Watch A Transgender Student Athlete's Emotional Response To Right-Wing Misinformation

On MSNBC, a transgender student described the pain caused by right-wing misinformation about a policy that could allow athletes to participate on the team that corresponds with their gender identity.

During a recent edition of MSNBC's NewsNation with Tamron Hall, guest host Richard Lui led a segment on the Minnesota State High School League's consideration of a proposed participation policy for transgender student athletes. The proposal, which has since been temporarily tabled, would potentially allow student athletes to play on the sports team that matches their gender identity.

The segment featured OutFront Minnesota Executive Director Monica Meyer and Zeam Porter, a transgender student athlete who delivered an emotional speech during a public hearing about the proposal. When asked about the hearing, Porter described the difficulty of being exposed to misinformation about transgender students, including a misleading, transphobic ad published in Minnesota's Star Tribune:

House Candidate Called Female Senators "Undeserving Bimbos in Tennis Shoes"

Republican congressional candidate Jim Hagedorn could face a major obstacle in his race to unseat Minnesota Democrat Tim Walz: conservative blogger Jim Hagedorn.

Hagedorn, the son of retired congressman Tom Hagedorn, was a surprise victor in last Tuesday's GOP primary. But he brings some serious baggage to his race against Walz, a four-term incumbent. In posts from his old blog, Mr. Conservative, unearthed by the Minnesota politics blog Bluestem Prairie*, Hagedorn made light of American Indians, President Obama's Kenyan ancestry, and female Supreme Court justices, among others, in ways many voters won't appreciate.

Hagedorn deleted many of his old posts prior to his 2010 run for Walz's seat—he lost in the GOP primary. But some of his writings can still be found via the Internet Archive or in screenshots taken by theMinnesota Independent. These were not mere juvenile ramblings, either: Hagedorn was a Treasury Department official at the time.

"Turns out half-aunt Zeituni is an illegal alien from Kenya who has illegally contributed money to her half-nephew's campaign, which should make Americans half-pi$ed," he wrote in a typical missive during the 2008 election cycle. "The migration from Barack Obama's second country to the United States during the next four years is going to look like a low-budget remake of Eddie Murphy's hit comedy 'Coming to America.'"

"Senator McCain's campaign was all but flat lined before he brought the feisty Caribou Barbie into our living rooms."

Hagedorn also reveled in the type of gay innuendo you may have heard in high school courtyards in decades past. (Kids these days know better.) He referred to former Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl as an "alleged switch-hitter" and a "packer." Former GOP candidate Mike Taylor, the target of a homophobic attack ad during his campaign against then-Sen. Max Baucus,came out even worse: "[T]he ad really bent Taylor over with rage and caused him to go straight to the bar and get lubricated," Hagedorn wrote. "It must have taken all Taylor's power to refrain from fisting…err…using his fists on Max Baucus, or at the very least ream him inside and out."

In an entry on the Supreme Court's 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision, which ruled that state bans on sodomy were unconstitutional, he wrote: "Butt (sic) never have winners lost so dearly. The Court's voyage into uncharted, untreated cultural bathhouse waters was designed to offer a gentle push from behind…to generate a small skip forward for the pink triangle class…to throw them a bone, so to speak."

Lest anyone challenge his bona fides, Hagedorn wanted to make abundantly clear he was a straight white male. "Senator McCain's campaign was all but flat lined before he brought the feisty Caribou Barbie into our living rooms," he wrote in 2008. "Which reminds me, on behalf of all red-blooded American men: THANK YOU SENATOR McCAIN, SARAH'S HOT!"

Former White House counsel Harriet Miers was nominated "to fill the bra of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor."

Not all female politicians were viewed as favorably. In a 2002 post, Hagedorn referred to Washington Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray as "undeserving bimbos in tennis shoes." Former Bush White House counsel Harriet Miers, he wrote in 2005, had been nominated "to fill the bra of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor."

Writing about now-Sen. John Thune's race against Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson, Hagedorn turned his razor-sharp wit on America's most coddled demographic—Native Americans. "The race has been highlighted by a Democrat drive to register voters in several of several of South Dakota's expansive redistribution of wealth centers…err…casino parlors…err…Indian reservations. Remarkably, many of the voters registered for absentee ballots were found to be chiefs and squaws who had returned to the spirit world many moons ago." Alleging that fake votes from Indians would provide the margin of victory, he echoed "John Wayne's wisdom of the only good Indian being a dead Indian."

Hagedorn may have been joking. (The quip's real author, General Philip Sheridan, wasn't.) But American Indians were a favorite punching bag over at Mr. Conservative. In that same post, he referred to Nevada as a land of "nuclear waste and thankless Indians." What made the state's Native American population thankless? Hagedorn didn't say.

"I understand that some of the folks on the left aren't going to like what I write."

Democrats seized on some of the Mr. Conservative postings during Hagedorn's brief 2009 foray, prompting him to slip into damage control mode. "I understand that some of the folks on the left aren't going to like what I write," he told the Rochester Post-Bulletin. "I poke fun at everybody, including Republicans."

Although Walz's district went to Barack Obama by less than 2 points in 2012, the incumbent has faced a string of less-than-stellar opponents. Allen Quist, the GOP's 2012 nominee, crafted a school science curriculum contending that humans coexisted with dinosaurs. Aaron Miller, the Iraq War vet who was picked to run against Walz at the district nominating convention but lost in the primary, stated that he was motivated to run for office because his daughter had been forced to learn evolution in public schools. And now Hagedorn.

It looks like Tim Walz might be staying in Washington a little bit longer.

‘Responsible’ Minnesota Gun Owner Shoots Teen Girl For Asking Him Not to Ride Mower in Her Yard

A former Northwestern Minnesota Juvenile Center corrections officer is behind bars after Standing His Ground™ against…being told not to ride his lawnmower in someone else’s yard. This responsible, legal gun owner became angry with a 17-year old girl after she told him not to ride his lawnmower through her yard.

Chad Pickering of Bemidji shot the teen three times as she stood on the deck of her home Monday night, according to a criminal complaint, striking her in the right thigh, left ankle, and chest when the girl stepped out to tie up her barking dogs. She says she noticed the shadow of someone crouching in her yard, then heard gunfire and felt the freedom bullets piercing her body. She was unable to walk, but pulled herself into the house to call 911.

Investigators found three .45-calibre shell casings in the grass near the deck where it appeared someone had been lying in the grass under a pine tree. The girl told investigators that a man who lived nearby had been riding his mower through her yard, and that he regularly carried a pistol in a holster. She said that she had spoken to him about trespassing, and that he denied her allegation.

Officers searched Pickering’s home and found a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol with a holster hidden in the air vent. Pickering, however, claimed that he had not seen the gun in a week or so. He attempted to explain away the fresh grass stains on his jeans he said he might have gotten the stain kneeling to hook a trailer to his mower.

When investigators pointed out some inconsistencies in his story, Pickering said he had taken his children for a ride with the mower. After he returned home, the girl came to his front door to confront him about riding the mower through her yard. Pickering admitted that he went to her house, knelt by a pine tree, and shot her after she came out the door. He then said he hid the gun and holster in the vent.

Pickering is being held on $300,000 bail and has been charged with felony attempted first-degree murder.

Watch a report on the shooting, below:

Archbishop John Nienstedt Accused Of "Inappropriate Sexual Relations" With Priests And Other Men

Virulently anti-gay Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt isbeing investigated for having had "inappropriate sexual relations" with priests, seminarians, and other men.

The archdiocese confirmed the investigation, which was first reported by Commonweal, a Catholic magazine based in New York. Nienstedt, 67, said in a separate statement that the allegations “are absolutely and entirely false” and he said he himself authorized the internal investigation, which he called “independent, thorough.” “The allegations do not involve minors or lay members of the faithful, and they do not implicate any kind of illegal or criminal behavior,” Nienstedt said. “The allegations involve events alleged to have occurred at least a decade ago, before I began serving in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.” Commonweal’s story cites Jennifer Haselberger, former top canon lawyer for Nienstedt, as saying she learned of the investigation when she was questioned by attorneys from the firm that the archdiocese hired, Greene Espel.

Nienstadt said today that the Vatican has been made aware of the investigation. More from Commonweal:

“I have never engaged in sexual misconduct and certainly have not made any sexual advances toward anyone,” Nienstedt told me. “The allegations are a decade old or more, prior to my service as archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis,” he continued, emphasizing that “none of the allegations involve minors or illegal or criminal behavior.” The “only accusation,” Nienstedt explained, is of “improper touching (of the person’s neck),” and was made by a former priest. The archbishop has been under intense scrutiny since September 2013, when Haselberger went public with damning accounts of the way the archdiocese had dealt with clerics accused of sexual misconduct. One of those priests was Curtis Wehmeyer, a man with a history of inappropriate sexual behavior who was nevertheless promoted by Nienstedt to become pastor of two parishes. Wehmeyer went on to molest children at one of those parishes. One of the questions investigators have been asking is whether the archbishop had an unprofessional relationship with Wehmeyer.

In 2012 Nienstedt supported NOM in the failed campaign to place a ban on same-sex marriage into the Minnesota state constitution. The Minneapolis Archdiocese reportedly committed $650,000 to the referendum.

MINNESOTA: Supreme Court Nominee Vows To Put The Bible Above State Law

Lawyer Michelle MacDonald, who faces DUI charges, just won the Minnesota GOP’s nomination to become a state Supreme Court judge. Just before getting the nomination, MacDonald explained how she would make decisions: Forget the law. It’s all about the Bible. "When judges used to enter the courtroom, they would hold the Bible over their head, like this. In the words of George Washington, it is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." She’s a bad historian, too. There’s no evidence whatsoever that Washington said that. (Even Christian pseudo-historian David Barton, who popularized that lie in the first place, later admitted there was no proof he said it.)

Gay Minnesota Teen Gets Death Threat After Coming Out on Facebook

A police investigation is underway in Circle Pines, Minnesota after Ryan Eichenauer, a gay student at Centennial High School who recently came out of the closet, received an anonymous death threat in his English class, KMSP reports:

"I know there are going to be people in life who don't agree with it. But that's who I am," he said.

Eichenauer says that within weeks of coming out he had two threatening anonymous letters placed on his desk in two separate classrooms, the latest one on Tuesday:

Not only does the note attack his sexuality, but it says "I can't wait for the day that I get to walk over your grave and if you don't put yourself there, I will be glad to. Just do us all a favor and do it soon. Kill yourself already."

More of the letter:

"Ryan, I see there are many others who also want you dead. Good. And it's not just the two of us who have decided to speak up. It's everyone. […] like you don't deserve to live in this world. Innocent people die every day, but the scum of the earth like you gets to live? […] that. That is about to change. No one likes the fact that you are alive. No one likes the way you show your sexuality. You are a […] sinner. Someone should do something about it…I will. I am not a coward. I protect the house of god from […] like you."

Eichenauer says he's definitely afraid:

"A little scared, I feel safe in my school. Right now, mostly uncomfortable....The first threat I cried a lot. A lot of tears and emotions. Even though that was less threatening. Then this one came along. Is this what I am going to get forever, from now on?

A Random Act Of Kindness Goes Viral: This DQ Manager Did The Right Thing

This modest, mid-western, teenaged Dairy Queen manager meant to keep his good deed quiet, but one of his customers reported him. Photo from WCCO TV.

Just another late August day at the Hopkins, MN Dairy Queen turned into an opportunity for one man to do the right thing. Manager Joey Prusak was working the cash register and taking orders when a moral dilemma presented itself.

He was helping a blind man at the counter when his customer dropped a $20 bill as he was paying. Prusak saw the woman behind his customer stoop down and scoop the bill up. He says he thought she was going to return it to the blind customer but what she did next made Prusak angry:

“I expected to her to be like ‘Oh, sir, here you go.’ But she just stood there and watched him walk by and she then put it in her purse.”

When the woman approached the counter, Prusak asked the her to return the money. She refused, lied and said it was hers, that she had dropped it. They had words. Exasperated, Prusak told the woman to either return the money or leave the store because he was not going to serve someone so disrespectful. She stormed out.

Prusak proceeded to serve his other customers, apologizing for the fracas. When he was done, he found the blind customer and gave him $20 out of his own pocket. He tried to be unobtrusive but another customer had seen the whole thing. She filled out a comment card, praising Joey and writing that she would forever be a Dairy Queen customer. The note made it to corporate headquarters and was shared among employees. One of them took a picture and posted it on Facebook. The rest, as they say, is history.

Prusak is modest about his actions, even after getting a phone call from company owner Warren Buffet:

“He called and thanked me for being a role model for all the other employees and people in general. I was just doing what I thought was right. I did it without even really thinking about it. … Ninety-nine out of 100 people would’ve done the same thing as me.” (source)

The spokesman for Dairy Queen International, Dean Peters, told reporters that the company is trying to figure out a way to reward Prusak. I have a suggestion: since Prusak is trying to save money to attend business management school, maybe Buffet could find him a job at the corporate level while the young man is attending school. What better way to learn business management than from Buffet? No matter what the reward from DQ is, Joe Prusak will always have the reward of knowing that he did the right thing. We need more like him.

Star Tribune Publishes Fluff Piece On Minnesotans "Mourning" Over Marriage Equality

As marriage equality took effect in Minnesota on August 1, the state's largest newspaper granted a platform to anti-equality individuals voicing their concerns about a "deteriorating society," failing to mention the extreme anti-gay animus that motivated many of the state's most influential anti-equality groups and activists.

In an article posted on July 31, the Star Tribune examined the "ordinary" Minnesotans who were "quietly mourning" their state's marriage equality law. The article offered a sympathetic portrayal of several residents - including a senior couple estranged from their gay son - who, the paper suggested, are the victims of being "caught in the undertow of a wave of social change":

In the midst of the celebration about same-sex ­marriage, some Minnesotans are quietly mourning.

They are ordinary parishioners, neighbors down the street, co-workers in the elevator who steadfastly believe that marriage is meant solely for a man and a woman.
"I can't say we're bitter," said Tom O'Neill of Eagan. "We're disappointed. It's people saying, 'If it's good for me, I don't care about anyone else.' There's nothing that's intrinsically evil anymore."

"To me, the moral compass is disintegrating," added his wife, Mary. "Not just changing -- disintegrating."

 [...]

Many in the group said they are angry with legislators who voted same-sex marriage into law. But they feel utterly betrayed by those politicians who, during the run-up to the November election, downplayed the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage as redundant because of the existing state law against such unions.

The article goes on to depict opponents of marriage equality as victims who have been "forced to accept something they believe is wrong":

Crosses to bear
What hurts them most about seeing society change around them? Being called bigots, they said. Feeling forced to accept something they believe is wrong.
"I have to accept that there are crosses in life," [local resident Kurian] Cherucheril said. "After all, you are following someone who died on a cross, who carried a cross. What do you expect in life? You will carry a cross at times. Yet we are people of hope."

Notably absent from the article is any mention whatsoever of the groups that led the fight against marriage equality in Minnesota, including the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Minnesota for Marriage (MFM). Both groups are notorious for promoting extreme and damaging smears about LGBT people, including conflating homosexuality with pedophilia and touting "ex-gay" therapy organizations.

Nor was there any mention of the blatant falsehoods about religious liberty and same-sex parenting that these groups and their supporters repeatedly touted in order to scare voters into opposing marriage equality.

Same-Sex Marriages Begin in Rhode Island and Minnesota

Same-sex marriages have begun in Rhode Island, and local officials for the first time are issuing marriage licenses to gay couples who wish to marry in the state.

Gay marriage became legal in Rhode Island and Minnesota at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

Officials around Rhode Island began issuing licenses when offices opened at 8:30 a.m., including in Newport.

A couple that have been together for 41 years, Federico Santi and John Gacher, arrived first thing at the Newport clerk’s office. They had previously been joined in a civil union, so they were immediately married after getting their license.

Newport City Clerk Kathleen Silvia calls Thursday, in her words, "a day of smooching" in Rhode Island.

And then there were 12! Minnesota Senate Passes Marriage Equality

 

The Governor has  promised to sign the bill right away!

Watch Minnesota Senate Debate on Marriage Equality Live!

Watch live streaming video from uptakemnsenate at livestream.com

Marriage Equality Eminent in Minnesota

 

Rainbow flags are being flown in St Paul, Minnesota ahead of today’s Senate vote on equal marriage, and the city’s mayor has renamed a bridge Freedom to Marry Bridge, in support of the measure.

Ordained Minister State Rep Says Bible No Excuse For Anti-Gay Bigotry!

Minnesota state Rep. Tim Faust attended a demonstration against same-sex marriage in April, but told the crowd he wasn’t sure why he was there.  Something has changed though, for the conservative Democrat and Lutheran minister who represents (DFL) District: 11B.

“Not too long ago, I probably would have voted ‘no’ on this bill, but in the past there have been a couple of things that changed my mind on this.  The first one is, is in the last ten years I’ve had conversations with hundreds — and I guess now it’s in the thousands — of people about this issue, and in 99.9 percent of the time the people that are opposed to gay marriage at some point in their discussion they always say, ‘My Bible says.’”

“And so if this is the reason or the rationale for being opposed to this or why this law is currently in place, the question that keeps going through my mind over and over again, is do we as a society have the right to impose our religious beliefs on somebody else?”

Thank God for logic!

Minnesota representatives voted 75-59 to make same-sex marriage legal in that state on 5/9/2013!

More Marriage Equality Progress In Minnesota!

Minnesota's full House will take up marriage equality this Thursday, the AP reports:

House DFL leadership announced the plans Tuesday. House Speaker Paul Thissen has previously said that scheduling the vote would be a signal that DFL leaders secured the 68 votes needed to pass the bill.

If the House passes the bill, the next vote would be in the state Senate. But its passage has been seen as more secure there than in the House. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has promised to sign the bill, which would allow gay couples to start getting married in Minnesota on Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee is considering the bill this morning.

Good Day Eh? Marriage Movement in Minnesota!

There is movement afoot in Minnesota on marriage equality and that bills pending there could see action soon.

Today, the AP reports that one of those bills will get a last-minute hearing today:

The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to review the legislation Monday. That's after a state analysis showed a small impact on Minnesota's general fund.

The analysis by Minnesota's budget office predicts that if gay marriage becomes legal, 114 state employees would enroll in state benefits for their married partners. That would cost the state about $688,000 a year. But it would be partly offset by about $190,000 from same-sex couples buying marriage licenses.

Read more: Towleroad

My questions is why are the costs of equality even a consideration?