Gay marriage in New York may be a distant dream now as Democrats Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens have defected to the GOP, giving Republicans 32 seats and a majority in the Senate. The re-shuffling of leadership puts the future of same-sex marriage for New York in doubt. Many have speculated that Senator Ruben Diaz a vocal opponent to gay marriage would also switch parties if any gay marriage legislation came before the Senate, but not today. Diaz remains a Democrat for now.

From the NY Times:

It was a noisy and acrimonious scene on the floor of the Senate as Senator Thomas W. Libous, a Republican from Binghamton and the party’s deputy leader, shouted for a roll-call vote, while Democrats attempted to stall the vote by asking to adjourn the session.

All 30 Republicans stood with their hands raised, signaling a vote for a change in leadership. Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate joined them, each raising his hand. Republicans won the vote by a 32-to-30 margin. The Senate will now be governed under a new joint leadership structure, with Mr. Espada serving as the president pro tempore, and Senator Dean G. Skelos, of Long Island, as the new majority leader.

A spokesman for former Democratic Senate Majority leader Malcom Smith called the action an “illegal and unlawful attempt to gain control of the Senate and reverse the will of the people who voted for a Democratic majority.”

It is unclear at this time why Senators Espada Jr. and Monserrate defected to the GOP. Both men are currently under investigation by the authorities, Espada Jr. for not living in his own district, and Monserrate for felony assault charges.

I wouldn’t normally post something like this as it falls outside the range of topics we normally cover but thought it was worth sharing. Filmmaker Max Blumenthal—whose work I’ve linked to before—shot the video below in Jerusalem on the eve of President Obama’s trip to Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The video which documents the views of young Israelis and Jewish Americans on President Obama, was yanked from the Huffington Post site with the following statement “I don’t see that it has any real news value … For me it only proves that one can find drunk people willing to say just about anything. Especially drunk, moronic people.” Inebriated or not, the video is very disturbing and NSFW. Watch:

Blumenthal addressed the censoring of the video on Mondoweiss:

The criticism of my video raised an interesting journalistic issue: Is reporting any less credible when interview subjects are drinking alcohol? Of course not. Journalists interview people at bars all the time, especially in broadcast packages. Beer does not, to my knowledge, contain a special drug that immediately infects drinkers with white supremacist sentiments, violent rhetoric, and anti-democratic tendencies. I get drunk as much as any social drinker and I have never called for “white power” or declared, “fuck the niggers!” as one of my interviewees did. No amount of alcohol could make me express opinions that were not authentically mine. If anything, alcohol is a crude form of truth serum that lubricates the release of closely held opinions and encourages confessional talk.

The notion that the racist diatribes in my video emerged spontaneously from a beery void is a delusion, but for some, it is a necessary one. It allows them to erect a psychological barrier against acknowledging the painful consequences of prolonged Zionist indoctrination. And it enables them to dismiss the disturbing spectacle of young Jews behaving like fascist soccer hooligans in the heart of the capitol of Israel and the spiritual home of the Jewish people.

The people in my video were not white trash, nor were they the “extreme right-wing fringe” as some bloggers have called them. They were the college-educated sons and daughters of middle and upper class American Jews from cosmopolitan metropolises and genteel suburbs. Some had come to Israel on vacation, some had made aliyah, and some told me they were planning to move to Israel in the near future. Many were dual citizens of America and Israel. They may have behaved in a moronic way, but they will not grow up to toil in the custodial arts. Many of these kids will move into white-collar jobs and use their influence to advance Israeli initiatives. Programs like Birthright Israel  — a few of those in my video were on Birthright tours — exist for the exclusive purpose of indoctrinating American Jews into unyielding, unthinking supporters of Israel. Thus the kids in my video represent at least one aspect of the Zionist project’s future base of political sustenance.

Whatever side you come down on, it’s hard to believe there will ever be peace in this region of the world, so long as religion dominates the lives of those who call it home.

I will close with the same Obama quote Blumenthal used at the end of his post as it sums things up better than anything I could ever write myself…

“Any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it.”

Important Note: If you are visiting from www.usimmigrationwoes.com, they are mistaken. This is not a religious blog, and we are in full support of UAFA. Click on the UAFA link at the top of the page and will find numerous posts supportive of UAFA.

The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which provides a path to citizenship for same-sex couples where one of the partners is not a legal resident, is coming under fire from religious groups saying the act threatens overall immigration reform and undermines traditional marriage

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council is urging constituents to call their senators and vote against the bill:

Yesterday, while I was on the Hill meeting with a handful of senators, I learned that FRC’s noise on the immigration bill, S. 424 [UAFA], is having a considerable impact. After your calls and emails started pouring in, one leader told me the legislation, which would give a special resident status to same-sex partners, had become an embarrassing “spectacle.” Although the bill is still active, finding support for it will be even tougher now that FRC has shined the light on its real objective: undermining marriage. If you haven’t contacted your senators, please chime in this week and urge them to vote “no” on the “Uniting American Families Act.”

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference is also opposed to the measure. From Politco.com:

..he [Rev. Rodriguez] called the efforts to slip gay rights into the immigration debate a “slap in the face to those of us who have fought for years for immigration reform.”

Rodriguez, who has worked with evangelical churches to build support for a broader immigration bill that would expand visa laws, said that if the same-sex language stays in, it will “divide the very broad and strong coalition that we have built on behalf of comprehensive immigration reform.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has also indicated they will not support immigration reform if it contains language granting rights to same-sex couples, saying it “would erode the institution of marriage and family… a position that  is contrary to the very nature of marriage which pre-dates the church and the state.”

As noted by Senator Jeff Sessions during the UAFA hearings earlier this week, Focus on the Family, the Eagle Forum and Concerned Women for America are also opposed to the legislation. Well post their official statements as they become available.

Lou Dobbs on CNN report on those opposed to UAFA last week. Watch:

Currently the House version of UAFA has 105 co-sponsors, while the Senate version of the bill only has 19 co-sponsors.

Please contact your local Represenative and have them co-sponsor UAFA.

Important Note: If you are visiting from www.usimmigrationwoes.com, they are mistaken. This is not a religious blog, and we are in full support of UAFA. Click on the UAFA link at the top of the page and will find numerous posts supportive of UAFA.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) in the House of Representatives, makes the case for the legislation with Lou Dobbs. David Seminara from the Center from Immigration Studies presents the opposing view. Watch: