Michigan Asst. AG, Owner of Blog Targeting Gay Student, Takes Leave

Michigan assistant AG Andrew Shirvell takes leave after antigay blog
After Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox spent Wednesday night on CNN defending Shirvell's right to maintain the blog, his office said today that Shirvell's leave began Thursday and he'll face a disciplinary hearing when he returns. "Contrary to other reports, he has not been suspended," Cox spokeswoman Joy Yearout said this morning, after Cox's office denied to the Detroit Free Press on Thursday night that Shirvell's job status had changed. "He's taking a leave of absence. It was a personal...

This week in crazy: Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell
In a week featuring conservative Activist James O'Keefe attempting a bizarre Sexual Harassment "prank" of reporter Abbie Boudreau and Rick Sanchez's career-ending anti-Semitic rant about Jon Stewart's Bigotry against him, there was no shortage of bad craziness. But one man dwarfed the competition: Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell. Shirvell's crusade against a gay College Student went national this week when Shirvell inadvisedly decided to appear on Anderson Cooper's CNN...

Michigan Assistant AG Taking Leave Of Absence After Attacking Gay Student On His Blog
Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell will take a personal leave of absence amid much controversy over a series of blog posts attacking a gay University of Michigan Student. Shirvell has been blogging about University of Michigan Student body president Chris Armstrong since April, accusing Armstrong, who is gay, of having "a radical Homosexual Activist" aiming "to promote a very deeply radical agenda at the University of Michigan." The office of Michigan Attorney General Mike...

Mich. assistant attorney general's blog targeting gay student leader raises free speech issues
LANSING, MICH. — An assistant Attorney General is using his personal blog to target the Openly Gay leader of the University of Michigan's Student assembly. Andrew Shirvell claims he has the right to say whatever he wants outside work, including calling 21-year-old Chris Armstrong a Racist with a "radical Homosexual agenda." It's raising questions about how far a Civil Servant can go — and if it should affect his job. Attorney General Mike Cox said Thursday the posts are...

Michigan’s Gay-Bashing Assistant AG Andrew Shirvell Takes Leave Of Absence
Michigan’s Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell has gained national attention recently for his bizarre crusade to smear Chris Armstrong, an Openly Gay Student assembly president at the University of Michigan. Shirvell operates a website dedicated solely to attacking Armstong’s “radical Homosexual agenda” and has called the Student “Satan’s representative” and a “ privileged pervert .” Armstrong is even seeking a Restraining Order...

Michigan assistant AG Andrew Shirvell off job after antigay blog
After Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox spent Wednesday night on CNN defending Shirvell's right to maintain the blog, his office said today that Shirvell's leave began Thursday and he'll face a disciplinary hearing when he returns. "Contrary to other reports, he has not been suspended," Cox spokeswoman Joy Yearout said this morning, after Cox's office denied to the Detroit Free Press on Thursday night that Shirvell's job status had changed. "He's taking a leave of absence. It was a personal...

Liberal coalition rallies in Washington
See an iReporter's view of preparations for Saturday's rally. Washington (CNN) -- A coalition of liberal and progressive groups, including unions and Civil Rights Activists, rallied in Washington Saturday to press for good jobs, Immigration and Education Reform and to make a show of strength one month out from Midterm Elections. The "One Nation Working Together" rally was held at the Lincoln Memorial, just five weeks after Tea Party enthusiasts met in Washington. NAACP President...

Michigan Asst. Atty. Gen. Attacks Openly Gay Student Body President
Digby summed this story up pretty nicely in one sentence. "Where do they find these people?" The Wingnuts and Gay bashers are coming out of the woodwork in droves these days. Apparently it's alright for a State Government official to cyber-stalk a Student because he doesn't like the fact that he's Gay. Assistant Attorney General blogs against Gay Student body president : For nearly six months, Andrew Shirvell, an assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan, has waged an Internet...

Michigan anti-gay stalker takes leave of absence from Attorney General's office
Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell has come under quite a bit of fire since his interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper aired earlier this week. While the story had simmered locally, the sudden exposure on national news hurried Shirvell's decline dramatically. Attorney General Mike Cox defended Shirvell's right to free Speech and refused to fire him claiming that the Anti-gay fanatic's lunacy was happening on his off-work hours. Attorney General Candidate David Leyton called on...

University of Michigan's first openly gay student body president ready to get to work
The rising senior, a native of Ridgefield, Conn., got involved in the campus Gay and Lesbian community after arriving in Ann Arbor three years ago. He was a two-year chair of the Student government's LGBT Commission before running for the presidency of the Michigan Student Assembly. Gabe Javier , head of the Spectrum Center at the U-M, became a mentor to Armstrong after the two met at a Spectrum icebreaker when Armstrong was a freshman. Javier said he's expecting big things from Armstrong as...

Michigan’s Assistant AG Harrassing Gay Student: ‘I Don’t Have Any Hate In My Body At All’
“For nearly six months, Andrew Shirvell, an assistant Attorney General for the state of Michigan, has waged an Internet campaign against” Chris Armstrong, who is the Openly Gay Student assembly president at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Shirvell maintains a blog called Chris Armstrong Watch where he regularly berates Armstrong and complains about what he calls the “ Homosexual lifestyle .” The blog even features mocked up graphics Shirvell has created of...

Michigan prosecutor who picketed gay student barred from campus
The Michigan assistant Attorney General who has been running a campaign against an Openly Gay Student body president is facing a possible Restraining Order, and has been banned from entering the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. AnnArbor.com reported Thursday that Christopher Armstrong, the first Openly Gay Student president at U of M Ann Arbor, has filed a request for a Restraining Order against Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell. Since April of this year, Shirvell "has been...

Free Speech? Michigan Assistant Attorney General's Blog Targets Homosexual Student Leader
Friday, October 01, 2010 By Kathy Barks Hoffman, Associated Press Lansing, Mich. (AP) - An assistant Attorney General is using his personal blog to target the Openly Gay leader of the University of Michigan's Student assembly, calling him a Racist with a "radical Homosexual agenda." The lawyer claims that when he's not at work, he has the right to say whatever he wants. But the vociferous criticism has raised questions of just how far a Civil Servant can go, and whether Andrew Shirvell's...

Assistant attorney general blogs against gay student body president
For nearly six months, Andrew Shirvell, an assistant Attorney General for the state of Michigan, has waged an Internet campaign against College Student Chris Armstrong, the Openly Gay Student assembly president at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Using the online moniker "Concerned Michigan Alumnus," Shirvell launched his blog in late April. "Welcome to 'Chris Armstrong Watch,'" Shirvell wrote in his inaugural blog post. "This is a site for concerned University of Michigan alumni,...

Loserdom
A lawyer in the office of Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox runs a blog on the side dedicated to attacking the Openly Gay Student body president at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Cox's office says it can't do anything about it because the lawyer, Andrew Shirvell, is protected by state civil service laws, but admits "his immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear." Shirvell took his crusade against the "radical Homosexual agenda" to Anderson Cooper's show. Take a...

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell suspended
So did Mike Cox feel any pressure after Gov. Granholm said she would have booted Shirvell, or was he shamed into taking action? He says it's because "he hadn't read all of the blog." ( Det News ): Attorney General Mike Cox changed his stance Thursday, suspending Andrew Shirvell after the assistant Attorney General attracted national attention for a Controversial blog that ridicules and denounces a University of Michigan Student leader for his Gay advocacy, religious beliefs and...

March for Jobs, Justice, and Peace in DC on Oct 2! «
In 2008 , we voted for CHANGE and knew we had to do more than just vote at election time. A rising Racist Right-wing movement comprised of folks within Tea Party, Big Business, and their paid obstructionist representatives in Congress are blocking bill after bill to create Jobs and get workers off the Unemployment line. Here in NC, the PEOPLES ASSEMBLY( a Grassroots coalition of Community/ labor/ youth Activists formed in 2008 around a PEOPLES AGENDA ) are hard at work making sure that even...

Insane Stalker Assistant AG Takes Leave Of Absence To Spend More Time With His Hate
Where “too little, too late” meets “better than nothing” and “it’s about time,” we have the announcement that Michigan’s unhinged, obsessed, homophobic Assistant AG is finally taking a leave of absence , probably to devote himself full-time to his stalking career: AfterMichigan Attorney General Mike Cox spent Wednesday night on CNN defending Shirvell’s right to maintain the blog, his office said today that Shirvell’s leave...

Andrew Shirvell closes access to antigay blog
Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell has closed public access to his personal, antigay blog after a week of intense national media coverage and calls for the loss of his state job. • Related story : Shirvell off job after antigay blog His blog, Chris Armstrong Watch , attacked Michigan's first Openly Gay Student body president a campaign Shirvell defended on CNN this week . His boss, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, told Anderson Cooper on Wednesday evening that...

NJ student's suicide resonates on campus, beyond
Source: AP By GEOFF MULVIHILL and SAMANTHA HENRY NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) - "Things will get easier; people's minds will change," Ellen DeGeneres pleads in an Internet video, staring into the camera, her voice breaking. "And you should be alive to see it." Just as the Murder of Matthew Shepard galvanized the gay community around Hate-crime Legislation more than a decade ago, the Suicide of a Rutgers University Student whose Sex Life was splashed on the Internet has Activists rallying around...

Democratic AG candidate calls for Mike Cox to fire assistant over blog attacking U-M student body president
Michigan Attorney General Candidate David Leyton  today called on his opponent to join him in demanding that Attorney General Mike Cox fire one of his assistants for “harassing and stalking” University of Michigan Student body President Chris Armstrong . The story made national news Tuesday night when CNN’s Anderson Cooper interviewed Andrew Shirvell about his hate-filled website, which calls Armstrong “Satan’s representative on the Student...

Jewish identi-kit(h)
A question often raised on this blog is What is Jewish Identity? Religious commitment, especially of the Orthodox variety, is easy to understand, but what is a Jewish atheist? Some commenters here have argued that there is really little more to it than a few comfort foods and a nominal holiday or two - and even those are essentially religious. Phil talks about distinctive culture (bookishness, humour, Yiddishisms), values (education, Civil Rights) and a sense of tribal affinity or...

DC rally shows support for struggling Democrats
WASHINGTON - Tapping into the same anger that fuels the conservative Tea Party movement, a coalition of progressive and Civil Rights groups marched Saturday on the Lincoln Memorial and pledged to support Democrats struggling to keep control of Congres. With a month of campaigning to go and voter unhappiness over The Economy high, the Democratic-leaning organizers hoped the four-hour program of speeches and entertainment energizes Activists who are crucial if Democrats are to retain their...

Thousands of liberals rally in US
Thousands of people have gathered in Washington DC for a rally to promote Labour and Civil Rights, and to show support for the Democratic Party's agenda. The demonstration, which brought together hundreds of mostly-liberal and progressive groups on Saturday, was held on the National Mall - the same site as a rally held by conservative Tea Party Activists last month. Billed as "One Nation Working Together", organisers said the event was to draw attention to Civil Rights issues, economic...

Assistant AG suspended over gay-bashing blog
Source: The Detroit News Attorney General Mike Cox changed his stance Thursday, suspending Andrew Shirvell after the assistant Attorney General attracted national attention for a Controversial blog that ridicules and denounces a University of Michigan Student leader for his Gay advocacy, religious beliefs and character. The suspension came a day after Cox told CNN he didn't intend to fire Shirvell, citing civil service rules that protect government employees from being "fired willy-nilly"...