Happy Friday!
Today is a big day for the Liberty Bell! On this day in 1776 the Liberty Bell was first tolled to announce the first hearing of the Declaration of Independence, which had been signed four days earlier. In 1835 the Liberty Bell cracked while tolling for the death of the first Chief Justice, John Marshall answering forever the question of “For whom doth the bell toll to the point of breaking?”
Ahem.
As we head into another weekend of 100 plus temperatures, here are a few non-bell related notes and stories from this week’s news.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a two-page order against the policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” in a case brought by the group Log Cabin Republicans. You might remember that last year President Obama ended Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but before it could end they had to prove that the ban wouldn’t have negative effects for the military. Thus, while it was getting ready to officially end, it was still being enforced . Until now.
Myley Cyrus tweeted her support again for gay marriage this week.
The Red Sox released their own “It Gets Better” video last week. Using both team members as well as fans, the video joins that of the SF Giants and the Chicago Cubs.
A recent quote from India’s Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad reminds us all that though strides have been made in India regarding changing attitudes towards homosexuality, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Russell T. Davies, you might remember him as the creator of the original British Queer As Folk or for his more recent work on Dr. Who and Torchwood, is working on a new show for Showtime called Cucumber that will also real with the sex and regular lives of gay men.
As I mentioned yesterday, the CA bill that would mandate the teaching of LGBT contributions to history etc is now waiting for Governor Brown’s signature to become law. He was two weeks from yesterday. We will keep you updated.
Last month’s 5-4 Holland City Council vote against expanding the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes was not challenged in the City Council meeting this week meaning the lack of protection will stand and will continue to stand until a Council member places it back on the table for debate. Supporters vow to attend every meeting until their demands are met.
And lastly, not related but still fun, Fresno’s own Man Vs Food… a 30 inch burrito from El Mariachi. So far no one has been able to finish the huge publicity getting brrito. The wall of shame has claimed 13 contestants.
That’s it for me, have a fun, and safe, weekend!
