Frothy Mix: The Banking Industry Has Been Infiltrated By Sharia Law Advocates

Superman Renounces U.S. Citizenship

In the 900th issue of Action Comics, Superman renounces his American citizenship after a "clash" with the federal government. GOP flacks are outraged. Outraged, I tells ya!

"Besides being riddled with a blatant lack of patriotism, and respect for our country, Superman's current creators are belittling the United States as a whole. By denouncing his citizenship, Superman becomes an eerie metaphor for the current economic and power status the country holds worldwide," Hollywood publicist and GOP activist Angie Meyer told Fox.

Wired weighs in:

In an age rife with immigration paranoia, it’s refreshing to see an alien refugee tell the United States that it’s as important to him as any other country on Earth — which in turn is as important to Superman as any other planet in the multiverse. The genius of Superman is that he belongs to everyone, for the dual purposes of peace and protection. He’s above ephemeral geopolitics and nationalist concerns, a universal agent unlike any other found in pop culture.

Paul Ryan Heckled At Town Hall

MINNESOTA: GOP Legislators Introduce Marriage Ban In State Senate

Minnesota GOP state Sen. Warren Limmer:

"The proposed constitutional amendment asks voters to define marriage as solely between one man and one woman in Minnesota. This issue constantly comes up during legislative sessions and it’s time for the people to decide. Allowing a small number of politicians, or activist judges in St. Paul to decide the definition of marriage would not be acceptable. We propose an early passage in the legislature this year, followed by a year discussion in our communities statewide in order to be prepared to vote in next year’s General Election."

Minnesota Democratic state Sen. Scott Dibble, via press release:

"It’s disturbing that Republicans want to use one of the last weeks of the legislative session to marginalize one group of people and divide our state. We are facing a $5 billion budget shortfall, yet Republicans believe the biggest threat to our state’s welfare is who is allowed to be married. Minnesotans who are married legally have access to at least 515 laws that provide security, legal protections, and basic rights such as the ability to care for each other. As lawmakers, we should be focused on breaking these barriers that still exist for thousands of Minnesotans, rather than further isolating one group of people and wasting taxpayers’ time with unfounded fears."

ORLANDO: Bedlam At Town Hall Meeting As GOP Rep Defends Medicare Cuts

TN State GOP Rep. Stacey Campfield Defends His "Don't Say Gay" Bill

UNRELATED: Once again we thank JMG reader Dave Evans, our devoted video clipper who scours the networks for LGBT-related news items. You folks would never see many of these segments were it not for Dave's hard work at funneling them to us here.

Crazy Eyes Quote Farm

TN House Votes To Overturn Nashville's Gay-Friendly Business Ordinance

Earlier this month Nashville's city council approved a law banning the city from doing business with companies that discriminate against their LGBT employees. Yesterday the GOP-dominated state House voted to overturn that law.

The measure sponsored by Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada of Franklin was approved 73-24 on Monday. The companion bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate State and Local Government Committee. The proposal would void a Nashville ordinance barring companies that discriminate against gays and lesbians from doing business with the city. Under state law it is illegal to discriminate against a person because of race, creed, color, religion, sex, age or national origin. The Nashville ordinance prohibits companies that discriminate because of sexual orientation or gender identity from receiving city contracts. It does not apply to local governments' hiring policies for their own workers.

(Tipped by JMG reader Tim)

Gingrich: U.S. Could Become Secular Atheist Nation Dominated By Islamists

In his warning to an approving church audience, Gingrich doesn't explain how a country can be both atheist and Islamist dominated.

GOP Praises Paul Clement, Disses King & Spalding Over DOMA Withdrawal

"I want to express my gratitude to former Solicitor General Clement. I admire his unwavering commitment to his clients and his dedication to uphold the law – qualities that appear to be inconsequential at King and Spalding where politics and profit now appear to come first. King and Spalding’s cut and run approach is inexcusable and an insult to the legal profession. Less than one week after the contract was approved engaging the firm, they buckled under political pressure and bailed with little regard for their ethical and legal obligations. Fortunately, Clement does not share the same principles. I’m confident that with him at the helm, we will fight to ensure the courts – not the President – determine DOMA’s constitutionality." - Rep. Dan Lungren, chairman of the House Republicans Study Committee.

Paul Clement Quits King & Spalding To Continue House DOMA Defense

Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement has resigned from King & Spalding in order to continue as the GOP's defense attorney in the House DOMA battle. Earlier today Clement's now-former employers announced their withdrawal from the cases.

"I resign out of the firmly held belief that a representation should not be abandoned because the client's legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters. Defending unpopular clients is what lawyers do," Clement wrote to King & Spalding chairman Robert Hays. "I recognized from the outset that this statute implicates very sensitive issues that prompt strong views on both sides. But having undertaken the representation, I believe there is no honorable course for me but to complete it."

Read Clement's full resignation letter. (PDF)

BREAKING: Law Firm King & Spalding Backs Out Of House DOMA Defense

No confirmation is yet available, but the above HuffPo tweet is blowing up on Twitter right now. If true, stand by for NOM to get the vapors.

UPDATE: Politico confirms the story. King & Spalding has issued the below statement.

Today the firm filed a motion to withdraw from its engagement to represent the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives on the constitutional issues regarding Section III of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Last week we worked diligently through the process required for withdrawal. In reviewing this assignment further, I determined that the process used for vetting this engagement was inadequate. Ultimately I am responsible for any mistakes that occurred and apologize for the challenges this may have created.

Stand by for the screaming outrage! I can't wait!

UPDATE II: The Human Rights Campaign reacts.

“King & Spalding has rightly chosen to put principle above politics in dropping its involvement in the defense of this discriminatory and patently unconstitutional law. We are pleased to see the firm has decided to stand on the right side of history and remain true to its core values. Speaker Boehner is likely to pursue continued defense of this odious law. However, law firms that value LGBT equality should remain committed to those values.”

UPDATE III: Lambda Legal's Jon Davidson reacts.

"Today, we learned once again that it is a bad idea to defend antigay bias and discrimination in court, and fewer and fewer people are willing to do it. We welcome the news that the law firm, King and Spalding, has decided to withdraw from the engagement to represent House leadership in defending DOMA. We were very surprised and disappointed when King and Spalding accepted this assignment, because they have been supporters of LGBT equality in the past. We thought we might have to face them in court as adversaries in our case, Golinski v. OPM - and we were ready to do that. But I guess their sense of justice got the better of them - and that's good news for all of us. Some attorney will no doubt accept this job and defend DOMA in court on behalf of the House leaders - that's the way the legal system works. We're just glad it is not a law firm that has shown respect and support for their own LGBT attorneys, for our community and for our fight for equality. We welcome the firm back to the right side of history."

Attack Ads Launch Over GOP/Medicare

Talking Points Memo on the clip below:

In a significant escalation of the progressive campaign to make Republicans pay a political price for voting to end Medicare, the progressive advocacy group Americans United for Change will run broadcast TV ads in the districts of Reps. Steve King (R-IA), Sean Duffy (R-WI), Chip Cravaack (R-MN), and Paul Ryan (R-WI). "What are House Republicans thinking asking millions of seniors, the less fortunate and the disabled to make more sacrifices and the richest among us to make less," says AUC executive Tom McMahon in a statement.

Frothy Mix: Gays Deserve No "Privileges"

Richard Socarides On DOMA Battle

ARIZONA: House Approves State Gun

Not to be outdone by Utah, who last month became the first state with an official gun, yesterday the GOP-dominated Arizona House voted to make the Colt revolver the state's official murder weapon. Talking Points Memo reports:

The Arizona House early Wednesday narrowly approved the Colt Single Action Army Revolver as the state's official gun. The bill had been rejected earlier in an all-night session, the AP reports, but it eventually won approval by a 32-25 vote. "Anytime you see a Western movie, the revolver in John Wayne's hand is a Colt single action," Arizona state Sen. Ron Gould (R) told Reuters. "This is a historic firearm and it fits well with the story of Arizona." But state Sen. Albert Hale (D) -- former president of the Navajo Nation -- said "the gun symbolized the extinction, the extermination of those Indians who were here."

GOP Media Coverage

(Source)

GOP Sen. John Ensign To Resign

Last month beleaguered GOP Sen. John Ensign announced that he wouldn't seek reelection in 2012. But today his aides revealed that Ensign will resign tomorrow.

Ensign has fallen under investigation by the ethics committee in the wake of an alleged sexual relationship with an aide and accusations that he steered business to her lobbyist husband. His departure could clear the way for Nevada's Republican governor to appoint Rep. Dean Heller (R) to the seat, giving the GOP an incumbent in 2012.

NEW MEXICO: Former Gov. Gary Johnson Announces Bid For GOP Nomination

Former two-term New Mexico governor and libertarian whackadoodle Gary Johnson has announced his bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. Johnson endorsed Ron Paul in 2008 and placed third in this year's CPAC straw poll.

GOP Contract Bars King & Spalding Staffers From Supporting Same-Sex Marriage

Over at Metro Weekly, Chris Geidner unearths an interesting stipulation in the GOP's contract with King & Spalding, the legal firm hired to defend DOMA.

All of King & Spalding's employees – lawyers and non-lawyers – are barred from advocating for the Respect for Marriage Act – the bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act – in the 112th Congress, according to the terms of the contract to defend DOMA that King & Spalding partner Paul Clement signed on the firm's behalf on April 14. The contract, which was entered into with U.S. House of Representatives General Counsel Kerry Kircher on behalf of the House's Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to defend DOMA in court, contains a provision that prohibits all King & Spalding attorneys and non-attorney employees from any advocacy to "alter or amend" DOMA.

HRC's Fred Sainz: "This particular provision adds insult to injury. Not only is K&S promoting discrimination, they also are muzzling their own employees from opposing discrimination and doing what's right."

RELATED: As I noted here last week, King & Spalding last year earned a 95% positive rating from the Human Rights Campaign and trumpets their devotion to LGBT equality on their corporate website.