Thursday, July 22, 2010

Vagabond Scholar: The Five Circles of Conservative Hell

Vagabond Scholar: The Five Circles of Conservative Hell

Dante updated: conservative circles of Hell


Check out the Vagabond Scholar blog for details --  detailed examples, background, likely inhabitants and overall danger level of each circle.

Billed as a 'ruder companion' (and somewhat more tongue-in-cheek one) to The Social Contract.

Friday, July 9, 2010

NBC recognizes gay-headed families in contest







Broadcast network NBC had formerly excluded same-sex couples from its "Modern Wedding Contest", whose winners get a televised wedding.  On Thursday, after meeting with LGBT civil rights groups and receiving a number of voicemails and email messages, the network announced that they were changing their policy and allowing same-sex couples to apply.

The reason given for excluding them previously had been that same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in New York.  However, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) had pointed out to network officials that a winning couple could get a marriage from a marriage-equality state or the District of Columbia and have a wedding in New York.  GLAAD had contacted supporters about protesting the exclusion, and NBC said it was responding to the voicemail and email messages it had received. A network spokesman stated that "moving forward, we ensure that our future wedding contests will be inclusive to all couples."

Predictably, the decision was met with threats of boycotts and negative feedback, with the usual comparisons of same-sex couples to a human being marrying an animal.

Read the full story at the Associated Press.