Day: January 3, 2014
“BRING BACK JOBLESS BENEFITS”
MSNBC/POLITICS NATION
“Victor Willis, Village People Frontman, Will Not Perform ‘Y.M.C.A’ At Sochi Olympics Protest”
THE HUFFINGTON POST/GAY VOICES
By James Nichols
With the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics only weeks away and violence currently plaguing the Russian population, the planned response to and protest of the country’s anti-gay laws are gaining more traction than ever.
One suggestion made by activists to respond to the situation involved playing the Village People hit “Y.M.C.A.,” largely understood as a gay anthem, as the American Olympians are introduced at the start of the games. Village People frontman Victor Willis, however, is isn’t on board with the idea.
In fact, Willis is claiming that the disco track was never even intended to be an anthem for the gay community!
“If they want to use the song that way, go right ahead, but I think it’s silly because the lyrics were written by me as an expression of urban youths having fun at the YMCA,” Willis reportedly stated. “The words were crafted by me to be taken any number of ways but not specific to gays. It’s much broader than that. The song is universal. I don’t mind that gays think the song is about them but I won’t perform the song in support of any protest.”
BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY
ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION
TITUS 2:11-12
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
Today in History, January 3rd
Terri Schiavo’s Family Urges Life Support For Brain Dead Teen
The family of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman who died in 2005 after almost 15 years in a vegetative state, has urged continued life support for a California teenager left brain dead after a tonsillectomy.
Jahi McMath, 13, was declared brain dead after the operation last month, and her doctors and a judge agree there is no chance she will ever wake up, CNN reports. Her family said she started hemorrhaging and went into cardiac arrest following the routine tonsil removal procedure.
A judge has ruled that Children’s Hospital Oakland must turn off the McMath’s ventilator at 5 p.m. on Jan. 7. McMath’s family wants her moved to a New York facility that they believe can help their daughter, but McMath’s uncle said the hospital “refused to agree to allow us to proceed in that matter.”
“Together with our team of experts, Terri’s Network believes Jahi’s case is representative of a very…
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Murders in U.S. Cities Reach Record Lows Again
The number of homicides in the United States’ biggest cities hit record lows again in 2013 as the murder rate nationally continued to drop to levels not seen since the 1960s.
According to year-end data released by police departments around the country, Chicago still leads the country in homicides with 415, but that number declined 18% from 2012 and is the fewest since 1965. Crime has been a problem in pockets of the city’s South Side and West Side neighborhoods for years. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel hired a new superintendent of police soon after he was elected to shift the department’s strategy in an attempt to prevent future crimes. But while the murder rate declined to roughly 43 homicides per 100,000 residents (down from 50 in 2012), the number of murders in Chicago still outpaced every other major metropolis in the U.S.
New York had 333 murders in 2013, less…
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California Court Grants Law License to Undocumented Immigrant
The California Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for an undocumented immigrant to a get law license, which will make the state the first to open its legal industry to people living in the country illegally.
The case is the result of a legal challenge brought by Sergio Garcia, 36, who came to the United States 20 years ago to pick almonds with his father before working his way through community college, Reuters reports. Garcia went to law school, passed the bar and applied for citizenship in 1994, something he is still working toward, the Associated Press reports.
Garcia is challenging a 1996 law that prohibits government agencies — or groups that use public funds — from granting professional licenses to people living in the U.S. illegally. The case has put the Obama administration, which opposes granting the license, at odds with state officials, including the California Bar Association and…
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Chinese Doctor Admits To Stealing Babies In Child Trafficking Case
A Chinese doctor, Zhang Shuxia, admitted to stealing babies from families she was close to and then selling them into human trafficking, state media said. She is expected to face harsh punishment under Chinese law.
Six of the seven babies who were stolen have been rescued, but one girl died, local media said.
In 2012, almost 1900 cases of child trafficking were uncovered in China, according to China Daily.
WATCH: Baby Panda on a Rocking Horse
Just in time for your daily cute break: watch a baby panda adorably try to keep its balance on a blue toy pony and then fall off. Someone tell this little one not to fret and get back on the horse.
