At least according to the latest census numbers. The District has 18.1 gay couples per 1,000 households.(Vermont is second, with 8.4 gay couples.) That adds up to 4,822 gay couples in the city. Oddly enough, states with lower rates actually have more gay couples raising children: In North Dakota, where there are only 559 gay [...]
Video Killed the Radio Star: The bad news continues for National Public Radio, as another hidden-camera tape by right-wing provocateur James O'Keefe shows executives were aware of the phony gift O'Keefe's stunt was pretending to pass along to the network. With the federal budget what it is (which is to say, bad, if not quite [...]
Happy Anniversary!: One year ago today, the institution of marriage came under a withering assault here in the District, when same-sex unions were first allowed after the mandatory six-day wait for a license (the law took effect March 3). Or at least, so the forces who want to deny a basic human right to people [...]
The State of Our Union Is Strong: There's been more talk of seating charts this week in D.C. than there is on the first day of preschool, but with some luck, it'll all come to an end tonight, after President Obama delivers his State of the Union address at the Capitol. Streets around the Hill [...]
Meet the New Boss: For an ambitious young House Republican, overseeing the District isn't a terrible gig. You get to tell 600,000 people what to do, without fear of retribution from any voting members of Congress, and without alienating your constituents back home, who don't particularly care what the federal government's doing to a bunch [...]
Bishop Harry Jackson, a Maryland pastor, petitioned the Supreme Court with a request that gay marriage rights in the District be suspended until a citywide referendum on the issue could be completed. The referendum would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman. To that, the Supreme Court said no with a denial [...]
Snowed Out: Last winter brought Snowpocalypse, Snowmageddon, and other catchy nicknames for crippling storms. This winter, so far, is bringing near misses. Today's forecast "storm" turns out to be more of the same. Even so, the list of "snow"-related school closings grew throughout the day. And District officials used the snow as an excuse to [...]
By a 5-4 vote, the D.C. Court of Appeals has ruled that the District's gay marriage law can stand. An opinion out this morning says the Board of Elections and Ethics was right to refuse a referendum on the law; the board had said the referendum would violate the city's Human Rights Act. "The question [...]
Wakey Bakey! I say that both in morning greeting and in reference to today's WaPo report that "Washingtonians' fondness for weed is among the strongest in the country — and growing." D.C. Council will vote today on legalizing medical marijuana. Many herbal aficionados interviewed for the article support the bill as a "steppingstone toward broader legalization," although Capitol Hemp [...]
Gay marriage: Repubs want to scratch it
Amendment: They tried to attach it
The "big fucking deal"
Rejected their zeal
Since Dems had the votes to dispatch it
I'm hearing the soundbite already
Enrollment in schools is quite steady
The first time in years
They've calmed parents' fears
(Or private school fees are too heady?)
Some places can now safely boast
That citizens like them the [...]
An end to that timeless charade?
(Where Fenty's a jerk through his aide)
Did all of that dough
Make Fenty bestow
The tickets 'fore game one is played?
This week was a sign of our times
And needs something more than mere rhymes
So check out these shots
Of folks tying knots
Imagine those wedding bell chimes...
If I played it cool, I'd be lying
I'm [...]
Morning!
First, a mini roundup: Washington Post readers don't like pictures of gay men kissing ("please don’t shove this 'Gay' business in our face"; "I will be glad when your rag goes out of business. Real men marry women"; "disturbing"). Former representative Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) has some splainin' to do (it's not every day you can [...]
I'm sure that it stings and it hurts
But those are the man's just deserts
Now censured and stripped
Political crypt
Or time for the guy to chase skirts?
And as for dessert with two S's
Free cupcakes for those who said yeses
Congressional stalling
(While mostly appalling)
Has rarely produced such successes!
Smithsonian folks, so astute
Said thanks-but-no-thanks on the suit
The press release brevity
Made for [...]
On Wednesday, City Desk lined up outside Superior Court to observe the celebrations—and protests—attending D.C.'s legalization of gay marriage.
We spoke with some newlyweds, including two women who didn't know gay marriage hadn't been legal in the District until yesterday morning.
Later, protesters turned on each other when Pastor Rob Schenck was shouted down by a man [...]
