Hot on the heels of their loss in New Hampshire, those dregs of America, the National Organization for Marriage, are steaming like frothy Santorum and calling for a nationwide boycott of Starbucks because:

Starbucks corporation issued a memorandum to all “US Partners” declaring that same-sex marriage “is aligned with Starbucks business practices” and “is core to who we are and what we value as a company.”

In addition to declaring its corporate-wide position in support of gay marriage, Starbucks also used its resources to participate in a legal case seeking to overturn a federal law declaring marriage as the union of one man and one woman….

This is why we must urge all consumers to “dump Starbucks,” as well as Seattle’s Best Coffee and Evolution Fresh juices, which are owned by Starbucks.

Oh gosh, far be it for me to suggest you forgo Hipster’s Porkpie Latte, Tattooed Mustache Mojo, Wallet Chain Wally’s or any other local coffeehouse that supports the artist community for your doppio fair trade, organic soy foamed, Clover brewed kopi luwak bean eye opener when you roll out of  your loft at 2pm–but we need to keep standing up to the narrow-minded, uptight, bigots who seek to control our minds and our bodies by telling us who and how we should love. And that means letting your local Starbucks manager and the corporate leadership know that you appreciate their stance by crossing their corporate threshold, ordering a cuppa and thanking the Starbuck’s baristas for their company’s all-American, open-minded stance. The same goes for any company that speaks up for marriage equality.

In many communities, Starbucks is the go-to coffee spot providing WiFi, snacks, a place to socialize, read and write, and the ever-important caffeine. And seriously, does NOM actually think that its own members will give up skinny frappuccinos or double caramel lattes?  Those NOM moms will be sneaking the Starby’s guiltily, making the mochas even more delicious for their sinfulness.

Make mine a double.

Glitter rained down from the sky Sunday at the Minnesota State Fair as activists sprinkled sparkles onto the Minnesota for Marriage booth and participants shouted

Where’s our booth?! Equality for all!

When the fair opened, neither the anti-marriage equality group Minnesota for Marriage (more like Minnesota against Marriage, since the coalition of the Minnesota Family Council, the Minnesota Catholic Conference and the National Organization for Marriage oppose same-sex marriage) nor the pro-equality group Minnesotans United for All Families were able to secure booths. Minnesota for Marriage –I am trying really hard not to abbreviate them as M4M but I can’t resist–set up a few blocks away outside a church, while Minnesotans United shared space with the Independence, Green and DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) parties.

The local Christian radio station helped out the anti-equality group. Broadcasting from a little white house inside the fairgrounds, KKMS regularly announced:

While you’re visiting the fair, please, stop by the Minnesota for Marriage information booth in front of Church of the Holy Childhood.

But on Labor Day Weekend, the fair’s last three days, all of sudden M4M was given space for a booth, while Minnesotans United for All Families were not. And as the video shows, people felt that was unfair.

Marriage equality is also a focus at the Minnesota House of Representatives State Fair poll booth, featuring the unscientific poll that queries fair-goers about issues that will be on November 2012 statewide ballot in Minnesota, like ice-fishing laws, and an ID requirement for voting, and whether Minnesota should add a constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriage. The amendment, which was sponsored by the Republican-controlled legislature,  passed the constitutional ballot question in May. According to Minnesota Public Radio:

The Minnesota Republican Party doesn’t promote a position on the marriage amendment at its booth, and a spokeswoman said the party has no plans to do anything with it during the fair.

Independence Party volunteer James “Red” Nelson told MPR:

This is Minnesota. They don’t pry into other people’s business. Let them do what they want.

Alex Hindin, a volunteer for  Minnesotans United at the DFL booth told TwinCities.com:

I just think it’s completely ridiculous and unfair that in 2011 and 2012, we’re going to be fighting about something like whether people should be able to get married. We’ve got so many economic problems; our foreign policy is a mess; the country needs so many things, so many problems to address, but instead we’re dividing ourselves over something like this, over preventing some people from getting married.”

I’m Jewish. And my family was pushed out of Eastern Europe by people when the government wanted to distract people from real issues and pick a scapegoat to kick around. I think I’m pretty sensitive to when the same thing’s happening here.

State Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul told Minnesota Public Radio:

We’re getting folks that say, “Why is this happening? We had the budget issue and we had this focus on the amendment, why is this happening now?’ That’s been the number one question I’ve had here so far.

Fair-going glitter-bomb participant Joanna Hirvela promised:

Wherever there is bigotry, let there be glitter.

So a lot of the kids from Itawamba Agricultural High ’10 seem to have gone to the same prom this weekend, judging by their public Facebook pages, captured here by an intrepid sleuth. Cassandra Lee Maier wrote on March 29 that she was

sick and tired of the damn prom being cancelled. what the hell happened this time??

but on Saturday she posted a smiley icon saying that she had an awesome time at the prom, and that

it was so pretty

Danthon Huddleston was really happy.

Had soooooo much fun lastnight thank you; all the parents whoade lastnight possible and a might to remember thank you. Seniors our year is back on track!!! :)

On Saturday morning, Angel Russell posted on Facebook

had so much fun last night………never knew I could dance that much :)…. BEST EVER!!!!

On a photo from Angie Byrd Sherrer’s Facebook page where she posted pictures of her daughter Holly dancing at the private no-gays prom (Mrs Sherrer has since made her page private), student Mckenzie Mina King posted this:

bahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. haha. waittt, i still dont think im finished laughing….

hahahahaha.

i just love youuuuuuuu.

Pam Spaulding reports that

Fulton not only displayed rank homophobia, it raised the bar of evil by sending learning-disabled students to the fake prom, clearly labeling them “others.”

Constance McMillen herself told the Advocate:

Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. “They had the time of their lives,” McMillen says. “That’s the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn’t have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom].”

I can see some of the same dresses in these pictures posted by different students.

Just a reminder to the non-white kids , non-disabled kids who went to this event: Forty-five years ago, in Birmingham, Alabama the same stunt got pulled on a black girl.

Think about civil rights for moment.

And if that’s not fucked up enough, now there’s a FB group called Constance, Quit Yer Cryin

Okay. My work here is done. Let’s see what Sarah Palin has to say about this…