no data to show that using drugs to lower blood pressure offers the full youth effect. So for now, you guessed it: Exercise, lose weight, reduce stress. The good news is, the benefits from physical activity are just about instantaneous.

3. Avoid Secondhand Smoke

Don't let people puff away in your space. An hour of passive smoke can cause the same amount of aging as having two to four cigarettes.

4. Walk 30 Minutes Every Day

A Harvard study suggests that for every hour you exercise during your life, your longevity increases by two hours. It's important to get your heart pumping every day-moving regularly is the key to exercise's antiaging effect.

5. Eat Fish Three Times a Week

It may not be just the omega-3s in the oil that keep the heart and arteries humming along; a number of animal studies have also indicated that a protein in fish provides a separate boost to cardiovascular health. Eat a variety of low-mercury fish (such as wild salmon, catfish, or tilapia). And if you're not nuts about seafood, an ounce of walnuts a day will give you a good dose of omega-3s.

6. Take Half an Aspirin Daily

Yes, those big studies came out a few years ago saying low-dose aspirin does pretty much zilch to prevent heart attacks and cancer in women, but the evidence is strong for aspirin's reducing the risk of stroke. If you're over 40, I recommend half a 325 milligram tablet (or two baby aspirin), with half a glass of warm water both before and after you swallow so that you're less likely to irritate your stomach.

7. Live Within Your Means

Feeling out of control financially can affect not only your sleep (see number one) but also your arterial health due to chronic stress. And a bankruptcy can put miles on your body's odometer.

8. Floss and Brush
Any chronic infection (including gingivitis) stimulates your body to protect against bleeding with an increase in clotting-a recipe for heart attack.

As a reminder, always consult your doctor for medical advice and treatment before starting any program.


By Robin Shreeves, Mother Nature Network
Posted Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:44am PDT

No one likes to heat up the oven or the stove-top when it’s hot outside. Your house gets hotter, your air conditioning kicks up a notch, and your energy usage spikes. Grilling is one answer to keeping your kitchen cool in the summer, but another great option is using the slow cooker.

Surprisingly, slow cookers can be as useful in the summertime as they are in the winter when they're typically used for making hearty stews and soups. In fact, using a slow cooker allows you to stay out of the kitchen and still enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal.

All it requires is gathering some ingredients, chopping them up, and throwing them into a slow cooker (also commonly referred to as a Crock-Pot after one maker of slow cookers). At the end of the day, you'll come home to a satisfying meal.

Don't let your slow cooker hibernate over the summer. Pull it out of your cupboard (or borrow one from a friend), and try out a couple of recipes this summer:

Sandwich fillings

* BBQ pork for sandwiches – It doesn’t get easier than three ingredients and a slow cooker. Check out the organic aisle for a BBQ sauce with ingredients you can trust or if you want to put a little extra work into it.
    * Slow cooker Southern pulled pork with coleslaw -- This is one of my own recipes that I posted on my South Jersey locavore blog. Instead of BBQ sauce, the shredded pork is topped with coleslaw. This is a favorite summer recipe around my house.
    * Sloppy chicken joes -- Chicken is substituted for beef in this sloppy recipe with a homemade sauce where you control the ingredients. In summer, I’d opt for fresh peppers and onions from the garden or farmers market instead of the frozen ones in the recipe.

Dishes from your garden

* Ratatouille in the Crock-Pot -- Eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers fresh from the garden (or the farmers market or grocery store) are combined with other traditional ratatouille ingredients and simmered slowly all day.
    * Fresh tomato sauce -- Four cups of chopped tomatoes right from your garden go into this easy slow-cooker recipe.

Side dishes

* Boston baked beans -- Baked beans are a great side dish for burgers and dogs. This recipe slow-cooks for 10 hours, so start it the night before if you’re having an early afternoon BBQ.
    * Slow-cooked collard greens – This recipe calls for frozen greens, but you can use fresh along with fresh green onion and bell pepper for this Southern side dish.

Main dishes

* Cantonese dinner -- A sweet-and-sour-pork recipe that kids love and that can be doubled so you can freeze half. Check out the suggestions that the reviewers added to change the recipe up a bit.
    * Melt-in-your-mouth barbecued ribs -- Sure, ribs done on the grill are one of summer’s treats, but on a weeknight, there isn’t always time to do it that way. These ribs will be done the minute you walk in from work.
    * Slow-cooker lemon garlic chicken -- A whole chicken is browned before putting it in the slow cooker, then cooked on high for four hours.

Recipes here:    hXXp://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/54/10-summer-slow-cooker-recipes.html

by Michael A. Jones  July 23, 2010  12:30 PM (PT)

Despite pressure to get them to denounce efforts in Uganda to pass legislation criminalizing homosexuality and HIV, Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas continues to support a leading anti-gay Ugandan pastor, Martin Ssempa. They give him money. The feature him on their website  as a strategic partner. And they say that Martin Ssempa is leading a new generation of leaders in Africa, and that he's a bold, prophetic person of faith.

Here's how Canyon Ridge Christian Church must define prophetic: "I will not call them gays any more, these are sodomites. And I ask you please, in the media, stop misusing the word gay, which means happy people. These are not happy people … I want to say homosexuals eat each other's poop. Homosexuals stick their hands into their rectum. Homosexuals stick all sorts of deviant sexual things into their rectum."

That's a direct quote from Martin Ssempa from earlier this year. And shockingly enough, it's a bit tame compared to some of his other lines about homosexuality. And to this day, though Martin Ssempa has tried to distance himself from some of the language in the proposed Uganda bill, he's still a diehard supporter of passing this legislation. As written, the bill still includes (a) death sentences for those with HIV who engage in same-sex sexual relations; (b) life imprisonment for anyone who has sex with someone of the same gender; (c) jail time for straight folks who do not out their LGBT friends, neighbors and relatives.

But don't tell Canyon Ridge Christian Church that. They'd rather put on their spin hats, and try to say that western media just doesn't really understand Pastor Martin Ssempa.

Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas is one of the few religious entities that has yet to condemn efforts in Uganda to criminalize homosexuality with the death penalty and/or life in prison. Instead, Canyon Ridge Christian Church praises the work of Ugandan Pastor Martin Ssempa, who is one of the leading religious figures in Uganda working to pass harsh anti-gay legislation. Ssempa travels around Uganda stirring religious fervor against homosexuality, openly calling for gay people to be executed.

Is this the type of ministry that Canyon Ridge Christian Church believes is prophetic? Why are they holding up the work of Martin Ssempa, and why haven't they publicly condemned efforts to kill or imprison gay people, and their straight alleis, in Uganda?

It's time to demand better from Canyon Ridge Christian Church. Send their leaders and ministers a message that as a faith-based body, they should join with religious leaders from around the globe in condemning Uganda's "Kill the Gays" bill. It's unacceptable for a Church, which claims to be a place for "God's grace and forgiveness," to support efforts to kill gay people in Uganda, and/or the ministers and ministries pushing to kill gay people in Uganda.

To send this letter to Canyon Ridge use link below:

hXXp://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/why_canyon_ridge_christian_church_defends_its_financial_support_of_anti-gay_ugandan_pastor

  leatherbear

by Michael A. Jones  July 23, 2010  02:30 PM (PT)

Sticking with the faith in America posts for today, check out the latest poll coming out on marriage equality. Its focus? Latino Catholics, and whether or not they support the right of gays and lesbians to get married.

We've known for quite some time now that, when it comes to people in the pews, there's a huge divide between Catholics and the Church hierarchy — bishops, priests, Vatican leaders, etc. While the latter category issues statements denouncing marriage equality as a threat to the fabric of humanity, the former category — those people that make up the heart of the Catholic Church — recognize that the LGBT people in their lives deserve full equality now.

Among Latino Catholics, it's no different. According to the poll, 57% of Latino Catholics would vote for the legalization of same-sex marriage. Majority? You bet. Symbolic of the larger trend of regular Catholics taking a stand for equality despite what the church leaders might say? Absolutely.

According to Joseph Palacios, a professor at Georgetown, the fact that Latino Catholics support marriage equality in such large numbers indicates that LGBT rights are increasingly being seen as an issue important to family.

"Latino Catholics orient their social lives around the family and extended family," Palacios writes at Newsweek. "It is not surprising that Catholics in general and Latino Catholics in particular, as the Public Religion Research study shows, see that parents learn about gay issues from their children. Their moral and ethical judgments are primarily made through this social reality rather than abstract pronouncements from their church leaders."

Perhaps the U.S. Catholic of Conference Bishops should take that line to heart. They're not the moral and ethical voice of the church. Instead, it's the kids and children and aunts and uncles and moms and dads that form the backbone of families that influence people most.

Meanwhile, check out the hater-ation coming out of the American "Family" Association's Bryan Fischer. Upon hearing this news, he went on a tirade that not only should offend LGBT people, but Catholics and Latinos as well. He suggested that Latinos weren't really pro-family because too many Latina women have children out of wedlock, and then he suggested that evangelicals were superior to Catholics because they don't get all wishy-washy on the subject of gay marriage.

Ah, the American "Family" Association acting at its most obnoxious self again.

Meanwhile, it's worth mentioning that two of the most recent countries to legalize same-sex marriage, Portugal and Argentina, have Catholic populations through the roof. Again, witness the disconnect between the people running the Church, who harsh on marriage equality at every opportunity, and the people in the pews who increasingly get that marriage is an institution that should be open to all, and that if God were walking around the Earth today, he/she would probably be officiating at same-sex weddings.

*Michael Jones  is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.

by Alex Davidson  July 30, 2010  06:36 AM (PT)

Professional sports and the LGBT community don’t usually mix, mainly because the sports teams don’t have an active policy of encouraging us to be out on the court/field, let alone be out and proud in the stands.

But that seems to be changing – a bit. You’d never think it, but it seems that professional sports teams are warming to the idea of having LGBT nights. When it comes to the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Golden State Warriors in California became only the third team to hold an LGBT-focused event earlier this year. The Toronto Raptors were first in 2004, followed by the Philadelphia 76ers.

I wanted to get a sense of what’s going on behind the scenes at a professional sports team. I got in with Lorrie-Ann Diaz, director of marketing communications and advertising for LeBron James’ new team the Miami Heat. Lorrie-Ann is out and proud and offered some great insight on what it’s like to work for a professional sports team and how “the straights” and she interact.

I want to know what your experience has been like as a lesbian working for a major sports team. It sounds like it has been a positive one. Can you tell me why?

I’m delighted to say that my experience as an out lesbian working for a major pro sports team has been a very good one. Perhaps it sounds cliché, but the HEAT’s business operation is a microcosm of our city. We are a very diverse workforce - at every level. And fortunately for those of us who work here, this diversity is welcomed and celebrated.

At the end of the day, we work in sports and entertainment: an industry that creates fun. As such, playfulness and fun is part of our professional DNA. Well, during my first year with the club, my then girlfriend sent me a bouquet of flowers. As I carried the bouquet back to my desk (our office is wide open, like a newsroom), my boss jokingly teased, “Ooh! Someone’s got a man!”

I smiled to myself and thought: “There’s no way I’ll be able to stomach more of that teasing! It will be too stressful and taxing to lie about who I am." So a few days later, I invited my boss (the EVP/CMO) out to lunch.

At lunch, when I disclosed my sexuality (and he apologized for his unwitting faux pas), he was incredibly kind, compassionate and very supportive. And I knew part of that compassion and understanding stems from his own life (he’s a minority himself and in an inter-racial marriage).  When I think back to that time - 2010/2011 will be my 11th season - it was only about eight months into my employment with the HEAT. I knew I was taking an enormous risk. But his reaction exceeded my expectations and, as the fairytale goes, we've lived happily ever after!

Have you heard of other sports teams where people work that aren't so welcoming to LGBT folks?

Unfortunately, intolerance still exists all over this country and our industry is not exempt. I personally have not heard of any team that is not welcoming to the LGBT community. But I’d prefer to focus on the positive. As my own experience illustrates, taking a risk can often lead to the opening of doors and the start of an important and ongoing dialogue. In my humble opinion, this is the way we break down stereotypes and intolerance: one person, one conversation, one experience at a time.

Do you think players would want domestic partner benefits? I know plenty of straight couples who like that option because they don't feel forced to be either "together" or married. It's a nice middle ground.

That’s a good and valuable question although I can’t purport to know what the players want and don’t want. In my own life and career, I was overjoyed when the HEAT announced that it would begin offering domestic partner coverage as part of our overall benefits package. I was proud of my franchise for considering the needs of all of its employees. And as you point out, gay couples aren't the only ones who stand to benefit from domestic partnership coverage – an important detail that is often overlooked.

Is there any professional organization that welcomes LGBT workers at sports teams? If not, why not?

I’m not aware of any organization that formally welcomes LGBT workers if/when they join a sports team. I can only speculate as to why that is but I’d venture to say that perhaps it is so because sexual identity is such a highly personal and private matter. Notwithstanding, having been out for so long in my workplace, I guess I’m a one-woman welcoming committee of sorts. Throughout the years, some of my co-workers have approached me for guidance simply because I’m very open about my lifestyle.

Do you belong to any queer professional organizations? How long have you been with the Heat?

While I don’t formally belong to any queer professional organizations, the 2010/2011 season will be my 11th at the HEAT. I know many local movers and shakers in our community and they often and actively seek me out for sponsorship and promotional support for things like events and fundraising and I am happy to oblige them as often as I can.

In addition, I prefer to work behind the scenes, leveraging games and/or concerts to organize social opportunities for professional lesbian women to meet and network.

I wasn’t always in sports management. I kind of fell into it back in 1998, the year of the lockout (I was still living in Los Angeles in those days). I answered a classified ad placed by the Los Angeles Clippers, who were looking for a marketing assistant. After a year there, I decided to come back to my hometown here in the Magic City and thank goodness, got my foot in the door at the HEAT. I worked my way up from Marketing Assistant to Advertising Manager to my current position as Director of Marketing Communications and Advertising. As the years have gone on, I realize how blessed and lucky I am to work in such a supportive environment with such great, smart, and talented people.

Mother of Gay Son Stands Up to Target for Anti-Gay Donation

Get your Kleenex ready, because one of the sweetest mothers in the entire country just smacked back at Target for its anti-gay donation of $150,000  to an organization supporting a politician in Minnesota, Tom Emmer, who believes that gay and lesbian Americans should be second class citizens.

The mother's name is Randi Reitan, and she notes in a video (which you can also view at the bottom of this post) that she is both a mother and a grandmother, and someone who has been shopping at Target for years. It pains her to see Target give money to people who want to hurt gays and lesbians.

"Last week when I heard that Target decided to give $150,000 to Tom Emmer, for his political race for Governor, I just was shocked," Reitan said. "The Target I knew was the Target that embraced its gay employees, it was the Target that showed up for pride."

But that's not the Target that Reitan and thousands of other people know anymore. Reitan went shopping at Target for the last time, and films it below in the video. She returns every single item she purchased ($226 worth of merchandise), and says that until Target makes amends for supporting such an anti-gay candidate – one that would harm the gays and lesbians in her life, including her son -- she just can't shop there. And watch the emotion around the 2:10 mark. It's the sentiment that only a mother who loves her son more than anything in the world could give.

"A number of the items were for my grandchildren, and they love their Uncle Jake so much, and Jake is gay. They wouldn't want to have things come from a store that contributes to a campaign that would have a governor candidate with the anti-gay views that Tom Emmer has," Reitan said. "They've lost every purchase from my family. What's important in life is people. And I love the people in my life. I love them more than anything that I could buy in this store."

Randi Reitan, I heart you. And I'm pretty sure after seeing your video, the whole country is going to heart you. Except for maybe a few Target executives. But they're much more interested in someone like Rep. Michele Bachmann, anyway.

Video available at the link above.

Target, practically everyone's favorite discount retail store, is headquartered in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. But along with precious bodies of water, Minnesota is home to some pretty rabid anti-gay politicians and groups. Among them include Tom Emmer. And Target, it seems, is apparently filling  his campaign coffers with nearly $150,000.

Follow the money. At least, that's the message delivered by an article at sfist.com by Matt Baume, who tracks $150,000 from Target's coffers, through a political action committee (PAC) known as Minnesota Forward, all the way to Tom Emmer, who himself supports a Christian rock band in Minnesota that travels around the state saying that it's moral and righteous for religious people to kill gays and lesbians.

For those into algebra, it looks a little like this: Target + Minnesota Forward + Tom Emmer = Support for a rather dangerous and radical political philosophy that diminishes LGBT people to pests that should be murdered. And Target is cool with this?

Send the company a message right now, urging them to explain why their money is being used to fund a politics that not only serves to prevent LGBT equality, but breeds homophobia, transphobia and hatred.

Send Target a message:

hXXp://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/targets_150000_donation_to_fund_anti-gay_politics


A federal judge ruled schools can expel students, like Julea Ward, who believe homosexuality is morally wrong. Ward's lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University was dismissed.

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a public university that removed a Christian student from its graduate program in school counseling over her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. Monday's ruling, according to Julea Ward's attorneys, could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views.

“It’s a very dangerous precedent,” Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told FOX News Radio. “The ruling doesn’t say that explicitly, but that’s what is going to happen.”

U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh dismissed Ward’s lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. She was removed from the school’s counseling program last year because she refused to counsel homosexual clients.

The university contended she violated school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics.

“Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF senior counsel David French. “To reach its decision, the court had to do something that’s never been done in federal court: uphold an extremely broad and vague university speech code.”

Eastern Michigan University hailed the decision.

“We are pleased that the court has upheld our position in this matter,” EMU spokesman Walter Kraft said in a written statement. “Julea Ward was not discriminated against because of her religion. To the contrary, Eastern Michigan is deeply committed to the education of our students and welcomes individuals from diverse backgrounds into our community.”

In his 48-page opinion, Judge Steeh said the university had a rational basis for adopting the ACA Code of Ethics.

“Furthermore, the university had a rational basis for requiring students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values,” he wrote in a portion of his ruling posted by The Detroit News. “In the case of Ms. Ward, the university determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs – including homosexual relationships.”

Ward’s attorneys claim the university told her she would only be allowed to remain in the program if she went through a “remediation” program so that she could “see the error of her ways” and change her belief system about homosexuality.

The case is similar to a lawsuit the ADF filed against Augusta State University in Georgia. Counseling student Jennifer Keeton was allegedly told to stop sharing her Christian beliefs in order to graduate.

Keeton's lawsuit alleged that she was told to undergo a reeducation program and attend “diversity sensitivity training.”

University officials declined to comment on specifics of the lawsuit but released a statement to FOX News that said Augusta State does not discriminate on the basis of students’ moral, religious, political or personal beliefs.

Tedesco said both cases should be a warning to Christians attending public colleges and universities.

“Public universities are imposing the ideological stances of private groups on their students,” he said. “If you don’t comply, you will be kicked out. It’s scary stuff and it’s not a difficult thing to see what’s coming down the pike.”

The Alliance Defense Fund told FOX News it will appeal the ruling.

:rotfl: :true: