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Kenya's Pro-Gay Minister Faces Removal by Methodist Church

Unfortunate news from Kenya where there is a backlash against some calls to decriminalize homosexuality and increase tolerance for gay men. The East African nation's leading pro-gay minister faces dismissal by the United Methodist Church due to his inclusive pro-gay ministry.

Reverend John Makokha is the minister of Riruta United Methodist Church in Nairobi. Makokha tells Behind the Mask, the African LGBT website, he is "likely" to be released from his duties during the next annual conference in April 2009. The controversy began last year when Makokha publicly allied himself with Other Sheep Kenya, an ecumenical Christian organization that welcomes members of Nairobi's growing LGBT community. Sadly and predictably the church accuses Makokha of "promoting homosexuality."

Makokha made it clear that he does not "find religious arguments against homosexuality persuasive because I have come to learn that historically religion has been manipulated and misinterpreted to oppose the rights of various minority groups such as women, slaves etc"

 Reverend Neal Christie, Assistant General Secretary Ministry of Education and Leadership Formation General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) said Makokha has split the church into two. "He has made big decisions without informing his supervisors. He has hid behind this one issue [of homosexuality] he is so passionate about. John’s colleagues, even when they agree with his convictions, do not believe he has done his job as a communicator well."

Makokha also says other pastors and church officials have begun a whispering campaign and regularly call him the "gay pastor." Makokha is not gay, he is heterosexual and married with children. Such a shame that in this part of the world they cannot believe or understand why a straight man or woman would support the rights of gays and lesbians.

"Despite all these persecutions and suffering due to my stand on LGBTI ministry in Kenya and within UMC leaders in Kenya," Makokha says. "I will not throw the towel since my calling is from God and not man”, Makokha concluded."

Some Background ...
Kenya: "Things are Changing in Favor of Gays" [R20]
Homosexuality is Un-African? [R20]
News: Kenya, Qantas [R20]
Kenyan Update [R20]
Who is Archbishop Peter Akinola? [R20]
Harsh New Nigerian Laws [R20]
Nigeria's Anglican Archbishop [R20]

Obama: Blagojevich Impeachment Ends "Painful Episode for Illinois"

Last night the Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to remove Rod Blagojevich as governor, charging him with "a pattern of abusing power."  Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn immediately assumed office and President Barack Obama wished him the best of luck in this statement:

"Today ends a painful episode for Illinois. For months, the state had been crippled by a crisis of leadership. Now that cloud has lifted. I wish Governor Quinn the best and pledge my full cooperation as he undertakes his new responsibilities."

Blagojevich is banned from holding future political office in Illinois. The disgraced former governor has not yet been indicted on the numerous fraud and extortion charges and "his criminal trial is months or possibly years away."

Federal Judge: Prop 8 Campaign Must Disclose Donor Names

Thankfully a federal judge is not impressed by the arguments that California's campaign-finance disclosure law has led to "harassment" of the donors behind Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that overturned same-sex marriage in the nation's most populous state. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the judge refuses to overturn the law or shield donors' names.

"If there ever needs to be sunshine on a particular issue, it's a ballot measure," U.S. District Judge Morrison England said after a one-hour hearing in his Sacramento courtroom.

A lawyer for the Prop. 8 campaign said it would ask an appeals court to modify or overturn the law, which requires disclosure of all contributors of $100 or more. [...]

By requiring disclosure, "The government is getting in the middle (of the issue) and saying, 'Here are the people to go after,' " Richard Coleson, a lawyer for the committee, told England.

He argued that the $100 disclosure requirement - adopted by California voters in 1974 - should be struck down, modified to raise the dollar limits, or at least not applied to Prop. 8's contributors. As a first step, Coleson said, the campaign should be exempted from the state's post-election contribution report, due Monday.

The state's argument: If the Proposition 8 campaign was exempted from disclosure because of reports of harassment of individual donors—which often were legal activities such as boycotting or picketing—the same argument could be made for any controversial initiative. The judge agreed. Lawyers for the Yes on 8 campaign say they will appeal

The irony. Anti-gay social conservatives claim "activist judges" stuck down the law to change the definition of marriage. Now the exact same people want "activist judges" to strike down the law so they can hide who financed their anti-gay jihad.

Prop 8 Can't Hide Donor Names [Chron]

Will Anquan Boldin Have the Best Buns in the Super Bowl?

Excellent news for the Arizona Cardinals and the many fans—and you know who you are—of wide receiver Anquan Boldin. After head and hamstring injuries that sidelined the player during the part of the season and the playoffs, the team says the 6'1, 220 lb baller will play on Sunday. 

Since we asked this question earlier this week about thephenomenal Larry Fitzgerald, let's ask  the same question about one of the Arizona Cardinals other wide receivers: Does the hottest receiver in the NFL have the hottest buns in the Super Bowl?

Survey says ... is the glutteus a maximus?

 

Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa on Sunday. There has been some bad blood between the two players—Boldin has wanted a trade ever since Fitzgerald signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension—but this week Fitzgerald announced he would take a salary cut as long as his deep zone partner remains with the Cardinals for next season.

You May Enjoy ...
Will Larry Fitzgerald Have the Best Buns in the Super Bowl? [R20]

Cowboys' Martellus Bennett Fined for Profanity-Laced, Homophobic and N-Word YouTube Rap

Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett becomes the first example of the teams' new get-tough on players behaving badly. The team has fined Bennett $22,000 for a profanity-laced rap released early this week on You Tube—quickly pulled off after 23,000 views—where he made derogatory jokes about blacks, gays and getting owner Jerry Jones’ "money."

Bennett hit all the stereotypical notes of ghetto fabulous culture in the amateurish freestyle rap to the song "Get Money." Wearing an autographed Cowboys helmet in the video and displaying a bottle of alcohol, the professional football player used excessive used profanity, regularly invoked the N-word, and, reports Outsports, "in rhyming something with quarterback Tony Romo, he came up with, 'Never been broke, I ain’t never been a homo.' "

The 21-year-old player released a "non-apology apology"—another silly attempt after the jump—on his YouTube channel. Bennett blames the media for blowing it out of proportion and says it was "just a song." Transcript via Outsports.

I wasn’t using guns, it was all in fun
I mean come on dog, it was just a song
The one crazy verse, it could have been worse
I mean I did curse, but I didn’t see a hearse.

Even stars burst.

I mean, I’m 21, which is no excuse
It did make the news, but the way they spoke
Man it wasn’t true
Now they talkin bad about my attitude.

"Among non-apology apologies, this was a classic," notes Outsports' Cyd Zeigler. "He’s sorry if anyone was hurt by it, but if you were hurt by it, you just took it wrong and it’s your fault that he’s getting into trouble."

The tight end's video antics cap an embarrassing season for the football team once known as "America's team." Bennett has a solid season on the field—he caught 20 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns—but his laissez faire attituide, not-so-smart mouth, and, refusal to own up to his mistakes continue to be a problem. Sure, Martellus Bennett is only 21-years-old...but if he's old enough to wear the team helmet and cash millions of dollars in checks, he's old enough to take some responsibility.

After the jump, Martellus Bennett's rap "apology".

Rod Blagojevich Impeached

Rod Blagojevich becomes "the first governor in Illinois’ 190-year history" to be driven from office by impeachment. The vote was 59-0.

Blagojevich was arrested December 9 on federal corruption charges, accused of extortion and trying to sell President Barack Obama's senate seat for cash.  An editorial in tomorrow's Chicago Sun-Times slams the disgraced governor for taking his case to the talk show circuit.

Your impassioned speech before the Senate on Thursday was only the latest exhibit of your failure. You could have sworn an oath, testified before the Senate and answered questions—the kind of questions the people of Illinois want to ask you.

Instead, you gave us more of the same, a variation of what you told Barbara and Diane, Campbell and Rachel. Except you spent more time with them than you did with the Senate, the representatives of the people.

Thanks for fitting us in.

Shortly after Blagojevich’s ouster, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn was sworn in as governor "to widespread cheers in the Illinois House."

Carla Hall (Finally) Gets Her Win on "Top Chef: New York"

Not sure how many of you are following my favorite television but there was a sweet victory last night on Top Chef 5: New York. Washington DC caterer Carla Hall (finally) won an individual elimination challenge. Oh and an all-expense paid trip for two to Super Bowl this weekend. Touchdown!

Carla—whose random personality and hilarious persona almost makes the show but her performance has been uneven—won in last night's Super Bowl-themed cook-off against seven all-stars from previous season. Carla was representing the New Orleans Saints and won for her delicious crayfish and andouille gumbo over stone ground grits. Very impressive she made this in 20 minutes. The recipe is here.

Last night's episode was one of the best in the season so far. The way it was set-up you almost knew Carla was going to win. And there was no question Jeff would go home for his bland ceviche once he, Stefan (surprisingly) and Fabio were on the chopping block.

This is Carla Hall's first individual win. She has a group win for the challenge two weeks ago at the farm and probably should have won for the second challenge at head judge Tom Colicchio's restaurant Craft. But last night was a sweet comeback from last week's "Restaurant Wars" when Carla was on the chopping block for her surprisingly lackluster deserts.

IMHO The final three will be Stefan, Hosea and Jamie.

Ethiopian Clerics Seek Constitution Ban on Homosexuality

Via the Afro-Gay Blog: In a nation decimated by war and drought, where millions have died of starvation, the leading clerics of Ethiopia choose "their main priority" for 2009: A constitutional ban on homosexuality.

In a meeting held in December 2008 in Addis Ababa, where heads of various congregations including the Roman Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox and Protestant churches met, a resolution was made that seeks to end homosexuality which was branded as "the pinnacle of immorality."

Abune Paolos of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church, the second most influential church in Ethiopia with 40 percent of the population being its devoted followers, told reporters that homosexuals are “stupid” and should not be tolerated.  "For people to act in this manner they have to be dumb, stupid like animals. We strongly condemn this behavior, they have to be disciplined and their acts discriminated, they have to be taught a lesson."

The Ethiopian constitution bans any discrimination based on gender or "any other reasons." Homosexuality is not explicitly stated in the constitution, but, the penal code states that homosexuality is illegal

Sonic Casuist of ETHIOGLBTI, the only gay rights group in Ethiopia, says the small LGBT community has been forced underground. "For those of us who live here we make and build our communities. We get together and we have places to go in the evenings however nothing is out in the open, it’s a hidden community."

The clerics' anti-gay crusade comes at the same time the government reports"more than six million" citizens require emergency food assistance. Yet another example of Christian and Muslim clerics in Africa uniting to focus on their country's most important problems.

Ethiopian Gays Threatened [BTM]

House Passes Economic Stimulus Bill with No Republican Votes

The honeymoon is over. The House of Representatives approves an $819 billion economic-stimulus package on a largely party-line vote. The passage of H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provides "an early legislative victory" to President Barack Obama but also fulfilled the House GOP pledge to mount "100 percent" opposition to the bill:

The bill passed by a vote of 244 to 188, with no Republican support and 11 Democrats voting against it. Members of both parties said that despite Obama's overtures to Republicans - including a trip this week to Capitol Hill to woo members in person - the congressional leadership of both parties approached the stimulus legislation with the same unrelenting partisan tactics Obama attacked during his campaign and inaugural address.

House Republican leaders proved successful at rallying their shrunken minority to stand united against a bill they described as too wasteful, built around traditional Democratic fiscal priorities unrelated to economic recovery. Eleven Democrats, primarily from conservative rural districts, joined them.

Throughout the night members voted down a series of Republican amendments and voting "primarily along party lines against efforts to strip all spending provisions from the bill and one to remove Amtrak funding, among others."

This sudden fashionable penny-pinching, of course, is from the same Reoublican Party that gave George W. Bush a blank check for eight years that lead to the largest spending increase in our nation's history.

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Holder 17-2

Well that was fast. After threatening to hold up the nomination of Eric H. Holder Jr. to be the nation’s 82nd attorney general—and the first black to hold that office—the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee blinked.

The committee vote was 17 to 2, with only two Republicans, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, voting against the nomination.

Some Republicans had hoped to make the Holder nomination a demonstration of party strength in the face of a Democratic-controlled White House and Congress. But the air went out of that effort even before Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican, said on Tuesday that he would support Mr. Holder’s nomination.

Cornyn is struggling for relevancy in the post-Bush era. This is the same senator who delayed Hillary Clinton's confirmation as secretary of state but eventually voted for her.

Holder is the former deputy attorney general in the Clinton Administration and a strong supporter of a hate crimes and employment discrimination legislation for gays. Gay activists have been among his fiercest defenders.

The nomination goes to the Senate floor and he is expected to be confirmed. The next order of business: The naming of 93 U.S. Attorneys. There are expected to be holdovers and President Barack Obama has said he wants to retain  Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago—the federal prosecutor responsible for the Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Scooter Libby cases.