Four decades ago, this gay couple sued for right to marry

R. Bertraine Heine / AP

In this May 18, 1970, photo provided by The Minnesota Historical Society, Mike McConnell, left, and Jack Baker attempt to obtain a Hennepin County marriage license in Minneapolis.

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By Patrick Condon, The Associated Press

When Jack Baker proposed to Michael McConnell that they join their lives together as a couple, in March 1967, McConnell accepted with a condition that was utterly radical for its time: that someday they would legally marry.

Just a few years later, the U.S. Supreme Court slammed the door on the men's Minnesota lawsuit to be the first same-sex couple to legally marry in the U.S. It took another 40 years for the nation's highest court to revisit gay marriage rights, and Baker and McConnell ? still together, still living in Minneapolis ? are alive to see it.

On Friday, the justices decided to take a potentially historic look at gay marriage by agreeing to hear two cases that challenge official discrimination against gay Americans either by forbidding them from marrying or denying those who can marry legally the right to obtain federal benefits that are available to heterosexual married couples.

"The outcome was never in doubt because the conclusion was intuitively obvious to a first-year law student," Baker wrote in an email to The Associated Press. The couple, who have kept a low profile in the years since they made national headlines with their marriage pursuit, declined an interview request but responded to a few questions via email.

Same-sex couples wed in Seattle for first time

While Baker saw the court's action as an obvious step, marriage between two men was nearly unthinkable to most Americans decades earlier when the couple walked into the Hennepin County courthouse in Minneapolis on May 18, 1970, and tried to get a license.

New York City's Stonewall riots, seen now as the symbolic start to the modern gay rights movement, were less than a year in the past. Sodomy laws made gay sex illegal in nearly every state; most gay men and lesbians were concerned with much more basic rights like keeping their jobs and homes or simply living openly.

"People at the time said these guys were crazy," said Phil Duran, legal counsel to OutFront Minnesota, the state's principal gay rights lobby. "I think today, most people would say, 'Holy mackerel, you saw this when no one else did.' History will vindicate them. It already has."

Forty years after they appeared in a "Look" magazine spread and on "The Phil Donahue Show," Baker and McConnell have retreated from public life. The men, both 70, live in a quiet, nondescript south Minneapolis neighborhood. McConnell recently retired after a long career with the Hennepin County library system. Baker, a longtime attorney who ran unsuccessfully for Minneapolis City Council and a judgeship in the years after they pursued a marriage license, is mostly retired as well. Their case is no longer widely recalled in Minnesota, and the couple has mostly withdrawn from open activism, although the two men are working on a book about their lives.

Today, nine states have legalized gay marriage or are about to do so. The state-by-state approach adopted by gay rights groups has gathered steam, while the Supreme Court has yet to revisit its slim holding in Baker v. Nelson or address whether the Constitution extends marriage rights to straight and gay couples alike.

Just a day after Washington became the latest state to allow gay couples to marry, the U.S. Supreme Court will take a serious look at same-sex marriage for the first time ever. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

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The high court in October 1972 declined to hear arguments in Baker v. Nelson, rejecting it in a one-sentence dismissal "for want of a substantial federal question." Now, in taking up the dispute over the California constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, the court may confront the issue of whether the U.S. Constitution forbids states from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

"I am convinced that same-sex marriage will be legalized in the United States," Baker told a group of lawyers on Oct. 21, 1971, quoted then by the St. Paul Pioneer Press (in a story that described him as an "admitted homosexual"). But for years after the high court refused to hear arguments in Baker v. Nelson, its single sentence was cited as precedent by federal courts that ruled against same-sex unions.

US Supreme Court to take up same-sex marriage issue

According to an unpublished book about their case by Ken Bronson, a Chicago-based amateur historian who extensively interviewed Baker and McConnell, the two met at a Halloween party in Norman, Okla., in 1966. McConnell, at this first meeting, expressed his belief that gay people should not be treated like second-class citizens. Not long after, Baker ?a U.S. Air Force veteran with an undergraduate degree in engineering ? was fired from a job at Tinker Air Force base for being gay.

Soon the couple relocated to Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, McConnell to take a job at its library and Baker to study law. He joined a campus group called FREE (Fight Repression of Erotic Expression), an early gay-rights group.

"The fear then wasn't that you'd be discriminated against, that was a given," said Jean Tretter, a member of FREE who went on to decades of gay activism in Minnesota. "You were a lot more afraid that someone might come after you with a shotgun."

Baker and McConnell ? educated, clean-cut and handsome ? contrasted with the typically scruffy counterculture activists of the era. But the Hennepin County attorney blocked their bid for a marriage license, a decision upheld by a district judge and affirmed by the state Supreme Court with reasoning that echoes in today's arguments against gay marriage: "The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family, is as old as the Book of Genesis."

Advocates on both sides hope for Supreme Court clarity on same-sex marriage

Asked via email why they pursued the case, Baker wrote, "The love of my life insisted on it."

It was a stormy time for the couple. Soon after McConnell relocated to Minnesota, the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents yanked his job offer because he was openly gay; the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his separate lawsuit to get it back. In April 1971, amid both legal dramas, Baker was elected and then a year later re-elected as president of the university's student government.

Two decades after the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Baker v. Nelson, the Hawaii Supreme Court in 1993 ruled that homosexuals had a constitutional right to marry. It started the ball rolling on a movement that has seen many victories and setbacks since.

"Jack was the politician ? outgoing and effective, manipulating the material world," said Roger Lynn, a retired Methodist pastor who performed a marriage ceremony for the men in 1971, and who remains in touch with them occasionally. "Michael was the librarian, detail-oriented, more introverted. They were a good match, and they're still making it work."

In a strange twist to their story, Baker wrote via email that he and McConnell would be personally unaffected if Minnesota legalizes gay marriage. In 1971, about 18 months after Hennepin County rejected their application, the couple traveled to southern Minnesota's Blue Earth County, where they obtained a marriage license on which Baker was listed with an altered, gender-neutral name.

That license was later challenged in court but was never explicitly invalidated by a judge. While Baker recently predicted on his blog that gay marriage would be legalized in Minnesota soon, he emailed that he and McConnell don't see a need to make it official in Hennepin County.

"We are legally married," Baker wrote.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/10/15817378-41-years-ago-this-gay-couple-sued-for-the-right-to-marry-and-the-supreme-court-rejected-them?lite

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BILL CLINTON NAMED AMBASSADOR TO LIBYA | Weekly World ...

Hillary Clinton recommended her husband to be the new U.S. Ambassador to Libya and Bill Clinton has agreed to the post.

Hillary Clinton recommended her husband to be the new U.S. Ambassador to Libya and Bill Clinton has agreed to the post.

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Many have wondered how former president Bill Clinton would be repaid for his support of Barack Obama during the last election. Hillary Clinton told her boss, President Obama, that her husband would be the perfect man for the Libyan job. ?President Obama agreed and Bill will be heading to Libya in January. ?Some inside the White House are already calling him ? Benghazi Bill.

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Bill has been popular in the Mideast, having been ?active in shepherding the peace process.? ?There?s a statue of Bill Clinton that was recently erected at a golf course in Tripoli.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to questions about her husband?s new job. ??I know Bill will do well in Libya. ?If anyone can bring peace to that region, it is Bill.?

?I think I may even run for President of Libya,? ?Bill reportedly told the Tripoli Times.

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Bill Clinton originally wanted the British Ambassador job, but that is now is going to Anna Wintour.

Meanwhile, plenty of rumors are circulating about Bill Clinton?s wife as well. ?Hillary Clinton is stepping down?from her post of Secretary of State, leading some to speculate about who will replace her. ?Insiders say that Jay-Z may be replacing her.

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Source: http://weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/53208/bill-clinton-named-ambassador-to-libya/

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Secrets to exchanging timeshares into any resort in Interval ...

You are here: Home / General / Secrets to exchanging timeshares into any resort in Interval International

Secrets to exchanging timeshares into any resort in Interval InternationalRemember when you bought your timeshare and your salesperson showed you the Interval International (II) directory? You were led to believe that all you had to do was deposit your week, request where you want to go and you would be instantly confirmed to stay in a beautifully appointed villa in a 5 star resort.

What you have found is that you can?t get anything you want! You called your resort and got no help there. You called II and all they said was to request more in advance.

The people who do will learn how to stay in the BEST timeshares in the world while you continue to struggle year after year.

I know how frustrating it is when every time you call II with your request they tell you "Not available". So you start a search request, wait 6-12 months or more for a confirmation, and out of desperation, end up taking a resort you really didn?t want in the first place. Does this sound familiar to you?

And to add insult to injury, when you get there, the quality of the "Resort" is less than desirable. You may have even had a year where you paid your maintenance fees but lost your week and ended up paying for a hotel on vacation.

When you reached the breaking point and decided to sell you found you can?t sell it for even half of what you paid! In the back of your mind you feel that you have made a horrible financial decision and will continue to feel that way until you do something.

You?ve spent thousands of dollars buying your timeshare and you?ve had little or no luck exchanging it! In reality, very few people know how to exchange their timeshare correctly.

Join me as I reveal?


Read more?

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Source: http://www.theyellowads.com/travel_leisure/secrets-to-exchanging-timeshares-into-any-resort-in-interval-international

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LeAnn Rimes Hits Back At Brandi Glanville?Trying For Sympathy Vote (VIDEO)

LeAnn Rimes Hits Back At Brandi Glanville…Trying For Sympathy Vote (VIDEO)

LeAnn Rimes sat down for an interview with “E!” host Giuliana Rancic discussing her affair again, which comes on the heels of a nasty Twitter war with her husband’s ex-wife Brandi Glanville. Rimes appears to be trying to get people to sympathize with her, stating that she deserves happiness. We guess even if it means ...

LeAnn Rimes Hits Back At Brandi Glanville…Trying For Sympathy Vote (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2012/12/leann-rimes-hits-back-at-brandi-glanville-trying-for-sympathy-vote-video/

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Different genes behind same adaptation to thin air

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Highlanders in Tibet and Ethiopia share a biological adaptation that enables them to thrive in the low oxygen of high altitudes, but the ability to pass on the trait appears to be linked to different genes in the two groups, research from a Case Western Reserve University scientist and colleagues shows.

The adaptation is the ability to maintain a relatively low (for high altitudes) level of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. Members of ethnic populations - such as most Americans - who historically live at low altitudes naturally respond to the thin air by increasing hemoglobin levels. The response can help draw oxygen into the body, but increases blood viscosity and the risks for thrombosis, stroke and difficulties with pregnancies.

By revealing how populations can live in severe environments, the research may provide insight for managing high-altitude sickness and for treating low blood-oxygen conditions such as asthma, sleep apnea, and heart problems among all people.

How long such physiological and genetic changes take remains a question. The researchers found the adaptation in an ethnic group that has lived high in mountains of Ethiopia for at least 5,000 years, but not among a related group that has lived high in the mountains for 500 years.

The findings are reported today in the open-access online journal PLoS Genetics.

In their first comparison, the researchers found that the genes responsible for hemoglobin levels in Tibetans don't influence an ethnic group called the Amhara

The Amhara have lived more than a mile high in the Semien Mountains of northern Ethiopia for 5,000 to 70,000 years. A different variant on the Amhara genome, far away from the location of the Tibetan variant, is significantly associated with their low hemoglobin levels.

"All indications are we're seeing convergent evolution," said Cynthia Beall, professor of anthropology at Case Western Reserve University and one of the leaders of the study. Convergent evolution is when two separate populations change biologically in a similar way to adapt to a similar environment yet use different mechanisms.

"These were two different evolutionary experiments," Beall said of the mountain dwellers in Tibet and Ethiopia. "On one level?the biological response?they are the same. On another level?the changes in the gene pool?they are different."

Beall investigated the adaptations and genetic links with Gorka Alkorta-Aranburu, David Witonsky, Jonathan K. Pritchard and Anna Di Rienzo, of the University of Chicago department of human genetics, and Amha Gebremedhin of Adis Ababa University's department of internal medicine in Ethiopia.

In addition to studying the Amhara, the researchers looked for changes in physiology and genetics among a related ethnic group, the Oromo, who have lived more than a mile above sea level in the Bale Mountains of southern Ethiopia for 500 years.

They found no long-term adaptation and no genetic changes related to a low-oxygen environment.

They found the Omoro had high levels of hemoglobin, as would be expected for a lowland population.

Using the same samples collected from the Amhara and Oromo, the researchers are now studying biological traits among the groups, including ventilation, and the influence of vasoconstrictors and vasodilators on blood flow, and searching for associations with genes.

They also plan to continue research and study blood flow, especially through the heart and lungs of the highlanders, and to test the metabolic rate of mitochondria that use oxygen to create the energy on which our cells and we operate.

"We also want to find whether people with the variants for low hemoglobin levels have more children and a higher survival rate," Beall said. "That's the evolutionary payoff."

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Case Western Reserve University: http://www.case.edu

Thanks to Case Western Reserve University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125819/Different_genes_behind_same_adaptation_to_thin_air

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HTC Windows Phone 8X for Verizon: what's different?

DNP HTC Windows Phone 8X for Verizon what's different

We've seen HTC's Windows Phone 8X in many colors and also many carrier variants -- it's already made its way to AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, and many other operators worldwide. Even though there's already been a heavy dose of coverage on this device, our work isn't quite done yet: Verizon's version has finally graced our reviews desk, which means it's time for us to explain how it differs from the global model, and how it measures up to the competition. The phone will be available in black, red and blue for $199 with a two-year commitment, a $100 markup over the Nokia Lumia 822. Is it worth the difference in price? Join us after the break as we discuss the merits -- and demerits -- of Verizon's newest Windows Phone flagship.

Continue reading HTC Windows Phone 8X for Verizon: what's different?

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/08/htc-windows-phone-8x-verizon-review/

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UPDATED: Ford Focus Electric vs Ford Focus ST

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So,? when I ran my comparisons of a Ford Focus Electric and Ford Focus S?the other day, I thought the Ford Focus S was the most similar non-electric model to the Ford Focus Electric. Woops. After some discussions with readers, it seems the more appropriate comparison (for current Ford Focus options) is the Ford Focus ST, which has a base price of $23,700.

Additionally, readers seemed to make good arguments that maintenance costs really need to be included in these comparisons. So, without running through all the text in this post that I included in the other one, let?s quickly jump to some comparisons based on a similar variety of assumptions but with these changes incorporated (followed by a bunch of other considerations, mostly brought up by readers, that you really should consider):

Ford Focus Electric vs?Ford Focus ST

Two assumptions that stay constant below are that the Ford Focus Electric has a combined MPGe rating of 105 and the Ford Focus ST has a combined MPG rating of 22. I also keep constant the assumption that average additional maintenance costs per mile (for the Ford Focus ST) = 4?. Also, figures listed below are for the total cost at the end of the year.?These factors as well as the ones I change below can be changed in this spreadsheet.

Example 1

Assumptions:

  • average miles driven per year = 20,000
  • average price of electricity when charging your EV = 12?/kWh
  • average price of gas per gallon = $4.50
  • tax rebates = $10,000

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Result: start saving money in year 2 (not including health savings and the many other factors listed at the end of this post).

Example 2

Assumptions:

  • average miles driven per year = 13,476
  • average price of electricity when charging your EV = 12?/kWh
  • average price of gas per gallon = $3.50
  • tax rebate = $7,500.

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Result: start saving money in year 5 (not including health savings and the many other factors listed at the end of this post).

Example 3

Assumptions:

  • average miles driven per year = 20000
  • average price of electricity when charging your EV = 12?/kWh
  • average price of gas per gallon = $3.50
  • tax rebates = $10,000.

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Result: start saving money near the end of year 2 (not including health savings and the many other factors listed at the end of this post).

Example 4

Assumptions:

  • average miles driven per year = 13476
  • average price of electricity when charging your EV = 6?/kWh
  • average price of gas per gallon = $5.00
  • tax rebate = $7,500

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Result: start saving money in year 3 (not including health savings and the many other factors listed at the end of this post).

Example 5

Assumptions:

  • average miles driven per year = 15,000
  • average price of electricity when charging your EV = 12?/kWh
  • average price of gas per gallon = $4.50
  • tax rebate = $10,000

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Result: start saving money in year 2 (not including health savings and the many other factors listed at the end of this post).

Some Financial Factors Not Included

Sales tax (varies by state), interest rate if not buying the car up-front, availability of free EV charging, purchase of Level 2 EV charger, healthcare savings, depreciation rates, insurance rates, eventual need to replace/exchange the battery (after 8-12 years), state or local tax incentives (except in the last scenario) ? I know some states offer an extra $2,500 off. To play with a spreadsheet that allows some modification of those, this Nissan Leaf driver has one you can download.

You can also play around with the assumptions in my spreadsheet.

Other, Non-Financial Factors

Now, as one of our readers noted, many (or even most) people don?t simply choose a car based on price. Surely, price is normally a factor, but not always the most important factor. Here?s a list of pros and cons for an EV versus a gasoline-powered car:

Pros

  • Super quiet.
  • Smoother ride.
  • Ridiculous torque.
  • Not have to worry about gas price swings/jumps.
  • Ability to fuel at home (never visit a gas station again) ? big time cost savings there (and also savings from not buying snacks at the gas station, one of our readers noted).
  • Better health from not being as exposed to pollutants.
  • Not having to mess with oil changes, smog checks, timing belts, etc.
  • Helping the world (including your children and grandchildren) by fighting global warming.
  • Helping improve national security by reducing our dependence on oil.
  • Potential ability to engage in vehicle-to-grid projects.

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Cons

  • Charging opportunities are not as widespread as gas stations.
  • The range on a full tank of fuel is lower for an EV.

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Others you can think of?

Reposted with permission from EV Obsession.

Source: http://feeds.importantmedia.org/~r/IM-cleantechnica/~3/Pn8NhEHfNYk/

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[Windows] Tribes: Ascend with rMBP in boot camp is very choppy

I recently decided to sell off my desktop since most games run great in boot camp windows 7 with my rMBP. The only game that seems to be giving me issues is Tribes: Ascend. Even on small resolutions (13xx by whatever) with all graphics set to minimal, I still get frame rates of about 10-15. I've updated all of the nvidia drivers, no help. I even tried the beta drivers. I tried borderless, windowed, and full screen. I tweaked every setting I could think of. The only thing i can think of is either the laptop simply cannot run it or there may be some kind of a conflict between the game and the hardware. My desktop was not much better than this laptop (~$700 home built) and it runs everything on highest settings no problemo.

This is one of my favorite games, but being unable to play it is making me think twice about selling my desktop...

Source: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1504144&goto=newpost

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'My puppy saved my life' from SUV crash

The Wilson Post

The SUV crashed into The Jewelers on Thursday, Dec. 6, in Lebanon, Tenn.

A Tennessee man credited his newly adopted puppy with saving his life after an SUV smashed into his jewelry store this week.

Police said a 66-year-old man had a coughing fit and hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal Thursday morning, sending his Ford Expedition speeding into the front of The Jewelers on West Main Street in Lebanon, Tenn. No one was seriously hurt, but the owner, Shawn Smith estimated that the crash caused tens of thousands of dollars of damage.


A witness, Tara Duncan of Lebanon, told The Wilson Post that the SUV flew right by her as she was entering her car to leave a store next door to The Jewelers.

"The vehicle never stopped," she said.

Smith told NBC station WSMV of Nashville that just beforehand, he'd been standing near where the SUV made its dramatic entrance.

"I adopted a puppy this morning," Smith said, but it began barking, so he decided to take it home. "It was literally just two minutes before.

"My puppy saved my life," he said.

WSMV: Vehicle crashes into Lebanon jewelry store

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Police ruled the incident an accident and said no charges would be filed.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/07/15755655-my-puppy-saved-my-life-suv-rams-into-mans-tennessee-jewelry-store-which-he-had-just-left?lite

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