I don't think anyone here doesn't know how important this election cycle is, in fact Repub legislatures in 37 states have adopted Voter ID requirements in order to keep those who tend to vote Democratic away from the polls. Not only that but getting the free ID is a hassle, as has been spotlighted on Al Sharpton's news show, and possibly others. I can't imagine having any of the Repub nominees capturing the WH and it sickens me that some of these are dominionists who want to return us to the time of the Puritans. These candidates are dangerous
From: Jake <jakewest_tn@yahoo.com>
To: Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 10:52 PM
Subject: [Peckers_Pics] Male/Gay Health-Discussion-PICS Model Wars-Nov 29, 2011-Trump-TARGET-FOX NEWS-Salvation Army
Model Wars-Nov 30, 2011 / Health-News-PICS
Safe PICS For All Ages / "NO" Religious Discussion
Boycott Trump-TARGET-FOX NEWS/Murdoch-Salvation Army
Watch "Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann" - "CURRENT TV" (8 PM EST, M-F)
Consider joining: Safe PICS For All Ages / "NO" Religious Discussion
Boycott Trump-TARGET-FOX NEWS/Murdoch-Salvation Army
Watch "Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann" - "CURRENT TV" (8 PM EST, M-F)
- Members should join our President Barack Obama group . (Health Care & Gay Rights, Gay Marriage, Repeal DOMA, Don't Ask & Don't Tell).... Osama Bin Laden is killed (May 1, 2011)! President Obama was totally involved and viewed the entire operation in real time. President Obama made a very serious decision that worked! Bravo!!!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ObamaBiden2008/join - Occupy Wall Street http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Occupy_Wall_Street/join
- Wrestling Pic group @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CyberWrestlingGuys/join
- Bearhug Yahoo PIC Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bearhug/join
- HeadLock HeadScissor @
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeadLockAndHeadScissorsWrestling/join - Heath Ledger group @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeathLedgerTributeSite/join
- Bearhug Submission - NEW: Roommates, A New Coach (Episode 118, By Clay) (Continuing Wrestling Fiction Series). Your "Public" Yahoo Profile must include "Public" Age, Gender, Location - before you apply for membership @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BearhugSubmission_/join
Diet & Fitness:
- Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today?
- Did you do any physical activity? If not, make a point of it by tomorrow!
- Perhaps our male fitness photos shall inspire you to get Fit!
Health, Wellness, Exercise, Reflections:AIDS panel discussion will join Obama, Bush and Clinton on World AIDS DayBy Associated Press, November 28, 2011
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama and two former presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, are joining top anti-AIDS advocates for a panel discussion to observe World AIDS Day.
The discussion will take place Thursday at George Washington University and will be streamed live on YouTube. Bush and Clinton will participate via satellite.
Organizers say they hope to build on progress already made in the fight against the devastating virus. The event is sponsored by two organizations, ONE and (RED), that combat global poverty and AIDS. Among the panelists will be Bono, the lead singer of the band U2 and co-founder of ONE and (RED).
Other participants include Tanzania's President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic congresswoman Barbara Lee of California.
Take Action:
- Boycott Bill O'Reilly and FOX News and their advertisers. Bill discussed a French commercial by McDonalds that was meant to show that McDonalds is Gay Friendly. Bill said what is next? Is McDonalds going to be Al-Qaida friendly as well? Imagine - Bill O'Reilly compares Gays to Al-Qaida! Further, Boycott Fox's Owner "Rupert Murcoch" and get him thrown in jail for illegal - political donations, corruption, greed, bribery, hacking!
- Boycott Target, Best Buy, Gold's Gym - for donating money towards anti-gay political candidates/organizations. Update: (12/26/2010): Target is continuing to donate to anti-gay groups/causes/politicians. Update 03/08/11 - Lady Gaga Ends Target Partnership, Reportedly Over Target's Poor LGBT Stance. Update 3/25/2010 - Target displays their hypocrisy and Sues California Gay Rights Group for Lobbying Outside Stores. Target is attempting to block the LGBT right of free speech! STOP SHOPPING AT TARGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Update 4/8/2011: Target lost its case to stop the LGBT from canvassing in front of their stores. A huge PR Disaster for TARGET! Perhaps Target should go out of business as they betrayed their investers and customer base. Target contributed massive funds to a politician who would like to exterminate gays. Now, Target can not stop us from Boycotting them, nor picketing, nor talking to customers near their stores; although, Target allows a anti-gay company such as the Salvation Army to stand outside their door and speak with customers and raise money. Isn't this a double standard?
- End DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). Prevents Federal employees and Gays in the Military from gaining equal benefits. Prevents Gay Partners from gaining equal benefits.
- Pass a LGBT friendly ENDA (Employee Non-Discrimination Act). ENDA would prevent employment discrimination of LGBT workforce.
- Boycott Salvation Army as they will not hire Gays! "DO NOT DONATE TO THEM."
- BOYCOTT "Chick-fil-a" for donating money to anti-gay groups.
- BOYCOTT KOCH INDUSTRIES PRODUCTS- to include their products: Angel Soft toilet paper / Brawny paper towels / Dixie plates, bowls, napkins & cups / Mardi Gras napkins and towels / Quilted Northern toilet paper / Soft 'n Gentle toilet paper / Sparkle napkins / Vanity fair napkins / Zee napkins / Georgia-Pacific paper products & envelopes / All Georgia-Pacific lumber & building products (INVISTA Products) / Lycra / Stainmaster Carpet. The billionaire - Koch brothers are ultra republican - tea bag founders/supporters that do not support causes of the LGBT community.
- Boycott WALMART - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force criticized Wal-Mart for denying employee benefits to same-s-x partners and for failing to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. By comparison, the group said two other chain stores with a strong presence in New York, Costco and Walgreens, did much better.
- "Tune Out Trump", Boycott all Trump Hotel, casinos, holdings, The Apprentice and NBC Network! At CPAC, Trump said he is considering a run for president as a Republican. In a interview with the Des Moines Register, Trump added that he opposes all forms of legal recognition for gay couples, not just marriage. "They should not be able to marry," he said. So why does NBC keep the Apprentice when Donald Trump has stated he may run for president? After making racist remarks about Obama and recv'g public backlash, Trump decided not to run for president after NBC renewed his awful TV Show. How can NBC re-new the clown's show after he pulled such hateful shenanigans?
- Boycott Georgia for Execution of Troy Davis @ 11:08 EST, Sep 21, 2011:
Former US President and Former GA Gov. Jimmy Carter felt that TROY DAVIS should not be executed and deserved a re-trial. The Former Director of the FBI felt that TROY DAVIS Was Not Guilty! Do not drive through Goergia as it is dangerous. Do not fly via Atlanta. For your safety -Do not travel to GA. TELL YOUR COMPANY NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CONVENTION IN GA! "Georgia Executes Innocent People!"
And Now, Our War of the Fittest!
This group is called "Peckers Pics." The English - slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health, Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues. In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!" Whereas, you should select the "Male Model" that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit!" Warning: This may stoke you!
Your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.
Alex Martins
VS
REURY COSTA
You Decide!
Paris Pride; June 25, 2011
Stoked?
Paris Pride; June 25, 2011
Nigeria's Senate voted to criminalize gay marriage
by The Associated Press - November 29, 2011
Nigeria's Senate voted Tuesday to criminalize gay marriage, gay advocacy groups and same-sex public displays of affection, the latest legislation targeting a minority already facing discrimination in Africa's most populous nation.
The bill, now much more wide-ranging than its initial draft, must be passed by Nigeria's House of Representatives and signed by President Goodluck Jonathan before becoming law. However, public opinion and lawmakers' calls Tuesday for even harsher penalties show the widespread support for the measure in the deeply religious nation.
"Such elements in society should be killed," said Sen. Baba-Ahmed Yusuf Datti of the opposition party Congress for Progressive Change, drawing some murmurs of support from the gallery.
Gay sex has been banned in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people, since colonial rule by the British. Gays and lesbians face open discrimination and abuse in a country divided by Christians and Muslims who almost uniformly oppose homosexuality. In the areas in Nigeria's north where Islamic Shariah law has been enforced for about a decade, gays and lesbians can face death by stoning.
Under the proposed law, couples who marry could face up to 14 years each in prison. Witnesses or anyone who helps couples marry could be sentenced to 10 years behind bars. That's an increase over the bill's initial penalties, which lawmakers proposed during a debate Tuesday televised live from the National Assembly in Nigeria's capital Abuja.
Other additions to the bill include making it illegal to register gay clubs or organizations, as well as criminalizing the "public show of same-sex amorous relationships directly or indirectly." Those who violate those laws would face 10-year imprisonment as well.
The increased penalties immediately drew criticism from human rights observers.
"The bill will expand Nigeria's already draconian punishments for consensual same-sex conduct and set a precedent that would threaten all Nigerians' rights to privacy, equality, free expression, association and to be free from discrimination," said Erwin van der Borght, the director of Amnesty International's Africa program.
Yet across the African continent, many countries already have made homosexuality punishable by jail sentences. Ugandan legislators introduced a bill that would impose the death penalty for some gays and lesbians, though it has not been passed into law two years later. Even in South Africa, the one country where gays can marry, lesbians have been brutally attacked and murdered.
Nigeria's proposed law has drawn the interest of European Union countries, some of which already offer Nigeria's sexual minorities asylum based on gender identity. The British government recently threatened to cut aid to African countries that violate the rights of gay and lesbian citizens. However, British aid remains quite small in oil-rich Nigeria, one of the top crude suppliers to the U.S.
A spokesman for the British High Commission in Nigeria declined to comment Tuesday, saying officials wanted to study the new version of the bill first.
The bill also could target human rights and HIV-prevention programs run by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Nigeria, which has the world's third-largest population of people living with HIV and AIDS. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman declined to comment.
International opinion didn't seem to trouble lawmakers, who at times laughed at each other during the debate. One senator worried the bill would hinder the tradition of Nigeria's Igbo ethnic group in the southeast to have infertile wives "marry" other women to carry their husbands' children. Another said gays suffer from a "mental illness."
Senate President David Mark at one point started laughing when a senator proposed 40-year prison sentences for gay couples who marry.
"Forty years, that is just too much," he said. "He won't come out alive now."
Before the vote, Mark did acknowledge the nation likely would face criticism. However, the lawmaker said Nigeria would not bow to international pressure on any legislation.
"Anybody can write to us, but our values are our values," Mark said. "If there is any country that does not want to give us aid or assistance, just because we hold on very firmly to our values, that country can [keep] their assistance. No country has a right to interfere in the way we make our own laws."
...............................
Gay Rights and the U.S. Supreme Court
Huffington Post - Nov 28, 2011 - Laurence Watts
On Nov. 17, 2011, California's Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 8's proponents have standing, under state law, to defend their ballot initiative given the governor and attorney general refused to do so. This likely means that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will also grant them standing under federal law.
The upside of this is that Judge Walker's historic Aug. 4, 2010 District Court ruling will now be judged on its merits at appeal. Judge Walker found Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional. Anyone who followed the original case knows that during Walker's trial, Proposition 8's backers produced no evidence to support their case. Our side called expert witness after expert witness. When the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court rules in early 2012, it will more than likely uphold Judge Walker's decision. Whichever side loses is likely to appeal.
Ted Olson, one of the attorneys leading the fight for same-sex marriage, has said that the U.S. Supreme Court could decide to take up the case as early as June or October 2012. It could take longer. Either way, a U.S. Supreme Court hearing would come after the November 2012 election. Therein lies a potential problem.
In recent years a lot of gay men and women have grown tired of the legislative route as the way to win equality. They point to a Democrat-controlled Congress failing to repeal DOMA, or pass ENDA, and the fact that DADT repeal almost didn't happen. Instead, they argue, we should try winning equality through the courts. Given recent court decisions ruling Prop 8, DOMA and DADT unconstitutional, this move appears sound. However, these issues, with the exception of DADT, will soon arrive at the U.S. Supreme Court. Here the judicial and political processes converge.
The president appoints Supreme Court justices by and with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. In practice, presidents appoint justices whom they believe will make rulings that favour their own politics. In other words, Republican administrations appoint right-leaning justices, and Democratic administrations appoint left-leaning ones. Unless gay men and women reengage themselves with U.S. politics, they could face an unfriendly president and Senate after November 2012, just when key gay rights cases arrive at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Why is that important, given that there are currently no vacancies on the nine-member Supreme Court bench? Well, because the next presidential term could see three or more such vacancies arise.
Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, but that doesn't stop them from retiring. The average age at retirement of the last five Supreme Court justices was around 79.5 years. By the time of the 2016 presidential election, three of the current justices will exceed that age: Ruth Ginsburg (appointed by Clinton), Antonin Scalia (appointed by Reagan) and Anthony Kennedy (also appointed by Reagan). Moreover, that average retirement age of 79.5 is inflated by the June 2010 retirement of John Paul Stevens, the oldest member of the Supreme Court in history (he was 90 when he retired). Take him out of the equation and the average retirement age falls to 77, which would put Stephen Breyer (appointed by Clinton) in line for probable retirement, as well. It's therefore conceivable that four out of nine sitting justices could retire in the next presidential term.
It's not just retirements we have to worry about, either. Justices tend to be old, and sadly, many throughout history have died on the job. The last sitting justice to pass away was William Rehnquist, who died in 2005 at the age of 80. Assuming none retire, three sitting Justices will have celebrated their 80th birthday by November 2016.
In my view, it's vital that gay men and women make sure that the next president and Senate be prevented from the Supreme Court against them at a time vital to their interests. Let's not forget that Mitt Romney and Rick Perry (not to mention the also-rans Bachmann and Santorum) have signed a pledge written by the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, which states that they would "nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal bench judges who are committed to restraint and to applying the original meaning of the Constitution, appoint an attorney general similarly committed, and thus reject the idea our Founding Fathers inserted a right to gay marriage into our Constitution."
Not only is the presidency and House up for grabs in 2012, but the Senate is, too. Twenty-three of the 33 seats up for reelection are currently held by Democrats (including two independents). The Democrats' current 53:47 Senate majority well and truly hangs in the balance. It's a fact that Democratic senators have proven to be gay-friendlier. One need only look at the recent Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA. All 10 Democratic senators voted in favour, while all eight Republican senators voted against it.
The next presidential term is likely to be pivotal for gay rights. It would be nice to think that Supreme Court justices will vote in our favour because, like other civil rights movements in the past, our cause is just and our treatment to date discriminatory. The truth of the matter is that at the highest level, judicial decisions turn on the life experiences and politics of justices as much as their skill and intellect. Come 2016, we don't want a Supreme Court stacked with NOM-pledge-compliant justices. We have to get political again.
Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."
Important Notice: Our ObamaBiden2008 Group works hand - in - hand with Peckers PICS (Both groups were co-created to work with each-other). To prevent duplication of articles and questions, all members of this group are urgently recommended to join ObamaBiden2008. We have the LGBT boycott list and discuss end of DADT, etc... There are 3 gay teen suicides in the USA - daily! There are Hate crimes against gay people. There are gay people who are fired over their sexual identity. There are gay people who died for our cause! These groups are focused towards Yahoo Members who sincerely care about LGBT rights and are interested in Gay Mens Health! Most important, we have a most critical election in 2012 that shall determine the future of LGBT rights and our health care (as many suffer from pre-existing illness)! Please Join Now!
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