Today’s was a summary judgment hearing as both sides had demanded an immediate ruling. Our side for marriage, the state for dismissal. The judge made neither side happy, instead ruling for a trial.

One of the proposed Manhattan super-skyscrapers that I mentioned last month has been approved by the city. At a comparative height of more than 100 floors, it will have only 100 apartments. Ever want to look down on the Empire State Building? How about from your apartment? In three years, well-heeled buyers will be able to do that from the …

Via Democratic Underground. (Tipped by JMG reader Larson)

“I strongly support a woman’s right to choose….her child’s middle name. Provided she has written consent from her husband or rapist.” (Via JMG reader StuckInTheWoods)

Anxious crowds are gathering outside the Detroit courthouse where a federal judge will today rule on the constitutionality of Michigan’s 2004 ban on same-sex marriage. With a popular disco-era tune “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” gay rights advocates let their voices be heard before the start of a 2:30 p.m. hearing before U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman. The plaintiffs in …

“I was trying to think earlier today if ever in my life I could remember any major political party being so irrelevant,” Limbaugh said on his radio show. “I have never seen a major political party simply occupy placeholders, as the Republican party is doing. There may have been votes against this or that. But in terms of  a package …

The Duggar horde is performing today at Virginia stops on the FRC’s “Families For Cucchinelli” bus tour.

NBC News reports: Senate leaders said Wednesday that they had reached an agreement to end a protracted government shutdown and avert default on the national debt. “The compromise we reached will provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said shortly after noon on the Senate floor. Congress will now attempt to quickly …

The poll is here. Don’t forget, today is the day that a federal judge is scheduled to rule on Michigan’s 2004 ban on same-sex marriage.  Or as we like to call it, their Mehlman Bill. (Tipped by JMG reader Corey) NOTE: Disqus is have some hiccups this morning. It’s not you.

IF the deal happens, the Tea sadz will be delicious.

Stand by…

From the editorial board of the Houston Chronicle: Does anyone else miss Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison? We’re not sure how much difference one person could make in the toxic, chaotic, hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington, but if we could choose just one it would be Hutchison, whose years of service in the Senate were marked by two things sorely lacking in …

Freedom To Marry can add a 20th state to its map of marriage lawsuits. Yesterday a federal suit was filed in Oregon. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene by Portland attorneys Lake Perriguey and Lea Ann Easton on behalf of two gay couples, seeks to have 2004’s Measure 36 ruled unconstitutional. It names Gov. John Kitzhaber and …

In what may have been payback for the arrest of a Russian diplomat, a senior Dutch diplomat was assaulted in his Moscow apartment last night. After beating and tying up the man, his assailants used lipstick to scrawl “LGBT” on his bathroom mirror. The attack happened on Tuesday evening when Onno Elderenbosch, the deputy chief of the Dutch embassy in …

Via Towleroad.

Raw Story reports: Before pushing an alternative to a Senate bid to end the government shutdown on Tuesday, conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives reportedly sang “Amazing Grace,” a Christian hymn usually reserved for funerals. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) told reporters that the sing-a-long proved that House Republicans were solidly behind that bill that would make minor changes to …

RELATED: The Heritage Foundation, which is now headed by former Sen. Jim DeMint, was a cosponsor of the FRC’s Hate Summit.  Last week the New York Times reported that the architects of the shutdown were a cabal of evangelical leaders including Tony Perkins.