Randall Terry endorsed Rand Paul, Kentucky’s Republican candidate for the Senate. Randall Terry [...]]]> We’re sorry to have been away so long, and we’re working on some ways to keep updates more frequent around here. [Stay tuned!] With that said, here’s the news on abortion, sex and politics, gay rights, sexual health, sex ed, porn, and more!

Randall Terry endorsed Rand Paul, Kentucky’s Republican candidate for the Senate. Randall Terry heads Operation Rescue, a terroristic anti-choice organization. If it isn’t obvious by now, PAPER wholeheartedly endorses Jack Conway. Please have a look at his site–he’s been a good civil servant for Kentucky, and consider donating time or resources to his campaign.

Honoring Dr. Tiller, a year after his murder. And his murderer, Scott Roeder, was no lone wolf.

Abortion has become more concentrated among poor women.

On anti-choice maneuvering at the state level, with more here and here.

Webcams increase abortion access.

Britain has aired an abortion ad on the telly, while American teachers distribute plastic fetuses in public schools and an American nun is excommunicated for authorizing a medically necessary abortion at a Catholic hospital.

Speaking of Catholic misdeeds, Kentuckians have a lawsuit underway and Louisville’s Archbishop Kurtz is doing more homophobic meddling.

In California, evangelicals end a school’s anti-bullying program, since it promoted acceptance of gays. Also, a longtime target of anti-pornsters, Movie Gallery, has shut down, to their delight–though as a former MG employee, I gotta say it has more to do with bad bankruptcy issues than stocking a little softcore porn.

Meanwhile, the American Family Association has opined that Hitler’s SS comprised only gays, since they were the only recruits “savage and brutal enough” for the job, and that Hitler was gay. Never mind that Hitler actively imprisoned and killed gays and that no evidence exists that Hitler or the SS was gay. The AFA has outdone itself with this.

The SCOTUS rules that sex offenders can be imprisoned “indefinitely.”

After appointing a “proud homophobe” and subsequent outcry, Obama revoked the appointment. Yay!

A tally of Obama’s GLBTQ accomplishments. [Not a glowing review.]

Indiana’s own Mark Souder has resigned after an affair with a staffer. The following is an abstinence-only plug featuring Souder and his mistress–just rich, huh?

… and here’s Souder crying and apologizing. He hopes to be remembered as “an evangelical”–well, no problem there! Another evangelical hypocrite for the long, long list.

Sarah Palin’s been dropping the f-bomb a lot lately–that is, claiming to be a feminist. This is absurd, and you can read other takedowns here and here.

Domestic partners are about to receive new federal benefits.

In Malawi, a married gay couple was set to get 14 years in jail before a presidential pardon, after international pressure. Also interesting: one of the men is Another day, another hate crime. This one highlights the stupidity of the assailants.

Constance McMillen, the lesbian trying to go to prom with her girlfriend, got ran out of town, after all.

Gay men may soon be able to donate blood.

The Family Research Council, closely affiliated with the AFA, was caught supporting Uganda’s kill the gays bill. The drama continues here.

Civil disobedience and the LGBTQ community.

By presidential proclamation, it’s LGBT Pride Month!

After years of real sex ed, Canada’s teen pregnancy rate has dropped. Same deal in California. And Obama has paid attention and given more federal dollars to real sex ed.

When feminists argue about porn. And there’s a Facebook page. And this illuminating video:

Declaring porn at customs.

Why does porn matter?–a pro-porn perspective.

The world’s oldest sex toy has been found! And it did double-duty as a striking stone.

More porn use stats. Mormons are still paying for the most porn, and Sunday is the most popular day for porn-browsing.

Turns out bat fellatio can cause quite a ruckus.

Sex research and fears of lube.

Is free birth control on the way? Maybe, thanks to Planned Parenthood.

A new Diva Cup-like menstrual product can collect stem cells!

UTIs are getting harder to treat. Drink your cranberry juice, ladies.

A cure for herpes may be on the way.

New CDC report says American women’s favorite contraceptive methods are the Pill, condoms, and sterilization, in that order.

Rest in peace: Rue McClanahan, best known for her Blanche Deveraux on The Golden Girls.

Here’s an interesting piece about biology, religion, and rights.

Over in Uganda, the fundie bigot who proposed the Kill [...]]]> It’s been a relatively good week for gay rights in the US: a gay marriage vote passed the DC Council, and Houston elected an openly gay mayor. In California, however, it’s big business to oppose gay rights.

Here’s an interesting piece about biology, religion, and rights.

Over in Uganda, the fundie bigot who proposed the Kill the Gays Bill promises not to back down about the death penalty. We can only hope the other Ugandan legislators will vote this travesty down. Ironically, in the midst of the controversy, they have passed a law banning female genital mutilation.

On the conflict of psychology, profits, and transgendered people.

Congress just passed a remarkably progressive and sane appropriations bill, which ends abstinence-only funding, allots money for sexual health research and teen pregnancy prevention, and improves abortion access, among other very good things. Also, the healthcare reform bill can do much good for sex ed.

Lois Capps [D-CA] responds to Stupak.

On the power of pro-choice men as allies.

Egypt is moving progressively on abortion.

Make love, not porn: a sex-positive site reminding people that porno sex isn’t all that realistic. You can email suggestions—go on, we all have our little porn gripes.

See classism, sexism, and sex-negativity intertwine here, where no one believes a prosititute would know what hypocrisy is. But, in happy sex work news, Nevada now allows male prostitutes.

A new study says casual sex doesn’t bother young people, but many young people have been left with misconceptions and ignorance after abstinence-only education. It’s worse than we feared, including widespread beliefs that birth control causes cancer.

Did you know adultery is still illegal in New Hampshire?

Unfortunate: vaginal gel does not block HIV.

Girl-bashing and its very real consequences.

Something fun indeed: Fleshbot’s top ten sex toys of 2009. I’m sure there are still some adult stores having xmas sales!

Interview with Max Blumenthal, author of Republican Gomorrah. It’s a must-read for understanding what’s behind the nonsense social conservatives want to inflict on us.

Some thoughts on sex and morality, especially considering Alabama’s absurd dildo ban. And here’s more on just how common [...]]]> Housekeeping: PAPER will now be updating on Tuesdays. And now, on to the links:

Interview with Max Blumenthal, author of Republican Gomorrah. It’s a must-read for understanding what’s behind the nonsense social conservatives want to inflict on us.

Some thoughts on sex and morality, especially considering Alabama’s absurd dildo ban. And here’s more on just how common sex toy use is.

A new study zipping through the blogosphere postulates that the Pill makes women prefer less masculine men. That’s the study in a nutshell; there’s some interesting stuff here, and the scientists are wise to conclude with wishing for more research to be done.

HPV vaccines could wipe out cervical cancer within 50 years. Remember, though, that we all have to get the vaccine for this to happen.

Guttmacher’s in the news, for a study on the costs of unsafe abortions in developing countries and by showing that abortion restriction does NOT reduce abortion. And in horrifying abortion news, Oklahoma now mandates that personal details of all abortions be shown online. Thankfully the constitutionality of this measure is being challenged—but it’s more proof that anti-choicers will sink to any low.

Speaking of low, here’s some debunking of anti-choice starlet Lila Rose.

No surprise: women’s genital self-esteem affects their sex lives.

A new book studies why women have sex. This book takes an evolutionary psychology bent, and the author interviewed in the linked article seems… reasonable. But isn’t there something horribly wrong when this question is being seriously asked?

About Outrage, the new HBO documentary chronicling how repressed gay lawmakers have hurt GLBTQ Americans. Incidentally, Republican Gomorrah discusses this to an extent, too.

Good news for gays in California: Schwarzenegger signs two important GLBTQ rights measures into law.

And here’s some more on DADT. As in, some real nonsense that tries to defend the policy. Read it and get your bile up.

Think your kid is getting sex ed? You may be mistaken, like New Yorkers are.

Speaking of nonsense, Egypt is now freaking out about fake hymen kits, saying it will promote promiscuity in women. Yo, drop the patriarchy already.

Florida schools are banning freak dancing. Hm. Meanwhile, here in our own fair city, a pedophile has just been ordained as a minister at a Pentecostal church. We guess they learned nothing from the ongoing Catholic example.

Speaking of sex offenders, doesn’t it make sense to differentiate between violent and nonviolent? The Courier-Journal thinks so. Read the comments at your own risk.

Weird: bestiality is going to the SCOTUS. Well, for the record, PAPER does not approve of bestiality.

Yay Al Franken! His amendment barring companies that discourage female employees from filing sexual harrassment suits from sweet government contracts passed. Awesome. And, eat it, Halliburton.

Finally, on a fun very NSFW note: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/rasputins-foot-long-preserved-penis”>Rasputin’s preserved penis is a star exhibit at the Russian sex and erotica museum.