As you might recall, last year small town Pennsylvania sheriff Mark Kessler lost his job after posting a series of chilling videos in which he denounced “libtards” while firing semi-automatic weapons. Over 700 gun-brandishing Tea People descended on Kessler’s town for the meeting at which he was first suspended. Today Kessler is back with a video in which he warns …

“The ROC [Russian Orthodox Church] categorically opposes bearded men in dresses!” – Popular Russian blogger Rustem Agadamov, reacting to the church’s denouncement of Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst. Vladimir Legoyda, the chairman of the ROC, described Wurst’s win as a “sign of the world’s moral decline” and “part of the aggressive assertion of Western cultural norms.” He told Interfax: “The process …

Via USA Today: Declaring “the fight is on,” a formidable coalition of conservative Christian groups filed legal briefs in federal appellate court Wednesday supporting Michigan’s ban on gay marriage. Representing potentially millions of worshippers in the state, the Michigan Catholic Conference, the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a national coalition of Baptists, Lutherans, Mormons and evangelicals …

President Obama is in Manhattan this morning for the dedication of the 9/11 Museum, which finally opens to the public next week after years of delay. Among those attending the ceremony: The First Lady, Mayor Bill De Blasio, former mayors Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Chris Christie, and the Clintons. Some object to the $24 admission …

Via the Washington Post: The country’s only lesbian-backed political action committee, LPAC, will unveil a first wave of political endorsements Thursday — including five openly gay candidates seeking congressional seats and state offices ranging from governor to attorney general. The endorsement list includes 15 Democrats so far. Among them: gubernatorial hopefuls Wendy Davis of Texas, Heather Mizeur of Maryland, Martha …

Associated Press: “The National Hockey League is the first major league sports association to have players from every team voice support for LGBT rights.

While the Arkansas Supreme Court yesterday declined to issue a stay on same-sex marriage, the overlooked detail of a state statute means that no licenses will be issued today by the handful of counties that had done so. Last Friday, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza threw out a 10-year-old ban that voters placed in the state constitution and a …

Idaho county clerks say they are preparing for a rush of gay couples seeking marriage licenses tomorrow in the event that Gov. Butch Otter (seriously) doesn’t get his stay from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ada County Clerk Chris Rich said his staff also is preparing for a media onslaught. “They are more apprehensive about the media focus and …

According to Matthew Schmidt, an American expert on the region, Vladimir Putin has taken to labeling anti-Russian protesters in Ukraine as “gay Nazis.” The gay Nazis label was simultaneously an attempt to tie the new pro-Europe camp in Kiev to the hated German Third Reich while also taking advantage of the growing acceptance of gay marriage in the West, particularly …

“The sheer volume of bile spewing from the mouth of the Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, is staggering. But just as awe-inducing, and stomach-churning, is the unrestrained breadth of its variety, which makes putting the offenses in order — if one were inclined to — nearly impossible. But high on any list — on a par with the racism, sexism, misogyny, …

A 15 year-old Vancouver student has developed an HIV test that delivers a result in a matter of seconds. IFI Science reports: Nicole Ticea is a Grade 10 student at the private girl’s York House School, Vancouver. As part of a collaboration program with Simon Fraser University she developed a test using Isothermic Nucleic Acid Amplification. This allows users to …

(Via David Badash)

The Hollywood Reporter reviews the clip: The music video for the Michael Jackson posthumous duet with Justin Timberlake debuted on Wednesday morning, and it’s a careful visual tribute of the late pop singer’s lasting legacy on future generations. “Love Never Felt So Good” — the first single off of Xscape — features archival footage of Jackson’s many music videos, including …

Via CBS Sports: The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) announced Wednesday that it would create a multi-part documentary series on Sam and “his historic journey as he prepares to enter the biggest professional sports league in America.” It’s an untitled project, but the network is working with Emmy-winning producer Craig Piligian and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Amy Rice. In the news release, OWN …

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Via press release: Teaming up with Michael Serrato (Big Gay Sketch Show, Neil’s Puppet Dreams, DWV Music Videos), the video was shot in two days in Los Angeles. The video features veteran turned model and actor Alex Minsky, whose motivational story of losing his leg at war has landed him on The View, The Today Show, GMA, and Jay Leno. …

Via Mediaite: It turns out there was some credence to those Neil Patrick Harris Late Show rumors. During an appearance on Howard Stern’s show Wednesday, Harris confirmed that CBS did try to woo him to replace David Letterman, as well as possibly Craig Ferguson, but the actor turned them down. Harris said that CBS President Les Moonves and entertainment head …

Having been rejected today by the district court that overturned Idaho’s marriage ban, Gov. Butch Otter (seriously) tonight took his stay demand to the Ninth Circuit Court. Same-sex marriages are due to commence Friday morning. Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: “Absent the stay requested by Governor Otter’s emergency motion, there will be a repetition in Idaho of the unseemly chaos, …

Via the Associated Press: The Arkansas Supreme Court has rejected the state attorney general’s request for a stay of a judge’s ruling that overturned Arkansas’ constitutional ban on gay marriage. The high court on Wednesday turned down the request from Attorney General Dustin McDaniel that would have halted the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza …