Left Side of the Aisle #95

Left Side of the Aisle
for the week of February 14-20, 2013

This week:

Good news: DOD expands benefits available to same-sex couples
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Leon-Panetta-expands-gay-pairs-benefits-4270287.php
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/2013/02/11/230e62f4-746f-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_story.html

Clown Award: Group wants "no gays allowed" dance
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/11/diana-medley-gay-student-prom-ban-sullivan-high_n_2661919.html
http://mywabashvalley.com/fulltext?nxd_id=292862

Follow-up 1: Tom Harkin
http://atr.rollcall.com/iowa-tom-harkin-to-retire-in-2014/

Follow-up 2: Aaron Swartz
http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/feds-chose-make-example-aaron-swartz
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57565927-38/swartz-didnt-face-prison-until-feds-took-over-case-report-says/
http://dankennedy.net/2013/01/24/the-swartz-suicide-and-the-sick-culture-of-the-justice-dept/
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/141253-15th-annual-muzzle-awards/?page=2#TOPCONTENT

Follow-up 3: Boy Scouts and bigotry
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-siebold/barack-obama-boy-scouts_b_2612891.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/conservative-groups-pressure-boy-scouts-gay-ban-article-1.1256248
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/30/churches_threaten_to_pull_funding_if_boy_scouts_drop_anti_gay_ban/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Societal_attitudes_toward_homosexuality#Association_with_child_abuse_and_pedophilia
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/29/bryan_fischer_boy_scouts_dropping_anti_gay_policy_is_open_invitation_to_pedophiles/?source=newsletter

Guns: Gun control from the start
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/23/120423fa_fact_lepore#ixzz2IdQ5ymTZ
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/constitution/text.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-winkler/did-the-wild-west-have-mo_b_956035.html
http://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/gun-control-in-the-old-west-facts-and-fiction/
http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2012/12/left-side-of-aisle-87-part-1.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html

Outrage of the Week: White paper whitewashes murder
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/leaked-memo-drone-strikes-us-citizens.html
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/04/16843014-exclusive-justice-department-memo-reveals-legal-case-for-drone-strikes-on-americans?lite
http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2010/04/its-just-question.html