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It’s an open thread! Pleeeeease feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread… 
So, my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I had a real hard time with the graphics and links for our top story, so we’re giving our Thursday This And That: Open Thread diary for yesterday a real late shove off! So we renamed Early Friday Morning This And That: Open Thread.
So anywho, here’s what sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I have been looking at into this Halloween weekend.
• Kimberly Daniels gives us a take on Halloween 
on the Christian Broadcasting Networks‘s (jpeg/cache) and Charisma Magazine’s (here): The Danger of Celebrating Halloween:
Halloween –October 31 — is considered a holiday in the United States. In fact, it rivals Christmas with regard to how widely celebrated it is. Stores that sell only Halloween-related paraphernalia open up a few months before the day and close shortly after it ends. But is Halloween a holiday that Christians should be observing?
The word “holiday” means “holy day.” But there is nothing holy about Halloween. The root word of Halloween is “hallow,” which means “holy, consecrated and set apart for service.” If this holiday is hallowed, whose service is it set apart for? The answer to that question is very easy — Lucifer’s!
The article gets better. Here’s just one gem that’s included in all versions of the article (emphasis added):
During this period demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.
I’d just love to know what the reference is for that assertion! (I smell a factoid!) A follow-on paragraph for that on wasn’t in the CBN version of the article, but is in the Charisma version (emphasis added!):
I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons cannot tell the difference.
Egads! Teh Demons are EVERYWHERE! 
Hey, Kimberly Daniels even makes Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber look sane! 
• Baptist Press‘s Obama signs hate crimes act:
The homosexual movement gained a barrier-breaking victory Oct. 28 when President Obama signed into law a measure extending hate-crimes protections to homosexuals and transgender people.The president’s signature on the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act put into effect not only an annual bill for the U.S. military but enshrined into federal law the most significant legislative advance to date for homosexual activists.
…The hate-crimes language in the new law adds “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” as well as disability, to the current categories — such as race, religion and gender — protected from hate crimes. “Sexual orientation” includes homosexuality and bisexuality, while “gender identity,” or transgendered status, takes in transsexuals and cross-dressers.
Advocates of freedom of religion and of speech, as well as of the biblical view of sexuality, expressed dismay at the development, even though they oppose violence against homosexuals. They fear the measure, combined with existing law, could expose to prosecution Christians and others who proclaim the Bible’s teaching that homosexual behavior is sinful. For example, if a person commits a violent act based on a victim’s “sexual orientation” after hearing biblical teaching on the sinfulness of homosexual behavior, the preacher or teacher could be open to a charge of inducing the person to commit the crime, some foes say.
Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, added this quote:
“I am disappointed that President Obama has signed the hate-crimes bill into law, but I am not surprised. The President has been clear, even before he was elected, that he intends to champion the homosexual agenda. This is merely one of a number of steps he will take in fulfilling that commitment.”
Mr. Duke apparently has more faith in the President following though with promised LGBT legislative agenda than the grassroots of the LGBT community does! 
• Los Angeles Times‘ Weird ingredients in hair products; Do beer, hemp and placenta really help hair? We ask two cosmetic chemists:
When it comes to beauty products, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Snake venom, bird droppings, snail serum, cow dung and whale vomit are but a few of the industry’s extreme and off-putting ingredients that one might be shocked to know can be slathered about your body.Hair products are no exception to this somewhat creepy phenomenon. Consumers hoping for a hair miracle are willing to pay extra for deep conditioners and conditioning “treatments” that promise an enviable crowning glory — even when they contain rather odd-seeming ingredients such as placenta, caviar and hemp. Pushing the limits, Hari’s, a well-known “celebrity” salon in London that claims clients including the Rolling Stones and Margaret Trudeau, had the beauty world abuzz earlier this year with owner Hari Salem’s Aberdeen Organic bull sperm treatment. The promise was that the protein in the treatment (called “Viagra for Hair” on Hari’s website) would repair, restore and brighten hair.
But is there really any reason to go for such exotic treatments?
Go read the rest of the article if you’re curious. 
• ICanHasCheezBurger‘s Celebrate National Cat Day!:
Thursday, October 29 iz National Kitteh Day! We know that everyday is Caturday, but on National Cat Day we git to show our kittehs sum extra speshul lurv and give them the much deserved attention they demand.
I always treat Kitty Bon-Bon and Maggie like royalty! 
• Our Wiener Story Of The Day: PR Newswire‘s Hebrew National® Makes a ‘Frank’ Decision: Free Hot Dogs for Fans The Next Time a Pro Football Player Eats a Sideline Dog:
Inspired by last weekend’s famous sideline “hot dog incident,” Hebrew National would like to show its appreciation by offering football fans free hot dogs the next time a uniformed professional U.S. football player snacks on a hot dog, anytime during a game this season. The company hopes that a player out there answers its call and boldly takes a bite that could satiate the hunger of thousands of football fans.
“For us here at Hebrew National, it’s always thrilling to see a quarterback sneak executed flawlessly — especially when a hot dog is involved,” said Angela Joyner, Vice President and General Manager, Hebrew National. “The next time a player tries this, we hope they’ll go for one of our 100 percent kosher beef franks. At least one thing’s for sure…if this happens again, every fan in attendance will certainly ‘relish’ the moment.”
To kick things off, Hebrew National will immediately reward all fans who attended last weekend’s Oakland game and bore witness to “hot dog-gate” in person…
So anywho…It’s an open thread! What are you thinking about today, or what books or articles have you been reading the past few days? Wanna share?
And again, please feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread because…it’s an open thread! Woo-hoo! 
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UPDATE on the birth certificate/marriage license struggleWhile there is still a court date looming on the issue of damages against the NYC Bureau of Vital Records, and other aspects of the mandamus (changing the rules regarding birth certificates), yesterday (Thursday October 29, 2009) marked a milestone – Trudy and I got our marriage license from the City Clerk’s Marriage License Bureau in New York City. Our application was turned away by the White Plains City Clerk on Tuesday, which was a devastating setback, but since we already were in litigation with New York City over the borth certificate issue, I thought the City might have less prejudiced personnel. (After all, the White Plains City Clerk is an appointee of the current Republican mayor – we should have seen the prejudice oozing out of her pores before we entered the building.)
So, based on a technicality, we are going to have a legal lesbian wedding that should be DOMA-proof federally and in every state. The technicality is that while Trudy is female for all purposes, and I am female for many purposes based on the standards promulgated by the New York DMV (“predominant gender” as certified by a medical or mental health professional in writing), I am technically “male” based on the erroneous information on my birth certificate, since I don’t meet the NYC Department of Health’s current (1966, slightly modified in 2006) standard requiring the completion of “convertive surgery.”
Federally, I have a similar sometimes-female, sometimes-male status. The standard for social security record change prior to October 2002 was that the individual have started the transition process to have sex corrected/redesignated. As of October 2002, the Bush Administration rule requires that surgery be complete (without defining it, so different offices accept different proof) – So I’m female for social security purposes.
But for a passport? My birth certificate says “male” so my U.S. passport would say male unless I were to apply for a special passport good only for a year, intended for trans folk seeking surgery out of the country. I don’t want a passport that says “male” so that effectively bars me from leaving the country, except I should be able to get an Enhanced Driver’s license (EDL) in New York State, since the final rules from Homeland Security regarding the REAL ID Act rules for EDLs leaves the determination of “gender” up to the states.
So – November 8th, Trudy and I are having our wedding, and November 10th, the New York State Senate will be voting on Marriage Equality. I am hoping that the bill passes, so that in just a few days (or a couple of months, depending on the effective date), other lesbians, and gay men, will be able to get married in New York, and have their marriages recognized in New York (at least by the State) without having to go to Canada or one of the states that recognize marriage equality to get hitched.
And then we have to deal with the feds.
I hate all these “voter initiative” things – why should equal civil rights for a minority ever have to be subjected to the popular vote of the majority? But in those states with “initiative” (a civic I hope we never get in New York!), and without a strong constitution that can’t be easily changed, we will continue to be stuck with these stupid popular vote things.
(And if it weren’t for Loving v. Virginia, I wonder how many states would be having popular initiatives to ban interracial marriage, followed by bans on interfaith marriages. But don’t get me started – we have a U.S Supreme Court that might well return us to the jurisprudence of the 1870′s and free the states from a lot of federally guaranteed rights – which would lead to Utah being able to make LDS the state religion, for example. Just wait.)
Autumn–Great post to get into the Hallow-day spirit(s) with!And thanks for posting it!
Now, I can’t hang out here too much this week. As a Pagan, I am way to pusy putting curses on every bag of candy that I pass in stores.
This years demons are special ones, ones that cause a desire for equal rights and secular humanism. Tricky spell to manage to summon them, but I can manage it.
I can see your dirty pillows!Kimberly Daniels sounds like a real laugh-a-minute, doesn’t she? Does she have a plain, introverted daughter named Carrie, perhaps?
I bet she keeps a basket of Chick tracts by her front door.
How freaking ignorant are these people, anyway? Hallowe’en is All Hallow’s Eve, the night before All Saints Day, you moron!
And oh, yeah, I can just picture the covens working overtime in the shipping departments at Hershey’s, M&M and Cadbury.
Know what, idiot? ”They’re all gonna laugh at you!…”
Somebody please egg that house.
Congrats!!
Whale yak for hair?Oh Autumn, why did you have to do this- as I’m actively soaking good ole Clairol Mega-Ditzy-Blonde #98 into the follicles and roots?
Now I gotta shave my head… ick ick ICK!
Today I’m Blogging How Political Correctness is Destroying HalloweenAmerica’s little darling can’t be scared now.
No sir. No vampires or monsters or movie characters. Schools are even issuing “costume appropriate” guidelines for parents.
Really. Political correctness has run amok! You’re supposed to be scared on Halloween. It’s part of the fun of it.
But not in 2009!
Damn secular humanist demons!…No civil rights for those demons!
You should see what the Vatican just said about Halloween
Info, please! n/t
Anyone have a Wiccan Ritual for Halloween?I would like to talk to my grandmother.
Oh I just realised that what they said this year is more moderate
The funny stuff was what the bishops said last year,
from the UK Telegraph.
Hey nowDon’t knock the hemp. It is full of Omega 3 fatty acids.
The supreme irony being, of course, that Halloween started as a Roman Catholic holy dayHalloween is a worn-down form of Hallows Eve. Hallows is an old word meaning “that which is holy.” November 1 is All Saints Day in the Catholic calendar, the day to honor all saints that have not yet been recognized as holy by the Church.
The anti-gay bigots from Maine are advertising on our sitefrom gay americablog
Posted by John Aravosis (DC) at 10:20 AM
BUMP: Folks, just an FYI, the anti-gay bigots in the Catholic Church and the religious right in Maine are buying Google Ads on all the gay sites. The ads suggest that the gays are going to steal your children – not exactly what Jesus would do (then again, Jesus wouldn’t aid and abet pedophiles, unlike far too many in the Catholic church leadership). We’ve been trying for a day now to pull them down, but it’s not easy.
The good news, however, is that they’re wasting a lot of money on people who clearly aren’t going to support their hate and bigotry. I’m sure a lot of our readers are clicking on the ad just to see what the hatemongers are doing – I known I’ve clicked on their hateful ads when I’ve seen them on other sites, just to check up on the opposition – and every time someone clicks the ad, it costs the haters more money, money they could have spending convincing actual undecided voters. Yet at the same time I doubt it will convince a single reader to support discrimination. So rest assured, we’re trying to get rid of the ads. Just wanted to let folks know since a number of readers had written in.
http://gay.americablog.com/
We’ve been going through new photos of the wedding we did in NOLAFound some pretty shots, when I have time I’ll put a few up.