Clip recap: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and a brilliant cast ring in the season in George Cukor’s HOLIDAY (1938). Adapted by Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman from the play by Philip Barry, it deals with an unconventional young man (Grant) who wishes to marry into a wealthy family without sacrificing his ideals. He meets a comrade in the feisty …

Porno Pete is ever so pissed that Walmart gave some dough to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. From a press release published by Christian Newswire: Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is alerting the nation to Walmart’s increasing capitulation to the homosexual-bisexual-transgender agenda-and is calling on Americans to urge Walmart to stop promoting homosexuality and gender confusion (transgenderism) with …

By a vote of 235-185, Polish lawmakers have rejected placing a civil unions bill on the agenda for the coming legislative session. This is the third consecutive year that such an action was rejected. The 2013 attempt to pass a civil partnerships bill failed to advance by 17 votes.

Via the Associated Press: The Justice Department is now interpreting federal law to explicitly prohibit workplace discrimination against transgender people, according to a memo released Thursday by Attorney General Eric Holder. That means the Justice Department will be able to bring legal claims on behalf of people who say they’ve been discriminated against by state and local public employers based …

Yesterday President Obama surprised Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick by calling into the governor’s monthly Boston Public Radio show. “Uh, Governor, this is Barack Obama, formerly of Somerville. I’ve got a few complaints about service in and around the neighborhood, but I’ve moved down South since that time…” (Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

In the first-ever such ruling in Chinese history, a court has ordered an “ex-gay” torture clinic to pay compensation to one of its victims. Via the Wall Street Journal: “We’re incredibly happy,” said Yang Teng, the plaintiff in the case. Mr. Yang earlier told China Real Time (which previously quoted him using the pseudonym Xiao Zhen) that staff at a …

Via the Hollywood Reporter: In partnership with the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, Hologram USA reported that it has started work on a hologram-like version of the famous entertainer for a feature-length live show that be would staged in such a way that “Liberace” would be able to interact with the audience. “This is a major step …

Via Australian television: Siege victim Tori Johnson’s partner has thanked Australia and the world for the outpouring of support for the family that has come in the wake of the Martin Place tragedy. Thomas Zinn read an emotional statement directly to viewers on the TODAY Show this morning, speaking of the family’s pride in the strength of the community. “As …

All is quiet at this early hour at the Island House. As usual there are some JMG readers here this week: two self-proclaimed “flying monkeys” from Minneapolis, Mike from Atlanta, Russ from Manhattan, and a boisterous bear couple from Surrey, England. Say hello, boys!

Stephen Colbert said goodbye to his long-running Comedy Central show last night with an epic star-studded group singalong of We’ll Meet Again. Joining Colbert were Jon Stewart, Henry Kissinger, Katie Couric, Cory Booker, Andrew Sullivan, Alan Alda, Andy Cohen, George Lucas, Cyndi Lauper, Tom Brokaw, Bill Clinton, and about a hundred other folks whom you’ll likely recognize.

From the ACLU Of Florida: The American Civil Liberties Union filed a response at the United States Supreme Court today stating that the Court should reject Florida’s request for further extension of the stay placed on a federal court’s decision that struck down Florida’s ban on allowing and recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples. The response argued that Florida families …

Via the Osceola News-Gazette: The Osceola County Courthouse will open for a couple hours at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 6 – the moment that Florida’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage expires – to issue marriage licenses and possibly perform services. Osceola County Clerk of the Courts Armando Ramirez said he expected to process up to 30 licenses that night for gay …

The above is from an “anti-vax” Facebook page. Source. (Tipped by JMG reader Daniel)

The Human Rights Campaign today announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a large donation to help fund LGBT advocacy in southern states including his native Alabama. The amount of Cook’s contribution to the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign wasn’t disclosed, but the advocacy organization called it “substantial.” Organizers said it would help fund a three-year, $8.5 million campaign launched …

Key West’s Bourbon Pub is all set for their famed Drag Queen Drop in which local star Sushi is lowered in a giant pump at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Embiggen to read the assholery.

Via press release: Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver is urging Florida court clerks to take the advice of their own legal counsel and uphold Florida’s marriage laws. “No clerk outside of Washington County is bound by the federal judge’s ruling,” the letter from the legal counsel says, “and it would be a crime under Florida law for a …