Tag Archives: Charlotte

Janelle Monae At CarolinaFest

Janelle Monae killed at CarolinaFest today. Killed. The best live show I’ve seen in a very long time. I stupidly didn’t think to request backstage press access, which was handled separately from the DNC, but I did get a chance for a photo with Monae’s amazing front men (guitarist left, keyboardist right), who couldn’t have been any nicer. I’ll have …

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Obama Merchandise At The DNC

I bought that purple LGBT For Obama shirt in the background, but since the purchase qualified as a political donation, they had to take my name, address, and occupation before ringing me up. Took forever and the receipt was about two feet long. Excerpt below. (I passed on the oPhone cover.)

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Afternoon View – AP Work Stations

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At Charlotte’s LGBT Welcome Party

Last night I attended Unity Charlotte, a rather swank welcoming party for the hundreds of LGBT delegates and activists attending the DNC. In the house were many boldface names such as former HRC head Joe Solmonese, former Empire State Pride Agenda executive director Brian Ellner, Clinton White House advisor Richard Socarides, New York Assemblyman Harry Bronson, Q Notes editor Matt …

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Protest March At The DNC

This afternoon about 2000 protesters representing a broad range of causes paraded down Charlotte’s College Street and past the site of the Democratic National Convention. They were accompanied throughout by a heavy contingent of various law enforcement groups who also thronged the intersections and rooftops and hovered overhead in surveillance helicopters. Press appeared to outnumber spectators along the blocks in …

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Afternoon View – DNC Arrival

I’m writing this from the cavernous media hall at the Charlotte Convention Center, which could also probably be used to assemble aircraft carriers. Most of the major outlets are taking some momentary down time after Tampa, and their mission control areas here are mostly built but unmanned at the moment. Tonight I’ll be attending the big LGBT welcome party, Unity …

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Follow JMG At The DNC On Twitter

As it will be sometimes difficult to pull out a laptop and make quick updates to the blog, I’ll be posting commentary and photos for DNC events to my Twitter feed. You don’t have to be a Twitter user to monitor my feed. You can also read my tweets and see my photos by adding my Twitter name to your …

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NORTH CAROLINA: Atheist Billboards Near DNC Removed After Christian Threats

American Atheists have removed their billboards outside the venue for the Democratic National Convention after being deluged with threats from God’s Gentle People™. “We are saddened that by choosing to express our rights as atheists through questioning the religious beliefs of the men who want to be our president that our fellow citizens have responded with vitriol, threats, and hate …

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The DNC Hates Jesus

“When Charlotte714, a non political group of Pastors and Christian leaders in Charlotte who are praying for God to restore our nation, requested permission to pass out gifts and Christian literature to arriving DNC delegates, they were refused. The reason: ‘The values of Charlotte714 do not reflect the values of the DNC.’ Now the DNC is going to redefine marriage. …

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Archbishop Timothy Dolan To Close DNC

Archbishop Timothy Dolan has been invited and has accepted an invitation to offering the closing prayer at the Democratic convention. Catholic League blowhard Bill Donahue cheers: The fundamental difference between Cardinal Dolan and these critics comes down to one thing: he is a man of principle and they don’t know how to spell the word. He invited President Obama to …

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CHARLOTTE: Activists To Turn Tables On Pride Disruption By Christian Group

As the above photos from last year show, every year anti-gay activist Michael Brown and hundreds of red-shirted followers descend on Charlotte Pride with messages of eternal damnation and promises of gruesome deaths from AIDS. Last year one member of Brown’s group purposely marched her four young children through the festival area so that they could be photographed standing near …

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Record 470 Openly LGBT Delegates To Attend Democratic Convention

At least 470 delegates at the Democratic Convention will be openly LGBT. Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: The upcoming Democratic National Convention is set to have a record number of openly LGBT delegates, although goals for some states aren’t being met, according to new data from the National Stonewall Democrats. The organization as of Wednesday evening identified at …

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Billboards Of The Day

The above two billboards will be positioned near each of the convention sites in Tampa and Charlotte. World Net Daily’s commenters are ever so pissed, but they have exactly zero to say about the thousands and thousands of Christian billboards that promise eternal damnation in an unending lake of fire.

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Dem Convention Schedule

Above are just a few of the early morning events on each day of the Democratic Convention in Charlotte. Hit the link and scroll around to see other items on the schedule, many of which take place at night. Since I’m mostly at the mercy of the DNC press bus to get me back to my hotel in South Carolina, …

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Obama Campaign Offers Public Free Tickets To Convention Acceptance Speech

The president will make his formal nomination acceptance speech on the final day of the convention at Charlotte’s 74,000-seat Bank Of America Stadium. Free tickets for the general public became available yesterday on a first-come first-serve basis. The media has noted that press releases have avoided using the actual name of the venue, merely referring to it as “the stadium” …

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JMG Is Press Credentialed

I’ve received my notice of press credentials for the Democratic Convention. The DNC has assigned me to a hotel just outside of Charlotte’s I-485 beltway that’s actually in South Carolina, but the nice press liaison lady assured me, “It’s just like visiting Manhattan but staying in Hoboken.” They’ll be providing a shuttle bus service for press, so thankfully I don’t …

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Charlotte Cops Get Expanded Powers

The Charlotte City Council has voted to give police expanded powers during the Democratic convention. Among the new ordinances is a law allowing the random stopping and frisking of any person. The vote was met with shouts of “Shame!” from a packed council chamber, which prompted most of the council and Mayor Anthony Foxx to temporarily leave the dais. Protesters …

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DNC Shortens Dem Convention

It’s all a done deal, after all. Via press release: Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced in a press conference in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium that the convention would be shortened by one day, from four to three days. The Monday of convention week, Labor Day, will be designated as a day to celebrate the Carolinas, Virginia …

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Christianists To Protest Dem Convention

Right Wing Watch reports that the Christian Defense Coalition plans to lead demonstrations outside the Democratic Convention in Charlotte. The group plans to call on President Obama to “embrace life, family, marriage, religious liberty and human rights and justice for all.” And they say they hope to draw thousands. So that will be interesting. UNRELATED: Probably less interesting is that …

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More On The Charlotte Hate March

As I mentioned yesterday, hundreds of red-shirted anti-gay Christians marched on Charlotte Pride this weekend in order to hurl insults and condemnation at the event’s attendees. According to Matt Comer of North Carolina’s Q-Notes, the group’s leader, Michael Brown, “started his FIRE School of Ministry to ‘raise up a holy army of uncompromising spirit-filled radicals who will shake an entire …

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