Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyAugust 11th, 2011
TODAY’S AGENDA:
Fox News Hosts Iowa Presidential Debate: Ames, IA. And all the GOP candidates will be there: former Utah Gov. Jon Hunstman, former Massachusetts Gov. Mit Romney, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. Ron Paul, former Sen. Rich Santorum, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, businessman Herman Cain — and openly gay candidate Fred Karger. But Karger won’t be on the stage tonight, despite meeting all of the criteria that Fox News set out as qualifications for participating. Attorneys for Karger say they are preparing a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission, saying that Fox News is in violation of FEC rules governing all presidential debates. The debate begins tonight at 9:00 p.m. EDT and will air on Fox News.
Political “Soap Box” At Iowa State Fair: Des Moines, IA. Iowa hosts one of the largest state fairs in the country, which opens today. And this year it coincides with a big weekend for Iowa’s political junkies, what with tonight’s Fox News debate and the Ames Straw Poll on Saturday. The Des Moines Register is hosting an old-fashioned political soapbox at the State Fair, where presidential candidates can address attendees for up to twenty minutes on any topic they choose. And unlike Fox News, the Register’s forum is pretty open to just about everyone, including Fred Karger and an obscure farmer from Texas. Today is the first day of the fair, and so the soapbox schedule is extremely light. The only candidate scheduled to speak today is Mitt Romney, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Tomorrow’s schedule looks like this:
Australians Rally for Marriage Equality: Adelaide, SA; Brisbane, QLD; Canberra, ACT; Melbourne, VIC; Perth, WA and Sydney, NWS. Seven years ago this Saturday, Prime Minister John Howard’s government, with support from the opposition Labour Party, attached an amendment to the Marriage Act restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples. Every years sine then, large crowds have observed the anniversary with demands to repeal the law. This weekend, rallies will be held in the nation’s capital of Canberra and in six state capitals. Members of the House of Representatives are currently on break for consultations with their constituents, and many report that they are hearing overwhelming responses against same-sex marriage despite public opinions polls showing that a solid majority of Australians support marriage equality. Advocates hope that these rallies will grab their representatives’ attention.
Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Brighton, UK; Charleston, SC; Eugene, OR; Fargo, ND; Indianapolis, IN (Black Pride); Irvine, CA; Mannheim, Germany; Montréal, QC; New York, NY (Black Pride); Palouse/Moscow ID; Prague, Czech Rep.; Sligo, Ireland; and Wakefield, UK.
AIDS Walk This Weekend: Denver, CO.
Also This Weekend: Northalstead Market Days, Chicago, IL and Provincetown Carnival, MA.
If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here. PLEASE, don’t forget to include the basics: who, what, when, where, and URL (if available).
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Kristie
August 11th, 2011
Your comments regarding the Republican Debate are incorrect. Not all of the candidates will be there, as Gov. Gary Johnson will not be participating in the debate either according to the list of participants listed on the FOX website. You may remember, Gov. Johnson was the declared candidate that was kept out of the Republican debate just a couple of months ago by CNN.
Regan DuCasse
August 11th, 2011
So wrong to have Rick Santorum, (who didn’t meet the REQUIREMENTS to be there, and NOT having Karger, who did.
So wrong and we all know why. Rick Santorum is very quick to complain of being silenced if he’s not invited to be EVERYWHERE.
But this just goes to show the cowardice of the candidates themselves to not even want to debate someone of a community whose lives they are demanding to affect.
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