A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
JMG reader and Afghanistan veteran R.D. tells his story today on the blog of conservative columnist David Frum.
"I had a very bad session with my workout partner tonight. He is the person I am closest to in Afghanistan yet even he knows very little about my life. He asked if I was married and I lied, telling him I was divorced. Damn. I hate lying; I can count on one hand how often I have told a lie in the past 20 years. Yet if I told him I was a never-married, 42-year-old male it would have been too risky. If I told the truth I could be fired and go home to face unemployment. Why in the world would any soldier be fired for being honest? Because I am a gay soldier and it is illegal to say so. It is illegal for me to tell not just anyone in the military but anyone in the world – my parents, my siblings – even my best friend.
"Despite repeated studies by the Pentagon over the past 50 years that clearly suggest gays pose no threat to unit cohesion or morale; social conservatives insist that it is so and have passed laws demanding that gay Americans be fired if we are honest – even with our closest friends or family members. Being honest should never be illegal. This law results in gay military members being socially isolated from our peers, our friends and our families so that others will not get to know us lest they discover that we are gay. We could be turned in by anyone. It also means we cannot date anyone – even on our own time and out of uniform. So we can only keep our jobs if we lie, pretend, and remain isolated — celibate and alone. How is a law with such cruel consequences considered Christian? Lying is never good but it is the law so what else can I do? As a result of being so angry I was quiet during the workout and my gym partner expressed concern but I could not tell him why. It would have been illegal."
Shambhala Sun | July 1999 Liberalism and Religion - We Should Talk By: Ken Wilber
... The way it is now, the modern world really is divided into two major and warring camps, science and liberalism on the one hand, and religion and conservatism on the other. And the key to getting these two camps together is first, to get religion past science, and then second, to get religion past liberalism, because both science and liberalism are deeply anti-spiritual. And it must occur in that order, because liberalism won’t even listen to spirituality unless it has first passed the scientific test. ... In one sense, of course, science and liberalism are right to be anti-spiritual, because most of what has historically served as spirituality is now prerational, magic or mythic, implicitly ethnocentric, fundamentalist dogma. Liberalism traditionally came into existence to fight the tyranny of prerational myth and that is one of its enduring and noble strengths (the freedom, liberty, and equality of individuals in the face of the often hostile or coercive collective). And this is why liberalism was always allied with science against fundamentalist, mythic, prerational religion (and the conservative politics that hung on to that religion). But neither science nor liberalism is aware that in addition to prerational myth, there is transrational awareness. There are not two camps here: liberalism versus mythic religion. There are three: mythic religion, rational liberalism, and transrational spirituality. ... ---end excerpt---
Hundreds of activists and politicians rallied in West Hollywood this weekend calling for equality in Social Security benefits. Speakers included Sen. Barbara Boxer and NGLTF head Rea Carey.
State and local officials joined hundreds of people outside the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center in Hollywood on Sunday morning to kick off a national grass-roots campaign demanding equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples. The rally and march -- dubbed Rock for Equality -- was put together by the center and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in conjunction with the Aids Community Action Foundation, said Jim Key, a spokesman for the center.
At the rally, Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-Lakewood), who is a member of the House Subcommittee on Social Security, announced that she would sponsor legislation to provide equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples. "I don't think it's right that Americans should be treated differently by the country they love because of who they love," she said, triggering thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd. "Right now, same-sex marriage couples pay equally into a system that they don't receive equal benefits from in return," Sanchez told the crowd. "Shame on this country for allowing that to happen." As of now, people in same-sex relationships are denied Social Security survivor benefits from their deceased partners because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships as valid relationships.
Go here for many more photos of the event. In the clip below, West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land addresses the crowd.
Portugal's Constitutional Court has approved a marriage equality bill recently passed by the nation's legislature. The bill only needs the signature of the president to become law.
Portugal's Socialist-controlled Parliament, led by Prime Minister Jose Socrates, approved the gay marriage bill on February 11. The president still has the option of vetoing the legislation, but Socrates has said he is prepared to overturn the veto. The Vatican has vociferously opposed laws that grant gay couples the right to marry. Pope Benedict has called for the ouster of Socialists in Spain who approved a gay marriage law in 2005, but the church's opposition in the Catholic stronghold of Portugal has been muted. However, Benedict is widely expected to criticize the bill when he visits Portugal next month.
President Silva opposes marriage equality, but his expected veto will likely be overridden.
"I think there’s been a real level of being disingenuous on the part of the gay and lesbian community with their goal of civil unions. You don’t go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal. That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let’s go ahead and accommodate those who want who use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them.
"I think this is not about trying to create statements for people who want to change the basic fundamental definitions of family, And always we should act in the best interest of the children, not in the seeming interest of the adults. Children are not puppies. This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?” - Fox News host and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, speaking at the College of New Jersey.
"We now know that Pepsi has given over a million dollars to the Human Rights Campaign and to another hate group called PFLAG, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays -- an organization that tells parents that their children are born homosexual. Therefore they must accept them and that the only way to love them is to accept, embrace that homosexual lifestyle. This is extremely troubling because now what is happening is that the PepsiCo Corporation is using our money -- whether you're a shareholder or whether you're a customer -- [they're] using your money to promote hate against Christians and other people of faith. " - PFOX "ex-gay" spokesdouche Greg Quinlan, who plans on confronting Pepsi executives at their annual stockholders meeting.
LITTLE ROCK -- An advertising campaign by the U.S. Census Bureau directed toward same-sex couples isn't sitting well with some conservatives in Arkansas.
State Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, a candidate for Arkansas' 3rd District congressional seat, said Wednesday she opposes the campaign "not only because it's an improper message, but because it's an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars."
Whenever a politician starts talking about "wasting taxpayer dollars" my ears perk up. Really State Senator Cecile Bledsoe? Let's take a look at some of the projects you thought were worthy of your state's money, and the time the state paid you to work on those projects.
(CNN) -- On most mornings, my better half wakes up around 5:30, throws on some sweats and heads to the gym before work.
About a half hour later, I wake up my 13-year-old son, go downstairs to the kitchen to make his breakfast and pack his lunch. Once he's out the door, I brew some coffee and get to work.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the "gay lifestyle" -- run for your heterosexual lives.
I understand opponents of gay rights must highlight differences in order to maintain the "us against them" tension that's paramount to their arguments. But this notion that sexual orientation comes with a different and pre-ordained way of life -- as if we're all ordering the No. 3 at a drive thru -- only highlights how irrational groups such as Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, the American Family Association and others like them are in this whole debate.
Anti-gay groups are issuing their final directions for Christian students to walk out of any school that participates in this year's GLSEN Day Of Silence next Friday. The below is a joint message to parents from evil twin vipers Laurie Higgins (Illinois Family Institute) and Linda Harvey (Renew America).
Explain to your children why you’re taking a stand: a. Homosexual behavior is not an innate identity. b. No matter what factors may influence homosexual feelings, freely chosen homosexual behavior is immoral and should be resisted. c. Homosexuality is not equivalent to race. d. Disapproval of homosexuality is not equivalent to racism; nor is it hatred; nor is it bullying; nor does it constitute an incitement to violence. It is permissible and ethical to express disapproval of homosexuality. Just because someone may feel bad when hearing that someone disapproves of homosexuality does not mean that disapproval is cruel or wrong. e. No school should support a view of homosexuality that is unproven and controversial, and that is physically, emotionally, and spiritually destructive to individuals and society. f. No school should allow instructional time to be politicized.
Encourage your church leadership to follow the bold example of Pastor Ken Hutcherson who vocally opposed “Day of Silence” in his community in Redmond, Washington. He led the Walkout in his community, and over 600 out of 1,400 students were called out of school on the Day of Silence. Let your light shine by spreading the word to your church and neighbors. Explain that school districts lose money for every absence, which may help convince administrations and school boards that it is not merely unethical but fiscally irresponsible to allow the classroom to be used for political purposes.
The Internet has made amazing things possible, like freeing the Jena 6 and electing President Obama. None of it could have happened without an "open" Internet: one where Internet service providers are not allowed to interfere with what is seen and by whom.
Now, Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon -- the most powerful broadband providers -- are trying to fundamentally change the way the Internet works. They're seeking to make even bigger profits by acting as gatekeepers over what we see and do online. If they succeed, the Internet would be more like radio and television: a few major corporations would control which voices are heard most easily, and it would be much harder for grassroots groups, individuals, and small businesses to compete with large corporations and well-funded special interests.
The FCC wants to do the right thing and keep the Internet open, but the big providers have been attacking their efforts, with help from Black leaders who have financial ties to the industry. And a recent court ruling just made the FCC's job even tougher.[1] If the FCC is to preserve an open Internet, they will have to boldly assert their authority and press even harder. It's why they need to hear directly from everyday people about the importance of an open Internet, now.
Will you join me in sending a message to the Federal Communications Commission supporting their effort to preserve an open Internet? It takes only a moment:
The FCC is working to create rules that would protect "net neutrality," the principle that protects an open and free Internet and which has guided the Internet's operation since it began. It guarantees that information you put online is treated the same as anyone else's information in terms of its basic ability to travel across the Internet. Your own personal website or blog can compete on equal footing with the biggest companies. It's the reason the Internet is so diverse -- and so powerful. Anyone with a good idea can find their audience online, whether or not there's money to promote the idea or money to be made from it.
AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are spending millions of dollars lobbying to create a new system where they can charge large fees to speed up some data while leaving those who can't afford to pay in the slow lane.[2] Such a system could end the Internet as we know it -- giving wealthier voices on the Internet a much bigger megaphone than poorer voices, and stunting the Internet's amazing equalizing potential.
Buying the support of Black organizations?
President Obama strongly supports net neutrality, and so do most members of the FCC. With so much at stake for Black communities, you would expect Black leaders and civic organizations to line up in support of an open Internet.
But instead, a group of Black civic organizations is challenging the adoption of net neutrality rules. Some of the groups are nothing more than front groups for the phone and cable companies. Others, however, are major civil rights groups -- and all of them have significant financial ties to the nation's biggest Internet service providers. For example, AT&T donated half a million dollars last year to the NAACP, and led a drive to raise $5 million more[3], and boasts of donating nearly $3 million over the last ten years to a number of Black-led organizations.[4] Verizon, meanwhile, recently gave The National Urban League and the National Council of La Raza a $2.2 million grant.[5] Comcast is one of the National Urban League's "national partners" (Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen now sits on the NUL's Board of Trustees)[6], and the NUL's 2008 annual report notes that Comcast donated over $1 million that year.[7] Many of these groups have now filed letters with the FCC opposing or cautioning against net neutrality,[8,9,10,11] and the Internet service providers are using the groups' support to promote their agenda in Washington.[12,13]
The main argument put forth by these groups is that net neutrality rules would widen the digital divide. They say that unless we allow Internet service providers to make bigger profits by acting as gatekeepers online, they won't expand Internet access in under-served communities. It's a bogus, trickle-down argument that has been thoroughly debunked.[14, 15] Expanding access to high speed Internet is an extremely important goal. But Internet service providers are already making huge profits,[16, 17] and if they believed that investing in low-income communities made good business sense, they would already be doing it. Allowing them to make more money by acting as toll-takers on the Internet won't change that. When these civil rights groups have been asked to back up their arguments, none have been able to do so without appealing to discredited, industry-funded studies.[18] Nevertheless, the FCC has taken notice of what these civil rights gro ups are saying about net neutrality, and is wary of going against them for fear of being perceived as insensitive to minority concerns.[19]
Now it's up to you
The FCC wants to do the right thing and implement net neutrality rules. FCC commissioners know, as we do, that the anti-net neutrality arguments coming from civil rights groups are bogus. But they don't want to appear to be on the wrong side of Black interests.[20]
We need to demonstrate that there's support among Black folks and everyone else for protecting an open Internet. Please join me in telling the FCC that we support net neutrality.
Masked in a story about the move to delete an archaic California law requiring the state to seek a cure for homosexuality, CNN unbelievably handed the issue off to the wildly insane "ex-gay therapist" Richard Cohen, who infamously recommends beating your gay away with a tennis racket and a pillow. In 2002 Cohen was ejected from the American Counseling Association, yet he continues to present himself as a "psychotherapist." In Twitter speak: WFT@CNNfail?
The Family Research Council has launched a fund-raising drive based on their claim that all good Christians will be forced...FORCED!...to hire men in dresses if ENDA passes.
Do you think it's right for liberals running the government to ...
* Force a Christian bookstore to hire a man . . . who dresses in women's clothing? * Force your child's religious school to hire homosexual instructors? * Force your employer to fire or censure you for what they call "anti-gay harassment" . . . for simply keeping a Bible on your desk?
That's the nightmare you could face if the Obama/Pelosi/Reid Congress passes the so-called Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). And that's why it must be exposed. This law would change America forever by allowing all of the outrages I've stated above-and more. Most chilling, liberals in Congress almost passed ENDA in 2007! Will you stand with Family Research Council (FRC) now by sending a generous tax-deductible contribution to help us support our national effort to expose the disastrous consequences of this bill -- again? There is hope-if we act now.
You are standing in the way of the Left's immoral vision for America. And laws like ENDA are intended for one thing-to silence your "obsolete" Christian morality and tear down all boundaries to unhealthy sexual behavior. By sustaining your prayers and generous support of FRC, you're not only investing in the long-term health of faith, family, and freedom in America You're also strengthening the leading social conservative organization in Washington, D.C. Our respected team has decades of experience developing and blocking legislation, voicing the truth in and through the media, and mobilizing Americans.
Note the unattributed "obsolete" in the last paragraph. Somebody totally said that. Somewhere. Probably on the internet. The above press release closes with this scripture: "Ephesians 6:13 - Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
Last night Dancing With The Stars contestants Niecy Nash and Louis Van Amstel performed a waltz depicting an interracial couple prevented to marry. In interviews shown before and after their performance, both expressed support for marriage equality, with openly gay Van Amstel mentioning how he was "still in that boat" depicted in the dance.
Bryan Safi's latest That's Gay piece shreds the "ex-gay" nutters, including Richard Cohen, who coincidentally appeared on CNN today where he was shamefully given airtime to spew his assholery. I'll have that clip as soon as it appears on YouTube.
JMG reader and Afghanistan veteran R.D. tells his story today on the blog of conservative columnist David Frum.
