Joe.My.God. LGBT News

“Governor Christie just endorsed a law that thus excludes many gay teens who wish to live in accordance with Bible-based values from the circle of care; he has outright banned chastity as a goal of counseling. His bill is not only anti-religious, anti-liberty, and anti-family, it is anti-science because it does not permit scientific knowledge to evolve in the hands …

Via the Washington Post: A military judge on Wednesday morning sentenced Army Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Manning, 25, was convicted last month of multiple charges, including violations of the Espionage Act for copying and disseminating the documents while serving as an intelligence analyst …

Big news! This morning the New Mexico county of Dona Ana began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Via an alert from Progress Now New Mexico: Same-sex couples in Doña Ana County began receiving marriage licenses this morning after the county clerk announced he was issuing them based on a legal opinion endorsed earlier this year by the City of …

Samsung’s ginormous Galaxy Mega phone, dubbed a “phablet” by tech sites, is going on sale here next week. The 6.3-inch phablet will be available via AT&T, Sprint, and US Cellular in Nova Black or Polaris White, Samsung announced today. AT&T said it will start selling the Mega on Aug. 23 for $149.99 with a two-year contract or $24 per month …

Perhaps emboldened by the success in New Jersey, a trio of  New York state legislators are renewing the push to ban “ex-gay” therapy for minors. State Sens. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick say New York pols should swiftly pass a similar bill they introduced earlier this year that stalled in Albany. “Conversion therapy is among …

Five years ago the NYC Council rejected Mayor Bloomberg’s bill that would tax consumers six cents every time a store gave them a plastic bag. Tomorrow a new version of the bill will be introduced, this time by Council members themselves. The bill has seven co-sponsors but has yet to earn the support of Christine Quinn, who as Council speaker …

Seven rural Colorado counties have reportedly approved a November ballot measure that will ask residents if they want to break away and form the state of North Colorado. I took the above map from the website of the 51st State Initiative and it looks like the counties in yellow are also targeted. From the wingnut Washington Times: Forming a state …

And you will be absorbed. Just listen.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has launched a project to bring internet access to the estimated five billion people who currently don’t have it. “Everything Facebook has done has been about giving all people around the world the power to connect,” Zuckerberg said in a statement. “There are huge barriers in developing countries to connecting and joining the knowledge economy. Internet.org …